Chapter 15: Hiding in the Forest, Whispers of Old Shadows
Twilight descended like a cloth soaked in ink, gradually draping over everything. The last crimson glow of the setting sun was sliced into scattered dappled light by the overlapping tree canopies, falling upon the forest floor covered in decaying leaves and scattered rocks. Lin Yan followed closely behind Xiao Ge, who was carrying Chen Yi on his back. His left hand gripped tightly the short dagger brought from the stone alcove, its blade still crusted with dried, dark red blood. He constantly tilted his head to discern the sounds coming from the slope behind them, while his gaze swept across the trees on both sides, searching for a path that offered concealment.
The air in the forest was damp, carrying the pungent scent of rotting leaves, earth, and vegetation. The thick layer of fallen leaves beneath their feet crunched softly as they stepped. Lin Yan deliberately lightened his footsteps, choosing to place his weight only on stones or thick tree roots to minimize any sound. The whistles of the assassins behind them continued to sound intermittently, scattered across the slopes at varying heights, indicating that the enemy had already split into smaller teams and cast a wide net to capture them.
"Slow down. Don't run," Lin Yan whispered a warning to Xiao Ge ahead. "Running will worsen Chen Yi's injuries, and our heavy panting will easily be heard by pursuers far away. Let's use the trees as cover and walk slowly deeper into the forest."
Xiao Ge nodded slightly, cold sweat continuously rolling down his forehead. Although Chen Yi was not a bulky man, the prolonged burden of carrying him, combined with the continuous drain of stamina from his piercing upper arm wound, had left the boy's shoulders aching and numb. With every step, the wound on his upper arm was pulled, sending a searing, burning pain spreading through his nerves to his entire body. He could only adjust his stance, trying to distribute Chen Yi's weight across his back, supporting Chen Yi's thigh with one hand and leaning on tree trunks with the other to move forward slowly.
Chen Yi was still lost in a deep coma, his head resting against Xiao Ge's shoulder, his breathing shallow and faint. The wound on his chest had been simply bandaged with strips of cloth, but the continuous jostling of the journey had caused the bandages to seep with a faint trace of blood. Occasionally, when a cold forest wind swept past, his body would tremble uncontrollably, yet he remained unable to wake.
"There is a recessed rock hollow up ahead." Lin Yan's gaze pierced through the layers of branches and leaves, spotting a space recessed beneath a massive boulder a few dozen steps ahead, its opening obscured by dense shrubs and vines. "Let's rest there briefly to check Chen Yi's injuries and listen for the pursuers' movements. We can't keep wandering aimlessly. Once our stamina is completely exhausted and we run into the assassins, we won't even have the strength to resist."
Xiao Ge followed the direction Lin Yan indicated, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he adjusted Chen Yi's position on his back and slowly moved toward the rock hollow. The two pushed through shrubs that reached half their height, parted the tangled vines, and crawled into the recessed space beneath the boulder. The hollow was not large, barely accommodating three people. The vines on the outside hung like a natural curtain, making it nearly impossible to detect anyone hiding inside from the outside.
Once inside, Xiao Ge carefully bent down and slowly laid Chen Yi flat on the dry ground. The moment he let go, his tightly tensed muscles suddenly relaxed, and a wave of severe pain shot through his upper arm wound. The boy stumbled and sat heavily on the ground, gasping for air.
Lin Yan immediately squatted down, reaching out to check Chen Yi's pulse, then gently lifted the bandages on his chest to inspect the wound. The wound was still slowly seeping blood, but fortunately, it hadn't burst open on a large scale. It was merely the excessive blood loss that was causing his vital signs to continuously weaken. Without medicinal treatment, he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
"The injury is stable, but he has lost too much blood," Lin Yan said in a low voice. "There are no medicinal herbs in these barren mountains and wild forests. We can only try to minimize the jostling caused by movement."
