Against the Current - Chapter 302
Chapter 302 - Ferocious (Part 2)
The forest was dead silent. Xianglan didn't dare to move at all, her entire body trembling even more violently, rustling the leaves of the low bushes beside her. She inched forward slowly, only to bump into something. Looking closely, she realized it was a hand. Tracing that arm forward, she found herself face-to-face with the corpse of a dead man, his eyes wide open, his expression piteous and terrified. Horrified, Xianglan clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle a scream, biting down on her handkerchief to keep her teeth from chattering and clicking together.
Lying prone on the snow-covered ground, Lin Jinlou didn't move an inch, his mind crystal clear. Just a moment ago, he had caught a glimpse of the character "Lu" carved onto the feathered shafts of the arrows. Lu Shaotang’s subordinates were well-trained in archery, and ever since Lu lost his power in the Jiangnan region, he had come to the capital to throw his lot in with the Second Prince. Now, with the Second Prince coveting the throne for so long, he must have decided to take advantage of the Crown Prince's absence from the capital and the weak defense to launch a rebellion amidst the chaos. Because these Jinwu Guards had been marching hurriedly, they hadn't worn heavy armor, leading to their tragic deaths in this forest where they became wandering ghosts drifting with the wind. Lin Jinlou felt a surge of secret relief; fortunately, he had already sent his subordinates off to deliver a message earlier. Otherwise, if the rebels had ambushed them with a hail of arrows, there was no telling how many men would have been lost, and attempting to break through to report the news would have been a desperate gamble with little hope of survival. Immediately afterward, he cursed inwardly. With the enemy outnumbering them and the odds heavily stacked against him, he was also encumbered by Xianglan, making it even harder to maneuver. He had to find a way to get Xianglan out safely.
After a moment of silence, Xianglan felt her heart leap into her throat, making the suspense almost unbearable. Then, she heard the sound of arrows tearing through the wind, landing with loud thuds into the tree trunks. Those arrows were fire arrows, resembling little lanterns that flickered on and off in the northwest wind, casting a dim and wavering light over the scene in the forest. Seeing that only a dozen or so fire arrows had been shot, Lin Jinlou instantly deduced that the rebels were not very numerous either. With only two men left at his side, taking on a hundred single-handedly was impossible, but the elite guards of the Lin family were each capable of fighting ten men, leaving them with a fighting chance. He quietly picked up a scattered goose-feather saber and hurled it outward with all his might. The blade landed with a sharp clang in the clearing ahead, and an arrow zipped past to bury itself right beside the weapon, the fletching vibrating slightly.
Lu Shaotang sat on his tall steed, stationed not far away. With the Emperor strictly investigating the secret collusion between the Second Prince and the officers of the Five Army Camp, the Second Prince had received intelligence and was forced to make his move while the Emperor was on his deathbed and the Crown Prince was away from the capital. Lu had originally been assigned to ambush and wipe out the Jinwu Guards at this location. Just as the slaughter concluded, his cavalry had ridden off toward the Five Army Camp in the outskirts of the capital, while he stayed behind with forty or fifty men to clear the battlefield and rendezvous with the main army. Who would have expected that upon emerging from the edge of the dense forest, they would spot firelight by the tree line, prompting him to strike first with a volley of arrows?
Unable to wait any longer, Lu Shaotang ordered a dozen men to go forward and scout. Lin Jinlou quietly tightened his grip on his saber hilt. Seeing the rebels drawing closer and closer to where Xianglan was hiding, he let out a thunderous roar and leaped straight into the air. Grabbing one of the rebels with a violent shake of his arm, he hurled the man bodily outward with a heavy bang that slammed him hard against a tree. The feathered arrows already fixed in the trunk pierced straight through the man's chest, and after a few weak struggles, his head lolled to the side. Chaos instantly erupted in the clearing. The other two Lin family guards also sprang out, immediately engaging the rebels in close combat as another twenty-odd enemy soldiers swarmed forward.
Having practiced martial arts since childhood and having cheated death on the battlefield several times, Lin Jinlou was naturally formidable. His heavy saber moved as fast as lightning, sweeping through the enemy like an overwhelming avalanche. Before long, the rebels were knocked flat to the ground one after another, and the survivors, intimidated by his majestic and fierce presence, dared not step forward for a moment.
