The abrupt shift in topic took Wu Jinliang by surprise, but he quickly caught on. His eyes lit up instantly. "His cultivation's been crippled. Out here in the middle of nowhere, even if he's planning to silence everyone, he'd never leave himself unguarded. You're dreaming if you think it'll be that easy! Still—they're going to hunt us down no matter what we do. If there's even a slim chance to turn the tables, we've got to take it. What if we pull it off?"It was clear he was just as much of a daredevil as Shi Chun—given a shot at a high-stakes gamble, he'd never pass it up."They've already sent word. If things go as expected, reinforcements will be here soon. We need to take the long way around." Shi Chun nodded toward the canyon exit, signaling they should circle around the outside. As he spoke, he darted to the mouth of the canyon and peered cautiously out.Wu Jinliang tore the clothes slung around his neck off and stuffed them haphazardly into the bundle on his back. He glanced down at the two corpses on the ground, then slung his massive sword over his shoulder and jogged over to Shi Chun, grumbling. "Why'd you go to the trouble of killing them if we were just going to head back anyway? Weren't you tired?""Their deaths here will make it look like we really escaped." With that cryptic remark, Shi Chun darted out of the canyon and set off at a run.Wu Jinliang froze for a second, then grinned as the logic clicked into place. Making everyone think they'd fled for good was the perfect cover to sneak back undetected. Even if they didn't get a chance to take action against Shen Youkun, they'd be able to slip away safely afterward.Chuckling to himself, he darted after Shi Chun.The two men didn't retrace their steps. Shi Chun led the way, choosing an alternate route back based on the positions of the hidden sentries he'd spotted earlier through his right eye's bizarre vision. His main concern was avoiding the enemy reinforcements rushing to the scene.And indeed, those reinforcements arrived quickly—they were already at the sentry post where the two dead men had been stationed.Leading them was a burly masked man, dressed in a full set of clothes and even wearing boots—a rare luxury in the exile lands. A dozen more masked men trailed behind him.Finding the post empty, they spotted the glowing fingerprint markers after a quick search of the area. The entire group immediately set off in hot pursuit.The site of the killings wasn't actually that far away. Shi Chun had deliberately chosen to strike nearby earlier, not wanting to waste any time and risk complications.The dozen masked men soon reached the canyon where the murders had taken place. They paused briefly, catching the scent of blood in the air, then discovered the two corpses lying on the ground.The burly masked man pulled an ornate tinderbox from his waist, blew on it to ignite a flame, then personally removed the black cloth masks from the two dead men's faces. After illuminating their features and confirming their identities, he let out a deep breath. He inspected the scene of the fight carefully, then walked out of the canyon and stared silently into the undulating wilderness under the night sky for a long while.With no clue as to the killer's whereabouts, he knew chasing blindly would be pointless. Turning back to his men, he left a single order before departing alone. "Clean up the mess."He raced through the night, heading straight for the mining area without detouring anywhere else.A bright full moon hung high in the sky, casting its cold, silvery light over the landscape like a flood of mercury.Outside the mine entrance, Qi Ziru lay resting with his eyes closed on his reclining chair. Two sedan bearers stood guard beside him, while seven or eight supervisors blocked the cave mouth, sealing it off completely.Shen Youkun was nowhere to be seen—his uncle had ordered him back into the mine to supervise the excavation personally.A shadowy figure suddenly leaped down from the mountainside and landed in the valley outside the mine. "Who goes there?!" one of the guards at the cave mouth shouted, startled.The guards all drew their weapons instantly. Qi Ziru opened his eyes and looked over. Seeing the burly masked man approaching unhurriedly, he immediately waved a hand to calm his men. "It's all right—he's one of ours."The burly masked man didn't approach any closer, stopping several zhang away from Qi Ziru and nodding slightly in greeting.Qi Ziru pushed himself up to a sitting position, refusing the sedan bearers' offer of help and waving them away when they tried to follow. He walked over alone, and the masked man fell into step beside him, continuing to walk until they were far enough away to speak without being overheard. Only then did Qi Ziru stop, waiting silently for the man to speak.The burly masked man leaned in and whispered his report. "Someone broke through our outer perimeter. They even killed two of our men.""I was hoping you'd bring better news." Qi Ziru's expression darkened instantly as he turned to glare at the man. "Not even the item I gave you was enough to stop them?"The burly masked man replied grimly. "It never even got a