Chapter 142 Escape from Death

Li Wantong used a small trick to leap out of the cellar, and then fled by scaling the roofs. Xiao Ding hurriedly unleashed several crossbow bolts at his back.

However, Li Wantong was carrying a large bundle on his shoulder, which covered most of his back. Consequently, most of the crossbow bolts struck the bundle, and only one managed to hit Li Wantong squarely in the buttocks, striking him right in the anus. Because he had been suffering from diarrhea over the past two days, his buttocks were already extremely sore, and now being struck by Xiao Ding's crossbow bolt right in that sensitive spot caused him to let out a series of wails. Yet, he dared not stop and continued to use his lightness kung fu, leaping across rooftops to escape.

Neither Xiao Ding nor the soldiers possessed the ability to vault over walls and bound across roofs, so they had no choice but to pursue him closely on the ground, occasionally firing random arrows at him.

Unfortunately, the flying arrows either missed their mark or struck the large bundle on Li Wantong's back.

Because of the arrow lodged in his rear, Li Wantong's escape speed was severely hindered, preventing him from shaking off Xiao Ding and the soldiers closely trailing behind him.

He fled aimlessly, daring only to leap across the rooftops of residential areas and refusing to drop back down to the ground.

However, as he ran, he reached the edge of the residential district where there were no more houses for him to vault over. With no other option, he was forced to descend to the ground. In fact, with every step he took, he had to endure a sharp, agonizing pain radiating from his backside.

After landing on the ground, he continued to sprint forward desperately, well aware that running forward only brought pain to his backside, whereas stopping meant certain death.

Xiao Ding led the soldiers in relentless pursuit from behind.

After running forward for about the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Li Wantong suddenly discovered a river blocking his path ahead. Without a second thought, he plunged directly into the river.

The river's flow was quite heavy, so it was not frozen. The large bundle on Li Wantong's back contained the Luban Birds, which were entirely made of wood, allowing the bundle to float easily on the water's surface. Thus, relying on the buoyancy of the Luban Birds, he drifted downstream with the current.

Xiao Ding and his troops pursued him to the riverbank. Seeing Li Wantong drifting downstream, they followed along the shore, running in the same direction.

At that moment, Xiao Ding could not help but sigh with regret that living in this era without a mobile phone was truly inconvenient. If he had a mobile phone, he could simply contact Magistrate Yang and have him dispatch men to intercept the fugitive downstream!

The river flowing through the city was named Dingbian River, cutting across Dingbian from west to east. Xiao Ding had no idea where the river originated or where its lower reaches led.

As they pursued him further, Xiao Ding caught sight of the eastern city wall. The river flowed out of the city through a drainage culvert beneath the wall, and by then, Li Wantong had vanished without a trace. It appeared he had drifted out of the city through the culvert.

A wave of frustration washed over Xiao Ding, who thought to himself that Li Wantong was truly lucky to have slipped through his fingers and cheated death like this!

He hurriedly sent men to report the situation to Magistrate Yang, urging him to dispatch troops out of the city immediately to search the downstream area.

By the time Xiao Ding's messenger returned to report to Magistrate Yang and the magistrate mobilized troops to search outside the city, nearly the time it takes to burn two sticks of incense had already elapsed.

By then, the sky was gradually growing dark, rendering it unfavorable for searching for Li Wantong.

Even Li Wantong himself had never expected that after starving and suffering for two or three days solely to find an opportunity to escape the city, he would stumble into such an effortless escape today.

At the very moment he drifted out of the city with the current, he even felt that the sky wasn't that dark, the water wasn't that cold, and his rear wasn't hurting quite as much. He felt an urge to sing out loud. Nothing could possibly be more exhilarating than escaping from Dingbian City!

After drifting forward for a while, Li Wantong finally began to feel the piercing cold of the winter river water. He struggled to paddle with his hands toward the riverbank, ignoring the fact that his hands had already been frozen completely red.

In truth, anyone who has experienced winter swimming knows that the temperature of water in winter is actually higher than the temperature of the air.

Soaked to the bone and struggling as he crawled up from the snowy riverbank, Li Wantong finally experienced what true cold felt like. He hurriedly channeled his internal energy to fend off the chill, yet even so, he shivered uncontrollably from head to toe.

Before long, a layer of ice formed on the surface of his clothes. His heavy bundle had also grown even heavier from soaking in the water. Nonetheless, he had every reason to be grateful for that bundle; not only had it blocked several crossbow bolts for him, but it had also kept him afloat all the way out of the city in the freezing water.

Li Wantong discerned his direction and then limped toward the encampment of the Hu army.

Guided by the starlight and the reflection of the snow, Li Wantong shuffled step by step back to the main camp. When the soldiers and generals in the camp caught sight of his wretched appearance, they were all utterly astounded.

