Of Mountains and Rivers Chapter 5
Prologue – Chu Huan
But Chu Huan didn’t do anything. He just stared at Huo Hui ambiguously for a while, then whispered, “What are you afraid of? It’s not like I’m going to touch you. If I touch you, I’ll be violating discipline. I’ve always been an honest person – when have I ever violated discipline?”
Huo Hui shivered. Goosebumps rose all over his body and he appeared as if he was going to experience an epileptic seizure. Of course, Chu Huan couldn’t let him do that, so he raised his hand and rendered him unconscious with a pinch to his nape.
Chu Huan blankly looked at him for a moment before carefully taking out a syringe and injecting a powerful narcotic drug into the other’s body, ensuring he’d thoroughly fainted with no room for error.
At this moment, he tilted his head up to look at the blue sky as if he could distantly face someone through it.
Chu Huan picked up his bayonet and observed it. Pale fingers brushed across the triangular blade before they began to unconsciously tremble – just who should he make mincemeat of to calm these tremors?
He suddenly stabbed his bayonet into Huo Hui’s body before taking it back out even more viciously. Ferocious veins popped from the hand holding his bayonet – Chu Huan successively stabbed eighteen holes into Huo Hui’s body.
Eighteen holes were stabbed into Huo Hui’s clothing. Chu Huan kept his promise – even the traitor’s oily skin hadn’t been touched.
During his fight with the Ghosts, eighteen of Chu Huan’s comrades died.
The Big Ghost’s nature was suspicious. Chu Huan's latent career was like walking on thin ice, progress made only with great difficulties; it was these eighteen comrades who – with blood dripping endlessly – opened the road for him and protected the convoy.
They gave his life to him, but he failed to complete the task satisfactorily, allowing Big Ghost to escape for three years.
"I actually still have the fucking face to live."
I actually still have the fucking face to live, Chu Huan thought indifferently.
As soon as this thought came out, Chu Huan felt as if there were wild horses running unbridled in his heart trying to tear him from limb to limb. He viciously bit his tongue and, at the same time, held onto the plain ring on his middle finger; together, the cold touch and taste of rust on his tongue held back their reins. This wasn’t the time to grieve over the passing of spring and the advent of autumn.
Chu Huan infiltrated the traitor Huo Hui’s lapel and checked this person from head to toe. Finally, he felt a band-aid behind Huo Hui’s ankle. Chu Huan’s eyes narrowed and he cautiously tore it off; stuck on the back of the band-aid was a small signal transmitter.
Fortunately, he’d dislocated this fellow’s joints in advance, otherwise, he might’ve already sent the signal.
The annunciator device was as light as paper; in its closed state, there was an input for a four-digit password.
Chu Huan put his pocket watch away and saw the red dots on his lens begin to gather – they must’ve realised nobody was in the car.
I’m at the most critical moment, yet I have no backup. Am I fated to be a lone star or something? Chu Huan muttered in his heart.
Then I’ll just randomly guess one, he thought sadly. His actions were firm and resolute as he entered a date with almost no hesitation.
It was the day ‘Big Ghost’ drew back their net; on that day, the identity ‘Chu Huan’ saw the light again and the ‘two Ghosts’ collapsed and fell apart. It’d been three years since then; a thousand days and nights.
The password is correct-
The annunciator turned on instantly and, within a mere few seconds, sent his location to everyone in this area. Chu Huan raised his collar and covered half of his face; with a flash of his body, he entered the forest.
He guessed correctly.
That Big Ghost must’ve had difficulty feeling at peace from how desperate they wanted to flay him, remove his muscles, and eat his flesh; like a leopard who’d smelt blood, Chu Huan felt strangely excited by this.
His mood had only just degenerated into a bottomless chasm, yet it suddenly skyrocketed into the clouds again – it was abnormal, Chu Huan understood this, but at this moment, he needed this kind of excitement. He needed to let his blood boil with such recklessness like this, needed this little bit of scorching heat risen from his killer intent.
The signal transmitter suddenly turned on; although the enemy couldn’t understand the reason, they responded instantly.
