Chapter 12: If You Have the Guts, Don’t Run

Chu Tianfeng boarded the bus and hurried to Jianmen Station.

Once there, he strode into a corner of the waiting hall, sat cross-legged with composure, and began to circulate his cultivation technique, guiding the flow of energy through his body.

Zheng Hao and Yu Zheng'an hadn’t witnessed the scene where he was injured and vomited blood. The last time, they’d seen him inexplicably meditating for ages in the shop; now, seeing him sitting cross-legged like some venerable sage, they were even more astonished.

They assumed Chu Tianfeng was simply toying with them, deliberately wasting time for his own amusement.

But they didn’t mind much. At least the station had food, so they wouldn’t go hungry.

The two of them bought some snacks, munching away as they watched Chu Tianfeng’s performance.

At that moment, Chu Tianfeng had no time to care what they thought.

His internal organs were injured; both his body and spirit were in considerable distress.

Lacking spiritual sense and unable to examine himself from within, he could only gauge his injuries by running his cultivation technique and feeling his body’s reactions.

He estimated that his heart meridian had suffered the most, while the rest of his organs were only slightly harmed.

Each time his true energy circulated to the chest’s midpoint, he felt a sharp pain.

He could only grit his teeth and suppress the agony, patiently guiding his energy to heal his wounds.

He was also deeply frustrated.

This was his first injury since being reborn.

His opponent had been a cultivator of far greater strength.

He could distinctly sense the force of the young man’s blow—his cultivation must have been at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, leagues above his own.

Since practicing the Five Elements Technique, his true energy was stronger than that of ordinary cultivators.

If only he could break through to the first level of Qi Refinement—though still no match, it would be far harder for his opponent to injure him in just one move.

But the fault lay in his current lack of cultivation.

The weak are forever bullied; the powerless are always at the mercy of others.

He longed to improve rapidly, to become strong as quickly as possible.

Yet he also knew that cultivation required steady progress. Rushing would only lead to an unstable foundation, making future advancement difficult or even impossible, let alone dreams of immortality.

By the time Chu Tianfeng opened his eyes again, the sun had already set.

Feeling that his injuries had stabilized, he stood up and walked toward the ticket window.

Zheng Hao and Yu Zheng'an, smirking, quickly followed behind him.

After buying his ticket, Chu Tianfeng glanced at the two of them with a sly smile.

A sense of unease flashed through their minds, and as soon as he left the window, they rushed forward.

"Two tickets to Thousand Bird Lake," Zheng Hao announced, waving a hundred-yuan bill.

The ticket clerk looked him over and replied in a flat tone, "Only one left. Twenty-two yuan."

"What?" Zheng Hao finally understood why Chu Tianfeng had smiled so wickedly just now. Damn it, that kid was up to no good again.

Only one ticket left, but there were two of them.

Despicable—truly despicable!

"Do you want it or not?" The clerk’s voice grew louder.

"No," Zheng Hao withdrew his money and pulled Yu Zheng'an aside. "Let’s take a cab back and wait for him at the town station."

The two glared fiercely at Chu Tianfeng, then strode out of the ticket hall.

This outcome was entirely within Chu Tianfeng’s expectations. When he’d bought his ticket, he’d asked the clerk and learned that this was the last bus of the day and only three tickets remained.

He deliberately bought two, leaving just one for them.

While he waited the ten-odd minutes for his bus, Chu Tianfeng bought some bread and pastries to sate his hunger.

Jianmen City was less than fifty kilometers from Thousand Bird Lake Town, and part of the route was highway, so the trip took less than an hour.

However, from the town to their film crew’s base was still several miles of mountain road.

Usually, the town was full of motor tricycles, used to ferry actors without private cars up to the crew’s location.

But by the time Chu Tianfeng reached the station in Thousand Bird Lake Town, night had fallen, and almost all the drivers refused to take passengers on the mountain road after dark.

Chu Tianfeng bargained tirelessly and finally persuaded one driver with a fifty-yuan fare.

However, the driver only agreed to take him as far as the end of the main road; for the remaining two or three miles of narrow path, Chu Tianfeng would have to walk.

About twenty minutes later, Chu Tianfeng climbed down from the tricycle, carrying a large sack of spirit herbs and his pill furnace.

Not long after, Zheng Hao and Yu Zheng'an arrived, their faces dark, stepping off another tricycle.

They had paid a full hundred yuan—the driver’s reasoning being that if Chu Tianfeng alone paid fifty, the two of them should pay double.

Zheng Hao nearly dragged the driver aside for a beating.

In the end, he restrained himself. Seeing Chu Tianfeng’s figure ahead, he knew he had the perfect target for his frustration.

He had already called ahead; barring any surprises, Peng Yongliang and the others should be lying in wait in the woods not far ahead.

Even if they weren’t, he doubted Chu Tianfeng could take on both him and Yu Zheng'an. The only thing he feared was if Chu Tianfeng slipped away yet again.

After all, the roadside was lined with trees—if Chu Tianfeng decided to play hide and seek, he and Yu Zheng'an could only stand there helplessly.

As the saying goes, speak of the devil and he appears. They had walked barely a hundred meters when several strong beams of flashlight pierced the darkness ahead.

A loud shout echoed: "Chu Tianfeng, if you’ve got the guts, don’t run!"

