Moonlight spilled over the damp forest floor.
Wei took a deep breath of the cold night air.
It burned in his chest.
The sharp chill cleared his head.
He put his hands on his hips.
Then he raised his voice.
He copied the long, dramatic tone of the old village storyteller.
But he added a cocky edge.
The kind only a boy would dare to use.
"Hey! You coward hiding under that hood.
Why don't you show your face?
I want to see what you really look like.
Do you have three heads and six arms…
or just one ugly face you're too scared to show?"
The man did not move.
That indifference, that silent message of I know you're there. I just don't care, cut into Wei's chest like a blade.
Anger flared hot inside him.
But his heart grew colder.
Wei began circling the man in black, searching for a better angle, trying to catch a glimpse of his face beneath the hood.
He could feel Chun's eyes locked onto his back, filled with fear and confusion.
On any other day, she would have screamed at him.
"Have you lost your mind?"
The corner of Wei's mouth lifted slightly.
He ran one hand back through his hair, a flicker of pride rising in his chest.
For this moment at least, he was certain he looked impressive.
Heroic.
His chest burned, but his legs did not weaken.
He took two more steps forward, stretching his voice into the lazy, mocking drawl of the village troublemaker.
"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?
I've been shouting at you.
You stuff your ears with donkey hair or something?"
At last, the man moved.
The hood lifted slowly.
A cold gleam shot out from the shadow beneath it, sharp as a blade thrust straight at Wei's chest.
It was not a look.
It was a pin.
Pinning down his position.
Pinning down the distance.
Pinning down this foolish insect that had wandered too close.
Wei's heart jerked violently. He nearly stepped back.
But he bit down hard and forced a crooked grin onto his face, raising his voice even louder, even more insolent.
"Oh, so you finally decided to look up?
That's a nasty stare.
How many people have you killed? A hundred? A thousand?
Or did you just practice on chickens?"
The man did not reply.
He only watched.
As if observing a clown moments before being crushed underfoot.
Firelight flickered inside the hood. Those eyes were terrifyingly empty. Not anger.
Assessment.
The certainty that the prey had walked into its own trap.
A chill shot down Wei's spine. Fragments of his father's warrior stories flashed through his mind.
Those eyes…
They belonged to someone who had killed. Killed many, many times.
What if Father's stories were true?
The thought sent cold dread racing from his feet to the top of his skull.
For a fleeting second, Wei found himself missing his father.
And strangely, feeling sorry for him too.
He swallowed.
His voice did not shake. It grew sharper instead.
"Had enough? If you don't speak, I'm really going to make a move."
That was what he said.
Inside, however, his thoughts were very different.
'Damn it.
Why are his eyes so terrifying?
I should have kept my mouth shut. No. I should have brought another knife.
Knife?
Where is my knife?
Damn.
I gave it to Chun.
And forgot to take it back.
This is bad.'
The black-clad warrior's mouth twitched slightly.
Not a smile.
Pity?
As if he had seen straight through Wei's weakness.
Wei bristled at once."Pity your own damn self. Come on. Let's see who's afraid."
"Aren't you here to capture someone? Then capture me!"
The man slowly turned his head back to the meat over the fire.
"Someone?" His voice was low, like stone grinding against stone.
"You often misunderstand yourself."
The sound of it made Wei's skin crawl, from his ears down into his chest.
"Bastard!"
He bent, grabbed a heavy rock, and hurled it with all his strength.
The warrior did not even look. He lifted his arm and blocked.
Clang.
The sharp ring of metal split the air.
Only then did Wei notice the silver bracer wrapped around the man's forearm.
The warrior lowered his head again and bit into the half-cooked meat. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth as he chewed, dark and unsettling in the firelight.
The brief spark of hope on Little Butterfly's face vanished at once.
Something inside Wei snapped.
Anger surged. Reason burned away.
He resorted to the most primitive, most shameless method he knew.
Grinning wide, Wei suddenly loosened his belt.
Before anyone could react, he yanked his trousers down just enough and turned slightly to the side.
He aimed straight at the armored warrior.
Steam rose faintly in the cold night air as he began to pee, bold and shameless, as if the battlefield were nothing more than a roadside ditch.
Among the village boys, this was the ultimate insult.
Foolproof.
Humiliating.
The sound of it splashing through the night was shockingly loud, wetting stones and fallen leaves two meters away.
Wei felt a flicker of pride. Two meters. Not bad.
Then it hit him.
Chun might be watching this.
His face flamed red. He spun around in awkward haste.
The black-clad warrior's pupils narrowed.
Slowly, he rose to his feet.
He removed his dark outer robe. The silver bracer gleamed cold beneath the moonlight, like metal that had never truly cooled.
He stepped forward once.
The pressure landed on Wei's chest like a physical weight.
"Looking to die."
-----------------
Wei kept urging himself in his head.
Hurry up.
That is enough.
Finish quickly.
He wanted it to end.
But some things, once started, refuse to stop just because you wish they would.
Damn it. Come on. Just finish.
The more anxious he became, the more he forced that mysterious grin to stay on his face.
Under the moonlight, a village boy stood there, brazenly insulting a killing machine, looking almost relaxed.
The absurdity of it made the fury in the black warrior's eyes falter. As he advanced, suspicion slowly replaced anger.
His gaze dropped to the ground in front of him.
His steps slowed.
He began scanning the earth carefully.
Was there a trap?
He could not see one.
Wei shifted his weight slightly, trying to hurry things along.
To the warrior, however, it only made the boy look more at ease.
The Black Warrior came to a dead stop ten meters away.
He lowered his head and stared at the ground, unblinking. His toe nudged forward, testing the soil as if he expected it to give way beneath him.
Before killing, he always confirmed three times.
First, that his target had no escape.
Second, that there were no ambushes nearby.
Third, that he himself would not die.
Many people laughed at his caution.
Those people died quickly.
He trusted no such thing as an "accident."
An accident was simply a trap someone else had prepared in advance.
A strange smile spread across the Black Warrior's face—an expression that clearly said, I've seen through your scheme.
Wei froze for half a second. Then he bared his teeth and smiled back.
"Kid, are you scared?"
"You're the one who's scared! If you've got the guts, come over here!"
"Do you take me for a fool? There's a trap there, isn't there? You come over first!"
"I swear there's no trap! You come!"
The two of them froze at the same time.
The night wind drifted through the clearing. Somewhere in the silence, the last faint trickle still echoed.
This was beyond embarrassing.
The black warrior's pride finally snapped.
With a furious motion, he drew his blade.
The flash of steel tore through the air.
But instead of striking Wei, he slashed violently at the ground in front of him.
Boom.
Dirt exploded upward. When the blade struck earth and hidden stone, several chips broke along its edge.
The warrior stared at the damaged sword, pain flashing across his face as his jaw twitched.
Wei seized the moment. He yanked up his trousers, spun around, and bolted.
As he ran, he shouted over his shoulder,"Chipped your blade, didn't you? Serves you right! That's what you get for not trusting your luck!"
Behind him, the black warrior gave chase, teeth grinding.
"That brat… I will kill you."