Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Severed Thread (1)
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Kraaarak! Kraaarak!
No one paid any attention to the hawk's cry that Four Thousand Four let out.
High in the sky hovered the golden-eyed black hawk. It had just clashed with an eagle moments ago, pecking its head clean off with ease. It was in a position to cry out in triumph.
Kraaarak!
The hawk's cry pierced sharply through the air.
Then, something utterly bizarre happened.
The golden-eyed black hawk, circling the skies, shot down like an arrow and perched atop a massive ancient pine.
This pine it landed on was just one among the countless trees in the pine grove. Sure, it was large, but not exceptionally so compared to the others.
The hawk perching on the pine meant... it was now hidden from view by the grove.
The Zhuge clan warriors had lost sight of the golden-eyed black hawk.
One couldn't exactly call it "lost" just because it vanished for a moment. But it was a fact that it had slipped from their immediate sight.
"Kraaarak."
Four Thousand Four cried out in a low, whispering tone.
The golden-eyed black hawk stared right at him. It tilted its head, glanced at the sky, then back at him.
"Kraarak! Kraaarak!"
Four Thousand Four cried out again.
This time, it wasn't just a sound. He held out a strip of dried meat in his hand toward the hawk.
The hawk hesitated for a beat. Then it dove like a bolt of lightning, snatched the meat, and soared back up.
"Heh."
Four Thousand Four chuckled softly.
He had communed with the hawk.
He had conveyed his intent through hawk cries. And the hawk had followed his thoughts.
Connection established.
He had taken the lead over the Zhuge warriors, who merely trusted in the hawk's loyalty and kept staring at the sky.
The golden-eyed black hawk was no longer a threat.
He rose to his feet.
'He's moving!'
The killer was on the move.
The killer took no action against the hawk. They had feared he might shoot something like a fire arrow like the Fox of Bireung Mountain, but he hadn't even tossed a twig.
"No way."
Lady Zhuge frowned and muttered to herself.
The killer she had profiled was an extraordinarily cunning man. Meticulous and cold-blooded. The kind who knew how to survive in ways ordinary people couldn't imagine.
A man like that wouldn't just ignore spotting the hawk.
Something was up. They'd missed something in between. A chunk had vanished from the middle of the fish.
"Pursue him!"
"Any closer, ma'am?"
"Switch to close pursuit."
"Close pursuit?"
Her subordinate asked back.
Close pursuit was a method used when the hawk was out of sight. It wasn't covert tailing—it was overt pursuit, revealing their presence outright.
Easy to track, but hard to gain anything from the target.
Of course, there was no need to reveal themselves deliberately. Even in close pursuit, "stealth" came first. The baseline was to tail without being spotted, as much as possible.
If stealth was feasible, do it; if not, don't...
The close pursuit Lady Zhuge ordered had another edge. It could shift from simple tracking to attack at any moment.
If their tailing was detected, they'd switch to assault immediately.
"Understood."
The subordinate cupped his fists and bowed.
Swish! Swish swish!
An eerie aura rose from all directions.
No footsteps could be heard. Not even the rustle of clothing. But it was certain someone was following. The sensation was thick in the air.
'People tailing me...'
He'd known they were shadowing him for a while. But now, he felt them closing in tight.
They'd changed their tailing method.
This kind of pursuit could turn into an attack any second. He'd been through it multiple times before. And in the end, he'd failed to counter properly and gotten caught.
They intended to capture him.
'What to do?'
Four Thousand Four pondered briefly.
Shaking them off would only draw an attack. Ignoring them meant they'd keep following—for a little while, at least.
The Four Secrets outlined ways to evade tails.
Escape Arts, they were called.
From the first to seventh Escape Arts were martial techniques, including movement skills. From the eighth to tenth were mental formulas.
- Mountains become mountains, waters become waters, emptiness becomes emptiness.
Not complicated words. Very simple. Become one with the mountain in the mountains, the water in the waters, and in empty space, forget body and mind to become empty space itself.
Ordinary daily life.
The best way to shake a tail, as prescribed by the Four Secrets.
'I'm fleeing through mountains now...'
What action fit here?
He stopped for a moment and glanced around.
Not a cursory look. He carefully scanned his surroundings, ears attuned, observing intently.
No one there?
Of course not. When he acted like this, his pursuers all held their breath in unison.
He quickly drew his dagger and carved a strange symbol into the base of a pine. A figure that looked like a person simply walking... and behind it, the number three.
He finished carving hastily and scanned around again.
Still no one. Not even a strange feeling. He was giving them what they wanted—what more could they ask for?
