27: Chapter 27 Counterattack in the Ditch

The water in the ditch was bone-chillingly cold; it submerged their boots and seeped in through the gaps.

Sect Master Di Kun walked in the middle of the group, his left hand pressing against the ledger paper inside his inner garment, his right hand steadying himself against the slick stone wall.

The stone wall was covered in a layer of slimy moss, and when his fingertips brushed against it, they dragged down muddy water.

Gu Heng led the way in front, his footsteps measured and deliberate. At every fork, he would pause for half a breath, using his toe to brush aside the water weeds before pointing out the direction.

He was indeed familiar with the path.

They had already bypassed two sentry posts.

The first was on a high slope, its torches blocked by mountain rocks, revealing only flickering halos of light; the second was hidden behind a crooked, withered tree. If not for Gu Heng pressing his hand down in warning, Speedrun Youth would have nearly stepped on the tripwire for the copper bells hidden in the grass.

Dark Souls Youth walked close to Gu Heng, his broken wooden sword held horizontally at his side.

When Gu Heng took a faster step, he did the same; when Gu Heng slowed down, the tip of his sword would gently brush against Gu Heng's heels.

Gu Heng stopped once, turned his head, and said, "If you get any closer, I'll just carry you."

Dark Souls Youth grinned. "No need, I'm afraid you have a bad back."

Life-Skill Player walked behind, supporting Mountain Dweller.

The medicinal cloth on Mountain Dweller's neck was dampened by water vapor, the color of blood seeping through, and his legs were beginning to give way.

Every dozen steps, Life-Skill Player would nudge him with his shoulder, muttering under his breath, "Don't sleep. If you fall asleep, I'll haul you back as Materials."

Mountain Dweller was in too much pain to smile, only managing to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "I'm not worth that much."

"You are a witness now; you're worth more than my life." Life-Skill Player glanced at Sect Master Di Kun and swallowed the rest of his words.

Sect Master Di Kun heard this but did not look back.

The firelight from the Beast Taming Ground behind them was mostly obscured by the mountain rocks, leaving only red smoke reflecting against the base of the clouds.

The pursuit whistles had already sounded twice, and the intervals were getting shorter.

The Red Snake Sect's reaction was faster than anticipated. Being able to pull people out to flank them along the mountain path during such chaos meant that this Beast Taming Ground and the surrounding transit points had established communication protocols in place.

A piece of gravel suddenly rolled down from the stone slope above.

The gravel fell into the ditch with a thud, splashing water onto Sect Master Di Kun's boots.

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand.

The group stopped.

Sect Protection Elder swept his gaze upward, his blade already drawn half an inch from its scabbard.

Speedrun Youth crouched low against the stone wall, dipped his finger in some mud, and gestured a "three" on the ground.

Gu Heng said nothing, his shoulders tensed, his toes slightly turning forward.

Another piece of gravel rolled down.

This time, Sect Master Di Kun heard extremely light footsteps.

It was not the chaotic running of the pursuers behind them, but three people cutting diagonally down from the stone slope above, spread far apart.

The opponents were familiar with the terrain; they weren't following the ditch but taking a shortcut to cut them off.

They couldn't outrun them while dragging Gu Heng and Mountain Dweller.

If these three caught up, the pursuers behind would swarm them like insects smelling blood.

Sect Master Di Kun glanced at the ditch ahead.

The channel narrowed further ahead; Life-Skill Player would be slow passing through the narrow opening while supporting the wounded.

If they were caught in the light there, they wouldn't even have room to hide.

"Mountain Dweller, move forward." Sect Master Di Kun lowered his voice. "Speedrun, take him through the narrow pass. Life-Skill, follow, and wait for me twenty steps ahead."

Life-Skill Player's expression tightened. "What about you?"

"We're taking out this vanguard group."

Dark Souls Youth immediately jammed his broken wooden sword into the mud. "I'll go up and make a scene to draw aggro."

Sect Master Di Kun pressed down on his shoulder.

Dark Souls Youth's shoulder was covered in wet mud and the bloodstains from carrying the person earlier.

Sect Master Di Kun's hand pressed down. Dark Souls Youth wanted to say something, his lips moved, but then he shut his mouth.

"No need to risk your life as bait." Sect Master Di Kun pointed to the sides of the ditch. "They'll come down to check for footprints; we'll wait in the ditch."

Sect Protection Elder understood and vaulted up onto the stone slope on the left.

The herbal scent on him was suppressed by the wet mud and the smell of blood. His scabbard was wrapped in cloth, and as he climbed up, he only dislodged a few specks of mud.