chance to be used. The enemy struck with terrifying speed—faster than should have been possible. I rushed to the scene as quickly as I could, but I was still too late. I didn't get a clear look at who the killer was, or how many of them there were.Judging by the location of the crime scene, our men didn't follow the fugitives very far before they were discovered. There weren't even any signs of a prolonged fight at the scene—it was over in the blink of an eye.From the way our men died, it's clear they were killed by the same person. One of them didn't even have time to draw his weapon. So either the killer is far more powerful than we anticipated—powerful enough to leave our men with no chance to fight back or escape—or it was a sneak attack. Either way, this killer is no ordinary foe. Was he one of the men who escaped from here?"With that, he fell silent, waiting for Qi Ziru's response.Qi Ziru's face was like thunder. He knew exactly who was responsible, but he'd never imagined his carefully laid outer defenses would be so easily breached. That man had slipped away without any trouble at all, making a complete fool of him and his nephew.He'd been worried from the start that his backup plan might not be enough to stop the fugitive, and sure enough, the man had slipped through the net. It seemed this matter would have to be reported to the family after all.He'd briefly considered covering it up, but then he'd remembered that the Master of Dong Jiuyuan—the man who'd stolen the treasure—was still at large. Who knew what he might do with the stolen item, or if he might one day reveal the truth about what had happened here? After weighing the pros and cons carefully, he'd abandoned the idea of concealing the failure.After taking a few deep breaths to calm his rage, he said slowly, "The work here is nearly finished. Recall all our men and have them gather nearby to await further orders.""Understood." The burly masked man nodded briefly, then turned and left, leaping up the mountainside in a few bounds and disappearing from sight.Not far away, hidden in the shadow of a mountain ridge, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang pressed themselves tightly against the rock face, daring not even to breathe. They'd watched the burly masked man's departure, and they'd only just arrived at their vantage point moments earlier.By the time they'd climbed into position and could clearly see the valley and the mine entrance below, Qi Ziru had already returned to his reclining chair and closed his eyes again."Is it just me, or have all the guards on the mountain disappeared?" Wu Jinliang whispered in astonishment. "Could they really have silenced everyone already?"Shi Chun made a sharp gesture for silence, pressing a finger to his lips. Even though they were well hidden and far away, it paid to be cautious.For the next while, they could only lie in wait, watching and observing. In the meantime, Shi Chun secretly channeled his cultivation energy to examine his own body, finally having the time to try to figure out what exactly had happened when the shimmering purple nebula had merged with him.The moon drifted slowly across the sky as time dragged on, inching toward the middle of the night. Wu Jinliang was on the verge of yawning when his eyes suddenly shot open. He nudged Shi Chun sharply with his elbow.No need for a reminder—Shi Chun had already seen it too. Shen Youkun was walking out of the mine, holding something that glowed faintly in his hand.It was an incense stick. Shen Youkun approached the reclining chair and bowed respectfully. "Uncle, it's done. We've excavated everything."Qi Ziru glanced at the incense stick in his hand and asked, "They're all lit?"Shen Youkun nodded, stealing a quick glance at the seven or eight supervisors standing guard at the cave mouth.Qi Ziru turned to one of the sedan bearers beside him and said, "Signal the men to come and collect the cargo."A moment later, a shooting star suddenly streaked out from the sedan bearer's hand, exploding with a loud bang into a shower of sparks high in the sky.Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang watched from their hiding place on the mountainside, their heads tilted up to the sky.Moments later, a horde of masked men charged down from the mountain ridge beside the mine—three hundred strong, by rough count.Wu Jinliang gritted his teeth, nudging Shi Chun again and gesturing grimly that their chances of success were now zero.The burly masked man who'd led the reinforcements walked over to Qi Ziru, waiting for his orders. Qi Ziru pulled a small black cloth pouch from his sleeve and handed it to him, saying, "If it won't all fit, take it apart and pack it piece by piece. Not a single bone is to be left behind—collect every last fragment."Most of the local natives had no idea what the small black pouch was, but Shen Youkun's eyes lit up at the sight of it. Unlike the others, he recognized it immediately—it was a Cosmic Bag, a magic treasure with an enormous internal storage space. He'd never even gotten to use a magic treasure of this caliber before.So that was how they planned to move the colossal skeleton! He'd been