Chapter 1062: A Knife in the Back

Currently, the hospital only has a three-wheel sidecar motorcycle. Within ten minutes of receiving the rescue notification, the three of them were fully prepared. All medical personnel realized that something significant might have happened, but Chang Baoqing kept it under wraps. He instructed the three team members on the special mission to ensure their own safety and to report any situation immediately.

Chunliang was on edge, urging Wang Wenxiang to set off quickly. Although Ye Changyuan was his godfather, they didn’t have a deep emotional connection. Chunliang got to know Ye Qingya first, then recognized Elder Ye as his god-grandfather, and eventually had a godfather and godmother. It could be said that his feelings for his godmother Lin Sijin were stronger than for his godfather, Ye Changyuan.

However, upon hearing the news of the aircraft’s loss of contact, Chunliang’s heart was still heavy. If Ye Changyuan were to die in an accident, how would the Ye Family withstand such a blow? Elder Ye, Lin Sijin, and Ye Qingya were all people he cared about. Chunliang didn’t want them to be heartbroken.

Chunliang understood that if the helicopter crashed, the chances of survival for those on board were slim. Yet, he still silently hoped for a miracle in his heart.

The motorcycle moved forward over the uneven road as raindrops the size of soybeans hit their faces and bodies. Though fully equipped, it was inevitable that their clothes would get wet under such conditions.

Chunliang took out his phone, but there was no signal. He then pulled out a handheld satellite navigator. Before they set off, he had specifically stopped by the Changshan Hospital rescue point to mention it. This handheld positioning device was given to him by Tang Mingmei as a backup tool, providing precise location information when the phone signal was lost.

Chunliang noticed they weren’t heading directly to the rescue site and asked in surprise, “Master Wang, are we going the wrong way?”

Wang Wenxiang responded loudly, “No, the nearest route has a broken bridge, so we have to detour. We might have to travel an additional seven to eight kilometers, but we can definitely make it to the spot within half an hour.”

Sitting behind Wang Wenxiang, Fang Cheng was continuously chewing gum, his mouth moving non-stop.

Fang Cheng complained, “Who is it that wants to mobilize everyone for a search? Rescue resources are already scarce, yet so many personnel are being drawn away.”

Wang Wenxiang said, “It must be someone important.”

Chunliang reminded him to watch the road. There was an overturned tree up ahead blocking the way. To proceed, they would need to remove the obstacle for the three-wheeler.

Wang Wenxiang quickly braked, sighed, and said, “You two go and move the tree, or else we can’t get through.”

Fang Cheng sighed, “What a damn bad luck.”

Chunliang had already gotten off the motorcycle, bending over to lift the tree. Time was life, and the sooner they reached the accident site, the higher Ye Changyuan’s chances of survival would be. He was more anxious than anyone else to get there.

At this moment, Wang Wenxiang and Fang Cheng exchanged a look. Fang Cheng drew a gleaming dagger from behind, slowly approaching Chunliang’s back.

Chunliang said, “What are you standing there for? Give me a hand!”

Fang Cheng suddenly moved, stabbing the dagger fiercely toward Chunliang’s back. While Chunliang was bending over exerting force with the tree trunk in his hands, Fang Cheng had chosen the timing with extreme precision. The dagger went from a slow advance to a sudden acceleration, showing clearly that he was a well-trained assassin.

Fang Cheng’s face displayed a sinister smile as if he already saw the dagger piercing Chunliang’s skin and piercing through his rib gap into his heart. In reality, as long as it cut Chunliang’s skin, survival would be impossible since the dagger was coated with deadly poison.

When the dagger was only half an inch from Chunliang’s back, a hand grabbed Fang Cheng’s wrist. Fang Cheng was shocked. Besides Chunliang, there was no one else in sight. Whose hand could this be?

Naturally, it was Chunliang’s hand. With just his left hand, he lifted the big tree. His right hand moved like a boneless snake, quickly reaching back without turning his head, yet his mind seemed as if there were eyes there, accurately capturing Fang Cheng’s wrist.

Chunliang’s right hand exerted force with a squeeze, and with a crack, Fang Cheng’s wrist bone had broken. The intense pain caused Fang Cheng to emit an inhuman wail.

Chunliang tossed the tree aside with his left hand, swiveling his body to face Fang Cheng coldly. Fang Cheng struggled to hold onto the dagger, unable to comprehend how Chunliang had sensed the ambush.

Chunliang took the dagger from his hand with his left hand, inhaled, and said, “Ghost King Powder, fatal upon blood contact, you fool. Don’t you know this stuff has a distinct odor?”

Fang Cheng’s face was already contorted, not from anger but from fear and pain.

Wang Wenxiang had initially thought that Fang Cheng was bound to succeed, but he didn’t expect Chunliang to uncover the plot.

Chunliang’s gaze, filled with murderous intent, locked onto Wang Wenxiang. He raised the dagger in his hand and stabbed it fiercely into Fang Cheng’s throat.

Wang Wenxiang had already drawn a crossbow from his travel bag, aimed at Chunliang, and pulled the trigger. Chunliang’s right arm trembled, and Fang Cheng’s body was hurled towards Wang Wenxiang. The crossbow bolts fired by Wang Wenxiang all embedded themselves into Fang Cheng’s body.

