Chapter Forty-Four: I Bid You Farewell on Your Journey

Capture the ringleader first, and the rest will fall apart. With Huang Sicai’s head severed from his body, the remaining rabble instantly lost the will to resist. All they wanted now was to escape as quickly as possible, not to become the next victim beneath the blade.

“Now you think of running? Hahaha! Let’s see just how lucky you are—if you can escape the edge of my knife!”

Zhao Jiliang felled two men with a single sweep of his blade, their warm blood splattering across his face, making him appear even more ferocious and terrifying.

“Don’t waste time on them! Finding Han Yuyang is what matters most now!”

Wu Da reminded him as he pursued the fleeing bandits outside. Around them, cries and screams rose and fell in a chaotic chorus, but soon another voice broke through the din.

“Fire! Fire! We can’t get out!”

No one could have expected it: in that moment, a dozen fires erupted across the entire mountain stronghold. The roaring blaze swept through like a tidal wave, swiftly cutting off every route down the mountain.

Huang Bin shouted, “No good! The flames ahead are too fierce—we can’t get through. We have to find another way!”

“Damn it! Someone set this fire on purpose—they want to burn us all alive! It must be Han Yuyang!”

Without another word, Wu Da led Huang Bin to seek another escape, while those who tried to force their way through the wall of fire met a gruesome end, burnt alive.

This fire was no ordinary one. Each source of the blaze intertwined with the others, weaving an impenetrable net of flames that sealed off every possible escape route with precision.

“Do you smell that? It’s military fire oil—barrels of it! Only the army uses that stuff!”

Wu Da was more convinced than ever: Han Yuyang had to be nearby. Only someone with strict military training could be so adept at preparing and deploying fire oil barrels.

So if not Han Yuyang, then who?

Driven back by the mounting inferno, the two men retreated into the main hall. Wu Da quickly found another possible way out, but as he urged his companion to hurry, he realized Huang Bin was frozen in place, staring blankly ahead.

“Huang Bin, you idiot, what’s gotten into you? Now’s not the time—”

Halfway through his words, Wu Da choked them back. Huang Bin stood rooted because he’d seen Zhao Jiliang, blood-soaked, nailed to the wall—his own straight-bladed sword still protruding from his chest, pinning him through to the wood behind.

“Who? Who did this?”

A deep unease seized the two survivors. Zhao Jiliang had been no slouch; even faced with a formidable foe, he could have held out for dozens of rounds. For him to be slaughtered so soundlessly was unthinkable.

“From the wound, it was a single fatal strike... How is that possible?”

“We have to get out—now!”

Wu Da and Huang Bin fled, desperately seeking a gap in the fiery net, and, by sheer luck, escaped into the forest.

“It was Han Yuyang who killed Zhao Jiliang. He wants to settle things with us here. Stay sharp—he’s one in a million!”

“Otherwise, he’d never have risen so high!”

For once, Wu Da’s usual arrogance had vanished, replaced by wariness—his respect for Han Yuyang clear in his words.

But tragically, even now they still had no idea who their true enemy was.

Jiang Chen’s figure flickered through the shadows of the trees. Huang Bin shouted angrily, “You bastard! Stop skulking in the dark and trying to scare me!”

The louder his outburst, the clearer it was how rattled he’d become—especially with the horrific image of Zhao Jiliang’s death haunting his mind. Who could guarantee he wouldn’t be the next to die?

“He’s coming—right side!”

Wu Da and Huang Bin took up a defensive formation, each covering the other’s flank. Their combat experience told them this would maximize their field of vision and prevent the enemy from picking them off one by one.

But the threat lurking deeper in the grove caught them completely off guard.

“Aaah!”

A sharpened spear flew out of the shadows, piercing straight through Huang Bin’s right leg. He fell, screaming in agony, his bloodshot eyes filling with despair.

“Han Yuyang! Come out and face me! I, Wu Da, want to see your famed Qishan spear technique!”

“I’m not much good with a spear, but I have a hundred ways to send you on your way. Want to try?”

Jiang Chen stepped slowly out from behind a large tree, a cold smile on his lips. Apart from the sharpened bamboo spear in his hand, he carried no other weapon.

“This thing was something I just made. You howled so miserably when it struck—I thought it must have hurt more than it did. But in truth, it’s not deadly at all.”

Huang Bin angrily yanked the spear from his thigh, only to scream even louder in pain. This time he collapsed completely, face deathly pale.

“I wasn’t finished. I added little barbs to the tip of that spear. You pulled it out the wrong way, which is why you’re in such a state.”

Wu Da’s eyes were wide with alarm. He demanded, “You’re not Han Yuyang. Who are you, then—his accomplice?”

“I’m just a down-and-out scholar from Shanguan Town. My name is Jiang Chen. I ask for your guidance, gentlemen.”

“Nonsense. You fashioned a weapon on the spot, and when you killed Zhao Jiliang, your strike was swift and deadly. You expect me to believe you’re just a failed scholar?”

Wu Da raised his straight blade defensively, the tension now on their side.

Jiang Chen made no move to attack, but explained calmly, “I smuggled those fire oil barrels up the mountain earlier, burying them in advance. I’d been waiting for a day when I could deal with all you damned bandits in one fell swoop. As luck would have it, the three of you walked right into my trap. I lured you here to Tiger Head Mountain, so I could finish this once and for all. When others investigate, they’ll just assume you died fighting the bandits, all consumed in the blaze.”

Sweat beaded on Wu Da’s brow. The man before him possessed a mind and methods that were suffocating in their cunning. All this time, he’d thought himself in control, only to find he’d been played from the start.

“Don’t speak too soon. You may not be able to kill us both!”

Jiang Chen wasted no more words. In a blink, his spear shot forward, mercifully ending Huang Bin’s suffering.

The spear struck dead center in Huang Bin’s forehead. Only Wu Da and Jiang Chen remained. Though it was one against one, Jiang Chen’s presence was overwhelming.

“Hmph! You think you can kill me without even a blade? Who do you think you are?”

With a furious roar, Wu Da summoned all his skill and charged straight at Jiang Chen...