Passerby: Secret Image of Ancient Scrolls

Ye Zhuo reacted with lightning speed. Seeing the crossbow bolt aimed at Lin Jian's neck, she didn't hesitate to quickly approach Lin Jian, her body contracting as she raised her riot shield to protect him.

A crisp "clang" rang out.

The crossbow bolt, carrying immense force, struck the shield's core, instantly shattering the arrowhead. The brutal impact propelled her backward, her boots leaving two marks on the ice. A numbing sensation spread from her hand to her arm, and her shoulder throbbed with pain, yet she gripped the shield tightly.

Ye Zhuo's pupils shrank sharply: a dent appeared in the center of the shield, and dark blue venom meandered along the metal's texture, dripping onto the ice with a sharp "sizzling" sound, instantly etching out a dense patch of black pits.

A pungent, fishy stench mingled with the wind and snow, assaulting her senses with a chilling cold. She shouted, "The crossbow bolts are poisoned!"

Subconsciously, I reached out my fingertips to wipe through the cold-weather gloves, but the venom was like a bone-deep infection, instantly penetrating the thick fabric and seeping into my skin. A piercing burning sensation exploded, and the gloves turned black, corroded, and fell off at a visible speed. The exposed fingertips were already tinged with a faint bluish-black, which was spreading upwards along the gaps between my fingers.

This was no ordinary poison; its penetrating power and corrosiveness were unprecedented. Ye Zhuo remained calm, pulled out the tourniquet from his waist, tore open the seal with one hand, and bit one end, tying it tightly to his forearm near his heart, causing the skin to dent and the veins to bulge, forcefully blocking the toxin's upward movement.

She immediately ripped off her corrosive gloves, grabbed a handful of ice and snow, and rubbed her fingertips together fiercely. The icy cold and burning sensation intertwined, causing her brows to furrow and beads of sweat to appear on her forehead. Yet, she still said in a low voice, "Don't let the venom touch you. We don't know where this poison came from!"

In the same instant, Shen Xun's figure transformed into a gray shadow and darted out, his dark gray robes fluttering in the wind and snow. He caught sight of the crossbow bolt aimed at Old Gu's back, and with his peach wood staff, he thrust straight like a sword and spun around like a club. After hundreds of years of martial arts training, he had wielded the peach wood staff with unparalleled skill.

The staff swept across the side of the arrowhead, and with a slight twist of the wrist, the trajectory of the crossbow bolt was deflected using its force. The movement was so fluid and fast that the afterimage was barely visible.

The crossbow bolt whistled past Old Gu's shoulder, its fletching vibrating as it pierced the hard ice. The arrowhead sank deep into the ice, dripping with residual venom that instantly carved out a black pit, followed by rising white smoke and an even greater chill.

The moment he swung the crossbow, Shen Xun's heart sank. It must be those people who had been following him on the road; they were here to wipe him out. The accuracy of that crossbow bolt was terrifying; it must have taken a long period of training to achieve such precision.

He tightened his grip on the staff, and a faint light appeared on the snake head on the staff, which vanished in an instant.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that some parts of the once warm and smooth peach wood staff had been soaked in venom and turned black, giving it an eerie sheen.

Shen Xun's keen senses, honed through centuries of martial arts training, far surpassed those of ordinary people. Coupled with the enhancement of his senses by the power of reincarnation, he instantly locked onto four crossbowmen arranged in a fan shape within the windbreak forest.

With precise intervals that perfectly block all escape routes, and with synchronized movements and impeccable silence, he is undoubtedly a professionally trained assassin.

On the westernmost side, Aoluya's pupils constricted sharply, as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head. The crossbow bolt was aimed directly at her brow, moving so fast that it left afterimages; even the wind and snow could not stop its deadly sharpness.

She drew the deer bone knife from her waist with a backhand motion; the blade gleamed with a faint, lustrous white sheen.