Having said that, he turned his gaze to Xiao Ge's arm. The youth's upper arm wound was firmly stuck to the congealed blood scab by his clothes; any slight movement would tear at his flesh. Lin Yan tore a clean strip of cloth from his tunic, dipped it in the clear water dripping from the corner of the rock hollow, and carefully wiped away the dirt around the wound. As the clear water touched the wound, Xiao Ge sharply inhaled a breath of cold air, his jaw clenched tight, refusing to cry out in pain.
"Endure it. We need to clean the dirt to prevent infection," Lin Yan said gently, quickly wrapping the new strip of cloth around the wound. "Your injury is equally severe; you can't keep carrying the weight. For the next stretch of the road, we'll take turns carrying Chen Yi."
Xiao Ge nodded, leaning against the cold rock wall to rest. His gaze fell upon the unconscious Chen Yi's face, his voice low. "Brother Chen was the most skilled escort guard in the agency back in the day. When I first joined the Zhenyue Escort Agency, he even instructed me in blade techniques. I never imagined he would end up in such a state. And Brother Lao Chai..."
Halfway through his sentence, the boy's throat choked with sobs, and he could no longer speak. The image of Lao Chai using his own body to block the rock crevice in the stone alcove replayed over and over in his mind. That steady, taciturn escort guard, who always stepped forward first to protect his companions, was forever left behind in that stone ravine.
Lin Yan fell silent for a moment, gazing out at the dim forest beyond the rock hollow. He did not belong to this martial arts plane; it was merely a dream he had entered, accidentally becoming entangled in this twenty-year-old feud. But after experiencing the slaughter and the flight, witnessing Lao Chai's sacrifice to cover their retreat, and personally accepting the token and the wish entrusted to him by Chen Yi, this burden had settled heavily upon his shoulders. The unseen intuition in his heart had always been present, clearly reminding him that his mission was not yet complete. Only by uncovering the truth of the old case, finding the orphaned descendant of the Su family, and bringing the chief culprits on the roster to justice would this obsession be resolved, and only then would he have the chance to return to his original reality.
"Brother Lao Chai's sacrifice, and Brother Chen Yi's lifelong obsession, must not be in vain," Lin Yan spoke softly. "We must escort the token to a safe place, open the roster, and find the clues from back then."
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from afar, coming from the forest path outside the rock hollow. The two immediately held their breath, ceasing all conversation, and pressed their bodies tightly against the rock wall. Lin Yan gripped the dagger in his hand, every muscle in his body taut, his gaze fixed fiercely on the gaps in the vines.
"The whistle just now said they ran in this direction," a low male voice sounded, no more than twenty paces from the rock hollow. "Search carefully. Pay attention to under the trees, rock crevices, and shrubbery. The leader ordered that Chen Yi must be captured alive; the rest are to be killed on the spot."
Another voice responded, "This forest is too vast, and it's getting darker by the minute; searching will take a lot of effort. They are all severely wounded and can't have gone far. They must have left traces of blood. We just need to follow the blood trail on the ground."
"Be careful. That outsider youth and Xiao Ge are both capable fighters. Don't move alone; stick to pairs."
Two figures in black slowly walked past the front of the vines, terrifyingly close to the rock hollow. Lin Yan could even clearly see the dark red bloodstains on their clothes. The two held short blades in their hands, their eyes constantly scanning the ground, searching for dropped blood.
Lin Yan's heart pounded wildly. During their escape, Chen Yi and Xiao Ge had bled continuously, leaving intermittent bloodstains on the ground. In a few moments at most, the assassins would be able to track the blood trail right to this rock hollow.
Only when the footsteps gradually faded and the two figures disappeared behind the trees did Xiao Ge slowly let out a breath of relief, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"The blood... They're tracking us by the blood trail," Xiao Ge whispered, his tone laced with anxiety. "At this rate, no matter where we flee, they will catch up to us."
Lin Yan furrowed his brow, quickly pondering a countermeasure. The forest was dry, and although the blood drops were intermittent, they were still conspicuous against the fallen leaves. The assassins were highly experienced and skilled at tracking; continuous flight would inevitably lead to them being caught.
