Then, he threw one of the men to the ground and began a life-and-death struggle.

This fight lasted less than two minutes before it was over. Nearly all of Master Bao’s group of more than twenty people were killed, with Su Xuan having taken down nearly two-thirds of them. Bu Daming, as if fueled by adrenaline, surprisingly took out five, which was beyond Su Xuan’s expectations.

"Brother Bu, you did great. Quickly, see if they have any golden sore medicine on them!"

Su Xuan gripped the Heroic Sword with both hands, supporting himself on the ground. His hands were slightly trembling; it was a side effect of dehydration and extreme hunger. If there were a few more, Su Xuan wouldn’t have been able to handle it.

"Got it!"

Bu Daming hurriedly handed a packet of golden sore medicine to Su Xuan. After Su Xuan received it, he quickly went to Luo Tianyi’s side.

"Get lost..."

Luo Tianyi leapt up and directly jabbed at Su Xuan with a steel needle in hand.

"Bang!"

But just as he jumped, Bu Daming kicked him back down.

"Damn, that scared me to death. Brother Bu, I owe you one!" Su Xuan patted his chest, feeling speechless internally, relieved by his own quick reflexes, nearly being killed by this woman.

If not for Bu Daming, Su Xuan would have been stabbed to death, since his reflexes were slow now, and he hadn’t expected this woman to be so tricky, launching a sneak attack. If not for Bu Daming’s quick eyes and hands, he would have really met a wrongful end here.

"Miss Luo, the young brother was just saving everyone. What are you doing!"

Bu Daming was also full of admiration for his own swift kick earlier, amazed at his sudden burst of strength.

"He’s sick, ignore him. Brother Bu, come and lend a hand!"

As Su Xuan spoke, he used Dark Strength, quickly applying pressure on the wounds of the three top fighters dozens of times, then poured the golden sore medicine in. He then found some cloth strips, bandaged their wounds, and finally breathed a sigh of relief before collapsing onto a dune. By now, darkness had fully enveloped the sky.

"Big brother, you just faked surrendering!" Brother Meng finally realized his big brother had faked surrendering. Damn, no wonder big brother is such an actor; even he got fooled.

"Nonsense, what else then? Fight them? With so few of us, how could we fight? I haven’t drunk water for two days, severely dehydrated, maybe can kill two at most!"

Su Xuan at this point sat up, semi-leaning against the dune.

"Young man, have some water and food!"

Bu Daming handed Su Xuan a cup of hot water and two sesame cakes.

"Young man, what’s going on? To this moment, I haven’t come to my senses!"

Huo Qiyin said bewilderedly. Not just Huo Qiyin, everyone hadn’t quite caught up to what happened, except Brother Meng, who understood his big brother was not a pushover, knowing him too well to believe he would truly surrender. Brother Meng knew his big brother would only leave someone disabled, never surrender genuinely.

"Actually, after Little Brother saw Fu die, he knew these people would start slaughtering us next. They aren’t ordinary folks; they came to kill. Once it started, as we’re dehydrated, how many could we kill..."

Actually, Su Xuan had already sensed Master Bao’s strong Killing Aura before Fu’s incident. They initially planned to shoot us all with arrows, but refrained, tempted by lustful thoughts instead, buying Su Xuan a short opportunity, exploiting it.

He noticed Master Bao enjoyed the feeling of others kneeling to him, so Su Xuan played into it. Ultimately, Master Bao was tragically fooled, and Su Xuan, in actuality, never genuinely killed anyone. A skilled person like him could strike to miss all vital organs. So, while it seemed he killed three, he only scratched their skin superficially. The three were actually fine.

How could Su Xuan not have basic survival instincts? He already had salt in his mouth before drinking water, knowing he had to regain initiative by restoring power. Though uninjured, his fatigue mainly came from dehydration. Once water was replenished, substantial power returned, creating a chance to fight back.

Still, Su Xuan greatly admired Bu Daming. This old guy rolled within this man-eating desert for over ten years and was the first to see through his plot, joining him to enact a melodramatic scene.

When Su Xuan fought Bu Daming for water, he actually whispered in his ear, advising on attacking movements. Bu Daming genuinely admired Su Xuan. Despite guessing Su Xuan’s plan, seeing him strategize so brilliantly was astonishing.

Once everyone understood what had transpired, shock rippled through them. None expected the scenes to have such melodrama, completely beyond predictable. No one foresaw this turn of events.

"Big brother, you’re truly an actor; I really thought you betrayed us moments ago?"

Brother Meng praised with awe, inwardly acknowledging his big brother’s remarkable shrewdness, an unimaginable feat others probably couldn’t mimic at gunpoint.

Luo Tianyi, upon realizing the entire story, was still filled with disbelief, somewhat unable to accept. As they say, "There’s gold beneath a man’s knees," yet he deemed it over-the-top to resort to such measures for survival.

"Miss Luo, honestly, it was your brilliant acting that convinced Master Bao that the young brother was a survival-driven guy without scruples. But don’t you think he’s somewhat dishonorable?"

"I didn’t say that, but indeed I struggle to accept such actions. ’There’s gold beneath a man’s knees’; many things surpass mere life,"

Luo Tianyi exclaimed excitedly. After she finished, Su Xuan smiled helplessly and replied,

"Sorry, Miss, I’m not as noble as you are. Indeed, I was acting today, but one truth remains—I fear death. If necessary, I really would sacrifice those three housekeepers of yours!"