"I'm a little angry."

As soon as these words came out, Wang Ba and the others all looked towards He Yan at the same time.

Shitou had spent the longest time with He Yan and knew that He Yan had always been a good-tempered person. Even though Wang Ba had come to snatch her meat bun before, she was just protecting her food and had never seriously said that she was angry.

Now this monkey who came from nowhere actually made He Yan angry.

Lei Hou laughed and said, "Brother He, swords have no eyes, don't get angry."

"That's only possible if you can hurt me." He Yan smiled, and flipped backwards, already standing behind Lei Hou. The nine-section whip was like a long snake, flicking past lightly. Lei Hou dodged, but the whip seemed to have eyes, and was not shaken off by him. Instead, it grazed his cheek. In an instant, a red mark appeared on Lei Hou's face.

Because it was the tail of the whip that scratched him, there was no bleeding. Even so, Lei Hou's face looked very ugly.

"Brother Lei, swords have no eyes," He Yan hooked his finger at him, "Don't get angry."

Lei Hou said nothing, and rushed over with a long sword in hand. His movements were skillful, and his murderous aura was rising. He was completely different from the new recruits who were training and sparring in the martial arts arena. The tip of the sword pointed to either He Yan's throat or He Yan's heart, which was very vicious.

In comparison, the boy's movements were much gentler. He was born thin and frail, but he showed no signs of fatigue as he moved, as if he had endless energy. He swept and entangled, preventing Lei Hou's sword tip from moving forward an inch.

He Yan didn't want to hurt Lei Hou's life, but Lei Hou didn't think so. She thought about it for a while, and it seemed that unless Lei Hou was completely defeated, he would chase her and take away the flag as long as he had a breath left.

However, the fight with Lei Hou also gave He Yan a strange feeling. It was hard to explain this strange feeling. In the end, it made her feel as if something was overlooked and she felt uncomfortable all over.

Just as he was thinking, a flash of sword came from the side. He Yan was startled and leaned back to withdraw. The sleeve of his hand was cut in an instant, and the wind leaked in.

Lei Hou stared at her with a sharp gaze and said, "It seems that we should not be distracted at this time!"

"I was just thinking, how can I calm you down?" He Yan said, "Brother Lei, no one told you, are you a little troubled?"

Such blatant and provocative words, coupled with her smiling expression, could really make ordinary people explode. Lei Hou's face immediately darkened and he raised his sword to stab. He Yan smiled slightly and threw out the long whip. The whip flowers wrapped around his body, like a long snake flying around, preventing the tip of the sword from advancing an inch.

She was still laughing, and said, "Actually, you don't know, I'm also pretty good with the whip."

In an instant, the whip flowers crisscrossed and swept forward, sometimes fast and sometimes slow, making people dizzy.

The young man's voice was filled with a hearty smile, as if it was not a tense battle for the flag, but a test of heart between companions in the martial arts arena. She spoke in the midst of the flying whip-flower steps.

"This is called the inside-out elbow."

"This is called cheating horses on both sides."

"This is the white snake spitting out its tongue."

"Sweeper!"

Her movements became faster and faster. Wang Ba and the others had already stopped what they were doing and were looking at her, as if they were surprised by her momentum.

Originally, I thought she was very powerful in the martial arts arena, but now I realize that she was holding back before.

Lei Xin gritted his teeth and his expression became increasingly ugly.

He did not take He Yan seriously. No matter how powerful a new soldier was, he could not be good at everything. He Yan's excellent sword, bow and gun skills did not mean that he could defeat him. However, the young man used the whip skill effortlessly, as if he had used it thousands of times. That was fine. Just because he was good at using a weapon did not mean that he would win in a fight.

But He Yan was too cunning. She seemed to be able to detect his weaknesses after just a few fights with him and attack them. Lei Hou was shocked that he couldn't find He Yan's weaknesses in such a short time and didn't know where to start.

The boy's smile grew wider, one whip after another, one whip after another. Lei Hou felt that the long whip in front of him was like a whirring wheel, or a hard and fierce steel stick, like a worm or a dragon, with endless changes, and he couldn't help but feel a little dizzy.

At this moment of dizziness, he saw the long whip coming towards his face again. Lei Hou subconsciously took out his sword to block it. The next moment, the whip playfully bent and went straight to his chest.

