Sudden Change in the Secret Passage, Borrowing a Knife to Remove Bone

The night was thick as ink, and the watch drum in Black Stone County had just struck three.

In the backyard of the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters, beside an inconspicuous withered well.

This was Zhao Hei Hu's last escape route, leading directly to the mass grave thirty li outside the city. It was also a secret passage for smuggling hot goods on normal days. But tonight, this path to survival had become a gate of death.

"Pfft."

The two Black Tiger Gang members guarding the well mouth didn't even have time to groan before a bloody hole appeared in their throats. Two curved sabers were silently withdrawn, their blades not even stained with much blood.

Several black figures flipped out of the well mouth. They were clad in wolf-skin soft armor, their faces smeared with red and black paint, their eyes glowing green in the darkness like a hungry wolf pack.

The leader was lean, with a string of bone ornaments hanging from his waist, and he held a pair of Water-Splitting Daggers in his hands. He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring, as if sniffing the scent of an enemy in the air.

"Zhao Hei Hu..."

He whispered the name, his Da Liang accent stiff and heavy with killing intent.

He was a Centurion of the White Wolf Tribe, a warrior of his clan, named Agula. His cultivation at the mid-stage of Bone Forging Realm made his bones as hard as iron, emitting faint crisp sounds with his movements.

Just two hours ago, he had seen the bodies of his tribesmen at an outpost outside the city. They were scouts who had been brutally tortured and killed, with the Black Tiger Gang's unique iron balls stuck in them, and beside them lay the "Crimson Blood Ginseng" that had been returned.

This was an insult.

A trampling of the White Wolf Tribe's noble bloodline.

"Kill your way in."

Agula made a gesture, "Chop off Zhao Hei Hu's head and take it back to feed the wolves."

Inside the Hall of Righteous Gathering, the lights were bright.

Zhao Hei Hu sat cross-legged on a tiger-skin chair, sweat pouring from his bare upper body like mud. He closed his eyes tightly, his brows furrowed in a deadlock, his hands forming seals before his chest, trying to guide the Blood Essence within him.

"Damn it... why can't I suppress it?"

He felt a needle-like pain in the "Tanzhong Acupoint" on his chest, and an inexplicable heat surged through his meridians.

This was actually a combination of psychological effects and a trace of subtle force left by Ji Ye on his acupoint using the "Microscopic" technique. But in Zhao Hei Hu's mind, this was irrefutable proof that the "Corpse Poison" was acting up.

"Boss! This is bad!"

The main door was kicked open, and a blood-soaked leader stumbled in, "Someone's killing their way in! From the secret passage in the backyard..."

Before he could finish speaking, a cold glint pierced through his chest from behind.

It was a Water-Splitting Dagger.

The leader's eyes widened, and his body slumped down softly, revealing a ferocious face smeared with paint behind him.

"Agula?"

Zhao Hei Hu's eyes snapped open, recognizing the man. This was the leader of the White Wolf Tribe responsible for liaising with him; they often drank and divided spoils together.

"Brother, what is the meaning of this?" Zhao Hei Hu suppressed the discomfort within him, stood up, a flash of anger and shock in his eyes, "Where have I, Zhao, offended the White Wolf Tribe to barge into my headquarters in the dead of night and kill my brothers?"

"Where have you offended?"

Agula pulled out the Water-Splitting Dagger, drawing a string of blood beads, and sneered, "Zhao Hei Hu, you took the goods, killed my tribesmen, and stuffed iron balls into their mouths. And now you're playing dumb with me?"

"What goods and killing?" Zhao Hei Hu looked utterly bewildered, "Wasn't that batch of Crimson Blood Ginseng confiscated by the authorities..."

"Shut up!"

Agula didn't listen to any explanation. He exerted force with his feet, and his entire body moved like a hunting leopard, instantly crossing ten feet.

"Give me your life!"

The Water-Splitting Dagger whistled through the air, aiming straight for Zhao Hei Hu's eyes.

This strike was as fast as lightning and contained the unique penetrating power of the Bone Forging Realm.

Zhao Hei Hu was greatly alarmed. Although he was at the peak of Skin Grinding, his defensive capabilities were greatly reduced when facing someone in the Bone Forging Realm.

"You're going too far!"

Zhao Hei Hu was also a ruthless character. With a roar, he crossed his hands, and two iron balls met the attack with a whistling sound.

"Clang! Clang!"

Sparks flew.

The iron balls were knocked away, embedding themselves deeply into the wooden pillars beside them. Zhao Hei Hu retreated using the force, but his wrists were still numb from the impact.

"Bone Forging Realm..."

Zhao Hei Hu's heart sank. Normally, with his formidable martial arts and his subordinates, he wouldn't necessarily fear the opponent. But now that he was "poisoned," he dared not circulate his energy with full force, losing thirty percent of his strength.

"Brothers! Grab your weapons! Someone's crashing the party!"

Zhao Hei Hu roared, grabbing the Ghost Head Saber beside him and charging forward with gritted teeth.

