CHAPTER 148: CHAPTER 96: UNFORTUNATELY, SURVIVAL IN TURBULENT TIMES CANNOT START OVER

The Momoi brothers were carrying Harano on a door plank, making a rapid escape from Takeshige Manor along the lagoon. Beside them was Ah Qing, with Ah Man and over twenty battered Lang Faction members trailing behind, all missing their helmets and armor. Farther away, the shaking flames of the pursuers could be seen, and the South Gate was burning fiercely.

During the street battle at the South Gate earlier, Ah Man had used her "Fake Death Divine Skill" to ambush and kill Lin Zhenzheng, saving their desperate situation. This allowed them to rally and force back the enemy assault, giving them time to set fire to the gate and escape. But Lin Zhenzheng’s death had thoroughly enraged the Lin Family, especially his father Lin Shengzhen. The arson only bought them a brief respite—now, the main Lin forces were hot on their heels, and it looked like nothing short of their deaths would satisfy them.

What was worse, Harano was gravely wounded, struck in the waist and ribs with a blunt weapon. One or two ribs might be broken, and he had completely lost the ability to move—instead, he could only be carried along as they ran.

"We can’t escape like this!" Ah Man’s foot plunged into a mud pit, stumbling and nearly pitching her headlong to the ground. She coughed a few times before regaining her balance, but her nose started bleeding again. Looking back at the glow of pursuit, it seemed even closer than before—the situation wasn’t improving, and sooner or later, they’d be caught.

The dark night worked against their escape; lighting torches would make them easy to track, while running in the dark meant stumbling and slow progress. If this kept up until dawn and the enemy dared to ride hard on horseback, with just this pitiful fighting strength left, they’d all be dead for sure.

This was a scenario they hadn’t anticipated—they never expected the Lin Family to pursue them so doggedly, nor did they expect Harano’s rib injury to become such a huge burden during retreat.

But it was too late for regrets...

Ah Man knew this couldn’t go on. She sped up and grabbed Ah Qing, who was guarding Harano, asking, "How’s he doing?"

Ah Qing didn’t slow her pace, just shook her head lightly, but remembering it was so dark, added quietly, "Not good!"

Ah Man took out a fire striker and flicked it for some light, peering at Harano. He was drenched in sweat, eyes clamped shut—probably unconscious from the pain. But time was pressing; she couldn’t care so much and pinched him hard several times, questioning, "We can’t shake the Lin family. What now?"

Harano’s ribs had been snapped by that stocky, short Samurai. Even breathing made the broken bone ends rub together, sending searing pain through him. Being jounced along on a door plank by the Momoi brothers in the dark only made it worse—worse even than childbirth. His brain was shutting down; it took a good while of Ah Man shaking him before he came to a little.

He woke up in excruciating pain, but now that he understood the situation, he felt calm—likely, this time, he wouldn’t make it out alive.

But so what? He’d done all he could. As a normal person, he’d tried to survive, and if fate dealt him a bad hand, there was nothing more to do but accept it quietly.

Everyone faces failure; nothing special about it. What was a shame was that a lifetime in chaos offered no do-over—that was a little regretful.

But at least he hadn’t come in vain—he’d managed to do some things. He’d managed to trick the monkey after all; call that a bit of good karma.

Gazing at the starry sky, already resigned to failure, he forced himself not to faint again and softly gave his last instructions: "There’s no way out. Just toss me and this plank into the lake. Then you go find Yayoi and the rest, split up the money—just try to let my friends... live a while longer. When he dies, or... when you lose patience, cremate him and bury his ashes on Ise Mountain."

He paused, then patted Ah Man’s hand, glanced at Ah Qing beside him, and, forcing a smile, said, "Thank you for this time. Truly, thank you..."

After he repeated this, Jing Qilang stumbled and jolted the makeshift stretcher. Pain shot through Harano’s ribs, his vision went black, and he closed his eyes again—this time, completely knocked out.

Ah Qing’s eyes reddened. She bit her lip and said to Ah Man, "I’ll draw them away!"

"Useless. They’re not idiots—they won’t all chase after just you!" Ah Man shot back instantly. She looked at Ah Qing, then at the barely conscious Harano, her face full of hesitation.

To be honest, she’d done everything anyone could for Harano. She’d eaten his food and fat chicken, taken his iron cannon and armor, and had risked her life with him through thick and thin. Even now her chest was tight and her back burning with pain, but that more than paid for what she’d taken from him.

So even if she dumped Harano and fled, even if he died, he had no grounds to blame her.

But...

She thought back over everything they’d been through together this past year, then let out a long sigh, drooping her head in resignation. "Forget it, I’ll go. I just knew I wasn’t born for a soft life. Good fortune brings payback—and here it is. So forget it. I’ll take people and draw them away!"

