Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: Stop! [Halt!] (5)
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None!
Seeing Four Thousand Four fleeing, they immediately gave chase.
They couldn't pretend to chase him. Not even a half-hearted pursuit would do. The main force was already on his tail, so they had to go all out without leaving the slightest trace of slacking.
Vanguard and Jaja were confident they'd chased with everything they had.
But he was gone. Four Thousand Four had vanished.
'That bastard!'
Vanguard pressed his ear to the ground, sensing for any presence.
Jaja closed her eyes at once, opening all five senses wide. She tried to detect even the tiniest changes around her.
Four Thousand Four was nowhere to be found.
Emotions she'd never felt when he was their comrade... fear surged up.
Four Thousand Four hadn't gone far. He was hiding somewhere nearby. If he'd kept running, her fully attuned senses would've caught him without fail.
He was right there, yet undetectable.
Was Four Thousand Four really this astonishing?
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Hanbi and Fox approached.
"Did we lose him?"
Vanguard just nodded at Hanbi's question.
"He's not someone we can track with martial arts."
At those words, Jaja—who'd had her eyes closed, focusing her senses—opened them.
"He's right. Martial arts won't cut it."
As she spoke, Jaja glanced at Fox.
If martial arts couldn't track him, they had to use their wits. Predict his escape routes and head him off.
Four Thousand Four had said he was heading to the Nineteen Hells. But for now, in plotting his path, they had to discard that destination entirely. Pretend they hadn't even heard the words "Nineteen Hells."
That promise was just between them.
Vanguard looked at Fox and said,
"Find him. Do your best."
Fox pondered for an hour.
Four Thousand Four wouldn't move first. As long as they stayed put, so would he. The moment he budged, he'd be spotted. He wasn't hiding because his martial prowess was superior; it was his stealth skills.
If Fox stayed a day, Four Thousand Four had to hide a full day.
There was a pursuit technique for this: the Restful Evasion Art... a way to rest while heightening your senses to the max.
These kinds of chases drained the mind enormously.
Whether waiting for the opponent to move first or forced to stay hidden no matter what... both sides had to maintain peak awareness. The instant concentration lapsed, it was over.
Generally, though, the Restful Evasion Art favored the pursuer.
Did it favor Vanguard here? Hard to say. With Four Thousand Four as the prey, it was unpredictable. Factoring in the Nineteen Hells, it might not even be to Vanguard's advantage.
The hour Fox spent thinking was to divine Four Thousand Four's likely path.
What route would Four Thousand Four take to flee?
"Four Thousand Four has two tails on him."
"We know the Zhuge clan is tailing him... You're saying we're not tails, and the main force is already on him?"
Vanguard frowned as he asked.
"That's how it has to be. They probably stuck a tail on him the moment they ordered you."
"Likely."
Jaja agreed.
"Four Thousand Four will move like we did infiltrating the Zhuge clan—avoiding all eyes. That limits his options to just a few paths."
"Heh! In this vast world with escapes everywhere... As expected of Fox. Just a few, eh? Tell us."
"First, rule out the way we came."
Fox peered at the map as he spoke.
"Safest, most familiar route—but since we came that way, he'll avoid it for sure. He knows we're chasing. So, next best..."
Fox pointed at the map.
"From our position, this is his top choice. Rough terrain, it'll take double the time, but zero chance of running into people."
Fox had spotted a shadowy path that avoided prying eyes among the viable options.
Honestly, it wasn't even a proper path. Untamed virgin forest. Rock-strewn, tangled underbrush, piles of fallen leaves... Even seasoned mountaineers couldn't pass.
"You think he really went this way? Places like this are everywhere?"
Hanbi looked around as he spoke.
"Rule out sheer cliffs too high to climb, valleys too deep, rapids too fierce... What's left ain't many."
"I see."
"Let's go."
Vanguard rose at once.
Only after they moved would Four Thousand Four. In other words, he'd likely overheard their entire conversation. Almost certainly.
Wouldn't he change direction then?
No, he wouldn't!
Four Thousand Four had to flee with all he had. That was the deal.
Just as Vanguard and Fox picked their pursuit ignoring the Nineteen Hells, Four Thousand Four had to ignore their words.
He hadn't heard a thing Fox said.
If Four Thousand Four wanted to live, wanted to shake Vanguard, he'd use that shadowy path like they had for the Zhuge infiltration. Going that way would throw their paths apart.
But Four Thousand Four couldn't do that. Wouldn't.
They had to play this chase pretending not to know what they all knew. Full throttle.
