Chapter 142 - 14: Ambush
A low voice came from behind a rock to the left, up ahead.
Immediately after, three men emerged from different spots ahead.
The one who stepped out from behind the rock was a middle-aged man of about forty. His features were plain, but he had a steady presence. A thick-backed saber hung from his waist, its scabbard heavily worn—a clear sign it had seen years of use.
Emerging from the bushes to the right was a lean man in his early thirties, also carrying a long saber in his right hand. The blade glinted coldly in the mountain forest.
The last was a man in his twenties. He was powerfully built—broad-shouldered and imposing—and held a long spear, a sneer plastered on his face as he stared at Lin Yan.
All three were at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing Realm.
"So young, yet so cautious," Zhou Hong said with a faint smile, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "Tell me, how did you discover the three of us? We hid our presences quite well. By all rights, you shouldn’t have been able to find us."
"Simple. You set an ambush here, so you must have been worried about venomous snakes and driven them off beforehand. You scared away many of the birds in the process, which made this area too quiet. It was obviously suspicious."
Hearing Lin Yan’s reply, Zhou Hong’s expression cleared. "I see. That was indeed an oversight on our part."
"I’ve answered your question. Now it’s your turn to answer one of mine. How did you know I would be here?"
The moment the three men appeared, Lin Yan’s first thought was that they were connected to Zhao Tieshan’s group. ’Zhao Tieshan must have told them I was entering the mountains.’
On second thought, however, he dismissed the idea.
’Even if Zhao Tieshan had a way to inform them, the Yantian Mountain Range is vast. How could they have been certain I’d show up right here?’
Zhou Hong smiled faintly and raised his right hand, letting out a sharp whistle. A few moments later, a dark shadow appeared overhead. It swooped down from the sky and landed on his shoulder.
"Using a trained Eagle for reconnaissance. A clever method."
Looking at the Eagle on Zhou Hong’s shoulder, Lin Yan finally understood how he had been found.
Eagles were common in the mountain forests. Even if one had been circling overhead, he wouldn’t have paid it much mind. ’But from now on,’ he thought, ’I’ll have to be wary of that.’
’You live and you learn.’
’From now on, any bird in the sky could be a pair of eyes watching me.’
Zhou Hong reached out to stroke the Eagle on his shoulder, but his gaze fell to the belt at Lin Yan’s waist.
’A white belt... This young man is from the Lin Family’s Third Branch.’
’Judging by his presence, he hasn’t even reached the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. His strength is nothing to worry about. The only question is, should I kill him?’
’If I don’t kill him and let him go, he’ll immediately report back to the Third Branch, and the three of us will be exposed.’
’If I kill him... the Lin Family will surely investigate, but it wouldn’t be the first time a Lin Clan Member had an ’accident’ in the Yantian Mountain Range.’
Having considered this, killing intent flickered in Zhou Hong’s eyes. He gave his two companions a meaningful glance.
"Could I ask one more question?"
The exchange of glances between Zhou Hong and his men was brief, but Lin Yan caught it. Still, he had one more doubt. "How did you all get in here?"
’I need to know if they snuck over the cliffs or came through one of the official entrances. If it’s the latter, then who let them in, and where?’
"Still trying to pump us for information? I’ll tell you the answer after you’re dead."
A savage grin spread across Liu Kun’s face. "Master Zhou, leave this one to me. I’ve never killed anyone from the Lin Family before."
Zhou Hong nodded. Liu Kun had been at the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing for five years, and his Spear Technique was masterful. He was more than a match for a mere youth.
"If you’re going to talk, just talk. Why the foul mouth? I detest people who run their mouths," Lin Yan said coolly.
"Kid, let’s see if you can still talk so tough in a minute."
Angered at being called foul-mouthed, Liu Kun raised his long spear. The tip traced a cold arc of light through the air as it shot straight for Lin Yan’s throat. The thrust was fast and vicious, with no hint of a probe—it was a killing blow from the very start.
Faced with this fierce thrust, Lin Yan’s expression remained unchanged. His right hand rested on his scabbard, and he gave it a light press.
SHING!
A flash of cold light shot out from the scabbard.
The light was as fine as a wisp of smoke, as faint as a trace of mist. Its path was almost impossible to follow in the dim forest light.
Liu Kun’s pupils constricted. He saw a silk-thin thread of golden light flash toward him, but he was completely unable to react.
The flash of the blade was too fast.
The savage grin froze on Liu Kun’s face. The killing intent and contempt from a moment ago still lingered in his eyes, but they were rapidly fading, replaced by sheer bewilderment.
The Iron Spear slipped from his hand, hitting the ground with a CLATTER and scattering a cloud of dead leaves.
Liu Kun’s body collapsed with a heavy thud. A hairline-thin gash on his neck slowly began to ooze blood, a line almost invisible in the dim light.
"Sword... Sword Intent!"
Zhou Hong stood by the rock, the long saber now gripped in his hand.
His pupils shrank to pinpricks, his gaze locked on the Longsword in Lin Yan’s hand, a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing. A single thought spun wildly in his mind: ’Sword Intent.’
It wasn’t that he had never seen masters of the sword. He had even sparred with a Swordsman at the Fourth-Time of Skin Smoothing. But when those experts used their Swordsmanship, no matter how fast their movements or how exquisite their Techniques, he could still follow them with his eyes.
But that flash of the blade just now... he hadn’t been able to see it clearly at all.
’This means that if that attack had been aimed at me, I might not have been able to dodge it.’
"Wu Ya, together now!"
Zhou Hong’s voice was strained, carrying a tremor he himself didn’t even notice. He gripped his saber tightly, its tip pointed at Lin Yan, yet he hesitated, unable to bring himself to strike.