Chapter 147: Unrelenting Persistence

Deep within a nameless valley in Nai Shi Shan, a grey wild rabbit hopped over to a patch of green grass, bit off several tender leaves, and swallowed them after careful chewing. At the same time, lifting its front paws off the ground, it perked up its ears, which were fully two inches long, to listen to the surrounding movements.

The pair of small red eyes in its eye sockets were also observing every movement around it, and its small, flat nose twitched incessantly.

Utilizing its hearing, sense of smell, and eyesight, the grey wild rabbit monitored all surrounding disturbances; the slightest unusual motion would be immediately detected, prompting it to flee headlong.

Of course, rabbits relied primarily on their hearing and sense of smell, with eyesight serving merely as an auxiliary, but this was already more than sufficient. Without special tools, hunters could not possibly capture such sensitive prey.

An old turtle lives for ten thousand years, a toad for a thousand, but no one chases a rabbit of a hundred years. This meant that a rabbit that had attained sentience after a hundred years was fundamentally uncatchable. Since that was the case, naturally no one would waste their effort trying to capture it.

Sure enough, at this moment, about three zhang away from the grey wild rabbit, a "humanoid monster" entirely covered in tree leaves suddenly stood upright and let out a roar. The commotion was extraordinarily loud, so loud that even a slumbering beast would have been startled awake. Naturally, the exceptionally acute senses of the wild rabbit picked up this unusual disturbance immediately.

Startled, the wild rabbit darted off into the distance at lightning speed. The saying "swift as a startled hare" was truly well-deserved.

The wild rabbit had already fled far away, but the "humanoid monster" seemed extremely unwilling to let it go. Shouting and hollering, he pursued it relentlessly. The commotion he created grew increasingly massive, resembling the collapse of the heavens and the shattering of the earth, which terrified the already panicked rabbit into running even faster.

The frightened wild rabbit sped rapidly toward its burrow, driven by the instinctive belief that only its own burrow was truly safe.

The wild rabbit raced ever closer to its den. Just as it was about to dive inside and vanish without a trace, the panicked creature failed to notice, amidst its fright, a chilling glint flashing among the clumps of grass piled at the entrance of the burrow.

Seeing this, the relentlessly pursuing "humanoid monster" quickened his pace even more. The grey wild rabbit cast a terrified backward glance and dove headfirst into the hole.

In a split second, a soft "poof" was heard. A flash of red light erupted at the mouth of the rabbit's den, and the speeding rabbit was sliced cleanly in two by a sharp blade hidden at the entrance. Rabbit blood splattered three feet away, and its severed body twitched despairingly at the mouth of the cave.

"Haha!" At this moment, the "humanoid monster," covered in tree leaves from head to toe, dashed over panting heavily. He picked up the rabbit's remains and laughed heartily, saying, "Little creature, run along then! Let's see if you, this Monkey King, can escape the palm of Buddha Tathagata's hand?"

"The Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War by Master Guiguzi are truly marvelous! Analyze the circumstances, establish the foundation—by applying what I've learned flexibly, capturing you was as easy as reaching out and taking it!" the "humanoid monster" then boasted complacently, praising himself.

Time flows like water, and in the blink of an eye, two months passed. Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue had also been trapped in the nameless valley for more than two full months.

During these two months, aside from reviewing the lessons already committed to memory, Li Sanjian devoted himself to studying the *Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War by Master Guiguzi*. By this time, Cai Rongxue had long since translated the seal script of the text into ordinary characters to facilitate Li Sanjian's study.

As it happened, all the books Li Sanjian had been carrying had been lost; the only ancient text left on his person was this copy of the *Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War by Master Guiguzi*.

Through his studies, Li Sanjian discovered that rather than being a military treatise, the *Thirteen Chapters* was better described as a book of "statecraft and tactical maneuvering." The work focused heavily on political strategy, persuasive debate techniques, and even court and diplomatic struggles. The myriad techniques and devious stratagems contained within emerged endlessly, causing Li Sanjian's admiration to grow with every read. It truly lived up to its reputation as a divine book—fathomless and ghost-like in its unpredictability.

Naturally, apart from focusing on political maneuvers and rhetorical skills, the strategies in the book could also be applied to grand military campaigns. Therefore, the *Thirteen Chapters* was alternatively classified as a military text. If Sun Tzu's *Art of War* was considered a martial military classic, then the *Thirteen Chapters of the Art of War by Master Guiguzi* could be regarded as a scholarly military classic. The two complemented one another, the one martial and the other scholarly.

However, the fact that Li Sanjian was currently applying the *Thirteen Chapters* to catch wild rabbits left people unable to decide whether to laugh or cry. If someone who knew the true value of the book were to discover this, they would surely be infuriated to the point of crying out to the heavens; and if Master Guiguzi himself were to find out, he would undoubtedly crawl out of his tomb in rage and point a finger at Li Sanjian to hurl curses at him.

"This humble person's stomach is rumbling with hunger, no offense, no offense!" The "humanoid monster" Li Sanjian then stuck his rear in the air, crawled into the rabbit's burrow, and reached his hand inside to rummage about blindly.

Generally speaking, since the rabbit's burrow was located here, its young might well be inside as well. Thus, Li Sanjian, pushing his luck and wanting it all, intended to wipe out the entire rabbit family in one fell swoop to satisfy his appetite.

Sure enough, Li Sanjian's luck today was exceptionally good. Reaching inside and groping around, within moments he pulled out two baby rabbits.

One of these two baby rabbits was grey and the other white. Grasped in Li Sanjian's hands, they struggled desperately, emitting a continuous series of miserable squeaks in a truly pathetic sight.

