Killing intent at midnight

The night beneath the cliff was not peaceful. The wind whistled softly through the cracks in the rocks, and the occasional howl of wolves from the distant forest added a touch of the wilderness's awe.

I leaned against the cold stone wall, wrapped tightly in the blue cloth Taoist robe that still belonged to Gongsun Sheng, and no sleepiness remained. The scene that happened in the village that day, and Gongsun Sheng's words about "going with the flow, not being stuck in things," still echoed in my mind.

Across from the campfire, Gongsun Sheng sat cross-legged, his eyes slightly closed, his breath drawn out, a state of deep meditation. The flickering flames cast a crisscross of light and dark shadows on his face, making him seem both real and distant.

Just as I was dozing off and about to fall asleep due to exhaustion, an extremely subtle sound, different from the sound of wind and the howling of wolves, quietly penetrated my eardrum like an icy snake.

It's footsteps.

Extremely slight, deliberately suppressed, and with the caution of a predator, it was closing in on the cliff where we were from multiple directions.

I woke up instantly, all sleepiness gone, and all the hairs on my body stood up.

I suddenly looked at Gongsun Sheng. He was still sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed, seemingly unaware of anything.

"Master..." I lowered my voice, trembling uncontrollably.

He slowly opened his eyes. His pupils, illuminated by the firelight, were as clear as cold stars, without a trace of the confusion of just waking up. It was obvious that he had already noticed.

"Shut up." His lips moved slightly, his voice almost inaudible.

My heart was in my throat, and my hand subconsciously reached for the pipa wrapped in thick cloth, which I was holding tightly in my arms. This was almost the only thing I could call a "weapon."

The footsteps grew closer, and I could already vaguely see figures swaying in the darkness, at least seven or eight of them. The weapons in their hands reflected the dim light of the campfire, carrying a cold murderous aura.

Are they bandits? Bandits? Or... coming for me or Gongsun Sheng?

My mind raced, fear washing over me like icy water. Gongsun Sheng might be a master of his art, but two fists couldn't defeat four, let alone the need to protect a burden like me.

At this moment, the group seemed to confirm that there were only two of us (one of them was a woman), and they no longer hid their tracks. They shouted, brandishing steel knives, sticks and clubs, and rushed towards us from three directions! The ferocious momentum was overwhelming!

"Stay by the fire." Gongsun Sheng's voice remained calm, even with a hint of a sigh, as if he was lamenting the arrogance of these people.

He did not stand up, but just put his right hand together like a sword and drew a line in front of him.

In an instant, an invisible wall of air suddenly rose up from the bonfire where we were standing! The two men in the front couldn't stop in time and crashed into the air wall like a transparent iron wall. They let out a dull thud and screamed, flying backwards with blood pouring from their mouths and noses.

The people behind stopped in shock and looked at Gongsun Sheng, who was still sitting cross-legged, in confusion, with fear and disbelief written all over their faces.

"Monster...monster!" The scarred man in the lead forced himself to remain calm and shouted sternly, "Don't be afraid, brothers! He's alone! We'll outlast him!"

It seemed that they did not know Gongsun Sheng and only regarded him as a wild Taoist priest who knew some evil magic.

Gongsun Sheng's brows furrowed slightly, as if he was displeased by the noise. He flicked his finger, and a few faint sparks flew out of the bonfire, as if they had life, shooting precisely at the torches held by the men.

With a few soft "puff" sounds, the torches in their hands were instantly extinguished, and the surroundings fell into deeper darkness. Only the bonfire in front of us was still burning, dividing the two sides into two worlds of light and darkness.

The darkness brought even greater fear. The men suddenly became agitated, and some tried to relight the tinder, but found that it would not light.

“Ghost…there’s a ghost!”

Someone shouted, and panic spread like a plague. Some people began to retreat, trying to escape.

However, the scarred leader seemed unusually fierce, and his ruthlessness was also aroused. He roared, "Don't retreat! Attack in the dark! Kill that woman first!"

He saw my weakness and wanted to use it to disturb Gongsun Sheng's mind.

There were a few sounds of breaking through the air, and it turned out that several short crossbow arrows were shot out from the darkness, aiming directly at me who was sitting by the fire!

Gongsun Sheng's eyes turned cold, and he waved his whisk. The crossbow arrows seemed to hit a flexible whirlwind, spinning around in the air, and were reflected back along the same path at an even faster speed!

Several screams were immediately heard in the darkness.

But at the same time, the other two nimble men, using their companions to distract them and the cover of darkness, had already quietly moved very close to my side and rear, their steel knives flashing with cold light as they slashed down fiercely! The angle was tricky, the timing was brutal!

"Be careful!" I cried out in shock, the shadow of death looming over me instantly. Gongsun Sheng had just finished dealing with the crossbow bolt, and it took a split second for his whisk to turn around!

As the blade approached my body, my mind went blank. My instinct for survival overwhelmed everything else! All that "Tao sound" and "calmness" were thrown out of my mind! I only knew that I couldn't die here!

I suddenly used the pipa and the thick cloth I was holding tightly in my arms as a shield, and used all my strength to block forward! At the same time, due to extreme fear and struggle, my fingers unconsciously scratched the exposed strings.

“Zheng——!!!”

A sharp, shrill, broken sound that did not sound like a human being playing, like the howl of a dying beast, suddenly exploded!

