Chapter Forty-Eight: Duel of the Two Heroes

It was only half an hour after the two men had left that Hu San finally rose and departed, quietly returning to his former place. Though he continued to hunt for prey, he now moved with far greater caution. The appearance of Black Bear had brought him a sense of crisis, but also, without a doubt, an opportunity.

By this time, it had been so long since the Second Chief dispatched Ling Zixu to investigate Hu San that he no longer needed any evidence—he already knew that Ling Zixu and his companions had perished on the way. After much deliberation, the Second Chief found an opportunity to report the situation to the Chief, requesting a position to inspect Wolf Fang Mountain Stronghold, and led his men swiftly away from Wolf Fang.

However, contrary to his stated purpose, the Second Chief did not head directly for Wolf Fang Mountain Stronghold. Instead, he changed course midway, stopping in the forest, and sent his men on a detour into Wolf Name Village.

This time, the bandits did not make a grand show; they disguised themselves as passing mountain folk, quietly inquiring for information. There are no secrets that cannot be uncovered in this world; much less so in this case, where the incident was far from airtight—at best, they had only managed to close the doors.

After a little probing, the bandit scouts pieced together certain clues from various rumors and were about to report to the Second Chief. The Second Chief casually seized a villager for questioning, and with the inconsistencies in their answers and the circumstances at the time, he understood the truth of that day without needing to visit the Hu family in person.

He longed to tear Hu San’s family to pieces, but considered that Hu San might have planted informants in the village. If he exposed himself and Hu San managed to escape, all his efforts would be for naught. Moreover, once Hu San was eliminated, the mountain folk of Wolf Name Village would be at his mercy—simply killing them would not satisfy his hatred.

With these considerations, the Second Chief refrained from drastic action. He first ordered the villagers who had been found to be disposed of and then led his men back to Wolf Heart Mountain Stronghold, never even entering Wolf Fang.

Meanwhile, in Wolf Heart Mountain Stronghold, Hu San, who had heard of the Second Chief’s supposed inspection of Wolf Fang, grew increasingly uneasy. He was almost certain that the Second Chief’s real purpose was to investigate his son’s death. With this journey, their secret would surely be exposed—Hu San had no illusions about that.

Yet, the likelihood of the Second Chief acting openly upon his return was slim; the matter was far from honorable and would bring shame if revealed. Confident in his strength, the Second Chief was likely to handle things personally.

Hu San, unwilling to sit in the stronghold and wait for death, left the mountain that very day and wandered outside, constantly gathering information about the situation in Wolf Heart, preparing for the Second Chief’s retaliation.

Along the way, he also familiarized himself with the terrain around Black Bear’s dwelling, and a vague plan began to take shape in his mind.

In truth, Hu San still underestimated the Second Chief’s murderous resolve. No sooner had the Second Chief returned to the mountain, and Hu San received word, than a bandit came to summon him, saying the Second Chief wished to see him.

Hu San, of course, would not go. He had Lin Hu and the others make excuses that he was training in the wilderness and was hard to find.

Hu San reckoned that the Second Chief must have spies watching him. Although it was unlikely he was under constant surveillance, it would be easy enough to find his usual training grounds, especially since Hu San made it so.

Soon enough, the Second Chief appeared in person before Hu San, confirming his suspicions.

The Second Chief came alone, iron fan in hand, eyes as sharp as a hawk, with a fierce light in his gaze.

“Second Chief, how have you been?” Hu San leapt from the woods, a faint smile on his face.

“Whether I am well or not—don’t you already know?”

Upon seeing Hu San, the Second Chief’s heart finally relaxed; he had feared Hu San might flee, but as long as he saw him, he was confident in his ability to kill him.

A cruel smile twisted his lips as he rasped, “Hu San, you were once a talented man, but you crossed the wrong person. For that, your entire family will accompany you to the grave.”

Hu San laughed, his smile unbroken. “Second Chief, whatever are you talking about? Why can’t I understand?”

He clasped his hands in a bow and said, “Well then, it seems you’re not in a good mood today. I’ll come pay my respects another day.”

With that, Hu San spun on his heel, turned a somersault, and dove straight into the dense forest.

“Since you’ve shown yourself, you still think you can escape? How laughable.” With a flick of his folding fan, the Second Chief did not hesitate. He pushed off the ground, the earth exploding beneath his feet, and shot upward like a cannonball, hurtling after Hu San.

In the Second Chief’s mind, Hu San was nothing more than a talented youth with neither the time nor resources to become a true warrior. Against such a boy, a martial artist who had reached the second major realm should have no difficulty tracking him down.

