Chapter 10, The Evil Tiger Roars on the Mountain Ridge

Xu Haoyue was being forced to retreat step by step by two long knives. Upon hearing Cui Han's words, for some reason, his body instinctively followed suit. Just then, a small soldier on the left swung his knife at him. Xu Haoyue raised his right hand to block with his straight knife, barely managing to deflect the blow. Following the momentum, he flipped his wrist, and his long knife swiftly struck towards the small soldier's head. The small soldier was greatly alarmed and hurriedly dodged, but the blade grazed his shoulder, tearing through the shoulder's leather armor, and blood immediately gushed out. Fortunately, Xu Haoyue's knife technique was not refined, and his strike was not forceful. Coupled with the toughness of the leather armor, the small soldier only sustained a flesh wound.

Seeing this scene, Xu Haoyue felt blood rush to his head. Forgetting his fear, he drew the long knife from his waist and charged forward with a loud shout. At this moment, all he wanted was to save Cui Han, completely oblivious to the fact that he was facing a large carnivorous feline weighing over 300 pounds.

After sitting down to rest, Cui Han's lips were dry and pale, clearly a result of bleeding from the wound at his waist combined with some dehydration after the fierce battle. Xu Haoyue said, "Brother Cui, you rest here; I will go find some water." Cui Han, feeling quite thirsty, nodded and replied, "Please be careful, sir"

After speaking, without waiting for Xu Haoyue to respond, Cui Hanhua let out a roar, pointed his right hand with the waist knife downward, and rushed forward quickly. Following that, he drew a flurry of knife flowers with his hand, swiftly striking three times, each aimed at one of the three Tang soldiers. Among the three Tang soldiers, two wielded long knives while one used a flower spear. The soldier with the spear appeared quite skilled; with a light parry, he deflected Cui Han's waist knife and coldly laughed, saying, "This fellow is injured; I can handle him alone. You two go and capture that scholar for me!" After saying this, he unleashed several large spear flowers, enveloping Cui Hanhua and entangling him. The two engaged in a fierce exchange of blades and spears, with considerable force behind their strikes, causing sparks to fly as the knife and spear clashed rapidly.

Xu Haoyue was taken aback and, despite his fear of the ferocious tiger, he hurried into the grove, thinking that Cui Han might be in danger. Upon entering the forest, he saw not far away that Cui Han was leaning against a small tree, while a fierce tiger with striking eyes was pouncing on him. The tiger's massive jaws were aimed at Cui Han's neck, but Cui Han was desperately holding the tiger's lower jaw with both hands. However, the tiger's front claws were tearing into Cui Han's chest, leaving it a bloody mess.

Xu Haoyue thrust his blade into the hind leg of the fierce tiger. The tiger, in pain, let out a low growl and jumped away, lowering its head and glaring at Xu Haoyue with a fierce light in its eyes

After Xu Haoyue gained the upper hand, he followed the techniques taught by Cui Han and could have killed the two several times instantly. However, when it came time to strike, he always found himself unable to bring down the blade. His modern mindset valued life, and moreover, he had never killed anyone before, so in the end, his compassion always made him retract his weapon. At this moment, with his long knife pointed at the two soldiers, he saw their faces filled with fear and terror, their eyes full of pleading. Xu Haoyue couldn't help but shout, "Get lost! I won't kill you!"

Returning to the top of the hill, Xu Haoyue found no trace of Cui Han under the tree where he had just rested. Just as Xu Haoyue was about to call out, a fierce roar of a tiger echoed from the small grove beside the hill. Startled, Xu Haoyue then heard a scream, which turned out to be Cui Han's voice.

Cui Han smiled slightly and said, "It's nothing, everyone is afraid the first time they kill someone. I remember the first time I killed someone, I was so scared that I wet my pants."

Xu Haoyue nodded blankly and said: "Yes, it is the first time I have killed someone"

"You brat, don't talk big, come and take your life!" Two fierce Tang soldiers rushed towards Xu Haoyue with their knives raised. Xu Haoyue hurriedly drew the long knife from the tree, watching as the two cold blades came slicing towards him from left and right. Having never learned any swordsmanship, he clumsily swung his knife to block, stepping back a few paces to barely evade their first strike.

