Chapter 33
The reed marsh has become a maze of wind, snow and murderous intent.
Withered, yellow reeds, more than a meter tall, bent beneath the weight of the snow, swayed and whipped wildly in the howling north wind, creating a ceaseless rustling sound like the whispers of countless ghosts. The snowflakes were whipped into a white vortex by the wind, compressing the field of vision to the limit. Chaos reigned just a few steps away. Underfoot, the icy mud, calf-deep, was a mixture of rotting reed roots and broken ice. Every step was heavy and sticky, making a heart-pounding "puffing" sound.
Gu Linzhi trudged through the reeds. His dark robe, soaked with mud, ice, and blood, clung to his body, and every step strained at the fatal wound beneath his left ribcage. A dark blue poisonous scar, like a living thing, crept upward along the veins beneath his skin, now crawling across his chest and abdomen. Wherever it passed, muscles stiffened and numbed. Every heartbeat felt dull and stagnant, like a rusted gear being forced to turn. Icy cold seeped from deep within the wound, battered by the biting north wind, chipping away at his body temperature and will.
"Blue Spider Saliva"... The deadly poison that Han Mengque had applied to his body was just as its name suggested, viciously corroding his body.
He gritted his teeth, forcibly suppressing the chill and waves of dizziness surging through his body. His left hand pressed firmly against the Ge Ping account book in his arms, barely protected by his body heat—this was the only spark of fire, and it must not be extinguished. His right hand tightly grasped the narrow bayonet he had pulled from the hidden compartment. The touch of the cold metal was the only sharp force that could pierce the numbness at this moment. Amidst the howling wind and snow, his ears strained to pick up any unusual movement.
“Swish… swish…”
"Left! Outflank them!"
"Search carefully! He can't get far! The poison has penetrated his internal organs, he won't last long!"
Han Meng's hoarse, low roar, mixed with the heavy footsteps of the assassins and the clatter of reeds being pushed aside, was like an invisible noose, rapidly and cruelly closing in from the rear, left, and right! The sound distorted and echoed in the dense reeds and snow, making it difficult to pinpoint, but it brought a suffocating sense of oppression, drawing closer and closer!
Gu Linzhi stopped abruptly, his back against a relatively dense patch of reeds. His chest heaved violently, each breath carrying a searing white puff of air. He listened intently, his dagger gripping his mud-stained hand tighter. Han Meng was clearly a master of tracking, leveraging his numerical superiority to advance in a fan-shaped net, constricting his maneuvering space. The poisonous wound limited his speed and explosive power; a head-on confrontation would result in certain death.
We must find a breakthrough! His gaze, like an icy blade, pierced through the gaps between the swaying reeds and scanned the white chaos ahead. The topographic map in his memory rapidly unfolded in his mind—deep within this vast reed marsh, there should be an abandoned water diversion canal leading to a tributary upstream of the Linqing Gate… That was the only way out!
Just then!
“Crash!”
Less than three meters in front of him, the dense reeds were violently knocked aside by a brute force! A tall figure, covered in snow and mud, suddenly rushed into Gu Linzhi's sight like a ferocious beast breaking through the snow curtain! It was Han Meng!
The half-finished metal mask on his face gleamed coldly in the dim light. His eyes, fierce and fierce, locked onto Gu Linzhi's position with the cruel satisfaction of a hunter finally catching his seriously injured prey. "Found you!" Han Meng sneered, and with a swish of the poisoned spear in his hand, the dark blue tip of the spear, like a venomous snake's tongue, instantly tore through the wind and snow, piercing Gu Linzhi's throat! So fast that only a trace of afterimage remained!
There is no way to avoid it!
Gu Linzhi's pupils suddenly shrank, and his body was half a beat slow to react under the erosion of the poison. He could only try his best to twist his body to the right to dodge, and at the same time, he raised the bayonet in his backhand, trying to block the fatal blow!
“Clang!”
The harsh sound of metal clashing rang out in the wind and snow!
