Chapter 21: Steely Enough…

Fang Dahai’s first reaction wasn’t to untie the ropes and set the man free. Instead, he started by removing the man’s shoes, carefully examining his toes. Then he undid the man’s pants and took a look at the style of his underwear. Not stopping there, he pried open the man’s mouth and checked his teeth inside and out.

Only after completing this series of checks did he finally let out a sigh of relief and begin untying the ropes.

“I’m not a Jap.”

After being subjected to Fang Dahai’s round of inspections, even a dead man might’ve been jolted awake—let alone someone half-conscious and wracked with pain. So, the man more or less understood why Fang was inspecting him.

And because he understood, he felt deeply humiliated. In a haze, as if possessed, he blurted out those words. Though his voice was faint—barely audible to anyone without sharp ears—his tone left no room for doubt.

“Whether you are or not isn’t up to what you say—it’s what I find out. Fortunately for you, you’re not. So, you got lucky. Damn it, I just wanted to track some bandits, and somehow ended up playing the hero. And not even for a beauty. What a waste of my heroic effort.”

Really? Is that something a person should say? So you’re the hero, and he’s not a beauty, so he’s just some unlucky scrub?

He was doing a good deed, yet somehow managed to tick off all the men he’d just rescued and helped to sit down on nearby benches. A few of them nearly choked on their own rage.

“Who are you?”

Kid, once I find out your name, rest assured—I’ll repay this life-saving debt. But your ass is getting kicked. I’ve lived this long and never been insulted like this before!

“Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is: who are you? How did you let yourself get caught by a bunch of bumpkins like this? Hardly any hunters come this way. Don’t tell me you wandered right into their mouths like a dish on a plate?”

The man clearly didn’t want to answer. But facing someone who just saved his life, no matter how sharp-tongued and unpredictable the guy was, he had to speak up—otherwise, in his current state… getting out of here might be impossible.

So, after a moment of hesitation, he adjusted the story in his head and slowly explained:

“My surname is Zhang—Zhang Cheng. I hadn’t planned on coming this way. But I got a letter from home saying something had happened. The main road was blocked off by military lockdown. In a moment of panic, I decided to cross the mountain instead. Didn’t expect to run into bandits halfway up and get caught. Oh right—you managed to get in here. What about the people outside…?”

His ability to shift the topic and target the core issue was impressive. He glossed over his own situation, yet his question went straight to the heart of the matter. Asking about the people outside wasn’t just about safety—it was a test of Fang Dahai’s character and intentions.

Why say that? Think about it—if all the people outside had been killed… even if they were bad guys, for a teenage kid to kill them all without hesitation? That would suggest a bloodlust that’s far from normal. Such a kid couldn’t possibly be an average person.

As soon as Zhang Cheng asked, Fang Dahai understood what he was getting at. He smirked and replied with a hint of sarcasm:

“Heh, I had no grudge with them—why would I slaughter them all? They’re all knocked out. But unless I add something extra, they’ll probably wake up in two or three hours. What? Still got unfinished business with them?”

Zhang hadn’t said much, but with his cautious nature and the situation he described, Fang Dahai was now ninety-nine percent sure—this guy was one of our people.

Normally, at this point, most transmigrators would be thrilled—eager to cozy up and build connections, hoping to score a good post after the Liberation.

But as a former Jinyiwei with intel experience, Fang Dahai knew: the more eager you act now, the worse it looks. Especially in unliberated zones, where nerves are on edge. If you go sucking up too eagerly, they won’t think you’re trying to help—they’ll think you’re a spy. And you’ll be treated accordingly.

If you don’t want to get randomly investigated, suspected, or even killed, the smart move now is to do the opposite.

And look—it worked. Zhang Cheng’s face flushed red with indignation, but despite the frustration, the suspicion in his eyes had mostly faded.

“Talk? Talk so they could beat me up again? I’m just a civilian who clearly wasn’t going to get ransomed. They didn’t even feel like wasting the effort to bury me.”