wondering how they'd manage to transport something that big out of the mine.The burly masked man took the pouch, nodded, then waved his hand to signal his men forward. The entire group marched straight into the mine.As they passed the seven or eight supervisors standing guard at the cave mouth, a flurry of glinting blades flashed in the moonlight. Several screams of agony rang out simultaneously.Already halfway into the mine, the burly masked man led the way, his voice ringing out loudly enough for his men to hear. "Remember—leave no survivors!"Behind him, the sound of three hundred swords being drawn echoed through the tunnel in a menacing swish.By the time the last of the masked men had entered the mine, the seven or eight supervisors lay dead on the ground at the cave mouth, their bodies surrounded by pools of blood.Shen Youkun looked from his uncle—still lying on the reclining chair with his eyes closed—to the corpses in the blood puddles, the thick stench of blood filling his nostrils. He couldn't help but shudder, finally understanding why he'd always been so afraid of this man.Hidden in the shadows, Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang exchanged horrified glances. "They've really started," Wu Jinliang whispered.Inside the mine, the air was thick with a faint, acrid smoke, drifting lazily through the tunnels. Unburnt incense sticks could be seen stuck into the cave walls at intervals.As the masked men advanced deeper into the mine, they began to find bodies lying on the ground—more and more of them the farther they went.One man knelt down to examine a corpse, frowning in confusion at the victim's dark, purplish face and wide-open eyes. "Was he poisoned?"No sooner had the words left his mouth than another man stumbled over to the cave wall, gasping for breath. "No, boss—there's something wrong with the smoke in this cave!"Similar cries of alarm began to ring out one after another, and panic quickly spread through the ranks."Boss! We need to get out of here—this smoke is toxic!"But the burly masked man leading the way ignored them completely, continuing to march forward until he was far ahead of the rest of the group. Only then did he call back over his shoulder, his voice cold and indifferent. "It's too late. You've been breathing it in for over a month now. The catalyst has already been activated."The panicked men didn't hear what he said, or if they did, they paid it no mind. One by one, they began to collapse to the ground, choking and gasping for air.Some tried to stagger back toward the cave entrance, but none of them made it even halfway. They all fell dead along the way.At the T-shaped junction at the very end of the mine, the burly masked man finally reached the massive dragon skeleton stretching across the tunnel. He opened the Cosmic Bag in his hand wide…When he emerged from the mine again, he was alone. Behind him, a deafening rumble echoed through the tunnel.Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, lying prone on the mountainside, exchanged stunned glances. They could feel the ground beneath them shaking violently, wave after wave of tremors rippling outward. They had no idea what was happening.BOOM! With a thunderous explosion, a huge cloud of dust and debris erupted from the mine entrance, shooting high into the air—clearly visible even in the moonlight. The burly masked man, standing alone outside the cave mouth, didn't even flinch as the shockwave hit him from behind, swallowing his entire body in the thick cloud of dust.The two sedan bearers had already pulled Qi Ziru back to a safe distance, dragging Shen Youkun along with them.Staring in disbelief from his hiding place, Shi Chun muttered to himself, "It's collapsing."Wu Jinliang nodded numbly, sharing his shock. He had no idea what method the men had used to bring the mine down, but only one person had walked out alive?The two men were utterly stunned. They'd originally thought Qi Ziru only planned to silence the miners already inside the mine. When they'd seen the three hundred masked men arrive, they'd assumed their chance was gone and they'd come all this way for nothing. They'd never imagined the man would be ruthless enough to eliminate the three hundred masked men as well.Moments later, the burly masked man emerged from the swirling cloud of dust, walking over to Qi Ziru and presenting him with the Cosmic Bag.Qi Ziru inspected the pouch briefly, then nodded in satisfaction. "Let's leave."The two sedan bearers lifted his reclining chair and turned to leave. The burly masked man grabbed Shen Youkun by the arm, and together they leaped up the mountainside, following Qi Ziru's lead.A fierce glint flashed in Shi Chun's eyes as he watched them go. He grabbed Wu Jinliang firmly by the shoulder, his voice low and determined. "If we can take out those three, the other two are nothing but useless baggage. Two against three—do you dare?"Wu Jinliang let out a savage grin, brandishing his massive sword. "Heh-heh. My blade has been itching for a fight far too long!" With that, he sprang to his feet, dragging his sword behind him as he charged down the mountainside toward their fleeing targets.
