Chapter 35: Danger on the Mountain Path

Su Jin called almost every day to check on his recovery. She would chat in a relaxed tone about trivial matters at school or share new clues she had uncovered regarding the capital flow of the Hengtai Foundation. Her voice was like a clear mountain spring, carrying a soothing power that calmed his mind.

As the days passed, the wounds on Yang Rui’s back scabbed over, the pain largely faded, and his strength slowly returned. The leisure and tranquility of the mountains, coupled with Su Jin’s concerned inquiries, allowed his tightly wound nerves to finally slacken. He even began to plan his return to the city once his wounds healed further. Perhaps, after their previous failure and the pressure from the police, Baishi had decided to lay low? Those harrowing, life-and-death struggles felt like a distant and hazy nightmare.

It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Feeling that his health had improved, Yang Rui decided to walk to the small grocery store at the edge of the village to buy some daily necessities and, incidentally, call Su Jin to let her know he was safe. After greeting Granny Zhou, he headed toward the village entrance along the winding mountain road. The path was narrow; on one side stood a steep cliff, and on the other, a deep ravine overgrown with shrubs. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows, and the mountain breeze carried the fresh scent of grass and trees, making him feel refreshed and at ease.

Yang Rui walked with a light step, his mood unusually relaxed. He even hummed a tuneless melody. Just a few more days, and he could go back...

Then, suddenly!

From behind him came the urgent, violent roar of a car engine! It approached from the distance, moving at an astonishing speed!

Yang Rui’s heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively looked back!

A black SUV, mud-splattered and without license plates, was charging out from behind a bend in the road like a wild horse off its leash, hurtling toward him with insane velocity! The blinding sunlight glared off the dirty windshield, obscuring the driver’s face; he could only feel an overt, unmasked murderous intent rushing toward him!

This was no accident! This was premeditated murder!

Every hair on Yang Rui’s body stood on end! A profound sense of impending doom washed over him like a bucket of ice water! He had no time to think; his body’s instincts reacted faster than his mind! The will to survive eclipsed everything else! The mountain road was narrow, with nowhere to hide! The only way to survive was...

At the critical moment, a beast-like ferocity flared in Yang Rui’s eyes! Instead of retreating, he mustered all his recovering strength and lunged violently toward the cliff wall! At the same moment, he snatched up a sharp-edged rock the size of a washbasin from the side of the road!

"Go to hell!" A muffled roar seemed to erupt from within the SUV!

The black steel beast, carrying a destructive momentum, slammed viciously into the spot where he had been standing just a second before!

Just as the front of the car was about to crush Yang Rui!

Yang Rui’s body pressed tightly against the sheer cliff like an ape! With all his might, he smashed the sharp rock into the front wheel of the SUV on the side facing the ravine!

"BANG!!!"

A dull, thunderous roar!

The rock wedged precisely into the gap of the wheel rim! At the same time, the massive force of the impact tore the skin between Yang Rui’s thumb and forefinger, sending him staggering backward. His back slammed hard against the cliff, and the intense pain caused his vision to go black!

With the front wheel jammed by the rock and the immense centrifugal force of the high-speed turn, the vehicle jerked violently and instantly lost control!

"SCREECH—!!!"

A piercing sound of tires screeching and metal twisting filled the air!

The out-of-control SUV, like a beast with a broken leg, swerved and slammed into the guardrail of the ravine on the other side of the road! The flimsy stone railing shattered as easily as if it were made of paper!

"CRASH—!!!"

Before Yang Rui’s horrified eyes, the black steel monster rolled and roared, carrying a cascade of loose stones and broken shrubs as it tumbled down into the bottomless ravine! The massive sound of the impact echoed through the valley for a long time, eventually swallowed by the darkness of the gorge, leaving only a few weak, whimpering gasps from the engine.

Leaning against the cold cliff, Yang Rui gasped for air, his heart pounding so hard it felt as if it would burst through his chest. His back burned where it had struck the rock, and blood dripped from his torn hand into the dust at his feet. Cold sweat soaked his clothes, and the mountain breeze brought a bone-chilling cold.

He looked at the faint dust rising from the ravine and listened to the final, fading whimpers. A cold, chilling sense of survivor’s guilt and lingering fear washed over him. But then, something even colder and harder, like tempered steel, slowly took shape deep within his heart.

Baishi! It was Baishi again!

The tranquility of the mountains and this brief respite were all an illusion! The viper had never left; it was merely lurking in deeper shadows, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow! It did not want a warning or a lesson; it wanted Yang Rui’s life! Completely, without mercy!

This time, he had been lucky enough to survive.

But what about next time?

What about Su Jin? What about Xie Tingfeng? What about all the innocent people dragged into this?

Escaping was useless. Retreating would only invite more vicious attacks!

Yang Rui slowly straightened up and wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth. His eyes no longer held the exhaustion and wariness they had before; instead, they settled into a cold, near-ruthless calm, like a dead-still sea before a storm. He took one last look at the deep ravine that had swallowed the killer, turned around, and walked back along the winding mountain road, step by step, with unwavering determination.

The sun remained bright, and the mountain breeze remained fresh. But Yang Rui’s state of mind had been turned upside down.

Baishi must die.

This game of life and death had to come to an end.