Noticing Xiao Qian stir inside the chest, Chu Ge frowned as he looked toward the Yellow Turban Sect thugs closing in from the front and rear. He said to Wang Xiuyun,
"Wait for a chance, then we'll each break through from the rear. If we get separated, we'll meet again in the prefectural city."
Wang Xiuyun immediately understood. There were fewer thugs attacking from behind, and more than one road led to the prefectural city.
If they couldn't hold out, splitting up and fleeing was their only option. She immediately agreed.
By then, Chu Ge had already abandoned his horse and leapt onto the carriage, taking the reins from the dead driver beside it.
The carriage held all the possessions he had painstakingly accumulated. He couldn't let this band of thieves take them—not a chance. He had to get everything out of there.
He had barely gotten control of the carriage when the pack of thugs behind him came charging up, shouting, "Yah! Hah!"
One look at Chu Ge's tall, burly frame told them he was a trained warrior. Several of them immediately charged at him with their blades.
"Attack!"
"Kill him!"
Chu Ge's expression turned cold. He snatched up a long spear from the carriage, one he had taken from Fu Wei's bandit den, let his blood and qi surge, and drove the horse forward.
He raised his hand and thrust several times, each strike flashing like a bolt of lightning.
Even with his strength held to the Bone Training Realm, his speed and power far surpassed those of ordinary people.
The attacking thugs were Muscle Refining Martial Masters at best. How could they possibly stop him?
His spear flashed several times, and a chill wind seemed to sweep across the scene.
One man felt a sudden chill in his chest, followed by a burst of pain. He couldn't help shrieking; the next moment, he crumpled to the ground and died twitching.
Another felt a sudden pain in his forehead—Chu Ge's spear had pierced right through his skull. His strength left him at once, and Chu Ge flicked the shaft, sending him thudding to the ground.
The nearby thugs, along with those behind him, were startled. They watched as Chu Ge quickly drove the carriage through the encirclement.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
Three more figures charged at him with angry roars, forming a triangular formation as they attacked, closing around Chu Ge like pincers.
CLANG!
The spear and their blades slammed together, throwing off sparks. The ringing clash carried across the entire scene.
Chu Ge's body shuddered. He pretended to flush red, his biceps bulging as strength surged through his arms. Then he shook the spear shaft, making it roll like a giant python, and instantly sent all three men reeling.
Seeing that Chu Ge was about to escape, the Yellow Turban thugs on the outskirts roared in fury and raised their crossbows, aiming at the horses. They were determined to make him stay.
"Get out of my way!!"
Chu Ge shouted. His spear blurred into a thousand overlapping shadows, knocking every arrow aimed at the horses aside and sending them ricocheting toward the surrounding thugs.
Some of the Yellow Turban thugs charged again, eyes bloodshot and plainly ready to fight to the death.
Knowing he couldn't afford to get bogged down, Chu Ge let his blood and qi surge and gave a long shout. "Anyone who stands in my way dies!"
He vaulted onto the horse, squeezed his legs against its sides, and charged off with the carriage, thrusting his spear in a sudden strike.
CLANG!
His spear thrust straight into the heart of the enemy formation!
A Muscle Refining Warrior charging at him had the web between his thumb and forefinger split open. His weapon flew from his hands, and he toppled backward.
THUD—
The instant his corpse hit the ground, the tiny red spot between his brows rapidly widened. Blood gushed out like a spring. His hand loosened its grip on the long saber, which rolled aside with a faint clatter against the ground.
WHOOSH—
The remaining Yellow Turban thugs were so intimidated by Chu Ge's display that they involuntarily slowed their charge.
"Hyah—!"
Chu Ge sat upright on the horse as he galloped away, spear in hand. In Wang Xiuyun's eyes, watching from behind and to the side, he looked like a heavenly god.
This was the first time she had seen Chu Ge fight. She had heard before that he had driven off bandits.
But she had never witnessed such a bold and heroic display. His battle experience seemed unbelievably formidable.
His combat experience and skill couldn't help but bring back the doubts she had entertained before.
