"Run!"
Liu Tiezhu shouted, then dashed toward the left street without hesitation.
Almost at the same moment, a hail of bullets rained in, striking the wall and bursting into dazzling sparks.
The two sprinted over twenty meters and ducked into a dim, narrow alley.
Yang Hua gasped for air, his body pressed against the wall, soaked through with cold sweat. He opened his mouth to speak: "Brother Tiezhu, we..."
Liu Tiezhu cut him off with a wave of his hand, then pointed toward the alley entrance.
Yang Hua followed his gaze and saw two men cautiously approaching with guns raised.
The alley was pitch-black, and neither of the two men noticed the pair pressed against the wall just ten meters away.
Seeing this, Yang Hua immediately raised his gun, but Liu Tiezhu pushed it down again.
If they fired now, their position would be exposed in no time.
Then the Li family would surround them from all sides, and they'd die in this alley.
"Don't move. Watch me."
Liu Tiezhu lowered his voice in warning, then pulled out a compound crossbow, aiming at the men slowly advancing.
When they were six meters away, the two men finally spotted Liu Tiezhu and Yang Hua.
Their faces changed, and they moved to pull the triggers.
But Liu Tiezhu's crossbow had already locked onto them.
The moment the two men made a move, bamboo arrows pierced through their necks.
They clutched their throats tightly, mouths open as if to cry for help.
But as soon as they opened their mouths, blood gurgled up from their throats.
Liu Tiezhu quickly stepped forward and fired two more arrows into their bodies.
After taking out the two men, Liu Tiezhu and Yang Hua didn't leave. They stayed hidden in the alley.
They waited in the alley for about ten minutes when another set of footsteps approached.
But these footsteps didn't stop; they passed right by the alley entrance.
Once the footsteps faded, Liu Tiezhu lowered his voice and asked Yang Hua what had happened.
Yang Hua didn't hold back and spilled everything.
It turned out that the Ming family had sent Yang Hua's team to spy on the Li family, to figure out their firepower deployment in the southern part of the city.
At first, things went smoothly. Yang Hua and his six teammates managed to get the Li family's outer perimeter layout.
The mission should have been complete, and they could have returned safely.
But Jiang Changchun, the team leader for this mission, changed his mind on a whim.
He ordered everyone to push deeper and find out the Li family's internal deployment and troop numbers.
Eager for greater credit, the team discussed it and agreed to go deeper.
Little did they know, Jiang Changchun was a mole planted by the Li family within the Ming family.
As soon as they entered the core area, a large force from the Li family swarmed out to surround them.
Yang Hua was incredibly lucky to escape in the chaos.
After hearing this, Liu Tiezhu asked, "The Ming family has plenty of moles in the Li family too, right?"
Whatever the Li family could do, the Ming family surely would as well.
Yang Hua nodded. "Yeah, the Ming family has plenty of moles in the Li family too."
"I'm just damn unlucky to have been assigned to a team with a mole. Nearly got myself killed."
"Good thing I ran into you, Brother Tiezhu, or I'd be dead tonight."
Just as Yang Hua finished speaking, more footsteps sounded from outside.
Judging by the footsteps, Liu Tiezhu estimated at least ten people.
"Search every inch carefully. Don't let that bastard Yang Hua get away."
"Brother Jiang worked hard to become team leader. We can't let his cover be blown."
As the footsteps passed, they heard shouts from outside.
"Looks like the Li family really values Jiang Changchun," Liu Tiezhu said.
"That bastard is now the team leader of the Ming family's intelligence unit. He's got his hands on some of their gray-market businesses."
"If I make it back alive, it'll be a huge loss for the Li family," Yang Hua said.
Liu Tiezhu asked, "Jiang Changchun must be pretty skilled to become the intelligence team leader, right?"
Yang Hua replied, "His skills are average, but he's a relative of Jiang Hu, the Ming family's examiner. He got in through connections."
"But that scumbag is really good at gathering intel. He's pulled off several big wins for the Ming family."
"He's not good at gathering intel. The Li family deliberately leaked unimportant information to build him up, so he could quickly earn the Ming family's trust," Liu Tiezhu analyzed.
Yang Hua paused, then thought back to every mission he'd been on with Jiang Changchun.
He realized that every time Jiang Changchun led the team, the missions went surprisingly smoothly.
He'd always thought it was because Jiang Changchun was capable.
But now, with Liu Tiezhu's analysis, he saw that Jiang Changchun had no real skill at all.
The missions went smoothly only because the Li family was secretly padding his record.
Snapping back to reality, Yang Hua cursed, "Damn it, that bastard was hiding deep."
"If I hadn't escaped tonight, he'd go back and report that the ambush wiped us all out."
"Given his past record, the Ming family would never suspect he's a Li family mole."
Liu Tiezhu said, "Enough talk now. The Li family will stop at nothing to protect Jiang Changchun."
"You've been in town long enough to know the area. We need to find a way out."
From the footsteps they'd heard, the area was probably surrounded by the Li family.
Staying hidden in the alley wasn't a solution. Once dawn broke, they'd be in danger.
Yang Hua didn't hesitate. He quickly pulled out paper and a pen and started drawing.
A few minutes later, he explained to Liu Tiezhu the directions from north, south, east, and west, along with obstacles and hiding spots.
After listening, Liu Tiezhu directly asked Yang Hua which route would get them to Ming family territory the fastest.
"North Street." Yang Hua pointed to the red line he'd drawn and continued, "If we can think of it, the Li family will too."
"I bet by now, they've set up an ambush all along North Street, waiting for us to walk right in."
"Then we'll take North Street," Liu Tiezhu said.
Yang Hua looked up, staring blankly at Liu Tiezhu.
"Brother Tiezhu, did I hear that right?"
"We're really going to North Street?"
"Ever heard the saying, the most dangerous place is often the safest?" Liu Tiezhu said.
"But..."
Before Yang Hua could finish, Liu Tiezhu cut him off with a wave, then took the paper and pen from his hand.
"North Street has seven alleys and fifty-seven households."
"These places are a maze."
"For the Li family to fully surround it, they'd need over a hundred men."
"We'll pick one of the seven alleys as our escape route."
"If we don't make a sound, we can easily slip through their encirclement."
Liu Tiezhu wasn't being reckless. His confidence came from his greatest asset—the compound crossbow.
It could silently take out the Li family's men.
As long as they didn't cause a commotion, the Li family wouldn't notice them.
Yang Hua paused, then looked at the crossbow in Liu Tiezhu's hand, immediately understanding his plan.
"Brother Tiezhu, which alley do we take?"
Liu Tiezhu thought for a moment, then pointed to the middle alley.
"This is the shortest and straightest route to Ming family territory, and it's probably where the Li family's defenses are weakest."
"They'd never expect us to be bold enough to take the middle path."