prynovel Chapter 15 Escape from Death
Chapter 15 Escape from Death
The man instinctively tilted his head, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Taking advantage of this opening, Chen Ye had already moved closer.
He hooked his fingers around the man's wrist, then used the momentum to turn around and shield the man's body between himself and another guard.
Chen Ye's strength was astonishing; the man couldn't break free at all. He only felt a sharp pain in his wrist and subconsciously let go.
The long sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.
Chen Ye hooked the falling longsword into his hand with his toe and held it to the man's neck.
"You just said... leave a way out?"
The man opened his mouth, but his face turned deathly pale, and he couldn't utter a single word.
Chen Ye didn't give him a chance to speak.
With a swift stroke of the longsword.
Like slaughtering a chicken or a dog, his throat was slit cleanly and decisively.
Blood splattered onto his face, still slightly warm.
Chen Ye pushed the body forward, causing it to collide with another guard.
The two collided.
Without hesitation, Chen Ye charged forward, brandishing his sword.
The last remaining guard hurriedly raised his knife to parry.
But his hasty response was no match for Chen Ye, who had already undergone a transformation.
With a clang, the long sword in his hand was knocked away, and he was thrown to the ground.
His hands trembled as he repeatedly begged for mercy, "Don't kill me...don't kill me...this is...this is the patriarch's order! None of us can disobey! Spare me, spare me!"
Chen Ye frowned.
The head of the family, Gao Boyan.
When he worked as a servant in the Gao family, he was of low status and had never had any dealings with this person.
If we happen to run into each other, we just glance at each other from a distance.
But this person saw him as a talent and wanted to kill him.
These pursuers, like him, were also just disposable resources in the hands of the Gao family.
Those who risk their lives for the Gao family are not worth keeping.
"Where is Gao Yunheng?"
"The eldest...the eldest young master went to the capital to take up his post a few days ago."
Beijing?
Chen Ye remembered.
The Xie family also seems to be in the capital.
The guard's hand stealthily reached for the crossbow beside him.
He thought he had done it discreetly, but Chen Ye had already noticed.
Chen Ye raised his knife and brought it down with a soft thud; the pleas for mercy abruptly ceased.
The bamboo forest was completely quiet.
Chen Ye stood between the three corpses and looked down at the long knife in his hand.
The blade edge also developed a nick.
He casually tossed the knife away and replaced it with a perfectly good one.
Then he squatted down and searched each person's body, finding a total of four taels of loose silver.
redemption!
[Current remaining lifespan: 43 days.]
Chen Ye stared at the line of numbers for a moment.
Forty-three days.
He killed so many people and searched for all the silver he could find, but he still only had forty-three days left.
He expressionlessly wrapped the long sword with strips of cloth and carried it on his back, then hung the crossbow at his waist and picked up some arrows and some dry rations from the ground.
When he stood up, the wound under his ribs was aggravated, causing him to gasp in pain.
The barking of dogs in the distance was getting closer and closer.
Without further delay, Chen Ye sped down the mountain.
After leaving Quanshan, head northeast, and you'll find the official road leading away from Qinghe County.
The Gao family's influence in Qinghe County is deeply entrenched, leaving him with no place to stand. He must leave as soon as possible.
No sooner had Chen Ye left than the Gao family members caught up with him.
However, all they saw were corpses scattered on the ground; Chen Ye was nowhere to be seen.
A gentle breeze rustled through the bamboo forest.
The hound barked incessantly in place.
……
After leaving Quanshan, Chen Ye ran wildly for over a hundred miles.
It took a whole day to finally leave the territory of Qinghe County.
Only then did he dare to catch his breath.
Chen Ye squatted in a crevice by the stream and splashed a handful of cold water on his face.
The scabs on my knuckles were washed away by the water, and pale red blood seeped out again, revealing a pink wound.
He tore off a piece of his clothing, used it to re-tie the wound, and then tucked the dagger into his waistband.
The wound still throbbed with pain, and it took him a while to recover.
Forty-three days.
As Chen Ye squatted by the stream to drink water, he brought up this number again.
