Of Mountains and Rivers 40

In the pitch darkness, Chu Huan placed an arrow on the bowstring as he stood guard while Nanshan began searching for subtle traces in the area. 

Nanshan uncovered a clump of leaves, causing the dried corpse of a snake to suddenly fall out from it. He paused for a moment and narrowed his eyes at the motionless snake by his feet. Nothing was left of the heat that’d surged through his body when he mistakenly ingested the Mutayi’s blood. 

 

"Nanshan." Chu Huan, who was standing aside, suddenly asked, "Why is this forest so quiet, without even the sound of insects?"

 

Due to the silence around them, Chu Huan instinctively lowered his voice while speaking. He was glad that, at this moment, the person accompanying him was Nanshan; if it was another more weak-legged and lily-livered person, they most likely would’ve been scared to their knees by his words. 

Nanshan picked up the dead snake from the ground. It had no wounds on its body and was frozen with its jaws still wide open to reveal its fangs. It had become an open-mouthed zombie snake with ulcerating eyes. 

Suddenly, a gentle night breeze picked up, causing the branches around them to rustle. Even Chu Huan couldn’t help but subconsciously shift into an aiming posture. For some reason, he thought back to the words Nanshan spoke into his ears back then: "But every time we do encounter one, people will die without exception."

 

Suddenly, Nanshan noticed a marking on the tree trunk. "What is this?"

 

Using the flame from his lighter, Chu Huan approached to take a look. It was a symbol of danger. 

He didn’t even have to think to know it was Yuan Ping who left it. The question was whether other intelligent beings could understand his warning symbol or not. 

 

Why did Yuan Ping draw the symbol so low? 

Was he hiding here?

 

Yuan Ping's strokes were uneven and showed extreme hastiness; to the side were several scratch marks made by a sharp weapon. His last stroke ended abruptly. 

The damp grass showed signs of being trampled. Once Chu Huan spread open the dense bushes, he saw deep footprints made only when one’s toes hooked into the ground when getting dragged away. 

 

Chu Huan took a step back. He looked up at the tree from the direction the arrow would’ve been shot from and used the current clues to piece together the circumstances at that moment. If Xiao Fang, Wooden Club, Da Shan, and Yuan Ping were together at the time, then an unexpected danger must’ve occurred, forcing them to split up and hide.

Yuan Ping was crouching under the tree while someone with an arrow was on top of another tree, forming a diagonal line between them. The place where Xiao Fang’s hair string landed was at the nook of the former two’s positions, meaning that the group of four positioned themselves in a quadrilateral formation that allowed them to cover each other. 

 

What did they encounter? 

Were they still alive? 

What forced Yuan Ping to draw such a simple symbol so hastily?

 

Chu Huan believed that the Mountain Guardians and Gatekeepers were adept at concealment, so how were they so easily discovered? 

If… If it was the creature they encountered earlier, how did it not notice him and Nanshan?

 

Chills suddenly ran down Chu Huan's spine as his gaze fell upon the traces left by the creature's claws on the tree trunk. No, it wasn't that it didn't notice them; it probably just left a mark and temporarily went away. 

 

In this silent forest, how many of those creatures were there?

 

Nanshan noticed Chu Huan's gaze and immediately understood. He grabbed Chu Huan's arm. "Let's go!"

 

Although their steps were silent, in the suffocating stillness of the forest, their feet still carried an unbearable heaviness.

 

Chu Huan: "Do these creatures live in groups?"

 

Nanshan: "No. Back then, they were solitary creatures; moreover, when I led people down the mountain for patrol a year ago, these things didn't exist in this area."

 

It wasn’t living in a dangerous world that was so terrifying – it was the fact that the map of this dangerous world was changing faster than the advertisements in a subway window.

 

The Gatekeepers were a reclusive bunch who rarely came down from the Mountain Gate while the Mountain Guardians were away for more than half of the year, meaning there was not a single guide they could rely on.

 

Chu Huan had no choice but to summon his courage and ask, "What are their weaknesses? How do we fight them? Can we blind a few of them by poking their eyes? How about their speed?"

 

"Their 'eyes' are harder than stone. They are not as fast as the Sound Beasts, but they can still run quite fast. Their weakness is their abdomen…" Nanshan paused for a moment. "Um, right there."

 

"Where?" The moment the question rolled off his tongue, Chu Huan understood. He wasn’t sure what to do with his disarrayed feelings.

Now, the one thing he regretted the most was not inheriting the legacy left behind by the numerous local street hooligans: the ‘Eighteen Styles of Groin Kicking’. Indeed, it was only when it came time to apply knowledge that you’d regret not acquiring enough of it. 

 

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from the distance. They were heavy but sounded far more urgent than before, coming from multiple directions and almost surrounding them.

 

Hiding was most likely pointless – these creatures had a much keener sense of smell than they’d imagined. 

