Chun burst out of the shadows.
She moved fast and hard. She and Wei caught Old Kang at the same time, one on each side. They hooked his arms over their shoulders and ran toward the village gate.
Old Kang was much taller than them. He stood a full head higher. His body was heavy, and he was badly wounded. Every step felt like dragging a stone that weighed a thousand pounds. His speed was painfully slow.
They had not gone far when something tore through the air behind them.
A signal rocket shot straight into the night sky.
Its sharp scream ripped apart the silence that had covered the village.
Wei's heart dropped. Regret hit him at once. He had been too hasty.
Those two men were not truly disabled. This signal meant the whole village was awake now.
In the next moment, footsteps came from every direction. Shouts followed. The sounds were messy and loud, rushing closer. Firelight flared at the village entrance. Shadows moved inside the glow, like dark shapes closing in.
"We are spotted," Chun cried.
Wei grabbed Old Kang and dragged him toward the shadows. On the left was a steep rock wall. There was no way to climb it in time. On the right stood a low wall made of piled stones. Behind it was someone else's yard.
There was only one choice.
They had to go over.
Old Kang's body was terrifyingly heavy. The two teenagers forced him up with all they had. They pushed and lifted until they got him over the wall, which stood taller than a man's chest. He fell into the yard and hit the ground hard. The sound was dull and heavy. Old Kang groaned and lay there. He could not get up.
Chun climbed over right after him. She bent down and tried to pull Old Kang up. No matter how hard she strained, his body would not move.
Wei was just climbing over the wall when it happened.
A sharp sound cut the air.
An arrow flew past.
More followed. Several arrows shot into the yard. Some scraped the stone wall and bounced away, throwing tiny sparks. One passed so close to Wei's shoulder that the cold wind burned his skin.
"They are in the yard," someone shouted."Do not let them escape."
Wei could not see the archers in the dark. He could only feel it.
They were being watched. Locked in.
"Go," Old Kang gasped. His breathing was rough and broken, like a torn bellows."These men are horse bandits."
"What about you," Chun asked. Her voice trembled.
"Go," Old Kang shouted. He was almost screaming now."Foolish child. If one of you lives, that is enough. Go now."
Wei clenched his teeth and pulled Chun up.
But before leaving, he stopped. He turned back to Old Kang.
"My father was never at Shuanglong Mountain," he said. "He was never anyone's adviser."
Old Kang froze. His eyes grew complicated. He looked like he wanted to speak, then swallowed the words.
Wei and Chun slipped into the shadows. Firelight shook behind them. Figures moved in confusion.
Wei leaned close and spoke low. "Nothing they said is true."
He paused. His voice turned cold. "But one thing I know for sure. They knew my father had a knife scar on his arm."
Chun caught her breath.
She remembered last night by Wei's stove. Uncle Lin had rolled up his sleeve to wash dishes. The scar showed pale in the candlelight. It looked old and faded, like an unpaid debt.
Lin had never explained it. When asked, he only smiled and said it came from hunting.
Now the scar felt heavy.
Heavy like a key.
A key that had opened a door they had never seen before.
Wei paused, then added, his voice turning cold.
"But there is one thing I am sure of. They are bandits from Shuanglong Mountain."
These days the world was in chaos. Shuanglong Mountain lay beyond several ridges from here. It had long ago become a bandit stronghold. The men there lived in the mountains year round. They robbed traders who passed below. Their name alone made people afraid.
Yet Wei could not understand it.
Why would those men go to so much trouble? Why cross mountains and valleys to reach a place this remote? Why choose his family of all people?
Footsteps passed in front of the shed.
Someone stepped on broken tiles and loose gravel. The soft cracking sounds were terrifyingly close.
"There is one here."
"Two more got away. Search everything."
Wei's heart sank.
If they stayed hidden, it was only a matter of time before they were found.
He knew that.
He clenched his jaw and forced himself to think.
He recognized this shed.
It belonged to the family in the village that knew the most about traps. They were the best hunters of beasts. In the whole village, only their house was built entirely from raw logs. The walls were thick. The roof was low. The place always smelled of dry wood and old sap.
But behind the shed
There was a cliff.
In the daytime, if you stood there, you could see layers of distant mountains. Clouds rolled through the valleys. The view was wide and beautiful.
At night, one step too far back meant nothing beneath your feet. Only endless black.
It was a dead end.
They could not stay.
"Move."
Wei spoke only one word. His voice was low. There was no hesitation in it.
He pulled Chun up and led her over the fence beside the shed.
The moment his feet touched the ground on the other side
Wei's heart tightened.
Two figures stood in the darkness ahead.
They did not move.
It was as if they had been waiting there all along.
Their shapes were swallowed by the night. Only vague outlines remained. They stood in silence.
Wei reacted at once. He stepped in front of Chun and blocked her. His right hand flipped. The hunting knife slid into his palm.
The blade caught faint firelight. It shone a pale, cold white. The tip pointed straight at the shadow before him.
The air seemed to freeze.
At that moment, Chun suddenly reached out.
She grabbed his knife arm with all her strength.
Then she stepped forward.
She put herself between Wei and the figures in the dark.
"Chun!"