Although the surrounding Black Tiger Gang members were startled by the sudden turn of events, they were, after all, in their own territory. Hearing their leader's command, they all drew their sabers and surrounded them.

A melee broke out.

The Hall of Righteous Gathering instantly turned into an Asura's battlefield.

Agula had only brought six men, but each was an elite of the White Wolf Tribe, agile and with vicious curved sabers. The Black Tiger Gang, despite their numbers, couldn't effectively fight in such a confined space and were being pushed back, suffering heavy losses.

Especially with Agula, his pair of Water-Splitting Daggers were like entering an unmanned realm.

"Pfft!"

A Red Stick from the Black Tiger Gang had just charged forward when his throat was pierced.

"Zhao Hei Hu! Die!"

Agula stepped on a corpse and lunged at Zhao Hei Hu again.

Zhao Hei Hu could only parry in a sorry state. Each time he circulated his Qi, his chest would ache, and his movements would involuntarily slow down.

"Ch-chi—"

The Water-Splitting Daggers slashed across his chest, leaving a wound that revealed bone on his proud "Iron Skin."

Blood gushed out.

"Ah!!"

Zhao Hei Hu let out a miserable cry, stumbled backward, and knocked over the screen behind him.

It's over.

Zhao Hei Hu despaired in his heart. Was he really going to die at the hands of this barbarian today?

Just then.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The roof of the Gathering Hall suddenly cracked, and tiles flew everywhere.

Over a dozen thick crossbow bolts rained down from the sky, carrying terrifying kinetic energy as they fiercely embedded themselves into the battlefield.

But this arrow rain did not distinguish between friend and foe.

Two arrows knocked over barbarian soldiers, and three arrows pinned Black Tiger Gang members.

One arrow even grazed Agula's scalp as it flew past, severing a lock of his braid.

"Who?!"

Agula was shocked and looked up.

He saw a row of constables in dark uniforms standing at the broken opening in the roof, holding the "Divine Arm Crossbows" that sent chills down the spines of martial artists.

And in the very center, a young man in a green shirt squatted on a roof beam, holding a pear, taking a bite with a crisp sound.

"Da Liang Law: Those who gather for a brawl will be beaten with eighty strokes."

Ji Ye swallowed the pear flesh and looked at the two men covered in bloodstains below, a gentle smile curving his lips.

"Those who wield weapons to kill will be executed immediately."

"Those who collude with the enemy and betray the country will have their nine generations exterminated."

"Gentlemen, tonight, you've gathered all the charges."

Seeing Ji Ye, Zhao Hei Hu felt like he had seen a savior and shouted, "Mr. Ji! Save me! This barbarian has gone mad!"

Agula's expression, however, changed.

Divine Arm Crossbows!

These were the standard equipment of the Da Liang border army; how could they be in the hands of the county constables?

"Retreat!"

Agula was a decisive man. The mission had failed, the other side had an ambush, and fighting further would be suicide.

He feinted, forcing Zhao Hei Hu back, and turned to flee through the secret passage in the backyard.

"You've already come, why the hurry?"

Ji Ye took out a handful of melon seeds from his pocket and scattered them casually.

"Wang Meng, seal the gates."

"Yes!"

Wang Meng, who had already been ambushing outside, shouted loudly.

"Boom!"

The four large doors of the Gathering Hall were simultaneously broken open by huge logs.

Hundreds of fully armed "Local Militia" (actually the idle ruffians of Black Stone County and some constables that Ji Ye had just recruited), holding torches and spears, surrounded the entire hall tightly.

The firelight illuminated Agula's ferocious face.

He looked at the spears pointed at him, then at the scholar on the roof beam with a playful expression.

"Southerners... treacherous!"

Agula roared, a trace of desperation flashing in his eyes.

Since he couldn't escape, he would take someone down with him!

He didn't charge towards the entrance but suddenly turned and lunged at the severely wounded Zhao Hei Hu again.

"Die!!"

With this strike, he burned all his Blood Essence, and the Water-Splitting Dagger glowed with an eerie red light.

Zhao Hei Hu was at the point where his old strength had faded and new strength had not yet emerged. Watching the fatal blow, his pupils contracted sharply, and he only had time to let out a roar of despair.

"Ji Ye! You set me up!!!"

"Pfft!"

The Water-Splitting Dagger pierced Zhao Hei Hu's heart.

This formidable figure, who had dominated Black Stone County for ten years, stiffened for a moment before slowly slumping down, the light in his eyes rapidly fading.

To his death, he believed he had lost because he was "poisoned."

"Good skills."

From the roof beam, Ji Ye clapped his hands, tossing away a pear core.

"Gang Leader Zhao colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, and was killed by the Barbarians to silence him. This script is perfect."

He stood up and looked down at Agula, who was heavily surrounded.

"As for you..."

Ji Ye took a Wild Goose Feather Saber from Wang Meng, lightly leaped off the roof beam, landing without a sound.

"I'll use your bones to test my blade."

"Everyone step back."

Ji Ye twirled the saber, walking towards the Barbarian expert in the Bone Forging Realm.

"I'll handle this one myself."