ATPnovel Chapter 575: Thief Catcher 2 — A Journey of Escape into the Northwestern Desert!
Chapter 575: Thief Catcher 2 — A Journey of Escape into the Northwestern Desert!
Lin Yipeng was still chatting with Qu Qiuyan."How about it? Those two are pretty good, right?"
"Hmm, young people, they're both quite interesting."
Qu Qiuyan held her hot water cup, blowing on it gently, her eyes carrying a hint of amusement. "Spend more time with them, don't listen to your dad, always hanging around those old fossils. They can't keep up with the times anymore."
Lin Yipeng gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Mom, you should say that to Dad, there's nothing I can do."
Just then, some commotion came from over there, and both of them turned their heads to look.
"What are those two doing?"
"No idea, did something happen?"
"Did Teacher Pu get hurt?"
"Quick, let's go check—"
Before the production team staff could get the wrong idea, Pu Rong struggled to get up by himself.
This was about dignity, he had to hold on!
"Teacher Pu is fine, he's fine, no need to worry, we were just messing around."
Seeing the staff over there really preparing to run over and check the situation, Xiao He immediately raised his voice to help explain, simultaneously waving his hand to signal they didn't need to come over.
Pu Rong watched the culprit who caused this helping to clear things up, grinding his teeth so hard they almost shattered. "Xiao He, come on, come on, let's have a little spar."
Xiao He lifted the reins in his hand, turning the camel around to head back, and said with an innocent expression, "Bro Pu, you have to be fair, I didn't do anything to you. If you're holding a grudge, don't take it out on me, go find the camel."
With that, Xiao He laughed heartily and rode the camel away slowly.
Pu Rong clenched his fist tightly. "...Alright, alright, playing like this, Xiao He, you're dead!"
Then he glanced at his own camel with slight disgust, not forgetting to issue a fierce warning verbally. "Even though Master Yang said you don't bite, you're not allowed to lick people either! Don't lick my freshly styled hair, or when I get back, I'll definitely eat camel meat, one way or another."
The camel gave Pu Rong a sidelong glance, who knows what it was thinking, snorted a puff of air from its nose, then its mouth started chewing again, beginning a new round of munching.
Pu Rong: ...Yuck!
-
Coincidentally, the next scene to film was a fight scene between Xiao He and Pu Rong.
So, carrying this grudge, Pu Rong stretched out his hand towards Xiao He before filming started, made a slicing motion across his neck, and put on a fierce, menacing expression.
Xiao He had already sensed his murderous intent but still maintained an air of detached calm. He simply drew the Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique from his waist and began carefully feeling the blade's edge.
Pu Rong: ...Very good, I'm going to get serious in a moment!
Xiao He: Hehe.
"Everyone, get ready—"
Lin Yipeng, holding a megaphone, stood with hands on hips inside the tent, staring at the monitor in front of him.
"Three, two, one—"
"Whoosh—"
The giant industrial fan beside them instantly sprang to life.
The previously calm sand was instantly swept up by the strong wind into a sky full of golden dust.
Everyone walking in the camel caravan instinctively raised their arms, using their outer cloaks to block the annoying flying sand.
"It's a small sandstorm! Everyone, take cover!"
"Protect the supplies!"
The caravan leader at the front shouted to warn those behind, the message being passed back one by one, while others hidden within the caravan also began their own little maneuvers—
Jiang Rushu, wearing a black cloak and a sand-proof scarf wrapped around his face, was currently clutching a corner of his cloak to block the wind and sand ahead, struggling to move forward against the strong wind.
In his field of vision, at the very front was a lone camel, spinning in place amidst the chaotic wind and sand.
Sitting on the camel was a figure wrapped up tightly from head to toe, making it impossible to discern their build—a figure in black clothes. Due to the sudden arrival of the sandstorm, the other party was clearly momentarily disoriented, so they crouched low, lying flat on the camel, seemingly preparing to dismount depending on the situation and find shelter elsewhere.
This person was extremely mysterious within the caravan. Although they had been traveling west with the caravan the whole time, they had never shown their face from start to finish. Almost no one in the caravan knew them or spoke to them, appearing to be just a lone wanderer following the caravan into the frontier.
