Chapter 380 Escape

Chapter 380: Escape

The two stared at each other in the dim light, both maintaining highly alert postures, neither daring to make the first move.

"What the hell! You scared the crap out of me!" The young man, seeing that the other was a man of the Great Zhou, clutched his chest and muttered under his breath, still shaken.

Those words hit Cheng Ge like a thunderbolt to the skull!

His originally tense expression instantly froze, his pupils constricted, and his gaze locked onto that pitch-black face.

"...Arise?" Cheng Ge's voice was extremely low, carrying a tremor he himself hadn't noticed and an indescribable anticipation, each word squeezed out clearly through clenched teeth.

The other man's eyes went wide in disbelief as he sang: "Ye who refuse to be slaves..."

Hearing this, Cheng Ge was momentarily stunned, then blurted out: "Get me a spicy hotpot from the Fifth Cafeteria..."

The other's voice cracked as he shot back instinctively: "Extra spicy, extra numbing, extra hot, hold the cilantro?"

"Extra tofu skin and fish balls, damn it!" The other man nearly shouted, his voice brimming with excitement.

"Zhou Ming, you son of a bitch! Come here and die—!!!"

All of Cheng Ge's guesses, doubts, and shock turned into blazing fury the second they made contact!

Like a fully enraged leopard, he let out a low growl and lunged straight at him!

How could Zhou Ming have ever expected to run into Cheng Ge here, of all places and times!

He was scared shitless. Seeing Cheng Ge charge at him, he scrambled backward on all fours.

Crawling and rolling desperately to get away, he stammered in a frantic whisper: "A Ge! A Ge! Calm down!

Listen to me! It's not what you think! Now's not the time to settle scores!

We need to run! Get out first! I promise, once we're safe, I'll explain for three days and three nights!"

"Explain my ass! I'll beat you to death first, you piece of shit!"

Cheng Ge wasn't having it. Old grudges surged up, mixed with days of pent-up frustration and fear, all pouring into his fists!

He pounced on Zhou Ming, grabbing for his throat while swinging his other fist at his face!

But Cheng Ge had forgotten how weak his body was now—he didn't have anywhere near his old strength.

The punch landed weak and flimsy. Despite his panic, Zhou Ming reacted fast, jerking his head aside to dodge and grabbing Cheng Ge's wrist.

The two immediately devolved into a wrestling match, rolling around in the wet mud.

"Dahuang! Sic him!" Seeing his strength failing, Cheng Ge immediately called for backup.

Dahuang had already taken a disliking to this sudden "black-faced weirdo." Without a second thought at his master's command, he let out a "woof" and pounced, sinking his teeth right into Zhou Ming's sticking-out butt!

"Yow—!!!" Zhou Ming let out a pitiful yelp, his grip going slack.

Cheng Ge seized the chance to break free, flipped over to mount him, and raised his fist to hit him again.

The two men and a dog thrashed around in the dim corner, trying to keep quiet, but in the dead silent night, the haystack rustled and shook as muffled grunts, low growls, and barks mixed together...

"Over there! I heard something!" At the passage entrance not far off, the patrol that had just left was back! They'd clearly heard the racket.

One of them shouted something in the Northern Di tongue, and instantly, chaotic footsteps and shouts came rushing closer!

"We're screwed!" Zhou Ming and Cheng Ge froze mid-motion, their hearts lurching, faces going white.

In the heat of their "internal beef," they'd completely forgotten about the Northern Di soldiers lurking outside! Now they were totally exposed!

They immediately stopped fighting and scrambled back into the deepest shadows behind the haystack.

Cheng Ge clamped his hand over Dahuang's mouth, while Zhou Ming pressed desperately against him. The two were practically stacked on top of each other, feeling every pounding heartbeat and ragged breath.

The patrol's footsteps and Northern Di shouts drew closer, torchlight flickering at the haystack's edge, casting twisted shadows into their cramped corner.

The muddy ground still showed the signs of their scuffle—a wet, messy patch that stood out like a sore thumb.

Dead silence all around, broken only by the crackle of torches and the squelch of boots in the mud.

Cheng Ge and Zhou Ming pressed against the cold haystack, even their swallows deliberately muted.

Time seemed to stretch and freeze, every second pure agony on a knife's edge.

