From the fusion of Tongbei Quan to the Longevity Martial Saint

The other party was clearly very accurate.

The object was thrown with a short, sharp sound, as fast as lightning!

It shot straight at the back of Panson's neck!

Pan Song's pupils suddenly contracted!

The keen senses and honed reflexes of a seventh-level Body Tempering expert were on full display at this moment.

He didn't even turn around completely.

His upper body suddenly swayed to the left!

At the same time, his right hand, fingers pointing outwards, flashed like lightning, leaving a blurry afterimage in the air as it swept towards the incoming cold light from behind!

Snapped!

A soft sound.

Two long, slender, and fair fingers, yet containing terrifying power, firmly held a three-inch-long diamond-shaped dart with a small roll of paper tied to its end!

The tip of the dart was less than half an inch from the skin on the side of his neck!

The cold, metallic touch traveled through my fingertips.

Pan Song's eyes were sharp as an eagle's as he suddenly looked up in the direction from which the dart had come.

A dark shadow seemed to flash by outside the ventilation hole.

It quickly blended into the shadows of the surrounding mountains and forests and disappeared.

"Second-in-command!"

"Someone's attacking!"

The other seven or eight salt bandits who were resting or eating dry rations inside the cave were startled. They grabbed their weapons, jumped up, and nervously looked at the cave entrance and ventilation holes.

"What's the panic!"

Pan Song gave a low shout, calming his slightly flustered subordinates.

He did not order a pursuit.

Who knows if this is a trick by that bastard Gu Changyuan to lure the tiger away from the mountain or to draw the snake out of its hole?

He lowered his eyelids and looked at the dart that was between his fingers.

Darts are common; they are a standard practice in the martial arts world.

But the small roll of paper tightly bound at the end with a thin string made Pan Song's heart skip a beat.

He used his fingernail to break the string and unrolled the roll of paper.

The handwriting on the paper was messy, clearly written in a very rushed manner.

A trusted aide with a full beard and sharp eyes leaned closer to Pan Song and asked in a low voice:

"Second Master, this..."

Pan Song did not answer immediately.

His eyes quickly scanned the words on the paper.

It began with scrutiny.

Immediately, his eyebrows twitched slightly.

Immediately afterwards, the corners of his mouth began to uncontrollably turn upwards.

At last……

"Hahaha...hahaha!"

The pent-up frustration of the past few days seemed to find an outlet at this moment.

Pan Song couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed through the cave, making the campfire flicker.

He laughed so hard he was doubled over, and even laughed until tears streamed down his face.

The men around him exchanged bewildered glances, not understanding why their leader was suddenly so cheerful.

The confidant looked even more puzzled:

"Second Master, what makes you so happy? Could it be a turning point?"

Pan Song laughed for a while before slowly stopping.

He wiped away the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes with his fingertips, waved the letter in his hand, and his voice was filled with absurd glee:

"A turning point?"

"It's more than just a turning point!"

"It's truly a case of 'when one door closes, another opens'!"

"I never would have guessed, I really never would have guessed..."

"Ten years ago, I was just making a casual move when I robbed a merchant ship passing by Tiger Beach."

"It was purely out of a perverse sense of humor at the time; I wanted to see what kind of result it would produce."

"I never expected this..."

"This nail, buried for ten years, actually saved my life, and all of yours, at this critical moment!"

The confidant was completely confused:

"Ten years ago? Idle chess? Second-in-command, what exactly is going on...?"

Pan Song seemed to be in high spirits, or rather, he was eager to share this unexpected good news with others.

He glanced at the letter and casually tossed it into the campfire in front of him.

The edges of the paper quickly curled up and turned black.

Pan Song sat back on the rock, much more relaxed, and even tore off another front leg from the roasted rabbit.

"Ten years ago, at Tiger Beach, we hijacked a wealthy merchant ship that came from the south."

"The ship owner was a coward and didn't put up much resistance."

"But his daughter is quite pretty, and has a fiery temper."

Pan Song took a bite of meat, chewing it, his eyes somewhat unfocused, as if he had returned to that bloody night ten years ago.

"I was in a playful mood back then, so I didn't kill her; I spared her life."

"It was only later that we discovered that this woman was carrying the child of some random man."

"I decided to go all the way and threw her whole family into the river to feed the fish, leaving only her alive."

"They were kept in the village at Tiger Beach."

"A few months later, she gave birth to a bastard child."

"I looked at that wrinkled little thing and found it kind of interesting, but also a bit of a hassle."