The bayonet narrowly intercepted the middle link of the spear, sending a shower of sparks flying! The immense force numbed Gu Linzhi's arm, and the already numb left side of his body lost most of its sensation. He stumbled back several steps, crashing heavily into the reeds behind him, stirring up a cloud of snow! Though the spear's poisonous tip was deflected, it still grazed his shoulder with a fierce gust of wind, instantly slicing through his black robe, leaving a shallow, faint blue mark!
"Hmph! A spent force!" Han Meng's attack succeeded, his rage intensifying. With a flick of his wrist, his spear seemed to come alive, clattering and spinning strangely. The tip of the spear followed him again, bringing with it an even more powerful gust of wind, transforming into several cold blue stars that enveloped Gu Linzhi's vital points! The shadows of the spears were heavy, and the poisonous light flashed, completely blocking Gu Linzhi's escape route!
Gu Linzhi's face paled, the paralyzing feeling of the poison pounding his nerves like an icy tide. He struggled to block with his bayonet, the clangs echoing incessantly. Each block sent his blood churning, and the blood from the cracked knuckles spread across the cold bayonet handle. His steps retreated in the mud, becoming heavier and heavier, each movement causing a sharp pain and numbness in his ribs.
Just as the □□ transformed into a deadly blue rainbow again, piercing Gu Linzhi's heart, and his old strength was exhausted, and his new strength had not yet been generated, at the critical moment when he was about to be pierced through the chest by the poisonous spear -
"call out--!"
A sharp whistle, so sharp that it almost pierced the eardrums, suddenly came from the side and rear without any warning!
The target was not Gu Linzhi, but Han Meng's right wrist holding the chain!
It was a short, dark, gleamless crossbow bolt, seemingly blending into the shadows of the wind and snow! Its speed was so fast it defied all vision, carrying with it a pure, icy will born solely for killing!
Han Meng's hair stood on end instantly! The deadly sense of crisis was like ice water pouring over his head, causing him to abruptly stop his fatal attack on Gu Linzhi! His rich fighting experience saved him at this critical moment. Almost by instinct, he suddenly retracted his hand and spun around to protect himself!
“Puff!”
The black crossbow arrow grazed the leather armor on the outside of his wrist, leaving a trail of blood! Although he wasn't seriously injured, the tricky angle and timing completely interrupted his final attack on Gu Linzhi!
"Who?!" Han Meng was shocked and angry. He suddenly turned his head to look in the direction where the crossbow arrow came from, and the murderous light in his eyes almost burst out.
A ghostly black shadow, like a crow feather tearing through the snow, suddenly rose silently from the deep reeds behind Gu Linzhi's side the moment Han Meng turned his head! The person was wrapped in a tight nightgown, his face covered with a black mask that only revealed his eyes. His body was as sturdy as iron, and his movements were swift and silent. It was Mo Ya! (It is impossible to die)
He said nothing, not even a moment's hesitation. As he leaped forward, his right hand gripped a narrow dagger, shorter and thinner than Gu Linzhi's bayonet, its edge gleaming with a matte bluish-black sheen. Like an arrow shot from a bowstring, he charged straight at Han Meng with a fierce, resolute aura. The dagger's target was Han Meng's unprotected left carotid artery, exposed by his shock and anger.
Besiege Wei to save Zhao! Attack the enemy and you must save them!
Han Meng's pupils shrank! The black crow's speed was too fast, the angle too sharp, and the timing too precise! Before he could even pull back to block, the poison-tipped, dark blue dagger, carrying a breath of death, pierced his face!
"Looking for death!" Han Meng roared wildly. In this life-or-death situation, his ferocity erupted completely! He didn't even flinch. With lightning speed, his left hand pulled out a short dagger from his waist, also etched with a dark blue poisonous light, and with a backhand, stabbed Mo Ya in the abdomen! He was determined to trade injury for life!