Zheng Hao quickly called Yu Zheng'an, and together they sprinted forward to cut Chu Tianfeng off.

But as they drew near, they were stunned.

Only Peng Yongliang, Yuan Qi, and two others—Wei Neng and his cousin Wei Gong—were there.

"Where’s Chu Tianfeng?" Zheng Hao asked breathlessly.

What he’d feared had happened—Chu Tianfeng had vanished once again.

"That slippery kid was just here a moment ago," Yuan Qi said gloomily.

He swept his flashlight through the bushes, but behind every thicket was just more brush.

"Search for him! There are so many of us—how can we not find him?" Peng Yongliang ground his teeth.

They’d finally cornered Chu Tianfeng, and he refused to let him slip away under their noses.

"Here’s the plan: the six of us split into three teams. I’ll go with Brother Liang, Wei Neng, you and your cousin pair up, and Haozi, you team with Zheng'an. What do you think?" Yuan Qi called out.

It was a sound plan. With three teams instead of two, their chances of finding Chu Tianfeng increased, and with two in each group, they could handle him if they encountered him.

"Agreed!" the others chorused.

They quickly settled the search directions and handed Zheng Hao and Yu Zheng'an a flashlight.

Zheng Hao had no desire to search—who knew where Chu Tianfeng could be hiding in such a large forest?

But with everyone else in favor, he had no choice.

He reluctantly took the flashlight, and with Yu Zheng'an, trudged into the woods.

"This place is huge. How are we supposed to find that brat Chu Tianfeng?" Yu Zheng'an, who was fat and fond of eating and sleeping, began to complain as soon as they entered the forest.

Thanks to Chu Tianfeng, he’d had little to eat or sleep today.

Now, running around in this godforsaken place searching for someone, he was more than a little annoyed.

"How should I know? I don’t want to look for him either," Zheng Hao replied, feeling much the same.

He’d had a bellyful of anger today—thanks to Chu Tianfeng, Peng Yongliang, and that tricycle driver. He’d hoped to vent his frustration on Chu Tianfeng, but now the kid had disappeared again.

"Haozi, you’re the clever one, think of something," Yu Zheng'an said weakly.

Zheng Hao’s eyes lit up. "How about this: let’s walk a bit further, then find a big tree and get some sleep. What do you say?"

Yu Zheng'an’s legs were already jelly; he certainly wasn’t about to object.

"Not bad—you’re smart," he praised.

"Then let’s move. I’ve been dying to lie down," Zheng Hao urged.

The two staggered on, and after ten or so minutes, found a large tree.

They high-fived each other, then scrambled up into the branches.

"This is the life. Even if thunder strikes, I’m not getting up," Zheng Hao declared, settling into a comfortable position.

"Same here. Even if they start shooting overhead, I’m going to sleep, damn it," Yu Zheng'an agreed.

No sooner had he spoken than a dull thud sounded nearby, followed by a rustling.

"What was that?" Zheng Hao, startled, quickly sat up.

But as he did, the rustling abruptly stopped, leaving only silence.

"I don’t know. I didn’t see anything," Yu Zheng'an said, switching on his flashlight and peering nervously at Zheng Hao. "Could it be a ghost?"

Yu Zheng'an was rather timid; at the mention of ghosts, his round body trembled.

"Impossible," Zheng Hao shook his head. "I don’t believe in that stuff."

Still, he listened intently for a while.

"Maybe we should go back?" Yu Zheng'an suggested fearfully. The scare had driven away all thoughts of sleep.

"What are you afraid of? If you want to go, go. I’m not leaving—I’m sleeping," Zheng Hao grumbled and lay back down.

Yu Zheng'an wanted to leave, but was too scared of the dark to go alone.

So, with a sigh, he lay down as well—but this time left his flashlight on.

Bang!

"Ah!"

This time, Zheng Hao heard it clearly—the first sound was a stone striking something hard, the second was Yu Zheng'an crying out.

No doubt the object struck was Yu Zheng'an himself.

"A ghost! There’s a ghost!" Yu Zheng'an whimpered, clutching his waist in pain. It seemed to have hit him hard.

"Stop yelling!" Zheng Hao barked, grabbing the flashlight and shining it on the ground below.

But the forest floor was thick with leaves; there was no sign of a stone.

"Chu Tianfeng, if you’ve got guts, come out and face me!" Zheng Hao wasn’t stupid—he immediately realized it was Chu Tianfeng’s doing.

That first noise must have been his attempt—he’d thrown a stone but missed, hitting the tree instead, which caused all that racket.

"You mean it’s not a ghost, but Chu Tianfeng?" Yu Zheng'an asked, trembling.

"Of course! Where would a ghost come from? It’s definitely that brat," Zheng Hao snapped, sweeping the flashlight around.

"Chu Tianfeng, curse your mother! You dare hit me?" Yu Zheng'an shouted.

He might be scared of ghosts, but not of Chu Tianfeng.

Once he started cursing, his courage returned.

He kept up his barrage:

"Chu Tianfeng, you cowardly turtle! If you have the guts, come out and fight one-on-one!"

"Chu Tianfeng, curse your ancestors! I dare you to hit me again!"

"Chu Tianfeng, curse your whole family!"

And so on.

But after all his shouting, the only response was the chirping of insects in the dark, and the echoes of his own voice, near and far.