Chapter 266: Raging Sand

Chapter 266: Wild Sand

The red shadow vanished quickly, whether fleeing or hiding somewhere to watch in secret.

The group pretended not to know anyone was there and continued forward, approaching the Rocky Mountain.

Drawing closer, Zhao Changhe realized this so-called Rocky Mountain was not what he had imagined.

In his mind, it was just a pile of rocks, no bigger than a building. The nearer he got, the more he saw the mountain was actually not small—not a building, but at least the size of a sizable neighborhood. Its height was modest, and it lay low and sprawling, like a giant turtle crouching in the desert.

And this “turtle” even had a “tail.”

A long, thin, low ridge of Gobi rocks stretched north from the mountain’s northern side, leading to another distant, snow-capped mountain range far to the north.

This Rocky Mountain was not at all the isolated cluster of rocks he had pictured in the desert; it was merely a small extension of the tail end of a vast mountain range far away.

Zhao Changhe’s heart stirred. This feature was quite distinctive—he had seen a drawing of this mountain range before.

The treasure map given by Master Yuanxing back then… it wasn’t a map of a region, just a marking of a mountain range, pointing out where within it one could find a trace similar to the Wang family’s Snow Mud, without involving any other geography. So Zhao Changhe had never thought the mountain range on the map was actually north of Yellow Sand Market; he had assumed it was some distant place. He never expected this clue to be right here.

From this perspective, both Yuan Sanniang and Yue Hongling might have stayed here because of this secret site?

No wonder Yue Hongling hadn’t been willing to leave despite lacking supplies—she must have discovered something and even invited him to come search together.

Looking at the Rocky Mountain from afar, he could even see a hint of green at the base of the rocks—there was grass! Though sparse, it grew in a line along the rock edge, like a giant turtle sprouting a bit of belly fur.

It wasn’t exactly an oasis, but it proved there should be water—perhaps extremely scarce or buried deep underground, unknown if there was a way to collect and drink it. Given that Yue Hongling had been camping here recently, it seemed likely she could extract drinking water, but it probably wasn’t suitable for group settlement or forming a trading hub—it remained a barren mountain.

Hu Lie led the group to the foot of the mountain and waved his hand as if giving orders: “It’s getting late. Let’s rest here and eat something.”

Everyone dismounted to rest, leaning against the rocks as they took out dry rations and water. Hu Lie untied the “respectable woman” bound to his horse, grinned lecherously, and began unbuttoning her clothes: “Damn, I’ve been holding it in all the way. Let me have some fun!”

The men gathered around with lewd laughter, and the woman sobbed softly.

Zhao Changhe felt her acting was worse than in some cheap drama, but the scene was similar enough—he wondered if Yue Hongling would fall for it.

Yue Hongling hid behind a pile of rocks, watching coldly through the gaps.

As a “lone bandit” who had roamed for three months, a group of ten or twenty like this was her usual target. She wouldn’t flee just from seeing them from afar, nor would she act rashly just because they were few. She would observe first and judge whether she could strike.

Normally, she would need to guess, analyze, and judge their acting, but this time it wasn’t necessary.

Because she spotted a disheveled, sallow-faced man at a glance—it was Zhao Changhe in disguise from last night, still carrying the Dragon Sparrow on his back. How he had ended up with Batu, she didn’t know—didn’t Batu recognize the blade?

Since Zhao Changhe was here, and these men were openly assaulting a respectable woman, it meant they were definitely not his friends.

Zhao Changhe knew she was here… So it was clear: this was a trap to lure her into action, and Zhao Changhe had somehow infiltrated them to help.

The judgment was simple and crude but absolutely correct.

The men’s lewd laughter and the woman’s cries echoed among the rocks. Zhao Changhe, acting as if he didn’t care, quietly left the group and slipped around a corner, as if to relieve himself.

A small stone was tossed from the rock crevices, hitting him on the shoulder.

Without a change in expression, Zhao Changhe unstrapped his bow and quiver, along with a small pouch of throwing darts, and shoved them through the crevice. At the same time, he used his foot to trace three characters in the yellow sand: “Trap. Leave.”

Then he quickly wiped them away.

Yue Hongling’s eyes curved into a smile.

This feeling was far more comfortable than wandering the grasslands alone—no need to gamble or judge danger; her whole heart was joyful and secure.

Sword in hand, journeying together… and it was him, as if by fate.