But as he pursued, the Second Chief’s expression gradually changed. Each of Hu San’s steps was not large, but astonishingly swift, and above all, his endurance was remarkable.

With Hu San making full use of the terrain, even though the Second Chief circulated his inner energy, he could not catch up for some time, and even when he did, Hu San would quickly escape again.

Thus, the chase led them far from the heart of Wolf Heart Stronghold.

“What astonishing inner energy—he must have reached the second major realm. I thought I’d need to go easy on him, but now I see that’s unnecessary,” the Second Chief thought, shocked.

Hu San’s surprise was no less than his pursuer’s. With the physique of seven men and inner energy at the third stage, he was only just able to keep pace with the Second Chief at full speed.

Of course, if he fled for his life, the Second Chief could not catch him, but that was not his intention, so the current situation was just right.

They crossed mountain ridges, with Hu San sometimes letting the Second Chief gain on him—enough to keep him from giving up, but never enough to succeed, leading him at last to Black Bear’s territory.

“Let’s hope Black Bear is home, or I’m finished today,” Hu San thought, wiping sweat from his brow. Without pausing, he slipped out of sight, vanishing from the Second Chief’s view.

“So, you refuse the road to heaven, yet barge into hell? If the heavens will you dead, how can you survive?” The Second Chief was startled at first, but when he saw the terrain ahead, he smiled.

The mountain looked steep but was essentially a straight ascent—there was only one way in. Once Hu San went up, he could not come down by any other route.

Realizing this, the Second Chief regained his composure, parted the underbrush, and continued upward. Even if he lost sight of Hu San for the moment, he was unconcerned and searched slowly but carefully.

Hu San moved with extreme caution, knowing Black Bear lived there, but the Second Chief was brazen in his search.

If Black Bear had not been there, it would have been another matter, but in ten days out of ten, Black Bear waited there for news—how could he be absent?

When the Second Chief reached halfway up the mountain, Black Bear had already sensed him. Not knowing who the intruder was, he had not acted yet.

By the time the Second Chief emerged from the forest, Black Bear had confirmed there was only one, and how could he let him go?

A streak of black flashed by. The Second Chief had just looked up when he felt a fierce wind rush at him. In his panic, he swung his iron fan, and with a clang, his fan was knocked aside.

The Second Chief looked closely and saw a dark iron arrow at his feet, its head bent by the force of the blow.

“It’s you—Chen Zhou!”

A burly man in black robes stepped out of the shadows, a ghost-faced saber in hand. It was Black Bear, the leader of Black Bear Stronghold.

The Second Chief’s brows furrowed as his gaze swept the clearing. Besides his surprise at the house and Black Bear, he also noted Hu San’s absence.

What he did not know was that, in preparation for this day, Hu San had dug a tunnel in the forest and was now hidden within. In his desperation, how could the Second Chief possibly find him?

“Black Bear?!”

Unable to find Hu San, the Second Chief focused all his attention on Black Bear. He slowly opened his iron fan, sneering, “You’ve got some nerve showing up in the heart of my Wolf Heart Stronghold. Tired of living, are you?”

From his demeanor, it was clear the Second Chief did not fear Black Bear.

“So this is why Hu San dared defy me—you’re his backing. Hand over Hu San, and I’ll let you leave alive today.”

“Hu San? I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. But since you’re here, do you think you’ll leave? Let me go? Chen Zhou, it’s not that I look down on you, but last time our fight was even only because I held back. Do you truly think you can match me? If I didn’t have to worry about the Chief of Wolf Heart, I’d have taken your head long ago.”

Black Bear snorted, advancing until he was six paces from the Second Chief.

“What bravado. Who was it that lost to me before?” The Second Chief slowly opened his fan, licking his lips, bloodlust flashing in his eyes. “You were involved in my son’s death. Today, I’ll send you to the next world.”

With that, the Second Chief sprang forward, iron fan sweeping as he charged at Black Bear.

Meanwhile, Hu San crawled from his tunnel to secretly observe. He immediately noticed the mysterious glow rising from the weapons in both their hands, subtly trembling the air around them.

“So this is the power of the second major realm—projecting inner energy outward?” Hu San was awed.

The speed, the force, was utterly beyond any expert he had encountered before.

Black Bear’s ghost-faced saber danced with no gaps—impenetrable, almost invisible to the eye, his strength far surpassing that shown in previous battles with the Third Chief.

“Was he holding back all this time?” the thought flashed through Hu San’s mind. He then noticed that the Second Chief seemed to be in trouble.