The sound had no melody at all, and was filled with the impact of chaos, fear and despair, it was extremely harsh!

However, this unpleasant broken sound seemed to carry a substantial spiritual impact!

The two men who were slashing with knives suddenly stopped moving, and expressions of extreme pain and confusion appeared on their faces, as if their souls were hit hard by the sudden noise. Their eyes lost focus in an instant, and the raised steel knives froze in mid-air.

Although it was only a brief pause, it was enough for Gongsun Sheng.

His whisk was like a living silver snake. It arrived first and accurately wrapped around the two frozen steel knives with a light shake.

"Crack!" With two crisp sounds, the blade made of fine steel broke into pieces like rotten wood!

The whisk continued to move forward with unabated force, like two soft whips, lashing the chests of the two men.

"Puff!" The two men spat out blood at the same time, flew backwards like a kite with a broken string, and fell heavily to the ground, obviously not going to survive.

All this happened in a flash.

From the moment the bandits suddenly launched the attack, to Gongsun Sheng setting up the air wall, extinguishing the flames, reflecting the crossbow arrows, to me saving myself with the pipa and broken sound, and him instantly killing two people...it all took just a few breaths.

The remaining bandits saw their leader and the two most capable fighters killed instantly, and experienced a series of incomprehensible strange events such as torches going out, crossbow arrows reflected, and devilish sounds piercing their ears. They were already scared out of their wits. They shouted, dropped their weapons, and crawled away into the darkness, disappearing in a moment.

Silence returned to the foot of the cliff, leaving only the crackling of the burning campfire and my heavy breathing like a bellows.

I remained in the stance of blocking the attack, my hands tightly grasping the pipa. My entire body was shaking uncontrollably, and cold sweat soaked through my undershirt. The icy touch of the blade still lingered on the skin of my neck.

Gongsun Sheng slowly stood up, walked to the two corpses and looked at them, then glanced at the broken steel knife and scattered crossbow arrows on the ground, frowning slightly.

"It's a standard crossbow used in the army, and the swordsmanship also bears traces of the military." He muttered to himself, then turned his gaze to me, and fell on the pipa in my arms that saved my life.

"You..." He looked at me in shock, paused, and then said, "Are you okay?"

I shook my head and tried to say something, but my throat was too dry to speak. The cracked voice I just heard had almost drained all my strength and courage.

He walked up to me and held out his hand.

I thought he was going to help me, and subconsciously wanted to reach out his hand.

But he passed over my hand, gently brushed away the thick cloth wrapped around the pipa, and his slender fingers touched the strings that were still vibrating slightly.

The moment his fingertips touched the strings, there seemed to be a flash of imperceptible lightning.

He closed his eyes, as if feeling something.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and looked at me with an extremely complex expression for the first time. It was no longer a simple inquiry or calmness, but a mixture of surprise, understanding, and even... a solemnity.

"Chaos... fear... survival..." He whispered, as if deciphering the message left on the strings. "It's not about attracting spiritual energy, but... a direct attack on the soul?"

He raised his head and looked at me sharply: "What were you thinking just now?"

I swallowed hard and said with difficulty: "I... I just want to... not die..."

"The pure desire to survive, the outburst of extreme emotion, can actually produce such an effect..." Gongsun Sheng pondered. "Although it's crude, violent, and without any rules, it's... a true force."

His words left me stunned.

I… I just accidentally unleashed some kind of… power? Even though it was just an unpleasant crackling sound, it actually affected those two bandits?

"It seems I was right to take you down the mountain." Gongsun Sheng suddenly said something incoherent. "Flowers in a greenhouse can never understand the harshness of wind and rain. Only by experiencing life and death firsthand can one touch one's true heart and see the truth."

Is he saying that this attack actually helped me to “break through the mental barriers”?

Because I discarded all distracting thoughts and only had the purest "survival" instinct, I was able to accidentally touch the strings and make that soul-shaking noise?

"These people aren't just ordinary bandits," Gongsun Sheng said, bringing the topic back to reality. His tone turned cold. "They have a clear goal and are working in perfect harmony. It seems... they're here to silence us."

Silencing?!

I was startled. Who? Him? Or... me?

Could it be that my identity as an "odd number" has been exposed? Or has the turmoil over the birthday gift finally affected us?

"We shouldn't stay here for long." Gongsun Sheng waved his sleeves, and the corpses and scattered weapons on the ground spontaneously combusted without fire, quickly turning into ashes without leaving even a trace.

He looked at me, who was still sitting on the ground in shock, and reached out his hand.

"Can you walk?"

I looked at his eyes, which were calm but seemed to be able to accommodate everything, and then looked at his outstretched, bony hand. After hesitating for a moment, I finally placed my hand gently in his palm.

His palm was warm and steady, and with a reassuring strength, he pulled me up from the ground.

"Follow me closely." He released her hand and turned to walk into the deeper darkness, his tone unquestionable, "We must reach our next destination before dawn."

I held my pipa, which seemed to have become a little different, took a deep breath, suppressed the fear and confusion in my heart, and quickly caught up with him.

The blood and murderous intent of tonight, the broken cry for help, and Gongsun Sheng’s comment that “it is indeed a kind of power” are all like branding, deeply engraved in my heart.

I know that some things are no longer the same.

My "strategy" plan seemed to have inadvertently taken a detour that was unexpected, full of danger but also contained power.