A Lonesome Fragrance Waiting to be Appreciated 3

10

This person had strategized on equal terms with Chu Beijie and He Xia. When it was down to the cut and the thrust, a fight that settled everything, she was no match for even a beginner practitioner of the sword arts.

How could she not "let go" of them?

"Now is not the time to hold grudges. They're all men and armed."

Pingting's soft smile came through the darkness. "Don't be afraid. Those boars are nothing to me, as long as I have these in hand." She picked a few items off the ground and handed them to Zuiju. She placed her own bag back on her back. In a quiet voice she said, "Come with me."

The two people slowly crept though the forest. Pingting stopped every few moments before continuing, occasionally listening or carefully sniffing to find the right direction. Not long later, they finally found a small spring. The two continued to walk upstream and soon found its end. The spring's water trickled between the rocks, causing a gurgling sound of water. Indeed, it was the source.

In the darkness of the night, Pingting had some trouble assessing the shape of the mountains and forests around them. She turned to Zuiju, instructing, "Their campsite fire is clearly visible from here, suggesting that the lookout and checkpoints of the group are not far from there. To prevent us from moving in the forests, they have definitely set a large number of traps in them. It seems the group are divided into two, for maximum supervision. If we try to pass, there is no way they won't be alerted."

"We mustn't alert them. They have too many people. If they surround us, how could we possibly leave?"

Pingting sat down beside the mouth of the spring. She dipped a hand into it, bending the running water. She sat there for a while and her words were thoughtful, "On the contrary, we want to alert them."

"Miss?"

Pingting took the objects from Zuiju's hands. "These trees here are perfect." She began to assemble the objects one by one. Zuiju had some clue of what she was trying to do not long later.

"It becomes a crossbow after assembling?"

"Although it is indeed a crossbow, it isn't a normal one." Pingting took out a leather strap and skilfully manoeuvred it onto the tree. She then brought the leather strap towards the edge of the mouth of the spring, successfully setting up device. "When they step on this, it fires."

After the first had been set, she started on the second. She secured them with a leather strap and hid it in the dense trees or bushes, taking extra care to hide the strap.

She was busy for a long time, fitting seven such crossbows. Each was set deeper in the forest than the last. Zuiju studied them and realised they did not fire at the same time. Pingting used the leather straps to connect them.

"When the first round fires, then the second is freed. When the second round finishes firing, the third is freed and so on..." After Pingting finished, she and Zuiju returned to where the device was first set up. She stood by the mouth of the river, raising a hand to point at the distant crossbows hidden in the darkness. "The forest is very dark so they will definitely not realise that there are crossbows hidden in the trees. They would only know what really happened when morning arrives."

Zuiju gathered all of her concentration together, under the cover of darkness. Suddenly, everything clicked. "When they step on the device, the first round will be shot, making them think that we're on the other side of the stream. After the first round fires, the second round will begin from a further point, making them think that we have retreated deeper into the forest. Gradually, they will be drawn far away from this place."

Pingting replied, "Although there are a large number of arrows, they are done automatically, so they won't be very accurate or cause a lot of harm. The real harmful thing is still here." She slowly pointed to it.