Horrified, Lu Shaotang thought to himself, "In the dead of night, which immortal from the heavens has descended to be this remarkably skilled?" He ordered his archers to fire more fire arrows for illumination, only to be shocked to discover that the man leading the defense was none other than Lin Jinlou. Gritting his teeth with hatred, Lu sneered, "Good, good, good! I was just fretting over where to settle scores with you, and today you've walked right through hell's gates without anyone opening them for you!" He commanded his archers on either side, "Release arrows!"
An archer hesitated and said, "The rain of arrows is merciless; I fear we might injure our own brothers..."
Lu Shaotang cast a cold glance at the archer and waved his hand, signaling that no further words were permitted. Suddenly, he drew the saber at his waist and sliced through the archer's neck with a sharp shink. The man collapsed stiffly to the ground without even managing a muffled groan.
Everyone was struck dumb with shock. Raising his saber high, Lu Shaotang roared at the top of his lungs, "Release arrows! Release arrows! Release arrows!"
At his command, arrows flew like a torrential rain. Cries of agony rang out continuously for a brief moment before falling completely silent.
Only the whistling wind, carrying the sound of howling wolf-whistles, swept through the swirling snow.
Lu Shaotang still had a dozen men under his command, all of them archers. He ordered them to draw their bows to the full and cautiously advanced on horseback at a slow pace. The closer they drew, the clearer the scene of carnage became: corpses lay strewn everywhere, piled layer upon layer, with blood flowing like a river. Suddenly, a mass of dark clouds obscured the bright moon, and a figure drenched entirely in blood rose from the pile of corpses like a malevolent Rakshasa ghost from the fields of Asura, sending shivers of terror down everyone's spine.
The archers were terrified, their fingers trembling as a dozen arrows whistled through the air, completely enveloping the blood-soaked figure. Yet the bloody figure unexpectedly reached out, grabbed two corpses, and hoisted them in front of him as a shield. The arrows struck the dead bodies with successive thud-thud-thud sounds as Lin Jinlou's voice boomed out in a roar, "Lu Shaotang, if you have the guts, come face me in a fight to the death!" With that, stretching out his long arm, he hurled the corpses toward the rebels with two heavy thuds, instantly knocking down several men. Such astonishing arm strength was truly awe-inspiring and terrifying. Taking advantage of the brief panic among the rebels, Lin Jinlou charged forward on the momentum, striking with his elbows, punching with his fists, and chopping with his palms. In the blink of an eye, he knocked down several more. The archers excelled only at long-range shooting, not close-quarters combat, and they instantly plunged into complete disarray.
Lu Shaotang shouted, "Do not panic, do not scatter!" But swords, spears, halberds, and blades were flashing everywhere in the dim moonlight, accompanied by a chaotic jumble of curses, screams, and warnings.
Having hacked down another seven or eight men, Lin Jinlou felt his strength failing him and thought to himself, "I’ve already taken arrow wounds and shouldn't drag this out. It would be better to draw them into the forest, let Xianglan escape, and leave life and death to fate. If she has the fortune, she might survive this ordeal." With that thought, he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lu, you thief, if you have the guts, follow your grandpa this way and taste my methods!" Having said that, he turned on his heel and bolted into the depths of the forest.
How could Lu Shaotang let him go? He spurred his horse and led his men in hot pursuit.
As the sound of hooves faded into the distance, Xianglan crawled out from behind the bushes, trembling all over, her face covered in tears. She stood up unsteadily and wiped away the tears blindly, feeling that the terror and tragedy had reached their absolute peak. Hearing the northwest wind howling in her ears, she had no idea where to go or what to do, only wishing to flee far away from this earthly hell. At that moment, a few miserable screams echoed from the forest, prompting a sudden realization in her mind: "Lin Jinlou could have easily escaped on his own with his men, but he fought them off to save me, and even lured them deep into the woods. When he ran past just now, his steps were unsteady; surely, with blades having no eyes, he must already be wounded. If I abandon him to his fate, can I still be considered a human being?" For reasons unknown, a chaotic surge of emotions flooded her heart—grief-stricken and heartbroken, her tears flowed even more uncontrollably. She wiped her face with her sleeve once more, thinking, "I will follow him quietly. In a moment of crisis, I can at least lend a hand. To conduct oneself in the world is to repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring; I will do my best, and if it comes to it, I will simply repay him with my death." Trembling, she unfastened her cloak, flipped the dark inner lining outward so that the vibrant red scarlet-felt fabric was on the inside, clutched the blanket and the hand-warmer to her chest, picked up a saber from the ground, and ran into the dense forest as well.