"We must deal with the blood trail," Lin Yan thought quickly. "But the blood has already fallen on the leaves along the way; we can't erase it all. We can create false tracks, split into two diverging paths, and lure the pursuers away."
He looked outside the rock hollow. Not far ahead, the mountain path forked; one path continued deep into the dense forest, while the other turned right toward a rocky slope. The rocky slope was covered with stones, and it would be difficult for blood to remain on the hard rocks, making it suitable for faking an escape route.
"Wait until it gets a little darker," Lin Yan planned in a low voice. "First, we'll gather some fresh, wet mud and smear it below the wounds to minimize blood dripping onto the ground. Then, at the fork, we'll deliberately guide a few drops of blood toward the rocky slope to create the illusion that we fled that way. We, ourselves, will take the left path deep into the dense forest."
Xiao Ge nodded in agreement, a hint of resolve in his eyes. After a brief rest, his stamina slightly recovered, and he supported himself against the rock wall as he slowly stood up.
"I'll go outside to gather mud and vine leaves," Xiao Ge said.
"I'll go with you to watch each other's backs," Lin Yan replied. "We must be extremely quiet."
The two carefully parted the vines and stepped out of the rock hollow, digging up damp soil and picking broad leaves in the nearby undergrowth. Returning to the hollow, they first smeared mud on the outside of the bandages to absorb the seeping blood and reduce dripping. By the time everything was prepared, the night had grown heavy. Only faint skylight remained in the forest, turning the outlines of the trees into overlapping black shadows. The chirping of insects rose on all sides, masking some of their footsteps.
They hoisted Chen Yi onto their backs once more, left the rock hollow, and moved toward the fork. Upon reaching the junction, Lin Yan carefully squeezed out a drop of blood from the bandage, letting it fall onto the stone crevices and fallen leaves in the direction of the rocky slope, deliberately forging a false escape trail. Having finished this, the two immediately turned around and stepped into the deep,幽深 forest on the left, continuing their journey deeper into the valley.
The night grew thicker, and their field of vision shrank drastically. They could only rely on the faint moonlight filtering through the gaps in the tree canopies to navigate. Dead branches littered the forest floor, and occasionally, night birds were startled by their footsteps, fluttering their wings and taking flight from the branches, causing the two to instantly halt and vigilantly observe their surroundings.
After walking for about half an hour, the faint sound of flowing water could be heard ahead. It was a mountain stream.
"There's water," Lin Yan whispered. "The stream can wash away the blood on the ground. Let's walk along the shallow waters of the stream; no blood will be left in the water, making it very difficult for pursuers to track us."
Reaching the stream, the cool mountain spring water flowed quietly. The stream was not deep, barely covering their ankles. The two stepped into the water, walking upstream against the current over the smooth pebbles at the bottom. The flowing water washed over their soles, carrying away any stray drops of blood that had fallen along the way.
Just as they were moving along the stream, several hushed voices suddenly drifted from upstream.
"We've finished searching downstream and found no trace. The leader told us to check upstream; they'll most likely look for a water source to rest."
"Look closely at the water's surface to see if any blood is being carried down by the current."
It was another assassin squad. And this team was searching downstream from upstream.
Lin Yan immediately raised his hand, signaling Xiao Ge to stop. The assassins upstream were walking down along the stream, and the distance between them was constantly shrinking. They were trapped in the stream valley; on one side was a steep rock wall, and on the other was a dense thicket of shrubs. They were进退两难 (caught in a dilemma).
"We can't continue walking up the stream," Lin Yan quickly observed his surroundings. "There is a dense patch of low bamboo on the right bank of the stream. We must get ashore and hide in there immediately."
Not daring to delay, the two splashed quickly through the stream to the bank and plunged into the dense thicket of low bamboo. The bamboo stalks were fine and layered, providing excellent cover for their figures. Xiao Ge gently laid Chen Yi on the ground carpeted with bamboo leaves, and everyone held their breath.