The eyes beneath Mo Ya's mask were icy cold, without a trace of emotion. Facing Han Meng's ruthless counterattack, he didn't hesitate at all. Just as the dagger was about to pierce Han Meng's neck, his body suddenly made an extremely subtle but exquisite side spin!
“Puff!”
“Sizzle!”
Two teeth-grinding sounds of sharp blades entering flesh rang out almost simultaneously!
The black dagger, poisoned by Mo Ya, stabbed fiercely into Han Meng's left shoulder near the collarbone! The bone was visible! The severe pain made Han Meng groan and his movements froze.
Han Meng's poisoned dagger, however, failed to penetrate Mo Ya's vital abdomen due to his slight sideways spin. Instead, it slashed along the outside of Mo Ya's right arm! The sharp blade instantly severed the tough nightgown and flesh, sending up a blinding cloud of blood! Even more terrifying, the dark blue poisonous light instantly stained the wound!
However, Mo Ya seemed completely oblivious to the excruciating pain in his right arm and the numbness from the poison. He used the reaction force of the dagger piercing Han Meng's shoulder to instantly pull himself back like a weightless shadow! At the same time, he raised his left hand!
"Bang!"
A dull bang!
A ball of thick, insoluble, dark green smoke with a pungent, spicy smell suddenly exploded in front of Han Meng! The smoke spread instantly, enveloping Han Meng and the two nearby assassins who had just pounced on him!
"Ahem... bastard!" Han Meng coughed violently from the smoke, his eyes stinging and watering, his vision blurring. The irritation from the toxic smoke instantly rendered him unable to pursue. The two assassins, like headless flies, let out strange, hoarse cries in the smoke.
Mo Ya didn't even pause, not even glancing at his bleeding right arm. He grabbed Gu Linzhi's arm, who was nearly unsteady from the toxin outbreak, and shouted, "Go!" His voice was hoarse and rapid, carrying an undeniable force.
Gu Linzhi felt a powerful surge, his body dragged by the black crow like a fallen leaf in a gust of wind, slamming aside the dense reeds on the side and running wildly towards the path he remembered—the abandoned aqueduct! Icy muddy water and broken reeds lashed his face and body, and the excruciating pain and numbness in his ribs nearly suffocated him. But his instinct for survival and the black crow's resolute strength sustained him, and he stumbled forward!
Behind him, Han Meng's extremely angry roar pierced through the smoke and snow, like the howl of a wounded beast: "Chase! Chase! Cut off their heads!" Then came the heavy footsteps of the dead soldiers breaking through the smoke and stepping on the mud, chasing after him again like a leech!
The wind and snow grew stronger, forming a violent vortex at the narrow entrance to the aqueduct.
This was an old canal that had long since dried up and silted up. The bottom of the canal was covered with thick dead leaves and frozen mud, and on both sides were steep slopes covered with dead grass and moss. The entrance was half-covered by several huge stone slabs and collapsed earth, forming a narrow gap that was only wide enough for a person to pass through by bending over.
Gu Linzhi and Mo Ya rushed to the gap like two flashes of black lightning, almost tumbling and crawling. Mo Ya pushed Gu Linzhi toward the gap, "Hurry in!" He turned abruptly, his back to the entrance, the dark blue dagger across his chest, the muscles of his remaining left arm tense as iron, and his eyes beneath his mask stared fixedly in the direction of the pursuers, like the last jackdaw guarding its nest, determined and tragic!
Gu Linzhi didn't hesitate for a moment, knowing that any hesitation would be a blasphemy against the opportunity Mo Ya had risked his life to secure. He endured the dizziness and excruciating pain, bending over and crawling into the narrow, dark gap. The cold earth and rocks scraped against his body, and the scent of rotten leaves and mud filled his face.
At the moment when Gu Linzhi's body completely sank into the gap——
"roar!"
Han Meng's burly figure, filled with furious murderous intent, like a rhinoceros out of control, smashed through the last reeds and appeared at the mouth of the canal! The wound on his left shoulder was still bleeding, staining half of his robe red. His eyes burned with madness as he stared intently at the black crow blocking the canal entrance.