Then a tall dark shadow cast by the torchlight moved slowly until it completely swallowed the haystack where they hid.

The shadow swayed slightly in the straw, carrying a silent, crushing pressure.

Then a gruff voice rang out, Northern Di speech dripping with impatience: "Come out."

The second the words landed, Cheng Ge felt Zhou Ming pressed against him tense up like a rock, going so stiff he started trembling uncontrollably.

Zhou Ming instinctively pressed closer to Cheng Ge, as if trying to shove himself into the gap behind him, hoping to shrink into nothing.

But the guy outside clearly had no patience. Heavy footsteps sounded as he took two more steps closer.

The haystack rustled as he seemed to be closing in to check things out.

Cheng Ge was crushed into the deepest corner, his back jammed against the rough wooden fence.

Dahuang in his arms was squished until his dog face was all mashed up, letting out a muffled, threatening growl.

Cheng Ge's heart was in his throat, his head buzzing. If they got caught, they were done for.

Just as the boot steps were about to hit the edge of the haystack, just as the torchlight was about to lick their hiding spot—

In a flash, Cheng Ge's foot moved before his brain could catch up.

Driven by pure survival instinct, his bent leg shot out! Right on target, slamming into Zhou Ming's butt that was pressed tight against him!

"Ugh!" Zhou Ming, totally caught off guard, let out just a short muffled grunt as the force sent him stumbling forward.

He rolled clumsily twice in the slick mud, completely exposed in the torchlight!

He hit the ground, looking up with a face still full of confusion and a grimace of pain from the fall.

But the next second, he met a pair of eyes staring down at him from above.

He snapped back to reality in an instant, his confusion turning into sheer terror.

He scrambled up, trying to bolt in another direction, babbling incoherently: "No... I..."

But before he could get two steps, a big hand shot out from behind like an iron claw, grabbing the back of his collar and hoisting him up like he weighed nothing!

"Fuck! ...Ugh! Let me explain first!" Zhou Ming's feet left the ground, flailing uselessly at the air.

He was dragged back like prey by the tall figure, but his gaze stayed fixed on the haystack, his eyes filled with barely concealed shock.

Cheng Ge huddled in the corner with Dahuang in his arms, barely daring to breathe, his heart slamming against his ribs like it was about to mutiny.

Only once Zhou Ming's warped howl, mixed with Northern Di curses, had fully died out in the depths of the camp did he dare let his frozen lungs start working again, dragging in air that smelled of musty hay and pure tension.

His body moved like a rusted machine, slowly pushing up on his numb arms and lifting his torso off the gritty dirt and straw.

Bits of hay and dust rained off him as he poked his head out from the haystack, like a groundhog poking its head out of its hole, caught between a survivor's jitters and burning curiosity.

His view was just a narrow slit at first—cold, damp ground, the dying flicker of torchlight in the distance, nobody around.

He got bolder, craning his neck higher, his gaze sweeping toward the direction where Zhou Ming had been dragged off...

Then his gaze slammed into a wall of black—thick leather and cold metal.

That black was right there, like a wall that had materialized out of nowhere.

Cheng Ge froze on the spot, blood seeming to drain from his scalp to his toes.

He craned his neck, gaze crawling upward against his will, inch by agonizing inch—

Mud-caked, plain sheepskin boots...

Solid, long legs sheathed in dark cloth...

A curved saber scabbard hanging off the leather belt, worn and scuffed...

A lean waist and chest packed with quiet strength...

Finally, that sharp-jawed face, weathered and hardened by frontier wind and frost.

Wuliji.

He stood there like a silent tower, having somehow materialized in front of the haystack, so close Cheng Ge could smell leather, dust, and a faint trace of cold sweat on him.

Torchlight slanted in from behind him, stretching his shadow out long, swallowing the corner where Cheng Ge hid and throwing most of his face into darkness.

Only those eyes—unnervingly bright, like a wolf's in the dead of night—locked onto Cheng Ge, unblinking and heavy, who'd just poked half his head out, guilt and panicked bewilderment plastered all over his face.

The air went dead still, like even the night wind was giving them a wide berth.

Cheng Ge: This... is basically the same as seeing a ghost...

Cheng Ge's mouth hung half-open, frozen in that stupid caught-in-the-act pose, brain completely blank.

