I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

Whoosh!

A sharp whistling sound approached rapidly, closing in on Zhang Biao.

Although Zhang Biao had drunk a lot of wine and was feeling lightheaded, he was a genuine Copper Skin Realm martial artist. Years of accumulated experience in battle had made him highly alert to danger.

Clang!

The moment he sensed the danger, Zhang Biao drew his broadsword from his waist and swung it backward, trying to block the incoming arrow while leaning forward to dodge.

Suddenly, with a loud 'clang,' the broad blade blocked the high-speed arrow, but the force of the impact numbed his hand, and he almost lost his grip on the sword.

What force!

Zhang Biao was shocked, realizing he was targeted by a heavy bow marksman.

A Copper Skin Realm martial artist's skin is indeed as tough as cowhide, able to resist the invasion of cold, heat, and evil, and withstand ordinary scrapes. But they are most afraid of armor-piercing heavy arrows. Moreover, the opponent was hiding in the dark, and a slight carelessness could cost him his life.

Thinking of this, Zhang Biao dared not be careless and immediately urged his horse to accelerate, trying to escape the danger zone as quickly as possible.

Whoosh!

Another sharp whistling sound came.

The arrows shot from a heavy bow were too fast. Almost as soon as you heard the sound, the arrow would arrive, making it extremely difficult to defend. Therefore, Zhang Biao leaned over the horse's back, urging it to gallop wildly while randomly swinging his sword to defend.

However, this arrow was not aimed at him.

It went straight for the horse's head.

Pfft!

The horse's head was pierced laterally by the arrow, letting out a miserable neigh. The next moment, the horse lost its balance and fell forward. Zhang Biao was thrown to the ground due to the strong inertia. Fortunately, he was agile and immediately rolled on the ground, standing behind a water bucket-sized poplar tree, shrinking his entire body behind the trunk, not daring to move.

Shoot the horse first!

The opponent was an expert.

The fear of death sobered Zhang Biao up, and he constantly glanced around. But he only saw swaying tree shadows and branches moving in the wind. Besides some bird calls, there was no other movement.

The more it was like this, the more panicked Zhang Biao became.

Gulp.

Zhang Biao moved his throat and spoke first: "I am Zhang Biao, a deacon under Hall Master Wei Dian of the White Feather Hall of the Tiger Wolf Gate. May I ask for your esteemed name?"

Xie An, standing in the thorns behind, felt speechless.

I'm planning to kill you, why would I announce my name?

If I have this free time, I'd rather think more about how to kill you.

Xie An tiptoed towards the poplar tree, stopping behind cover when he was about thirty meters away.

This distance was just right. It could ensure that the arrows he shot had considerable accuracy.

Continuing to approach would give Zhang Biao a chance to engage in close combat.

Although Xie An felt that with his current strength and speed, he could completely defeat Zhang Biao, he had never practiced fighting techniques, and close combat was dangerous.

He was old and didn't like risks. A sure win was the most important.

Therefore, Xie An didn't make any sound, not giving Zhang Biao a chance to judge his position by listening.

At this time, Zhang Biao spoke again.

"If I have offended you in any way, please let me know. I will definitely compensate you doubly."

Xie An still didn't answer.

He knew that Zhang Biao kept asking questions to hear his reply and determine his position.

Although thirty meters was relatively safe, Xie An was unwilling to take even the slightest risk.

Not hearing a reply, Zhang Biao continued to coax: "What's the point of this? If we stalemate until dawn, people will come, and your plan to kill me will be ruined. Why don't you propose a condition, and we can turn hostility into friendship?"

Xie An still didn't answer.

Stalemate until dawn?

You're thinking too much…

Xie An quietly went around the poplar tree to the side, raised the heavy bow with his left hand, and skillfully took an arrow from the quiver on his back with his right hand, nocking it on the bowstring. His right index finger pulled the bow to its full draw…

Whoosh!

An arrow shot out with a bang.

He didn't leave the tree immediately but planned to circle around with Xie An, using the tree as cover.

It could be seen that he had rich Jianghu experience and was an old hand.

But then the second arrow came rushing in.

Clang, clang, clang.

Each arrow was stronger than the last, each arrow faster than the last.

In order to assassinate this deacon of the White Feather Hall, Xie An had prepared a full forty arrows. Moreover, he had smeared snake venom on the arrowheads. As long as he could break through Zhang Biao's skin, he was done for.

Unfortunately, Zhang Biao's swordsmanship was indeed powerful. Although he couldn't accurately judge the direction of each arrow, he swung the broadsword in front of him like an electric fan, causing Xie An a lot of trouble.

Soon Xie An realized that brute force wouldn't work. Moreover, his frantic swinging of the big knife was exhausting a lot of energy. It was better to wait until he was tired and shoot the arrow the moment he stopped.

So, Xie An stopped shooting, only drawing the bow to its full draw, hiding in the darkness, nocking an arrow and waiting to shoot.

At this moment, Xie An was like an old hunter, staring intently at his prey.

Only waiting for the prey to tire and stop waving his knife would be the prey's death.

When it came to patience, Xie An believed that he was second to none.

Although drawing the bow to its full draw was exhausting, Xie An had been practicing the Life Nurturing Technique for a long time, and his breath was long and steady. What he had the most of was endurance.

Perhaps Zhang Biao also realized this. After waving the electric fan for a few minutes, he was finally exhausted. His speed had obviously slowed down a lot, and he panted as he said, "Sir, there's no need for this. I apologize to you, I was wrong. Please make a sound and let me off, okay?"

He didn't even know where he had offended the other party and took the initiative to admit his mistake and beg for mercy, showing that his heart was already very fearful and almost collapsing.

Xie An knew that the prey was about to reach the end of its rope. He still didn't speak, only hiding in the darkness and staring at the prey.

In such an environment, silence and the unknown could bring the greatest fear to Zhang Biao.

"Sir, I have five hundred taels at home, I can offer them all to you, okay?" Zhang Biao's electric fan was turning slower and slower, and his heart was becoming more and more frightened.

From the confrontation until now, he didn't even know who the other party was, nor had he seen anyone. But the more it was like this, the greater the fear the other party brought to Zhang Biao.

Unknown existence is the most terrifying.

"Sir, to tell you the truth, I have two thousand taels at home. I can give them all to you, okay."

"I also have a concubine, who is very beautiful. She came from the Yihong Courtyard before, and her skills are top-notch, making people feel like they're in heaven. I can offer her to you."

"I also have…"

As the electric fan turned slower and slower, Zhang Biao knew that the hunter was about to make a move and began to offer various temptations. But the other party didn't make any sound. It was simply breaking Zhang Biao's mentality.

He felt that the experiences of the past ten years combined were not as terrifying as the person in front of him.

He doesn't want money, he doesn't want a wife…

Damn it!

Finally, Zhang Biao couldn't wave his knife anymore, and he didn't know which direction the other party was hiding in. He suddenly jumped up from under the poplar tree and ran wildly towards the distance, shouting.

Just then—

Whoosh!

An arrow broke through the air. Zhang Biao, who was exhausted, could no longer defend. He suddenly felt a chill in the back of his head, and then his whole body fell straight to the ground.

At the moment of his death, he still unwillingly tried to turn his head, finally seeing a person walking out of the darkness. Before he could see the person's appearance clearly, he couldn't hold on any longer, and everything went black…