Chapter 24 Yin Yang: Isn't this more shameful than calling for reinforcements?

The Xiling Mountains stretch for hundreds of miles, with peaks and ridges extending along the sides, and countless mountain peaks.

Chen Liangyu crossed out the barren mountains and isolated ridges on the map, searched along the passes leading to various regions, rescued caravans that had been robbed along the way and merchants and gentry who were moving with their families, and after taking down more than a dozen mountain strongholds, he felt somewhat uneasy, as if things were going a little too smoothly.

As the saying goes, things reach their extremes and then reverse. Just as she led her men to Bogong Ridge, following the directions given by the bandits of Luoma Mountain, to continue the siege of the bandit stronghold, Zhai Ji was lost.

After Bei Yong sent the second prince Zhai Ji to Yongdu as a hostage, the two sworn enemies had not yet met. When she requested permission to send troops to suppress the bandits, she happened to meet Zhai Ji entering the palace to present gifts to Emperor Xuanyuan.

That gift wasn't some priceless treasure; it was just a prayer flag. But the mystery lay in the fact that the prayer flag was made by the high priest of Beiyong himself.

The high priestess of Beiyong was revered as a "divine messenger," and the prayer flags she made were thus imbued with divine power.

Zhai Ji presented the Lianli Banner, praying that the devoted lovers would meet their beloved again in the next life.

When Zhai Ji presented the treasure, she said, "Who would believe such nonsense?"

As a result, Emperor Xuanyuan believed it with tears streaming down his face.

Empress Huixian had just passed away, and the conjoined banners presented by Zhai Ji were a welcome solace to Emperor Xuanyuan. The emperor was delighted and wanted to reward Zhai Ji. Zhai Ji declined all the rewards, saying only, "I wish to share Your Majesty's burdens with Commander Chen." Emperor Xuanyuan then gave the banners to him.

Her eyelids twitched immediately, and she met Zhai Ji's malicious sidelong glance, sensing that something bad was about to happen.

As expected, Zhai Ji did not disappoint her.

Shortly after scouts were dispatched to explore different sections of the route, the rest of the group disappeared into the vast mountains and forests.

She wasn't worried about him escaping; a hostage's escape was a grave crime. Even if he returned to Bei Yong, he would inevitably be stripped of his title and reduced to a commoner. If this caused war between the two countries, he would be considered a deserter and executed under military law. Her only fear was that he might be alone near this bandit's den and be killed by the bandits. After all, he was a prince of Bei Yong; if he died upon arrival, Da Lin would have a hard time explaining it to Bei Yong.

It's really troublesome; we have to send a team to look for them.

The forest birds fled in fright, and the lush, newly green foliage in the mountains and forests was not enough to allow the people and horses in the forest to conceal their whereabouts.

A moment later, another group of people appeared on the other side of the woods.

"There are people over there! Quick, chase after them! Catch one and question him!" Zhang Jialing shouted, pointing to the spot where the group had disappeared.

"Be careful, this might be a trap. Send two people ahead to scout."

Two soldiers stepped forward in response, crouching low and using the trees as cover to move quickly.

The second thing that displeased Chen Liangyu was that Prime Minister Zhang sent Zhang Jialing to be her deputy general.

Although those who become outlaws are mostly barbarians, they may have been working in the fields just a few days ago, but when natural disasters or man-made calamities strike, they seem to have no choice but to starve to death. So they gather three or five friends, take hoes and pots and pans, find a mountain, and become bandits. Such people are like mice in front of cats when they see government soldiers, they only know how to run away, and there is no danger to them.

However, there were also camps that gathered large numbers of vicious bandits. These bandits were numerous, ruthless, and merciless, killing without blinking an eye. Moreover, the bandits in these camps were extremely hostile to the government. As soon as they encountered them, they would start hacking without asking any questions. They were willing to risk killing one person to make a profit, killing two to gain one, and even going down with them.

While the probability of Zhang Jialing being hacked to death is low, it is not entirely impossible.

This person just loves to flirt with death, which is really a headache!

The two who had gone to scout ahead reported back, "There are people lying in ambush ahead."

How many people?

"There are at least two or three hundred people."

It seems we've encountered the second scenario.

But it's all good. I've gathered a bunch of insignificant underlings these past few days, two or three hundred of them, which is good for warming up.

Her troops were divided into several groups to clear out the enemy, while she herself kept over a thousand men under her command. Since the enemy numbered over a hundred, she could no longer recklessly rush in to capture them.

"Form ranks in the middle, flank from both sides, and advance in three columns," she commanded.

Beyond the forest lies a barren mountain, devoid of vegetation, with numerous naturally formed trenches extending into a vast wilderness.

Suddenly, a deafening shout erupted, and hundreds of heads emerged from all sides, wielding machetes and spears, charging towards the government troops. In their haste, they formed a long, straight line, heading directly for the main force in the center. The vanguard immediately met them, but the enemy's momentum was unstoppable, forcefully splitting the central formation in two.

