Chapter 55
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Mutual Thoughts (5)
In the dead of night, with moonlight and starlight alike shrouded by clouds, he trudged along a pitch-black road.
All things in the world had fallen asleep.
No. In truth, they weren't asleep at all. Everything remained awake, pulsating with vibrant life.
The trees were still alive.
The wind still stirred. The earth still shifted.
The animals awoke and moved about. Silently, without a sound. Yet brimming with energy.
In this deep night, only humans slept.
And yet the world was so quiet. Just because people had dozed off, it felt as if all creation had drifted into slumber.
Four Thousand Four felt utterly at peace.
When he didn't have to mingle with people, when he didn't need to be mindful of them, when he didn't have to agonize over whether to kill someone, when he didn't need to keep his nerves on edge... that time was now.
Suddenly, he looked up at the sky.
High above, close to the black clouds, a dark speck circled endlessly.
A single hawk was doggedly tailing him.
This was no mere coincidence. It wasn't as if hawks just happened to be here and there by chance.
'Tracking me with a hawk.'
Four Thousand Four gazed up at the sky with somber eyes.
The instant he realized the hawk was a pursuer, the thought of slaughter flashed through his mind.
Should he kill it or not?
How to kill it didn't matter. The problem was that his thoughts were now ruled by killing.
He had thought this night would be free of such grim considerations, but here he was dwelling on death again. He had wanted to savor the serene silence in peace, but instead, the stench of blood filled his mind.
He plopped down by the roadside.
He tilted his head back and stared intently at the circling hawk. Thoughtlessly. But before he knew it, his head was swirling with dilemmas on how to deal with it. Even as he tried desperately not to think.
Krararak! Krarararak! Krararararak!
The hawk's cry was irritably sharp, piercing his nerves like the scrape of metal.
He listened to the hawk's cry.
Ever since his trip to the Nineteen Hells, Four Thousand Four's ears had grown extraordinarily sensitive. If he focused, he could hear every sound in the world. As such, he relied heavily on his hearing.
Before, he had used his other senses.
Humans relied most on sight. They preferred to see and confirm with their eyes.
Four Thousand Four preferred his ears over his eyes.
Krarararak!
The hawk cried out fiercely.
Next, he observed its actions. To decipher what the cry meant.
He watched the hawk. Again and again, ceaselessly.
"The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk has been spotted."
"You're certain?"
"It stared right through the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk. I'm sure it's been detected."
"Any reaction?"
"That's the funny part. The bastard isn't moving. He cleared a spot on flat ground, lay right down, and just... sleeps. Does nothing but sleep."
"Sleeps?"
"Yes."
Soso Zhuge cocked her head, momentarily puzzled.
The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk kept circling the same spot. Meaning the killer wasn't budging. He'd already noticed the hawk by then.
On one side, they were trying to burn the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk, while another spotted it.
Tonight seemed a night of trials for the hawk.
In any case... now that the killer had noticed it, he'd surely take some countermeasures.
So she issued special orders to the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk.
Continue the pursuit. But do not approach within a hundred jang. No matter what, stay outside that radius. Follow from afar—from the sky, if possible.
The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk was trained to obey such commands.
She worried there might be secret signals exchanged between the killer and the Fox of Bireung Mountain—and that the killer might possess the Fire Lin the fox had used.
Of course, she could assert there was no such thing as secret messages. From tracking him so far, he was definitely alone. Like a lone wolf, he thought alone and acted alone.
She could swear to that much, at least.
Still, she prepared for every contingency. No need to take risks when the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk could track from a distance.
So, what now?
But the killer had spread out, lain down, and gone straight to sleep.
She couldn't make sense of that. If he'd spotted the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk, he'd realize its handler was on his trail too... that he was running out of time.
The killer's actions were unpredictable.
He always acted outside common sense. Always struck from angles no one anticipated.
'What is he up to?'
Lying there sleeping? No. That man was definitely doing something.
"Keep watching closely. If anything feels off, strike immediately. Better to catch something than let him slip away entirely. Especially him—we can't let him escape."
"Understood."
Her subordinates answered vigorously and withdrew.
Yet Soso Zhuge remained uneasy. It wasn't that she distrusted them. They were men her father had specially trained, rich in combat experience. Still, the anxiety lingered.
'I need to see for myself.'
She rose to her feet.
She wouldn't feel at ease until she observed the killer personally.
Krararak! Krarak!
She pricked up her ears at the occasional cries. For quite a while... a long time, she listened intently.
