Chapter Twenty-Two: Clash

Yang Hu listened to Yang Zaixing, glanced at Zhang Xuan’s expression and words, and the corners of his mouth gently curled upward.

“Xuan, why are you looking at me like that? Are you awed by your brother’s brilliance and valor? You know, to borrow a phrase you sometimes use, don’t idolize your brother—he’s a legend, a legend beyond your reach. If anyone’s possessed by demons, it’s you. Start by exorcising yourself. Well, see—Yang Hu’s already smiling. The tension has eased, so enough joking. Let’s climb the trees and prepare; what’s coming next won’t be solved by jokes.” With that, Yang Zaixing scaled one of the trees, skillfully using the leaves to conceal himself. Zhang Xuan, standing below, could not spot him at all. Yang Hu chose another tree and climbed up as well. Watching the two, Zhang Xuan’s mind sparked with a new idea. If it worked, it would make for a valuable trump card.

He too climbed a tree, waiting quietly for the petty leader and his gang to come seeking “revenge.” Zhang Xuan, however, was oddly relaxed; leaning against the trunk, he drifted off to sleep.

He had no idea how much time had passed before a noisy group approached the spot where they had set their “ambush.” Their clamorous voices roused Zhang Xuan from sleep. He blinked awake and observed their situation: roughly thirty or forty men, heading straight toward the ambush. At the front, he recognized the petty leader from that morning. Zhang Xuan wanted to communicate with Yang Zaixing and Yang Hu, but couldn’t see either of them, nor find any way to contact them. In truth, they had already spotted this group and were waiting for Zhang Xuan to act. What neither would have expected was that, at such a critical moment, Zhang Xuan would simply fall asleep in the tree. With no sign of movement from him, Yang Zaixing and Yang Hu stayed quietly in their trees, waiting for their chance.

“Boss Chen, is this the right path? We’ve been chasing for so long, but haven’t caught sight of them. Are we lost?” Leader Li, still not having caught up to Zhang Xuan’s group, grew suspicious.

“Leader Li, we followed the marks my brother made along the way, so we’re definitely on track. We’ve come so far—just a bit longer and we’ll catch them. Look, there’s another marker here! We’re close,” Boss Chen replied, pointing to a mark on one of the trees.

“This place looks good. There’s water nearby. Let’s rest for a bit—we’ve been on the road a long time and need to recover our strength so we can fight better later, lest we collapse before we even reach them.” The man called “Swallow” surveyed his comrades’ weary faces and proposed a rest, which everyone readily accepted. Some headed to the stream to wash up and drink, clearly exhausted from their journey. Others leaned against the trees to rest, coincidentally right under the trees where Zhang Xuan, Yang Zaixing, and Yang Hu were hidden; two or three men settled beneath them.

Zhang Xuan watched the scene below, propping his chin thoughtfully, pondering the chances of a successful strike now. As the saying goes, strike while they’re weak—a proverb whose origin he couldn’t recall. Just as he weighed the possibilities, a startled cry shattered his thoughts.

“Boss, there’s someone in the tree—it looks like the tall guy who beat us this morning!” One of the small-time thugs, bored and gazing upward while resting under Yang Hu’s tree, suddenly spotted a figure. Looking closer, he realized it was the man who’d beaten them earlier and cried out, drawing everyone’s attention. Swallow and