The prison cart continued forward, its wheels grinding against the gravel, producing a monotonous and grating creak.

The mountain path grew increasingly rugged, with sheer cliffs on both sides like the fangs of a giant beast, slicing the sky into narrow strips.

The wind began to change.

“With acting skills like this disciple’s, back in my day, it would have been a waste of talent if he only won a Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actor.” Lin Yu’s internal monologue carried a touch of lightheartedness, finding joy amidst hardship.

“Look at your current appearance: sallow and emaciated complexion, unfocused eyes, and a faint trace of drool hanging at the corner of your mouth. Perfect! You’re practically the twin brother of that gambler!”

Su Ming did not respond. He merely huddled himself tighter, as if trying to wedge himself into the corner of the prison cart.

His senses, however, operating under the circulation of the Greenwood Longevity Art, were heightened to their limit.

The sound of the wind, the sound of water, the low roars of unknown beasts in the distance, even the heavy breathing of the great bandit beside him—all clearly reached his ears.

“Something’s wrong ahead.” Wei He’s voice, thunderous like an explosion, suddenly rang out.

He reined in his horse. The magnificent Northern Border warhorse pawed the ground uneasily.

Almost simultaneously, the forty Northern Border Army soldiers gripped the hilts of the swords at their waists, their gazes sweeping the surroundings like hawks.

Their movements were uniform, without a single superfluous sound, only the faint rustle of clinking armor plates.

This was the instinct honed by elite veterans of a hundred battles.

“Boss, fog is rising.” The vice officer’s voice was tinged with vigilance.

Ahead, in the valley, a dense white fog could be seen rolling and surging forward at a visible speed.

The fog came too fast, too bizarre, completely defying the laws of nature.

“This is no ordinary fog!” Wei He’s scarred face contorted. From this fog, he smelled the scent of death.

“Ambush! Form a circle formation! Protect the prison cart!” Wei He’s roar echoed through the valley.

But it was already too late.

The thick fog, like a burst dam, instantly swallowed the entire convoy.

One couldn’t see their own hand in front of their face.

Comrades who were clearly visible one moment vanished into the thick white fog the next.

Sounds also became muffled and indistinct, as if wrapped in a thick layer of cotton.

Panic began to spread among the soldiers’ hearts.

“Master, it’s an array!” Su Ming shouted inwardly.

“A Mist Array! A low-tier auxiliary array, but for ordinary mortals, it’s an inescapable net!” Lin Yu’s voice was extremely urgent. “He’s making his move! Disciple, proceed as planned! Life and death hinge on this one move!”

At that very moment!

“Swish—”

A faint, almost imperceptible sound of something cutting through the air flashed through the fog.

Immediately after, came the dull thud of a body hitting the ground.

“Ah!” A soldier let out a short, sharp scream that was abruptly cut off, as if an invisible hand had seized his throat.

“Old Third!”

“What was that?!”

“Hold steady! Don’t panic!” Wei He’s roar carried a trace of suppressed shock and fury.

Green sword light, like will-o’-the-wisps reaching out from hell, flickered erratically within the dense fog.

Each flicker was accompanied by a muffled grunt and the extinguishing of a life.

This was not a fight; it was a slaughter.

These elite soldiers who had never taken a step back even when clashing head-on with the Black Rong iron cavalry on the Northern Frontier battlefields now resembled lambs for the slaughter, unable to even catch a glimpse of the enemy’s shadow.

Wei He’s eyes were bloodshot. He frantically swung his long saber, the blade wind howling, but it only sliced through clumps of empty, illusory fog.

“Bastard! Show yourself!” he roared like a wild beast.

The response to him was a flash of green light, impossibly fast.

Wei He’s roar was cut short. He lowered his head, looking at the bowl-sized bloody hole in his chest, his eyes filled with unwillingness and confusion.

His burly body collapsed with a heavy thud.

With the commander dead, the soldiers’ psychological defenses completely crumbled.

Within the thick fog, only desperate screams and futile struggles remained.

“Now!” There was not a trace of fear in Su Ming’s eyes, only the calm of a wild beast.

He strained suddenly. Under the covert operation of his spiritual energy, the seemingly sturdy interlocking iron shackles emitted a soft “click” at the lock mechanism and snapped open.

Without the slightest hesitation, he rolled, taking cover behind a half-man-high boulder beside the prison cart.

This was a blind spot in the field of view that Wei He had previously surveyed.

He quickly circulated the Aura Concealment Art, lowering his own aura to the minimum, almost merging with the surrounding boulders.

But this was not enough!

Su Ming’s gaze fell on the corpse of a soldier that had just fallen not far away.

Warm blood was still gurgling from the soldier’s chest.

A flicker of struggle passed through Su Ming’s eyes, but it was instantly replaced by resolve.

He crawled over, reached out his hand, and without hesitation, plunged it into the sticky, warm blood.

Then, he smeared his blood-covered hand haphazardly over his own face, neck, and prison uniform.

A heavy scent of blood instantly enveloped him.

He also picked up the broken half of a saber that had fallen beside the soldier, clutched it tightly to his chest, curled his body into a ball, lay on his side on the ground, and remained motionless.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and slowed his heartbeat.

At this moment, from his appearance, aura, even his posture, he was indistinguishable from a prisoner who had just been tragically caught and killed in the chaotic fight.

He had become a perfect “background prop.”

Just then, a shrill, piercing shriek tore through the deathly silence of the thick fog!

“Whoosh—Bang!”

A brilliant red firework exploded at the top of the dense fog, like a desperate blood lotus.

A signal flare!

That vice officer whom Xu Qing had bribed, with his last ounce of strength before death, had fired a distress signal!

“Seeking death!”

A cold, disdainful voice rang out in the valley.

Immediately after, the rolling thick fog, as if stirred by an invisible giant hand, rapidly thinned and finally dissipated completely.

Sunlight shone down once more, illuminating a scene of hell on earth.

Over forty corpses lay scattered haphazardly on the official road, a river of blood flowing.

The manner of death for each person was identical: either a pierced throat or a pulverized heart.

A single strike, fatal.

In the center of the valley, a middle-aged man in a cyan Daoist robe stood suspended in mid-air.

He had an ordinary face and an indifferent demeanor. In his hand, he held a three-inch-long emerald green flying sword, its blade untainted by a single drop of blood.

Zhao Qianshan.

His brow furrowed slightly as he glanced at the red smoke that had not yet completely dispersed in the sky, a flash of displeasure in his eyes.

“At least they have some backbone.”

The appearance of the signal flare disrupted his composed plan.

He had to clean up all traces and confirm the target’s death before nearby forces arrived.

His divine sense, like an invisible giant net, instantly enveloped the entire valley.

“Hmm? Five prisoners… three dead…”

His divine sense swept over the great bandit with the fierce, scowling face; the man stared unblinkingly at the sky, dead with unseeing eyes.

It swept over another numb-looking prisoner; the man’s body was already ice-cold.

Then, it was the gambler whom Wei He had kicked off the cart… no, it was the corpse impersonated by Su Ming.

Zhao Qianshan’s divine sense paused on Su Ming for a moment.

Aura extinguished, heartbeat stopped (forcibly suppressed by Su Ming using spiritual energy), body cold, covered in blood and grime.

“Dead.”

Zhao Qianshan’s divine sense swept past, finding nothing unusual.

He was just about to leave.

Suddenly, his indifferent eyes flickered slightly.

Something’s wrong.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep