Furious, the Ji army soldiers stormed into the room.
Perhaps they were so accustomed to throwing their weight around among the women here that even when fleeing for their lives, they could not shake their usual arrogance. They cursed as they entered.
“You filthy slaves, have you grown tired of living? How dare you hide in here and refuse to open the door! Prepare to die!”
The instant he finished speaking, there was a loud thud as the head of the man who had spoken was struck.
Before he could react, two more blows landed in rapid succession. Whether it was a stick or something else, the strikes smashed into his head and left him dizzy.
The Ji army soldiers behind him reacted quickly, shouting furiously, “You’re courting death!”
They had never imagined that these usually docile prostitutes would dare attack them. They must have grown tired of living!
They could not defeat the Jinyang Army outside, but dealing with a few weak women who were barely fed on ordinary days should have been effortless.
However, though it was a pitch-black night, the light outside was still brighter than inside the room. As soon as they stepped through the doorway, the contrast in brightness left them completely blind for a moment.
Before they could recover, one of the men was struck with a stick.
That very blow also revealed the attackers’ position. He raised his saber and hacked downward.
Sun Xi lifted a wooden basin to block the attack.
Clang!
The basin shattered on impact, but at least it saved Sun Yuan.
Sun Yuan was startled. She pulled Sun Xi behind her and swung the stick wildly, heedless of where it landed. Amid a chaotic clatter of blows, she had no idea whom she had hit.
The Ji army soldier at the front took several random strikes and was consumed by rage. By then, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, and he could make out blurry figures.
He raised his saber and was just about to bring it down when hurried footsteps sounded behind him. His heart tightened, and he no longer had time to strike.
“Everyone, get inside! Close the door!”
The room was low and cramped. The soldiers who had entered were immediately attacked, while several others outside had not yet managed to get in.
Sun Xi and the others also heard the approaching footsteps and shouted excitedly, “Help! Help!”
Although they did not know who was coming, judging from the panic in the Ji army soldiers’ voices, they could more or less guess that these were the people attacking Wensha City tonight.
A scream rang out.
The few Ji army soldiers who had not yet made it inside were shot dead in an instant.
After Li Qian and his men killed the Ji army soldiers at the doorway, they quickly entered the room.
A saber came slashing toward him.
He dodged to the side and countered with a slash. Blood sprayed across Sun Yuan’s face.
A gust of wind rose behind him, accompanied by a woman’s startled cry. “Look out!”
Li Qian remained calm and drew back his saber.
At the same time, a Jinyang Army soldier behind him swept his blade sideways. With a clang, he blocked the saber that had been aimed at Li Qian.
Li Qian brought his own saber down. Once again, blood sprayed across Sun Yuan’s face.
Sun Yuan: “…”
She silently took two steps backward, but her heart was pounding with excitement.
They really were here to save them!
“Are you all right?” Li Qian asked.
Silence settled over the room.
After a moment, Sun Xi asked in a trembling voice, “Who are you?”
Li Qian slowly backed out of the room and stood in the doorway. In the faint light of night, his shadow appeared tall and sharply defined.
“We’re the Jinyang Army—the army of the Han people.”
Sun Xi murmured, “The Jinyang Army?”
She looked at the dozen or so men standing outside and understood that Li Qian had stepped out so they could see him clearly and would not be frightened or panicked.
Li Qian glanced left and right. “Do you know anyone in the neighboring rooms? The door here is broken. You can’t stay in this room.”
Sun Xi understood how urgent the situation was and quickly replied, “We can go next door.”
With that, she left the room and hurriedly knocked on the door next door.
This entire alley was occupied by women like them, and they all knew one another to some extent. In particular, the rooms nearest to theirs had all been under the control of the woman they had just beaten to death.
The people next door had heard the commotion long ago. Before Sun Xi could knock a second time, the door opened.
“Quick, come inside.”
The women in Sun Xi’s room brightened and hurried in.
Sun Yuan was the last to enter. Before stepping through the doorway, she glanced at Li Qian and the others, who were still standing outside. For some reason, a sudden sense of security settled over her. She then turned and went inside.
The woman who had opened the door seemed frightened and hesitated, unsure whether she should close it.
Li Qian instructed her gently, “Bolt the door quickly. No matter who comes, don’t open it unless it’s the Jinyang Army.”
The woman nodded vigorously and slammed the door shut.
Sun Xi, Sun Yuan, and the others crowded around the narrow window and watched the Jinyang Army hurry away outside, their emotions tangled.
“The Jinyang Army will definitely defeat the Ji army!” Sun Yuan wiped the blood from her face.
A glimmer of light flashed in Sun Xi’s eyes. “Yes. We just need to wait. We’ll definitely live to see the day we return.”
“They’re so impressive!” the woman who had opened the door exclaimed.
They had known something was happening when the Ji army began pounding on the door, but they had not dared to go out and help. They had only huddled inside, trembling with fear.
It was not until the Jinyang Army arrived that they dared gather at the window and look outside. There, they had witnessed the Jinyang Army shooting the Ji army soldiers dead.
Sun Yuan nodded, unable to hide her excitement. “Exactly. Since they’re so powerful, our Han army will definitely win.”
At the Grand Chanyu’s residence.
The secret passage was pitch-black, illuminated only by the faint light of the lanterns carried by the group.
Dongzhi and the others hurried along and soon reached the fork in the passage that Consort Han had mentioned.
Consort Han pointed to the middle passage. “I’ve walked through this one before. It leads to a private residence somewhere in the city. I haven’t gone through the other two, but they should also lead to private residences.”
Chu Qing nodded, raised his lantern, and moved ahead to inspect the passage. After a moment, he shook his head.
“There are no signs that anyone has passed through. Let’s split up.”
Dongzhi and Luo Ah-di nodded. “All right.”
The three of them did not waste any time. Each chose a passage and led their people inside.
The deputy general of the Ji army stood on the wooden ladder, pressing his ear against the thick wooden panel as he listened intently to the sounds above. Only after confirming that there was no unusual movement did he nod at Ji Duoyan.
“Grand Chanyu, there’s no one above us. Shall we go up now?”
Ji Duoyan thought for a moment before giving an order. “Send a few men up to investigate and see whether they can find out anything.”
Above them lay a private courtyard. In the current chaos, the area above was not necessarily safer than the passage below.
In any case, they had prepared food and drinking water down here. If the surface was unsafe, it would be better to hide in the secret passage.
A personal guard nodded and was just about to activate the mechanism that opened the wooden panel when footsteps suddenly sounded.
Everyone’s heart tightened. They immediately moved to shield Ji Duoyan and cautiously turned toward the passage.
Xia Bao stood at the front, his hand already moving toward the saber at his waist.
Through the gaps between the guards, Ji Duoyan stared toward the source of the sound, his heart rising into his throat.
As the footsteps drew closer, a faint light appeared. Then a figure emerged into their line of sight.
