Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Two Seconds of Thinking...
After two seconds of thinking, Wen Shen made a quick decision to turn off the signal tube, and retreated into the main secret passage with all his followers, hiding among the piles of firewood.
Just as I hid, I heard loud footsteps, horse hooves, and the sound of iron colliding outside.
"We were practicing just fine, why did the Marquis suddenly order us to disband?" A deep male voice sounded above Jiang Wan's head, no more than forty or fifty meters away.
"We've been discovered. Wen Shen and Shen Jianqing have cracked several strongholds and are searching them extensively. It won't be long before they find their way here - they may have already found their way here. We must disband as soon as possible. If we are caught in the act, we're doomed." The voice was cold and harsh, and Jiang Wan recognized it - it was the same voice that had spoken to the man in black who had stopped in front of the embroidery stand at Qingjiangju three days ago.
Jiang Wan recalled the thick calluses on his knuckles and thought to herself, if that was him, his martial arts skills must be quite impressive. It seemed the Jing'an Marquisate hadn't underestimated their enemy. They were arriving faster than they'd imagined, and the men they sent were certainly experts.
The man with the deep voice was most likely the leader of the private army.
The leader said, "These seven or eight thousand men, the cavalry is easy enough, but the infantry alone will take an hour to get down the mountain. Not to mention the wounded, tents, and weapons up there. It will probably take two days to get them all down the mountain."
"No need. Have the thousand cavalrymen take the wounded and ride down the mountain. The others will disperse and hide in the mountains. Just clean up the outside a little and leave no trace. Put everything in the secret passage. We assume Wen Shen won't be able to find it for a while, so he'll naturally search other hills." The man in black said, "If we can hold off until tomorrow and don't find any substantial evidence, the Marquis will have a way to deal with it."
"Your Excellency is right. I'll order everyone to pack up the tents right now—wait!" The footsteps stopped abruptly at the cave entrance, and the leader's voice suddenly became stern, "Everyone retreat! Cover your mouths and noses!"
At the entrance of the cave, the leader of the private soldiers pulled the man in black out of the cave. Two military doctors wetted silk cloth with water and covered their noses with it before entering the cave. They checked each person lying on the ground one by one.
"He's not dead, just knocked unconscious. The drug should have worn off, you can come in." said the military doctor.
"It looks like those people are here." The private army leader looked terrified. "I'll order a search of the mountain right away."
The man in black stared at him coldly. "Your own base was raided, and you were completely oblivious. The Marquis doesn't keep useless people. I should report this matter to the Marquis."
"No, don't do that. This incident was truly sudden and unprepared. I will capture all these Jinyiwei." The private army leader shouted, "All cavalry immediately prepare to descend the mountain. If you encounter any strangers on the way, kill them without mercy. The remaining infantry will be divided into three groups. One group will search the mountain and capture any Jinyiwei nearby; the second group will pack up the supplies and put them in the secret passage; the third group will remain where they are and wait for any movement. Report immediately."
"yes!"
Soon, there were messy footsteps and dragging sounds coming from a few meters above Jiang Wan's head. It should be the second group of infantrymen sorting supplies.
Once they were done, they would open the secret passage to store supplies, making it easy for Wen Shen and the others to be discovered. And since these private soldiers were so close, any sound from the tunnel would be amplified. The twenty-two people in the secret passage were frozen, not daring to move, trying to breathe softly.
Even if the Jinyiwei were to face the soldiers outside head-on, they would have little chance of victory, even if they were martial arts savvy. The purpose of martial arts is to use a small force to overcome a large one, and even the most advanced masters can only defeat a hundred at most. But outside the secret passage were two groups of two thousand fully armed soldiers. If they wanted to survive, direct confrontation was definitely the worst option.
The secret passage was long and winding, and the soldiers who were putting supplies in it would take at least two or three hours to get them to the bottom. If they could reach the bottom of the secret passage, they would have a chance of survival.
But the prerequisite is that someone has to take the risk to go out and make noise to attract the other party's attention, thereby covering up the footsteps of the Jinyiwei in the secret passage.
Jiang Wan and Wen Shen looked at each other and saw determination in each other's eyes.
Wen Shen used his internal energy at his fingertips and wrote down their plan on the wood next to him with his index finger. He then handed all the dozen or so signal flares in his arms to Jiang Wan, grabbed her arm with his left hand, and covered the closed wooden door at the entrance of the secret passage with his right hand.
Jiang Wan quietly pressed the transmit button on the signal tube and nodded to Wen Shen.
With a loud "bang", the wooden door instantly split into two halves, and choking red smoke spread out. Before the infantry outside could react, their vision was blocked by the smoke.
"What's going on?"
"Is there an assassin? I can't see anything!"
Panic spread, and the soldiers stretched out their hands and felt their companions and the walls to determine their position, and there was a moment of chaos.
Wen Shen dragged Jiang Wan out of the secret passage, using his Qinggong skills to swiftly move across the cave ceiling, stepping on the protruding rocks. He drew his sword, Shanhe, with his right hand, and used his Qi to control the longsword to fly downwards. The flash of the sword splattered blood, accompanied by screams.
Before the red smoke dissipated, Jiang Wan lit another signal flare, and the new smoke once again obscured everyone's vision.
Hearing the screams, the soldiers below drew their swords. However, the cave was crowded, and carelessness could easily injure a comrade. The smoke and the screams around them intensified their panic and paranoia, making them more likely to mistake their own men for assassins and stab them.
