Miao Yi raised his hand and looked at the white centipede squirming around on his spearhead. This was the one that had attacked him just before he jumped away. At the moment, he could feel the pressure coming from his spearhead as it struggled. It had a fearsome appearance, and its body was slightly translucent.
Looking at the dragon steed that had just been killed, the corners of Cheng Yingwu's lips curled into a smile. In fact, all three of them were smiling. Their plan was precisely to get rid of Miao Yi's mount and prevent him from running away.
"Sixth Young Lady!" one of the escorts called out.
Cheng Yingwu raised her arm and waved it down, and her two escorts immediately broke off on their mounts to attack Miao Yi.
Miao Yi flicked his spear and prepared for battle. However, he suddenly felt a strange vibration coming from underneath his feet. He immediately guessed that those centipedes were probably crawling underground again.
Draconic roars resounded as the Qilin Spear danced under the moonlight. Miao Yi then fiercely stabbed it into the sand dune beneath his feet.
A powerful blaze instantly erupted from his spearhead underground, and the centipedes that were preparing to attack from below ground immediately twisted in pain and was turned to ash.
Besides Miao Yi, no one knew what happened underground. Cheng Yingwu and the others could only see a bright glow quickly spreading underneath the sand dune Miao Yi was standing on, as though the sand was being melted away.
As the two attackers approached on their mounts, the dragon steeds immediately felt something amiss as a wave of intense heat suddenly assaulted them.
"Harrumph…!" The dragon steeds broke out of their riders' control and attempted to get away, but it was already too late. As a rumbling sound echoed forth, blazing flames quickly crept up from underneath their hooves and ignited both dragon steeds.
The two attackers frantically jumped from their dragon steeds. They were completely caught off guard because they assumed that it would be a simple matter to take Miao Yi's head now that he'd lost his dragon steed's support. Not to mention, they had centipedes ambushing him from underground as well. They never expected to be the ones to suffer a setback instead, with their dragon steeds going completely out of control, then collapsing right before their eyes and set ablaze. Feeling the high temperatures coming from the ground even while they were in the air, the two of them were completely bewildered. They didn't dare to land on the ground at all.
While still in mid-air, the two of them brandished their weapons and swung them at each other. They wanted to use the impact to knock each other away from the danger.
Suddenly, atop the sand dune on the other side, Cheng Yingwu widened her eyes and anxiously called out, "Watch out!"
At the same time, her hands moved deftly, tossing out two curved blades.
By now, Miao Yi had already pulled his spear out of the ground, shooting up to the sky like an arrow towards the two attackers.
The two attackers had no choice but to change their plans as soon as they saw this, and decided to first attack Miao Yi.
Amidst the furious roars of the dragon, two cold glints shot out under the moonlight. Following which, two streaks of hot blood gushed out in the sky.
Miao Yi's spear had found its way into the chest of one of the attackers. And as he drew back the spear and gave it a flick, he beheaded the other person. His spear moved incomparably fast, killing the two attackers in the blink of an eye. He somersaulted backward in mid-air just as swiftly, then knocked away the two curved blades that were thrown at him with a powerful swing of his spear. Finally, he descended on the ground, wielding his spear at an angle. This was the strength of Miao Yi.
Miao Yi's legs didn't stop even after making his landing. He quickly kicked off from the ground, light as a feather, with the spear tracing behind him as he rushed towards Cheng Yingwu who was atop the sand dune on the opposite side.
Behind him, the two corpses that had fallen onto the glowing sands immediately burst into flames. It was evident how high the ground's temperature was.
Cheng Yingwu was utterly shocked. The enemy's spear was simply so fast that she barely saw what had happened before realizing her two subordinates were already dead. Was this attack speed normal for a Blue Lotus cultivator? She immediately understood that this was a powerful foe she was facing. She hastily garbed herself in her Armor Artifact and brandished a pike in her hands.
She made a claw with her other hand, and the two curved blades that were knocked away instantly made an about turn, gunning for Miao Yi once more.