"Get out of my way!" Han Meng roared, his poisonous spear whistling like a raging blue python as he charged at Mo Ya! This blow, delivered with such fury and force, was powerful enough to rip apart rock!
The eyes beneath Mo Ya's mask remained icy. He didn't resist the blow, powerful enough to split stone and shatter stone. At the moment the spear was about to strike him, he ducked and slid to the side, narrowly avoiding the core area covered by the spear shadow. Simultaneously, the dagger in his left hand, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, struck with lightning speed and uncanny precision at the tendon on the inside of Han Meng's right elbow, exposed by the spear swing!
Surround Wei to save Zhao! Exchange injuries for machines!
Han Meng snorted coldly, and suddenly sank his wrist, changing the direction of the gun midway. The butt of the gun was like a sledgehammer, smashing hard at the dagger that Mo Ya was stabbing at!
“clang!”
The dagger and the steel spear butt collided violently, sparks flying everywhere!
A tremendous force surged through the dagger, sending Mo Ya's body, already unstable from a severe right arm injury, lurching violently! Han Meng's eyes flashed with ferocity. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, the poisoned dagger in his left hand, like a scorpion's stinger, silently and fiercely stabbed into the gap in Mo Ya's left ribs, exposed by the shaking of his body! The angle was tricky, the timing was brutal!
Mo Ya's old strength had just been exhausted and new strength had not yet been generated. His body was in an unbalanced state and he was about to be pierced under the ribs by the poisonous dagger!
A critical moment!
A flash of determination flashed in Mo Ya's eyes! He didn't try to block the deadly poison dagger—it would be too late! In a split second, he made a move that even Han Meng couldn't have anticipated!
He suddenly raised his right arm, which had just been slashed by Han Meng's dagger, was bleeding profusely and was stained with the poisonous "Blue Spider Saliva"! With his flesh and blood, he bravely met Han Meng's stabbing dagger! At the same time, using this active force to forcibly shift his center of gravity, his left foot as the pivot, and his right foot like a steel whip, infusing all his remaining strength, with a whistling sound, he kicked Han Meng's lower ankle fiercely!
Block the knife with your arm! Besiege Wei to save yourself!
“Puff!”
Han Meng's poisoned dagger pierced deeply into Mo Ya's offered right arm without any hindrance! The sharp blade penetrated the flesh and even hit the arm bone! The severe pain made Mo Ya's body tremble violently, and he let out a suppressed groan from under his mask!
But almost at the same moment!
“Crack!”
Mo Ya used all his strength in his right foot, like a hammer, to kick the outside of Han Meng's left ankle, which was supporting his body! The clear sound of bone cracking rang out in the wind and snow, making people's scalp tingle!
"Ahhh!" Han Meng was caught off guard. The sharp pain in his ankle instantly made him lose his balance, and his burly body suddenly fell to the side! The dagger he had stabbed into Mo Ya's right arm was also pulled out of his hand by the violent movement!
The recoil of the kick sent Mo Ya flying backward, slamming heavily into the earthen wall at the entrance to the aqueduct before bouncing back to the ground. In his right arm, Han Meng's poisoned dagger was lodged, deep into his arm bone! Dark red blood, mixed with the dark blue venom, gushed out like a stream from the dagger's bloodstream, instantly staining a large area of the earth red! The toxins, mixed with the excruciating pain, burned and corroded his arm bones and meridians like a raging fire! His right arm was completely crippled!
Han Meng, holding his obviously twisted and deformed left ankle, roared in pain and anger, fell heavily into the cold mud, and was unable to stand up for a while!
All this happened in the blink of an eye! When the two assassins, brandishing their long swords and roaring, rushed to the mouth of the canal, they saw the tragic scene of Mo Ya with a dagger stuck in his right arm, bleeding profusely, his back leaning against the earthen wall, and Han Meng lying on the ground holding his ankle.
