Knife Bean, also known as Shadow Five, drew his blade and spun around to slash horizontally. Another Quzhao soldier was struck in the neck, blood spraying everywhere.
The young officer was furious. He hadn’t expected that there was more than one Han spy, and he charged at Shadow Five with his sword.
He had only taken two steps when his entire body suddenly lifted off the ground.
His feet left the earth—floating?!
Pfft.
Yao Ji heaved with force, flinging the young officer impaled by Mo Lin. Blood arced through the air like a rainbow.
Except, it was entirely red.
“Open the city gates!” he roared.
Xie Nanxiao and Shuangjiang were cutting their way down from the horse path, along with the Dragon Shadow Guards behind them, firing arrows in rapid succession at the Quzhao soldiers.
Yao Ji, Shadow Three, and Shadow Five ran toward the city gates, soon clashing with the gate guards.
Because Shanguan County was not far from Gefeng, and they knew that Gefeng had been breached from within by the Jinyang Army, the gate guards had been heavily reinforced on ordinary days.
This was also why Shadow Three and Shadow Five alone could not kill the gate guards and open the gates directly—Shanguan County was nothing like the old Gefeng.
Most of the drawbridge mechanisms were still on the gate tower, meaning that if they wanted to break through from the inside, they not only had to kill the gate guards but also take out the soldiers on the tower and along the wall.
However, their main task was intelligence gathering. Their mission was essentially complete. Now they only needed to coordinate with the main army to storm the city.
On top of that, Quzhao soldiers kept rushing in from the city in response to the drumbeats, turning the battle fierce.
Shuangjiang swung her blade, killing as if she were a god of destruction. Quzhao soldiers fell before her like chopped melons and vegetables, limbs flying.
In no time, she reached the rear of Yao Ji and the others. With one slash, she cleaved a Quzhao soldier from shoulder to waist.
Her blade spun, meeting another charging Quzhao soldier.
The soldier felt his own sword pressed down, and then—there was no ‘and then.’
Soon, the several dozen Quzhao soldiers at the west gate were utterly annihilated. Yao Ji and the others quickly moved aside the corpses blocking the gate.
Zhou Sui rode his horse across the drawbridge and stopped before the city gates, watching as the heavy doors slowly opened, revealing Yao Ji and the others, blood-stained and weary.
“Execute the plan,” he said, riding into the gate tunnel, followed by mounted crossbowmen and infantry.
The troops quickly split into several squads and galloped off into the city.
Voices rang through the city: “People of the city, listen! Shut your doors and windows. Do not walk outside, or you will be killed without mercy!”
“People of the city, listen! Shut your doors and windows. Do not walk outside, or you will be killed without mercy!”
Kong Xinshu hid behind the clinic door, peering through the crack at the soldiers drenched in murderous aura and blood as they thundered through the streets.
Listening to their warnings, a chill ran through his heart, and he was filled with worry. He wondered who these people were.
No matter how brutal, they must be better than the Quzhao, he thought uncertainly.
Just as he was thinking, he saw a familiar figure gallop past the street.
Kong Xinshu’s pupils contracted.
The figure was covered in blood, but he still recognized him—Sanqi!
Even though Sanqi’s current cold, fierce aura was worlds apart from his former honest and simple demeanor.
He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. He should have known. Back then, when Mei Sheng went to such great lengths to find him, just to sell him two slaves—now that he thought about it, the whole thing had seemed suspicious from the start.
As it turned out, the Mei family must have found a powerful backer. He only hoped these people were not bloodthirsty villains.
Thinking of his daughter, his face grew even more troubled. His hand rested on the door bolt, gripping it, then letting go.
Seeing soldiers stationed every few steps along the street, and still more soldiers capturing people, he finally withdrew his restless hand.
He sighed dejectedly. Even if he stepped outside, he wouldn’t be able to leave the street.
Suo Qian and Mu Zhuo, along with Luo Zhong and a dozen medicine apprentices, had entered the city with the main army and set up a temporary clinic in a relatively safe spot not far from the west gate.
Liu Mi, who had been busy managing the refugee plague, had long since stopped returning to Gefeng City, so naturally, he hadn’t come for this battle.
The wounded were soon carried in, and the two of them got to work…
County Office.
“Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! The Jinyang Army has broken in!” A servant stumbled and crawled inside.
The county magistrate was pacing anxiously in the hall. At his words, he was horrified: “The city is breached? How is that possible?”
It had been less than half an hour since the drumming on the tower. And this was a siege!
The servant was panicking. “It’s true! I saw it! The streets are full of Jinyang soldiers!”
The magistrate felt darkness encroach before his eyes. “Is Qu Tianshi eating nothing but rice? How long has it been? Where is he?”
The servant’s voice trembled. “I don’t know. The city... the city is breached. Probably... probably...”
Just then, the steward rushed in: “Master, many people are fleeing through the other gates. We should go too. If we delay any longer, we won’t make it.”
The magistrate’s face was grim. He grit his teeth. “Right, right. Let’s leave first.”
“Master, is the city really breached?” A Quzhao woman in her forties walked out from the inner room.
Beside her stood two children, one older and one younger—her and the magistrate’s son and daughter.
The magistrate nodded. “Yes. Have your things been packed? We’re leaving immediately.”
The woman shook her head. “That was so quick. How could I have packed anything?”
The magistrate had no time for complaints. “Travel light. Leave at once. Leave everything behind.”
But the woman was slightly dissatisfied. “Husband, I went through a lot to get these things. The servants are already packing. It’ll be done soon—just the valuables. Nothing else.”
“Woman’s foolishness!” the magistrate snapped, eager to flee the city at once.
He shouted at the steward: “Are the horses and carriages ready?”
The steward quickly replied: “All ready. We can leave now.”
As he spoke, a dozen servants came out carrying large and small boxes.
Along with them came several beautiful Han women—the magistrate’s Han concubines.
The woman glanced coldly at them. “We’re escaping for our lives. We can’t bring these concubines. They’ll only slow us down.”
The magistrate had no objection to this. As long as he escaped, he could acquire as many Han women as he wanted. Sacrificing these was nothing.
A sarcastic smile curled at the corner of the woman’s mouth. He called them his darlings on ordinary days, but when danger came, hah!
“Then kill them,” the woman said, hatred flashing in her eyes.
The magistrate waved his hand dismissively as he walked out. “Kill them, kill them. Do whatever you want. Hurry up.”
Right now, he couldn’t care less about those women. He only wanted to escape the city.
Immediately, several guards bearing large blades walked toward the women.
The Han women trembled uncontrollably, backing away, but the hall was small, and soon there was no room to retreat.
