Chapter 986

Ye Feng howled!

Mountain exhausted, water ended!

No way out!

One side was a ten-thousand-zhang cliff, the other a ghostly pursuit!

Wang Wu looked at those beside him—only four remained, all brothers who had risen with him to kill officials and rebel.

He wearily drove his great blade into the ground and spat out a bloody froth.

“I can’t run anymore, and there’s nowhere left to run. Fuck you, you just want to kill me? Come on, show yourselves! Hiding like cowards—what kind of heroes are you? I’m Wang Wu right here! Kill me or cut me up, do as you please!”

“Yes, come kill us! We’re already cornered! Come out, roll out! You’ve got the guts to kill but not the guts to show your face?”

“What have we ever done to you? Why are you hunting us to the last breath?”

“The court is unjust, the officials are unjust—we killed officials and rebelled, and that is the Dao of Heaven. The people of the world will rise against the Daqian Dynasty sooner or later. Da Ming Wang rebelled, Guo Dachun rebelled—why can’t we?”

“Rebel! Rebel! We will rebel!”

“Come out! If you want to kill me, come out! I’ve never feared death in my life!”

The gale howled like wailing ghosts and crying wolves, drowning out their roars.

No one showed themselves—but finally, a sound came.

“Want to live? Want dignity? If you want dignity, tie up Wang Wu. Otherwise, you die!”

A withered voice, cutting through the howling wind, reached the ears of the five men with perfect clarity.

All five looked up at the sky, searching for their hunter.

In vain!

The other four turned their eyes to Wang Wu.

Wang Wu sneered, “What? You’re going to tie me up? This is clearly a ploy to turn us against each other—can’t you see through such a simple trick? Your brains…”

“Boss, forgive us!” The oldest one struck first. “What are you waiting for? Either he dies, or we do!”

The other three made their decision instantly, rushing forward and pinning Wang Wu’s struggles down hard.

“Boss, cooperate with us—you’ll suffer less!”

“Boss, you’ve had your share of comfort—it’s time to think of your brothers.”

“Boss, I’ve always admired you—you always charged ahead. This time, please charge ahead again, and fight for all of us a path to life!”

“We’ll remember you.”

The four worked together, no ropes—so they used their belts, binding Wang Wu tightly.

Brothers who had killed officials and rebelled together—when the end came, talk of righteousness meant nothing; only interest and survival mattered.

“I want all four of you to slice Wang Wu three thousand times—every single cut, no less. And he must not die until the last one. Complete this, and I’ll let you live.”

The aged voice echoed again through the forest.

Lingchi?

It was lingchi!

Wang Wu’s face turned deathly pale—he screamed in terror, hurling every foul curse he could think of, and those he couldn’t, from his mouth.

The four men stared at each other, glancing around, searching for the hunter’s shadow.

“Elder, we don’t know how to perform lingchi—we can’t guarantee he won’t die mid-process! Please show mercy!” The oldest spoke.

Puff!

The oldest died first!

The remaining three froze in horror.

Wang Wu burst into wild laughter, “Dealing with a tiger for skin! You’re dealing with a tiger for skin! You really think tying me up will save you? Hahahaha! You’ll all die—every last one of you! No one gets to live! They’re just having fun, dreaming up a new game to toy with you—and you actually believed them! Hahahaha! Just like we toyed with those villagers—hahahaha! All of you deserve to die!”

“Shut up! Shut your mouth!” The hothead lunged, slashing Wang Wu’s lips clean off with a single cut.

Wang Wu stared at his severed lip, discarded on the ground and stomped underfoot, and screamed in terror.

The remaining two swiftly drew their daggers, stepped forward, and began carving into Wang Wu’s flesh, exchanging tips: “Cut smaller pieces—three thousand cuts, if you don’t cut small, he’ll die too soon.”

“Avoid the veins—too much blood loss kills fast.”

“His mouth is too loud—why not cut out his tongue first?”

“Cut more.”

“A few cuts won’t do. That tongue’s huge—minimum twenty or thirty cuts. Otherwise we won’t reach three thousand, and we’ll all die!”

Wang Wu’s tongue was yanked out—he glared with bloodshot eyes, filled with terror.

So even he had moments of fear.

The gale carried the stench of blood, spreading it through the forest, drawing howls from wild beasts.

But today, the forest beasts were already full, their bellies swollen round. Though they smelled the blood, they didn’t move—only gave symbolic howls, as if to acknowledge their presence and participation.

The wolves were especially eager—but halfway there, they were halted. They knew when to retreat; unable to fight, they withdrew decisively.

The torture continued!

Dawn broke!

The cuts grew harsher, more precise!

Wang Wu had lost all human form—only a last breath clung to him.

The three men carved, counting aloud.

“One thousand three hundred twenty-five, one thousand three hundred twenty-six…”

“Hey, why’s there been no movement for so long?”

“Boss, Boss, Wang Wu, Wang Wu…”

“Dead! Dead! Wang Wu’s dead! It’s your fault—you cut the hardest! Now we’re under three thousand—what do we do? We’ll all die!”

“Why blame me? We all did this! Look at Wang Wu—would you have lived if it were you?”

The three stared at Wang Wu—his lower half reduced to bone, two-thirds of his upper body still flesh—and all three gagged.

This state? Death was natural. To live would be unnatural.

“He’s dead. Now what?”

“What else can we do? Run. We can’t just sit and wait to die.”

“I have no strength left.”

One day and one night without food or water—how they’d held on this long was a miracle of will.

“I’m out of strength too.”

“Are we just going to die here?”

“Maybe the hunter’s already gone.”

The moment the words left his lips…

Puff!

He collapsed, brains splattering.

The last two stood trembling, scanning the shadows—but didn’t run.

They knew—they’d reached the end. No escape remained.

They swiftly drew their weapons, slit their own throats, and ended their lives.

Better to end it themselves than suffer the capricious, inhuman hunt.

This wicked rebel band—now all dead!

From the trees, a man emerged.

Chen Guanlou stood before Wang Wu’s corpse, his expression one of deep revulsion.

He never imagined Wang Wu, once merely a killer, had evolved into a cannibal in mere months.

Absolutely nauseating.

Calling him a killer demon was no exaggeration.

He dragged the corpse behind him, tracking the wolf pack, and finally tossed the body into their midst—letting them tear it apart!

Ending these rebels’ lives brought Chen Guanlou no satisfaction—only gloom.

To witness such human horror—how could one feel well?

The men and women tortured—dead, all dead. Though some might have lived, they all chose death.