Chu Huan broke into the forest without looking back, without stopping, and stuck the signal transmitter into a tree with a single change of hands. He turned his body and hid behind another tree. He hadn’t even firmly balanced himself yet before his first prey appeared in his field of vision, running towards the big tree with the signal transmitter stuck on it.
Chu Huan nimbly loaded his gun; he didn't aim, just raised his arms and shot directly into the other’s forehead. That person stiffened before silently falling.
Before he could completely land, a pair of hands instantly shot out and dragged him into the bushes. This corpse was freshly-baked and still warm.
One.
Chu Huan tore off the signal transmitter from the corpse and stuck it to the root of the tree. Climbing onto the big tree’s branches and occupying the high ground, he lurked there, appearing as if he’d merged with the leaves and branches as he made not a single sound. Under each other’s cover, two people came over side-by-side; unsurprisingly, they saw the corpse in the bushes…
Before one of them could issue a warning, the invisible bayonet had already stabbed through his nape, the triangular tip turning in the wound with a rattle. The blood mist sprayed more than a foot high before Chu Huan raised his hand and fired twice, killing the other. In the next moment, he shrank into a ball and rolled away from his spot, avoiding a series of sniper shots.
Four, five, six…
This wasn’t a contest – it was an assassination. As long as Chu Huan fired someone would fall to the ground, all of them shot through the forehead with no miss; he was like a demon in broad daylight.
Thirteen, fourteen…
Chu Huan’s legs suddenly softened before he fell straight from the tree. The pain came in the next second – his calf had been shot through.
The person who hit him had already been scared out of his wits by Chu Huan, thus he was trembling even more than those who’d gotten shot. He raised his gun and fired several more shots at the person who fell under the tree; only after he was certain the other wasn’t moving anymore did he slowly, cautiously, approach.
Is he dead?
If I killed Chu Huan, does that mean I can get something from Boss?
But that person dared not feel ecstatic because the chill that’d run down his back just then hadn’t disappeared yet. The person holding the gun couldn’t help but stop; he squatted down slowly and waited for a bit. After seeing how there was no movement did he dare to feel bold, stretching his arms towards the down-faced corpse.
Only after he turned the body over did he notice its dark skin and Southeast Asian features. This was… This was one of his comrades!
Before his fear even had time to evaporate, a layer of coolness brushed across his neck and he caught sight of a pair of blood-soaked hands.
The sharp-edged bayonet slashed his neck.
Fifteen.
Chu Huan’s trousers were stained with blood, but he felt no pain; the extreme increase in adrenaline seemed to have blocked the sensation.
Where’s Big Ghost?
My old enemy, when do you plan on coming out to reminisce with me?
Chu Huan quietly counted the time as he leaned his back against the tree trunk. After five minutes, he suddenly smiled – two lines of information abruptly appeared on his lenses.
All were captured with no casualties. Seized the second batch of illegal arms.
The trap they buried in advance had caught their prey.
After a while, he was afraid Big Ghost would have to experience the dilemma of having absolutely no backup or support; by then, could he escape a second time?
Chu Huan believed that as long he had a grasp at making a comeback, Big Ghost would definitely find a way to slip away, but… What if he had nowhere to go?
At this moment, a new dot appeared on Chu Huan’s lenses, meaning a new annunciator had been turned on nearby – at around a hundred metres away from him.
The moment the dot lit up, Chu Huan couldn’t help but take a deep breath and immediately grit his teeth.
He was so uncontrollably excited he almost suspected he’d somehow taken drugs with how uncontrollably excited he felt.
He’d been deprived for three years and now he could finally fight him hand-to-hand.
The dot didn’t move as if waiting for him.
Suddenly, a gunshot sounded followed by a blood-curdling scream. It was sharp and thin, sounding like it came from a young girl.
Chu Huan carried a gun in one hand as he slowly moved. Right now, trees and stones were his camouflage. He was like a big cat silently travelling through the bushes.
Big Ghost was used to giving orders behind the scenes, never revealing himself atop the stage; if it wasn’t because he had nowhere to go, he wouldn’t show up.
At the same time, Chu Huan also believed that, at present, Big Ghost only had one person. He was suspicious by nature – Chu Huan’s existence shattered the last bit of trust he had for this lifetime – so he would command and coordinate the interceptor and respondent, but he’d never let a second person know he was nearby.