Dark Souls Youth lay prone in a shallow pool on the right, pressing his whole body into the muddy water, his broken wooden sword held across his chest, his face smeared with filth.

Life-Skill Player took the last bit of Tracking-Disruption Powder from his cloth bag and sprinkled it into the muddy water of the ditch.

The powder dispersed upon contact with water, carrying a pungent scent. It blurred the edges of the footprints and masked the scent of blood seeping from Mountain Dweller's neck.

"Use it sparingly." Life-Skill Player crushed the empty paper packet and shoved it back into his sleeve. "It's really gone."

Speedrun Youth supported Mountain Dweller as they squeezed toward the narrow pass ahead.

Mountain Dweller looked back at Sect Master Di Kun, his lips moving, but he made no sound.

Gu Heng stood still where he was.

Sect Master Di Kun looked at him. "You stay."

Gu Heng raised his eyelids.

Dark Souls Youth chuckled from the mud. "Congratulations, you're now a high-priority protection unit."

Gu Heng lowered his hands and slowly walked to the position indicated by Sect Master Di Kun.

The wound on his left arm had been soaked open by the water, and blood dripped from his fingertips into the ditch, only to be dispersed by the Tracking-Disruption Powder.

Voices came from above.

"There's the sound of water below; the footprints stop around here."

"The fire scene is chaotic, they can't have run far with a live captive. Don't rush down, shine the light first."

A spiritual talisman lit up from above the stone slope.

The white light bore down, making the wet stones in the ditch gleam.

Sect Master Di Kun pressed against a hollow in the ditch wall, half his body submerged in the cold water, the ledger paper in his inner garment feeling cold against his skin.

The light from the spiritual talisman swept half a foot in front of him, the water surface shimmering with tiny bright specks, the Tracking-Disruption Powder blurring the footprints into a mess of mud.

"One of you go down," the person above said. "See if there's any blood."

The first pursuer jumped into the ditch.

He didn't land directly in the center of the ditch but first tapped a protruding stone with his toe, his short blade held horizontally in front of him, the other hand clutching a talisman.

This move was steady; if someone in the ditch lunged at him, he could use the stone to leap back.

But that protruding stone was covered in water moss.

His toe slipped.

His movement slowed by just half a step.

Sect Protection Elder's blade thrust out from behind the gravel on the slope, the tip piercing under the ribs and through the side of the waist.

The pursuer managed to squeeze out a sound from his throat, but Sect Protection Elder twisted his wrist, cutting off both the sound and the strength.

The short blade fell into the water, splashing a circle of black water.

"Ambush!"

The second person reacted extremely quickly, abruptly lowering the spiritual talisman, the white light piercing through half the ditch.

Sect Master Di Kun's shoulder shadow was almost illuminated.

That person didn't jump down but first threw two caltrops to seal the left and right of the ditch, then pinched a communication talisman.

Dark Souls Youth erupted from the muddy water.

He didn't look like he was wielding a sword; it was more like a dog pouncing from the muck, his shoulder slamming into the second person's knee joint.

The second person's footing skewed from the impact, and the communication talisman, half-lit, was struck hard on the wrist by the broken wooden sword.

A dull sound of bone breaking echoed, the spiritual talisman flew out of his hand, and the white light flickered erratically in mid-air.

The second person roared and backhanded a palm strike onto Dark Souls Youth's back.

Dark Souls Youth was slammed into the shallow pool, water splashing up. He choked on a mouthful of muddy water, but held onto the opponent's waist and abdomen, dragging him down to the bottom of the ditch.

Sect Master Di Kun moved.

He cut out from the shadows of the ditch wall, his short blade skimming low over the water to avoid the caltrops, the blade edge first slicing the opponent's heel tendons, then following through with an upward strike.

Just as the second person steadied his upper body, his knees had already knelt into the mud.

Sect Master Di Kun clamped his left hand onto the back of the opponent's neck, and his right hand drove the short blade into his throat.

Blood gushed out, mixing into the ditch.

The spiritual talisman fell into the water, the white light extinguishing with a hiss.

The third person stood above and didn't rush down. Seeing one companion fallen in the ditch and the other pushed into the shallow pool, he immediately retreated two steps, raised the short crossbow in his hand, and aimed the bolt at where Sect Master Di Kun was.

"There are four or more below!" He shouted to the rear. "Encountered enemies in Ditch B, send reinforcements!"

The voice carried along the stone slope.

Sect Master Di Kun's eyes darkened. "Speedrun!"

