Volume One: The Wild Boy Chapter Twenty-Two: Fish and Yu

This was perhaps the most regrettable decision Yu Li had made in the past twenty years.

That day, seeing Lin Changtian looking somewhat “dull-witted,” Yu Li had bribed him with a few pieces of chocolate, intending to have him serve as her escort back to the Zhou clan’s encampment.

But for all her calculations, Yu Li had never anticipated that Lin Changtian, who survived by raiding the Lin clan’s supply routes, would actually be hopeless with directions?

“What’s wrong with being bad at directions?” Lin Changtian looked at Yu Li with dissatisfaction. “I just memorize the main routes people use. I don’t wander off. Isn’t that a good thing, being so focused?”

Yu Li began to understand why he hadn’t been caught. First, that supply line wasn’t particularly significant. Second, the Lin clan never imagined that the culprit behind the raids would be someone so unremarkable—certainly not someone who would have mapped out intricate escape routes after each attack. So, when the Lin clan spread out to hunt the assailant, their efforts were naturally wasted.

“It’s rude not to answer when someone’s talking to you,” Lin Changtian nagged at Yu Li. “I’ve gotten beaten up by Yu Baili so many times just for zoning out and not responding.”

Yu Li looked at the earnest Lin Changtian, exasperated. “Trust me, that guy definitely didn’t beat you just for that.”

Lin Changtian shot her a look of disdain. “You’re just a woman—what would you know about the deep camaraderie between men?”

Meanwhile, in the Northern Territories, Yu Baili was lost in thought, gazing toward the distant, desolate north. Seeing him like this, the fat man beside him sighed. “Boss, you’re thinking about Changtian, aren’t you? We’ve already taken control of the entire southern part of the Northern Territories, but there’s still no word about Brother Lin. Who knows if something’s happened to him.”

Yu Baili smacked his lips. “Don’t worry about that. Luck always favors the simple-minded. It’s just that—”

“What?”

“Honestly, beating up Lin Changtian was kind of addictive. It’s been so long since I did it that my hands are itching for it.” Yu Baili looked at the fat man with mischievous intent.

...

“Where are we heading, exactly?” Lin Changtian wiped the sweat from his brow.

Yu Li, who had been marching all morning without so much as a flushed cheek or a quickened breath, glanced at him. “Obviously, you’re escorting me back to the Zhou clan. There’s no more forest ahead. Soon, we’ll have to confront Lin clan patrols directly.”

Lin Changtian patted his chest. “I took your chocolate, so I’ll do the job. I’ll protect you no matter what.”

Yu Li’s lips curled into a wry smile. “If it weren’t for these shackles, I wouldn’t need anyone’s protection—least of all from someone with no sense of direction.”

Lin Changtian grinned, unwilling to argue further. He crouched down to examine the sturdy electronic manacles fastened around Yu Li’s flawless ankles.

Yu Li yawned, curious. “Even a mountain wild man like you knows about tech gadgets?”

Lin Changtian clapped his hands and stood. “These shackles aren’t complicated. Break them in the middle, and both sides unlock automatically.”

Yu Li rolled her eyes. “How clever. You figured out something so obvious? The problem is, this is chromite—tough as nails. If you don’t sever it in one blow, the electricity will fry you, not me.”

Without a word, Lin Changtian drew his long blade, startling Yu Li, who leaped back. “Those things are practically indestructible! Don’t mess around.”

Ignoring her, Lin Changtian yanked Yu Li over with one hand. His blade gathered energy, slicing through the metal as if it were nothing.

“There. You’re free,” he said quietly, sheathing his blade.

This time, Yu Li was the one left speechless with surprise. She’d noticed something unusual about Lin Changtian’s sword, but she was smart enough never to probe into someone else’s secrets. She simply thanked him and continued on her way. Lin Changtian hurried after her, reverting to his wheezing, out-of-breath act—making it impossible to tell which version of him was real.

Night fell. “We’re in luck. There’s only one checkpoint left. If we bluff our way through, the road will be clear from here,” Yu Li breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Changtian, however, frowned. “If this is the last checkpoint under Lin clan control, that’s a bit strange.”

“What do you mean?”

He craned his neck, peering ahead. “With this setup, there are too few guards. Either they’re waiting for something, or the Zhou clan’s front line has already broken open a gap, and the Lin clan’s territory has expanded—meaning this is no longer the final checkpoint.”

Yu Li shook her head. “You don’t understand the Zhou clan. Their true strength is easily a match for the Lin clan’s.”

“Aren’t you from the Zhou clan? Why call them ‘they’?”

Yu Li rolled her eyes. “With my fair skin and good looks, do I look like I belong to some backwater branch of the Zhou family? The truth is, no one wants to see the Lin clan dominate the north—the stronger and more ruthless the enemy, the more likely they are to become every northern power’s nightmare.”

Lin Changtian nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with her assessment of the Lin clan’s ruthlessness.

“Let’s wait and see if an opportunity presents itself before dawn. If not, we’ll have to force our way through,” Yu Li sighed, resigned.

Lin Changtian ignored her, staring intently at a small group moving stealthily in the darkness not far from the checkpoint. A grin split his face. “Here’s your chance. A fight’s about to break out. Let’s give them a little nudge—stir things up.”

Yu Li was puzzled. She couldn’t see anything in the pitch black, nor could she tell where Lin Changtian’s confidence was coming from.

“When I give the word, run,” Lin Changtian said, taking a deep breath before leaping up and shouting, “Brothers outside the checkpoint! The time has come—charge!”

Instantly, the guards at the checkpoint unleashed a hail of fire on the spot where the two of them had just been, but before long, the black-clad figures who had been sneaking through the darkness launched their own attack.

The fierce, evenly matched battle Yu Li had imagined never came to be. Instead, it was a one-sided slaughter. Phantom-like figures moved as one, harvesting the lives of the guards. On this battlefield, shrouded in night, the scattered checkpoint soldiers were no match for the most terrifying of “shadows.”

It wasn’t long before the battle drew to a close. The black-clad leader, after slitting the throat of the last guard, called out toward Li