The assassins' footsteps grew closer along the stream, their shadows cast upon the water surface by the moonlight. There were three assassins in total, holding short blades, their eyes constantly scanning the water and both banks.
"Strange. After the blood trail reached the fork, part of it went toward the rocky slope, and the rest just disappeared," one of the assassins spoke. "The team searching the rocky slope has been looking for half the day without finding a single shadow; it must be a forged trail."
"They definitely went somewhere with water to use it to cover their tracks. Let's search the entire stream valley carefully."
The three assassins slowly walked along the bank in front of the low bamboo thicket, only a few yards away from their hiding spot. Lin Yan gripped the dagger in his right hand, his entire body taut, fully prepared to launch a desperate ambush if discovered. Xiao Ge shielded Chen Yi, pressing his breathing to the absolute minimum.
Only when the three assassins had walked far away and their footsteps gradually dissipated into the night did the two dare to slowly exhale. The crisis had been temporarily avoided, but the encircling net of the search was still tightening. The valley was not large, and with the vast number of assassins conducting a continuous carpet search, the space left for them to hide was shrinking bit by bit.
"Hiding forever is not a long-term solution," Lin Yan said in a low voice, his gaze directed into the depths of the night. "We need to find a safe place to rest, dismantle the token to check the roster, and confirm the clues regarding the Su family orphan. Only by obtaining the clues will we know where to go next."
Xiao Ge looked at the unconscious Chen Yi on his back and let out a soft sigh. "All the secrets Brother Chen guarded for twenty years are inside the token. I hope the clues recorded in the roster won't disappoint him."
The night wind blew through the bamboo forest, rustling softly. Lin Yan reached out and touched the token wrapped in oilcloth inside Chen Yi's embrace; it felt hard to the touch. The roster was inside, hiding the entire truth of the family extermination massacre from twenty years ago.
But they were still trapped in the assassins' encirclement, surrounded by danger. To safely open the token and obtain the clues, they first had to completely shake off their pursuers.
In the valley shrouded in darkness, the flight continued. The grievances of this martial arts plane remained far from being settled. The unseen pull in Lin Yan's heart remained steady, reminding him that this entrustment was not yet complete.
The air in the forest was damp, carrying the pungent scent of rotting leaves, earth, and vegetation. The thick layer of fallen leaves beneath their feet crunched softly as they stepped. Lin Yan deliberately lightened his footsteps, choosing to place his weight only on stones or thick tree roots to minimize any sound. The whistles of the assassins behind them continued to sound intermittently, scattered across the slopes at varying heights, indicating that the enemy had already split into smaller teams and cast a wide net to capture them.
"Slow down. Don't run," Lin Yan whispered a warning to Xiao Ge ahead. "Running will worsen Chen Yi's injuries, and our heavy panting will easily be heard by pursuers far away. Let's use the trees as cover and walk slowly deeper into the forest."
Xiao Ge nodded slightly, cold sweat continuously rolling down his forehead. Although Chen Yi was not a bulky man, the prolonged burden of carrying him, combined with the continuous drain of stamina from his piercing upper arm wound, had left the boy's shoulders aching and numb. With every step, the wound on his upper arm was pulled, sending a searing, burning pain spreading through his nerves to his entire body. He could only adjust his stance, trying to distribute Chen Yi's weight across his back, supporting Chen Yi's thigh with one hand and leaning on tree trunks with the other to move forward slowly.
Chen Yi was still lost in a deep coma, his head resting against Xiao Ge's shoulder, his breathing shallow and faint. The wound on his chest had been simply bandaged with strips of cloth, but the continuous jostling of the journey had caused the bandages to seep with a faint trace of blood. Occasionally, when a cold forest wind swept past, his body would tremble uncontrollably, yet he remained unable to wake.
