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墨書 Inktalez
Guide Yanming Shop Elder and Xin Yi agreed on a departure time. Since he still needed to purchase some supplies, he decided to set off the following evening. He would come to the county town to pick up Xin Yi and the others. After explaining everything, the elder left the Inn and disappeared into the darkness of this border town.
To avoid attracting the attention of the local border patrol, Xin Yi and the others stayed in the Inn. Although they had bought clothes from the locals, even dressed similarly, people could still easily tell they were not from the area. The region had a typical Subtropical climate with abundant sunlight, so the locals had distinct Subtropical features: dark skin, large pores, and typically larger nostrils, which were related to the humid air. Most locals were also relatively short, making it difficult for outsiders to blend in regardless of their attire. Additionally, language barriers posed a significant issue; while locals could speak Heavenly Pride common language when communicating with outsiders, they used their local dialect among themselves. To minimize trouble, they decided to remain in the inn.
That night at midnight, a farm vehicle stopped at the Inn. Guide Yanming Shop Elder, dressed neatly, entered and signaled for Xin Yi and the others to prepare for departure. The driver's cabin couldn't accommodate everyone, so each of the four carried a military backpack and climbed into the back cargo area. The vehicle bumped along the rugged country road toward Border Line. After about an hour, it finally stopped in a remote area. When they jumped out of the vehicle, they found themselves in front of a vast Sugarcane Forest. The leaves of the sugarcane rustled in the night breeze like soldiers sharpening their blades, ready to harvest their enemies' lives.
Yanming Shop Elder sent away the driver and instructed everyone to stay close behind him as he led them into the dense Sugarcane Forest. The four followed: Xu Maogong in front, followed by Roxy, then Topology, with Xin Yi bringing up the rear. Despite his small stature and age, Yanming Shop Elder moved swiftly through the forest. Xu Maogong, who had a military background and practiced Kung Fu, managed to keep pace with him. Although Roxy was a woman, she was determined not to fall behind and kept closely behind Xu Maogong. However, it was tough for Topology, who had never navigated through a forest before. Being from a tropical region, he felt somewhat at home in this Subtropical area but struggled with its high humidity. As he rolled up his sleeves and pants before entering the forest, he quickly realized his mistake; the dense sugarcane leaves cut into his exposed skin like little knives, leaving painful scratches that itched terribly. Frustrated, he cursed under his breath in his native language at this damned Sugarcane Forest, even considering drawing his large machete to clear a path for relief. Only after constant urging from Xin Yi did he relent.
After about ten minutes of pushing through the Sugarcane Forest, they finally reached an opening where a cool night breeze greeted them. Xin Yi guessed they were nearing its edge and stepped closer to join Yanming Shop Elder, who was crouched down observing their surroundings. Ahead lay a small clearing with a river; across it was another clearing leading back into another expanse of sugarcane—this was what they referred to as the Border Line. Crossing that river would lead them directly onto Taiwanese soil; without the boundary markers on either side of the river, no one would suspect such a small stream separated two lands.
Seeing no movement around them, Yanming Shop Elder gathered everyone together and pointed at the river ahead. "Crossing that river leads directly to Taiwan. The water isn’t deep; it will only reach your chest at most. Once you enter the water, no matter what happens, do not look back—just run straight across into that patch of sugarcane on the other side where I will wait for you."
"Are you saying we might be spotted by the Border Guard?" asked Xu Maogong.
"It's hard to say," replied Yanming Shop Elder. "Our border patrol is much stronger than theirs; there are hardly any guards on their side. If we are discovered, just run straight across to that patch of sugarcane—it's safe there. I won't be able to look after you during that time; you'll have to rely on yourselves." He spoke seriously; while he was experienced in jungles, he had no way of dealing with border patrols catching crossers—his priority was escaping himself.
However, he wasn't aware of his companions' abilities. The river was only about two yards wide; Xin Yi was confident she could leap across without getting wet. She believed both Xu Maogong and Roxy could do so too; only Topology, who hadn't trained in this type of Kung Fu, might find it challenging. If it came down to running away quickly, it was uncertain whether Yanming Shop Elder would reach that patch of sugarcane first. But no one voiced these thoughts since there seemed unlikely any border guards would appear nearby; thus they quietly planned to cross without causing any commotion.