At the narrow pass ahead, Speedrun Youth had already climbed up the right slope at some point.

He grabbed a withered root, and with his other hand, lifted a loose stone, hurling it at the feet of the third person.

The stone wasn't big, but it hit exactly on a crack on the slope.

The loose earth collapsed with a rumble, the third person lost his footing, and the short crossbow bolt went wide, pinning into the stone wall beside Sect Master Di Kun, the tail of the arrow vibrating with a ringing sound.

Sect Protection Elder bore down from the side.

The third person didn't linger, rolling back down the slope and throwing a handful of black powder from his sleeve.

Sect Protection Elder swept his blade horizontally, the black powder dispersed by the wind of the blade, falling onto the gravel with a faint corrosive sizzling sound.

The man seized the moment, turned, and ran, continuing to shout, "Ditch B! They're heading toward the back mountain water route!"

Dark Souls Youth climbed up from the shallow pool, half his face covered in mud, and coughed twice. "Should we chase?"

Sect Master Di Kun looked in the direction the man on the slope had retreated and heard two answering whistles from further away.

One from the left, one from the right; they weren't close, but they had already formed a pincer movement.

"No chase."

He crouched down and quickly searched the first corpse.

Waist token, talisman bag, short dagger, half a piece of dry ration—all were tossed to Life-Skill Player and Speedrun Youth.

In the arms of the second corpse was a temporary dispatch talisman, one corner soaked by water, but the writing was still legible.

Sect Master Di Kun wiped away the muddy water and, by the light of the distant fire, saw the markings clearly.

Abandoned Mine Warehouse B3.

Beast Taming Ground A1.

Between the two, transport arrows were drawn, and next to them were a few shorthand symbols representing goods, people, and beast feed.

Although the lines were crude, they were enough to solidify the connections in the ledger.

Gu Heng stood nearby, the firelight reflecting on his face.

His eyes stopped on the words "Abandoned Mine Warehouse B3," and his fingers suddenly gripped his cuffs tightly, his knuckles turning white.

For just a moment, he lowered his head again, hiding his expression in his messy hair.

Sect Master Di Kun folded the dispatch talisman and tucked it into the other side of his inner garment.

"Gu Heng."

Gu Heng looked up, the blood scab on his lip splitting. "Sect Master?"

Sect Master Di Kun looked at him, and after a few breaths, said, "Lead the way."

Gu Heng's throat moved, and he turned to walk toward the narrow pass.

Dark Souls Youth bent down to pick up his broken wooden sword, the blade covered in mud. He wiped it off on the corpse's clothes. "This dungeon gets dirtier the more we fight; I need a raise when we get back."

Life-Skill Player supported Mountain Dweller as they came back from behind the narrow pass to rendezvous. Seeing the black palm print on Dark Souls Youth's back, he immediately slapped a packet of medicinal powder onto him. "Apply this. If you keep showing off, even the respawn point will find you annoying."

"I call this extreme crowd control." Dark Souls Youth smeared the powder on his back, his face twitching in pain. "Hiss, this medicine has critical damage."

Sect Protection Elder had already dragged the two corpses into the depths of the ditch, weighed them down with stones, and fished out the fallen spiritual talisman, crushing it.

The water surface was stained with blood, then dispersed by the cold current, leaving only dark red traces in the crevices of the stones.

Sect Master Di Kun took one last look at the battlefield.

A corner of the gravel slope had been collapsed, two deep furrows dragged through the wet mud, the caltrops half-buried in the water, and the crossbow bolt still pinned to the stone wall.

This place would tell those who came after that they had stopped and fought, but it wouldn't tell them how many people they had left, how badly they were injured, or which fork they had turned into.

Whistles sounded again from above.

This time, they were closer.

"Go."

Sect Master Di Kun put away his short blade and was the first to squeeze through the narrow pass.

Gu Heng led the way in front, his figure carved into a silhouette by the firelight from outside the ditch.

Sect Master Di Kun watched that retreating figure, his fingers pressing against the dispatch talisman through his clothes, the edge of the paper talisman digging into his chest with a faint, stinging pain.

The ditch grew narrower and narrower, the mountain rocks overhead pressing inward, leaving only a sliver of gray-red night sky.

The fire in the Beast Taming Ground in the distance was still burning, smoke rolling up from behind the mountain pass. The pursuers' whistles snaked through the stone crevices into the ditch, each one shriller than the last.

Sect Master Di Kun raised his hand to wipe the muddy water from the side of his face, his fingertips resting on the hilt of the short blade at his waist, the hilt chilled by the cold water.