The sudden appearance of the short musket shocked not only the bandits—but also the bound women and children.
Several women instinctively jerked upright, terror flashing across their faces. Fortunately, the palm-sized Dao Xuan Tianzun had warned them again and again: do not move unless commanded.
They clenched their teeth and forced themselves to stay down, pressing their bodies against the dirt, conserving what little strength they had left.
They had already resigned themselves to death.
But that tiny, impossible figure had brought hope.
And now—an enlarged version of it had appeared, casually stepping into the village… and blowing a vicious bandit apart with a single deafening shot.
It felt like drowning people suddenly grabbing hold of drifting wood in a stormy sea.
For the first time—
They believed they might live.
"Damn it!" a bandit shouted. "That bastard has some kind of strange short musket!"
"Kill him!" Ge Goufei roared. "Muskets take time to reload!"
A dozen bandits surged forward at once.
This was precisely why Li Daoxuan had come alone.
If he had brought an army, these bandits would already have knives at the hostages' throats. But against a single man, they felt no need to restrain themselves.
Li Daoxuan didn't fight.
He ran.
Straight toward one of the village houses.
Inside that house, several bandits lay in ambush. Peering through the cracked windows, they grinned.
Trying to hide in a building?
Perfect. The moment he enters, we chop him from behind.
Li Daoxuan reached the door and kicked it open with a thunderous crash.
The bandits inside raised their blades—
Only to freeze.
Li Daoxuan didn't enter.
Instead, his left hand flicked forward.
A small, dark object arced into the room, its fuse hissing faintly.
The bandits stared at it.
"…What is—"
BOOM!
The explosion ripped through the house.
When the smoke cleared, every bandit inside lay sprawled on the floor, unmoving.
Li Daoxuan was already sprinting toward the next house.
Chaos erupted.
"That bastard's throwing explosives!"
"What kind of demon is this?"
"Catch him! Hack him to death!"
More bandits poured into the chase.
Li Daoxuan ran loops around Houjia Village.
Round and round we go…
Every time he passed a house, the ambushers inside burst out in panic—none of them dared stay indoors after witnessing what explosives could do in a confined space.
In mere moments, the small village descended into total disorder.
An arrow whistled through the air.
Thunk!
It struck Li Daoxuan squarely in the back.
"He's hit!" bandits shouted in delight.
But the cheers died instantly.
Li Daoxuan kept running.
Fast.
Unnaturally fast.
"What the hell?!"
"He didn't even slow down!"
"Is he ignoring the pain?!"
Another bandit finally caught up, swinging his blade down viciously.
Thunk!
The blade bit into Li Daoxuan's back.
At the same instant, Li Daoxuan twisted his arm and fired backward.
BANG!
The bandit was blown off his feet.
Another arrow struck.
Thunk!
"He's hit again!"
"Why isn't he bleeding?!"
Ge Goufei's face twisted in fury. "Circle around! Cut him off from the front! With this many people, you still can't kill one man?!"
Even the bandits guarding the hostages abandoned their posts, joining the pursuit.
More than a hundred men chased one figure through the village.
Steel clanged. Feet pounded. Shouts echoed off crumbling walls.
By all logic, this should have ended long ago.
No man could be this agile. No body could endure so many strikes.
Yet Li Daoxuan ran as if nothing touched him.
The short musket was too slow to reload now.
With a smooth motion, he shoved it into his back waistband and drew his longsword.
A bandit rushed him head-on, blade slamming into Li Daoxuan's chest.
Thunk!
Li Daoxuan stabbed the man through the belly and kicked him away in the same motion.
The bandit screamed and collapsed.
Li Daoxuan didn't even pause.
Sharp-eyed bandits noticed something wrong.
Through the torn fabric, something like "flesh" was visible—but no blood flowed.
"That cut should've bled…"
"He's hurt… but he's not bleeding!"
"What kind of monster is this?!"
Ge Goufei finally snapped.
Grabbing his blade, he surged forward.
His nickname—Flying Across Ravines—was no exaggeration. His footwork was swift and fluid, his movements sharp and lethal. In just a few breaths, he intercepted Li Daoxuan's path and slashed viciously.
Li Daoxuan could take hits anywhere—
Except his face.
He twisted aside.
Ge Goufei's blade slammed into his shoulder.
Thunk!
The sensation was wrong.
Ge Goufei froze for half a heartbeat.
That half heartbeat was enough.
Li Daoxuan's sword flashed back in a reverse thrust.
Ge Goufei twisted away at the last instant, narrowly avoiding a fatal blow.
He laughed loudly.
"Trying to trade lives? You think I'd fall for—"
Click.
Li Daoxuan's left hand slid out from his sleeve.
A small cylindrical device gleamed in his palm.
The Storm of Pear Blossom Needles.
With a soft snap, a storm of fine needles erupted.
There was no dodging.
"Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!"
The needles buried themselves into Ge Goufei's face.
His eyes.
His cheeks.
His forehead.
He screamed.
A sound so shrill it froze the battlefield.
"My eyes! MY EYES!"
He crashed to the ground, clutching his face, blood and tears streaming between his fingers.
"Kill him!" he shrieked. "Everyone—kill him NOW!"