Chapter Five Tailgating

  They drove past a narrow alley in one breath, and saw from afar that the Jeep had just turned a corner and entered a fork in the road leading out of town. Perhaps it was daytime and there were many people on the road, so after they got their hands on it, they were afraid that driving too fast would attract attention from others, so the Jeep didn't drive very fast.

  Wang Chan stared at the Jeep, quickly noting some distinctive features on it. Seeing that there were many people on the road, he didn't dare to run too fast, but instead quickened his pace and took a shortcut to cross the road. After looking around and finding no one paying attention, he crouched down and slipped into the trees by the side of the road.

  Hulin County is not big, Zhou Lin's villa was actually built in a area close to the outermost part of the county town, so following that Jeep, Wang Chan quickly ran out of the county town. The roadsides also started to appear with patches of coniferous forests connected together.

  Wang Chan's running speed was definitely not as fast as a Jeep that exceeded 70 kilometers per hour, but he had practiced for over twenty years and had the skills of "hitting sandbags with lead plates tied to his feet" and "jumping over pits". In the past, this would be considered the legendary "flying eaves and walking on walls", with an explosive force that was shocking to the extreme. Especially because he had been practicing the Thirteen Taibao horizontal exercises for many years, it also made his body's qi and blood thick and rich, with a strong endurance, so when it came to long-distance running, those top marathon athletes in sports channels were nothing compared to him.

  After leaving Hulin, the road conditions changed immediately. At first, there was still a glimpse of asphalt road, but after driving 7 or 8 miles down the highway and turning onto a side dirt road, the car's speed suddenly slowed down.

  Perhaps it was because they had left the Tiger Forest that the hijackers in the Jeep relaxed a bit, or perhaps the sandy and gravelly road surface leading into the deep mountains restricted the vehicle's performance to some extent. As a result, although Wang Chan still hadn't caught up with the Jeep ahead, he was able to keep following from afar without losing them.

  Wang Chan opened his legs, twisted his waist and shook his hips, putting the center of gravity of his body extremely low while running. Although he was still carrying a sack, his feet exerted force, with his toes grasping the ground, as if there were two powerful large springs under his feet, allowing him to quickly traverse a long distance with each step. His agile figure darted in and out of the grass, trees, and bushes at an incredible speed that seemed almost superhuman.

  After another ten or so minutes, as the density of the forests on both sides of the road gradually increased, the speed of the Jeep in front also slowed down. Wang Chan's gaze was fixed firmly on his target, and his footsteps remained steady and consistent.

  Although it was broad daylight, the forest inside seemed somewhat gloomy. At this time, he had already been more than a dozen miles away from Hulin County, and Wang Chan no longer feared that his figure would be discovered by others. He swung open his legs, took big strides, and once again lowered the center of gravity of his body, causing his legs to start running. His knees hit his chest in front, and his heels touched his hips behind him. As he ran, the vertebrae on his back almost formed two parallel straight lines with the ground, making him look exactly like a "mountain leopard" that was chasing its prey and refusing to give up over a long distance.

  In the mountains for so many years, Wang Chan has hunted large wild beasts more than once. Sometimes in order to capture an adult Northeast tiger, he would use tiger bones and tiger blood as medicine, and even had to track it down continuously for several days deep in the mountains, crossing mountains and rivers, which was just a routine for him.

  Moreover, he was determined to succeed in his training, and even walked normally as if it were a form of exercise. His endurance was incredibly strong, and casually running 30 or 40 miles through the mountains wasn't enough to warm him up. However, this long-distance pursuit of vehicles wasn't something that happened often, and human strength would eventually reach its limits, whereas mechanical power could keep going as long as there was gasoline to burn. After more than an hour had passed, Wang Chan finally slowed down, feeling his legs ache and swell, with a burning sensation in his chest, as if a fire was raging inside him, and the air he breathed out was scorching hot.

  Fortunately, Wang Chan had walked this road before and knew it led to the Dongfang Red Forest Farm. There were no forks in the road either, so he wasn't worried that the car would suddenly disappear without a trace.

  "Damn it, if we go any further forward, we'll be deep in the mountains. Are these bandits from the forest farm? If we haven't reached our destination yet, I can only stop and search slowly. Whether I live or die depends on Zhou Lin's own fate!"

  The Daxing'anling region has a harsh climate, with severe cold weather, which has also given birth to the bold and chivalrous character of the people in this area. Especially in the depths of the mountains, the forestry areas have been known for their rough folk customs since ancient times. Everyone is fond of fighting, and before liberation, it was common for villages to be at odds with each other. During busy times, they would farm, hunt, and fish, while during idle times, they would "sit on the ground and hold a stick" and raise a big flag, gathering in the mountains as bandits, killing devils, stealing military supplies, and committing all sorts of atrocities.

  Although the country was liberated later, the people's lives got better, everyone had a full meal to eat, and no one went into the mountains to be bandits anymore, but the folk customs continued until now, with little change. In addition, in recent years, border trade has opened up commercial ports, and many people have gone to do business with the Russians, for safety's sake, they cannot help but form gangs and engage in illegal activities in secret. It is precisely because of this that Wang Chan did not feel surprised at all that these kidnappers came from the "forest farm".

  His footsteps slowed down, and Wang Chan looked far away at the Jeep in front of him, now just a small shadow. He couldn't help but feel discouraged. Zhou Lin was his friend, and he had to rescue him when he was in trouble, but if the car really disappeared from view, he would have no choice but to give up. All he could do was try his best and slowly search for clues. As for whether Zhou Lin would be killed or not during this time, it was beyond his control.

  "No big deal, those who have grudges will settle them, and those with grievances will vent them. Later on, I'll find these people one by one and kill them to avenge Zhou Lin, it's also worth the friendship we've had."

  He let out a faint sigh, and just as Wang Chan was about to stop in his tracks, he vaguely saw the Jeep ahead suddenly turn into the woods by the side of the road and slowly come to a halt amidst a dense thicket of trees. Then he saw four or five figures jump down from the vehicle, two of them dragging something like a dead dog, pulling an unconscious Zhou Lin up the mountain. The remaining people, who seemed well-trained, somehow produced a camouflage tarpaulin from nowhere and covered the Jeep with it, then hastily gathered branches and grasses from the side and piled them on top before rushing to follow the others up the mountain.

  "Huh? These people are veterans, no wonder they're so handy!"

  The Hulin area is a border port, and naturally there are many garrison troops stationed here. Although Wang Chan has been in seclusion on Tiger Head Mountain for over 20 years and rarely contacts the outside world, he has seen those soldiers patrolling along the border line without fail. With his discerning eye, he can tell that the kidnappers of Zhou Lin are agile and well-trained, obviously having received training before. Adding to this the tactic of using a jeep to block the view, he immediately guessed that these people must have been soldiers in the past.

  Wang Chan hid his body behind a large tree, first taking a long, deep breath in, his breathing sounded like a snake spitting out its tongue, and he sucked in so much air that his chest rose high, his lower abdomen shriveled up, and the front and back stuck together. He held this breath for two or three minutes before finally exhaling with a "whoosh" sound.

  He ran the mountain road for sixty or seventy miles in one breath, and Wang Chan was like a large iron pot that had been heated to a boil, with the heat accumulating inside his body and burning his skin bright red. If he didn't hold his breath and calm down, he would likely hurt his internal energy and cause great harm to his body. Fortunately, at this time, the kidnappers stopped the jeep, probably having arrived at their destination. Wang Chan did not dare to relax, standing behind a tree and immediately taking on the pose of an old bear, unblocking his lungs and calming his energy.

  And what he just did, that one breath, the time between inhaling and exhaling lasted for two or three minutes, is actually a skillful technique, in internal martial arts it's called "Hooking Toad Breathing" qigong, which practices the skills of breathing and swallowing, emphasizing "one line unbroken, breath uninterrupted, golden toad spits out air, heavenly drum thunders". It's said that when this skill is practiced to a deep level, the breathing and swallowing will move the body's energy and blood like a golden toad croaking, producing the sound of thunder from the heavenly drum.

  In modern society, martial arts have declined, but information exchange platforms are widespread. Many martial arts schools have also adapted to the trend of the times and have published many previously secret techniques in books or online, hoping to attract more learners. The qigong technique I learned is actually from a book Wang Chan bought at Xinhua Bookstore. Unfortunately, those schools still hide some secrets, and although the descriptions in the book may not be false, they must also lack some crucial content. Wanting to practice according to the book is simply impossible.

  So Wang Chan operated according to the law, and this mouthful of air shot out was naturally not accompanied by any heavenly drum thunder sound. On the contrary, it was because his own vital energy was full and majestic, and after passing through the lungs and compressing again, he spat out from the mouth cavity, just like an arrow that had broken free from its bowstring, piercing through the air and making a sound as if a powerful blade was slashing through the void. With a hiss, it shot straight out two meters in front of him before slowly dispersing.

  His body gradually returned to normal, and the redness on Wang Chan's face quickly faded away. On his forehead, there was not even a single drop of sweat, because he had been practicing for so long that he could now freely open and close all the pores on his body, switching between breathing methods. As long as it didn't exceed his physical limits, no matter how intense or large-scale the exercise was, he would never sweat like ordinary people did.

  After a while, it is estimated that the five or six bandits had already reached the end of the road and walked far away. Wang Chan then took big strides to walk up the mountain. However, this time he did not follow the small path that the bandits took to climb the mountain, but instead walked another 700-800 steps westward from his original location before changing direction at a location with many trees, and then quietly climbed upwards.

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  Thank you all for your support, Lao Lu bows to you!!!