Lei Hou thought to himself that something was wrong, but it was too late. The whip seemed to have eyes and directly swept up the dozen or so flags in his arms and took them back.

Lei Hou wanted to use his sword to stop the long whip, but the long whip could be retracted and released, so it would not be entangled by his sword and fell into He Yan's hands.

"This is called the Golden Silk Gourd." He Yan weighed the banner in his hand and said with a smile, "Thank you, Brother Lei, for tying it up for me."

Lei Hou was very proud of himself, and felt that none of the new recruits fighting for the flag on Baiyue Mountain today could beat him. Therefore, he even put the flags in a very arrogant manner, tied them up with ropes, and put them in his arms. But now He Yan took them all away, and he couldn't help but feel a little regretful. If he had been safer and put them separately, he wouldn't have lost everything at once.

Seeing that all of them were taken away by He Yan, Lei Hou could no longer hide his gloomy expression, and rushed towards He Yan without saying a word.

He Yan took a few steps back and said with a smile, "Once it's in my hands, it's mine. No one can take my things away."

"What if I insist on robbing you?" Lei Hou was filled with murderous aura and his sword was as fast as a meteor.

"Actually, I don't like fighting," He Yan sighed, "If you insist on snatching, then I will have to beat you up."

The two figures collided with each other in an instant.

Wang Ba and his companions were already tired of fighting with Lei Hou. Besides, without the flag in their hands, there was no point in fighting. They had already sat under the tree, watching from the sidelines. They knew very well in their hearts that this was a contest between He Yan and Lei Hou, and whoever won would take the flag away.

"Can you tell who is more powerful between the two of them?" Lei Hou's companion asked.

Jiang Jiao shook his head: "I can't tell."

"Is there any need to ask? It must be He Yan!" Wang Ba answered as a matter of course.

"Oh? Why do you say that, brother?"

"I don't know, it's just a feeling."

“…”

"...Would you like some pine nuts?" Huang Xiong handed the other party a pine nut.

"Thank you very much, it smells so good!"

I hadn't finished eating a handful of pine nuts when I heard a "dong" sound.

Everyone looked forward and saw that the two figures had separated. Lei Hou's expression remained unchanged, and the young man was smiling and holding a long whip.

There was a sword lying on the ground.

"You lost." He Yan said.

Lei Hou looked unhappy and said nothing. After a moment, he said solemnly, "You cheated."

"A soldier never tires of deceiving others." He Yan picked up the long sword on the ground and returned it to him, saying seriously, "I injured your leg. Rest here for half an hour before moving again. Otherwise, your leg will be left with sequelae, and you will never make any progress in your training in the future."

Lei Hou turned his face away, took the sword, and didn't want to look at her.

"It's okay," He Yan patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "Victory and defeat are unpredictable in war, and it's a man's duty to bear shame and endure humiliation. It's just a battle for the flag, you've already done a great job, but it's a pity that you met me."

She pointed at herself and said, "I'm the best."

Wang Ba and the others had heard He Yan say this countless times. They were dismissive at first, but now, they were numb to it. Besides, what she said was not wrong.

He Yan called Jiang Jiao, "Let's go." He then said to Lei Hou's companions, "You can take a rest here and protect Brother Lei."

The man looked at her in confusion.

"You beat up so many new recruits on the mountain. When they come down the mountain, they will see that Brother Lei is in a difficult position and will inevitably join forces to beat him back."

"So I say," she said righteously, "Don't do evil, no matter how small it is."

…

Lei Hou and his group were left behind, and Jiang Jiao and his group went down the mountain with He Yan.

"He just said you cheated," Huang Xiong couldn't help asking, "How did you cheat?"

"It wasn't actually a scam. I just sold him a few lousy things on purpose." He Yan shrugged. "He wanted to kill me, but I just wanted him to be unable to leave and catch up with me. He misunderstood what I meant, so..."

"That monkey wasn't that powerful," Wang Ba said noncommittally, "He said he was so powerful, but he was defeated so quickly. He's so weak!"

"You're wrong," He Yan shook his head and laughed, "He is really amazing. If I weren't there, he would be the number one recruit in Liangzhou Guards."

