Slacking off

Xu Hao's face felt as if someone had been rubbing and pulling at his skin, his bones making a cracking sound, and he felt both itchy and in pain.

In just a few breaths, his originally upright facial muscles began to twitch and shift uncontrollably, and his entire aura became sinister and chilling, making him look exactly like a water ghost that had just crawled out of the water. With this appearance, coupled with the "Turning River Force" circulating in his body, even if Sun Niqiu himself came, he would probably be stunned for a moment.

The men of the canal gang were carrying heavy boxes onto the boat.

The leader of this branch was a one-eyed man, who was urging in a low voice, "Be gentle! If you break even one piece, you couldn't afford to pay for it even if you sold yourselves!"

Xu Hao covered himself with a black cloth and held the wavy copper whistle he had dug out from the sole of Zhao Tietou's shoe with his fingertips.

A flick of the wrist.

Clang!

The copper whistle pierced the night sky, striking precisely on the bluestone slab at the one-eyed man's feet. The crisp sound of the impact was particularly jarring in the silent dyehouse.

"Who!" The one-eyed man turned around abruptly, and the demon head knife in his hand was instantly drawn.

The only reply he received was a chillingly sinister voice, elusive and like two pieces of raw iron rubbing together: "One-Eyed Dragon, you'd better keep the young master safe for our Salt Gang!"

Before the words were finished, two pebbles shot out with a sharp whooshing sound.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

The only two lanterns in the courtyard went out instantly, plunging the entire backyard into a deathly silence and darkness.

"Salt Gang scum! What nonsense are you spouting!" One-Eyed Dragon roared, using his ability to pinpoint the location of sounds to slash at the spot where Xu Hao had landed.

But Xu Hao was as slippery as an eel.

The moment he landed, he used the agile cat-like steps, lowered his body, and slipped into the crowd, close to the blade of the one-eyed dragon, casually throwing the rag on the ground.

Xu Hao didn't linger in the fight. He used only the back of his hundred-refined steel sword to smash two Cao Gang disciples who had just taken out tinderboxes to light lamps, sending them flying backward.

The tinder slipped from his hand, drawing a faint red line in the air before being swallowed by darkness.

"Light the lamp! Light the lamp now!" the one-eyed man roared in exasperation.

Just then, the gate of the dye house suddenly burst open, and sawdust flew everywhere like rain.

"No need to order anymore. I'll send you on your way; the road to the underworld will be very bright!"

A high-pitched, effeminate voice pierced through the cacophony of shouts and cries, carrying a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

Eunuch Wei led a large number of officers and soldiers in like a tidal wave.

The firelight instantly illuminated the courtyard, as well as the copper whistle and tattered cloth on the ground, and several boxes that Xu Hao had deliberately kicked over, revealing dark red crystals.

"Well, well! They're birds of a feather!" Eunuch Wei's eye muscles twitched violently. His gaze swept over the contraband blood crystals on the ground, and his killing intent instantly surged. "Concealing the corpse of a wanted criminal, reselling contraband blood crystals, colluding with the remnants of the Salt Gang… Canal Gang, you really have a death wish!"

The one-eyed dragon looked at the courtyard full of astronomical bureaus, then at the blood crystals scattered on the ground, and his mind went blank.

If this batch of goods falls into the hands of the Imperial Observatory, it would be a crime punishable by death by a thousand cuts; if they fight to the death to break through, there might still be a glimmer of hope.

"Brothers! We're going to die anyway, let's fight our way out!" One-Eyed Dragon roared, charging towards Eunuch Wei first.

"act recklessly."

Eunuch Wei snorted coldly, without moving, but simply raised a pale hand and made a grasping motion in the air.

A terrifying suction force suddenly erupted, and the one-eyed dragon's body, which was still in mid-air, suddenly stiffened, as if an invisible hand had grabbed his throat, and he was uncontrollably flown towards Eunuch Wei.

"Click."

The crisp sound of bones cracking was particularly jarring amidst the noise of the battlefield.

The one-eyed man's head drooped limply, his eyeballs almost bulging out of their sockets.

The power of a grandmaster is terrifying.

The members of the Canal Gang were terrified when they saw their leader die in a single move, but under the impenetrable sword formation of the Surveillance Bureau, they could only fight like cornered beasts.

