Eavesdropping

The standby passage was dark and damp, filled with the smell of old mildew. Xu Qian leaned against the stone wall, his heart pounding like a drum, not entirely due to the recent danger, but more from the thrill of glimpsing a secret.

He carefully pushed his Qi Gazing Technique to its limit, his gaze penetrating the stone wall to "see" the scene inside cell E-98. At this moment, his Dao Fruit's characteristic of "Untainted by Karma" played a subtle role, allowing him to spy like this without alerting the spiritual senses of any experts present, as if he were just a lifeless stone.

Inside the cell, the scene was completely different from the deadly battle he had imagined!

The moment the two black-clad figures stepped into the cell, a sudden change occurred!

The young man leaning against the corner, who appeared utterly weak, suddenly lifted his head as the assassins approached! His eyes held no trace of lifelessness; instead, they were filled with an icy sharpness and... a hint of coldness from a plan well executed!

He didn't get up, but his seemingly limp hand pressed down somewhere on the ground with extreme stealth!

"Click!"

A faint mechanical sound rang out!

Immediately after, several seemingly ordinary stone slabs on the ground near the entrance sprang up, revealing what had been prepared in the shallow pit below—not any divine weapons, but a large handful of pungent, acrid powder mixed with dirt and unknown slime! As the stone slabs sprang open, the powder was stirred by a clever force, instantly spreading out like yellow smoke, engulfing the entrance area!

[Lime powder?! And a souped-up version?!] Xu Qian's eyes twitched. [This guy is something else! He thought of the same thing I did? But your recipe looks even nastier!]

The two assassins clearly hadn't expected the dying man to have such a trick up his sleeve. Caught off guard, even though they held their breath and retreated immediately, their eyes and noses were still contaminated by the pungent powder!

"Ah! My eyes!"

"Cough! It's poisonous!"

The two grunted and coughed violently, their movements instantly faltering, their attacks momentarily halted! Especially the one in front, wielding the short blade, felt a burning pain in his eyes, his vision completely blurred!

Seizing the opportunity, the young man moved!

He was like a leopard that had been lurking for a long time. Although his body still appeared somewhat weak, his movements were exceptionally decisive and ruthless! He didn't choose to engage in a direct confrontation. Instead, he quickly rummaged through the straw bedding and pulled out a sharpened leg bone from some unknown animal. Pressing himself against the wall, he slid sideways like a swimming fish, his target being the temporarily blinded assassin with the short blade!

His attack angle was extremely tricky, not aiming for vital points like the heart or throat, but directly at the weak points in the opponent's defense, such as the armpit and waist, which were exposed due to pain and obscured vision!

"Thwack!"

The sharpened bone spur accurately pierced the ribs of the assassin with the short blade!

The assassin let out a shrill scream. The intense pain made him instinctively raise his arm to block, but his vision was unclear, and his movements were half a beat too slow!

Having struck successfully, the young man didn't linger. He immediately let go and retreated, narrowly dodging the poisoned dagger wielded by the other assassin, who, despite his blurred vision, was attacking based on sound!

"Swoosh!"

The dagger tore through his already tattered prison uniform, leaving a shallow bloody gash on his arm.

The entire process happened in the blink of an eye!

Using a crude but effective trap and a sharpened bone, the young man had actually managed to turn the tide against two Houtian Mid-Late Stage assassins, even injuring one of them!

Xu Qian watched from the shadows, his heart surging. [Amazing! Calm under pressure, ruthless! As expected of someone from a Prince's background, his combat skills are top-notch!]

However, he could also see that the young man was at the end of his rope. The series of actions had exhausted his already limited stamina. Now, he leaned against the opposite wall, his chest heaving violently, his face even paler. The wound on his arm began to ooze black blood, clearly indicating that the poison on the dagger was spreading.

As for the two assassins, although one was injured and the other had impaired vision, they were still deeply cultivated and experienced. They quickly adjusted. The injured one endured the pain and locked onto the young man's position using his hearing; the other tried hard to blink, attempting to regain some vision. A strong killing intent once again locked onto the young man!

The situation was still one-sided!

Looking at the advancing assassins, the young man showed no despair on his face. Instead, a strange smile appeared. He whispered in a hoarse voice, as if talking to himself, or perhaps to someone in the unseen depths:

"It seems... they are determined to silence me... they even sent people from the 'Shadow Sha'... they really... think highly of me..."

Shadow Sha?

Xu Qian's heart stirred, and he firmly remembered the name. It sounded like an assassin organization? To be so feared by a Prince, it must be quite formidable.

Just then, the assassin whose vision had slightly recovered seemed to sense something. He suddenly turned his head, his gaze sweeping towards the standby passage where Xu Qian was hiding like a falcon!