Passerby: Secret Image of Ancient Scrolls

Just at this critical moment, a series of rapid noises came from the roof of the vehicle. The assassin, who had successfully reached the top and was still looking for an opportunity, saw that the close combat on the ground had already broken out. No longer needing to hide his tracks, he quickly raised his crossbow and moved towards the edge of the roof. A deadly threat silently descended from the roof.

Just as Ye Zhuo had dodged the fatal blow, she heard the sound of a crossbow being cocked on the roof of the car. Her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously looked up. In an instant, she caught sight of the assassin's shadow on the roof, holding a crossbow and moving forward silently. The crossbow was pointed at the ground and was about to lock onto her and pull the trigger.

Ye Zhu reacted with lightning speed, his fingers swiftly drawing an arrow from the quiver, nocking the string, drawing it fully, and aiming—a series of actions completed in one fluid motion, instantly preparing for the shot. With a "whoosh," the carbon fiber arrow shot straight at the crossbow-wielding assassin on the roof of the vehicle, the sound of it cutting through the air sharp and loud, directly suppressing the opponent's impending attack and defusing the deadly threat from the roof.

The crossbow-wielding assassin on the roof reacted extremely quickly. Sensing the strong wind from the approaching arrow, he immediately ducked and bent down, pressing himself tightly against the roof rack. The arrow grazed his head and quickly disappeared into the sky.

Although the assassin successfully dodged the arrow, the sudden suppression disrupted his rhythm, and he was unable to aim his crossbow again for a moment.

Just as Ye Zhuo was about to draw her second arrow to continue suppressing the assassin on the roof, two assassins on the ground seized the opportunity when she was distracted and pounced on her with a low shout, forming a pincer attack from the left and right, blocking her escape space.

Ye Zhuo caught a glimpse of the approaching assassin out of the corner of his eye, and his heart sank. He knew he could no longer protect both the roof and the ground, and had no choice but to abandon suppressing the assassin on the roof. Without hesitation, he roared at Old Gu in the driver's seat, his voice carrying clearly through the wind and snow into the car: "Old Gu! Drive! Go crazy, spin around and shake off the guy on the roof, don't give him a chance to aim at us!"

As soon as the roar subsided, Lao Gu immediately accelerated again and swerved the steering wheel, causing the vehicle to spin wildly in place, with snow being kicked up and splashed everywhere by the wheels.

Meanwhile, the assassin who had been shot in the leg, enduring excruciating pain, climbed onto the roof of the vehicle as it spun wildly and joined up with the crossbow-wielding assassin.

Seeing the car shaking violently, the crossbow-wielding assassin knew he couldn't aim steadily at the ground targets. He immediately handed the repeating crossbow to the wounded assassin and said in a deep voice, "You stay put and look for an opportunity to hold off the people on the ground. I'll climb through the window and ambush the people inside!" With that, he grabbed the roof rack, flipped over and pressed himself against the car, attempting to take advantage of the chaos to climb into the car and ambush Lao Gu and Lin Jian.

Old Gu noticed the unusual movement on the roof through the rearview mirror. While keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel, he urgently ordered Lin Jian, "Quick! Use the shield to guard the windows and don't let him in!" Lin Jian immediately responded, quickly grabbing the shield with one hand and already gripping the hand axe in the other, staring intently at the windows, ready for battle.

Ye Zhuo then swiftly slung the composite bow over her back, and immediately grabbed a long-handled shovel from the side. The shovel handle was rough and cold, and she gripped it tightly with both hands.

At that moment, three ground assassins rushed forward. Shen Xun and Ye Zhuo exchanged a glance and instantly reached an agreement. Ye Zhuo went to meet two of the assassins. Shen Xun took care of one of them. He held the peach wood staff horizontally, his movements as agile as a ghost. His feet trod on the snow without any hesitation. Every movement revealed the exquisite skill he had cultivated in martial arts for hundreds of years. Ye Zhuo, on the other hand, relied on the advantage of his long-handled shovel, which was "one point longer, one point stronger," to firmly suppress the two assassins in front of him.

After dodging a dagger thrust by an assassin, Shen Xun advanced instead of retreating, his peach wood staff precisely aimed at the assassin's wrist, nearly causing the dagger to slip from his hand. His movements were fluid and his strength just right, neither fatal nor ineffective in restraining the assassin. Ye Zhuo's every swing was accompanied by a whistling sound, forcing the two assassins to retreat repeatedly, unable to get close at all. A slight misstep would result in being struck by a shovel, leaving them in a sorry state.