Nanshan stopped and used Xiao Fang's long braid to tie their wrists together. "Close your eyes.” 

 

Chu Huan slung his bow and took out his dagger and triangular bayonet. He closed his eyes and, suddenly, the sounds around him—the approaching footsteps, the lingering growls, and even his heartbeat—all became more distinct.

 

"No matter what happens, don't open your eyes," Nanshan instructed him.

 

Chu Huan's throat twitched. "There's no blood or signs of a violent struggle. Is it possible that they're still alive…? Hn."

 

Something warm and soft covered his mouth, cutting him off halfway and leaving him stunned.

 

Nanshan… Kissed him?

 

Nanshan finally did the one thing he always wanted to do; he threw caution to the wind and seized the moment without hesitation. Although the kiss didn’t last long, neither of them had time to reflect on it. 

 

For a moment, neither of them spoke. After Chu Huan's shock faded, he suddenly noticed that Nanshan's hand, bound to his own, was trembling imperceptibly. His heart softened and he gently squeezed Nanshan's hand. "Be careful."

 

As he spoke, the dragging yet fast-paced footsteps approached. A strange roar reverberated from twenty metres away, followed by a second and a third… 

The creatures' calls seemed to echo around them as if it were a relay. 

 

The bound pair had completely restricted their vision, hence they couldn’t see anything. They couldn’t see how the creatures surrounding them in this forest varied in size with eyes covering their entire bodies. They couldn’t see how their eyes, similar to the vertical pupils of cold-blooded animals, were fixated on the two figures before them. 

 

Amid the forest shadows, Chu Huan and Nanshan were like a small boat sinking in a vast ocean.

 

The endless darkness, filled with countless monsters, exerted immense pressure. Chu Huan and Nanshan didn't even have a piece of fabric to cover their eyes, so they had to rely solely on their willpower to resist the urge to open their eyes.

 

For a moment, the two sides remained in a stalemate. Suddenly, the low roars escalated in pitch and the screech pierced through their hearts. Chu Huan felt a slight twitch in the muscles around his eyes, but he managed to hold back.

 

Several monsters, as if receiving a signal to charge, rushed towards them from different directions. With his eyes closed, Chu Huan was completely unable to distinguish front from back. Yet, he felt a tug on the string bound to his wrist; Nanshan was charging towards the source of the first roar.

 

It was most likely the leader of this group of monsters. Chu Huan realised that while he was still trying to discern the environment and their position through hearing, Nanshan had already identified their opponents’ leader and was charging at it head-on without a chance of retreat. Despite his portrayal as a magnanimous and gentle Patriarch, the qualities instilled in him by his mother remained.

 

Perhaps only in moments of extreme danger could one glimpse those traces.

 

Taken aback, Chu Huan immediately followed while attempting to adjust his mental state and anticipate Nanshan's next move. Being bound together and unable to see, they were each dragging the other down.

 

A sharp shrill rang in Chu Huan's ear as Nanshan's knife collided with something. At that moment, Chu Huan focused all his attention on his hearing and subconsciously tilted his head—that sound of metal was the creature's claws. However, the blade didn't harm the creature at all. Chu Huan grabbed Nanshan's elbow and used his arm to push with force. They managed to deflect the creature's claws, causing it to crash heavily to the ground.

 

Chu Huan could only comfort himself with the knowledge that although they couldn't cut through its defences, at least they managed to sprain its ankles. 

 

Before Chu Huan could fully embrace his momentary triumph, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Roars echoed everywhere, footsteps were approaching, and vibrations filled the air. For someone who wasn't visually impaired, this was a complete overstimulation of his auditory senses. In such circumstances, hearing wasn't as useful as intuition.

 

In the split second of a warning from his body, Chu Huan leapt forward and tackled Nanshan to the ground. They rolled together, narrowly avoiding a rush of wind as another creature's enormous claw came crashing down, missing its target. Instead, it landed squarely on the creature that had injured itself earlier.

 

A ferocious roar filled the air as the injured creature became enraged by its comrade's unintentional blow. It began to claw at the ground, causing the ground to tremble. Soil filled the air with an earthy scent and Nanshan instinctively stood in front of Chu Huan, brandishing his blade.

 

Who would’ve thought that this anger wasn't directed at them? The two creatures began to engage in a fierce fight. 

It was obvious that the commander couldn’t forgive its comrade for slapping it and decided to settle its grievances before taking care of their enemies; thus, a martial arts performance was played right before them amidst the chaos. The other monsters, lacking command, didn't know what to do. Some chased after Chu Huan and Nanshan, some inexplicably fought among themselves, and some wandered aimlessly in place.

 

Indeed, even in this Spartan world, the Heavens were fair, giving a certain species an incredibly tough shell and extraordinary combat ability while depriving them of a portion of their brains.

