Black Swallow missed her initial shot and seamlessly continued with her attack, firing arrow after arrow. She shot five in total, but her shooting speed was always a half-beat slower than Xu Chunliang’s pace of escape. The arrows could only hit the tops of the containers behind him. Each arrow pierced through the iron sheets, demonstrating the immense penetration power of the composite bow.

Xu Chunliang climbed towards the watchtower like a nimble ape. Fortunately, Black Swallow distracted him, allowing Shi Taiping to catch his breath. Seeing Xu had already reached the tower, Shi Taiping was so frightened by his bravery and strength that he dared not stay any longer and left the freighter immediately.

Black Swallow saw Xu Chunliang approaching quickly, abandoned her composite bow, drew out her newly purchased East Asian Sword, and charged at Xu Chunliang with a loud roar, slashing towards him.

Xu Chunliang dodged her strike, and the East Asian Sword clashed against the guardrail of the watchtower with a resounding clang, leaving a deep mark on the rail, while the blade remained unscathed, displaying the sword’s sharpness.

Xu Chunliang landed a solid punch on Black Swallow’s abdomen. He rarely hit women, but Black Swallow was not an ordinary woman.

Black Swallow staggered back two steps. She excelled at long-range attacks and couldn’t harm Xu Chunliang after five consecutive shots. Now engaged in close combat, she was at a disadvantage and didn’t dare to prolong the fight. Suddenly, she leaped over the rail and jumped off the tower.

Xu Chunliang’s heart skipped a beat. The drop from the watchtower to the deck was at least three stories high. An average person would risk severe injury or death. He rushed to look, only to find a water tank below. Black Swallow had already chosen her escape route, diving into the water tank with a splash.

At this moment, Xu Chunliang noticed that Liu Haiyu was sneaking towards the exit, clearly attempting to escape in the chaos.

Xu Chunliang, uninterested in continuing the fight, leapt from the watchtower directly downwards. He didn’t choose to land in the water tank but silently landed atop a container as quietly as a falling leaf.

The vendors surrounding Xu Chunliang picked up objects and hurled them at him, including counterfeit Qin bricks and Han tiles, producing a relentless clamor. Despite the numerous attackers, none managed to hit Xu Chunliang.

After landing, Xu Chunliang continued to run forward, jumping from the container to the deck, and then directly vaulted over the freighter’s guardrail into the icy lake water.

Liu Haiyu had already boarded a speedboat by then. The slender man immediately started the boat and sped away. Seeing Xu Chunliang jump into the lake from the freighter, Liu Haiyu hesitated briefly before shouting, "Get him on board!"

The speedboat circled back to where Xu Chunliang had plunged into the water. As Xu Chunliang resurfaced, Liu Haiyu reached out and pulled him onto the boat.

The slender man piloted the speedboat away swiftly, disappearing into the dark night.

Soaked through, Xu Chunliang first looked back to ensure no one was pursuing them. Certain there were no pursuers, he angrily removed his dripping wet green hat and threw it at Liu Haiyu’s face, most resentful of being played.

Liu Haiyu didn’t make any move to dodge. Crossing his arms over his chest, his body shivered uncontrollably.

The green hat struck his face and then dropped to the floor, and suddenly Liu Haiyu spat out a mouthful of blood.

Xu Chunliang realized then that he was injured.

The slender man asked, "Old Hai, are you okay?"

Liu Haiyu shook his head, "No... problem..." But his jaw was trembling, and he appeared far from alright, his face pale as paper, eyebrows frosted, exhaling large puffs of white mist with each breath.

Xu Chunliang immediately recognized Liu Haiyu had been poisoned by cold. He pressed his hand on Liu Haiyu’s back.

Palm on Liu Haiyu’s Spirit Platform Acupoint, a gentle inner strength like a spring breeze entered Liu Haiyu’s body through his clothes. As Xu Chunliang’s inner strength reached Liu Haiyu’s Spirit Platform, cold air from all directions surged towards it, trying to repel his inner strength.

Xu Chunliang was certain Liu Haiyu was poisoned by cold. He touched Liu Haiyu’s forehead, feeling the icy touch like that of touching cold ice.

Xu Chunliang dared not forcefully use inner strength to expel the cold poison in Liu Haiyu’s body. His meridians were already damaged, and using force would only aggravate the damage.

Liu Haiyu’s face turned from pale to blue; eyebrows and hair gathered frost, his whole body trembled. Earlier, he could speak, but now he was so cold he couldn’t make a sound, only his eyes continuously moved. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The slender man said, "Take him to a hospital. Something might be seriously wrong."

Xu Chunliang replied, "He’s poisoned by cold, and a hospital won’t help. Is there a safe place where I can help him expel the poison?"

The slender man said, "Yes!"

Fifteen minutes later, the slender man’s speedboat moved from Weishan Lake into the old canal, stopping beside a dilapidated wharf.

By this time, Liu Haiyu’s limbs were stiff, and he could no longer stand. The slender man reached out to support him, but when his hand touched Liu Haiyu’s, he recoiled as if bitten by a snake, "So cold!"

