Chapter 3: The Fisherman Gains the Prize

Three henchmen shouted and chased from behind, while Chu Feng ran ahead, yet his heart remained untroubled. The mountain path here was steep and treacherous, flanked by sheer cliffs, and the narrow trail could only accommodate a single person. Whether chased by three or one, it made little difference.

The three henchmen formed a line, exerting themselves in pursuit.

“Leopard, run faster up front! The gap between you and Chu Feng is widening—this is a big prize!” the middle henchman, Lynx, urged.

“Damn it! Haven’t you seen what kind of path this is? If I run too fast and slip, I’ll be smashed to pieces. Why don’t you go ahead, then?” Leopard retorted.

“Ah! Wolf, you’re plotting against me—”

Suddenly, the last henchman, Wolf, raised his steel fork and stabbed Lynx in the neck. Blood sprayed. Lynx barely managed to utter a word before Wolf, with a sweeping motion, hurled him off the path, sending him plummeting to his death.

“Leopard, don’t misunderstand! Lynx was waving his steel fork behind your back, planning to stab you! I didn’t have time to warn you, so I had to act first and deal with that bastard!” Wolf claimed, face open and sincere.

Leopard gave him a knowing smile. “Thanks, brother! I twisted my ankle—why don’t you go ahead and chase Chu Feng? Don’t let him get away!”

“Alright!”

Wolf ran ahead of Leopard, but barely had he taken a step when a powerful force struck him from behind, sending him flying several yards.

“Leopard, may you die an ugly death!” Wolf cursed as he fell swiftly down the cliff, destined to meet the same fate as Lynx in a matter of breaths.

“Hmph! You could plot against Lynx, but I couldn’t do the same to you? You think I don’t know what you’re up to? You held off for now, wanting to use me to catch Chu Feng, and then do away with me afterward? Damn you!”

Leopard cursed loudly, chasing after Chu Feng as he ranted.

From dozens of yards away, Chu Feng realized the three henchmen, eager to claim the glory of capturing him alone, had decisively turned on each other.

The Terror Gate, after all, was a bandit stronghold, and such was their nature—driven only by profit.

When no interests were at stake, bandits might gather for wine and conversation, acting as if they were brothers. Yet when faced with great and easy gain, they would not hesitate to deal a deadly blow to their own comrades.

Three enemies—now only one remained.

Leopard was a martial artist in the first stage of Body Refinement. Because he was more active among the henchmen of Terror Gate, his status was higher than Chu Feng, who toiled crafting weapons. Leopard often ate wild pheasant and drank medicinal wine, so his body was sturdier, his strength in the first stage of Body Refinement surpassing Chu Feng’s.

“The three enemies are reduced to just Leopard. Should I fight or not? If I don’t, when I cross the river, Leopard will easily catch up. If he attacks me on the shore, I might die in the water! If I fight, I can’t be sure I’ll kill him!”

Chu Feng raced down the mountain, calculations running swiftly through his mind.

Suddenly, his foot slipped, and he leaped forward in haste, nearly stepping into empty air. The ground beneath was actually an artificial trap, likely dug by local hunters. Its surface was covered by thick grass and a layer of sand; without cautious progress, one could easily fall in.

“Chu Feng, stop right there! Even if I give you two more legs, you won’t escape!” Leopard shouted, drawing closer.

Though Leopard’s strength exceeded Chu Feng’s by a bit, it was only in power. On such a perilous mountain path, speed was what mattered, and Leopard had no advantage—catching Chu Feng would not be easy.

“Ouch!” Suddenly, Chu Feng cried out in pain. He tumbled onto the path, clutching his foot, howling in agony.

“Haha! Chu Feng, serves you right! Even Heaven won’t let you escape! Damn you, after making me chase you all this way and costing me two brothers, I’ve got to break something of yours to vent my anger!” Seeing Chu Feng lying at the roadside, likely from a twisted ankle, Leopard was overjoyed.

“Leopard, even if I roll off the cliff, I won’t fall into your hands! You’ll never capture me!” Chu Feng struggled closer to the edge.

“Chu Feng, don’t you dare!” Leopard panicked; if Chu Feng really threw himself off the cliff, all would be lost. He rushed toward Chu Feng at top speed.

“Ah!” Passing by the trap, Leopard’s bear-like body fell completely into it. Dust billowed up; his head was still a foot below the rim.

Leopard screamed in pain, both feet mangled, his shin broken—his legs utterly ruined.

The trap was deep, and its bottom was filled with sharp, sword-like stone spikes. Even a wild boar with thick skin would be pierced through, let alone a mere first-stage body refiner like Leopard.

Leopard looked up and saw Chu Feng.

“Chu Feng, damn you, so cunning! You tricked me into falling in!” Leopard cursed, watching as Chu Feng suddenly turned away. He felt a measure of relief. He’d thought Chu Feng would kill him, but who would have expected him to simply leave? Perhaps he feared Leopard’s reputation and didn’t dare to murder.

That was just as well—once he recovered a bit, maybe he could still escape the trap.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, a shadow loomed overhead. Leopard looked up and saw Chu Feng hoisting a massive stone, smiling down with the chill of death.

“Chu Feng! You…you dare kill me?”

Leopard’s courage faltered. If that stone were dropped, it would crush him into pulp.

“If you want to live, throw out your storage pouch! Hurry!” Chu Feng demanded.

“Put down the stone first, pull me out, and I’ll give you the pouch!”

“You’re in no position to bargain. I’ll count to three!”

“Alright! I’ll give it to you!” Leopard hastily tossed his storage pouch to Chu Feng’s feet.

“Chu Feng, I’ve given you the pouch, now put down the stone!” Leopard pleaded.

“Very well, I’ll put it down now.”

Chu Feng chuckled, and the two-hundred-pound boulder crashed down into the trap.

Dust flew everywhere, and Leopard was killed instantly, the stone smashing his head. Red and white matter splattered, some landing on Chu Feng’s shoes.

“Leopard, you thought your strength would be enough to capture me alive? You and Lynx and Wolf fought like the clam and the snipe, and I, the fisherman, reaped the reward.”

Chu Feng mused, picking up Leopard’s storage pouch.

Low-level martial artists’ storage pouches lacked any soul-locking mechanism; whoever held it, owned it.

“Oh, a gold ingot!”

Though Leopard’s pouch contained only a single gold ingot, Chu Feng felt he had gained much. One gold ingot was worth a hundred silver ingots.

Chu Feng now had over eighty silver ingots, but their total value still didn’t match Leopard’s gold. Gaining this wealth from Leopard was a pleasant surprise; the risk had not been for nothing.

“Time to cross the river! Once I reach the other side, in the territory of the Tianji Wood family, I’ll find a bustling marketplace to buy the supplies I urgently need, then focus on breaking through—if I can reach the second stage of Body Refinement, the realm of training force, I’ll be much stronger than I am now!”

Thinking of his only true friend, Knife, still trapped in Terror Gate, possibly facing torture from the Xiong family at any moment due to Chu Feng’s actions, Chu Feng felt a heavy pressure. His desire to strengthen himself grew ever keener.