As he quickly closed in on Cheng Yingwu, Miao Yi extended an arm. However, what he had in his grasp was a mirror. As he brandished the Mystic Yin Mirror, a powerful Yin energy instantly erupted forth.
Cheng Yingwu's eyes widened in horror, but there was no longer enough time to turn her steed around and escape. She quickly leaped up, but still couldn't escape the Mystic Yin Mirror's range of attack.
Her mount was frozen on the spot, and Cheng Yingwu herself was encased in a layer of frost and stiffly fell onto the sand.
Miao Yi tucked away the Mystic Yin Mirror and quickly twirled his spear. Two sharp rings resounded as he knocked away the curved blades that were flying towards him. Miao Yi then spread open his palm, drawing in the curved blades that no longer had anyone controlling them.
With a flick of his sleeves, he instantly tucked the curved blades away. He then jumped back, sweeping up the spoils from the ashes of the two corpses behind him and storing them away. After which, he quickly leaped back and landed next to the frozen Cheng Yingwu.
He first placed his palm on the frozen dragon steed and dispersed the Yin energy inside its body. And before it could regain its senses, he quickly tucked it away into his beast sack for future use.
After which, Miao Yi crouched down next to Cheng Yingwu and started taking off her clothes. To be more accurate, he was taking off the Armor Artifact she was wearing. He then felt all around her body, even touching all the parts he wasn't supposed to. As he stripped the other party of all her belongings, he noticed that she had plenty of random items. As expected of someone in the robbing trade. Miao Yi guessed that Cheng Yingwu was probably one of the richer folk here in Flowing Clouds Dune Sea.
However, Miao Yi wasn't concerned about her material wealth. What he was interested to know was if she had any documents on her that could help him figure out the identity of the person after his life. In the end, all he found was a bunch of women's stuff. There was nothing that could tell him anything substantial about the person who had placed the bounty on him. All he found was a jade archive with a portrait of himself. This was probably the only piece of information that was somewhat relevant to him.
He then placed his palm on Cheng Yingwu's chest and dispelled the Yin energy in her body. However, before she could regain her senses, he swiftly tied her up with an iron chain.
As Cheng Yingwu gradually found her bearings, she noticed that she was already tightly bound. She struggled around for a bit, but there was no use at all. She then turned her head to Miao Yi—who was standing with his back facing her and his spear lodged into the ground—and immediately shouted, "Niu Er, you'd better let me go! If not, you'll die a horrible death!"
"Let you go? It's not like I was expecting you to let me live anyway!" Miao Yi replied coolly. He then turned around and pulled his spear off the ground, pointing the sharp spearhead right onto Cheng Yingwu's chest. "Spill it! Who paid you guys to kill me?"
Cheng Yingwu laughed coldly. "I don't know anything at all!"
"Stubborn, eh? Don't worry, I won't kill you. I'll just strip you naked and take you to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea. You're the Sixth Young Lady of the Hive Gang. I'm sure you have plenty of other members as well. After this, I'll let the members of your gang know what their Sixth Young Lady looks like when she's stark naked!" Miao Yi was a man of his word. He was already leaning over with a hand on her skirt, about to tear it off.
Cheng Yingwu immediately screamed in horror, "Stop! I really don't know anything! We just receive the payment and do as we're told. Our clients wouldn't reveal any information about their own identities either. All our assassination targets are given to us through a middle-man. The client first pays a deposit, then once the job is done, they'll pay us the balance. They never show their own faces!"
As Miao Yi gave it some thought, he figured this might be the case. He then asked, "How do I find the true culprit that wants me dead then?"
Cheng Yingwu gnashed her teeth and said, "That's impossible, unless you can force the middle-man to confess."
"Who's the middle-man?"
"I don't know! The Sub-Leader is the one in charge of communicating with the middle-man. Besides the Boss and the Sub-Leader, no one knows who the middle-man is."
"You three are the only ones sent to kill me?"