The hawk didn't cry often. It rarely let out a sound. Or perhaps it had cried and she'd missed it. Four Thousand Four's ears could only catch human hearing range. It was impossible to snag every beastly noise.
Even so, she strained to hear the hawk's cries.
All day long... even knowing pursuers were right on his heels, he just listened to the cries.
Four Thousand Four staked his life on those hawk cries.
If he found what he sought in them, he could escape. If not, he couldn't move. Moving without certainty would endanger Vanguard. It would mean not giving his all.
He could only budge after shaking his tail—even if it meant dying to their blades.
When chased, when staking life on something... most people grew hyper-alert. Hearts raced, teeth clenched, eyes bulged.
Four Thousand Four was utterly calm. No tension at all.
Even if captured and killed by pursuers, so be it. He was always ready to embrace death. Today, tomorrow—it didn't matter. As long as he gave his utmost while alive.
Wasn't that the pact from the Heavenly Annihilation Division?
Thus, his mind was at ease. Not feigned, but truly so. With perfect tranquility, he listened to the hawk's cries. If he found what he sought, great. If not, no harm done.
Krarararak!
The hawk screeched.
'Is he... really just sleeping?'
Soso Zhuge furrowed her brow as much as it could go.
She'd seen the killer with her own eyes. The man whose cheek she'd slapped lay in the pine grove.
Truly incomprehensible.
"Any passersby?"
"Look over there. Does that look like a path people use? No one comes unless they seek it out."
It was true. The pine grove where the killer lay was deep in the mountains. To meet him, one would have to deliberately stray from the path.
No chance for accidental handoffs of secret letters or codes.
The killer was thoroughly isolated.
Not by others, but by his own choice. He'd sought out this secluded spot himself.
Another baffling action.
Most martial artists prepared hideouts assuming danger: easy escape routes, defensible positions.
The killer's spot met none of those criteria.
Outsiders could see him easily, but from there, he couldn't see out—the woods hemmed him in. And if surrounded, nowhere to flee.
Should they just nab him?
A surge of irritation hit her. His behavior seemed to mock his pursuers. Daring them to try? Knowing he was tracked, so do as they pleased?
"Has he been like that all day?"
"He got up midway to eat."
"Eat? What?"
"Grain powder or something... fetched water and chewed it down."
"So he plans to live."
"Doesn't seem suicidal."
Soso Zhuge glared at the killer.
He lay with arms pillowed behind his head, staring skyward. Probably at the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk.
"Ah!"
Soso Zhuge let out an involuntary gasp.
The killer only watched the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk. Nothing else. Just the hawk.
"Ah! So that's it!"
She murmured to herself.
Now she understood the killer's intent.
He was studying the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk. He wouldn't move a step without shaking it off. Even if caught, he wouldn't budge.
A declaration of will: he'd throw himself into peril to protect the Heavenly Annihilation Division.
The killer wouldn't move. And when he did, he'd have grasped the hawk's weakness.
One more thing: he didn't know the Fox of Bireung Mountain's method. Didn't have Fire Lin, didn't know how to lure the hawk. If he did, he'd have used it instantly, no hesitation.
Soso Zhuge finally regained her composure.
"Keep watching. Until he moves. Report the instant you see any sign."
"How long do you plan to watch?"
"Just give him today. Hohoho!"
She laughed.
She even told the killer she was 'giving him time.'
Yes, granting time. She wanted to see how he'd uncover the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk's flaw. If he did, it'd benefit the Zhuge family too— a chance to refine the hawk into the ultimate tracker.
But... she bet he'd get caught like a fool. No way he'd find a weakness. Nothing but Fire Lin had ever countered it so far.
Krarararak!
The hawk cried sharply and shot into the air.
Kwakwakwakwa!
A totally different sound rang out too. Like monkeys shrieking in a brawl.
It was an eagle's cry.
An eagle had appeared. It attacked the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk. Normally a mismatch... but the hawk fought back ferociously. Counterattacking the eagle.
Thud!
A dull impact echoed, and the eagle—having struck first—lost power and plummeted.
It pecked the head in one go.
One peck shattered the skull.
Four Thousand Four's eyes flew wide. A faint smile tugged at his lips.
"Found it!"
Suddenly, an image appeared on a blank, empty page.
Not drawn by Four Thousand Four. The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk had painted it itself. An image sprang up from nothingness. The hawk's weakness.
No, not a weakness. Just its cry.
He'd heard the cry. Understood it. Knew what each sound meant.
"Krararararak!"
Four Thousand Four cried out the hawk's call toward the empty sky.