Passerby: Secret Image of Ancient Scrolls

The wind and snow were like an impenetrable white wall, crashing heavily against the rock face.

Shen Xun's palm wound was still bleeding, but he didn't even have a moment to catch his breath, his eyes already locked on the two hands below the slope.

The echoes of the simultaneous firing from all three sides still reverberated in the wind and snow. The bullets from the gun-wielding assassin grazed past Ao Luya's side, while the crossbow bolts from the crossbow-wielding assassin forced Ye Zhuo to retreat back to the roadside cover. Both of them were completely absorbed by the target in front of them and did not realize that the cliff they were certain could not climb had become Shen Xun's ambush route.

Shen Xun lowered his body and, using the wind, snow and trees as cover, glided forward silently like a cat in the snow.

His centuries of training in lightness skills made his steps as light as a ghost; in just two breaths, he had already caught up to the gunman behind him.

The gunman was still readjusting his firing angle, locking onto Aoluya, who was cutting in from the side.

But just as his fingertips tightened, a deadly wind pressure suddenly came from the back of his neck.

Alarm bells rang in his mind. Just as he was about to turn around and raise his gun, Shen Xun's hand gripped his shoulder and neck like an iron clamp, and his other hand's peach wood cane struck him precisely on the back of the neck.

There are no superfluous moves, only a fatal blow honed through countless trials.

The assassin didn't even utter a muffled groan before all his strength was instantly drained. His vision went black, and he collapsed straight into the snow. His grip on the gun loosened, and just as the pistol was about to slip from his hand and fall to the ground, Shen Xun caught it with his hand around the shoulder and neck.

Without pausing for a second, he flipped his wrist and stuffed the pistol into his coat pocket. Without stopping, he moved like a ghost towards the crossbow-wielding assassin.

The crossbow-wielding assassin had just forced Ye Zhuo back and was reloading his crossbow, preparing to fire another arrow at Ye Zhuo.

He was completely unaware that his companion had fallen, nor did he notice the approaching killing intent from behind.

Shen Xun flashed to his side, slammed his elbow into his lower back, and as he leaned forward in pain, he struck him on the side of the neck with a backhand.

The crossbow-wielding assassin's body went limp, the crossbow fell to the snow, and he collapsed, motionless.

In just five seconds, both professional assassins who had laid an ambush were knocked unconscious and subdued by Shen Xun.

Shen Xun didn't even glance at the two of them; his gaze was instantly fixed on the rickety 2045.

The small tree branch supporting the car body had long been twisted and deformed by the weight, with large areas of bark peeling off, revealing the pale white wood fibers inside.

Shen Xun's heart tightened; he knew the little tree wouldn't last much longer.

Just as he was about to rush over, his worst fears came true.

"Crack—!" A crisp, loud cracking sound pierced through the wind and snow. The small tree branch snapped completely, and half of the branch, covered in snow, spun and fell into the rubble of the riverbank below.

Losing its last support, 2045 instantly lost its balance, and the entire vehicle plunged sharply towards the outside of the cliff. The chassis scraped against the edge of the roadbed, producing a piercing metallic screech, and sparks flashed and died out in the snow.

Most of the car was already suspended more than ten meters in the air, with a dangerous rocky beach below. If it fell completely, there would be no chance of Lao Gu and Lin Jian inside the car surviving.

"Hold on!" Shen Xun roared, his body lunging towards the front of the car like an arrow released from a bow.

He spread his arms wide, gripping the cold, hard front bumper of the 2045 tightly with both hands, his knuckles cracking under the strain.

The downward force from the several-ton vehicle was like Mount Tai pressing down, violently pulling his body forward. The wound on his palm, which had not yet healed, burst open instantly under the immense force, and blood flowed down the safety bar, instantly freezing into dark gold icicles by the cold wind.

But he gritted his teeth and braced his feet firmly against the dents dug into the ground, using his own body to stop the car from slowly sliding down.

"Shen Xun!" Ye Zhuo watched with her heart pounding from behind the roadbed cover. Seeing that the two assassins had already fallen to the ground, she immediately rolled over and rushed out of the cover, slinging the composite bow back onto her back. She then sprinted through the snow towards the hovercraft with all her might.

On the other side, Ao Luya had already seen the situation clearly. He yanked the reins and gave a low shout. The white deer understood and galloped wildly through the snow. In an instant, the man and the deer rushed to the front of the carriage. Without the slightest hesitation, they dismounted and reached out to grab the safety bar, and together with Shen Xun, they exerted force.

"Pull together!" Ao Luya's voice was steady, her whole body tense.

Even the white deer understood the critical situation. It lowered its head, braced its shoulders and neck against the front bumper, and pressed its front hooves firmly against the ground, letting out a low groan as it used its body to share the weight of the fall.

Ye Zhuo rushed forward, and the three of them and Lu exerted their strength at the same time, the veins on their arms bulging as they used all their might.

But human strength has its limits.

The 2045 was already heavier than a regular vehicle, and with half of its body suspended in the air, the force of its descent far exceeded what an ordinary person could withstand.

Even though Shen Xun's physique far surpassed that of ordinary people, Ao Luya was agile and strong, and Ye Zhuo had top-notch special forces physical abilities, the group could only barely slow down the car's descent when they pushed themselves to the limit, but they were completely unable to pull the car back to the roadbed.

