Chapter 84: Heart Like a Fierce Tiger (IV)

In the dark, still collapsing boathouse room, faint smells of alcohol, char, and blood lingered. The river water gurgled, and blood spread out on the surface of the water around the figures' feet, staining it a dark red. Gu Yanzhen stood there alone. After a long moment, his head suddenly tilted, unsure where to look.

The wind howled through the woods and mountains behind him.

The door was broken, and tiles and parts of the collapsing roof continuously fell. By the faint starlight, he could see the nearly dried blood on the ground. Three bodies lay in the room, among them the Yang brothers, Yang Yi and Yang Heng. Those two massive men, whom he always found fiercely unapproachable, had actually died like this. The scene before him clearly told him that this entire boathouse was now dead.

It should have been a very simple matter. As he walked through the mountains and woods, there was not a single ripple in his heart; he was merely thinking about what would happen after reaching Leping. He had Lao Liu accompanying him, and at the boathouse, there were the formidable two brothers, who, though desperate men, were at least on his side. There was Ning Liheng, who had been captured, and also the families of the Yang brothers.

And at that very moment, Lao Liu gently pushed the door. A wooden beam crashed down, the roof collapsed, the floorboards below vibrated, and dust showered down. In that instant, he realized that everyone he had expected to be there was dead.

It was as if the entire world pressed down on him. Blood spread below, darkness surrounded him, strange and eerie. The water, the wind, the woods—the whole world seemed to be filled with only these things at that moment, leaving just him.

"Lao... Lao Liu..." He swallowed, muttering the name. The surrounding silence seemed to make his voice sound unusually loud. Yet, arrows relentlessly pierced his body from behind. The body in the water still gushed blood, but otherwise, there was no movement—it didn't even look like a corpse. How could a completely dead body bleed so rapidly? How could someone so full of life one moment be so utterly dead the next?

As if hoping the body might stir slightly, he weakly called out again, "Uncle Liu."

A dark red "silk ribbon" of blood was already stretching across the river surface; there could be no answer. Gu Yanzhen then dazedly spun around twice before slowly beginning to walk towards the riverbank.

About halfway there, he saw a figure in the woods.

The figure made a sound, "Ugh," as if vomiting. From a distance, only a faint outline was visible. The person sat hunched slightly in the darkness of the bamboo grove. He almost instinctively stopped, wanting to run into the nearby river, which wasn't deep. However, seeing Lao Liu's body pierced by arrows, he still didn't jump in, instead hurrying forward. The figure in the bamboo grove picked something up and stood, walking towards him. Gu Yanzhen heard the night wind carry a faint, strange song—the melody was odd, sung slowly, quietly, and seemed a little weak. The song went like this:

"Three circles left... three circles right... twist your neck... wiggle your butt... early to bed, early to rise, let's all... do exercise..."

The figure began to become clearer.

In the starlight, it was Ning Yi, Ning Liheng.

The figure looked somewhat weak, with bandages on its hands and splatters of blood, yet there was an indescribable aura about it. Gu Yanzhen hesitated for only two seconds before turning and running along the riverbank towards the woods on the other side.

By the time Lao Liu was struck by the wooden beam and fell into the river, Ning Yi had already been waiting in the darkness for a long time.

Pain in his left hand, shoulder, and chest surged, each time pulling at his nerves more distinctly. He sat there slowly chewing leaves; their bitter and astringent taste continually stimulated his taste buds and brain, keeping his mind sharp. However, by the time he used a torch to attract people at midnight, it was still too much; his stomach spasmed, and he vomited once.

Now, seeing the scholar he didn't recognize, he couldn't help but vomit again. Then he picked a few leaves and put them in his mouth, picked up the crossbow beside him, hummed the song that felt somewhat absurd to him due to the code, and walked out of the bamboo grove.

The scholar took off running, heading towards the bamboo grove on the other side. Ning Yi followed, crossbow in hand, neither fast nor slow. His memory of the lyrics was a bit muddled, but at that moment, he couldn't be bothered to try and remember them precisely, so he sang: "Shake your feet... shake your feet... take deep breaths... let's be happy and you'll never grow old..."

The running figure in front tripped over a rope, and with a whoosh, a small bamboo pole snapped up; it didn't have much force. "This is a failed trap," Ning Yi thought to himself. Yet, the scholar still fell to the ground in terror. Ning Yi watched him turn over, struggle to get up to run again, only to be tripped by the same rope a second time and fall again.

"How did it come to this?" Ning Yi raised his crossbow, aimed it at him, then closed the distance by a few meters. Using the starlight, he carefully examined the man's appearance, finally confirming he didn't recognize him. "Who are you? What... *cough*... what heinous crime have I committed recently?"

