Chapter 121: Counter-Kill

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Several screams came from behind, but Wei Renshi did not dare look back. In his present body, he was only twelve years old and could do little of anything. Not only could he be of no help, he would instead become a burden.

Only by not having to worry about him could Old Stone and Dog Two concentrate on fighting the enemy. The sooner he got away, the sooner the two of them could withdraw.

Wei Renshi ran for all he was worth. Even when he twisted his ankle, he paid it no heed, continuing until he had gone a long distance and finally reached the road.

He lifted the hem of his robe, caught it between his teeth, and tore off strips of cloth. As he ran along the roadside, he dropped the strips one by one, casting them far behind him. Then he leapt from the road into the woods on the opposite mountainside, circled around, and began running back.

When he had returned to the place where he had first climbed onto the road, Wei Renshi turned and headed uphill. Only after spotting a massive slab of stone did he finally conceal himself.

He gathered thick dead branches and rotting leaves from around him and buried himself beneath them, leaving only his eyes exposed.

Lying atop the stone slab, Wei Renshi could see the place where he had climbed onto the road, while those below could not see what was above them.

He stared intently at that spot, reaching beside him to dig several stones from the soil and clutching them in his palm. Then he held his breath and listened carefully for any movement.

Moonlight seeped through the gaps between the leaves, and little by little Wei Renshi made out the scene below.

Suddenly, he heard leaves rustling. His heart tightened, and then two figures sprang from the woods and climbed onto the road.

Wei Renshi did not dare breathe. Focusing his eyes, he felt a surge of delight. Sure enough, it was Old Stone and Dog Two.

He immediately raised his hand and hurled the stones down.

The stones rolled away with a clatter. Old Stone and Dog Two turned toward the sound at once, glanced back, and immediately ran up the mountain.

“Over here!” Wei Renshi rose from the pile of rotting leaves and called to them.

The two hurried over. Old Stone quickly asked, “Young master, are you unharmed?”

“I’m fine! Were either of you injured?” Wei Renshi asked anxiously.

“Thanks to your splendid plan, young master, those bandits didn’t even have the strength to keep chasing us.” Dog Two grinned at Wei Renshi. “A few of them did come after us, but the two of us took care of them!”

Only then did Wei Renshi notice the hot, bloody odor clinging to them. Dog Two’s eyes gleamed fiercely. He showed not the slightest trace of fear; instead, he seemed almost exhilarated.

“Good! Since they can no longer pursue us, let’s get moving!” Wei Renshi said.

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With that, Wei Renshi turned to leave.

But Old Stone suddenly seized him by the arm.

Wei Renshi looked back and saw Old Stone staring at him.

“Young master, you presented horseshoes to General Wang and offered the court so many brilliant strategies, all in hopes of earning merit,” Old Stone said.

After a pause, he continued, “Would you like to establish another great achievement?”

Wei Renshi was taken aback.

“That lot have no strength left at all. They’ve had diarrhea the whole day, and their intestines are wracked with unbearable pain. Forget resisting with knives—even standing is beyond them!” A ruthless resolve flashed through Old Stone’s eyes. “Now that they’ve lost us, they’ll certainly leave at once. We can follow them in secret and launch a surprise attack. It shouldn’t be difficult to capture every one of them!”

“Exactly!” Dog Two nodded.

Wei Renshi lowered his head and thought for a moment before nodding decisively. “All right! We’ll do as Uncle Stone says!”

Seeing his decisiveness, a hint of approval passed through Old Stone’s eyes.

“In that case, young master, hide here. They’ll soon come up to the road and flee. Just follow them from a distance. Leave the rest to us.”

Wei Renshi nodded. “Be careful. Your safety comes first in everything. If the situation looks unfavorable, withdraw immediately.”

“Don’t worry, young master. We understand.” Old Stone nodded.

The three of them concealed themselves and waited.

Wei Renshi hid in the woods. Sure enough, after a short while, another loud rustling of leaves reached them. The group appeared, clutching their bellies as they struggled up onto the road. Supporting one another, they kept their altar master’s horse in the middle of their formation.

“Master, look!” One of the men who seemed unaffected spotted the scraps of cloth Wei Renshi had deliberately scattered on the ground. He hurriedly pointed and shouted.

“Go… send a few men who are still well! They can’t have gone far. Catch them and kill them!” The altar master refused to give up, issuing the order in a feeble voice.

During the day, he had eaten the greatest share of the undercooked roasted meat and had also drunk a great deal of water. Naturally, he was now suffering the most severely.

Several men immediately followed the trail of cloth strips.

Of the rest, the few who remained unaffected stood around the altar master to protect him, while the group hurried along the road.

Their intestines were now in such agony that they could barely walk properly. Watching them, Wei Renshi felt that even if he ran down and charged straight at them, they might not be able to catch him.

However, there were still several men among them who were unaffected, and they would probably not surrender without a fight.

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Wei Renshi glanced from side to side and said, “Come on. We’ll follow them quietly.”

The three moved secretly along the mountainside, keeping pace with the people on the road. In fact, they traveled much faster and had already rushed ahead to wait for them. The men below were preoccupied with anxiety and intestinal pain; how could they spare any attention for the rustling leaves halfway up the mountain?

Suddenly, Wei Renshi stopped and asked, “It looks as though six or seven of them are still unaffected. If we lure them into the woods, can the two of you ambush them?”

“Of course. They’re nothing,” Dog Two said dismissively. “Back in the day, we killed rebel hounds far more formidable than these.”

Wei Renshi nodded. “Good.”

As he spoke, he bent down and picked up a broken tree trunk from beneath his feet.

The break was still damp, and several large stones lay nearby. It was obvious that the trunk had been snapped by rolling rocks during the rains a few days earlier, rather than having withered and fallen on its own.

A trunk like that would be exceptionally sturdy.

Wei Renshi had stopped because he had noticed the tree trunk and the boulders. He immediately crouched down, picked up a broken branch, and began digging beneath the largest stone. Before long, he had scraped out a small hole, into which he wedged the slender trunk.

Old Stone and Dog Two immediately understood what Wei Renshi intended to do. Dog Two hurried over and continued digging beneath the boulder, while Old Stone took the trunk from Wei Renshi and thrust it deeper into the hole.

“Dog Two, bring a smaller one!” Wei Renshi pointed to a smaller stone nearby. “Put it here!”

Dog Two promptly carried the stone over and set it beneath the trunk.

Old Stone gripped the trunk with both hands and leapt upward. Using the force of his landing, he slammed down hard with both arms. At once, the great boulder shifted and came prying loose, then went roaring down the mountainside.

He immediately pried loose another, then another, sending several enormous stones rolling downhill in succession.

The group below was walking along when they suddenly heard rocks tumbling from the mountain beside them. Before their bodies could react, the boulders came crashing down. Several men were struck and knocked to the ground, spitting blood before lying still, never to rise again.