"Let me go instead, Sister!" Ah Qing’s eyes were even redder as she gritted her teeth. "If I ambush them here, maybe I can kill their commander..."

"Stop dreaming! There’s hundreds behind us. You’re no spirit or demon!" Ah Man’s temper flared. She snapped at her, "And you’re no better at running than me. I might live; you’ll definitely die!"

"Sister!"

"Enough, no more back-and-forth!" Ah Man had made up her mind. Harano had treated her with loyalty; now was her time to return the favor. "Do as I say—you take him into the marshes, drag him along. I’ll keep the Lin clan busy in circles!"

She paused, then said, unconvinced, "Of course, if I die, you tell that guy one thing—wipe out the Lin clan, not even a chicken left! Don’t let me die for nothing!"

Ah Qing took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them and nodded fiercely. "I will, Sister! You won’t die in vain!"

"Don’t go saying you’ll do it! You can’t—you’d probably get yourself killed for free. But that guy can make money. Let him get enough cash to hire people, he can do it for sure!"

Ah Man left it at that and ignored Ah Qing. She turned and barked at the Lang Faction to stop, told them to go drink at the lake shore and recover, and to prepare some torches. Meanwhile, she called over a Lang Faction member from the Oda Family, had Ah Qing knock him out, then stripped off the "plank armor" from Harano’s body and shoved it onto the man. Good enough for impersonating a leader in the dark, she figured.

She was utterly calm, moving steadily. In minutes, the preparations were done. She shoved Harano to Ah Qing and instructed, "Go. Hide around here for now. When I draw the Lin clan off, then drag him into the wetland and take the opposite way around. As for what to do after that—just wait till he wakes up and ask him."

Ah Qing nodded silently. She looked hard at Ah Man in the darkness, then dragged Harano’s heavy body into the reeds. Ah Man rested her hand on her sword, giving the Momoi brothers a chilling look: "You carry this guy and keep following me. Try to run—I’ll kill you right now! Switch out for two more if needed. If you don’t run and somehow live through this—you know this guy’s character. Houses, land, cash, wives—none of that’ll be lacking. How you choose is up to you!"

The Momoi brothers were ready for this, and didn’t hesitate. They picked up the "fake Patriarch" and followed obediently behind Ah Man. She swung her sword and called the rest of the Lang Faction back, riling them up once more. On Harano’s behalf, she promised huge rewards: if they could get Harano out alive, a hundred kan apiece, and later on, houses, fields, wives for everyone.

Bottom line—stick with her and take a shot! If they could shake off the pursuers, their families would never want again, for three generations!

It all depended on tonight—could they win a piece of fortune for their descendants?

She fired up everyone’s spirits, staving off a sudden rout. Glancing back at the Lin forces now hot on their track, she immediately led everyone to make a sharp turn toward the river feeding into the lagoon.

Freed from Harano’s heavy burden—and with torches lit—their speed surged, nearly matching that of the Lin Family behind.

The two groups, one after another, raced along the lake toward the riverside.

Dawn was breaking. The Lin clan finally dared to mount a cavalry pursuit. Soon a squad of mounted Samurai caught up, showering them with arrows, herding them toward a narrow river bend.

Ah Man wasn’t giving up yet. She tried to stall again, raising the promised reward, leading the exhausted Lang Faction to hold their ground. They held out for a good while until, with the main Lin force arriving, she had to abandon the position.

Then she left the Lang Faction to their fate, careless whether they lived or died—that was the risk in this business. She took only the Momoi brothers and the "fake Harano" up to a high spot by the river and said, "That’s it. You two run. Life and death now just depends on luck. If not, surrender! Stay alive and you’ll get another chance one day!"

With that, she ignored the brothers, heaved over the door plank, and dumped the "fake Harano" right into the river. At this moment, Lin Shengzhen galloped up with his men—only to see "Harano" fall into the water, flail, and vanish below the surface.

Lin Shengzhen’s face turned black as a pot bottom. Slowly, he raised his hand. His Samurai immediately drew their bows and aimed at Ah Man. Ah Man, knowing surrender would be a death sentence, gave a twisted grin and raised a middle finger at Lin Shengzhen.

Ever since she’d learned the gesture, every time she’d flashed it at Harano, his face knotted up in agony—she’d guessed it meant nothing good. Now Lin Shengzhen could enjoy it too!

And then, a volley of arrows struck her. She tumbled headlong into the river in a spray of water, blood bubbling to the surface and trailing off in the current—then vanished.

Soon, even the blood was carried off by the running water—leaving nothing behind.