The slender man’s first thought was whether Liu Haiyu was dead. How could a living person have such a low body temperature? However, seeing that Liu Haiyu was evidently still breathing, with white mist puffing from his nostrils, and his eyes moving occasionally, it was clear that Liu Haiyu was struggling to maintain consciousness, fearing people might think he was dead.

Xu Chunliang carried Liu Haiyu on his back. The slender man led the way in front, guiding them to a nearby ramshackle stone house, and pushed open the door.

Although there’s no electricity inside, there is an emergency lamp. After turning it on, I see there’s only a bed, a table, and two chairs in the room. The furniture is all broken and shabby, not sure where it was picked from.

The thin man said, "How’s this place?"

Xu Chunliang nodded and said, "Help me sit him down and take off his shirt."

The thin man did as Xu Chunliang instructed, removing Liu Haiyu’s shirt. Liu Haiyu’s body was covered with scars, and on his right shoulder was a round scar, clearly a mark left by a bullet.

Xu Chunliang thought to himself, what kind of hardships did Liu Haiyu go through to have so many scars?

The thin man pointed to Liu Haiyu’s back, "Green palm imprint..."

Xu Chunliang had already noticed the palm print on Liu Haiyu’s back, which was a dark green, distinctly separate from the surrounding skin. When he touched the palm print, it was very hot, but the surrounding skin was cold as ice.

The thin man said, "Do you want to send him to the hospital?"

Xu Chunliang said, "You go outside and keep watch, don’t let anyone in. If I don’t call you, you can’t come in."

The thin man nodded, though he’s not familiar with Xu Chunliang, it looks like this guy has some skills.

Xu Chunliang placed his palm on Liu Haiyu’s back, channeling Inner Strength, a small stream of True Qi entered Liu Haiyu’s body. Liu Haiyu, who originally felt he had plunged into an ice cave, sensed a warm current entering his body. His jaw began to tremble again; his mouth and tongue were so frozen he couldn’t speak.

"I’m... I’m so cold... Can... can you turn on the air conditioner..."

Xu Chunliang sighed and said, "You’ve frozen yourself into a stupor, this shabby house doesn’t have an air conditioner. Don’t even talk about air conditioning, even if you were hugging a stove, you’d still feel cold. If I’m not mistaken, you were hit by the Asura Profound Yin Palm; if you don’t immediately remove the cold poison from your body, I’m afraid you’ll either die or be crippled."

Liu Haiyu knew Xu Chunliang wasn’t exaggerating, looking at him eagerly, "You... save... save me..."

Xu Chunliang said, "It’s amusing, even when you’re in such a miserable state, you try playing tricks with me. I’m your uncle!"

Liu Haiyu didn’t mean that at all, Xu Chunliang of course knew this, and just said it deliberately.

Liu Haiyu said shakily, "If I... I... really wanted to harm... harm you... I wouldn’t have... turned back to pick you up..."

Xu Chunliang laughed, "If you hadn’t turned back to pick me up, next year today would be your death anniversary. Old Liu, oh Old Liu, despite my trust in you, you dare play tricks on me, use me as bait. If not for my good fortune, I would have died on the boat tonight because of you."

Liu Haiyu shivered, "Dragon bone... Dragon bone, all... all for you..."

Xu Chunliang said, "Where?"

"In... the crotch..."

Xu Chunliang opened Liu Haiyu’s pants pocket, reached inside, finding a cloth bag which contained eight dragon bones he stole from the boat. This guy really knows where to hide things, what a smelly spot!

Xu Chunliang said, "You really are no good." Under the lamp, he examined the dragon bones. Of the eight dragon bones, four he had seen before, and four were new to him. Xu Chunliang felt secretly pleased, today’s trip wasn’t in vain, despite how many traps Liu Haiyu set, the victory was still his.

Xu Chunliang put away the dragon bones.

Liu Haiyu thought he was leaving, his voice shaking, "Save... save me..."

Xu Chunliang said, "Even if you call me uncle now, it wouldn’t help. You’ve not only set me up and harmed me, you also gave me a green hat, and the most infuriating thing is you cheated me out of a thousand bucks. A noble person can be killed but not humiliated, you know? You’re on your own."

Liu Haiyu looked pathetically at Xu Chunliang, too cold to speak, wondering if this guy’s character was really that bad? You’ve taken the dragon bones, now you’re just going to leave me here.

Xu Chunliang said to let him fend for himself, but didn’t actually intend to leave. He took out the needle pouch he carried: "Consider yourself lucky, thinking of the dragon bones you found for me, I’ll help detoxify you. But this process is going to hurt, brace yourself."

Xu Chunliang pulled out a needle, looked at Liu Haiyu, "Not speaking? What, you don’t want me to save you?"

Liu Haiyu thought, I’m not not talking, I just can’t speak right now. Now, it’s not just my mouth that’s frozen; even my thoughts are numb. He blinked hard to signal he wanted help desperately.

Xu Chunliang said, "I can save you, but you have to promise to help me find the other dragon bones. If you agree, just blink your eyes."

Liu Haiyu quickly blinked, saving his life was crucial, right now he’d agree to any condition Xu Chunliang proposed. But could this guy really cure him?