Chapter 109: Unlucky

"Am I going to die... this time, I really am going to die!"

After spotting the trio ahead, Yamiru immediately hid behind a bare rock, his heart pounding. He took deep breaths and exhaled slowly, trying to calm his nervousness.

How far is fire mountain, where the Ox-King lives—or rather, the current Fry-Pan Mountain—from Mount Paozu, where Son Gohan lives? Even without comparing it to the map of Mount Paozu given to Yamiru by the mysterious elder, just from the events in the manga, it's easy to make an estimate. After leaving Mount Paozu, Son Goku and Bulma soon meet Master Roshi, who takes them to the East Coast, where they quickly meet Oolong. They cross a river and then encounter the desert bandit Yamcha, and then—just after that—they arrive at Fire Mountain.

In short, Mount Paozu isn't that far.

Yamiru, after crossing the sea from the Southern Capital and climbing over mountains, had been caught, experimented on, and nearly lost his life. After enduring great hardship for half a year, he had finally arrived here. He thought he was nearing the end of his journey, but who could have predicted that at this very moment, he would encounter... these three ruthless people?!

"Ugh... I have to avoid them. I must avoid them."

Yamiru crouched behind the bare rock, not daring to make a sound, silently telling himself.

He activated his Golden Veil.

With the power of his Golden Veil, Yamiru could peer through the rock and see the Ki of the three figures approaching—two tall and one short.

Of all the Ki Yamiru had seen, the most intense had come from only two people: Blue and the Ox-King! Yamiru had felt the full force of the Ox-King's strength during his brutal beating on Fry-Pan Mountain, and as for Blue, honestly, if it weren't for the sword Jiora gave him, Yamiru wouldn't have had the confidence to take down that despicable man.

But now, the two tall figures approaching ahead—each of them radiated a Ki far more intense than Blue's, stronger even than the Ox-King's!

If Blue's Ki was like a clearly defined mist, and the Ox-King's was a vast, thick fog, then these two tall ones were like solidified snow demons... Especially the tallest one, whose overwhelming white Ki contained traces of bloodlust. The moment Yamiru's Golden Veil made contact with the blood aura, he felt a sense of discomfort.

Even the smallest of the trio, the one shorter than Yamiru by a head, had "Ki" far surpassing that of an average adult male by several times! This kid was strong enough to beat Yamiru into the ground without breaking a sweat. A true little monster.

"Hehehe..."

Yamiru's throat went dry, and a cold sweat trickled down his forehead. His back pressed tightly against the bare rock wall.

Tao Pai Pai.

Tien Shinhan.

Master Shen...

Yamiru immediately recognized the identities of the trio! He cursed his luck, muttering several times how unlucky he was. The world was so vast, and yet he had run into them here. Even worse, it was at a time when he hadn't even found Mount Paozu or mastered any martial arts!

"Tao Pai Pai was what? The world's number one assassin!"

Tien Shinhan? A little killer trained by Tao Pai Pai!

And Master Shen, don't even get him started—wicked, lecherous, and with a petty personality.

During the day, running into these three people, Yamiru was too scared to gamble his life on their mood or morality. All he could think about was hiding properly and praying to avoid being discovered—because there was no way he could win in a fight. Even if he risked his life, there was no way he could defeat them.

Tao Pai Pai's Dondon ray had nearly killed Little Goku! If it weren't for the Four-Star dragon ball blocking the shot, Goku would have truly died back then. Yamiru was fully aware of his limitations. With his current abilities, he couldn't even withstand a few hits from the Ox-King, let alone Little Goku at the time. Not to mention Tao Pai Pai, who could kill an untrained Little Goku in an instant!

But now, there wasn't just one Tao Pai Pai, there was also the sneaky-looking Master Shen, and another warped three-eyed little monk who probably had been brainwashed since childhood. Yamiru couldn't afford to be optimistic about this situation at all.

Unable to resist, he activated his Golden Veil once again and peeked through the rock. His mood plummeted even further!

These three were really heading straight for him!

"I can't be seen, I can't be seen, I can't be seen..." Yamiru mentally repeated, trying to self-hypnotize. "I'm invisible, I'm a phantom... you can't see me..."

He'd survived the lab experiments back at Gero's lab; surely, he couldn't die here!

The trio was getting closer.

Based on how Goku had toyed with Tien Shinhan at the 23rd Martial Arts Tournament, where he had sensed Ki in the Temple and easily played with him, it seemed that the members of the Crane School were probably not very proficient at sensing Ki, right?

Yamiru held his breath and focused, praying as he crouched behind the bare rock.

Thump! Thump! Thump!…

His heart pounded violently. Yamiru no longer needed his Golden Veil. He could hear the Crane School trio's voices getting closer!

The pressure of life and death made Yamiru unconsciously clench his fists. He focused all his attention on his ears, carefully listening to the trio's movements. He adjusted his position behind the rock, hoping to find a blind spot and avoid being detected.

"I'm done, brother..." A middle-aged man's voice, filled with complaints, could be vaguely heard, mixed with another voice that sounded sharper. But it was too quiet for Yamiru to make out the words clearly. Soon, the complaining voice of the middle-aged man came again—Yamiru guessed it was Tao Pai Pai: "Being a killer is so much easier. Just kill a few people and make money, it's so easy... there are so many useless people... it's like killing chickens..."

"What does that mean? Was Tao Pai Pai only deciding to become a full-time assassin now?" Yamiru listened carefully, still cautious about his position. He moved with extreme care, afraid that his footsteps might make a sound—like in wuxia novels, where the idiot side character always steps on a twig and gets caught.

The voices grew fainter.

Yamiru gasped, his lips pale. His legs even felt a bit weak. He smiled and wiped his forehead—sweat was dripping down. Reaching behind, he realized his back was drenched in sweat too.

That was a close call!

He sat down, feeling his heart racing wildly. The few minutes of tension had been a rollercoaster of emotions. But fortunately, as a lousy transmigrator, he still had his golden finger… If it hadn't been for his Golden Veil, even if he had noticed those three deadly figures in advance, he wouldn't have been able to perfectly hide behind cover and avoid detection.

Thinking he had escaped, Yamiru suddenly looked up. In his peripheral vision, he thought he saw something... His Golden Veil activated, and he swallowed as he looked toward the direction the Crane School trio had gone.

A hundred meters away, the three-eyed boy was looking back at him.

Yamiru's golden eyes locked with the boy's three eyes.

"Tien Shinhan, do me a favor..." Yamiru muttered. "Just pretend you didn't see me, alright? Turn around and leave... Next time, I'll have Goku go easy on you."

However, Tien Shinhan naturally couldn't hear what he was saying. After staring for a while, he pointed in Yamiru's direction.

"Huh? Someone?" Tao Pai Pai stopped in his tracks.

"Impossible, even I didn't notice anyone," Master Shen frowned.

They all turned around to look.