"The path of suffering lies wide open."
Fox chuckled, tucking the map into his belt.
They crossed mountains. Two major peaks a day was standard. By evening, they were dead on their feet.
They kicked off their shoes and soaked their feet in the stream.
"My feet weigh a ton. Never walked this much, especially mountain trails. This the right way?"
Jaja asked.
"It is."
Fox said with conviction.
"Pretty damn sure, huh?"
"Sure as hell. I can smell Four Thousand Four."
"Smell? What kind?"
"Hard to say. Moldy, kinda rank. Damp and musty."
"Nineteen Hells stench."
"Something like that."
Fox nodded.
"It's been ages since we left the Nineteen Hells... still sniffing it?"
"Nineteen Hells smell isn't for the nose—it's for the heart. Understand him, and you smell it."
Fox grinned.
Jaja suddenly stuck out her hand and touched Fox's face.
"What the hell! Why?"
"How's a guy like you so girly?"
"Ow, insulting!"
"Hohoho! Cute."
"Insulting again."
"Fine, fine. Sorry. You called me big sis, remember? Makes you my little bro."
Jaja laughed, standing.
"Wash up quick. Hanbi caught a rabbit."
Four Thousand Four... he smelled.
Saying he could smell Four Thousand Four wasn't a lie. He did catch his scent.
Nineteen Hells smell? No such thing.
Damp and musty? Just bullshitting.
He'd blurted it out without thinking. When pressed for why, he dodged by pinning it on the Nineteen Hells.
Four Thousand Four smelled clean and fresh.
Pure, fragrant—like fresh-cut grass.
He didn't normally smell like that. No fragrance, just sweat.
No perfume, no lotions on face or body. Yet the scent wafted. So clear and lovely, you wanted another whiff.
Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Someone had deliberately tampered with Four Thousand Four's body.
That was the scent Fox caught.
He wasn't following the smell. He'd plotted the route logically from the map. Hustled to catch up where Four Thousand Four was likeliest to pass.
Yet the scent always lingered.
On the path he'd logically chosen, grass aroma hit him.
The smell grew stronger. At first, just grass? Now unmistakable.
Distance to Four Thousand Four closing fast.
Not because they were gaining... his pace was slowing.
Why the hell slow down? He could go faster!
Fox soaked his feet in the stream to buy time. Perfect rest spot, sure... but in a life-or-death chase, would they stop here?
'Hurry up! Can't get caught.'
Icy stream water soothed weary feet. Amid mountain air, grass scent thickened.
No rabbit stew awaited. Instead, a neatly laid-out corpse.
"What the...?"
Fox stared at the body.
Looked like a mountain slash-and-burn farmer. Ragged clothes, dirt-caked body. Skin un-discolored—he'd died recently.
"Four Thousand Four's handiwork."
"...!"
Fox's jaw dropped.
Words stuck in his throat. He just gaped like a fish.
Finally,
"How do you know it's him?"
"Neck snapped in one go. Clean break. He died without knowing it. No time for pain."
Only Four Thousand Four could pull that off.
No—plenty killed like that. But Four Thousand Four did it cleanest. Neck snaps? He was unmatched.
"Gave him time to kill."
Hanbi growled.
"We gotta chase harder. Fox, I get you feel kinship with him... but ditch that now. Can you?"
Jaja eyed Fox.
Fox had shown Four Thousand Four plenty of favor. Everyone knew. But they'd brushed it off—same prison release, natural bond.
Now, even that bond had to go.
Fox examined the corpse himself.
Just as Hanbi said. Neck broken. Bones shifted perfectly between vertebrae—expert work. Full effort.
Killing a lone farmer? Trivial for Four Thousand Four. Flick of the sword.
'But he went all out. Why?'
Fox couldn't grasp it.
Serial killers shared one trait: pleasure in the act.
Thrill from death, killing, or the process...
They got off on it.
Could be vicarious release—pent-up emotions vented through murder.
Meant savoring it.
"Savoring" sounded off, but normal for them. Serial killers were abnormal by definition.
Yet Four Thousand Four went all out.
Time spent? Less than a blink. Instant.
No time to enjoy.
Not a speed-kill contest...
Why kill so fast? Why full power?
Anyway, definitely Four Thousand Four.
Fox laid the farmer out properly and stood.
"No more breaks. He's right ahead. I smell him. Push hard, we catch him by morning. You gonna kill him?"
Killing Four Thousand Four broke the Zhuge deal. The truce.
Hanbi said,
"Have to. Can't watch this shit anymore."