Walking Further and Further Down the Road to Self-Destruction

Wang Erhu scrambled and tumbled, rushing a full seven or eight hundred meters in one breath. Only when the heart-rending gunfire and screams behind him were gradually muffled by the dense forest did he dare to support himself against a massive tree and gasp for breath.

The Fat Man and Skinny Monkey were equally out of breath, their faces as pale as death, looking as though they had just lost their parents.

"Hu... Brother Hu... We... We made it out..." The Fat Man collapsed onto the ground, feeling as though his legs no longer belonged to him.

Leaning against a tree and still trembling from the lingering terror, Skinny Monkey looked back nervously and stammered, "Brother Hu, is... is it over just like that? That punk Xu Feng... has he been killed by the Imperial soldiers?"

Wang Erhu wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Recalling the thrilling and terrifying scene moments ago, a wave of lingering fear gripped his heart. In particular, Xu Feng's fluent Japanese stuck in his mind like a thorn, leaving him deeply unsettled.

He spat out a mouthful of blood-tinged saliva and said viciously, "He's dead for sure! Those are three Imperial soldiers, three rifles! No matter how badass Xu Feng thinks he is, is he made of iron? Take a bullet, and he'll be off to see the King of Hell!"

Despite saying this, he felt entirely unconfident deep down. That punk Xu Feng was simply too bizarre.

"Then... what do we do now?" The Fat Man caught his breath and asked with a blank expression, "If we just run away like this, what... what are we going to do from now on? What if... what if Xu Feng isn't dead and comes back to settle scores with us..."

At the mere thought of Xu Feng's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing right through a person, the Fat Man couldn't help shivering.

Skinny Monkey chimed in, "Yeah, Brother Hu, this has blown up way too big. We led the Japanese right to him, and if the villagers find out, their spit could drown us alive. We simply can't afford to wear the label of traitors!"

Annoyed and flustered by their questioning, Wang Erhu lashed out with a kick against a nearby tree and cursed, "What the hell are you panicking for? Look at yourselves and have some backbone!"

He paced back and forth, his eyes darting around maliciously as a scheme even more venomous than the previous one quickly took shape in his mind.

He came to an abrupt halt, a ferocious smile spreading across his face.

"Traitors? Who the hell is going to be a traitor?" Lowering his voice, Wang Erhu beckoned the Fat Man and Skinny Monkey closer, signaling them to lean in.

Unaware of what he was planning, the two men still brought their heads closer.

"We're going down the mountain right now, straight to the township!" A morbid excitement laced Wang Erhu's voice. "We're going to find the Soviet military!"

"Find the Soviet military?" The Fat Man and Skinny Monkey were both stunned. "What for? To surrender?"

"Surrender my ass!" Wang Erhu slapped the back of the Fat Man's head and scolded, "Use that pig brain of yours and think! What are we going to tell the Soviet military?"

***

Watching his two bewildered underlings, Wang Erhu proudly unveiled his "brilliant plan."

"We'll tell the Soviet military that we discovered the traces of the Japanese! And what's more, there's someone in our village named Xu Feng who is colluding with the Japanese hiding in the mountains! We saw him with our own eyes delivering food and drink to the Japanese!"

The eyes of the Fat Man and Skinny Monkey slowly widened.

The more he spoke, the more excited Wang Erhu became, spittle flying from his lips. "And the evidence? Isn't the evidence right in our pockets? All that salt, matches, and strong liquor we bought yesterday—we'll just say Xu Feng forced us to buy them to be sent up the mountain as supplies for the Japanese! Everyone in the village knows we've been hanging around with Xu Feng these past few days, so he won't be able to shake this off no matter what!"

He slapped his thigh. "When the time comes, we'll be heroes who exposed a traitor! The Soviet military will definitely reward us! As for Xu Feng... hmph! Even if he didn't die at the hands of the Japanese, he'll die before the firing squad of the Soviet military!"

"Dead men tell no tales!"

These words acted like a sudden enlightenment, clearing the fog from the minds of the Fat Man and Skinny Monkey.

The two exchanged glances, both seeing greed and excitement shining in each other's eyes.

"Brilliant! Brother Hu, this move of yours is simply too brilliant!" The Fat Man slapped his thigh again, the fat on his face trembling three times over. "What do you call this? Killing two birds with one stone! No, hitting three birds with one stone! Not only did we get rid of Xu Feng, but we also eliminated the Japanese, and we ourselves become heroes! Marvellous! Truly marvellous!"

Skinny Monkey hurriedly joined in with the flattery. "I said it before, just look at who Brother Hu is! That brain of yours works faster than anyone else's! What is that punk Xu Feng compared to you? And those Japanese in the mountain—they're all being played right in the palm of Brother Hu's hand!"

A barrage of flattery sent Wang Erhu floating on air, making him feel as though he had transformed into a master strategist like Zhuge Liang. He instinctively puffed out his chest, all his previous panic and unease completely replaced by vanity and smugness.

"That goes without saying!" Wang Erhu scoffed. "Trying to play games with me, Wang Erhu? They're still way too green!"

A crafty thought crossed the Fat Man's mind as a lewd smile spread across his face. He sidled up to Wang Erhu, winking and smirking. "Brother Hu, if Xu Feng is dead... what about that little doll of a wife of his... Hehehe..."

Mention of Lin Xue made Skinny Monkey's eyes light up as well. That little woman was more delicate and charming than the top headliner at the township theater. Her skin was as white as a freshly peeled egg. The mere thought of her appearance made his entire body burn with heat.

"Need you even ask?" Wang Erhu licked his dry lips, his gaze filled with lecherous desire. "Once Xu Feng is dead, an unidentified widow is nothing more than clay in our hands to mold as we please! When the time comes, his house, his money, and that fiery wife of his... will all belong to us!"

"Hahahaha..."

Exchanging glances, the three of them burst into lewd and unbridled laughter. In their eyes, Xu Feng was already a dead man, while Lin Xue had become their soon-to-be-acquired trophy.

They could already picture themselves moving into Xu Feng's brick house with its freshly built warm Kang bed, sleeping with his wife, spending his money, and becoming the new generation of masters in Old River Gulch Village.

"Let's go! To the township!" Wang Erhu waved his hand grandly, full of high spirits.

***

Carrying their respective treacherous plots, the three men shook off their previous depression and fear, their footsteps becoming light and brisk as they ran joyfully toward the township at the foot of the mountain.

Meanwhile, back in the mountain hollow, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt as though it could condense into water.

Ono-da squatted on the ground, his expression dark enough to drip ink.

He reached out a finger, gently touching the Type 38 rifle that had been knocked to the ground.

The icy chill transmitted from its tip sent a shudder through him.

On the receiver, a ferocious triangular hole served as a stark reminder of what had just transpired.

The black arrow remained firmly embedded within, like a mocking brand.

He could not fathom what kind of strength, what kind of bow, could loose such an arrow. This was simply beyond human capability!

"Ah—!" Clutching his right hand, which had already swollen to the size of a pig's trotter, Tanaka let out a suppressed cry of agony.

His face was deathly pale, cold sweat dripping down like rain, and his gaze toward Ono-da was filled with terror.

Ito leaned against the cave wall, coughing even more violently than before, each spasm feeling as though it would tear his lungs out. He looked at Ono-da, his voice hoarse and desperate, "Ono-da-kun... what kind of... what kind of monster have we provoked?"

A monster.

The word made Ono-da's body tremble slightly.

Yes, a monster. Aside from this word, he could find no more fitting description.

That unfathomable reaction speed, that earth-shattering arrow, that fluent imperial language without a single flaw, and that gaze that seemed to pierce through everything...