However, many details of their daily life didn't seem like those of a seasoned jianghu loner, and their aura was mediocre, as if they were just an ordinary person with no combat prowess.
Jiang Rushu, who had been lurking in the caravan for a long time, felt puzzled and suspicious about this. So he wanted to take advantage of the chaos of the sandstorm, braving the danger to investigate the other party's identity.
But just as Jiang Rushu walked close to that camel and was about to reach out to grab the person on it, a pair of cold, sharp gleams pierced through the yellow sand within the murky storm, carrying a swirling force of wind, twisting towards his outstretched hand—
A flash of shock passed through Jiang Rushu's eyes, then he immediately dodged this dangerous cold gleam with agile movements, simultaneously drawing the sharp sword hidden beneath his cloak, turning to block the opponent's next attack.
The next moment, sensing something, Jiang Rushu abruptly leaned backward, barely avoiding the Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique that grazed past his neck.
"It's me! Cough, pah! Pah!"
Actually, the moment their blades clashed, Jiang Rushu recognized the other's familiar fighting style. He just wanted to speak up and identify himself but got a mouthful of the swirling yellow sand, some even directly forcing their way into his throat, making him cough violently in discomfort.
And his words, drowned out by the sandstorm, seemed not to have stopped the other's killing moves, who continued to press the attack further. The Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique in their hands was like two poisonous snakes with cold, gleaming scales, viciously coiling towards his arms, preparing to seize the chance to wrap around his neck and deliver a fatal blow.
Jiang Rushu cursed under his breath, wanting to vehemently denounce Shen Jue's actions, but the wind and sand were too strong. Every word he wanted to say got stuck back in his throat. He could only inwardly curse, "Shen Jue has gone crazy," then raise his sword to parry, retreating step by step.
In the swirling wind and sand, Shen Jue's Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique seemed to be enhanced, each move carrying lethal intent. It was almost a case of the slightest misstep and you might get a chunk of flesh sliced off by his blade. Jiang Rushu was originally only defending, not attacking actively, but as the fight went on, he also got a bit fired up and started to counterattack.
Jiang Rushu's sword seemed slightly clumsier in the wind and sand, harder to wield compared to the more agile Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique. But after several rounds of close combat, Jiang Rushu gained the upper hand, forcing Shen Jue back towards the camel.
And right at that moment, within the chaotic and extremely low-visibility sandstorm, a short arrow shot through, flying straight towards the figure in black clothes who had already dismounted from the camel.
The next moment, Shen Jue decisively abandoned his attack on Jiang Rushu, swatting away that short arrow, but also seemingly due to exhaustion, suddenly kneeling on the sandy ground, struggling to support his body with the Bone-Cleaving Knife Technique in both hands.
The figure in black clothes in front of the camel immediately worriedly helped support Shen Jue.
Continuous cold arrows shot out from within the yellow sand. Jiang Rushu inwardly cursed "This is bad," immediately shielding the two in front of him, knocking away all the secretly released cold arrows.
Several figures also cloaked in black emerged from the wind and sand—
A new battle began once again!
...
Soon, the small sandstorm passed.
Several fresh corpses were soon swallowed by the yellow sand, completely hidden beneath the sand where no one would ever know.
The other members of the caravan gradually poked their heads out from the sand.
Only then did Jiang Rushu have time to check on Shen Jue's condition. "How is he?"
Shen Jue was wrapped head to toe in the same style of black robes, his face securely covered by the windproof scarf. When Jiang Rushu pulled open his scarf, he discovered Shen Jue's face was already as pale as paper.
So, during the earlier fight, Shen Jue had just been forcing himself to hold on.
"On our escape route, we encountered another guy. He disguised himself as you to gain our trust. Fortunately, Xiao Jue noticed in time and, though injured, helped me escape... It's just that we encountered too many ambushes along the way. To protect me, he's now at the end of his rope..."
The other figure in black clothes answered Jiang Rushu's question.
Jiang Rushu, hearing the familiar female voice, looked up at the person in front of him, then nodded slightly in understanding. "Landlady, what exactly happened to you guys?"
Penglai Inn was burned down, Shen Jue severely injured, they fled all the way to the northwest... For what reason?