At the critical moment, the white deer beneath her suddenly let out a sharp cry. Relying on its keen intuition of danger, it pushed off the ground with its front hooves, staggered to the side, and carved four deep grooves on the smooth ice surface with its four hooves. The slight tilt of its body bought her a moment to adjust.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Ao Luya, following the force of the white deer, slashed horizontally with her sword as the veins on her arm bulged.

With a soft clang, the deer bone knife missed the arrowhead precisely, but grazed the arrow's fletching. Combined with the movement caused by the white deer, the crossbow bolt deflected by half an inch, whistling past her hair before embedding itself hard into the trunk of the pine tree behind her.

The arrow fletching continued to sway, and the venom on the arrowhead slowly flowed down the tree trunk, etching a thin black mark.

She clung tightly to the deer's neck, her back already soaked in cold sweat, still shaken. A gash on her calf, cut by flying ice shards, stung painfully.

The primordial aura in the center of the ice surface swayed gently, its light spots receding and transforming into a soft beam that silently seeped into the riverbed through the unhealed ice crevice.

The three had barely dodged the first wave of attacks and had no time to catch their breath when a second wave of sharp whistles erupted from the windbreak forest. It was extremely penetrating, directly overpowering the howling wind and snow, and was denser, faster, and more oppressive than the first wave.

This time, the number of arrows increased from three to seven. The arrowheads reflected a cold, icy light in the wind and snow, like a dense black net covering their heads, completely sealing off all their escape routes.

Two crossbow bolts were aimed at Shen Xun from a pincer movement; three bolts attacked Ye Zhuo from above, middle, and below; one bolt was still aimed directly at Ao Luya; and the last bolt was aimed directly at Lao Gu. The assassin's tactics were ruthless, targeting weaknesses and striking with deadly precision.

Shen Xun frowned, his ears were taut, and his aura was icy cold. Facing the crossbow bolts coming from both sides, he lowered his waist and stood firm, using his staff as a sword. The staff whistled out, and after a crisp "clang", he used the recoil to quickly rotate his wrist, and the tip of the staff, like a nimble snake, accurately hit the fletching of the right arrow.

As the two forces collided, his body swayed slightly, the ice beneath his feet creaked under the pressure, and his boots slipped, almost causing him to lose his balance. He quickly twisted his waist to adjust his center of gravity and barely managed to steady himself.

In that brief moment of hesitation, the crossbow bolt that had been deflected from his left side grazed his shoulder, the sharp arrowhead tearing through his down jacket and lining, drawing out a string of fine beads of blood. The chill instantly seeped into the wound, making him shiver.

He could clearly feel his strength rapidly fading away. The bruises on the peach wood staff had spread to the middle of the staff, and a wave of soreness and numbness surged through his wrists. He had to grit his teeth and exert force with every swing of the staff.

Ye Zhuo's situation was even more perilous than Shen Xun's. Three crossbow bolts came at the same time, their angles so tricky that she had no way to avoid them. She could only hold onto her shield tightly and lower her heart sharply, barely managing to block the arrows. With a loud "clang," the impact spread along the shield, and the bruise on her fingertip had already spurted half an inch up the vein.

She had no time to worry about the bottom crossbow bolt; she could only instinctively turn to the side. The bolt grazed her trouser leg, leaving a gash, and the cold wind instantly rushed into her trousers, causing her calves to cramp. At this moment, her teeth were grinding together, the sweat on her forehead froze into ice crystals, and the arm holding the shield trembled more and more noticeably, with several cracks already appearing on the shield.

This time, Ao Luya had shed most of her panic. Her adrenaline surged from the first near-death experience, and her eyes sharpened. Seeing the crossbow bolt hurtling towards her face, she squeezed her legs together. The white deer understood, and with a sudden push of its front hooves, it slid half a meter to the right, avoiding the arrow's direct hit.