After a brief struggle, the three ground assassins gradually realized something was amiss. Shen Xun's martial arts skills were exquisite, and his understanding of human anatomy was ingrained in his bones. Every move he made precisely controlled their joints and points of force, giving them no chance to launch a sneak attack. Ye Zhuo was agile and quick-witted, and he made the most of his long-handled shovel. They were all professionally trained assassins who had killed countless people, yet the two of them remained at ease and showed no signs of defeat.

The assassins knew that if they continued the stalemate, they would be completely defeated with no chance of recovery. They immediately decided to retreat. They exchanged glances and reached a tacit understanding. They stopped fighting and, with a roar, retreated at the same time. As they retreated, they quickly untied the repeating crossbows from their waists with skillful and swift movements.

At this moment, the vehicle was only a few meters away from the riverbank, and the ice surface under the roadbed was right in front of them. The four assassins exerted their strength at the same time, leaped forward, and the moment their bodies took off, they suddenly turned around and looked back. Their crossbows were already set up and aimed, and they pulled the trigger without hesitation.

Shen Xun and Ye Zhuo sensed something was wrong and immediately dodged and blocked.

Shen Xun gripped the peachwood staff horizontally, and with a few crisp clangs, he deflected all the incoming crossbow bolts. Ye Zhuo then crouched down, swinging his long-handled iron shovel horizontally in front of him to protect his vitals. The crossbow bolts struck the shovel, sparks flying everywhere.

The three assassins landed steadily on the ice and quickly moved close to the roadbed for cover without any pause. They began to fire in turns, with crossbow bolts raining down on Shen Xun and Ye Zhuo, tightly restraining their movements and preventing them from having a chance to engage in close combat.

Shen Xun and Ye Zhu quickly regained their footing, the sharp sound of crossbow bolts piercing the air still echoing in their ears.

The three assassins on the ice fired in increasingly rapid bursts, blocking their pursuit route. At this moment, the three assassins took advantage of the terrain on the roadbed. In the wind and snow, they quickly exchanged glances and decided on their strategy. They then split into three groups: one stayed in place to continue firing and keeping the enemy occupied; the other two, keeping low to the ground, used the roadbed as cover to escape to the sides, clearly intending to flank and encircle the enemy.

Meanwhile, the assassin with the injured leg on the roof was lying prone, re-setting up his crossbow, his eyes scanning back and forth between Shen Xun, Ye Zhuo, and Bing Mian, looking for an opportunity to fire. The deadly threat had not yet disappeared.

Shen Xun instantly saw through the assassin's intentions. His brows furrowed, and his tone was heavy yet exceptionally decisive: "We can't let them escape! Once they disappear into the shadows, we'll be attacked from both sides and it will be difficult for us to break through!" Ye Zhuo nodded slightly, his eyes firm, and he gripped the shovel in his hand even tighter.

The wind and snow intensified. Ao Luya, riding her white deer, was trampling the assassin whose hands were injured when she inadvertently caught a glimpse of a dark shadow moving near the car window. It was the assassin who had attempted to climb over the roof, clinging tightly to the edge of the roof rack, locked in a stalemate with Lin Jian inside the car. Ao Luya acted decisively, ceasing her trampling of the assassin beneath her white deer. She spurred her deer towards the other side of the car window, timing the car's rotation perfectly. Before the assassin could react, she swung her deer bone knife, the back of the blade slamming into his waist with a dull thud, the force of the blow deafening.

The assassin was suddenly struck, a piercing pain shooting through his waist. His hands instantly lost their strength, and he could no longer grip the luggage rack. He lost his balance and was thrown a great distance by the spinning vehicle, crashing heavily onto the snow-covered ground with a thud.

Ao Luya gave her opponent no chance to catch her breath. She immediately gave a low shout to the white deer. The white deer understood and kicked off the snow with its four hooves, stomping hard on the assassin who had fallen to the ground. Each stomp was swift and powerful, stomping hard on the assassin's limbs. With a few soft cracking sounds, the assassin's limbs were damaged, and he completely lost the ability to get up. He could only curl up on the ground, groaning in pain, and could no longer pose a threat.

After dealing with the assassin who climbed through the window, Ao Luya stared sharply at the ice, awaiting Shen Xun's instructions. Meanwhile, the assassin with injured hands, who had been trampled by the white deer earlier, saw his companion subdued and realized all was lost. Taking advantage of the others' inattention, he dragged his heavily wounded body, hunched over, and stealthily moved towards the riverbank, attempting to escape along its banks. However, Lin Jian, inside the car, spotted him immediately. Lin Jian shouted, "Someone's running towards the woods by the river!"

