Chapter Forty-Eight: Luring the Enemy into the Trap

The opponent’s scheme with the official horse was a cruel one, and one could not deny its poison. According to the authorities, the death of an official horse was punished with a fine of ten taels of silver. The Zhou family, poor and destitute, would be forced to sell their land to pay the penalty, ultimately ending up as slaves or vagrants, left with nothing but misery.

The good are bullied, and gentle horses are ridden.

Zhou Zhi had no desire to become a villain, but he would not allow himself to be a meek, weak man, silently suffering while others trampled him without protest.

At this moment, his gaze was icy cold.

In his view, since they had already made their move, they would not rest until the official horse was dead. The news that he had cured the horse’s diarrhea today might have already reached them, so Zhou Zhi reasoned they would likely come again at midnight to poison the horse.

Fortunately, the night had only just begun. Many villagers were still digesting their evening meals, and people could still be seen on the streets. Zhou Zhi still had time to prepare. Tonight, they would learn the true strength of Zhou Zhi.

This night would surely be a sleepless one.

...

A waning moon hung crookedly in the western sky, casting a dim glow that barely revealed faces a few meters away. It was the hour of deepest night, the village and its surroundings utterly silent.

Two shadows, one leading and one following, crept into the Zhou family’s courtyard. They glanced furtively toward the house; all was quiet within. Exchanging glances, they headed toward the stable.

One stood guard outside while the other entered the stable directly.

From the shadowed corner of the courtyard wall, a pair of cold eyes watched them, breath held. Suddenly, the figure stood—a young man, tall and well-built, handsome, with sharp features. This was Zhou Zhi.

He pinched his nose and spoke in a quavering, raspy voice, sounding like a duck, “You two horse thieves, how dare you steal the Zhou family’s official horse! Tomorrow I’ll tell Zhou Zhi, and he’ll report you to the authorities!”

His strange voice, though not loud, startled the two shadows in the stillness of night. The one inside the stable hadn’t even lit the lamp before bursting back out, looking toward the wall where a figure stood watching them.

“Who are you?” the shadow demanded in a low voice.

“Does it matter? Now that you’ve been discovered, you can’t let him go. Chase him, and find out what he’s up to. If he dares spread tales, we’ll silence him first,” the other whispered harshly.

“Wait, did you get it done?”

“Not yet!”

“Damn it, you always take your time. Forget it, let’s deal with him first, then come back.”

After a brief exchange, the two dashed toward Zhou Zhi.

Zhou Zhi turned and ran, shouting back in his duck-like voice, “Chase me all you want, you scoundrels! Tomorrow I’ll tell Zhou Zhi, and he’ll report you!”

Despite his words, his tone betrayed fear.

The two shadows pursued relentlessly, and Zhou Zhi quickened his pace, racing westward along the main street of Baiyue Village, out of the village limits. Not far to the west lay the burial grounds, where the night wind whistled through waist-high grass and the yellowing leaves clung to elms and jujubes, sending chills down the spine.

The burial grounds were filled with unclaimed graves; if a child died in Baiyue Village, they would be buried here with little ceremony. Even by day, the timid avoided this place, let alone at midnight.

Zhou Zhi soon slipped into the thickets and grass of the burial grounds. Seeing him enter, the two shadows hesitated outside.

“Did you see who he was?”

“No, but why did he go in there? Could he be...”

“Could he be what?”

“A ghost, perhaps?”

“Don’t talk nonsense! Didn’t you hear him speak? Ghosts don’t talk!” One, rough and impatient, cursed the other.

Suddenly, Zhou Zhi shrieked in a piercing, grating voice, “Hehe! What’s wrong? Are you two cowards, afraid to follow me into the burial grounds? Hmph! I knew you wouldn’t dare. I’ve already seen who you are, tomorrow the authorities will come for you! If you won’t come in, leave now! I need my rest.”

His voice, like a night owl’s cry, was dreadfully unnerving, making their skin crawl.

After a moment’s hesitation, the two exchanged a glance and pressed forward together toward Zhou Zhi. He saw clearly that one now held a gleaming bull’s-ear knife.

...

Seeing the knife, Zhou Zhi narrowed his eyes. He thought to himself, “I’ve traveled through time—am I supposed to fear these two ignorant men from the past? Come on then, I’ll wait for you here.”

With this in mind, he edged backward, lifting his feet high and setting them down carefully.

“What do you want? Why are you carrying a knife?” Zhou Zhi asked in his shrill voice, but the tremor in his tone made the shadows believe he was terrified.

His fear emboldened them. When they’d first entered the burial grounds, their nerves were frayed, unsure how to proceed. But now, gaining confidence, they strode toward him.

“What do we want? Tonight is the night you die. You meddled too much,” the knife-wielder hissed.

The thickets and grass underfoot had been cleared by someone, revealing a narrow path.

Zhou Zhi watched them coldly, speaking with feigned cowardice, “Gentlemen, I—I know I was wrong. Tomorrow I won’t tell Zhou Zhi, just let me go!”

“Let you go? Dream on! You wasted our time—if only that official horse were already dead. Killing you is the only way to vent my anger.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly cried out, stumbling face-first into the dirt.

Zhou Zhi had already laid ropes to trip them, which explained his careful steps as he retreated.

The other, just starting to call out, “Brother Niu, you—” was cut off as he fell into a pit.

The pit, too, was Zhou Zhi’s handiwork.

“Ouch! That hurts! What did I step on?” he cried.

What did he step on? Naturally, Zhou Zhi had placed sharpened stakes and iron spikes in the pit ahead of time.

A cruel expression appeared on Zhou Zhi’s face, his right hand gripping an axe tightly, as he swung it mercilessly at the man who had fallen.