His voice was hoarse, weary, and weak. The wind at that moment seemed to blow exceptionally strong, swaying the woods behind them. The fallen scholar stared at him in terror. After a long silence, he stammered, "Gu... Gu Hong... Gu Yanzhen..."

The wind suddenly ceased. Ning Yi froze, his mouth slightly agape, a hint of surprise on his face. He had heard that name, yes, of course he had, but... he blinked absurdly. A moment later, his mouth widened slightly, and his brows furrowed; he seemed to roll his eyes. He raised his crossbow-holding right hand and wiped away the sweat under his nose caused by his weakness. His gaze was no longer on Gu Yanzhen. He turned and took a step as if pacing. Gu Yanzhen, on the ground, was just beginning to relax a little. The figure suddenly turned back, raised the crossbow, took two steps closer, and pulled the trigger. The string twanged.

"He's crazy..."

Gu Yanzhen had no time to react. Amidst Ning Yi's murmured words, his body suddenly convulsed. Then, he looked in disbelief at the arrow piercing his lower abdomen. The arrow shaft was embedded in him, standing tall in the starlight. His teeth chattered, his expression as if about to cry, yet also as if he couldn't grasp such a concept at all. Blood seemed to seep out, a burning sensation. He instinctively reached out to press it.

"Ha... ah... ha..."

There were no tears, but he looked as if he were crying, though quietly. He was flustered. Ning Yi tossed aside the crossbow, watched the scene, then took a deep breath and squatted down.

"Press with both hands, come on, bring that hand over too, press here with both hands, yes, that's right, don't move around, don't shout too loudly, doing so will make you bleed too much, and then you can't be saved." Gu Yanzhen's hands pressed around the arrow wound in his lower abdomen, trying to stop the bleeding. Ning Yi also put his right hand over, helping to press, his words calm and steady, as if coaxing a child. Gu Yanzhen seemed to be crying, looking at him through his tears.

"Yes, just like that. With luck, this arrow shouldn't have severed your intestines. Don't get agitated, don't cry. My voice isn't loud either, and I'm very tired. We should calm down and talk... So, did you lay a hand on Nie Yunzhu?"

Gu Yanzhen shook his head almost instinctively. Ning Yi looked into his eyes, then nodded and smiled. In truth, Ning Yi's face was ashen, covered in cold sweat.

"A good start, Brother Yanzhen, thank you. So... besides those who are already dead, who else knew you were coming here? To do these things?"

This time, Gu Yanzhen hesitated for a long time.

"I... I am an imperial official... I am an imperial official, if I die, you..." He spoke these words haltingly. Ning Yi's gaze grew colder. He pulled a steel knife from behind his back and swung it down at Gu Yanzhen's thigh.

"Aaaahhhhhh—"

A horrific scream tore through the night sky. In the nearby riverside woods, roosting birds scattered in fright. Gu Yanzhen's face was covered in tears, he had wet his pants, and blood flowed freely from his thigh. This continued for a while.

"Come, bring one hand over, and press here too, hold it. That's right. I'm also very upset; we should be considerate of each other... Look, Brother Yanzhen, Brother Official, next, we can repeat the previous question... Or, you can repeat your previous answer..."

As flames raged through the boathouse, Ning Yi turned and walked towards the woods, utterly exhausted, his nerves throbbing weakly.

The bodies of the Yang family, Gu Yanzhen, and Lao Liu were all enveloped by the flames. When they were discovered downstream, there was no telling what they would look like after being burned.

An unprovoked disaster.

He had encountered many things in his life, both good and bad. In his youth, he had fought for his life and experienced being severely wounded and close to death. Only this time was the most inexplicable; no wonder he hadn't sensed even a hint of it before it happened. Just moments ago, he had been racking his brain over this, never imagining such an absurd reason.

That Gu Yanzhen.

His insanity.

He hadn't even known him before this.

What he hated most were these senseless thugs.

Cursing silently to himself, he had to force himself to stay alert in his mind. He needed to get through this part of the path, to go as far as possible. There were still one or two people who knew about it in the place Gu Yanzhen mentioned, but he couldn't go silence them now. He would have to wait until later, or ask Lu Hongti for help, which would also even out their debts, as it wasn't a small matter.

Thinking like this, he grew increasingly tired, the path before him alternately clear and blurry, lit and dark. At one point, a bird's warble seemed to sound in his ear, a strange sound he vaguely remembered hearing somewhere before. Soon after, forcing his eyes to focus again, a figure sped towards him down the path ahead, reaching him in an instant and helping him up.

"What's wrong?"

It was Lu Hongti's voice.

His mind relaxed, and he fainted.