Wen Shen's martial arts skills were enough for him to gather his energy and wander around the top of the cave while listening to the sounds and sensing the location of the other party's leader.
Shanhe flew out and stabbed straight towards the private army leader.
"Dang——" A long and trembling collision sound was heard. Jiang Wan felt Wen Shen's footsteps pause, and then he pulled back with his right hand, and the mountains and rivers returned to his hands.
He lowered his voice and said, "I missed. The man next to him can also identify the location by sound, and his martial arts skills are not bad."
Sure enough, the black-clad man's voice soon rang out: "The assassin is quite skilled in martial arts and is also skilled in Qinggong. He is not a spy in the team. Everyone, hold your swords and defend yourself. Do not harm your comrades and do not move around at will! Calm down. Once the smoke clears, you can capture the assassin!"
With the order from their superiors, the soldiers in the cave quieted down considerably. They stopped fighting each other and began to listen carefully for footsteps at the top of the cave, trying to find Wen Shen through the smoke. This forced Jiang Wan to fire flares faster to maintain the smoke density.
Jiang Wan released another flare and asked, "Are you sure you can get out?"
"It's no problem to get out. The problem is that we are not familiar with the terrain. I'm thinking about where to go."
Jiang Wan thought for a moment and said, "The training ground won't work. The Tongzhi and other Jinyiwei are there, so we can't lure them there. Going uphill might allow me to use my Qinggong skills to shake them off faster, but if they form a circle and slowly press up the mountain, it will be difficult to escape. We have to go down. The dense forests, mountain streams, and other secret passages in the mountains can all provide temporary hiding places."
Wen Shen said "hmm".
After firing twelve flares, with only two left, Wen Shen suddenly increased his speed and flew towards the cave entrance.
The man in black leaped up and blocked their path at the cave entrance. He held a heavy black iron sword in his hand, and with his right hand, he swung the sword in a flower shape. The blade traced an arc in the air, the end of the arc pointing directly at Jiang Wan's face.
In the eyes of martial arts masters, the lightness, heaviness, and speed of an opponent's breathing can be used to judge their martial arts attainments. The more profound the opponent's internal strength, the more regular their breathing will be, and the slower and longer their breath will be.
Just now at the cave entrance, he determined that the assassins were a man and a woman. The man's martial arts skills were comparable to his own, while the woman had no martial arts skills. Therefore, he first attacked Jiang Wan's "weakness", hoping to force Wen Shen to retreat back into the cave or abandon his companions.
The overwhelming sword energy made it difficult for Jiang Wan to breathe. Her heart tightened and she clutched Wen Shen's clothes with both hands.
Wen Shen's speed didn't slow down at all, he simply adjusted his position to protect Jiang Wan under his arms. He swung the Mountain and River Sword, colliding fiercely with the pitch-black iron sword.
The Qi vibrated, the black iron hummed. Jiang Wan was stunned by the surging Qi, and felt warm blood splash on his face. Then the red smoke dissipated, and the surrounding trees quickly retreated backwards.
He was injured, injured while trying to protect himself. This was the only thought in Jiang Wan's mind.
The man in black took several steps back before he managed to steady himself. His eyes were blank as he muttered, "It's actually her..."
"Who on earth dares to confront the Black Iron Sword?" Seven men wearing matching black clothes rushed over from the training ground and supported the man in black at the cave entrance. "Big Brother, are you okay? Did you see who the assassin was?"
The man called "Big Brother" was stunned for a moment and shook his head. "The smoke was so thick that I couldn't see clearly. There seemed to be two of them. One of them used the heavy black iron sword to repel me. His martial arts must be superior to mine. Since they have fled into the forest, I don't recommend rushing into a fight."
"What's the big deal!" The junior brothers were filled with righteous indignation. "We brothers have joined forces to set up the Tiangang Bagua Formation. Even if the world's number one comes, he will be skinned alive. Brothers, give chase!"
Without waiting for the "Big Brother" to speak, the others had already taken to the air on their swords, flying down the mountain. In a few seconds, they had leaped dozens of feet away.
At this moment, the smoke in the cave cleared, and the leader of the private army shouted, "Archers, prepare! If you find the enemy, shoot immediately!"
The third group of archers waiting outside the cave drew their bows and arrows, all pointing in the direction Wen Shen and Jiang Wan had left. As soon as they left the woods, the archers would be able to spot them immediately.
Seeing that several junior brothers and archers were ready to capture the opponent, the "big brother" patted his clothes helplessly and followed the junior brothers on his sword.
Deep in the dense forest, Jiang Wan anxiously looked back and whispered, "Those men in black are getting closer and closer. What should we do if this continues?"
Those people were flying with swords, and once Wen Shen flew with his sword, he would be out of the cover of the trees and into the shooting range of arrows. Therefore, his lightness skills were useless and he could only watch the enemy getting closer and closer.
Jiang Wan also noticed that Wen Shen sheathed Shanhe after leaving the cave. Normally, when being chased, one would always hold the sword in hand just in case, and Shanhe was light, so holding it in hand did not affect movement speed.
She had a grim suspicion: Wen Shen's unwavering resistance against the black iron sword had repelled the black-clad man, allowing her to escape safely, but it had also injured his right hand. He sheathed the sword because he was healing while moving, and his right hand couldn't exert force.
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