"There is a recessed rock hollow up ahead." Lin Yan's gaze pierced through the layers of branches and leaves, spotting a space recessed beneath a massive boulder a few dozen steps ahead, its opening obscured by dense shrubs and vines. "Let's rest there briefly to check Chen Yi's injuries and listen for the pursuers' movements. We can't keep wandering aimlessly. Once our stamina is completely exhausted and we run into the assassins, we won't even have the strength to resist."
Xiao Ge followed the direction Lin Yan indicated, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes. Gritting his teeth, he adjusted Chen Yi's position on his back and slowly moved toward the rock hollow. The two pushed through shrubs that reached half their height, parted the tangled vines, and crawled into the recessed space beneath the boulder. The hollow was not large, barely accommodating three people. The vines on the outside hung like a natural curtain, making it nearly impossible to detect anyone hiding inside from the outside.
Once inside, Xiao Ge carefully bent down and slowly laid Chen Yi flat on the dry ground. The moment he let go, his tightly tensed muscles suddenly relaxed, and a wave of severe pain shot through his upper arm wound. The boy stumbled and sat heavily on the ground, gasping for air.
Lin Yan immediately squatted down, reaching out to check Chen Yi's pulse, then gently lifted the bandages on his chest to inspect the wound. The wound was still slowly seeping blood, but fortunately, it hadn't burst open on a large scale. It was merely the excessive blood loss that was causing his vital signs to continuously weaken. Without medicinal treatment, he wouldn't be able to hold on for much longer.
"The injury is stable, but he has lost too much blood," Lin Yan said in a low voice. "There are no medicinal herbs in these barren mountains and wild forests. We can only try to minimize the jostling caused by movement."
Having said that, he turned his gaze to Xiao Ge's arm. The youth's upper arm wound was firmly stuck to the congealed blood scab by his clothes; any slight movement would tear at his flesh. Lin Yan tore a clean strip of cloth from his tunic, dipped it in the clear water dripping from the corner of the rock hollow, and carefully wiped away the dirt around the wound. As the clear water touched the wound, Xiao Ge sharply inhaled a breath of cold air, his jaw clenched tight, refusing to cry out in pain.
"Endure it. We need to clean the dirt to prevent infection," Lin Yan said gently, quickly wrapping the new strip of cloth around the wound. "Your injury is equally severe; you can't keep carrying the weight. For the next stretch of the road, we'll take turns carrying Chen Yi."
Xiao Ge nodded, leaning against the cold rock wall to rest. His gaze fell upon the unconscious Chen Yi's face, his voice low. "Brother Chen was the most skilled escort guard in the agency back in the day. When I first joined the Zhenyue Escort Agency, he even instructed me in blade techniques. I never imagined he would end up in such a state. And Brother Lao Chai..."
Halfway through his sentence, the boy's throat choked with sobs, and he could no longer speak. The image of Lao Chai using his own body to block the rock crevice in the stone alcove replayed over and over in his mind. That steady, taciturn escort guard, who always stepped forward first to protect his companions, was forever left behind in that stone ravine.
Lin Yan fell silent for a moment, gazing out at the dim forest beyond the rock hollow. He did not belong to this martial arts plane; it was merely a dream he had entered, accidentally becoming entangled in this twenty-year-old feud. But after experiencing the slaughter and the flight, witnessing Lao Chai's sacrifice to cover their retreat, and personally accepting the token and the wish entrusted to him by Chen Yi, this burden had settled heavily upon his shoulders. The unseen intuition in his heart had always been present, clearly reminding him that his mission was not yet complete. Only by uncovering the truth of the old case, finding the orphaned descendant of the Su family, and bringing the chief culprits on the roster to justice would this obsession be resolved, and only then would he have the chance to return to his original reality.
"Brother Lao Chai's sacrifice, and Brother Chen Yi's lifelong obsession, must not be in vain," Lin Yan spoke softly. "We must escort the token to a safe place, open the roster, and find the clues from back then."
Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from afar, coming from the forest path outside the rock hollow. The two immediately held their breath, ceasing all conversation, and pressed their bodies tightly against the rock wall. Lin Yan gripped the dagger in his hand, every muscle in his body taut, his gaze fixed fiercely on the gaps in the vines.
"The whistle just now said they ran in this direction," a low male voice sounded, no more than twenty paces from the rock hollow. "Search carefully. Pay attention to under the trees, rock crevices, and shrubbery. The leader ordered that Chen Yi must be captured alive; the rest are to be killed on the spot."
Another voice responded, "This forest is too vast, and it's getting darker by the minute; searching will take a lot of effort. They are all severely wounded and can't have gone far. They must have left traces of blood. We just need to follow the blood trail on the ground."
"Be careful. That outsider youth and Xiao Ge are both capable fighters. Don't move alone; stick to pairs."
Two figures in black slowly walked past the front of the vines, terrifyingly close to the rock hollow. Lin Yan could even clearly see the dark red bloodstains on their clothes. The two held short blades in their hands, their eyes constantly scanning the ground, searching for dropped blood.
Lin Yan's heart pounded wildly. During their escape, Chen Yi and Xiao Ge had bled continuously, leaving intermittent bloodstains on the ground. In a few moments at most, the assassins would be able to track the blood trail right to this rock hollow.
Only when the footsteps gradually faded and the two figures disappeared behind the trees did Xiao Ge slowly let out a breath of relief, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"The blood... They're tracking us by the blood trail," Xiao Ge whispered, his tone laced with anxiety. "At this rate, no matter where we flee, they will catch up to us."
Lin Yan furrowed his brow, quickly pondering a countermeasure. The forest was dry, and although the blood drops were intermittent, they were still conspicuous against the fallen leaves. The assassins were highly experienced and skilled at tracking; continuous flight would inevitably lead to them being caught.
"We must deal with the blood trail," Lin Yan thought quickly. "But the blood has already fallen on the leaves along the way; we can't erase it all. We can create false tracks, split into two diverging paths, and lure the pursuers away."
He looked outside the rock hollow. Not far ahead, the mountain path forked; one path continued deep into the dense forest, while the other turned right toward a rocky slope. The rocky slope was covered with stones, and it would be difficult for blood to remain on the hard rocks, making it suitable for faking an escape route.
"Wait until it gets a little darker," Lin Yan planned in a low voice. "First, we'll gather some fresh, wet mud and smear it below the wounds to minimize blood dripping onto the ground. Then, at the fork, we'll deliberately guide a few drops of blood toward the rocky slope to create the illusion that we fled that way. We, ourselves, will take the left path deep into the dense forest."
Xiao Ge nodded in agreement, a hint of resolve in his eyes. After a brief rest, his stamina slightly recovered, and he supported himself against the rock wall as he slowly stood up.
"I'll go outside to gather mud and vine leaves," Xiao Ge said.
"I'll go with you to watch each other's backs," Lin Yan replied. "We must be extremely quiet."
The two carefully parted the vines and stepped out of the rock hollow, digging up damp soil and picking broad leaves in the nearby undergrowth. Returning to the hollow, they first smeared mud on the outside of the bandages to absorb the seeping blood and reduce dripping. By the time everything was prepared, the night had grown heavy. Only faint skylight remained in the forest, turning the outlines of the trees into overlapping black shadows. The chirping of insects rose on all sides, masking some of their footsteps.
They hoisted Chen Yi onto their backs once more, left the rock hollow, and moved toward the fork. Upon reaching the junction, Lin Yan carefully squeezed out a drop of blood from the bandage, letting it fall onto the stone crevices and fallen leaves in the direction of the rocky slope, deliberately forging a false escape trail. Having finished this, the two immediately turned around and stepped into the deep,幽深 forest on the left, continuing their journey deeper into the valley.
The night grew thicker, and their field of vision shrank drastically. They could only rely on the faint moonlight filtering through the gaps in the tree canopies to navigate. Dead branches littered the forest floor, and occasionally, night birds were startled by their footsteps, fluttering their wings and taking flight from the branches, causing the two to instantly halt and vigilantly observe their surroundings.
