Chapter 15
"Is it you?" Wu Fan exclaimed, standing up, his heart racing at the sight of the four men who had attacked him the previous day. He instinctively gripped the hoe in his hand, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
"Well, yes, you thought we were just going to leave you alone, didn't you? Yesterday, a beautiful woman saved you, but today, you're alone here. Haha, you have no chance of escaping!" said one of the men, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Why are you doing this to me? I haven't done anything to you! And you stole the thousand yuan I took for my mother. You're not human!" Though trembling with fear, Wu Fan stood tall, questioning the men firmly.
"Haha, no problem telling you, the dead can't reveal anything. You're Lin Miao's husband, but you suspect she's having an affair. That's a huge disrespect to her. We're here to carry out her orders and make you pay!" The group leader spoke with disturbing conviction.
Of course, this was all a lie; it was actually Lei Meng who had orchestrated the attack on Wu Fan.
"What? How could she act like this? She gave me that money! She..." Wu Fan was stunned, but he stopped in the middle of his sentence.
Talking about his marital issues to strangers made no sense. Married, he slept on a camp bed, never having had the chance to hold his wife's hand.
He had a hard time believing that Lin Miao would act this way.
"Yes, it's true, she gave you that money, but she also ordered us to take it back. Now, that money is back in her hands. So, Wu Fan, do you have anything else to say? This could be your final statement, and I'll be happy to report it to your wife!" The man in front laughed as he pulled a machete from his back.
"If you come closer, I'll fight to the end!" Wu Fan shouted, raising his hoe with determination, ready to defend his life.
At this point, he couldn't just let them overpower him without resistance.
"Swish, swish..." The four men attacked simultaneously, their machetes slicing through the air.
The sound of the wind and the gleam of the blades betrayed their intent: they were determined to eliminate Wu Fan.
With all his strength, Wu Fan used the length of his hoe to temporarily repel one of the attacks.
"Ah!" But as he dodged, he didn't see the other attackers coming. After a few minutes, one of the machetes struck him in the shoulder, and he cried out in pain.
The pain caused him to drop his hoe, which fell to the ground.
Defenseless, he was quickly struck again.
"Oh no, I'm going to die here!" he thought, realizing the imminent danger.
In a desperate act, Wu Fan began to run. "The best defense is flight. As long as there's life, there's hope!"
He didn't head towards the village, aware that although the villagers might help, most of them were women and children, unable to face these men. It would only make his situation worse.
To avoid putting the villagers in danger, he ran deep into the woods.
Confident in his knowledge of the area, he hoped to escape his pursuers.
"Follow him! We can't let him get away today, or we'll have to answer to Meng Ge!" ordered the leader, leading his men after him.
Though Wu Fan, being a man of the mountains, had some advantage in running through nature, he was injured. The thorns and vines clung to his wound, causing him intense pain and slowing his speed.
"Haha, it's time for your death!" one of the pursuers shouted as they caught up with him, raising their machetes to strike his head.