Xu Haoyue exclaimed joyfully, "Brother Cui, please continue, I will follow your instructions!" Cui Han did not expect Xu Haoyue to grasp the concepts so quickly; he had no idea that Xu Haoyue had practiced martial arts before. With some guidance, he learned rapidly. Cui Han then continued, "Use your strength to chop while sidestepping, slash horizontally in three directions, thrust and sidestep to change your stance, and aim the blade's edge to strike the target..."

Xu Haoyue reacted extremely quickly; essentially, as soon as Cui Hancai finished speaking, his actions had already been executed. The two soldiers were immediately thrown into a state of confusion by Xu Haoyue. Although Cui Hancai did not turn around, he listened carefully and discerned the moves of the two soldiers, continuously reciting the countermeasures. Before long, the two soldiers had sustained several knife wounds, yet they were still not killed. Cui Hancai found it somewhat strange; he could hear that Xu Haoyue's strikes were often extremely fierce, yet he always seemed to hold back at the last moment, resulting in missed opportunities to kill the two soldiers multiple times.

Seeing that Cui Han was injured yet still remembered Zhao Kuangyin's instruction to protect himself, Xu Haoyue felt a deep admiration. From a modern perspective, such an idea of sacrificing oneself for righteousness seems extremely foolish. To risk one's life to protect someone one has known for less than two days, simply because of a word from a superior—does this make sense? Xu Haoyue was moved by Cui Han's loyalty and stepped forward, shouting: "Brother Cui, I am also a man of stature, how can I escape alone? Today, I will also risk it all; at worst, I will die alongside you!"

Cui Han struggled to stand up, panting heavily and grinning as he said, "To have a friend like you, sir, I, Cui Han, have no regrets in death"

Xu Haoyue descended the hillside and walked for half a day, finally finding some water on the stone wall outside a cave. On the rugged stone wall, a few depressions oozed with clear spring water. Xu Haoyue was overjoyed and hurriedly filled a leather water pouch to the brim before heading back.

Xu Haoyue approached the soldier, only to see his face twisted in agony, blood continuously gushing from his mouth and nose. His eyes were filled with a desperate sorrow. Due to the pain, his body convulsed uncontrollably, and his hands flailed as he attempted to pull the knife from his back. A wave of fear surged through Xu Haoyue's heart as he stepped forward to extract the long knife from the soldier's back. Blood immediately poured out, and the soldier let out a cry, his head drooping down. He kicked his limbs a few times before finally becoming still. Xu Haoyue's heart raced; although he did not suffer from hemophobia, the sight of the large pool of crimson blood and the pungent smell of blood still provoked a strong urge to vomit. His hands trembled violently, and a single thought kept swirling in his mind: "I have killed someone..."

Cui Han's face lit up upon hearing this: "Do you consider me, Cui Han, a friend, sir?"

Xu Haoyue shook his head and said, "I will not abandon my friends, it's just a big cat, isn't it?" Although he spoke lightly, his voice trembled.

Xu Haoyue and Cui Han turned back to look, and both silently groaned in despair. Three soldiers from the Tang army emerged from the forest, likely part of Chen Liang's group. Cui Han gritted his teeth, tore off a piece of his clothing, wrapped it tightly around his waist, and secured the wound. He let out a muffled groan, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, clearly in great pain. However, he gripped his waist knife tightly with his right hand, while his left hand slowly wrapped a strip of cloth around his right hand, his gaze coldly fixed on the three Tang soldiers emerging from the forest. He whispered, "Sir, you go first. I will hold them off. The one among these three wielding the spear is likely as skilled as Chen Liang, and he is also a capable bodyguard of Liu Renzhan from the Qinghuai army. I may not be able to defeat him. You go first; every escape counts. If we all survive, we will meet at Wuwang Villa!"