It was strange, though—why, every time she acted with him, there were always others nearby doing… intimate things? The sounds of panting made her blush.

After a moment’s thought, Yue Hongling quietly took the bow, arrows, and darts, then slipped back into the mountain.

Zhao Changhe, adjusting his belt, returned to the group with a relaxed air, as if he had just finished urinating.

Over there, Hu Lie was questioning his life.

The foreplay had gone on so long—why wasn’t Yue Hongling reacting? Was the woman not crying hard enough? Or was Yue Hongling deliberately waiting until his pants were halfway off to strike?

If that happened, it would be a headache—how could he fight with his pants half down?

Just as he hesitated, hoofbeats sounded in the distance. A figure in red robes rode a blue-maned horse, galloping off in another direction, shrinking to a dot in the blink of an eye.

Not playing your game.

Hu Lie: “?”

His mind blanked for a moment, then he scrambled onto his horse in fury: “To hell with the act! Chase her! If we can just pin her down, we still have a chance!”

At that moment, a fierce wind suddenly rose, howling past.

Visible to the eye, sand and dust swept up from the ground. In an instant, all they could see was wild sand filling the sky, mixed with gravel pelting their faces and bodies. Everyone instinctively raised their hands to protect their eyes, but they couldn’t shield the horses. The horses’ eyes were struck by gravel, causing them to neigh and bolt wildly, throwing riders and overturning mounts.

A common desert scene—a minor sandstorm, not too severe, coming and going abruptly, but its short-term impact on people and horses was immense.

Ahead, Yue Hongling urgently dismounted to protect her blue-maned horse, while the men here couldn’t pursue either, falling into chaos.

Zhao Changhe scratched his head. What a mess…

If Yue Hongling hadn’t run and had stayed hidden in the Rocky Mountain, it wouldn’t have been a big problem. But by fleeing, she was now caught in the sandstorm, which was troublesome.

Of course, both sides were in trouble, and it was hard to predict how the sandstorm would change the situation… It all depended on how everyone handled this sudden turn…

In the yellow sand with extremely low visibility, a sword light suddenly flashed.

Yue Hongling had decisively turned back, taking advantage of the low visibility and the enemy’s difficulty coordinating, launching a proactive ambush!

Blood sprayed, and a scream rang out. One of Hu Lie’s subordinates was killed instantly.

Not only did Zhao Changhe’s heart pound, but even Hu Lie and Batu couldn’t help feeling a surge of admiration. No wonder this woman, alone on horseback, had terrorized the northern frontier. With such decisive action, she could truly crush a bunch of self-styled heroes into shame.

“Clang!” The long sword clashed with Hu Lie’s curved blade. Yue Hongling didn’t linger; her red figure flickered like a ghost in the yellow sand, and her sword stabbed toward another subordinate beside Hu Lie.

Hu Lie’s curved blade chased after her from behind.

From the clash just now, he could tell he was slightly stronger than Yue Hongling.

And as a warrior who had opened the first secret realm, his absolute strength might not surpass the ninth level of the Xuan Pass, but other mysteries were beyond the knowledge of Xuan Pass cultivators. In this environment, with sand stinging the eyes and wind howling, not only was vision impaired, but even hearing for positioning was useless. Yue Hongling was severely limited here, while a secret realm cultivator was far less affected.

In this entanglement, Hu Lie actually felt more confident—it could only be heaven’s help…

Just as these thoughts flashed through his mind, Hu Lie’s scalp suddenly tingled, and a strong warning rose in his heart.

He had no time to strike at Yue Hongling; he urgently swept his blade backward. A broadsword just then chopped at his back, producing a thunderous clash of metal.

Hu Lie turned in shock and anger, seeing a large man in the yellow sand knocked back a few steps by his blow, then leaping into the air, the broadsword sweeping wildly, hair flying, as fierce and bold as a lion pouncing on prey, his momentum terrifying.

Hu Lie raised his blade to meet it, roaring in fury: “Batu, is your War Lion tribe rebelling?”

Batu froze for a moment, then his malice surged.

Since it had come to this, explanations were meaningless—they were going to swallow us anyway.

You want to swallow me? Can’t I kill you first?

In the midst of the sandstorm, even if the distant army was approaching, they couldn’t see what was happening inside…

A true man born between heaven and earth—how could he languish under others forever?

“Clang!” The broadsword left its sheath, a heavy chop aimed straight at Hu Lie’s head: “Did you really think I couldn’t guess your intentions? Die!”