 

The two of them maneuvered blindly among the crowd of monsters, keeping their eyes closed as they felt their way through. The trees around them served as their best reference points. Although Chu Huan had keen instincts, he couldn't use them as infrared receptors – their situation was truly pitiful.

 

A monster abruptly tried to slam into him. That thing was as heavy as a car, so an impact would be similar to that of a car accident. 

Chu Huan stumbled and fell to the ground as the creature's claws swept past him. With no other choice, he drew out his triangular bayonet and placed it in front of himself. With a clang, it broke into two pieces. Nanshan violently pulled the string, intending to pull Chu Huan into his arms, but in his anxious state, he exerted too much force and the string snapped.

 

As soon as that happened, the two were immediately forced apart. The monster's claws grazed Chu Huan's back, which caused a sudden searing pain. Chu Huan instinctively reached out, only to find an empty length of rope in his hand.

 

"Nanshan!"

 

Amidst the chaotic swirl of noise, he thought he heard Nanshan respond to his call, but he had no way to determine the exact location.

 

However, the swarm of monsters didn't give him a moment to stay in place. The chaotic footsteps continued to reverberate in his ears as if they would trample him at any moment. The thought of the pits on the ground made Chu Huan unwilling to become a sieve. Rolling amidst countless monsters' feet, his shirt had turned into a tattered rag. Chu Huan, the newly minted Elder of the Beggar Sect, was draped in a billowing Bohemian-style long-sleeved hollowed-out garment. Finally, he managed to find a large, life-saving tree.

 

He desperately clung to the tree with his ten fingers, unable to see anything, and relied solely on the strength of his fingers to climb up. He felt as if he’d become a gecko.

 

However, the monsters didn't give him a second to catch his breath. Just as he climbed several meters up, he heard the sound of the tree roots being dug up below. Chu Huan suddenly bent over and somersaulted down from the tree, accurately landing on the back of a monster. Taking advantage of the force of the fall, he viciously stabbed his short knife into the creature's thick skin.

 

The artifact capable of slicing through wind didn't disappoint him, or perhaps he was just lucky. The knife hit the gap between two armor plates and, with a "pu-chi", sank into the monster's flesh. The creature trembled violently, almost shaking Chu Huan off, but the knife got stuck, and he couldn't pull it out.

 

Chu Huan cursed. He truly had the makings to be a sandwich hand!

He struggled to maintain his balance while using his feet to brace against the monster's back, desperately trying to free the knife. At that moment, a fierce wind blew against his clothes. One of the monsters, seeing its companion's suffering, immediately came to its aid and slapped Chu Huan with its claw.

 

The claw carried a pungent gust of wind. Perhaps the threat of death unleashed his hidden potential, but with a low shout, Chu Huan miraculously managed to pull the knife out. Then, rolling and crawling, he jumped off the monster. 

With another "pu-chi”, the monster's claw swiped through empty air before clawing its companion's back instead, the long, sharp nails precisely hitting the stab wound Chu Huan had made. Instantly, the creature roared in anger, and Chu Huan quickly darted away. Behind him, a deafening roar followed. The tree, as thick as his waist, was snapped in half. Fortunately, he had run fast enough not to be crushed underneath.

 

Chu Huan: "Nanshan!"

 

This time, Chu Huan couldn't hear any response from Nanshan.

 

Chu Huan immediately felt anxious. It would be great to have a loudspeaker right now or, due to the lack of such high-tech equipment, even a horn from the Flat People! 

Chu Huan thought, Forget it, I'll take the risk.

He was about to open his eyes.

At this moment, he heard the long, lingering call of a horn—it was from the Flat People’s horn he was just thinking about. 

 

Chu Huan didn't know whether to cry or to laugh. He truly had an unprecedented crow’s mouth. He hadn’t even opened his eyes, yet he was soon to face an onslaught of wind arrows.

 

Before him were wolves and behind him were tigers; what Chu Huan needed to decide was which ones to face. 

Of course, regardless of his decision, his most likely outcome was death.

 

Just as he was about to make a decision, a second horn call sounded. Dodging a swipe from a claw, Chu Huan heard the horn playfully twist and turn, its melancholic notes unexpectedly emitting a resounding sensation. Upon closer listening, it seemed to contain elements of a Suona.

 

What form of brain-dead was this?

 

Stumbling under his feet, Chu Huan narrowly avoided a monster's claws. 

He strugglingly evaded a group of monsters by playing the same old trick of jumping up a tree, leaping down, and then, with his feet on a monster’s back, flipping away. The monster, who now had a pit in its head from Chu Huan’s feet, roared furiously. It was about to give chase before one of its comrades made impact with its claws, causing that invulnerable head to cave half a metre into its neck. It was uncertain whether it could recover from that or not. 

Dodging danger after danger, Chu Huan sprinted away from the monsters and towards the direction from which the horn’s call resounded.