He Yan had fought with this man before. She didn't know what he did before. He looked no more than 20 years old, but he must have practiced martial arts for at least 10 years. He had profound skills and was very skilled. If there was anything wrong with him, it was that he was too murderous. Although he didn't kill anyone, his fighting style could have seriously injured his companions.

Because he was so skilled, his method of capturing the flag was so simple and crude. However, capturing the flag was never a contest where whoever could fight to the end was the winner. Although Lei Hou was very powerful, he had been fighting with other recruits on the top of the mountain, going up and down the mountain non-stop, which eventually consumed a lot of his physical strength. When they started fighting, it was fine for a short time, but after a long time, the flaws were very obvious.

Today, He Yan went up and down the mountain with five people. Wang Ba and the others also worked hard. Apart from making arrangements, He Yan did not fight with them many times. Therefore, she was full of energy and had enough energy to see the weaknesses of Lei Hou.

"Is he really not going to follow us?" Jiang Jiao was still a little skeptical and kept looking back. "I think we should walk faster, otherwise he will catch up with us later."

"Don't worry," He Yan said, "Unless he doesn't want to continue practicing martial arts in the future, he won't follow us. But what you said makes sense. We'd better get down the mountain as soon as possible."

…

In the guardhouse, the game of chess has not yet been finished.

Shen Han was preoccupied with his thoughts and had no intention of playing chess. However, the young man opposite him did not seem to be in a hurry at all, nor did he care about the outcome of the battle for the flag. He was leisurely drinking tea and playing chess, so calm that it was shocking.

The black-clad guard came in from outside, walked to Xiao Jue's side, and whispered: "He Yan bumped into Lei Hou and fought with Lei Hou. Lei Hou was defeated. At this moment, all twenty flags are in He Yan's hands."

He did not avoid Shen Han, so Shen Han heard what he said and immediately took a breath.

Lei Hou had been noticed by them since he went up the mountain to compete for the first flag. This young man had not shown his ability before, and if it weren't for this flag competition, no one would have known that there was such a capable fighter in Liangzhou Guards. This person was recommended by the relatives of Coach Du Mao's family. He didn't seem to be anything special at first, but now they know that he is really capable.

This man went up the mountain and started fighting for flags. He had never lost a single battle. He was different from He Yan, who hid in the dark and was not good at hiding. He was very skilled and defeated countless people. He took away fourteen flags in one go, twice as many as He Yan.

Originally, Shen Han was very much looking forward to the meeting between Lei Hou and He Yan. He really wanted to see who would win if the two of them really fought. Shen Han thought that He Yan was used to playing tricks, so if he went straight to the point, he might not be able to defeat Lei Hou. After all, Lei Hou's skills were really amazing.

Unexpectedly, Lei Hou was still defeated by He Yan.

"He Yan and his group are already walking down the mountain," Fei Nu continued, "We'll be able to enter the formation in another half an hour."

Shen Han looked at Xiao Jue.

At first, he thought that it would be unnecessary to use formations against a new recruit. But now Shen Han had only one thought in his mind: this young man knew everything and was capable of everything, so he was afraid that this formation would not be able to trap him.

Xiao Jue had a calm expression, lowered his eyes, and picked up Shen Han's white piece.

Shen Han asked in a low voice: "Commander-in-chief...will he win?"

Xiao Jue curled the corners of his lips: "Maybe."

…

The sun is setting.

The sunlight changed from brilliant gold in the daytime to warm red, and it shone through the gaps between the branches and leaves like a large piece of red clouds, soft and bright, like the red gauze worn by a girl.

From the deep woods came the cries of wild birds. They were probably in a good mood because they had already got 20 flags in their hands and were sure of victory. It seemed as if they had not come to the mountain to compete for flags, but to go out for a walk and were now preparing to go home.

Wang Badao said, "I wonder if I will get any reward this time, besides maybe joining the vanguard camp?"

"Should be." He Yan asked casually: "What do you want?"

"Wine! Of course it's good wine! I haven't drunk much since I came here, I'm so hungry." Wang Ba complained: "If I could have wine to drink, I would be stronger than I am now!"

"That's wine, not medicinal food." He Yan was a little amused.

"Can you give me some good weapons?" Jiang Jiao said, "When I joined the army, I didn't bring any weapons from home. The long spears in the martial arts field are not very easy to use. It would be great if you could give me a good long spear."