At this, Zhang’s eyes flashed. He suddenly asked:

“Wait—you mentioned you were following them? You came here on purpose? You’ve got guts for a kid your age.”

Huh. Can we not get past this topic? His suspicion really runs deep.

“I spotted fresh footprints and bloodstains while hunting—couldn’t ignore that. These days, there’s too many hidden threats. Don’t wanna get labeled an idiot in the afterlife for ignoring signs. When it’s time to be cautious, I’m cautious.”

After casually saying that, Fang Dahai gave Zhang Cheng a once-over.

“You’ve asked quite a few questions—you must be feeling better. You seem pretty cautious, too. So how’d you fall for it? Man, what bad luck. Alright, let’s get out of here. This place is damp and creepy. Whatever we need to talk about, we’ll talk outside.”

People always say “seeing is believing.” No matter how much you talk, it’s not as convincing as showing him all those rooms full of people who’ve fainted. Instead of wasting time arguing, it’s better to focus on how to clean up the mess.

Honestly speaking, the scene outside was downright creepy! In every room, people lay slumped in various twisted poses, expressions frozen on their faces. The flickering torchlight, mixed with distant howls of tigers and wolves, was like something out of a horror movie. Add a gloomy soundtrack, and you’d have a perfect ghost film setting!

“They’re all knocked out?”

“Hard to say. Maybe someone’s still outside and hasn’t come back yet. But what’s that got to do with me? As long as I give the rest of them a little something extra later, I guarantee they won’t wake up before noon. That means I can rest here till dawn, then stroll off calmly and never see them again. Perfect!”

Yeah, it was perfect—for him. But this body… even getting out of the mountains would be a struggle, let alone climbing back over them to complete his mission. So, trusting this half-grown kid seemed to be his only option.

“Little brother, are you familiar with these mountains?”

Oh? Asking that now? Looks like all that tugging earlier wasn’t a waste.

“You’re asking me?”

Fang Dahai turned and sized Zhang Cheng up from head to toe. Then he stroked his chin and said with a grin:

“Looks like you want me to go all the way and help you get out of here too?”

Can he take him out? Zhang Cheng’s heart gave a heavy thump, and a flicker of excitement flashed in his eyes. But Fang Dahai’s next words quickly shattered his hopes.

“Heh, unfortunately, I’m afraid that won’t work. Look at my skinny frame—do I look like I can carry you? But if you want, I can hide you somewhere safe. I’ll leave you some food for a day or two so you can recover. With your courage and skill, I’m sure you’ll make it out on your own.”

Honestly, if Zhang Cheng really were just a kidnapped villager, this suggestion was pretty solid—and showed that Fang Dahai wasn’t trying to get anything in return.

But the problem was: Zhang Cheng couldn’t go with that plan. The fact that he was risking his life to take a shortcut through the mountains said everything—it meant time was of the essence. A plan that involved holing up for days just wasn’t viable.

“Hiding’s a good idea, but this body… if I don’t get treatment for this gunshot wound soon, it’ll start burning up before the day is out. And no matter how safe the place is, I won’t survive.”

Was he trying to win pity? Well, not exactly. A gunshot wound really could cause a fever. Since he’d said this much, Fang Dahai figured he might as well go along with it.

“So what you’re saying is, I should hide you first, then go send a message to your family? Have them come carry you out? That’s not impossible. But the safe spots I know aren’t exactly close. If your family comes here… there’s a chance they’ll fall into the hands of these people.”

He gestured with his chin toward the rooms full of unconscious bandits, highlighting the critical issue—what was Zhang Cheng going to do about them?

Sure enough, Zhang Cheng hesitated and sighed:

“If I could, I’d slaughter every last one of them. These Tiger Head Bandits have a reputation worse than the Japanese—they’ve ruined countless lives. But the problem is, we’re deep in the mountains. Too much bloodshed could stir up big trouble.”

