Luo Yan shouted fiercely, and the members of the Poison Doctor Sect were entangling Su Rong, Zhou Gu, and others tightly.
The hidden guards were fighting desperately to protect them, but the Poison Doctor Sect’s abundant toxins and deadly tactics were proving too much. The guards were well and truly stuck, unable to retreat or defeat.
At this moment, a woman’s voice rang out from behind them. "All the hidden guards of Nanchu, retreat and make way."
All the hidden guards of Nanchu followed the voice and saw Shen Yi charging towards them with men. Their brains quickly processed the instructions, and they withdrew instantly. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
Their movements were fast, but Shen Yi was not slow. She arrived at the front lines, throwing handfuls of golden needles at the Poison Doctor Sect members surrounding Su Rong and Zhou Gu.
The members of the Poison Doctor Sect had previously experienced the deadly effects of Su Rong and Fen Ling’s golden needles. They did not expect another person to arrive, wielding this unique hidden weapon. They brandished their swords and shields in defense, struggling to dodge her attacks.
Only Luo Yan remained unfazed. Consumed by her rage, she focused solely on Fen Ling and Su Rong, who was protected by Fen Ling and Zhang Yun.
For other sect members, protecting their Sect Leader was their primary duty. They could not allow Luo Yan to get hurt, therefore, they blocked all the golden needles, none of them hit her.
Fen Ling was facing such a formidable opponent for the first time. Even though he, too, was blinded by rage, he could hardly compete with Luo Yan’s insane hostility. She was reckless and unafraid, stooping to great and devious lengths to avenge her pet viper, Hongying.
Shen Yi’s golden needles only bought them a brief moment of relief. Soon after, a large number of Poison Doctor Sect members surrounded her again. Zhou Gu and Su Rong barely managed to retreat a short distance.
With a silent curse, Shen Yi drew her sword, ready to fight.
Being pregnant for several months, she was inconvenient with a huge belly. Not only could she not rescue people, she herself became trapped. The concoctions she produced were useless against the skeptics of the Poison Doctor Sect. She saw them as equals and was at a loss for what to do.
Xie Yuan stood at City Wall, watching the situation closely. He knew they couldn’t continue like this. In half an incense hour, Su Rong and Zhou Gu would be trapped and killed by the Poison Doctor Sect. If he attempted to rescue them like Shen Yi did, his efforts would only be effective for a moment before he too became trapped.
He needed to devise a plan immediately!
However, what could he do? He was momentarily at a loss.
Zhang Mao and Jiang Zhu’s eyes turned bloodshot. They said in unison, "Sir, we shall go and rescue the princess."
"No." Xie Yuan was adamantly opposed. "If you go, it would just be more people getting trapped like Shen Yi. Right now, we need to come up with a way to cause chaos amongst the Dawei forces to rescue them."
"What method... what method..." Zhang Mao paced back and forth, unable to come up with a strategy. Unless there was another group of masters to assist, they were out of options.
Jiang Zhu forced himself to remain calm. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "Sir, let’s use fire. Push several burning wagons towards them."
With no better plan, Xie Yuan agreed. "Let’s do it."
"I’ll go." Jiang Zhu turned to leave.
Xie Yuan did not stop him this time.
Zhang Mao was about to say that he would accompany him, but Xie Yuan blocked him with his hand and asked, "Can you play the zither?"
Zhang Mao was taken aback. Play the zither? At a time like this?
"You should know how, right?" Xie Yuan eyed him. As Zhang Ping’s legitimate son, he should have a good grasp of both literature and martial arts, including music and chess.
"I do." Zhang Mao could only reply.
"Good." Xie Yuan immediately ordered, "Someone, bring two zithers here. Hurry!"
Someone acknowledged and left immediately.
Xie Yuan took out a sheet of music from his robe and handed it to Zhang Mao. "Learn this quickly. This is a piece of music that can cause chaos in people’s hearts. Once you have learned it, we will play it together."
Understanding, Zhang Mao quickly took the sheet. He was a smart man and learned quickly. After a moment, he memorized the music and performed it in his mind. However, after a short performance, he felt a headache and irregular heartbeat, and his face turned pale. "Sir, this... this music can harm the enemy and cause chaos, but it will also be harmful to our own soldiers."
After all, their own soldiers had not been trained to resist the effects of the music and would be affected just the same.
"There’s no time to care about that." Xie Yuan said, "I just hope that Xiaoqi and Zhou Gu can withstand it and take the opportunity to retreat."
Zhang Mao gritted his teeth and nodded, forcing himself to continue performing the music in his mind, swaying slightly.
"Play it at least three times in your head, then you will have resistance and can start playing. I can play it alone, but given the distance, I’m afraid the sound of the zither will not reach far enough to have an effect. If you and I join forces and you can follow my steps, we can complete the piece together." Xie Yuan wasn’t sure if this plan could save Su Rong and Zhou Gu, but it was the only option they had left. When the music sounded, Su Rong, whom he had taught since childhood, should know what to do.
Xie Yuan waited for the zithers while Zhang Mao force-practised the music in his head. In the meantime, Jiang Zhu commanded his men to load the siege vehicles with firewood, drenched them in oil, and set the whole siege vehicle on fire. They pushed three burning vehicles towards the direction where Su Rong and Zhou Gu were trapped.
Due to the intense fire, the vehicles were difficult to approach. This strategy quickly proved effective as it served to disperse the members of the Poison Doctor Sect that surrounded Su Rong and Zhou Gu.
However, Luo Yan was an exception. She was prepared to lay her life down today to avenge her pet viper, Hongying. Therefore, she paid no heed to needles, poisons, fire, or swords. All she saw were Zhou Gu and Su Rong, and she was determined to kill them.
After the brief dispersion of the Poison Doctor Sect members, they were horrified to see that Luo Yan showed no signs of retreat. They quickly used their heavy weapons to move the burning siege vehicles aside and began to attack Su Rong again while protecting Luo Yan.
Jiang Zhu was also stunned. The woman fought as if she was ready to die. With none of his strategies working, he had no choice but to engage in combat with the enemy.
The conflict continued for about two more incense sticks burning time. Not just Su Rong and Zhou Gu, but Fen Ling, Zhang Yun, Ye Guixue, Yin Yue, and those who joined the battle later, Shen Yi, and Jiang Zhu, were all injured.
Seeing Shen Yi in danger, Su Rong used her remaining strength to emerge from Zhou Gu’s embrace, killed the person surrounding Shen Yi with a sword, and pulled her into her protection, guarding her with difficulty.
With a pale face, Shen Yi said, "Little sister, go, don’t worry about me."
Su Rong thought, if she were capable of leaving, she would have done so long ago. Now, all she could do was hope for Xie Yuan’s plan to work. Otherwise, they would all die here today.
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