Both sides instantly went berserk, with severed limbs and blood splattering everywhere.

Meanwhile, Xu Hao, the instigator, had already retreated to the very edge of the battle.

Using the [Breath Concealment] technique, he suppressed his breathing and heartbeat to the extreme, his whole being like a lifeless stone, pressed against the shadow of the collapsed dye vat.

But he didn't stay idle.

Taking advantage of the moment when Eunuch Wei was busy killing the one-eyed man and drawing everyone's attention, Xu Hao darted past several overturned boxes like a ghost.

With a flick of his hand and a slight thought, most of the box of blood crystals vanished instantly and entered his storage space.

After doing all this, he did not leave immediately. Instead, he grabbed a handful of the remaining blood crystals, mustered all his strength, and threw them at the most densely populated area of ​​the crowd.

"The goods are sold out! Grab them!"

Xu Hao deliberately lowered his voice, making it impossible to discern the direction of his shout, yet it was extremely provocative.

The priceless blood crystals fell like dark red raindrops, and the rich blood energy exploded in the air.

Whether they were bloodthirsty members of the Canal Gang or disciplined officers of the Imperial Observatory, their movements instinctively paused for a moment.

Greed is human nature.

Even those from the Celestial Surveillance Bureau couldn't help but breathe more heavily when faced with such a treasure that could make one's martial arts realm advance by leaps and bounds.

The scene instantly descended into chaos.

"Anyone who dares to move! Kill without mercy!" Eunuch Wei shouted, his figure turning into a blur as he rushed into the crowd. Wherever he passed, whether they were members of the canal gang or captains who dared to reach out to pick up the blood crystals, they all died.

The scene became even more chaotic, with shouts of killing and screams almost lifting the night sky over the city.

Right now.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Xu Hao lightly touched the wall with his toes, and like a gecko climbing over a wall, he silently climbed over the back wall of the dye house and disappeared into the dark alley.

The city gate guards' horns blared incessantly, and the patrolling horses' hooves thundered deafeningly, as the entire city's military forces converged on Rat Alley in the west of the city.

Xu Hao stood at the entrance of the dark alley, glanced back at the towering flames, and plunged into the path leading to the government office.

Pushing open the wooden door of the torture chamber, they dragged Chen Yuanzhi out from the hidden compartment and pulled out the bone nail.

Before Chen Yuanzhi could fully regain his senses, Xu Hao slung him over his back. "That eunuch Wei is busy killing people in the west of the city; he doesn't have time for us. Let's go!"

The two men crawled back into the dry well and slid down the slippery well walls into the underground ditch.

The stench here was a hundred times stronger than up here. The black water was ankle-deep, and the ground was covered with rotting mud and unidentified bones.

Chen Yuanzhi, clinging to Xu Hao's back, was so overwhelmed by the stench that his eyes rolled back, but he gritted his teeth and dared not utter a sound.

Xu Hao stumbled along in the darkness, the map in his mind clearly guiding his way.

After walking for about half an hour, a rusty iron fence suddenly appeared ahead, completely blocking the already narrow culvert.

"This... there's no way out?" Chen Yuanzhi looked at the iron bar, as thick as a child's arm, in despair.

"Shut up."

Xu Hao put Chen Yuanzhi down and grabbed the two rusty iron bars with both hands.

He took a deep breath, his chest bulged, and the "Overturning River Force" within his body circulated wildly, unleashing the power of the Bone Forging Realm without reservation.

Muscle fibers make popping sounds under high-intensity loads.

"open!"

Xu Hao let out a low roar, veins bulging on his forehead, and his arms suddenly pushed outwards.

creak-

A sickening metallic creak echoed through the silent culvert.

The steel fence bent in response.

Finally, the two iron bars, each as thick as a child's arm, were pried open, creating a gap just wide enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. The two squeezed through.

Xu Hao, panting heavily, shook his numb hands and picked up Chen Yuanzhi again.

As you pass through the fence, the sound of flowing water gradually grows louder.

After walking another hundred steps or so, a faint but cold light finally pierced through the darkness ahead.

It is moonlight.

We've arrived at the sewage outlet of the moat.