With a flick of her sword, Chen Liangyu slit the neck of one bandit, then delivered a kick and another sword strike to finish off another thief who was about to ambush her. She then surveyed the surrounding area to analyze the situation.

After the long snake broke apart the main force in the middle, it also began to split into two paths, like two giant pythons winding and coiling, encircling the left and right flanks, intending to strangle them.

"Change formation! Defend!"

The army, now divided in two, immediately changed formation, forming four concentric circles. Each circle had two layers, one inside and one outside. Bandits were constantly being pulled into the circles, where those in the inner circle hacked them down with their knives, leaving behind only a scream and a gruesome corpse.

Chen Liangyu seized the opportunity to climb to a high place. The enemy's formation was also changing, like a swimming dragon, like the Bagua formation, which entwined them, giving our army no chance to regroup.

Even more terrifying, there were several ghostly figures in the center of the formation. Judging from their shapes and appearances, they were similar to the humanoid monster that assassinated Emperor Xuanyuan that day.

"The Yin-Yang Formation?" Chen Liangyu murmured.

This formation was created by her maternal grandfather, He Niangong, before his death. If commanded properly, it can enable the few to defeat the many and the weak to defeat the strong. The corresponding military strategy is the Yin-Yang Three Scrolls.

How could bandits understand this kind of formation?

"Listen to my command! Each squad will split into three, with the two middle squads as the main force, diagonally inserting themselves into the formation and converging from both sides!"

The ring instantly transformed into twelve arrow-shaped formations, swiftly shattering the solid Yin-Yang array. Like a barrier, it isolated the enemy within a small area, trapping them like turtles in a jar. The enemy's forces were already two or three times smaller than ours, and once the array was broken, they suffered countless casualties before hastily retreating.

Chen Liangyu kicked down the bandit who was trying to pull her down by her leg, then leaped down from the height, charged up her sword and stabbed it straight into the bandit's chest and abdomen. She spotted a slow-moving figure, grabbed a vine and swung it over to pull the person back.

"Keep alive!"

Chen Liangyu hurriedly stopped the bloodthirsty soldiers, his blade stopping an inch from their scalps.

The survivor on the ground had little will to live. He grabbed the vine that had wrapped around him, flipped over, and strangled Chen Liangyu with the vine.

Despite his small stature and lean build, he possessed considerable strength! Chen Liangyu struck the man's right chest with an elbow, and the force of the blow was so great that the hands gripping the vines immediately loosened, and with a "plop," blood gushed out, staining a large area of ​​Chen Liangyu's body red once again.

She took the opportunity to break free of the vines and held the sword to the side of the short bandit's neck.

This feels wrong!

Chen Liangyu stared in astonishment at the slightly twitching spot where his elbow had struck him for a moment, while the man under the sword suddenly turned red in the earlobe, both anxious and angry. He bent over, ignoring the pain in his face, and shouted through a mouthful of bloody teeth, "What are you looking at? Don't you have one yourself?"

It was a clear and bright female voice.

The bandits had smeared their faces with plant ash, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female, and they actually captured a girl.

"Take him away for questioning."

"How can you be so heartless towards a woman?" Zhang Jialing walked over, his legs trembling, until he finally couldn't support himself any longer and stumbled to his knees, snapping several dry branches with a "crack".

Chen Liangyu waved his hand, and his soldiers took the man away.

Zhang Jialing hurriedly scrambled to his feet and followed, saying, "Don't torture her! Don't torture her! If you torture her again, she'll die. Interrogate the others first... Why is a young girl like you acting like a bandit? You could even join the army like Chen Liangyu..."

The young female bandit immediately spat at Zhang Jialing, "Where there are officials, there are commoners; where there are soldiers, there are bandits. Are soldiers superior to bandits? I'm happy to be a bandit, so what?"

Zhang Jialing wiped the blood from his face. "You can't be a bandit anymore, you're a prisoner! Just wait to be beheaded!"

The female bandit snorted and ignored him, her head held high, showing no fear.

Chen Liangyu waved his hand again, "Bring the person back."

At this moment, Zhang Jialing felt a little pity for the female bandit's expression and kindly advised, "Speak properly. She doesn't have a good temper like me. She really might kill you."

"Which knockoff is it?" Chen Liangyu asked.

"This is Bogong Ridge, so of course it's Bogong Village."

"Who's your leader? What did you do before?" This band of mountain bandits is no ordinary bandit; judging from their appearance, they were probably well-trained soldiers before. Therefore, we can't take them lightly; we need to make proper arrangements to minimize casualties.

The female bandit stopped answering her questions.

Zhang Jialing noticed that Chen Liangyu's expression had become serious and realized that this band of bandits was not easy to deal with. His eyes darted around and he suggested, "How about we go to the nearest town and get some reinforcements?"