"You... how could you do such a thing? Quickly... quickly let them go, they are too pitiful!" Right at that moment, a "humanoid female monster," also covered in tree leaves, rushed over and scolded Li Sanjian sharply.

The "humanoid female monster" was in a much better state than the "humanoid monster"; beneath the tree leaves draped over her body was a tattered long skirt, unlike the "humanoid monster," whose skin was bare directly beneath his foliage.

"Why did you follow me here?" Li Sanjian looked extremely annoyed at the sight. It was always like this; every time he managed with great difficulty to catch some game, he would be interrupted by Cai Rongxue, who followed closely behind and forced him to release the animals...

During these two months, relying solely on wild fruits was utterly insufficient to satisfy Li Sanjian's appetite. He had long been suffering from dizziness and physical weakness all day long, forcing him to resort to every possible means to catch wild game. But was catching a wild rabbit easy? A crafty hare has three burrows; Li Sanjian had spent half a day setting traps just to catch this single adult rabbit...

Cai Rongxue, on the other hand, felt no such deprivation. She relished the wild fruits, finding them sweet as nectar. Sometimes Li Sanjian truly suspected that she really was a celestial being from the heavens who did not partake of mortal food, able to live in absolute contentment on immortal fruit and morning dew alone.

"The Buddha says one must not take lives wantonly. You have already beheaded their mother, why... why must you still kill them? And even... even eat them? How can your heart be so cruel?" Looking at the severed grey rabbit, Cai Rongxue spoke with tears nearly welling in her eyes.

"What do you take me for?" Li Sanjian asked, laughing bitterly as he pointed at his own nose. "Do you think I look like a Buddhist monk? If I don't eat them, won't I starve to death?"

"I don't care," Cai Rongxue stamped her foot and said. "Look at these two little bunnies, how adorable they are—how could you bear to eat them? Let them go quickly, I'm begging you."

"Fine, fine, I'll let them go." Li Sanjian simply could not win against Cai Rongxue, so he helplessly put the two baby rabbits down.

*I'll let you off for now,* Li Sanjian thought to himself, glaring at the two little bunnies. *When you grow up, I'll gobble you up in one go.* Besides, two tiny bunnies didn't have much meat on them anyway; it was better to let them go and raise them until they were bigger before eating them.

Draining the pond to catch the fish—Li Sanjian still understood that basic principle.

Once on the ground, the two little bunnies did not scurry back into their burrow. Instead, they hopped over to Cai Rongxue's feet, rubbing affectionately against them while fixing their green, dot-sized eyes on Li Sanjian with terror, appearing remarkably intelligent.

Overjoyed, Cai Rongxue quickly scooped up the two baby rabbits, stroked them gently, and cooed softly to comfort the still-trembling creatures: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. We'll pay no mind to that big wicked man."

Hearing this, Li Sanjian was utterly speechless. Just because of two baby rabbits, he had suddenly become a big wicked man?

"Off we go, to roast rabbit meat!" Provocatively, Li Sanjian picked up the grey rabbit and strode toward their dwelling place.

Cai Rongxue glared fiercely at Li Sanjian and, clutching the two baby rabbits, followed him back to their shelter.

...

"You... reduced to such a plight, with the provincial examination fast approaching, why are you still reviewing your lessons every single day?" Cai Rongxue asked, propping her chin in her hand as she watched Li Sanjian wolf down his rabbit meat while studying.

The two baby rabbits poked their heads out from inside Cai Rongxue's bosom, only to be gently pressed back down by her.

The imperial provincial examinations in the Song Dynasty were generally scheduled between the first and second lunar months. By the time Li Sanjian obtained his qualification as a recommended scholar in Guizhou, it was already July. More than two months had passed since then, bringing them into September—less than five months away from the provincial examinations. Furthermore, the journey from Guizhou to Bianjing would take at least two to three months, making time appear rather pressing.

Trapped in the mountain valley, Li Sanjian and Cai Rongxue had, up to this point, not the slightest possibility of escaping. Perhaps the two of them would be trapped in this place for the rest of their lives, growing old and dying here... Consequently, Cai Rongxue felt exceptionally puzzled as to why Li Sanjian remained so diligent and unyielding in his preparations for the Ministry of Rites provincial examinations.

He would rather scratch and scribble on the ground with a tree branch than give up.

"There's no need for you to trouble yourself over it," Li Sanjian waved his hand impatiently, feeling a surge of annoyance.

Of all topics to bring up, she just had to touch on the sore spot. Li Sanjian felt a secret flicker of anger. Given their current predicament, how could he not understand? Yet Li Sanjian had long since made up his mind: until the very last moment, he would never give up; and even when the last moment arrived, he still would not surrender.

Moreover, Li Sanjian refused to believe they would be trapped in this place for a lifetime! The heavens had granted him a second chance at life, not to imprison him here forever. Sooner or later, he would break out of this confinement.

If he missed this provincial examination, he would prepare for the imperial tribute examinations three years later. Sooner or later, the knowledge he was acquiring would come to use.

At this moment, Li Sanjian's greatest worry was his mother, Lady Fu; he had no idea how she was holding up now. Cai Rongxue's mention of the exams inevitably intensified his anxiety for his mother, which was the primary reason for his inner wrath.

Li Sanjian's words were blunt and his tone exceptionally harsh, but Cai Rongxue did not mind in the least. On the contrary, she found Li Sanjian's demeanor rather pitiful.

For a child from an impoverished family, the imperial examinations were the sole hope. How could Cai Rongxue fail to understand this?

*Heavens above! If you will only allow him to escape and safely return to the capital to take the provincial examinations, this humble maiden is willing to sacrifice everything,* Cai Rongxue silently prayed to the heavens in her heart.