Huang Xiong touched the Buddhist beads on his neck and said, "I just want to eat a hot meal of beef. Drinking big bowls of wine and eating big chunks of meat, this is how life should be!"

Shitou pondered for a long time before saying, "Take Xiaomai up the mountain. He has always wanted to hunt rabbits."

Among the four people, three of them wanted something to do with food and drink. He Yan didn't know whether to praise them for not having any desires or requests. Jiang Jiao asked, "What about you? What kind of reward do you want?"

"Me? I don't have anything to think about." He Yan said, "I'll be very happy if I can join the Vanguard Camp."

"You really are obsessed with making great achievements." Wang Ba said sourly.

"Of course. I'm so talented, wouldn't it be a pity if I don't make great achievements? I'm also looking forward to being recognized by the governor and becoming his bodyguard or something." He Yan thought, if so, he would be able to find out the news of the He family by interacting with Xiao Jue every day.

"Just think about it," Wang Ba rolled his eyes, "If you become successful, I'll call you dad."

He Yan: “…”

As he was talking, Huang Xiong stopped and said, "Have we been wandering around here all along? Why do I feel like we have been here before?"

"Come on," Wang Ba said, "Do you know the way?"

"I also feel like we have just been here." Jiang Jiao also said.

He Yan didn't say anything. Shitou took out a straw rope from his pocket, walked to a tree in front of him, tied it to the tree, and said, "The mountain road is complicated. It's normal for trees to look similar. Let's walk a little further."

A few people walked down again. After walking for a cup of tea, they saw a tree in front of them. The straw rope that had just been tied to the stone was tied to the tree.

This time, everyone was quiet.

After a while, Wang Ba spoke, his voice trembling slightly. He asked, "Have we hit a wall?"

He became more and more excited as he spoke, "I heard a master from our mountain say that he was walking on a mountain road the night before, and when he came to a place, he just kept going in circles. He had no choice but to sit down and sleep in his clothes. The next morning, guess what happened?"

He deliberately left the question in suspense, but no one responded, so Wang Ba said angrily: "When he woke up, he found himself in a grave!"

He Yan held his forehead with his hand: "Brother Wang, now doesn't seem to be the time to tell ghost stories."

"What are you afraid of?" Huang Xiong said in a low voice, "I have Buddhist beads, so no demons or monsters can get close to me. But you," he turned to look at He Yan, "did you remember the wrong way?"

"No." He Yan said.

"Then how did they suddenly get lost?" Jiang Jiao was also puzzled. Although Baiyue Mountain was large, it was not that big to get lost. They were fine when they came up, so how could they not be able to get out when they came down the mountain?

"We are indeed walking down the mountain," He Yan said, "but we are indeed circling around here." A thought flashed through her mind, and she walked to the tree tied with the rope and looked around.

This is a wilderness. The trees are not as dense as those on the top of the mountain. The ground is overgrown with weeds and there are a few scattered stones everywhere.

Stone?

He Yan's heart moved, and she walked a few steps forward and saw a pile of stones. She bent down and took a closer look. Several huge stones were piled together randomly without any shape. It looked like they were randomly moved here by hunters in the mountains when they were resting.

"What are you looking at?" Wang Ba asked, "Are there any words on them?"

He Yan straightened up and said, "There's nothing on it, but that's why we can't get out."

"What?" Jiang Jiao and his men came over and looked at the stone, but they couldn't figure out what it was. The stone frowned and asked, "What does this mean?"

"Qi Men Dun Jia, there are eight gates: life, injury, rest, stop, scenery, death, surprise, and opening. Someone has set up a formation here," He Yan said, "We have entered the formation, so we are spinning in place."

Everyone could understand her words separately, but when they were put together, no one could understand them. Everyone looked at her, not knowing where to start asking her questions.

He Yan was also very confused. He didn't see any trace of Wang Xiaohan anywhere, which meant that Wang Xiaohan and his group had already gone down the mountain. It was impossible for them to break the formation, which meant that they hadn't broken the formation before, so how come they had broken the formation now?

Who set up the formation here specifically for her? Shen Han? Or Xiao Jue?

——Digression——

Just a joke, Lei Hou is from Guangdong, because "Lei Hou!"

(I don't mean to be disrespectful to any region, just telling a cold joke＿（：зゝ∠）＿)