Cheng Yingwu replied resentfully, "That's right! There's no need to deploy a large group to kill a cultivator that isn't at the Red Lotus realm."
Miao Yi wasn't sure if she was telling the truth. He didn't say anything much and just lifted her up, then took out a Second Grade Spear Artifact and ran it through the chain around her shoulders, quickly turning her into the shape of a ten (十) character. With her arms spread out and bound so tightly, Cheng Yingwu really lived up to her namesake of a 'dancing eagle'.
Miao Yi continued to take out a bunch of stuff from his storage ring. He placed a metal frame on top of Cheng Yingwu's shoulders, then attached a chair over it.
Cheng Yingwu was completely horrified by his actions. She screamed, "What are you doing?!"
Miao Yi loosened the bindings around her legs, then jumped up and sat himself on the chair behind her back. With both feet on her shoulders, he leaned over and pulled on her tiny braids, tugging at her scalp with force as he said, "You killed my mount, so now, the only thing I can do is use you as a substitute horse. Now, onwards to Flowing Clouds Dune Sea!"
Having to carry a full-grown man over her shoulders, Cheng Yingwu bellowed furiously, "Are you even a man?!"
"Not like I thought of you as a woman anyway. Now, hurry up and run!"
"No way! You might as well just kill me!"
"Do you want me to strip you naked THEN make you run?"
"You f*cking lowlife!" Cheng Yingwu let out a shrill scream.
Rip! Miao Yi lowered his spear and gave a light flick, and a large portion of Cheng Yingwu's skirt was instantly torn off by the spearhead. Fortunately for her, she also had a pair of pants underneath.
"Stop! I'll run!" Cheng Yingwu shouted in horror. She immediately dashed forward with Miao Yi sitting over her shoulders.
As he gently swayed back and forth on top of Cheng Yingwu's shoulders, Miao Yi pulled on her braids again and said coldly, "Run faster! When will we reach Flowing Clouds Dune Sea at this rate?"
There was no describing the frustration on Cheng Yingwu's face. She immediately invoked her arts and broke out into a desperate sprint. She was trying to vent out her frustration this way as well. However, deep down, she was cursing Miao Yi, 'Just you wait. I'll definitely make you wish you were dead later on."
This sight painted a strange picture under the moonlight. A woman was carrying a chair over her shoulder with her arms spread out, and seated on that chair was a man. And the woman was carrying this man while frantically running.
As he continued to sway comfortably over Cheng Yingwu's shoulders, Miao Yi took out a jade archive and wrote down a letter. After which, he took out a spirit eagle from his beast sack, attached the letter to it and sent it off.
The letter was addressed to Traversing Water Palace. It reported that Miao Yi and his team were ambushed by the Hive Gang not long after entering the desert and that all the members except him had perished. Miao Yi reported that the situation here was perilous and that it was hard for him to finish this mission on his own. He requested to be called back!
He didn't mention anything about subduing Cheng Yingwu alive, however. He also didn't write down that someone had employed the Hive Gang to come after his life. How was it possible for a bunch of thieves from Flowing Clouds Dune Sea to be so informed of such a top-secret mission from the administration? The thought itself was preposterous. The only explanation there could be was that someone from the administration had leaked the information out. Miao Yi couldn't figure out who that person was for the time being. However, there was no way his enemies in Suppressing Tenth Hall would have any idea about this, given that he himself hadn't known about the journey or the arrival time beforehand. There was a good chance that this was orchestrated by someone from a much higher level.
That said, this made things more confusing for him as well. If someone from the administration wanted him dead and had a high enough status that they could access information regarding this top-secret mission, why didn't they just kill him straight away? Why make their move in such a roundabout manner? Did Cheng Yingwu and her group really think that he was a Subjugation Crusade survivor for show—that they believed they could kill him with their puny force? This was proof that the Hive Gang didn't know anything about him at all. Perhaps they didn't even know his true name. Else, they wouldn't have sent such a small group to kill him. This was also the reason why Miao Yi believed Cheng Yingwu's words and didn't go too hard on her.