Chapter 57: The appointed day arrives, and the dagger is revealed from the map.

"Master Xu, everything is taken care of!" Wang Erhu was sweating profusely from exhaustion, yet he dared not utter the slightest complaint. "The bricks and tiles are all paid for, and this is the change left over."

Xu Feng took the money and, as usual, stuffed it into his pocket without even bothering to count it. He motioned toward the courtyard. "Masters, I'll have to trouble you with building the kang."

The mason was an old hand from the town, highly skilled. After inspecting the structure inside the house and exchanging a few words with Xu Feng, he set to work with a rhythmic clatter of tools.

Wang Erhu and his cohorts didn't idle either. Under Xu Feng's "direction," they began mixing mud and carrying bricks, working up a sweat. The villagers, watching this spectacle from afar, clicked their tongues in wonder.

"Look at that. Xu Feng is truly a capable man. Even a pack of lazybones like Wang Erhu and his crew are completely tamed and obedient under him."

"Ain't that the truth? First hunting, now building a house—his life is visibly turning prosperous."

Hearing these murmurs, Wang Erhu felt a swirling mixture of emotions. On one hand, he felt humiliated that he, a proud and upright man, was being ordered around like a servant.

On the other hand, the villagers' praise—such as "Erhu's actually useful now" and "he's really growing up"—bred a perverse sense of satisfaction.

He oscillated back and forth between humiliation and vanity, making his hatred for Xu Feng all the more twisted and profound.

By evening, the new kang was finished. The mason collected his wages and departed with a satisfied smile.

Once again, the rich aroma of meat drifted from Xu Feng's cottage.

Tonight's dinner was rabbit meat, specially selected by Xu Feng from the previous day's catch as their "wages."

Wang Erhu and the other three sat clustered around the stone table in Xu Feng's courtyard. Staring at the steaming basin of braised rabbit meat in the center, their Adam's apples bobbed uncontrollably and their eyes locked onto the food.

"What are you standing there stunned for? Eat," Xu Feng said, placing a piece of meat into Lin Xue's bowl before turning to them. "You've all worked hard today. This is what you've earned."

Only then did Wang Erhu and the others dare to pick up their chopsticks.

The moment the meat touched their tongues, its savory richness exploded in their mouths. The four men wolfed it down ravenously, not even lifting their heads.

It had been a very long time since they had tasted real, proper meat.

Xu Feng barely touched his food, merely sipping his congee slowly as he watched the four of them devour the meal.

"Tomorrow, we're heading back into the mountains," he suddenly stated.

Wang Erhu, a rabbit bone clamped between his teeth, froze mid-action and hurriedly raised his head. "St... still going?"

"What, you unwilling?" Xu Feng glanced sideways at him.

"Willing! More than willing!" Wang Erhu spat out the bone, bowing and scraping. "To be able to make a fortune following Master Xu, we couldn't ask for anything better!"

Beneath this subservient facade, however, his mind was racing with a different calculation. Today was already the second day; only one day remained until the appointed rendezvous with Onoda.

Tomorrow would be the day he sent Xu Feng to his grave.

The mere thought of Xu Feng falling before the muzzle of the imperial soldier's rifle allowed a thrill of vengeful pleasure to completely suppress his fear and unease.

It even made the rabbit meat in his bowl taste infinitely more delicious.

After the meal, Wang Erhu and his three companions departed, bowing profusely and offering endless thanks.

Xu Feng finished cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, then returned inside.

Lin Xue had already heated a pot of water and was preparing to help him wipe down.

The newly built earthen kang could not be heated yet, leaving the room somewhat chilly, but both of their hearts glowed with warmth.

***

The following day, Wang Erhu and the three others were indeed waiting at the village entrance.

Only, the atmosphere today was vastly different from the previous two days.

All four of them appeared somewhat jittery, Wang Erhu most of all.

His eyes were ringed with dark circles as if he hadn't slept a wink, and his gaze darted about evasively, refusing to meet Xu Feng's eyes.

Even stranger was the bulky cloth bundle resting at his feet, stuffed to bursting.

Xu Feng walked over, his gaze lingering on the bundle for a second before shifting to Wang Erhu, a playful smirk curving the corner of his mouth.

"Erhu, are you... heading into the mountains to visit relatives?"

A jolt ran through Wang Erhu's heart. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he jerked his head up, squeezing out a smile that looked far worse than crying. "Ma... Master Xu, you're joking. What relatives do I have in these mountains? You couldn't even spot a ghost out here."