All he has left is forty-three days of life: a short knife, a crossbow, a few arrows, and a few scraps of dry rations he found on the corpses.
He had to go to the capital.
The Xie family and Gao Yunheng are all in the capital.
Those longevity-promoting techniques and elixirs are also in the capital.
In Jingguo, powerful families held a severe monopoly on martial arts, which were mostly passed down within their families and never circulated outside.
Most of the top aristocratic families are based in the capital region.
The only way to completely solve the problem of lifespan is to look to those aristocratic families.
There is no other way out.
He filled his water bag, stood up, and continued on his way.
Two days later, when his provisions were almost exhausted, he finally arrived at the Anhuai dock.
Anhuai Wharf, located on Da'an Lake and connected to the Grand Canal, was a vital hub connecting the Jiangnan region to the capital, and was always bustling with activity.
The place was a melting pot of all sorts of people: porters carrying loads, hawkers shouting their wares, swords-wielding wanderers, boatmen soliciting passengers.
Chen Ye wrapped his bow and arrows in a burlap sack and carried it on his back, with a knife hanging at his waist. He looked no different from an ordinary martial arts practitioner and was not particularly noticeable.
The only difference was that the bloodstains on his body had long since dried, and they exuded a unique, fishy stench of human blood, making him stand out from the others.
But he had no interest in those things.
It has taken a total of three days since I left Quanshan.
The lifespan of forty-three days has now been reduced to forty days.
We need to find a ship to the capital as soon as possible.
Chen Ye first went to the notice board by the dock to see if there were any ships heading to the capital.
Ideally, there should be work available along the way to solve both livelihood and life expectancy issues.
A crowd had gathered in front of the notice board.
When Chen Ye squeezed through the crowd, he saw that most of the jobs involved were manual labor, such as unloading goods, and the pay was very low.
Only one notice had ink that was still wet, and it looked like it had just been posted recently.
The contents describe how a caravan recruits temporary guards to escort ships to the capital.
Those who are physically strong and have some martial arts skills will be given priority. Payment will be made daily.
Chen Ye grabbed a nearby idler and asked, "Are all the boatmen hired? Can I go?"
The idle man sized him up, noticing that he was small and not particularly burly, and couldn't help but laugh: "You? The people he hires are people who risk their lives, people who live on the edge, not children playing house."
"Hey? Making a living isn't easy, why make fun of them?" Another idler enthusiastically pointed out the way: "Just go straight along this road, and you'll see Boss Zhou's boat. They're recruiting people right below the boat. Just go and ask."
Chen Ye clasped his hands in thanks and walked in the direction the other person pointed.
Sure enough, a large cargo ship with a flat bottom and shallow cabin was seen moored at the dock.
On the open ground below the boat, many wandering swordsmen were gathered together, making a lot of noise.
Chen Ye leaned closer and saw that the fleet was selecting escorts, but they had to test their strength first.
Those who wield knives and arrows have priority.
Those with great strength are next.
He found the boatman who was in charge of selecting people, and said with his hands clasped, "Boss, I'm here to apply."
The boatman glanced at him and frowned when he saw that Chen Ye was disheveled and smelled of fish.
He could tell from the smell that it wasn't animal blood, but human blood.
The boatman's gaze lingered for a moment on the knife at his waist and the crossbow wrapped in a burlap sack on his back. Instead of shooing him away, he asked, "Can you shoot an arrow?"
Chen Ye patted the crossbow behind him and nodded: "Yes!"
"Where are the swords?"
"Yes, it will too."
"Alright, go and lift a stone so I can see it."
Chen Ye looked around and saw several stone weights used for practicing martial arts by the dockside. These were toys for the dockworkers to test their strength in their spare time.
The heaviest one is estimated to weigh only around 100 pounds.
Many wandering swordsmen who came here to make a living carried this stone lock, their faces turning red with embarrassment.
Chen Ye walked over, grabbed the stone lock handle with one hand, and lifted it to his chest.
The wound under his ribs was aggravated, and he frowned slightly, but his arm remained steady as usual.
After a slight pause, it was raised above the head.
The surrounding sounds fell silent for a moment.