Shen Xun pointed to the assassin who had fled on one side of the ice, his words rapid and thunderous, carried by the howling wind and snow to Ao Luya's ears: "Chase in that direction! Old Gu, quickly have Lin Jian throw the shield to Ao Luya to prevent the assassin from turning back to shoot!" Inside the car, Old Gu immediately understood Shen Xun's command. The vehicle hadn't stopped; he kept it firmly in place while urgently instructing Lin Jian beside him: "Quickly open the door and throw the shield to Ao Luya! Also, keep an eye on the assassin with the injured hands!"

Lin Jian immediately responded, grabbing the shield with one hand and holding onto the car door with the other. Taking advantage of the brief moment of stability in the vehicle, he hurled the shield out. The shield drew an arc in the air and landed precisely in front of Ao Luya. Ao Luya dismounted from the deer, picked up the shield, and said, "Don't worry!" As soon as Ao Luya finished speaking, she jumped back onto the white deer, which sped off in the direction Shen Xun had indicated. Ao Luya held the shield in front of her, constantly on guard against any possible sneak attack from the assassin, her movements as swift as a blur through the snowstorm.

After settling Ao Luya in, Shen Xun turned to Ye Zhuo, his tone steady yet urgent, his gaze sweeping over the two assassins firing alternately at each other on the ice, then glancing at the movement on the roof of the vehicle: "Ye Zhuo, push the Bear Scale Curtain onto the ice to defend against the crossbow bolts. Once you get close, quickly subdue that assassin; he's no match for you in close combat. Also, ambush Ao Luya and me from behind!" "Understood!"

Ye Zhuo responded in a deep voice. Without hesitation, he rushed to the fallen bear scale barrier not far away and used his strength to forcefully lift the heavy bear scale barrier back up.

The bear-scale curtain was thick and solid, and every step was extremely difficult. Ye Zhuo gritted his teeth, holding the edge of the curtain tightly with one hand and gripping the long-handled iron shovel tightly with the other, slowly advancing towards the ice surface. His sharp eyes locked onto the ice surface, and the ice assassin watched the bear-scale curtain approach but was helpless.

Having given his orders, Shen Xun didn't linger. He dashed out like a ghost, his feet treading on the snow at an astonishing speed, rushing toward the assassin who had fled on the other side of the ice.

He moved with agility, remaining as steady as if on flat ground even on the smooth snow, giving his opponent no chance to slip into the shadows.

At the same time, Ao Luya, riding a white deer and holding a shield, was also chasing after the assassin who was escaping on the other side. The white deer's four hooves trod on the snow, and the two of them were tightly chasing their respective targets, doing their best to prevent the assassin from escaping.

The injured crossbow-wielding assassin on the roof seemed to have gotten used to the car's rotation. He gripped the edge of the luggage rack with one hand and slowly aimed at Shen Xun's back with the other. He exerted a little force with his fingertips and was about to pull the trigger when his attention was drawn to the bear scales that Ye Zhuo was pushing forward at closer range. In order to hit the target, he had to temporarily change direction and aim at Ye Zhuo.

Just then, the rapid, wild roar of a car engine suddenly pierced through the swirling snow, coming from the direction of the hilltop they had come from. It grew closer and closer, carrying a devastating, oppressive force that drowned out the howling wind and snow, the sound of pursuing footsteps, and the sharp crack of crossbow bolts. Shen Xun and Ye Zhuo's expressions changed drastically almost simultaneously.

The engine sound was clearly that of the armed assassin who had been blocked by the snow slope and had taken a detour, finally reaching the top of the slope after going around in circles.

Shen Xun and Ao Luya didn't stop walking. They quickly turned their heads to look and saw a black SUV with its engine at full speed, its headlights like the grim reaper, piercing the wind and snow as it rushed wildly down the hillside. In the driver's seat was a figure dressed like the other assassins, the one who had escaped with a gun.

His face was contorted with rage, a maniacal grin playing on his lips. Just as the SUV reached a point on the downhill slope, about ten meters from the two cars on the riverbank, the gunman suddenly opened the car door, leaped nimbly, and used the vehicle's momentum to roll and dissipate the force, landing steadily on the snow-covered ground with almost no pause.

He abruptly stood up, his right hand swiftly drawing the pistol from his waist. He aimed at Shen Xun, and after a moment's hesitation, pulled the trigger. A sharp "bang" rang out, the bullet whistling through the snow and wind, striking Shen Xun directly in the chest. Meanwhile, the out-of-control black SUV continued its rapid advance, hurtling towards vehicle 2045, blocking their only escape route. The gunshots and the roar of the engine mingled in the snow and wind, two deadly threats looming overhead like cold blades. A suffocating sense of oppression instantly swept across the area, leaving no room for anyone to catch their breath.