134 Someone is Watching

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After throwing back his head and unleashing a tiger’s roar, Du Ruo had not yet had time to savor the moment when he suddenly noticed a black speck plunging rapidly from the sky.

“Hm?”

In the blink of an eye, the black speck grew larger and larger. Almost instinctively, Du Ruo reached out and caught the little creature as it fell.

“...”

The creature was about the size of a fist. Its tiny claws were stretched stiffly forward, and its head drooped limply. As Du Ruo looked at it, he found it vaguely familiar.

“Kek~”

The red kestrel opened its large eyes wide and stared at Du Ruo. Its little claws trembled twice as it made that familiar cry, looking utterly foolish and adorable.

“You’re that stupid bird?”

Du Ruo almost instinctively glanced up again. The kestrel had been flying at least a hundred meters above him; otherwise, he would have noticed it sooner. He had never imagined that his tiger’s roar would remain effective over such a distance, let alone shake the kestrel right out of the sky.

The red kestrel seemed to have recovered by then. It fluttered twice, and its body was no longer rigid. Yet after flapping its wings, it did not fly away. Instead, it stood on Du Ruo’s palm and tilted its head at him.

Its expression seemed to ask: Who am I? Where am I? Did you just hit me?

“Can you fly? If you can, then get lost. Don’t even think about faking an injury. At most, I’ll bring you some beef next time.”

Du Ruo moved his palm twice as he muttered to himself. Fortunately, the silly bird had been far away. If it had been nearby, he suspected his roar might have shaken its brains loose.

“Kek~ Kek~~”

The red kestrel hopped twice on Du Ruo’s hand before finally flapping its wings and flying away.

After watching it leave, Du Ruo instinctively scanned his surroundings. Only after confirming that no other small animals had been affected did he relax slightly and decide not to roar again.

The tiger’s roar was certainly useful, but its destructive power was rather excessive. Du Ruo had only just mastered it, and it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. It was essentially an area attack and had to be used with caution. Moreover, because it drove away the spirit through sound, anyone who heard it would be shaken. It was difficult to defend against and impossible to control precisely.

Fortunately, he was several kilometers from the tourist attractions, so he did not have to worry about being discovered. Otherwise, he suspected he would be on the headlines the next day. After all, wild tigers had been absent from Mount Huangshan for even longer than wild clouded leopards.

Of course, if someone were photographed standing on the mountaintop, the impact would still be considerable.

Du Ruo decided not to linger. The mountain wind was quite strong up there, and after looking around, he chose to return by the same route.

The journey back was far from easy, especially across a rock face with such a steep incline—or rather, a cliff would be a more accurate description.

Still, the strength in Du Ruo’s arms and fingers was astonishing. With both feet hanging completely free, he descended from the cliff using nothing but his hands, making his way down to the rock ledge above the kestrel’s nest.

He deliberately went over to take a look at the nest and found the red kestrel already asleep inside. The roar had evidently affected it more than he had thought. After some consideration, Du Ruo knocked several stone frogs unconscious with pebbles and caught a few small insects, leaving them beside the nest before continuing downward.

He did not spend any more time playing with the clouded leopard and headed straight down the mountain.

“Hey! You—you’re Du Ruo, right? Chen Guang’s classmate? You came up the mountain today too? Come eat some mushrooms with me later!”

Du Ruo was running down the mountain. The tea plantation belonging to Yang Guang’s family lay below, so he kept to a fairly ordinary pace. Just as he was running, a voice called out and brought him to a halt.

“Uh, Uncle Yang, you’re gathering mushrooms again? I’ll pass. You eat them yourself. By the way, isn’t Chen Guang with you?”

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Du Ruo turned around and saw Chen Guang’s uncle sitting beneath a pine tree, with a basket beside him. He greeted the man and took the opportunity to glance around.

“That boy’s wife keeps him on a tight leash, so he doesn’t dare come anymore. Honestly, I’ve been gathering mushrooms for years and never had a problem. Last time was just an accident—he must have picked the poisonous ones. Do you want me to give you some to take home?”

Chen Guang’s uncle took a drink from his water bottle and continued enthusiastically trying to share his mushrooms with Du Ruo.

“No, no, I’m fine. I’ll head back first. You carry on, Uncle Yang.”

Du Ruo shook his head like a rattle and hurried down the mountain, unwilling to trust the man.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, Du Ruo did not even have time to wash up. He immediately called Chen Guang.

“Hello, Du Ruo. What’s up?”

Chen Guang sounded lazy over the phone, as though he had only just woken up.

“I just came down from the mountain and saw your uncle gathering mushrooms. Keep an eye on him. Don’t let him poison himself without even realizing it.”

Du Ruo told him what had happened.

“Oh, all right. I understand. I’ll go over and check in a little while.”

Chen Guang instantly became alert.

After hanging up, Du Ruo put the matter out of his mind. He went to the bedroom, washed up, and began preparing something to eat.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Excuse me, is this Master Du Ruo’s home?”

Du Ruo was eating breakfast in the living room when a knock sounded at the door. The voice seemed somewhat familiar, and he hurriedly looked outside.

