Sand Bandit Attack

The chaos in the mine tunnel didn't end when Old Chen was subdued.

On the contrary, just as two overseers were carrying off Old Chen, bound up like a dumpling, a piercing whistle suddenly rang out from the darkness ahead!

The whistle was shrill beyond measure, echoing through the narrow mine tunnel with a particularly grating sound.

"What was that?" Wang He whipped around, his face deathly pale.

The two overseers stopped at the same time, their faces just as grim.

One of them cried out, "Black Sand Society bandits!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, countless points of fire suddenly lit up in the darkness ahead!

Then, numerous phosphorus bombs came flying from the front.

Brilliant light flooded the tunnel in an instant. More deadly still, the moment the phosphorus bombs exploded, a great cloud of powder spread through the air.

"Hold your breath! Poison powder!" an overseer roared, but by then it was already too late.

Several people closest to the blast had already inhaled the dust and immediately began coughing violently.

"Kill!"

A hoarse shout rang out from the darkness. Seven or eight shadowy figures charged around the bend in the tunnel, swift as leopards! They wore coarse, dark-brown clothes and black cloth masks, with only pairs of savage eyes visible.

"Black Sand Society ambushers! Meet them!" an overseer shouted harshly, but his feet were already moving faster than anyone else's.

But this "Vanguard Scout Team" was a bunch of cannon fodder sent to their deaths in the first place. How could they have any fighting strength? Wang He and the others were already scared out of their wits, and they turned to run. But the tunnel behind them was narrow too, and with everyone packed together, they could barely move.

"Pfft!"

A short spear pierced the back of the man at the very rear, its tip emerging through his chest. He looked down at the bloody spearpoint protruding from him and opened his mouth, but no sound came out. All he could do was await death.

Li Tui moved the instant he heard the whistle.

He didn't charge forward or squeeze backward with the crowd. Instead, as the phosphorus bombs exploded and their blinding white light flared, he lowered his body and rolled sideways along the slick rock wall.

There was an inconspicuous side passage there. He had noticed it when they passed by earlier. Several fallen stones half-blocked the entrance, but there was just enough room for someone of his build to slip through sideways.

In the confusion, no one noticed him.

Li Tui squeezed sideways into the passage. He had just steadied himself and was about to explore farther in when a figure came into view.

It was the "miner" who had been wearing a battered felt hat and keeping quiet all along.

At that moment, he was inserting one faintly blue-glowing needle after another into cracks in the rock wall. No one knew what he was preparing.

Almost the instant Li Tui spotted him, the man sensed his presence too!

Beneath the felt hat, a pair of narrow eyes snapped up. The moment he saw Li Tui, his pupils contracted to pinpricks. Then his crouched posture shifted abruptly, and his right hand hurled the throwing needles like a venomous snake striking!

"Whoosh!"

Three short, faintly blue needles tore through the air, shooting straight at Li Tui's face!

Fast! Vicious! Precise!

Every hair on Li Tui's body stood on end as an overwhelming sense of mortal danger exploded through him. But he didn't retreat. The main tunnel behind him was a battlefield; retreat meant death. He could only throw himself sharply forward and to the side!

His body scraped across the slick ground as he rolled. The needles skimmed past his ear and struck the rock wall behind him with a series of dull thuds.

Before he could steady himself, a second volley of needles was already upon him!

This time, the attack came from below. Somehow, the small figure had darted close in front of him, cold light flashing between his fingers as he aimed for Li Tui's legs.

His movements were swift as a ghost, giving him no chance to catch his breath.

I can't take this head-on!

Thoughts raced through Li Tui's mind as his gaze swept over the ground. He kicked off, sliding backward as his left hand scooped up a handful of rubble mixed with muddy water and flung it straight into his opponent's face!

It wasn't some brilliant move, but in the narrow passage, anyone with rocks and muddy water flying straight at their face would instinctively shut their eyes or dodge.

As expected, his opponent's movements faltered. He turned his head and raised a hand to shield his face.

In that brief pause, Li Tui sprang to his feet and put some distance between them. Lowering his voice, he hurriedly said, "I'm not with the Zhou Family!"

His voice echoed through the side passage.

The small figure stopped. Beneath the felt hat, a pair of icy eyes stared at Li Tui through the gaps between the fingers. The short needles in his hand remained poised to strike.

After a moment, a hoarse, low voice rang out, unmistakably feminine:

"Then are you a sand bandit?"

"I was captured too, just to be used as a sacrificial lamb." Li Tui spoke at lightning speed, raising his hand slightly to show he had no weapons. "The Black Sand Society is killing people outside. Not many of the Zhou Family's overseers will survive. Since neither of us wants to die here, we should work together."

He paused, then added, "This side passage has only one entrance and no way out. If they search in here, we'll both die."

The sounds of fighting outside were drawing closer. From time to time, he could still hear the Black Sand Society bandits shouting roughly:

"Over here! There's another side passage! Search it!"

The sound of footsteps mingled together as they approached the entrance.

Beneath the felt hat, the girl's eyes stayed fixed on him, her hand still resting on the needles at her waist.

"Your name," the girl said abruptly, her voice hard.

"Lin Qing." Li Tui naturally gave the name he used in this life.

"Su Lueying." The girl's voice sank to a whisper, as if squeezed through clenched teeth. "Follow me. Don't make a sound."

Before she had even finished speaking, she turned and darted deeper into the passage, her small figure bounding like a wildcat.

Without hesitation, Li Tui immediately followed.