Could a young man from a small town really have gained such skill in just two and a half years of martial training?
Yet Chu Ge's image as he raced ahead soon fell apart.
She watched him quickly scoop up handful after handful of poison powder and lime powder from a pouch hanging beside the horse's belly and scatter it behind him. In an instant, smoke filled the air.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Chu Ge raced off in the carriage toward a fork in the road not far ahead.
The Yellow Turban thugs who had just caught up were instantly enveloped in the toxic cloud. Their faces changed, and they cried out in pain.
"Poison?!"
Wang Xiuyun stared in astonishment. Seeing that many of the Yellow Turban thugs had been distracted and hadn't yet turned around to chase her, she immediately drove her carriage down another fork in the road.
The Yellow Turban thugs finally escaped the poison cloud. They had nearly had their prize in the bag, only for it to grow wings and fly away—and their group had lost quite a few men, too. They were furious, jumping up and down with rage.
They especially hated Chu Ge, who had killed so many of them in that first exchange. Their teeth ground with fury.
They had never seen anyone so shameless!
He was already that strong, yet he still fought dirty when he ran—throwing poison and lime powder. What a shameless bastard!
Not far away, the leader of the Yellow Turban thugs attacking the merchant caravan saw the battle behind him. His hair stood on end with rage, and he let out a furious howl.
At the sound, the other Yellow Turban thugs seemed to get a shot of adrenaline. Their morale revived, and they joined in with long howls of their own.
The howls sounded like some kind of signal they were passing to one another.
Afterward, they didn't pursue Chu Ge and the others. Instead, they began tightening their encirclement to secure their gains.
"Hm? They actually failed? That's strange. We're still quite far from the prefectural city—how did such a tough opponent show up here?"
In a nearby forest, an old man sitting beside a stream with a fishing rod abruptly looked up at the distant howls. He took off his bamboo hat, revealing a face covered in scars, and his eyes gleamed strangely.
"This mission must not fail. As long as they're not experts on the Blood Ranking, we have to take them down and make sure the altar's safety."
His ears twitched as he channeled his blood and qi. He could faintly hear the distant clopping of hooves and rumble of carriage wheels on the road.
He tossed aside the bamboo rod and leapt into motion, swiftly bounding through the woods.
The forest scenery blurred past behind him as the old man sped away, chasing the carriage racing along the remote road.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK—
The carriage raced along, its wheels nearly dancing over the uneven mountain road. The whole thing jolted as though it might fall apart at any moment.
Riding on the horse, Chu Ge casually tossed the ladle he had used to scoop the poison powder into his pack and removed the mask covering his face.
When it came to dealing with thugs who fought dirty, his response was simple: fight even dirtier and see who was the bigger bastard.
Suddenly, he felt the yellow paper at his waist grow hot. The Auspicious Ruyi Charm was warning him fiercely, and his heart tightened at once.
Almost at the same instant, streaks of terrifying, icy light shot through the nearby woods, almost without a sound.
Chu Ge swiftly swung his spear to block them and flipped backward onto the carriage roof.
After a series of crisp metallic clangs, numerous poisoned caltrops were knocked aside.
But several slipped through and struck the horse.
NEIGH—!
The horse reared in pain, pulling the carriage up and down like a boat riding towering waves. Blood welled from its body and quickly turned black.
"Poison?!"
Chu Ge's gaze sharpened. He swiftly looked toward the woods to one side and saw a short, stocky old man leap down from a tree branch. His movements were leisurely as he stared at Chu Ge with a strange look, then suddenly sneered.
"Good lad. You actually sensed my poisoned caltrops in advance. That's not something an ordinary Bone Training Realm fighter could do. You dare hide your strength from me? You've got some nerve."
Chu Ge fixed his gaze on the old man and said coldly, "Are you also with the Yellow Turban Sect?"
As he spoke, he had already held his breath to guard against any other silent poison the old man might release into the air.
His thoughts raced. It seemed he had run into an old fellow who also practiced unorthodox arts. Not only was he definitely in the Blood Change Realm, but his skills with Hidden Weapons and poison were also extraordinary.
Before you continue