“Ah, Director Shi! What a rare visitor. Come in, come in. And who is this?”

Du Ruo stepped out of the living room and saw Shi Dong standing outside the courtyard. He quickly went over to greet him while sizing up the middle-aged man beside him.

Shi Dong had brought along a man in his forties. He wore a smile and seemed quite mild-mannered.

Both men were carrying fruit, which they handed to Du Ruo when they saw him.

“Hehe, this is Yang Huaming. We’ve been online friends for many years. He’s also a martial arts enthusiast. We never had the chance to meet before, but a couple of days ago, while we were chatting online, I happened to mention you, Master Du. So we decided to take this opportunity to get together.”

Shi Dong made the introduction, and the two men followed Du Ruo inside.

“Master Du, this is a wonderful place. Beautiful mountains and clear water, peaceful and comfortable—and you even have a courtyard you can arrange however you like.”

Yang Huaming smiled as he looked curiously at the various arrangements in the courtyard, his voice carrying a hint of envy.

That was one of the advantages of living in the countryside. The surroundings were pleasant and more suitable for practicing martial arts. Unlike in the city, there was barely room to stretch one’s limbs.

The floors in modern city buildings were especially thin, and their soundproofing was poor. If Du Ruo practiced Baji Quan in a high-rise apartment, he suspected the neighbors would complain until he began to question his entire existence.

“Country living has its advantages. Come in and sit down. I happened to bring back some Longjing tea from Zhejiang yesterday. Let’s have a taste. Hm?”

Du Ruo led the two men toward the house, but just before he entered, he suddenly felt as though he were being watched. He sharply turned his head and followed the sensation with his gaze.

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He looked toward the window of a two-story house two hundred meters away. The instant Du Ruo turned to look, the person behind the window seemed startled and abruptly pulled the curtain shut.

Du Ruo swept his gaze over the building and memorized the window. He knew that the two-story house was a guesthouse belonging to another family in the village.

“What is it?” Shi Dong asked curiously. Du Ruo had been walking normally, yet he had suddenly reacted so strongly that even his footsteps had stopped.

“Nothing. Someone was probably watching us, but it isn’t a problem. Come on, let’s go inside.”

Du Ruo smiled and led Shi Dong and Yang Huaming into the house.

“Master Du, your senses are remarkably sharp. You can detect someone watching you from that far away?”

Yang Huaming also withdrew his gaze and made the teasing remark in a tone that seemed faintly skeptical.

“It may have been my imagination. Never mind. Let’s have some tea.”

Du Ruo did not elaborate. His five senses were keen, but not to a superhuman degree. The person watching him had carried a trace of malice, which was what had alerted him. Still, although that gaze had been hostile, it had not made him feel as though a blade were pressed against his back. The watcher was probably no expert—or assassin.

When Du Ruo had been in the Philippines, he had sensed the killing intent of a gunman before and knew exactly what it felt like.

Under ordinary circumstances, someone’s gaze would never have provoked such a strong reaction from him. For instance, that morning on the mountain, he had only noticed Chen Guang’s uncle because the man had spoken first.

Du Ruo brought the two men into the living room and began brewing tea. Before doing so, however, he picked up his phone and sent Chen Guang a message, asking him to inquire with the owner of the other guesthouse whether anyone unusual had checked in over the past few days.

“Come to think of it, Huaming and I have known each other for nearly twenty years. If I hadn’t mentioned you, Master Du, we probably wouldn’t have arranged to meet even now.”

Shi Dong sipped his tea and began telling Du Ruo about his history with Yang Huaming.

Shi Dong practiced the great spear, while Yang Huaming practiced swordsmanship. They had met nearly twenty years earlier on a domestic internet forum.

At the time, they were both studying at universities in distant parts of the country and had no opportunity to meet in person. They had simply exchanged online contact information. Later, one returned to work in his hometown, while the other was hired by a hospital, and through a twist of fate, they ended up living in the same city.

Yang Huaming lived in the city proper, while Shi Dong lived in the town. Since both men were extremely busy, they never had the chance to get together, though they had remained in constant contact online.

Thus, after Du Ruo came up in conversation, the two finally decided to meet in person.

“It really is a rare opportunity. But tell me, Old Shi, we’ve been arguing all this time about whether your spear is more powerful or my sword. What do you say? Shall we settle it today?”

Yang Huaming looked at Shi Dong with a smile. When they first met online, they had begun by debating whether the great spear or swordsmanship was superior. Their sharp rivalry had eventually turned into mutual admiration, but they had never resolved the original question. Since they had finally met today, it seemed they were determined to settle the matter.

“Of course. And Master Du can act as our referee. Master Du, may we borrow your courtyard and some of your weapons?”

Shi Dong clearly had the same thought. As soon as he heard the suggestion, he set down his teacup and turned to Du Ruo.

“Certainly. Come on, let’s go to the courtyard. All the weapons there are unsharpened, so choose whatever you like.”

Du Ruo naturally had no objection. The three of them had come together in the spirit of martial friendship. If they did not discuss martial arts after meeting, it would have felt somewhat awkward.

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