The carving he made meant nothing. But they would think deeply on it. They'd puzzle it over, linking the human figure to the number three.
Of course, he'd act in line with the number three himself.
He hadn't decided yet what action fit "three." But once he reached the market town below, he could find something fitting easily enough.
Then they'd puzzle some more.
While they puzzled, that time was absolutely safe. They wouldn't attack.
He casually exited the woods.
Lady Zhuge frowned again.
The world was full of secret codes. Codes were just private languages made for those in the know. Even kids made them, women too, and illicit lovers had codes only they understood.
Without prior knowledge, codes were impossible to crack.
Assuming based on another sect's codes was folly.
The killer's carving included the number three. But three didn't necessarily mean three. Depending on prior agreements, it could be three-plus-one, or three-plus-three making six.
In short, he'd left them a massive headache.
"What does this mean?"
"It means nothing."
Lady Zhuge said, brow furrowed.
"Hohoho! What a sly fox. Looks like he noticed us tailing him?"
"Pardon?"
"This code... it's a bogus one. He's saying he wants to be safe for a while."
"......"
Her subordinates looked baffled.
They had no choice. Hadn't the killer carved the code himself, with such care? And now it was meaningless? How could she be so sure?
Lady Zhuge gazed toward where the killer had vanished.
The killer was leisurely leaving the woods, crossing the fields openly. Walking between the rice paddies, fully exposed.
With the code left behind, he figured he was safe for now.
Lady Zhuge thought for a moment.
Cute trick... What to do? Let him go as he hopes for a bit? Or reel him in?
The path the killer had taken was through woods untouched by people.
There weren't even proper trails. Even locals from nearby villages avoided the abandoned area.
Who would come to such a place that he'd leave a code?
Even if someone did, how would they spot a code amid the dense ancient pines?
The idea was good, but he'd made a fatal mistake. Wrong spot for the code. If he'd left it somewhere like the killer's current path—a persimmon tree in the middle of a rice paddy bank—she might've bought it. But the heart of the woods?
"No good. It's too fishy. Grab him!"
Lady Zhuge made her call.
A stifling pressure still weighed on her chest.
The killer had definitely done something to the hawk. A chunk was missing from the fish's middle. She couldn't pinpoint what, leaving it nagging at her.
Letting him go like this felt like she'd lose him for sure.
Screw the rest. Reel him in first. If the Heavenly Annihilation Division was behind him, torture would reveal it. If not, avenging the merchant convoy was enough.
"Yes, milady!"
Her subordinate bowed.
Lady Zhuge heard the response faintly. Her eyes were fixed on the killer's back.
'Damn!'
Four Thousand Four froze.
The casual action he'd taken was a huge blunder. It might fool ordinary folk, but one person, one woman... the one whose touch still lingered on his cheek wouldn't be tricked.
He didn't know her well. But he knew women like her were the most dangerous.
Shh! Shhh shh shhh!
Sharp winds whistled from all sides.
The attack had begun. They'd dropped the tail and switched to ambush.
Four Thousand Four looked around.
Of all places, smack in the middle of a rice paddy bank. Standing alone in a wide-open space.
Where to dodge from here?
But Four Thousand Four didn't panic. The mindset that death could come anytime anywhere brought profound calm. It wasn't superficial—it was deeply rooted in his heart.
Serenity. Even if a blade struck now, no regrets.
'Mountains become mountains, waters become waters, paddies become paddies...'
Swish!
The moment the Four Secrets' mental formula crossed his mind, he launched his body forward.
He crossed the paddies. Since the enemy pursued with all they had, he fled with all he had. No reason to hide anymore between friend and foe. Just attack and evade with utmost effort.
Swish!
Across the paddy banks. Faster than slogging through the waterlogged fields in the middle.
"He's fleeing!"
"Grab him!"
Now they shouted openly.
Fleeing like this wasn't smart. It just turned him into wounded prey to be caught.
He had to become the paddy!
Swish! Splash!
Four Thousand Four dove straight into a reservoir pit dug in the middle of the field.
Farmers dug these pits—one to two man-heights deep—in one corner of the paddy to store water against summer droughts. Reservoirs.
Four Thousand Four plunged into the reservoir without hesitation.
It was a dead-end space. Just a hole dug in the earth and filled with water. Jumping in left no escape.
In a word, utterly pointless.
Swish! Swish swish!
The Zhuge warriors instantly surrounded the reservoir.
In one or two deep breaths, the area around it was packed with them.
They stared into the reservoir.
Expressions of bafflement, relief at having him cornered, mockery urging him to crawl out soon... a mix of faces floated among them.