Yang Tie flicked his wrist, and the bronze Soul-Seizing Bell in his hand emitted a strange tinkling sound.
As the bell rang, Gesang and the dozen or so red-eyed centurions exhaled two puffs of white breath from their nostrils.
He strode forward, brandishing his curved knife, and charged towards Zhaxi Dawa.
These people don't feel pain at all, and their movements are frighteningly fast.
Zhaxi Dawa dodged Gesang's slash by sidestepping, and then used the broken half of his sword to plunge it into the stomach of a centurion on his left.
The centurion didn't even blink. Black blood was flowing from his stomach. He grabbed Zhaxi Dawa's neck tightly with his left hand and raised his iron fist to smash it into Zaxi Dawa's temple with his right.
Zhaxi Dawa kicked the man's kneecap, breaking it and breaking free, but was then slashed twice in the back by two other centurions who caught up with him.
The leather armor shattered instantly, and blood gushed down his spine. Zhaxi Dawa's hand was completely torn open, and half of the broken knife flew out of his hand.
Gesang stepped forward, raised the heavy Tubo scimitar high with both hands, and brought it down hard on Zhaxi Dawa's neck.
Zhaxi Dawa slammed his back against the wall, with nowhere to retreat, and could only stare wide-eyed as the blade magnified in his pupils.
At that very moment.
"Boom--!"
Suddenly, the carved wooden screen, which was taller than a person, on the right side of the lobby shattered.
A metal brazier cart loaded with scorching hot coals smashed through the wooden screen, sending sparks flying everywhere, and directly knocked down the three centurions surrounding Zhaxi Dawa.
Scalding hot coals were scattered all over the ground, burning the soles of the medicine-making men so much that black smoke rose from their feet.
Chen Qing, who should have been imprisoned in the water dungeon, was now standing behind the brazier, panting heavily, his dirty blue robe sleeves rolled up.
He spent the whole day in the water dungeon, unable to hear anything outside, and his heart was pounding like a cat's claws.
They were terrified that Zhaxi Dawa, that stubborn barbarian, would be devoured alive by his men.
As soon as it got dark, he used a piece of iron hidden in the lining of his shoe to pry open the iron lock of the water prison, sneaked into the kitchen, poured a whole bag of croton powder into the guard's cooking pot, and took advantage of the chaos to push the charcoal cart used for heating and sneak behind the screen in the main hall.
Yang Tie! Your ancestors for eighteen generations are waiting to drink your foot bath water!
Chen Qing cursed and immediately spotted Yang Tie shaking the bronze bell in his hand, while the drug-using men would quicken their sword swings whenever the bell rang urgently.
These living dead still have sharp ears; they use the sound of bells to determine direction!
Without wasting even half a second, Chen Qing grabbed the large, double-handled copper pot used for boiling water from the brazier cart, pushed off with his waist, and smashed it hard against the bronze clock hanging from the roof beam above Yang Tie's head.
"When----!"
The large bronze pot slammed solidly against the outer wall of the bronze bell.
The lobby is enclosed by stone walls on all four sides.
The loud crash echoed throughout the room, sending dust flying from the rafters.
Yang Tie was concentrating on shaking the Soul-Seizing Bell, was caught off guard. He heard a buzzing sound in both ears, and two streams of blood flowed down his ear canals.
The bronze bell in his hand lost its rhythm, emitting several disordered and crisp sounds.
Gesang, who had just placed the scimitar against Zhaxi Dawa's neck, suddenly stopped.
The dozen or so centurions around him seemed to have suddenly lost their souls. They abandoned Zhaxi Dawa, clutched their heads with both hands, and spun around in circles, letting out painful roars. Some even began to wildly slash their comrades with their knives.
What are you standing there for!
Wait till I collect your corpse!
Chen Qing rushed up, grabbed Zhaxi Dawa's sheepskin belt, and pulled him backward with all his might.
Zhaxi Dawa is eight feet tall and weighs nearly 200 pounds. Even though Chen Qing's face turned a liverish color as he dragged him toward the sewage duct at the back of the hall, his legs were still trembling.
"Where are you going!"
Yang Tie, clutching his bleeding ear, recovered and realized that Chen Qing had ruined his plans; he nearly ground his back teeth to powder.
He raised his right arm, and the mechanism in his sleeve clicked, sending three black, poisoned darts hurtling through the air straight toward Zhaxi Dawa's back.
Zhaxi Dawa was injured in the back and staggered, unable to dodge at all.
Chen Qing was running ahead, heard the sound of wind behind him, but he didn't turn his head. Only one thought flashed through his mind: If he dies, I cannot live alone!
He stumbled, turned around, and opened his arms.
He grabbed Zhaxi Dawa's muscular shoulders and forcefully tackled the towering man to the ground.
"Puff!"
A poisoned dart grazed past Zhaxi Dawa's ear and embedded itself in the stone wall;
The other arrow pierced solidly above Chen Qing's left shoulder blade, the tip penetrating two inches into the flesh, and black, poisonous blood seeped out along the fabric of his blue robe.
" Chen Qing!"
Zhaxi Dawa roared.
"Shut up... get inside!"
Chen Qing was in so much pain that his forehead was covered in large beads of sweat, but he used the momentum from the fall to knock Zhaxi Dawa off the loose stone slab in the corner.
The two huddled together and tumbled down the slippery, steep stone steps into the dark underground sewage ditch.
Gesang, leading several medicine-using people, chased them to the cave entrance and was about to jump down.
Despite the excruciating pain in his left shoulder, Chen Qing, who had fallen to the bottom of the stone steps, raised his right foot and kicked the long-rotten load-bearing wooden stake at the entrance of the culvert.
With a crack, the wooden stake snapped, and three or four heavy stone slabs, each weighing over a thousand pounds, crashed down from above, splashing up a large amount of black, foul-smelling muddy water.
The entrance to the culvert was completely blocked, effectively isolating the screams of the drug addicts outside.
There was no light in the culvert; it was pitch black, and the only sound was the gurgling of sewage flowing at one's feet.
Zhaxi Dawa's back was cushioned on the slippery, moss-covered stone slab, and a warm but thin body was pressed against his chest.
Chen Qing was shivering from the cold due to blood loss and the effects of the poison. She lay on Zhaxi Dawa's broad chest, panting heavily.
He pressed his nose against Zhaxi Dawa's neck, smelling the strong odor of sweat and blood on the other's body. With great effort, he raised his right hand and covered Zhaxi Dawa's mouth with his cold palm.
"Don't make a sound..."
Chen Qing brought her lips close to Zhaxi Dawa's ear and whispered, her warm breath carrying a faint scent of ink.
Spray it onto Zhaxi Dawa's earlobes, one spray at a time.
" Yang Tie's poisonous insects are most sensitive to movement. I don't want us both to die in this stinking ditch tonight."
"Just calm down and breathe more quietly..."
After saying this, Chen Qing could no longer hold on.
His head lolled to the side, his forehead pressed against Zhaxi Dawa's collarbone, and he fainted.