Xu Haoyue could no longer hold back and vomited. Living in this chaotic world, human life is so humble and worthless. If one does not wish to be devoured by others, the only choice is to kill; there is no third path to take. Can he survive in this tumultuous era? Xu Haoyue does not know; he only knows that today he killed someone for the first time

Two soldiers sustained multiple knife wounds, their hearts filled with terror, causing their strikes to become increasingly erratic. In the end, both were injured in the arms by Xu Haoyue, and their two long knives fell to the ground one after the other. In their fright, the two retreated a few steps, staring wide-eyed at Xu Haoyue, fearing that he would pursue them with his blade and kill them.

Xu Haoyue only realized the situation after hearing Cui Han's words, but the two soldiers were very quick on their feet and had already escaped several zhang away. Xu Haoyue reluctantly threw his long knife, which struck one of the soldiers in the back, causing him to scream loudly and fall to the ground. By the time Xu Haoyue caught up, the other soldier had already vanished without a trace

Cui Han smiled bitterly and said, "Twelve years old." Xu Haoyue exclaimed, "You killed someone at twelve?" Cui Han's gaze was somewhat desolate as he replied, "There was no choice. If I didn't kill that person, I would have been eaten by him. It was either his death or mine; there was no option!"

"Is this your first time killing someone, sir?" Cui Han's voice came from behind. Xu Haoyue suddenly awoke, turning around to see Cui Han, drenched in sweat, with his hand resting on his waist, smiling as he asked. Next to him, the person wielding the flower spear had already turned into a corpse lying on the ground, and Xu Haoyue had no idea how Cui Han had killed him.

"When did you kill someone for the first time?" Xu Haoyue threw away the knife in his hand, as if it had stung him.

Cui Han was struggling with the situation, and out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Xu Haoyue being attacked by two soldiers wielding long knives. A wave of anxiety surged within him as he saw Xu Haoyue flailing his weapon without any technique, completely uncoordinated. If this continued, he would either be killed or injured. The two Tang soldiers were not skilled, and even his most basic knife techniques could easily defeat them. However, he was currently entangled with an opponent using a flower spear, unable to extricate himself. Suddenly, an idea struck Cui Han. While swinging his waist knife, he called out: "Bring your knife horizontally to block, then twist your wrist to strike at the enemy's head." The two Tang soldiers were not skilled, and even his most basic knife techniques could easily defeat them. However, he was currently entangled with an opponent using a flower spear, unable to extricate himself. Suddenly, an idea struck Cui Han. While swinging his waist knife, he called out: "Bring your knife horizontally to block, then twist your wrist to strike at the enemy's head."

Xu Haoyue stared intently at the fierce tiger, not daring to relax. He recalled that the animal world had mentioned that if your gaze is more ferocious than that of a tiger, it might scare the tiger away, though he was unsure of its truth. While he engaged in a silent exchange of feelings with the tiger, he said, "Brother Cui, we have experienced life and death together, so we are naturally friends"

An hour later, Xu Haoyue assisted Cui Han in walking up a hill. The two took a brief rest under a pine tree. They did not dare to linger by the stream any longer. After searching the bodies of five deceased Tang soldiers for some money and provisions, they hurriedly left, heading towards Wuwang Villa.

The fierce tiger leaped away, and Cui Han let out a sigh of relief. He slightly shifted his body to lean against a small tree and said in a deep voice: "Sir, you should leave quickly. This tiger is more difficult to deal with than those Tang soldiers. There is no need for both of us to lose our lives here!"

As soon as the words fell, the fierce tiger let out a loud roar, lowered its front paws, and with a powerful push of its hind legs, leaped directly towards Xu Haoyue. Xu Haoyue was so frightened that his face turned pale. In the moment he was pounced upon by the tiger, only one thought crossed his mind: "Who said that a fierce gaze can scare away a tiger?"

Cui Han was startled and exclaimed, "Sir, we cannot let them go. What will we do if they return with a large group?" He intensified his knife techniques, eager to quickly finish off the person before him and pursue the two soldiers.