After walking for about half an hour, the faint sound of flowing water could be heard ahead. It was a mountain stream.
"There's water," Lin Yan whispered. "The stream can wash away the blood on the ground. Let's walk along the shallow waters of the stream; no blood will be left in the water, making it very difficult for pursuers to track us."
Reaching the stream, the cool mountain spring water flowed quietly. The stream was not deep, barely covering their ankles. The two stepped into the water, walking upstream against the current over the smooth pebbles at the bottom. The flowing water washed over their soles, carrying away any stray drops of blood that had fallen along the way.
Just as they were moving along the stream, several hushed voices suddenly drifted from upstream.
"We've finished searching downstream and found no trace. The leader told us to check upstream; they'll most likely look for a water source to rest."
"Look closely at the water's surface to see if any blood is being carried down by the current."
It was another assassin squad. And this team was searching downstream from upstream.
Lin Yan immediately raised his hand, signaling Xiao Ge to stop. The assassins upstream were walking down along the stream, and the distance between them was constantly shrinking. They were trapped in the stream valley; on one side was a steep rock wall, and on the other was a dense thicket of shrubs. They were进退两难 (caught in a dilemma).
"We can't continue walking up the stream," Lin Yan quickly observed his surroundings. "There is a dense patch of low bamboo on the right bank of the stream. We must get ashore and hide in there immediately."
Not daring to delay, the two splashed quickly through the stream to the bank and plunged into the dense thicket of low bamboo. The bamboo stalks were fine and layered, providing excellent cover for their figures. Xiao Ge gently laid Chen Yi on the ground carpeted with bamboo leaves, and everyone held their breath.
The assassins' footsteps grew closer along the stream, their shadows cast upon the water surface by the moonlight. There were three assassins in total, holding short blades, their eyes constantly scanning the water and both banks.
"Strange. After the blood trail reached the fork, part of it went toward the rocky slope, and the rest just disappeared," one of the assassins spoke. "The team searching the rocky slope has been looking for half the day without finding a single shadow; it must be a forged trail."
"They definitely went somewhere with water to use it to cover their tracks. Let's search the entire stream valley carefully."
The three assassins slowly walked along the bank in front of the low bamboo thicket, only a few yards away from their hiding spot. Lin Yan gripped the dagger in his right hand, his entire body taut, fully prepared to launch a desperate ambush if discovered. Xiao Ge shielded Chen Yi, pressing his breathing to the absolute minimum.
Only when the three assassins had walked far away and their footsteps gradually dissipated into the night did the two dare to slowly exhale. The crisis had been temporarily avoided, but the encircling net of the search was still tightening. The valley was not large, and with the vast number of assassins conducting a continuous carpet search, the space left for them to hide was shrinking bit by bit.
"Hiding forever is not a long-term solution," Lin Yan said in a low voice, his gaze directed into the depths of the night. "We need to find a safe place to rest, dismantle the token to check the roster, and confirm the clues regarding the Su family orphan. Only by obtaining the clues will we know where to go next."
Xiao Ge looked at the unconscious Chen Yi on his back and let out a soft sigh. "All the secrets Brother Chen guarded for twenty years are inside the token. I hope the clues recorded in the roster won't disappoint him."
The night wind blew through the bamboo forest, rustling softly. Lin Yan reached out and touched the token wrapped in oilcloth inside Chen Yi's embrace; it felt hard to the touch. The roster was inside, hiding the entire truth of the family extermination massacre from twenty years ago.
But they were still trapped in the assassins' encirclement, surrounded by danger. To safely open the token and obtain the clues, they first had to completely shake off their pursuers.
In the valley shrouded in darkness, the flight continued. The grievances of this martial arts plane remained far from being settled. The unseen pull in Lin Yan's heart remained steady, reminding him that this entrustment was not yet complete.