"Then they had someone throw that little bastard, along with his broken wooden tub, into the river tributary downstream of Tiger Beach."

"Whether he lives or dies depends on fate."

The confidant listened intently:

"And then..."

"later?"

Pan Song scoffed.

"It's just that this bastard's life wasn't meant to end."

"Actually, a salt patrol officer who happened to be passing by pulled him out of the water."

"That copper guard had no son of his own, so he raised this bastard as his own."

"Over the years, although I haven't really managed him, I've always had people keeping a close eye on him."

"I didn't expect this kid to be so promising; he actually managed to get into the Salt Patrol Guard's reserve camp."

A shrewd glint flashed in Pan Song's eyes.

"I saw an opportunity."

"So they sent someone to impersonate his biological father, who had been feeding him fish for a long time, to secretly contact him."

"Tell him that his father was a salt bandit who was killed by the salt patrol and is now hiding elsewhere."

"Over the years, under the guise of supporting his cultivation, I have given him considerable benefits."

"This kid has always believed it without a doubt."

"He really treats his father like his own, and he's single-mindedly thinking about avenging his father and returning to the salt bandits... Oh, in his mind, that's called reviving the family business."

Pan Song pointed towards the direction of the letter that had been completely reduced to ashes in the campfire.

"Look, the reward has come."

"That kid is currently out there, part of the force surrounding and attacking our salt patrol!"

"He took a huge risk to secretly send out the message..."

"It is said that Gu Changyuan only sent thirty people this time to conduct a grid search around Tiger Leaping Gorge."

"The specific search route and time were written down clearly!"

"And he even reminded me... to take care of myself!"

"Hahaha!"

Pan Song couldn't help but laugh again, shaking his head and sighing.

"This fool... he really is a filial son!"

Upon hearing this, the confidant's face also lit up with ecstatic joy:

"Heaven is helping the second-in-command! Does that mean we have complete knowledge of their every move?"

Pan Song's smile slowly faded, and he regained his calm and deep expression.

"That's right. This place is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Unless Lin Ruhai personally leads an attack, even Gu Changyuan won't be able to break through..."

"Gu Changyuan's biggest concern right now is us, this group of desperados."

"He was afraid that if we were pushed too far, we would fight to the death and destroy the account book he was looking for, or hide it somewhere he would never find it."

"That's why he surrounded us without attacking, hoping to slowly wear us down or force us to hand over the account books."

"His sending small teams to search now is just a test and to put pressure on us."

Pan Song tore off the last piece of rabbit meat, stuffed it into his mouth, and swallowed it forcefully.

"All we can do now is wait!"

"Wait until those gentlemen in the capital, who are even more anxious than us and have been like ants on a hot pan, start making their move!"

"I spread the news of the account book all over the city beforehand so that those corrupt officials would be even more afraid than we are of the account book falling into the hands of the Salt Commissioner!"

"They will naturally use all available resources to put pressure on the salt patrol!"

Pan Song finally showed the first truly content expression he had shown in the past three days.

Despite the filthy surroundings, he still felt uncomfortable all over.

But he was already certain in his heart.

"Withdrawal is only a matter of time."

"Perhaps, once things calm down, those officials, to appease us and prevent us from acting rashly, will have to return this lucrative prize of Tiger Beach to us!"

"By then..."

A fleeting glint of ambition flashed in Pan Song's eyes.

"I am the rightful boss of Tiger Beach!"

"With the advantageous terrain there, we can quickly assemble an even larger force than we have now!"

He suddenly remembered something and turned to his trusted aide:

"Oh, by the way, my dutiful son also mentioned something else in his letter."

"He said that someone in the Salt Patrol Guard area seems to have come up with a new gadget called flag signaling, which is used to transmit messages over long distances."

"Immediately assign two of the best-eyed and most quick-witted brothers."

"Try to keep an eye on a few high hills or tall trees outside."

"If you spot anyone arranging strange flags or making similar movements, report back immediately!"

"Yes, Second Boss!"

The trusted confidant perked up, bowed and accepted the order, and strode into the depths of the cave to arrange manpower.

Pan Song then looked at the bonfire again.

The last corner of the letter also turned to ashes, merging with the charcoal.

A cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.

"pity……"

"This silly boy is not of high enough status and has never seen firsthand how flag signals are transmitted."

"But... it doesn't matter anyway."

He patted the oil and dust off his hands and closed his eyes again.

Start conserving energy and building up strength.

……