Chapter 87: 87, added three more

The wind had risen in the mountains.

Laojun Mountain, with an elevation of over two thousand meters, lies between the Funiu Mountain Range.

The nights here are sharply cold and windy.

The air is dense with fog, and by morning, all the outdoor furniture surfaces would be coated with a layer of moisture.

In the courtyard, someone had thrown fresh firewood into the bonfire, dimming the light it cast as the new logs smothered the flames.

The flickering firelight, refracting through the slowly swirling fog, seemed like the mesmerizing play of light and shadow in the night.

Among the shadows, a youth with a knife stood silently at the intersection of the thin mist and darkness, sizing up a lone thug outside the courtyard.

It was not until this moment that he understood what Ye Wan had said:

Life is indeed very fragile—a knife thrust into the heart, and no matter how important the person is, they would die.

But killing was not easy.

Because what you have to face is the most vicious thing in human affairs.

Qing Chen tied a stolen scarf over his face and remained silent.

The mobile signal atop the mountain was intermittent, but, to be cautious, the thugs all switched to police walkie-talkies clipped to their left chests.

Qing Chen silently counted, noting that every ten minutes, the thug would lower his head to press the talk button on his walkie-talkie and respond to something.

Suddenly, a gust of mountain wind rushed in, and the bonfire piled with firewood in the courtyard flared up brightly, illuminating the outside world as well.

At that moment, from his hiding spot in the corner, Qing Chen suddenly saw the thug outside the gate seem to notice something by the light of the fire. He looked confusedly in his direction and began to approach incrementally.

Qing Chen tensed.

However, just then, Li Tongyun appeared outside the inn’s main gate.

She stood timidly at the doorway and said to the thug, “Police uncle, have you seen my mother?”

The thug hesitated for a moment, “Your mother? I haven’t seen her, little girl. Come here, let the police uncle help you look for your mother, alright?”

In an instant, he sensed something was wrong!

Ambush!

The thug subconsciously raised his left hand to swing a baton to one side, while his right hand reached towards his waist, ready to draw his gun.

In the flickering shadow cast by the fire over the wall,

the youth had silently arrived beside him through the mist.

They were within close reach, a knife’s distance.

Suddenly, Qing Chen ducked to avoid the oncoming baton, twisting like a gust of wind in front of the thug.

Qing Chen’s dagger aimed for the thug’s left hand, which was about to draw his gun. Realizing he was too late to reach for his gun, he instinctively ducked.

The youth’s blade slashed downwards, and the thug instinctively reached down with his arms, trying to grab the youth’s hand.

But Qing Chen seemed to have anticipated this, stepping back slightly. The thug’s swiping left hand and baton hit nothing but air.

Not good!

The thug looked up in shock into the night.

But all he could see were the youth’s eyes, coldly staring at him.

At this moment of utter exertion, the vicious youth’s dagger pierced once again through the mist.

Through the gap between his arms.

“Breathe.”

Uncle Li Dong had said that in the battle between beasts, the most important thing is to breathe.

It’s the key to controlling your body’s oxygen levels and your alertness. Once you understand the significance of breathing, you will control yourself, and eventually everything else.

Be the hunter or the hunted, it’s your choice.

In the blink of an eye, the edge of Qing Chen’s scarf with its fire rune suddenly burst forth!

It was as if all his strength surged and converged on his right hand, then traveled to the tip of the knife, fiercely stabbing into the thug’s spleen.

The thug’s eyes widened in shock.

In that brief moment, what had happened?

The masked youth’s movements flowed smoothly, seamlessly, as if everything had been calculated beforehand. He knew the thug would swing his baton, knew he wouldn’t dare continue reaching for his gun under the feint, knew the trajectory of his arms flailing in confusion.

The youth had evaded everything, giving no chance for direct contact.

Only when the dagger pierced his spleen did they truly touch.

In this close-quarter battle of psychological manipulation, every move he made had been anticipated by the youth.

It was as if he had played right into the plot the youth had written.

The youth had scripted his ending long ago.

Knowing he didn’t have much time left, the thug struggled to reach for his walkie-talkie.

But he saw the youth ruthlessly pressing his body forward, pinning him against the courtyard wall.

Qing Chen covered the thug’s mouth with his left hand, while his right hand stirred furiously with the knife.