By this time, Lin Jinlou had fallen into a fierce, blood-crazed battle, his wild instincts fully aroused like a ferocious tiger breaking out of its cage and descending a mountain. With his left hand, he wrested a single-edged saber from an enemy, and with his right hand, he slashed down like someone chopping vegetables, cleaving open an opponent's skull and instantly ending his life. Lu Shaotang let out a wild scream, sounding both terrified and resentful.
Lin Jinlou attacked with mad fury, his single saber flashing like a sheet of silver, its eerie light gleaming with ghost-like speed. Fresh blood flew everywhere; before long, the rebels fell dead one after another, their bodies decapitated, chests split open, and limbs severed.
Seeing that Lin Jinlou had exhausted the greater part of his stamina, Lu Shaotang rode forward on his horse, raising his saber. With a loud clang, the two weapons collided. Because Lu Shaotang was mounted on horseback and held the high ground, he had every advantage of terrain; this single blow made the webbing between Lin Jinlou's thumb and forefinger go numb, forcing him to stumble back several steps. Lu Shaotang delivered another downward slash. Lin Jinlou blocked four or five blows in succession, retreating step by step until his back hit a tree trunk. With a sudden uck, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, unable to support his weight any longer. His legs felt weak and cottony, barely able to keep him upright before his knees finally buckled, causing him to slide down the tree trunk and collapse onto the snowy ground.
At that moment, the dark clouds parted and the bright moon shone through. Moonlight filtered down through the forest branches, illuminating the feathered arrows protruding from Lin Jinlou's chest. He panted like an ox, soaked head-to-toe in crimson blood, and suddenly threw his head back in laughter, his heart filled with a fierce sense of catharsis. He swung down from his horse, strode right up to Lin Jinlou, looked down at him from above, and mocked, "Didn't expect this, did you? Today is the day you die by my hand. Once I chop off your dog's head in a moment, I'll use it as a footstool."
Lin Jinlou caught his breath, his body wracked with tremors from the excruciating pain. With a squelch, he wrenched the arrow out from his chest as fresh blood spurted forth. A cold, slight smile played across his face as he rasped, "You killed three of my personal guards today."
Lu Shaotang arched an eyebrow high and retorted, "So what? Don't tell me you intend to file a complaint with King Yama after you're dead?"
Lin Jinlou shook his head slightly and said with icy detachment, "Those three men followed me to suppress bandits and fight against pirates, braving untold dangers and going through life and death to protect our country. Today, you murdered them. As their master, I am going to kill you to avenge them."
Stunned by this declaration, Lu Shaotang stared at Lin Jinlou, looking him up and down several times. Seeing him in such a wretched, weakened state, Lu found his words as absurd as a fantastic fairy tale. Filled with derision, he burst into arrogant laughter. When the laughter subsided, he raised his heavy saber and thrust it downward with two consecutive thugs into Lin Jinlou's left and right shoulders, respectively. Gritting his teeth with bitter hatred, he hissed, "And how, pray tell, do you plan to kill me? How?! When you forced me into the plight of a stray dog back then, did you ever imagine you'd see this day?"
Suddenly, Lin Jinlou leaped up fiercely and lunged at him, slamming straight into Lu Shaotang's chest and sending them both tumbling onto the ground in a roll. Struggling back to his feet, Lin Jinlou staggered backward a few paces, lost his footing once more, and collapsed heavily into the snow, breathing heavily.
Lu Shaotang got to his feet, trembling all over. With utter disbelief, he lowered his gaze to his chest—stuck directly through his heart was that very same feathered arrow! Blood was gushing out in a steady stream. He looked from Lin Jinlou to his own chest, and using his very last ounce of strength, he yanked the crossbow arrow from his waist and raised it. At that moment, Lin Jinlou was utterly drained of strength, unable to move a single muscle, and even lacked the power to lift a hand to wipe the blood from his lips. Believing that today he would surely die right here, he slowly closed his eyes.
A heavy thump echoed through the air.
Lin Jinlou opened his eyes. He saw Lu Shaotang drop to his knees, a rattling sound gurgling in his throat. The crossbow dropped from his hands with a clatter, but he couldn't utter a single word before his eyes bulged and he pitched forward onto the ground. A massive flower of blood bloomed across the white snow. Standing directly behind Lu Shaotang was Xianglan, holding a heavy saber in her hands, trembling all over like an autumn leaf in the biting wind.