"Kill him!" Han Meng's eyes were bloodshot and he roared at Mo Ya.
The two assassins locked their empty eyes on Mo Ya, and like puppets, they raised their long swords and pounced on him without hesitation!
The face beneath Mo Ya's mask was twisted in agony, sweat mixed with mud and blood dripping from his forehead. His right arm was completely numb, the poison spreading madly through his torso. He stared at the oncoming assassins, his eyes devoid of fear, only a cold, dead silence. He abruptly used his still-moving left hand to pull out the poisoned dagger from his right arm! A shower of blood erupted! The excruciating pain made his vision black out, and his body staggered, but he gritted his teeth, grasped the poisoned dagger in his left hand, and with his last remaining strength, hurled it fiercely at the throat of the assassin who had charged first!
The dagger turned into a stream of faint blue light!
"puff!"
It pierced the throat of the leading assassin with pinpoint accuracy! The assassin's forward momentum came to an abrupt halt. He cried out in a strange voice, clutching his neck. The dark blue venom spread rapidly, and the last bit of empty light in his eyes went out, and he fell straight down.
Another assassin's long sword had already chopped down Mo Ya's head! The sword wind was sharp, carrying the chill of death!
Mo Ya's left arm was seriously injured and corroded by the poison. He was at the end of his strength and there was no way to avoid it!
At this moment between life and death——
"call out!"
Another dark crossbow bolt, like the sigh of death, shot out from the deep darkness of the aqueduct! Silent and yet as fast as lightning!
"puff!"
The crossbow bolt pierced the back of the second assassin's neck with incredible precision! The arrowhead emerged from his throat! The assassin's raised sword froze in mid-air, his body swayed, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
In the shadows of the aqueduct, Gu Linzhi half-knelt on the ground, clutching an exquisitely crafted, equally dark crossbow in his hand, the string still trembling slightly. His face was as pale as paper, his forehead covered in cold sweat. The numbness beneath his left ribs had spread to half his chest, and every breath was a tearing pain. This single shot had nearly exhausted his last bit of strength.
Mo Ya looked at the fallen warrior, then at Gu Linzhi, who lay in the shadows within the canal. The last ounce of tension in his eyes finally relaxed. Unable to hold on any longer, he slid slowly down the cold earthen wall, leaning against the inside of the entrance. He gasped for breath, each breath causing the horrific wound on his right arm to pierce with excruciating pain. Blood stained the earth beneath him.
Gu Linzhi struggled to crawl a few steps and reached Mo Ya's side. He tore off the relatively clean cloth lining, his movements trembling with the poison and exhaustion, but with incredible swiftness, he tied a tight band around the aorta above the wound on Mo Ya's right arm, trying to slow the bleeding. He looked at the horrific wound, deep enough to reveal the bone, the bloody mess of flesh and a faint blue hue, then at Mo Ya's pale face, eyes closed beneath the mask, teeth clenched in agony.
"My right arm... can't be saved." Gu Linzhi's voice was hoarse and low, carrying a heaviness that even wind and snow couldn't blow away. Even under the influence of the poison, his judgment remained calm, almost cruel.
Mo Ya's eyes snapped open. There was no pain, no fear, only a chilling determination washed over him by the excruciating pain. He glanced at his right arm, draped like a rag, pierced by the poisoned dagger (now removed), flesh and bone exposed, venom oozing out. He then looked at Gu Linzhi and gave a slight, yet resolute, shake of his head. The message was crystal clear: Go! Leave me alone!
Gu Linzhi's eyes met Mo Ya's resolute gaze, and there was a moment of silence. He saw the unquestionable determination in the other's eyes. Without hesitation, he suddenly pulled a small oil-paper bag from his pocket and pressed it into Mo Ya's remaining left hand. It contained the last of his secret Shadow Scale emergency powder, which could temporarily suppress a variety of poisons.
"Hold on!" Gu Linzhi only uttered two words, his voice firm and decisive.
