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The small squad had already reached the top of the mountain. The squad leader insisted on continuing the pursuit, but one soldier named Ergouzi provocatively suggested that the assassin might have already escaped far away and expressed his unwillingness to chase any further. He plopped down on the ground and sarcastically said, "Always thinking about making achievements, what achievements are you talking about? Do you know how far they could have run? They might be down the mountain at some tavern, enjoying drinks and pig's head meat, living a good life. Only a fool like you would want to catch an assassin. Whoever wants to go can go; I'm not moving anymore!"
The other soldiers, hearing Ergouzi's words, began to think along the same lines. After all, they had spent most of the night climbing from the base to the summit, merely following the blood trail left by the assassin. They hadn't even caught a glimpse of the assassin, and perhaps, as Ergouzi said, they had already vanished without a trace. Thus, many of them started to feel disheartened, with a few also sitting down on the ground, complaining, "Squad leader, let's take a break! We've been climbing all night and we're exhausted! We don't even know how far the assassin has run; it won't hurt to rest for a bit."
Seeing that these guys had lost their motivation to continue chasing the assassin and not daring to vent his frustration on them—since these veterans would only push back harder if he scolded them—the squad leader could only lash out at Ergouzi. "You damn Ergouzi! All you do is slack off! If you really don't want to go, I won't force you. But let me tell you, this Yin-Yang Mountain only has this one side for going up and down; the other three sides are cliffs. Now that this one side is surrounded by our main force, that assassin is definitely still up here on this mountain. If you won't go, we Brothers will go instead. Just so you know, if we catch the assassin later, you won't get any credit for it!"
Sitting on the ground, Ergouzi rolled his eyes at the squad leader's words and retorted, "Don't try to scare me; how can a mountain have cliffs on three sides? Besides, we haven't been stationed at Yin-Yang Mountain for just one day; why haven't we heard about this before? You're just making things up; I don't believe your nonsense!"
"You... You refuse to admit you're ignorant? I'm a native of Yin-Yang Mountain," the squad leader said. "Let me teach you something today. Do you know why this mountain is called Yin-Yang Mountain?"
Everyone knew that the squad leader was a local from Yin-Yang Mountain; his home was in a nearby village at its foot. Hearing him say this piqued the soldiers' interest as they asked, "Why? Squad leader, tell us! We'll listen to you; if we catch the assassin and make achievements, we'll treat you to drinks!"
The squad leader glanced at Ergouzi's eager expression and smugly continued, "Ahem... Do you know why it's called Yin-Yang Mountain? Because one side is Yang while three sides are Yin. What does that mean? Ahem... It means one side is sunny while three sides are shady..."
"That's nonsense!" Ergouzi interrupted with a mocking smile. "That's just a load of crap! Squad leader, saying that is like saying nothing at all."
"Stop interrupting! Ergouzi, can you just let the squad leader finish? Do you even know? If you don't know, then shut up and listen!" Someone nearby scolded Ergouzi. Seeing that everyone was angry with him, Ergouzi had no choice but to sulkily close his mouth.
The squad leader then continued: "What I mean is that actually there’s only one side that leads to the top of Yin-Yang Mountain. The other three sides look complete from the foot of the mountain but actually have several tens of zhang left to reach the summit. Those tens of zhang are sheer cliffs. It's like part of the peak has been dug out forming a big pit; that area is filled with ominous energy and has eternal unmelted snow while this side's peak is even higher and never accumulates snow. Our predecessors believed that place was too ominous for people to approach; that's why this mountain is called Yin-Yang Mountain."
"Oh, so there's such significance?" The soldiers suddenly realized. "So that's how Yin-Yang Mountain got its name; that's really strange! Could there really be... ghosts in that cliff?"
"That's definitely possible," the squad leader felt proud of his extensive knowledge but noticed everyone getting nervous at the mention of ghosts. He feared no one would want to join him in pursuing the assassin if they were scared and quickly added, "Actually, those ghosts are said to be sealed beneath that cliff. We're on top of the mountain; even if there are any ghosts up here, they can't do anything to us. Also, do you know why our Former President was buried in Yin-Yang Mountain? It's because of that shady area; although our Former President was buried on the sunny side, his burial place connects with that shady area's energy vein. This creates a harmonious balance of yin and yang for an auspicious dragon rising ground so that Jiang's dynasty can endure forever. You wouldn't have known these secrets if I hadn't told you today."
"Oh, so there are such considerations?" The crowd buzzed, "So the squad leader means that the assassin can't possibly come down the mountain and is definitely still somewhere on this peak, right? What are we waiting for? Let's hurry up and search! Capturing the assassin would be a great achievement!"
"Alright! Everyone follow me up!" the squad leader said. "The area at the top of the mountain isn't large, and we have hunting dogs that can track the scent of the assassin's blood. I believe he won't be able to hide anywhere. Brothers, stay sharp; although this assassin is injured, anyone who can kill General Jiao must be quite formidable. Let's line up, keeping two to three meters apart, and don't fall behind. This way, we will definitely catch that assassin! Alright, Brothers, let's go!" With that, everyone stood up again, shouldering their automatic rifles and crouching as they climbed to the summit. Even Ergouzi, who had been stirring up emotions earlier, joined in; after all, if there was a chance for merit, how could one let it slip away?
Xin Yi and Roxy circled around the peak and soon realized that aside from the side they had climbed, the other three sides were sheer cliffs. Although it was night and they couldn't see how high the cliffs were, the strong winds blowing up from below were enough to prove that these cliffs were definitely not low. With three sides being cliffs and at least one group of soldiers searching on the remaining side, it was impossible to escape down that way. After understanding the situation, Xin Yi and Roxy realized that today might very well be their last day. Since there was no way out and no hope for survival left, their moods calmed down instead. Xin Yi chuckled lightly and said, "Hehe... I heard that Yin-Yang Mountain is a blessed place; Taiwan's former President Jiang Zhongzheng is buried here. Who would have thought we would have the honor of being buried in this legendary dragon-rising land as well? Roxy, do you think in our next life we could also be presidents or emperors or something?"
"Come on! You still call yourself a Heavenly Pride Nation person," Roxy laughed as she scolded him. "Heavenly Pride Nation places great importance on feng shui and yin-yang principles. But what they say is that only by burying ancestors in blessed lands can descendants enjoy fortune. There's no way you could interpret it like that; even if we could be buried in a blessed place, it doesn't mean we would be presidents or emperors in our next life! According to feng shui logic, it should be our descendants who enjoy fortune." After saying this, Roxy felt her words might have been ambiguous; mentioning 'our descendants' could lead to misunderstandings. So she quickly added, "What I mean is you don't have any descendants now, right? It should be your descendants who enjoy fortune."
"Descendants?" Xin Yi laughed. "Hehe, don't say that; I really didn't have time for that. If I had known today would happen, I should have put in more effort; maybe I would have had some by now." After this remark, there was a brief silence. The two were merely trying to relieve some psychological pressure; death itself wasn't terrifying, but if there were many things left undone before dying, it would weigh heavily on one's mind. For Xin Yi, although he had avenged his parents' deaths—believing that was his life's only value—the experiences of these past few months had given him more concerns. For instance, there was his grandfather who appeared stern and indifferent but cared for him more than anyone else; then there were Lijie, Shen Shanshan, and Shu Rui—these three women had already given their hearts to him. If he died just like this, what would happen to them? And then there were all the brothers from the Three Tiger Group and Beng Hu Camp; he wasn't just their boss but also their spiritual support in a sense. What would happen without him? Would the Three Tiger Group revert to its old ways? And what about Roxy? He knew her feelings for him, but what could he give her? Was it just this final death? That wouldn't be fair to Roxy.
"Roxy... will you regret it?" After hesitating for a moment, Xin Yi finally asked.
"No, I won't regret it," Roxy answered resolutely. "I absolutely do not regret dying with you! But..." At this moment, Roxy's eyes flickered as she hesitated to speak: "Xin Yi, there's something I want to tell you; actually... I've been hiding something from you all along..."
"Alright," Xin Yi interrupted her. "Don't say it; I mean I don't want to know. Roxy, some things aren't that I can't know; it's just that I don't want to know right now. So please don't tell me at this moment okay? All I know is that you are you—you are Roxy—and that's enough for me. Everything else... I really don't want to know. And you should forget about it too."
Hearing Xin Yi say this made Roxy's heart tremble; he had long seen through her identity issue and knew she approached him with an agenda. But why hadn't he asked her about it all this time? And why did he keep her by his side? Now she intended to confess everything to him but he didn't want her to speak? Could it be...? No way! Hadn't he been saying until tonight that their relationship was just boss and employee and wanted her to leave? How could that be? Did he really just want her to abandon him and escape alone? Thinking of this made Roxy feel a warmth spread through her heart as if she were basking in gentle sunlight; everything suddenly felt so beautiful!
So Roxy couldn't help but reach out and take Xin Yi's hand gently saying, "Xin Yi, thank you!"
"Alright then," Xin Yi said. "Since we're destined to die here today, we should think of ways to take down a few Taiwan Soldiers at least so we can break even—don't you think?"
"Yes! We certainly can't die for nothing," Roxy replied without letting go of Xin Yi's hand as she raised her gun and said: "I still have over twenty rounds left in my gun; we can definitely make it worthwhile! Hehe, how about we have a competition to see who can take down more?"
"Alright!" Xin Yi laughed and said, "Hehe, don't think you can bully me just because I have fewer bullets in my gun. I can tell you that besides bullets, I also have throwing knives, which can take a life just the same. This time, you're definitely going to lose, and when you do, don't try to back out!"
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