Using the momentum of her gliding motion, Ao Luya swung her sword and cut through the wind, accurately striking the arrow's fletching. After a soft "clang," the crossbow bolt lost its force and embedded itself diagonally into the ice. The venom on the arrowhead instantly corroded a black pit, and wisps of white smoke rose up.

But she exerted too much force, and the ice was slippery, causing her to lose her balance instantly and fall heavily onto the ice. The pain made her vision go black, and she almost let go of the knife in her hand.

Bai Lu quickly ducked down and braced her head against her back to help her steady herself. As she struggled to her feet, she sustained several more abrasions. Her breathing became increasingly rapid, and the hand holding the knife began to tremble slightly.

Old Gu huddled behind Shen Xun, his hands tightly covering his head, his whole body trembling like a leaf. He didn't even dare to open his eyes. The crossbow bolt that pierced the air seemed to carry the gaze of death, making his breathing intermittent. His trouser legs were already soaked with cold sweat.

Lin Jian squatted on the ground, holding the Polaroid camera tightly to her chest. She could clearly hear the sharp sound of crossbow bolts whizzing past her head. Suddenly, her teeth chattered uncontrollably, but she forced herself to stare intently in the direction of the windbreak forest, trying to remember the assassin's approximate location.

This volley of arrows lasted twice as long as the first wave, with crossbow bolts raining down relentlessly.

Shen Xun's peachwood staff swung heavier and heavier, and the wound on his shoulder bled continuously with each swing, the golden blood soaking most of his clothes. Each swing of the staff was accompanied by excruciating pain. Ye Zhuo's shield almost slipped from her hand several times. The burning sensation from the poison spread through her blood vessels, blurring her vision. She could only block instinctively. Ao Luya, with the white deer's cover, barely dodged several fatal attacks, but she was severely exhausted and her breathing was rapid and labored.

Finally, Shen Xun seized an opening and used his peachwood staff to deflect the last crossbow bolt. All four were disheveled and panting heavily. The wind and snow howled past, carrying a biting chill, but could not dispel their exhaustion and sense of danger.

Shen Xun raised his hand and pressed it against his bleeding shoulder, his fingertips covered in warm blood. His breathing was heavy and rapid; he could clearly feel his strength draining away rapidly. Ye Zhuo stood on the ice, tugging at the tourniquet to tighten it further. His face was deathly pale, and his voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible: "My strength is being used up too quickly... I can't hold on for the next round!"

Old Gu slumped to the ground, utterly exhausted, his teeth chattering, muttering, "It's over...it's really over now..." Lin Jian slowly stood up, supporting herself on the ice. Looking at everyone's disheveled state, her eyes reddened, but she couldn't utter a single word.

Ao Luya leaned against the white deer, panting heavily. Blood was still seeping from the wound on her calf, and a few drops fell onto the ice. Looking into the white deer's eyes, a thought suddenly flashed through her mind: the bundle of bear scales. How could she have forgotten about it? Her gaze gradually became clear and firm.

Just then, a third wave of sharp whistles suddenly erupted, denser and faster than the previous two. A full nine crossbow bolts shot out from the windbreak forest, pouring down like a torrential rain. The cold light of the arrowheads almost illuminated the wind and snow, and they were upon us in an instant.

Shen Xun was about to raise his staff when he felt his wrist was as heavy as a thousand pounds. Ye Zhuo struggled to lift his shield but found that his arm was no longer under his control, and he could only watch helplessly as the crossbow bolts approached. Old Gu and Lin Jian were so frightened that their faces turned pale, and despair enveloped them again. They didn't even have the strength to dodge.

In the critical moment, Ao Luya's eyes narrowed sharply, and she swiftly shoved the deer bone knife into its sheath. "Hold on tight!" she whispered, her fingers flying swiftly to unfasten the leather straps on the white deer and pull out the long, hard armor she had brought all the way from the Xing'an Mountains.

The moment the clips snapped open, the sound of armor plates colliding suddenly rang out in the wind and snow.