The moment the two old men appeared, Huo Shengnan's expression grew grave. Her delicate brows knitted tightly as she whispered, "This is bad! The Two Elders of the Nether River!"
The female officer beside her asked quietly, "General, should we take action?"
Huo Shengnan shook her head and said firmly, "Remain hidden here. Do not act rashly. Without my orders, none of you are to show yourselves." She raised her eyes toward the distance.
Hu Xiaotian kept retreating under the short, scrawny old man's relentless pressure. Just then, the black mastiff slipped behind him and lunged. Huo Shengnan swiftly bent her bow and nocked an arrow. With a whoosh, the feathered shaft shot toward the mastiff like a meteor chasing the moon.
The short, scrawny old man's brow twitched. He curled the fingers of his left hand, then snapped his middle finger straight with a pop. An iron caltrop shot toward the arrow and knocked it off course.
Meanwhile, the mastiff had reached Hu Xiaotian from behind and opened its jaws to bite his ankle. Although his back was turned, his extraordinary perception had already detected its approach. The directions of its movement and attack appeared in his mind, and his footwork shifted. The Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps had originally been devised specifically to counter dogs, making this the perfect opportunity to put them to use. The mastiff had thought its bite was certain to land, only for Hu Xiaotian's silhouette to vanish abruptly. Its jaws snapped shut on empty air, its sharp teeth clashing together with a chilling, grating sound.
Hu Xiaotian raised his left hand and tossed a black pellet onto the ground. It landed without a sound but burst apart, releasing a cloud of blue smoke that instantly spread outward.
The short, scrawny old man's expression changed. Hastily