"Is that so?" Xu Feng's gaze drifted back to the bundle, adding lazily, "Then what's with all these bags and bundles? You've got salt, matches, and even a flask of wine packed inside. Anyone passing by would really think you were off to visit some father-in-law deep in the wilds."

His sense of smell was exceptionally sharp; even through the cloth wrapping, he caught the pungent reek of cheap moonshine.

A sheet of cold sweat instantly broke out over Wang Erhu.

He hadn't expected Xu Feng's eyes to be so razor-sharp, piercing right through the contents of his pack.

He stammered out an explanation in a panic, "Master Xu, you've got it all wrong! Th... this is for my own use! You know how it is—my shack leaks like a sieve from every direction. I was afraid these things would get stolen if I left them at home, so I just decided to carry them with me."

This excuse was so clumsy that even he didn't believe a word of it.

Fatty and Skinny Monkey, standing off to the side, turned pale with fright, not daring to draw a full breath.

Watching Wang Erhu's flustered panic, Xu Feng saw through him as clearly as if looking through a pane of glass.

Yet, he didn't press the matter further, merely nodding.

"Fair enough. What's yours should be kept close."

He turned around, slinging his bow and arrows over his shoulder. "Let's move out. Don't waste daylight."

Watching Xu Feng's back as he seemingly accepted the explanation entirely, Wang Erhu let out a long breath, though his back was already soaked through with cold sweat.

Yet, immediately following that relief, an even deeper chill rose from the depths of his soul.

Did Xu Feng... actually believe him? Or did he simply not care at all?

He didn't know, and he dared not think about it any longer.

The arrow was already nocked on the bowstring; there was no turning back now.

The party of five once again set foot upon the mountain trail.

The path they took today was completely different from the past two days. In a complete reversal of his usual demeanor, Wang Erhu actively took the lead at the front of the group.

"Master Xu," he called back over his shoulder, an unnatural excitement gleaming on his face, "I know a great spot! It's a mountain hollow, super secluded, and the roe deer and pheasants there run around in droves! My old man took me there once before, I guarantee you'll haul back baskets overflowing today!"

As he spoke, he gestured wildly with his hands, spittle flying as if he could already envision the ground carpeted with game.

Fatty and Skinny Monkey exchanged glances, reading mutual terror in each other's eyes.

They knew full well that the place Wang Erhu was leading them to was by no means a good place.

Watching his crude performance, Xu Feng felt an urge to laugh. He cut off Wang Erhu's bragging, "All right, save it."

Wang Erhu's heart leaped straight into his throat.

"I believe you," Xu Feng said, looking at him with a gaze as calm and placid as untroubled water, yet possessing the terrifying power to pierce straight through the human soul. "I believe you one hundred percent, Brother Erhu. What kind of character do you have? You'd certainly never lie to me."

That piercing gaze made Wang Erhu's skin crawl. He felt as though he had been stripped naked, standing bare before Xu Feng with every hidden plot exposed and inescapable.

He understood now. Xu Feng knew everything.

Xu Feng had never believed his fairy tales for a second; he was simply waiting for him to finish playing out his little act.

A surge of humiliated fury instantly overwhelmed his terror.

Arrogant! Go ahead and be as cocky as you want, you motherfucker!

Wang Erhu roared like a madman in the silence of his own mind.

Sure, you can fight, Xu Feng. You're tough. But can you be tougher than a bullet? Did you really think we were playing house with you? The imperial army's bullets don't have eyes!

"It's great that Master Xu believes me!" he forced a smile onto his face while sneering inwardly. "Then let's head this way. The path's a bit rough, but I promise it'll be worth it!"

He spun around and forged ahead, his footsteps remarkably light.

Xu Feng followed right behind him, unhurried and unruffled.

On the radar map glowing within his mind, five luminous points representing living souls were steadily moving deeper into the forest toward a fixed destination.

And at the far end of that route, within a secluded mountain hollow roughly three kilometers away, three new points of light sat waiting in absolute stillness.

One of those points burned relatively bright, indicating robust vitality.

The other two were considerably dimmer, and one of them was pulsing at regular intervals, resembling a flickering bulb with a loose wire.

A cold, sharp arc touched the corner of Xu Feng's mouth.

He wanted nothing more than to see just what kind of master was lurking behind a dog like Wang Erhu.