Fang Cheng’s body, not yet lifeless, convulsed violently.

As the body disappeared from Wang Wenxiang’s sight, he raised the crossbow arrow to prepare for a second round of shooting, but his expression changed; he could hardly believe his eyes as he saw Xu Chunliang swinging that big tree with a momentum like sweeping across an army, sweeping horizontally towards his body.

Wang Wenxiang still shot the crossbow arrow; the arrow embedded in the tree trunk, and the tree hit Wang Wenxiang’s body. Wang Wenxiang flew out like a kite with broken strings, flying nearly twenty meters before crashing to the ground, blood gushing from his mouth. The bones all over his body were shattered by Xu Chunliang’s domineering blow, and the fragmented bones pierced into his vital organs.

Xu Chunliang discarded the tree and approached Wang Wenxiang, stepping on Wang Wenxiang’s face, pressing his head deep into the muddy soil, tearing open Wang Wenxiang’s collar, revealing a blue eye on his chest, shedding red blood tears.

Life-taking Sect!

This is the mark of the Life-taking Sect, which lives by killing for a bounty, one of the oldest professions.

Xu Chunliang could conclude that tonight’s ambush wasn’t just by these two; Wang Wenxiang deliberately led him here by taking the wrong route, and the fallen tree on the way wasn’t coincidental. Someone must have pre-arranged everything, luring him to clear away the tree, giving Fang Cheng the opportunity to strike.

Wang Wenxiang must have assumed Fang Cheng would succeed, but unfortunately, they underestimated their prey.

Xu Chunliang scanned his surroundings, believing that their accomplices were hiding nearby, probably intimidated by his actions, and hadn’t launched a new attack.

Xu Chunliang went to the sidecar motorcycle, started it, and headed to the crime scene; he had no time to linger here.

Soon after Xu Chunliang left, the bodies of Wang Wenxiang and Fang Cheng slowly melted, eventually turning into a pool of black water, seeping into the ground after being washed by heavy rain. Aside from a few scattered crossbow arrows, it seemed as if nothing had ever happened.

Four men in black emerged from the grass by the riverbank, arriving at the site where the battle had just occurred, and looked at the tree marked with a line of crossbow arrows. Their eyes showed fear; they were accomplices who had set the trap intending to kill Xu Chunliang here. But before they could act, Xu Chunliang had already killed Wang Wenxiang and Fang Cheng. Seeing Xu Chunliang’s powerful actions, they didn’t dare to emerge, knowing well that any action would lead to certain death.

One of them drew a triangular dagger and stabbed it into the muddy ground, and when pulled out, the tip of the dagger held a mud-stained head.

“Second Brother, what should we do?”

“The plan has changed; let’s report to the hall master first.”

Twenty minutes later, Xu Chunliang finally arrived at the accident site. The incident occurred near Fushan, where motorcycles could no longer ascend. Xu Chunliang met other rescue teams at the foothill, learning from them that the helicopter likely crashed in the mountainous area. Now all rescue teams were searching the mountains, hoping to find something.

Several rescue teams had already entered the mountains. Other rescue teams consisted of at least three members, whereas Xu Chunliang was alone. Xu Chunliang didn’t bother explaining; he couldn’t exactly tell them that two teammates had already been dealt with by him.

Fushan had a height of only three hundred meters, but with deep grass and dense forests, nine rescue teams had arrived upon hearing the news, totaling less than forty people. Trying to conduct a systematic search with such a small force was simply impossible.

Everyone had walkie-talkies, tuned to the same frequency for a dispersed search.

Xu Chunliang moved alone, and at this point, the rain was pouring heavier, making the already difficult search even harder.

An hour later, one of the search teams reported a situation in Chaotic Stone Valley, instructing nearby teams to circle around and take a look.

Soon, more news arrived: due to a landslide, the mouth of Chaotic Stone Valley was blocked, preventing entry. The only way was to descend from the Hundred Feet Cliff above.

When Xu Chunliang reached the Hundred Feet Cliff, two rescue teams had already arrived there. The descent from here to the valley bottom was about seventy meters, with steep and smooth cliffs offering few footholds. Without professional climbing equipment, freehand climbing in these conditions would be extremely dangerous.

One of the teams had a satellite phone; they sought instruction from their superiors and learned a professional rescue team was en route, instructing them not to act recklessly to avoid greater losses.

While they were reporting, a sudden exclamation rang out: “Someone’s going down.”

Everyone was stunned and crowded near the cliff edge, only to see someone already free-climbing down; that person was Xu Chunliang.

What seemed insurmountable to others at the Hundred Feet Cliff was as easy as walking on flat ground for Xu Chunliang, despite the continuous rain. He smelled kerosene in the air; despite the rain impairing vision, he could still glimpse the helicopter’s outline in the rocky ravine below.

Xu Chunliang’s heart was filled with an ominous feeling, praying heaven would protect Ye Changyuan, helping him survive this calamity.

As Xu Chunliang descended halfway, another aftershock struck; exclamations rose from above, and rocks kept rolling down the cliff.

A millstone-sized rock hurtled straight toward Xu Chunliang’s head. He leaped into the air, shifting two meters horizontally on the cliff, gripping onto rock crevices, avoiding the falling rocks’ attack.