The Portal of Wonderland

The man with triangular eyes convinced his companions to split-up in pairs. They moved cautiously as they searched for Shi Mu.

Shi Mu couldn’t hear their conversation since they were separated by a good distance between them. However, that triangle-eyed man’s attire… the way he held the important-looking wooden case and the manner in which he spoke was enough to Shi Mu to gauge that the man was somewhat leading the group. Shi Mu’s eyes lit-up with a murderous glint. He decided to make this man his primary target. He was able to determine that his pursuers were Martial Disciple; same as him. There was no Hou Tian Warrior among them. This increased his confidence in his own prospects.

Shi Mu grasped the arrows in his pack and pulled out a handful. He plugged the arrows into the ground before him. Then, he paused to take a deep breath. A fit of cracking burst from inside his body. Momentarily, his arms grew twice as strong. He pulled the purple steel bow to full-draw; the bow was aimed at the men.

Meanwhile, the sound of cracking from inside his body had begun to travel far in the silence of the deep forest.

“What’s that?”

“Who’s out there?”

“Idiot! That must be Shi Mu. Move it! We won’t let the bastard flee again.”

*** ***

The Wu riders recovered from the momentary shock. They were delighted to realize that Shi Mu was close. They began to charge in the direction of the sound; except for the triangle-eyed man. His face had a trace of a crafty smile. He was certain that only the gods could save Shi Mu this time since he had exposed his location.

There was a deafening explosion in the distance just as he was about to close the lid of the wooden case. The resulting gust of wind began to blow dust around him; in fact, it even pushed the triangle-eyed man back. He felt as if he had collided with a massive object; he felt rather cold in his throat.

Boom!

He collided with a tree and the large leaves fell like torrential rain. It was then that a shocking realization dawned upon him — he was dangling mid-air with a long arrow pierced through his throat. The fletched tail of the arrow was the only thing that could be seen sticking out of his throat.

The arrow had nailed the triangle-eyed man to the big tree… by his throat.

“Ah…” he groaned and struggled with his legs. He had lost his strength in its entirety over a short period of time. He could vaguely see his fellow companions getting shot one-after-another as he breathed his last breath — their bodies darted backwards with roaring sounds.

“It’s fine. At least I’m not going to Hell alone.”

The wooden case fell to the ground with its lid thrown open. The beetles began to flap their wings and flew out of the case. They then disappeared into the grass.

*** ***

“Hurry up and escape! These arrows are too ferocious. Stone Zhao and the Big Kong have been shot dead.”

“No way! They’re too fast. How will we escape? The trees! Go back to the trees. Ah…”

“Shit! He has a strong bow. He’s using the draw-strength of at least forty pounds. He will even be able to penetrate the stones and trees. Hiding behind the trees won’t be of any help. Dog Sun and Wild Li just died right there. What should we do?”

“You fool! Just lie down on the ground.”

The Wu riders had vehemently charged in Shi Mu’s direction when the thunderous noises exploded. However, they were overwhelmed with panic now. They lay flat on the ground. No one even dared to move a finger. Shi Mu felt at ease as he picked up the next arrow. He aimed it at a spot which was over three-hundred meters away. He narrowed his eyes and pulled the bow wide. No other young man would’ve been able to keep his cool under a life-and-death situation such as this one.

“The younger Hu has been shot dead as well. Did anyone see the direction that the last arrow came from? There is no point in hiding unless we know where he is,” a surviving Wu rider asked fearfully. He was on the verge of breaking down.

“Brother Li, the arrows are too fast. I could only catch a slim shadow coming from straight ahead,” answered another lucky survivor.

“Good! I can save us as long as I know his position,” the aforementioned Brother Li said as he fumbled at his back. He produced a thick round leather shield in his hand when the wind hit again. He rolled on the ground, and crouched to a size that could be hid by the shield. He let out a fierce shout as he arched his back, and then charged in Shi Mu’s direction like a bull.

“Thank heavens! I had forgotten that the art of shield is Brother Li’s best skill. He can save us!”

“Prepare yourselves! We will charge once Brother Li has reached Shi Mu. We must kill the bastard as soon as possible,” the survivors began to rejoice at the promise of this prospect.

Thud!

Their moment of bliss was shattered by a dull sound. Then, a loud noise was heard. Brother Li’s charging body was blown twenty meters away. He had then crashed onto the ground; he didn’t make any sound.

“Goodness! It can’t be a bow of forty pounds. It must have the draw-strength of at least a hundred pounds. The leather shield will be useless. The only weapon that can resist these arrows is the black iron shield… Ah!” a Wu rider let out a terrified shout as he raised his head to look at Brother Li’s body.

But, he was struck by an arrow on his forehead. The brutal force made his body roll for a while. The others were frightened out of their wits as they witnessed the ghastly scene. They pressed their bodies as close to the ground as possible. They couldn’t think of fighting back. They were left wondering about how it was possible for someone to see through the dark forest from such a great distance. The fact that he hadn’t missed a single shot made them wonder if he was a superhuman archer — the ones who were rarely born.

Shi Mu didn’t do anything while the Wu riders lay still on the ground with their hearts trembling. This frightened them further. Eventually, one of them couldn’t control his fear anymore. He shouted, “You bastard! Don’t be so proud! You think you can flee because you have a fine bow and some shallow skills? Let’s see what happens once Master Tong arrives. He’ll skin you alive to avenge my companions.”

“Master Tong? You men aren’t from the Jin Clan?” Shi Mu said as he heard the name.

“Humph! The Jin Clan is on its way as well. It’s being led by Fifth Master himself. We reached you before them since our ‘Horses of Blue Wind’ are faster. You are dead meat! You may manage to save your dirty little life from us… but… you will never be able to escape from the Jin Clan’s tracking group,” the Wu rider loudly cursed at Shi Mu.

The other riders began to regain courage when they heard the spirit-lifting curse. They thought, “That’s right! We may not be able to hurt him, but Master Tong will certainly deal with him when he comes. This bastard won’t be able to handle a Hou Tian warrior like him.”

“I believe you mean ‘Wu Tong’ when you say ‘Master Tong’… Well, I’ll deal with him later. I’ll finish sending you guys to the Hell first,” Shi Mu said. He rushed out from a grove with a loud footstep. Then, he charged towards them at a blurring speed.