Every thought of "sneaking a peek" or "finding a way out" had been flash-frozen into ice chips by those bottomless eyes.

He could even make out a single bead of night dew clinging to the man's thick brows, and, in the depths of those pupils, his own pathetic reflection, shrunk down like a scared quail.

Even Dahuang in his arms seemed to feel the crushing pressure—ears that had been perked a second ago went completely flat, not daring to whimper, shoving its wet nose deeper into Cheng Ge's arm, tail tucked tight between its legs.

Time crawled in the silent standoff, each second dragging like a century.

Wuliji's gaze stayed on Cheng Ge's face for a long time, that stare almost physical, raking over his dirty cheeks, scared eyes, trembling lips—like he was examining him, confirming something.

His face was blank, just a deep, unnerving calm.

After what felt like forever, Cheng Ge was almost suffocating under the silent pressure, fingers digging into the hay beside him and yanking out a few dry strands.

Just as he was sure he'd either die of fright or choke on the awkward silence, survival instinct finally beat out fear.

A weird noise croaked out of his throat—half choked cough, half dry laugh.

Then, painfully slowly, he pushed himself up off the ground on shaky knees, "hauling" himself upright inch by inch.

Cheng Ge fought to unclench the stiff muscles in his face, trying to force a "friendly, harmless" smile.

Unfortunately, under Wuliji's completely unreadable stare, that smile warped into something bizarre—half fawning, half guilty, half like he had a toothache.

He cleared his scratchy throat, voice cracking from nerves:

"Ahem... s-so... you're out here too... moon-gazing?"

The second those words left his mouth, Cheng Ge wanted to slap himself.

Moon-gazing? In this pitch-black, godforsaken weather, what the hell moon was there to look at?!

Wuliji didn't take the bait, just kept judging him with those eyes.

Cheng Ge gritted his teeth, let out two hollow laughs, and tried to save it: "Ahahaha... tonight's moon... is pretty... hazy, huh... got a... unique kind of beauty..."

As he talked, his eyes darted everywhere but Wuliji's face, feet quietly shuffling, trying to find an angle that didn't put him dead center of that oppressive presence.

Even Dahuang seemed embarrassed by its master's pathetic performance, silently turning its doggy face away, tail tip giving Cheng Ge's wrist a weak, half-hearted flick.

...

A sudden, dizzying lurch of weightlessness hit him, followed by the dull thud of his back slamming into the bed platform.

Cheng Ge was rattled senseless, black spots swimming in his vision, a half-choked cry of pain catching in his throat.

Wuliji stood by the bed, his tall frame blocking out most of the dim light from the doorway, swallowing Cheng Ge in shadow.

Cheng Ge, shocked and furious, ignored his aching back and scrambled off the bed, hands and feet scrambling everywhere.

But before he got two steps, something clamped around his ankle—an unstoppable brute force yanked him back hard.

His back slammed onto the hard bed board again, jarring his internal organs out of place.

In his dizziness, his right leg was forcibly lifted.

"Click!" A cold, clear, final-sounding metallic snap exploded by his ear.

Cheng Ge looked down in shock.

A rough, dark metal ring was tightly clamped around his right ankle.

A sturdy iron chain extended from the ring, its other end locked firmly to the bedpost of the low couch with a heavy iron lock.

"You—" Cheng Ge's head snapped up, his eyes instantly bloodshot, his voice tearing with extreme humiliation and fury, "Are you insane?! I'm not livestock! Let me go!"

Wuliji stood by the bed, his back to the flickering oil lamp flame, his tall figure completely overshadowing him.

His face still bore no expression, only those deep gray eyes, calm to a terrifying degree in the dim light.

Seeing him remain silent and turn to leave, Cheng Ge was thoroughly enraged by the complete disregard.

His sanity snapped, he threw himself off the bed without a second thought, barefoot, and made to chase after him.

"Clang—!"

The chain went taut in an instant, and the immense pull yanked him hard to the ground!

"Ah—!" His kneecap slammed heavily against the hard floor, a sharp, searing pain shot through his body like lightning.

Cheng Ge let out a muffled groan, his vision going dark, curling in on himself, his whole body convulsing in agony.

Wuliji, who was just about to lift the curtain, froze mid-motion and spun around sharply!