This was the Imperial Preceptor, a figure akin to an immortal! How could he possibly be reduced to such a pathetic state?

Upon seeing Li Wantong in this condition, Li Daocheng hurried forward to grasp his hand and exclaimed, "Imperial Preceptor, what on earth has happened to you? Why have you only returned after so many days? Come, come, let us go inside the main tent and sit down to talk."

Tugging and pulling, he dragged Li Wantong into the central command tent. Li Daocheng repeatedly offered him a seat, but how could Li Wantong possibly dare to sit down? He still had a crossbow bolt stuck firmly in his backside!

However, because the crossbow bolt was only about half a foot long and Li Wantong's Daoist robe was quite loose and flowing, Li Daocheng had failed to notice the bolt protruding from his rear. He continued to urge Li Wantong to sit and even poured him a cup of hot tea, handing it over.

After drinking a few sips of hot tea, Li Wantong's frozen body finally stopped shivering, and a trace of warmth seemed to return to his limbs.

"Quickly, help me summon a physician! Quickly, find me something to eat!" These were the first words Li Wantong uttered after entering the tent.

"Imperial Preceptor, are you injured? Where are you hurt, and is it severe? Imperial Preceptor, why are you being so polite upon your return? Please, sit down and rest." Still oblivious to the truth, Li Daocheng continued to press him to be seated.

At that moment, Li Wantong felt a strong urge to slap Li Daocheng twice across the face—could he not see that an arrow was still sticking out of his backside?

Before long, the military physician was escorted into the central command tent, and Li Daocheng also instructed the camp cooks to prepare food for Li Wantong.

The physician was likewise startled upon seeing Li Wantong, wondering if the Imperial Preceptor had gone wading in the river to catch fish. How else could he be soaking wet in the dead of winter?

"Imperial Preceptor, are you feeling unwell? Please extend your wrist so I may feel your pulse!" the physician said deferentially to Li Wantong.

"You needn't bother with the pulse. I've been hit by a crossbow bolt; help me extract the arrow," Li Wantong said.

"Ah? Imperial Preceptor, you've been struck by an arrow? Where is it, let me examine it!" the physician exclaimed in shock. In his mind, the Imperial Preceptor possessed such formidable skills—how could he possibly be hit by an arrow?

"Right here." Li Wantong pointed toward his rear. Only then did the people inside the tent notice a length of arrow-feather protruding from the Daoist robe at his backside, accompanied by scattered bloodstains on the fabric.

"Imperial Preceptor, I believe this is hardly a suitable place to remove the arrow. Would it not be better if we went to your personal tent for the extraction?" the physician inquired. The central command tent functioned as the camp's conference hall, a place where matters were discussed and the commander issued military orders; it was hardly a proper venue for treating the Imperial Preceptor's wounds.

"Very well, let us go to my personal tent then," Li Wantong consented.

Everyone accordingly accompanied him to his quarters.

The physician instructed Li Wantong to lie face down on the bed and cautiously lifted his robe, at which point everyone finally saw the exact spot where the arrow had struck. The accuracy was terrifyingly precise—it was a direct hit right in the chrysanthemum!

The physician took a dagger and slit open Li Wantong's trousers, exposing his entire backside. After inspecting the crossbow bolt, he said, "Imperial Preceptor, the head of this crossbow bolt is barbed. When I extract it, I will need to use the dagger to cut away some of the flesh..."

Hearing this from the side, Li Daocheng felt his own anus tighten instinctively. Having one's flesh cut with a knife in that region was agonizing even to contemplate!

"Cut away as you must; I can endure it," Li Wantong said through clenched teeth, thinking to himself that when he fell into the river and the freezing water soaked his wound, it had been no less agonizing than having flesh carved away. He had endured that torment, so whatever it took now, he would steel himself to bear the extraction.

There was no anesthesia in this era, so the physician meticulously sliced the flesh around Li Wantong's rear with the dagger and pulled out the crossbow bolt. The moment the bolt was withdrawn, a spurt of fresh blood shot out, nearly splashing onto the physician's face. He hurriedly pressed the pre-prepared herbal medicine for knife wounds directly onto the wound.

Just then, a camp cook came over to report, "Reporting to Your Highness, the food you ordered has been prepared."

Upon hearing this, Li Wantong cast aside the pain in his backside and shouted urgently, "Bring it in quickly! I am nearly starving to death!"

At that moment, the physician suddenly chimed in, "Respected Imperial Preceptor, I advise you not to consume any food over the next few days. Otherwise, once you eat and need to visit the privy, your backside will ache terribly, and it will also interfere with the healing of the wound."

Upon hearing these words, Li Wantong thought to himself that the physician might as well just kill him outright!

Thus it is:
Poisoning the well was a heinous crime,
What use to escape and cheat death this time?
Heaven subjects you to bitter distress,
Adding frost to the snow on your spine!