The short man drew his sword from his waist, lifted it high.
Then, he swung downward.
At Jiu Xian's neck.
Clang!
Thud!
His grip weakened and the sword slipped out of his hand. The weakness spread throughout his body. His legs unable to support his weight gave in, his body helplessly falling down on the ground.
"W—what happened to yo—?!" The other man also fell down with a thud.
"What?! Why can't I move?"
"It's the incense!!"
Realisation dawned upon them. But it was too late. They could only watch helplessly as their prey stood up. His cold smile sent shivers down their spine.
"Not quite right. It was the effect of the jerky you ate combined with the smoke of the incense."
"Y—you spiked our food?"
"Hm..." Jiu Xian nodded.
He had long noticed the inconsistencies; they were too lanky to be hunters, there was too much blood on the tunic. The empty quiver, a hunter would never lose their arrows... and what use is a quiver if you have no arrows. Why not just throw it away to increase mobility.
The sword— hunters prefer daggers; swords hinder manoeuvrability in close quarters. While some hunters do use swords, their sword looked too good to be manufactured by a village blacksmith.
Jiu Xian stated them one by one.
"Those are just suspicions... we saw a snake slither toward you. We were just trying to save you."
Their eyes lit up. To them the heavens seemed to be on their side.
HISS!!!
Jiu Xian turned around, and lo and behold, some distance from the tree, a small snake was hissing toward him.
"HAHAHA!" Jiu Xian clutched his stomach. "You take me for a fool?"
He wiped a tear from his eye and took out one of his spare robe.
The cloth waved in air under the flick of his hands. A wave of air drifted toward the small snake, carrying along the smoke of the incense.
HISS!!!
As the smoke reached the snake, it slithered away.
"..." The tall man's eyes became dull.
"H—How could have we known that?! We were just trying to save you in good faith!" The short man's voice raised an octave, his face turned red.
"You said you were deserters."
"What's wrong with that?"
"..."
"You said you looted other people."
"N—No. No. You must have heard it wrong in your sleep."
"What I said was— if we add the..." he paused for a second. "honey with the fruit we have..."
Jiu Xian stared at the short man, his eyes widened and his mouth agape.
"Go on. Carry on, I'm listening."
"B—brother. Stop. Please, just stop." The tall man's face turned red from second hand embarrassment.
"Let's assume you really were saying what you just said. Where's the honey then?"
Jiu Xian raised his eyebrow.
The short man's eyes darted around, scouring everything in his view.
"T—There. There. Look at that tree."
Jiu Xian turned around and... There it was; a bee hive hanging from a tree in the distance.
"I must say, you sure are blessed by the heavens. May I know your name?"
"Huh? My name is Gu Yunsheng."
"What a nice name. Born of luck, it even has a nice meaning."
"Haha! My parents gave me that name."
"Would you like to guess my name?" Jiu Xian pointed at himself.
"Are you insane?! How would I know your name?"
"Very well then, I'm Jiu Xian of the Crouching Fish Village. The very village which you two are supposedly part of. The same village that the fairy descended upon."
His voice grew shaper. The colour faded from Gu Yunsheng's face.
"And as per your words, I'm the very man—"
He leaned in closer.
"...whose wife abandoned him...to chase immortality."
The duo shuddered. They were the fools all along, not him. They had failed at the very first step. They had underestimated a man, thinking he was just a naïve scholar from some village in some back water area.
"Now. Tell me everything about yourselves and I will hand you over to the vigilantes. Refuse and..." He pulled a dagger from his waist, gliding it just inches away from Gu Yunsheng's neck.
"I'm innocent. I haven't killed anyone yet. It's him. He killed them... Not me."
"Y—You. He's ly—"
"Shut up. Let him speak."
Jiu Xian checked their bodies, removed any personal belongings they had and secured their hands with a rope. He interrogated them through the long night, getting to know their history, purpose and the current gloomy state of the biggest city in their region.
By the time he was done, the sun had risen.
Having failed to catch a wink of sleep last night, he yawned, holding a rope in his hand as he led the duo towards the nearest village.
"Brother. Please let us go. We will change our ways and live an honest life."
"Yes brother. We can even call you boss."
"Shut up and follow me, or I will be forced to seal your mouth too."
"..."
"..."
Grumble! Grumble!
Jiu Xian stopped; he took out some jerky from his pouch.
"Here. Eat this."
""No we are good.""
They marched and soon reached a bridge hanging over a river. The bridge was old, swaying wildly under the winds. Crossing it would be risky, but the bridge was short. They cross it one at a time.
"I don't want to go, Brother! Please."
"ha! You have to pay for your crimes. Unless the heavens themselves intervene... you can't escape."
Gu Yunsheng closed his eyes. He muttered the name of every god he knew under his breath.
But it seemed his prayers would not be answered.
Jiu Xian crossed the bridge.
"Hurry up!" He tugged at the rope in his hand.
The tall man obliged with a resigned expression and carefully crossed over.
Gu Yunsheng however did not. Halfway at the bridge, he stood still, holding onto the ropes of the bridge with all his might, refusing to take a single step forward.
"No! I won't go. If the gods won't answer my prayers." He rubbed the tied to his hands against the rope of the bridge.
"I WILL."
"Are you insane?!"
The bridge swayed under his actions, the tension on the ropes tightened.
"You idiot! What are you standing still for?! Help me pull the ropes."
"Yes."
But they were too late. The ropes binding Gu Yunsheng's broke apart. He jumped in joy, turning around to run.
"Brother, wait for me. I will come rescue you."
TWANG!
"Agh! SAVE ME!!!"
PLOP!
The heavens finally answered his prayers. The ropes of the bridge snapped. Gu Yunsheng escaped drifting along the flow of the river.
"Is this man born of luck or... misfortune?"