Chapter 76: Trapped Beneath the Water

The burly man appeared at my side so suddenly that I had no time to react. As he snatched away my pistol, Qin Tian fired his gun. With a graceful sidestep, the burly man dodged the incoming bullet, leaving Qin Tian momentarily frozen, his hand still poised in the shooting stance.

To be able to dodge even the rapid fire of a Desert Eagle—no wonder Qin Tian wore such an expression. As the boss of the Azure Dragon Gang, he had survived countless scrapes over the years and honed a keen sense of danger. Shaking off his brief astonishment, Qin Tian responded quickly, firing two more shots in rapid succession—one aimed at the burly man's head, the other into the empty space to his left.

By the time Qin Tian fired the second shot, I had already guessed his intention. The burly man probably didn’t know I possessed a spatial ring; what did it matter if he seized my revolver? I had plenty more. Without hesitation, I summoned another revolver with a thought and fired two shots, sealing off all possible escape routes for the burly man. At the same time, my other hand was already gripping a prepared revolver, and I unleashed five or six more rounds at his position. The burly man stood firm, his feet unmoving, yet with a few twists of his upper body, he dodged every single bullet.

What the hell is this, The Matrix? If only he were missing the sunglasses and the trench coat… How are we supposed to fight this? Run, damn it. I instantly teleported to Qin Tian, grabbed his large hand, and dashed away. The burly man gave chase, close behind. I glanced back—damn, he was right on our heels. There was no choice: time to ride the wind. I soared upward, expecting to shake him off, but to my shock, the burly man could fly as well. We were almost at the hiding place of Yu Jing and the Dragon-Tiger sisters when the burly man reached out and grabbed my collar. I lost control, plummeting from midair.

“Run! Don’t worry about me!” I shouted at Qin Tian’s retreating back. He glanced over his shoulder and fired two more rounds from his Desert Eagle. The legendary gun god was reduced to a mere ornament in the eyes of the burly man. Qin Tian set Xu Qinghuan down and turned back to me.

“Old Li, I’d never leave a brother behind!” Qin Tian declared, standing between me and danger.

The burly man clapped his hands. “Such deep brotherhood! Then you two can die together!”

“Wait!” came an aged voice from behind. Oh, Qin Tian, why did you have to come back? Now not only have we failed to rescue anyone, but you’ve gotten yourself trapped too. It’s over, truly over this time. Time to feed the zombies, I suppose.

“These two have ruined my plans. How could I let them die so easily? Tie them up!” The voice was unmistakable—it was that pus-filled high priest. At his command, iron chains were fastened around Qin Tian and me. Xu Qinghuan was hauled back as well, still unconscious.

We were bound like dumplings, the iron chains made of some unknown material that simply wouldn’t break. As we passed the female general, she glanced at me. She was striking, but her eyes held not a shred of emotion—cold as snow in the dead of winter.

“Your struggles are useless. These chains are forged from millennium black ice. You think you can break free?” The high priest’s sinister voice rang out. I longed to go kick him right then. Chairman Mao once said, overthrow all demons and monsters; religious fanaticism is the most dangerous thing of all. Who knows how many families it has destroyed? If I make it out alive, I’ll find a way to wipe out this wretched organization.

“Reporting, High Priest—the barrier on the west side has collapsed, water is pouring in!” A soldier clad in soft armor knelt and spoke.

The high priest turned a cold gaze on Qin Tian and me. “Take them to the altar. I want them to watch themselves die, slowly.” A sneer twitched at his lips. “General Wushuang, come with me.”

The female general followed the high priest into the distance. Soldiers dragged us up to the altar, shoving and pulling, while Xu Qinghuan was placed back into the coffin. Whatever the high priest planned, it couldn’t be good. I quietly summoned a revolver from my spatial ring, gripping it in my hand. It would be easy to take out the soldiers, but the burly man was still on the altar—a formidable opponent. I doubted Qin Tian and I could defeat him; the gap in strength was too great. So what now? A frontal assault was out of the question. Was there a way to outwit them? I racked my brains, but no solution came to mind. Qin Tian turned his head and winked at me—had he thought of something? Meanwhile, the burly man and several soldiers stood on the altar like statues; if they were in the army, they’d be outstanding soldiers.

“Old Li, don’t you have a double?” Qin Tian mouthed the words. I’d never seen anyone use lip reading before, but after he repeated it a few times, I finally understood. Of course—I had a double. If I could summon my double, maybe I’d find a way out.

But the problem was how to summon my double with everyone watching. Even if the double couldn’t help, at least it could warn Yu Jing and the others to retreat—better than dying here together.

At that moment, Qin Tian suddenly collapsed, wailing in pain. The burly man and the soldiers rushed over to check on him. I realized he was creating a diversion for me to summon my double. Not daring to waste a second, I closed my eyes and focused my mind, summoning the double. The burly man and the soldiers were checking on Qin Tian, but perhaps realizing he was faking, the burly man kicked him hard in the abdomen, sending him flying and curling up in real agony this time.

Brother, sorry for putting you through this. Just as the burly man spun around to face me, a blur shot out from my body, darting to a corner of the altar and hiding itself. The burly man, seeing nothing amiss, returned to his original spot, standing with his hands behind his back like a wooden stake.

I shifted my vision to my double, who slid down the altar’s corner post. Thankfully, the summoning had succeeded. Now to warn Yu Jing and the others. The double had all my abilities—a second self in every way. Still, something about it felt off, though I couldn’t say exactly what.

The double raced toward the hiding place where Yu Jing and the others were concealed. On the way, it ran into the high priest and the female general—presumably they had just patched up the breach. I slipped to the right, taking advantage of the dim light. The high priest didn’t notice, but the female general seemed to sense something. Her icy eyes swept in my direction. Had she discovered me?