"We can't afford to lose face if we have to call for reinforcements to wipe out a band of mountain bandits."

Chen Liangyu then asked the female bandit, "What are those things that are neither human nor monkey? Are you using living people to practice Gu poison?"

Unexpectedly, these two sentences angered the female bandit.

"They're not some inhuman or monkey-like creatures, they're human! It's all your fault!"

"Hey, look." Zhang Jialing pointed in a direction.

On the other side was a piece of irregular burlap, probably just torn from clothing, with the word "truce" written on it in blood.

A truce sign? This thing is so ancient, I don't even know how old it is. I've never seen it since I can remember.

When two armies clash, swords flash and blood flows freely, each side seems determined to kill the other before stopping. A hundred years ago, this might have been useful; if the other side had any sense of morality, they might have given you a chance to catch your breath.

Before there was a response, the other side shouted again, "Your man is in our hands. If you want him to live, call your leader out to negotiate."

Zhai Ji!

Chen Liangyu took a few steps forward in an instant, then stopped and thought carefully and quickly.

An arrow flew from the opposite direction, its arrowhead piercing the trunk of a tree. The arrow shaft was wrapped with a piece of cloth, with two small protrusions in the cloth. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be beads from Zhai Ji's braided hair.

This guy really is here to cause her trouble!

Chen Liangyu was furious and broke the arrow in half. He had no choice but to go forward and negotiate as the other party demanded.

She naturally wanted Zhai Ji dead, but he couldn't die now.

Although she was forced into this situation, she still had to create the momentum. She shouted to the other side, "You villains, surrender immediately and return the hostages. I may petition the court to grant you amnesty and spare your lives!"

"So young, yet so arrogant!"

"Isn't this prime of life meant for arrogance?"

After a long silence on the other side, a person emerged from the shadows, followed by several others who nervously came out and completely blocked the person's path.

The man pushed aside the people in front of him and stopped.

Chen Liangyu also moved forward.

She observed the man and found him to be a man with a profound presence. His demeanor was not that of a typical mountain bandit, but rather one of dignified composure and tranquility. It would be fitting to have him in the school, holding a wooden ruler and quoting classics to teach and impart knowledge, or to have him under an ancient pine tree, burning incense, brewing wine and tea.

"The Lancang Sword, it's quite a prestigious sword." The man recognized the sword in Chen Liangyu's hand after just one glance.

Then he asked, "Who is Chen Chongming to you?"

"I don't know him."

"You're wearing eagle-head armor on your shoulders, which is issued to Chen Chongming's Eagle-Head Army. You're saying you don't recognize your Marshal Chen?"

Chen Liangyu added, "Not familiar with it."

The man seemed to chuckle, "You've gone out to fight a battle, and now you've abandoned your family?"

Chen Liangyu, no longer bothering with beating around the bush, laid his cards on the table and said, "General Lin, return the person you have in your hands. We can discuss any conditions you have."

Lin Jianshu, nicknamed "Ghost Head Saber," was Chen Yuanqing's fellow disciple and also the successor of He Niangong's Yin-Yang arts. After Emperor Xuanyuan ascended the throne, Lin Jianshu, who should have held a high-ranking official position, suddenly turned against the emperor and led three hundred elite cavalrymen away. Unable to find them anywhere, he unexpectedly settled in this mountain stronghold, becoming a bandit and outlaw.

There was a moment of silence on the other end.

"If you want him, come and take him back yourself. I want to see if Chen Chongming's bloodline has the courage to venture deep into enemy territory alone, and I also want to see if you have the ability to take him away!"

After saying this, the person retreated to the shadows, and the forest slowly became quiet. When they called out again, there was no response.

Chen Liangyu took the reins and pulled the captured female bandit over. Although Zhang Jialing was completely confused by their conversation, he immediately guessed what she was going to do.

"Are you really going to the bandit's den?"

Chen Liangyu threw the female bandit onto his horse and carried her on its back. He then said to Zhang Jialing, "You must ride back to Yongdu immediately."

Zhang Jialing nodded vigorously, his gaze resolute: "Back to Yongdu! And then what?"

And then? A resounding reply: "Call my father and Uncle Yan to save me!"

"Isn't this more shameful than calling for reinforcements?"

Seeing her mount her horse, Zhang Jialing quickly stopped her in front of the horse's head, saying, "It's more reliable to go to the nearest city to get reinforcements. It will take several days to go back to Yongdu. By the time your father arrives, you'll have become their dinner table."

"Stop talking nonsense and do as I say. Can you enter the Eastern Palace? Or can you get a message in?"

“That’s not a problem. My father is a core leader of the princeling faction.”

"Then hurry up and make sure Princess Jiangning knows that there are monkeys here. It would be best if Eunuch Wei, who is by Princess Jiangning's side, was present."

She had some suspicions in her mind and wanted to verify some things.

Author's note: Thank you for reading this far!