Footsteps stopped at the entrance to the stone cavern.
Scarface walked in front, with four subordinates behind him escorting a young miner bound up like a dumpling. A rag was stuffed in the miner's mouth, leaving only a pair of terror-filled eyes exposed.
Within the hollow, Su Lueying gripped her poisoned needles tightly, her knuckles white, while Li Tui suppressed the restless true qi within him and focused his gaze ahead.
"What are you dawdling for?!" Scarface walked to the pool's edge, swept his gaze over the dark-red water, and pulled a small black jade bottle from his robes. "Hold him down!"
Two subordinates pinned the miner firmly against a rock beside the pool.
Scarface pulled out the stopper, and a thick, fishy stench of blood spread through the air. With a tilt of his wrist, several drops of viscous, blackened blood fell into the pool.
The pool water gurgled and churned, bubbles rising furiously. At the center of the pool, a red glow flickered faintly.
Scarface put away the bottle and lifted his head slightly. The subordinate holding the blade immediately raised it, aiming at the miner's heart as he prepared to stab down.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A dense barrage of whistling wind suddenly burst from overhead! Countless short needles shot toward Scarface and the three subordinates.
Scarface's expression changed. He twisted sharply, his short saber dancing into a blur of light amid a chaotic clatter of metal. But the three subordinates behind him lacked his skill.
"Argh!"
Cries of agony rang out almost simultaneously. The two men pinning the miner down collapsed before they could even finish groaning.
Only the man holding the saber reacted quickly enough to evade them. He was struck by only two needles in the shoulder, but he had lost all ability to fight