Chapter 127: The Autumn Harvest of Sun Xiaoshan (2)

Sun Xiaoshan hummed a little tune as he carried his change of clothes into his room. It was already pitch black outside. Holding a candle in his left hand for light, he pushed the door open, tossed the dirty laundry aside, and hooked the door shut with his foot. Suddenly, he caught a whiff of fragrance.

Ever since the apocalypse began, everyone had been living amidst the stench of zombies. Having long grown accustomed to the pervasive rot, he found the sudden presence of a perfume inside a tightly sealed room highly suspicious.

Sun Xiaoshan was no ordinary man; he was a veteran who had fought through countless hordes of zombies. Without missing a beat, he flipped the candle in his left hand, thrust it against his own body to extinguish the flame, and dove silently to the floor. Following his memory, he crawled toward the wall. It was an overcast night with neither stars nor moon, leaving the room in absolute darkness.

Just as he was crawling, he heard a rush of wind, like the whistling of a heavy saber or a sudden gust of gale.

Sun Xiaoshan remained silent, continuing to crawl toward his bed. He kept a piece of individual night-vision equipment, intended for field reconnaissance, by the bedside. Feeling his way to the bed, he found the device and strapped it on. With no ambient light available, the low-light module was useless, leaving only the infrared function operational.

He saw a dark red silhouette dancing in the open space of the room. The figure was merely flourishing a blade in place, the wind whistling as it moved. It was clearly a saber, but the movements were purely defensive, deliberately avoiding the spot where he had been standing moments before.

Sun Xiaoshan found this strange. He quietly reached out and grabbed a steel pipe. With the weapon in his hand, his heart steadied.

Lu Cuifeng had never been scolded by her father like that in her entire life. Even when she got into fights, her father’s reprimands were always delivered in private. This was the first time she had been dressed down in front of so many people, especially when she had actually intended to do something productive rather than just brawling out of spite.

"I have to settle this score," the master martial artist decided. The consequences of angering Miss Lu were severe. She had followed Sun Xiaoshan all the way to the well site, watched them assign the living quarters, and then snuck in.

Miss Lu was a person who valued manners. She intended to ambush Sun Xiaoshan, beat him soundly without being identified, and prevent this so-called "leader" from losing face in front of his subordinates. It would also make this pretty-boy Sun tremble like a mouse before a cat whenever he saw her in the future. What could her father say then?

Oh, the thought was delightful; it felt as wonderful as standing on the podium at a university sports meet.

She had waited painstakingly for Sun Xiaoshan to enter the room. Just as she saw the candlelight, it had suddenly gone pitch black.

Though Lu Cuifeng was bold and skilled, she was still a young woman. Not panicking was a testament to her excellent mental fortitude. Not daring to make a sound, she assumed Sun Xiaoshan was about to launch a storm of attacks, so she immediately whipped her Miao saber into a blur of defensive arcs.

She swiped and swung, but after a long while, no one attacked. Giving it her all and feeling extremely tense, her mind began to wander. Was this a case of the "old woman trapping the child"?

She grew tired. This wasn't like a targeted strike; it was blind fighting, constantly guarding against a potential attack, which was mentally and physically exhausting.

As soon as her blade slowed, she frightened herself with the thought that Sun Xiaoshan might be waiting for her to tire out before striking. She rallied her spirit and swung the blade fiercely again. Stuttering and stopping, stopping and stuttering, she kept on slashing in the dark.

Sun Xiaoshan was a man of restraint. He never disturbed others when they were deep in concentration. He simply watched quietly as the expert fought a solitary battle in the dark, her movements sometimes rapid, sometimes sluggish.

Outside, Liu Mang shouted, "Brother Sun, time to eat!" He and Sun Xiaoshan were close, addressing each other as brothers in private. He knocked twice on the door and pushed it open.

A sliver of candlelight spilled through the gap, illuminating the room. A figure in a black night-suit, covered from head to toe, stood inside. The intruder’s head whipped around, and she was shocked to see Sun Xiaoshan standing by the bed, holding a steel pipe, wearing night-vision goggles, and staring directly at her—clearly having watched her practice for a good while.

The intruder was startled but didn't panic. She darted behind the door. Liu Mang, having pushed the door wide open, heard Sun Xiaoshan shout, "Behind the door!"

Having spent so much time with Sun Xiaoshan, Liu Mang understood instantly. He kicked the door panel, slamming it shut against the wall behind it.

The intruder twisted her wrist, blade facing outward, and pressed her left hand against the back of the blade to burst through the door. A black shadow leaped out through the gap in the broken door panel. Just as Liu Mang was about to intervene, he twitched his nose, stepped back, and watched the intruder bolt away.

Once the intruder was far off, Liu Mang brought the candle to Sun Xiaoshan and asked, "Are you alright?"

Sun Xiaoshan looked at him strangely. He retrieved the candle he had tossed aside, relit it, and asked, "Did you recognize her?" He meant, why hadn't he stepped in?

Liu Mang hesitated, then said uncertainly, "Wasn't that Lu Wancai's daughter from Xiaoxinbao Village this morning?" He twitched his nose again. "When she rushed in, she stood right next to me. It seems to be that same scent."

Sun Xiaoshan thought about it. At the time, he had been sitting in the guest seat, and Liu Mang had been standing by the door, about twelve or thirteen meters away from the girl. It was a hot autumn day, everyone was sweating, and the place was crowded; he hadn't smelled a thing. He shook his head and said, "I suppose Miss Lu just wanted to vent some frustration?"

Both men felt quite depressed. Liu Mang knew his brother was a man of the battlefield, a fighter who relied on simple, lethal lunges. He had no patience for these kinds of "martial arts" games.

If they had to increase security or relocate overnight, it would make their work very difficult.

Sun Xiaoshan pondered, "Is there such a thing as a 'martial arts duel' where you hide in a room to ambush someone?"

Liu Mang felt embarrassed. What kind of question was that? He replied gloomily, "No..."

"It seems she was trying to save face for me, just wanting to blow off some steam." Sun Xiaoshan mused, "At worst, I'll get a beating, and no one will know... To die under a peony flower, even as a ghost, is still romantic, heh heh..."

"Pah!" Liu Mang scoffed. "Just pray you don't end up with broken limbs."

Sun Xiaoshan was speechless.

There was no good solution. If it were a man, he could just round up some guys and beat him back. But against a girl, if he couldn't win, going to her parents would be too humiliating.

After eating dinner, Liu Mang and Sun Xiaoshan shared the room, and they posted a few extra sentries. The night passed without incident.

The next morning, the sun rose, and everyone got up to continue their work. Some survivors from nearby villages who had been recruited also arrived at the site.

Liu Mang nudged Sun Xiaoshan and gestured into the distance. Sun Xiaoshan looked over to see a young woman approaching from the south, holding a Miao saber in one hand.

For the sake of coordination, Sun Xiaoshan and Liu Mang were standing on high ground, surrounded by guards. Lu Cuifeng walked up to Sun Xiaoshan and whispered, "Follow me."

Sun Xiaoshan hesitated. Knowing he couldn't win, he wondered if he would be a fool to follow her. Was he supposed to just go along with it?