After explaining everything clearly, Yanming Shop Elder stood up cautiously and whispered, "Go!" He leaned forward and sprinted out of the sugarcane forest like an agile leopard across the clearing toward the riverbank. Following closely behind him were Xin Yi and her companions. In just over ten seconds, they reached the riverbank where they saw that Yanming Shop Elder showed no signs of slowing down as he leaped off from shore into midair above the water's surface. At that moment before hitting the water, his head, hands, and legs bent backward at an incredible angle while only his chest touched down on the surface with a loud splash. Strangely enough, instead of sinking like an ordinary person would have done upon impact with water, he glided smoothly across its surface for another two meters due to momentum—now only about a meter away from reaching shore! As his speed began to decrease while gliding on water's surface, he swiftly paddled with his hands against it several times using force until he completed crossing over.
Once on solid ground again without pausing for breath or rest at all, he dashed toward that patch of sugarcane on their side where moments later his small frame vanished into its dense foliage.
After witnessing how effortlessly he crossed over without getting wet at all left those remaining behind dumbfounded—they stood frozen in place forgetting even about entering water themselves! This astonishing method seemed unheard-of: how could someone cross without submerging? Was this what people referred to as legendary martial arts skill? Or perhaps reminiscent of their founder’s “One Reed Crossing”? Yet here was no reed involved—could it be that he surpassed even their founder?
Eventually breaking free from astonishment first was Xu Maogong. He urged them onward saying: "Let’s go!" Then jumped into the river himself which indeed proved shallow enough only reaching waist-high for everyone else slightly above that level confirming what had been said earlier by their elder regarding depth being chest-high based solely on his own height—he stood shorter than all including tall individuals like Roxy. Fortunately there were no sudden appearances by any mentioned border guards; after crossing over soaked below waistline yet feeling urgency they hurriedly traversed through open ground rushing into that patch of sugarcane where they found already enjoying tobacco blissfully puffing away was none other than their elder himself!
Approaching him curiously stood puzzled yet amazed at how dry he remained despite everything—Topology reached out touching lightly against his back murmuring softly: "Indeed didn’t get wet at all."
The Elder of Yanming Shop knocked the ashes from his pipe onto his shoe sole, put away the pipe, and said, "Now we need to pass through this Sugarcane Forest. Beyond the Sugarcane Forest is a small village. We will go around the side of the village, and then we will enter the dense jungle. Only by getting into the jungle can we shake off the Border Guard of Taiwan and find a place to start a fire to dry our wet clothes."
"Okay, let's go now. Otherwise, it will be troublesome if we are discovered when it gets light," Xin Yi said.
"Right. Although it doesn't matter if the local villagers see us, every village has its own guards. If they spot someone crossing the border, they will report it to the Border Guard. At that point, we will have to spend some money again," the Elder of Yanming Shop said. "So let's go. Stay close behind me like before; don't get lost. If you get lost in this Sugarcane Forest, there will be no one to find you. Don't get lost before we even enter the jungle."
After spending another half an hour crossing the Sugarcane Forest, they reached the small village that the Elder had mentioned. The five of them circled around the village and moved forward through the fields. They didn't know how long they had been walking, and they still had no idea how far away the jungle was. Topology stayed close to the Elder of Yanming Shop and, unable to hold back his curiosity any longer, quietly asked, "Um, Elder, what kind of Kung Fu did you use when you crossed the river earlier? It was so impressive; could you teach me?"
The Elder of Yanming Shop looked around and saw that they were far enough from the village that he wasn't worried about being overheard, so he smiled and replied, "That wasn't Kung Fu. Have you ever seen a lizard cross water? It's the same principle."
Topology couldn't understand what the old man meant by that; what did lizards crossing water have to do with anything? Just as he was about to ask again, he heard the Elder suddenly point ahead and say, "Look over there; that's the edge of the jungle. We just need to walk a little further to enter it."
The group looked up and saw a dark shadow looming not far away. Under the moonlight, it exuded a sinister aura, resembling a demon with a wide-open mouth waiting for its followers' offerings of flesh and spirit.
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