The thug’s mechanical limbs in his legs tried to kick out, but the intense pain flooding his brain nearly blocked all coherent thought.

The spleen is a blood storage organ; in an instant, a large amount of fresh blood flowed from the thug’s ruptured spleen, then down the blade to Qing Chen’s hand.

It was warm blood, the quickly fading warmth in the cool night reminding Qing Chen what death truly was.

It was only when the criminal’s heartbeat and breathing ceased that Qing Chen slowly withdrew the dagger.

The masked young man stood gasping in front of the body, silently pondering something.

Blood dripped from the knife’s tip in his hand, dropping drop by drop onto the concrete road.

So, this was what killing felt like.

Qing Chen’s panting was not due to exhaustion or cardiovascular strain, but rather from an inexplicable fear and panic within him.

He then realized why Uncle Li Dong had said that one must use a knife the first time they kill.

Killing with a gun, a shot from dozens of meters away, and the person was gone.

In such cases, your emotions and reactions blur due to the distance, it doesn’t feel like you’ve killed a person, it’s more like hitting a target.

You wouldn’t see what the blood looked like, you couldn’t feel the heartbeat fading away.

You wouldn’t have any reverence for life.

As a teacher, Uncle Li Dong couldn’t witness his student’s first kill, but he had taught Qing Chen the most important lesson: how to revere life.

“Brother Qing Chen,” Li Tongyun called out in a timid, low voice.

Her voice pulled Qing Chen back to reality, like a hand tightly grabbing his sleeve before he fell into the abyss.

The young man turned his head to look at Li Tongyun, not far away.

The little girl stood still, speechless, as if frightened by what had just occurred.

She had witnessed the masked young man ruthlessly killing, seen life fading before her eyes.

Qing Chen walked over and crouched in front of her.

He did not remove the scarf covering his face, just softly asked, “Are you scared?”

With tears in the corners of her eyes, Li Tongyun nodded slightly, “A little.”

“Why are you out here, where’s your mom?” Qing Chen asked.

That’s when Jiang Xue hurriedly ran downstairs, apparently looking for Li Tongyun.

Even though Qing Chen’s face was covered, she could recognize the young man instantly because the scarf he wore was hers.

Thus, when she found Li Tongyun with Qing Chen, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Xue arrived at the door and explained to Qing Chen, “I had just gone to the bathroom, and when I came out, she was gone. Xiao Yun, you scared mommy to death!”

Li Tongyun lowered her head, “I just wanted to help Brother Qing Chen.”

Qing Chen was caught off guard; her presence here wasn’t a coincidence, she was actually trying to help him.

He thought to pat Li Tongyun on the head, but then remembered his hands were covered in blood and slowly retracted his arm.

But before he could fully pull it away, Li Tongyun grabbed his hand and placed it on her head, “Brother Qing Chen, be careful, mom and I will wait for you to come back.”

“Mm,” Qing Chen smiled, “I promise.”

After speaking, he asked Jiang Xue to help pull the criminal’s body into the guesthouse courtyard, then handed Jiang Xue the gun from the criminal’s waist, “I plan to sneak into the Cloud Inn. Shooting there, even with a silencer, would attract attention, so you keep this.”

Jiang Xue shook her head, “You take it. You’re in more danger. Once it comes down to life and death, who cares if it attracts attention, just shoot.”

Qing Chen hesitated for a moment, then smilingly took off the gun holster from the criminal’s waist and tied it around his own.

Although he had never touched a gun or knew how to use one, and firing it would alert other criminals and lead to being surrounded—

Having a gun was still better than not having one.

Uncle Li Dong had said that a Knight must use a knife the first time they kill, and he had now accomplished that.

Killing again wouldn’t count as the first time.

He could use a gun.

Qing Chen patted Li Tongyun on the head, “Be obedient this time, and wait for me to return.”

“Mm,” Li Tongyun nodded her head.

Just then, the walkie-talkie on the dead criminal’s chest crackled to life, “Begin counting now, 1.”

The criminals’ voices chillingly came through, “2.”

“3.”

“4.”

At this moment, there was a slight pause, and Qing Chen immediately activated his Breathing Technique, perfectly mimicking the criminal’s voice with his perfect memory, “5.”

He was about to turn off the walkie-talkie when the speaker issued another count.

“6.”

“7.”

“8.”

Qing Chen suddenly froze.

The number of criminals… had increased by three!

…

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