He stopped looking at Mo Ya and glanced towards the outside of the canal. Han Meng was struggling to stand up, his twisted ankle clearly badly injured, severely restricting his movements. No new assassins had appeared yet, but he couldn't stay here for long!
Gu Linzhi took a deep breath, the icy air stinging his lungs. He forced down the churning blood and dizziness. He turned, dragging his legs, heavy as lead, and stumbling, step by step, toward the deeper, darker recesses of the aqueduct. Each step left a deep, bloody footprint in the cold mud.
Mo Ya leaned against the earthen wall, watching Gu Linzhi's dark figure struggle forward in the shadows of the aqueduct, finally disappearing into the darkness around the bend. He lowered his head, and with a trembling left hand, he struggled to open the oil-paper package, pressing the bitter powder inside onto the horrific wound on his right arm. The excruciating pain made his whole body convulse, and his vision went black. He gritted his teeth, refusing to faint. He couldn't die here. At least... he had to hold on until the young master was far enough away.
Outside the aqueduct, the wind and snow continued to howl. Han Meng finally stood up, leaning on his left leg in excruciating pain. His face was ashen as he looked at the two dead men lying in a pool of blood at the canal entrance, at Mo Ya leaning against the earthen wall, his breath barely expiring but his eyes still cold, and then at the darkness deep in the aqueduct that had swallowed Gu Linzhi. His eyes burned with humiliation and overwhelming hatred. He slammed his fist into the cold earthen wall and roared like a beast:
"Gu Linzhi! You can't run away! I want you to pay for your blood debt with blood!"
The roar echoed through the wind, snow, and narrow aqueduct, but it couldn't penetrate the deepening darkness. Inside the canal, only blood-stained footprints in the mud silently pointed toward an unknown future.
---
Icy water, swirling with tiny shards of ice, mercilessly slammed against the exposed, moss- and ice-crusted rocky beach at the outlet of the diversion channel. This was a remote, rarely visited bend in a tributary upstream of Linqing Sluice. Here, the dried-up old canal merged into the murky main river, forming a small shallow beach.
Gu Linzhi practically crawled out of the aqueduct. The cold mud and hard gravel rubbed his palms and knees, and the hem of his black robe was completely torn, revealing the lining, which was also stained with mud and blood. The numbness under his left ribs was like an icy shackle, spreading to his entire left chest. Every heartbeat was heavy and difficult, with a suffocating stagnation and a tingling numbness. The toxins of the "blue spider saliva" were like maggots in his tarsal bones, frantically eating away at his last vitality. He struggled to lean against a boulder smoothed by the river, gasping for breath, each breath carrying a burning white mist and the rusty smell of blood.
The wind and snow seemed to have abated, but the sky had grown darker, with leaden clouds hanging heavy over the river. The icy waters continually washed over the shallows, sweeping away the muddy tracks he had left behind.
Safe for now. At least, I've gotten rid of Han Meng for now.
As soon as this thought arose, a strong feeling of dizziness and weakness swept over him like a tide. He bit the tip of his tongue hard, and the sharp pain brought a brief moment of clarity. I can't fall here! If I fall, Ge Ping's account books, the secret of the camphorwood box, the blood feud of the 70,000 Jingbei soldiers... everything will sink to the bottom of this icy river!
With trembling hands, he struggled to pull out Ge Ping's old account book from his bosom. The oil paper wrapping had been soaked by the muddy water of the aqueduct, and the account book itself was also wet and heavy. He carefully peeled off a corner of the cover that had been softened by the water and examined it in the dim light. Fortunately, the oil paper and the paper of the account book itself were still quite tough. Although the writing in the core recording part was blurred, it was not completely damaged. He let out a long, silent breath of white air and carefully hid the account book close to his body again. The cold paper pressed against his chest, bringing a strange sense of clarity.