Chu Huan thought quickly as he approached cautiously; then, he saw a little girl.
The little girl was fourteen or fifteen, her long hair messily drooped over her chest, her body hung on a big tree, and her thigh pierced by a bullet, flowing with blood. She seemed to have passed out; whether she was dead or alive was indiscernible.
The big tree was born on the cliff – particularly conspicuous – and the girl was tied on the side facing the cliff. On the ground were a row of spikes placed upright, and although the spikes couldn’t be compared to the ones hanging from Chu Huan’s waist, they still poked a bloody hole into the little girl’s delicate skin.
If she fell, the countless spikes would stab her into a sieve. The middle section of the rope holding up the girl had also been dipped in kerosene and was currently burning.
Even primates could use their toes to figure out this was a trap; Chu Huan almost wanted to sigh up to the sky. But could he just look on without lifting a finger? Impossible – he wasn’t a small ghost.
Right now, that little girl wasn’t just a little girl; she was a taunt Big Ghost placed before him. Only those rotten to the bones could not be overcome.
“I was slapped right in the face after speaking, tch.” Chu Huan sighed and, in the next moment, took an improved version of a smoke bomb and accurately threw it into his triangular bayonet.
With a sizzle, a huge gush of smoke rose. At this moment, the rope dangling the girl broke.
Chu Huan rushed out with supernatural speed and stepped on the trunk of the big tree, allowing his entire body to almost rise into the air. He raised his hand and stabbed his bayonet into the trunk, made a horizontal half-turn, and accurately caught the girl’s waist. Using the bayonet as an axle, he instantly turned a semi-circle and jumped onto the branches, avoiding a corner shot from a sniper.
At the same time, he locked down the shooter’s position. A number of leaves moved.
Instantly, Chu Huan put the girl on his shoulders and pulled the gun’s trigger; the gun suppressor had already fallen off, startling countless birds.
What followed was silence.
Who knew how long this moment was – everything was as if in slow motion.
Then, despite having successfully camouflaged himself, the person Chu Huan would’ve recognised even if they turned to ashes slowly fell, exposed under the heavens as a dead man. His cause of death turned out to be a headshot.
It was Big Ghost.
Chu Huan staggered, almost falling head-first from the tree. It wasn’t because of ecstasy, nor regret, and definitely not because he had any feelings for this cold-blooded terrorist… He just felt his body become somewhat lighter; so light he almost lost his balance.
This moment of shock caused him to realise something was wrong too late.
Another gunshot sounded.
Chu Huan only had time to push the girl on his shoulders away, barely avoiding fatality. The bullet penetrated his shoulders, the impact shoving him back viciously. He caught sight of the girl’s bitter expression through her tousled hair.
Chu Huan was suddenly stunned.
The little girl missed; in that short moment where she made her sneak attack, Chu Huan had subconsciously made her gun go flying and land under the cliff. She glanced hesitatingly at her empty hand, then shot another look of hatred at Chu Huan; she turned her head and shrieked in Big Ghost’s direction. “Papa!”
She was Big Ghost’s… Daughter?
To that inferior beast?!
Chu Huan was so shocked he didn’t even have time to move before the little girl jumped off the branch; with a ‘pu-chi’ her young body was pierced by the triangular bayonet on the ground from the footwear to her forehead. Chu Huan reached out, but only managed to pull out a small handful of hair.
He stretched out his hand and caught onto a branch on the other side. On the other side of the big tree was the cliff. His feet were already in the air and his entire body hanging above the cliff.
Chu Huan’s shoulders were soaked with blood whilst the blood on his pants had already all dried up. For the ace agent, even an injury ten times more severe than this shouldn't have made pulling himself back up harder than peeling a handful of melon seeds.
However, at that moment, he suddenly felt both physically and mentally exhausted; the excitement that had just erupted faded away, leaving him increasingly more fatigued. He was so tired he couldn’t even lift a finger.
Chu Huan raised his head. He looked at the big branch he was holding onto, then at the small expanse of sky exposed behind the cover of leaves, his eyes empty. He felt the whole blue sky spin as everything in his field of vision distorted.
He felt as if his entire upper body had been possessed by a ghost; by the time he recovered, he found that he’d already let go and fallen.