More importantly, right now he was supposed to be a normal civilian. If a so-called ordinary man suddenly decided to wipe out an entire bandit hideout, wouldn’t that seem a bit too bloodthirsty? The kid might get scared and run off! And then what? He couldn’t get out of here on his own. What would happen to his mission? It was urgent military intel. Maybe… just maybe…

Zhang Cheng’s probing tone was unmistakable—Fang Dahai could hear the underlying killing intent with just a flick of his heel. And the look in Zhang Cheng’s eyes held an unusual glimmer of anticipation, which made Fang Dahai almost want to laugh.

So that’s what this was about. Trying to nudge him into doing the dirty work, and hiding his own agenda. Alright then—for the sake of the future’s prosperity, I’ll play along.

What? Why didn’t Fang Dahai kill anyone earlier, but now he’s ready to?

It’s not like he was some bloodthirsty demon. He just had suspicions and wanted to investigate. Why get his hands bloody for no reason? But now that he knew these people weren’t just kidnappers, but brutal villains—and the man he saved was one of our people—and he’d already looted their stash, he needed to tie up loose ends and protect himself. Makes sense, right?

“You said they’ve got a bad reputation? They’re as bad as the Japanese? What exactly have they done?”

To be honest, Fang Dahai didn’t actually know what kind of people these so-called bandits were. This was a good opportunity to ask and broaden his understanding. After all, he hadn’t been in this world long, and the original body was just a village boy—he barely knew anything about the area around the capital.

“What did they do? They’ve kidnapped women, burned villages, looted and murdered. Civilians dead at their hands? Easily over a thousand. If it weren’t for the military stationing troops nearby in ’45, who knows how arrogant they’d still be. Back in the day, their hideout had over a hundred men. Because of them, several villages at the foot of the mountain were nearly wiped out.”

“What? Damn! At first, I thought maybe they were just down-on-their-luck folks who came into the mountains and built a fort to protect themselves. That’s why, even after finding out they’d kidnapped people and spilled blood, I only used knockout smoke and didn’t go too far. But if they’re notorious, blood-stained villains—then what’s there to hesitate about? The sooner they’re sent packing to the underworld, the sooner their victims can rest in peace. Let’s go! Who cares about blood or no blood—let the wild beasts of the mountains devour them. That wouldn’t even be enough payback!”

After saying that, Fang Dahai turned and began walking into the house. As he walked, he drew a half-foot-long dagger from his waist. It was clear he was about to go in and finish everyone off.

“Hey hey hey, aren’t you being a bit too hasty…”

Zhang Cheng really hadn’t expected it—he had just given a slight nudge, and this kid was already ready to act. One step, one person, one stab each—he was faster and cleaner than even trained soldiers from their unit.

“Kid, you really are something. You can actually go through with it?”

Even though this was exactly the outcome he had hoped for, watching this half-grown boy slaughter people one by one like chickens was still a little unsettling.

“Why wouldn’t I go through with it? Punishing evil is promoting good. There are too many hesitant people in this world—that’s why good people don’t live long.”

Fang Dahai wasn’t afraid of killing. Back on the Ming Dynasty battlefield, he had killed plenty. But in this world, he was ultimately just a youth from a mountain village. “Decisive and ruthless” didn’t quite fit his current identity, so to avoid suspicion later, he knew he had to put on a bit of a show.

Look at that grief-stricken face. Look at those red eyes on the verge of tears—so full of story. A clever person could surely imagine an entire backstory, making his image as a boy killing out of righteous fury all the more convincing.

“Kid, you…”

Don’t say it. Say too much, and it loses its effect. Only when people come to their own conclusions do they truly believe it.

“Not good.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s starting to rain. Damn—it’s my knockout smoke. It’s great in every way, except it can’t handle water. We’ve got to finish this fast, or those people might start waking up soon.”

“Then hurry, I’ll go with you.”

Heh… What are the three ironclad bonds of life again? Killing someone together definitely makes you tight!