The car continued to slide slowly but irreversibly outwards, the snow crushed by the wheels falling in a rustling sound, and the gravel from the edge of the roadbed constantly falling into the riverbed below. Every second, it was moving one step closer to the abyss.

"No! We can't hold it!" Ye Zhuo roared through gritted teeth. His arms were already so sore and numb that he had lost all feeling. His fingertips were painfully poked by the cold metal. "This is several tons of steel. Humans simply can't hold it up!" Shen Xun didn't say a word. The muscles in his arms were stretched to the limit. His body was almost parallel to the ground. He was still desperately holding on.

He could clearly feel the excruciating pain from every inch the car body slid down, and the blood in his palms was flowing more and more, the pain from his old wounds growing stronger with each passing moment, but he dared not loosen his grip even slightly.

As soon as he let go, the two people in the car were completely doomed.

Lin Jian, inside the car, had half his body leaning out of the window, his hands waving in the air trying to grab another tree branch next to him. His fingers were full of blood, his face was as pale as paper, and he was trembling uncontrollably.

Old Gu desperately pressed himself against the raised part of the car, using his weight to stabilize the center of gravity, his roar already hoarse: "I can't hold on! The car is going to fall!"

At this critical moment of life and death, Ye Zhuo suddenly had a flash of inspiration and roared into the car, "Lin Jian! There's a winch remote in the glove compartment! Quick! Throw it out!" Her voice pierced through the wind and snow, clearly hitting the car.

Lin Jian froze for half a second, then frantically pulled his hand back, gripping the car door frame tightly with one hand and pulling open the glove compartment with the other.

Sure enough, her fingertips touched a cold, black remote control. Without thinking, she threw it with all her might towards Ye Zhuo: "Catch!" The remote control drew an arc in the air, and Ye Zhuo leaped up and caught it steadily in his hand.

"Old Gu!" Ye Zhuo spoke at an astonishing speed, his instructions clear and calm, without any panic. "Push both differential lock levers behind the gear shift lever all the way forward! Quick! Open all the front and rear differential locks! Shift to 4L low gear."

Old Gu, a seasoned driver, understood immediately. This is the key to extreme off-road escape: locking the differential lock ensures that the power of all four wheels is fully synchronized, maximizing vehicle stability. Combined with the winch's pulling force, this offers a glimmer of hope.

He scrambled back to the driver's seat, his hands trembling slightly with nervousness, but his movements were not slow at all as he forcefully pushed both gear levers to the very front.

"Locked! Pushed all the way!" Old Gu shouted at the top of his lungs. "Keep the vehicle steady! Don't let up!" Ye Zhuo shouted back, then grabbed the winch's cable connector and quickly pressed the remote to release the cable. Dragging the heavy, cold steel cable, Ye Zhuo turned and headed towards the side of the hillside that wasn't suspended in the air.

Although she desperately wanted to run away immediately, the steel cable had a limited release speed, so she had to suppress her anxiety.

Ye Zhuo held the steel cable tightly, making her palms red and painful, but she didn't stop walking. Her eyes quickly swept across the slope and instantly locked onto the thick old pine tree on the slope.

With a trunk diameter of nearly half a meter and deep roots, it can withstand several tons of tension, making it the best fulcrum for fixing the winch.

Ye Zhu rushed to the tree, his movements as swift as if he had practiced a thousand times. He tightly wrapped the steel cable around the thick trunk three times, locked the buckle firmly, and pulled it twice more to make sure the cable was firmly in place and would not come loose.

As soon as she turned around, her heart clenched.

Below, the soil beneath Shen Xun's feet had been ripped apart by the pull of the vehicle, and he slid forward another half inch.

The roadbed, which had barely held the chassis, continued to collapse, causing the vehicle to tilt outwards once more, prompting a gasp from the two people inside.

Then, an even more despairing sound exploded.

"Crack! Crash!" The last bit of support that made contact between the vehicle and the roadbed completely shattered.

2045 suddenly plummeted downwards, and the entire vehicle began to slide rapidly down!

The force of the blow sent Shen Xun staggering forward, his arms nearly dislocated, and excruciating pain shot through his mind.

He gritted his teeth and refused to let go, his soles carving two deep furrows in the hard frozen ground, but he still couldn't stop the car from falling.

With the front and rear wheels completely off the ground, only the front wheels barely touching the ground, the car body tilted more and more violently. Inside the car, Lao Gu and Lin Jian clung tightly to the handles, letting out desperate cries. The entire car was like an out-of-control iron coffin, hurtling straight toward the riverbank more than ten meters below.

"Stop!" Ye Zhuo's eyes were bloodshot as he pressed the tighten button on the winch remote control.

"Whoosh!" The winch motor at the front of the machine suddenly roared violently. The already taut steel cable stretched even straighter in an instant, emitting a terrifying metallic shriek, like a string stretched to its limit, about to snap in the next second.

The immense pulling force was transmitted through the steel cable, forcefully pulling the rapidly descending 2045 back. The vehicle suddenly stopped, suspended in mid-air and shaking violently. Snow fell from the vehicle, and the steel cable and the vehicle formed a breathtaking line.

The car body has stabilized for the time being.

But everyone knew this was only temporary. The winch was already at its limit, the motor was humming from overload, the steel cable was taut, and even the old pine trees on the hilltop were swaying slightly under the tension, their bark cracking from the steel cable. If the cable snapped or the pine trees couldn't withstand the tension, everything would be doomed.

In the wind and snow, that familiar yet eerie aura was spreading out, even stronger than before.