The wound must be treated! He tore open the black robe beneath his left ribcage, ripped by the stab wound. The flesh rolled back, its edges tinged with a strange, dark blue. Numbness spread throughout the wound. He pulled out his bayonet and repeatedly rinsed the mud from the blade with icy river water. He then tore off a relatively clean strip of cloth and soaked it in the cold water. Then, gritting his teeth, he used the bayonet's cold edge to scrape the bluish flesh around the wound, clearly contaminated by the venom!
"Swish..." A gentle cutting sound, accompanied by a piercing pain, instantly covered his forehead in cold sweat and his body trembled uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth, uttering no sound. Scraping away the rotting flesh, squeezing out the poisonous blood... this was the only way to slow the spread of the poison. The icy river water poured over the wound, bringing a biting chill, but also temporarily numbing some of the pain.
After doing all this, he was almost exhausted. He tied the wound tightly with a cloth strip, leaned against the cold boulder, and panted for a long time before he could barely gather a little strength.
He struggled to his feet, his eyes scanning the desolate riverbank. He had to find a clue! Han Meng… the crossbow he used! That earth-shattering strike was definitely not an ordinary martial arts technique!
He dragged his heavy steps, struggling to move downstream along the rocky beach. His sharp eyes, like a comb, carefully scanned every reef, every puddle, and every piece of debris carried ashore by the river. The icy river wind was like a knife, cutting his exposed wounds and numb skin.
Suddenly, his footsteps stopped abruptly!
In the shallow water about ten feet downstream from the outlet of the water diversion channel, in the crevice of a reef half-submerged in the muddy river water, there was a dark object that was neither wood nor stone!
Gu Linzhi's pupils shrank, and he waded across immediately. The icy water instantly reached his calves, and the biting chill made him shiver all over. He bent down, ignoring the sharp pain in his ribs, reached into the icy water, and grabbed the fragment.
It feels heavy, cold and hard to the touch!
He pulled it out of the crevice with all his might!
The river water gurgled down, revealing its true form—a half-broken crossbow arrow! The shaft, thicker than a child's arm, was made entirely of a dark, oily, hardwood, and felt incredibly heavy. The arrowhead was a three-edged, armor-piercing cone forged from fine iron. Though broken, the remaining portion still gleamed with a chilling light, its edges sharp enough to pierce vision.
More crucially, two tiny characters were engraved on the arrow shaft near the broken tail. The writing was sunken into the wood, simple and square, with the neatness and coldness that only official artifacts possess:
Youzhou.
Gu Linzhi's fingers tightly gripped the cold, heavy broken arrow. His knuckles turned white from the strain, his nails digging deep into the hard wood. Youzhou! The most important military town in the northern borders of Dayong! The mark of a government-run craftsman workshop!
This is no coincidence! The clues in the detailed outline about the transport of fine iron to the north and the markings of the Youzhou official workshop instantly connected! Northern Di infiltration... Han Meng... a powerful military crossbow... crafted by Youzhou craftsmen!
Icy river water washed over his calves, a piercing chill that seemed to spread through his body along the broken arrow. He raised his head, gazing towards the snow-swept northern Youzhou. In his cold eyes, an unprecedented murderous intent, enough to freeze the river, surged.
Han Meng… was just a pawn. Behind this was a deeper, colder cancer lurking deep within the empire's body! And this clue, like a broken arrow buried deep in the riverbed, was tightly grasped in his hand!
He carefully placed the broken arrow, inscribed with the Chinese characters "Youzhou," in his arms, next to Ge Ping's account book. The cold metal and wood stabbed the wound on his chest, causing a sharp pain, but it was like a shot of adrenaline, injecting a bit of strength into his numb body.
The wind and snow howled, the turbulent waves churned. Gu Linzhi dragged his heavy, wounded body, his steps leaving a bloody mark. He stumbled but with unwavering determination as he continued along the desolate riverbank, heading downstream, toward the unknown south, toward the tangled depths of darkness. His figure, lone and stubborn, shrouded in the blizzard, remained.
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