Believe it or not, I'll hit you.
The next day, around noon, at Centipede Mountain, in the Fenghe Domain.
At the entrance to the valley, the beautiful woman had already led her men to lie in ambush. Dressed in a striking red dress, as vibrant as a poisonous flower, she sat languidly on a large rock nearby. Standing beside her were dozens of fierce-looking men in tight-fitting clothes.
The beautiful woman toyed with a small throwing knife between her fingers, but her eyes were fixed on the only path at the entrance of the valley like a venomous snake.
Soon, the sound of horses' hooves approached from afar, striking the ground with a clarity that was chilling.
One horse, riding alone.
Tang Qi, dressed in a black, close-fitting outfit, rode up on horseback. His face was pale, his lips were tightly pressed together, but his back was ramrod straight. He reined in his horse at the mountain pass, several dozen paces away from the group of young ladies. The sunlight was not bright, casting a solitary and resolute shadow behind him.
"I thought you would at least bring some men with you. You're coming alone. You have quite the nerve." Jiao Niang smiled deliberately, but her voice was cold: "Looking at you now, you probably can't even lift a sword."
Tang Qi ignored her sarcasm, glanced around, and asked in a similarly cold voice, "Where is everyone?"
"He's still breathing, don't worry, he won't die." Jiao Niang said casually, "Before you see him, let's have a chat first."
"What do you want to talk about?" Tang Qi asked, looking at her.
Shouldn't you introduce yourself before starting a conversation?
"My surname is Lin, Lin Zhengye." Tang Qi said bluntly, his gaze indifferent and devoid of much emotion, "Let's skip the pleasantries and get straight to the point—what is your purpose?"
"I want you to withdraw from Jinan."
"You're having a good dream, aren't you?" Tang Qi scoffed.
"How about we switch to another option and open a position together?"
“Absolutely not.” Tang Qi said firmly: “The imperial court’s disaster relief grain is used to save lives during famine years, and it is not a bargaining chip.”
The smile on the beautiful woman's face vanished instantly, replaced by a sinister look: "Oh? So there's nothing to talk about then. It seems you don't mind me... skinning him piece by piece... right here in Fenghe Domain, right in front of you?"
The atmosphere instantly became tense, and a strong killing intent filled the air.
Unexpectedly, Tang Qi suddenly burst out laughing.
“I don’t mind if you kill him.” Tang Qi curled his lips into a smile and took out a dagger: “Bring him out, and I can skin him alive myself.”
The woman opposite seemed intrigued, a hint of excitement flashing in her eyes: "You have a grudge against him?"
"A blood feud."
"Then why did you come to save me?" Jiao Niang laughed.
"I'm not here to save him, I'm here to kill him." Tang Qi brandished the knife in his hand.
Jiao Niang glanced at Tang Qi sideways, then sneered, "Wouldn't it be perfect if I helped you then?"
"I prefer to end it myself; otherwise, I cannot quell the deep hatred in my heart."
“That’s such a pity,” Jiao Niang said, her eyes flashing with a sinister light. “I hate it when people get what they want. I won’t let you see him.”
“That’s quite a coincidence,” Tang Qi continued, laughing as he looked at her. “I love making people’s wishes come true. You won’t let me see him, so I brought someone with me to see you.”
Upon hearing this, Jiao Niang narrowed her eyes and saw Tang Qi dismount, revealing a person behind him who was tied to the horse's back and had a black cloth covering his head.
The beautiful woman's gaze fell on that person, and Tang Qi chuckled and raised her hand to tear off the black cloth completely.
The man on horseback was the owner of that shady inn.
"father!"
"father?!"
Several voices rang out at the same time.
really.
Tang Qi suppressed the smile on her lips.
Zuo Ou, standing behind Jiao Niang, nearly dropped her jaw in shock.
He actually heard the beautiful woman call out "Father" to the other side?!
Tang Qi pulled on the person who was tightly bound on the horse, forcing him to look up at the beautiful woman opposite him.
"How about it? Do you mind if I, in the Wind and Domain, in front of you, slowly... cut him to pieces?" He repeated Jiao Niang's words, his voice equally sinister.
"You dare!" The woman opposite her gritted her teeth.
"See if I dare." Tang Qi turned his dagger and aimed it at the man's back, cleanly and swiftly making two cuts that ripped open the fabric and exposed the skin.
Faced with Tang Qi's threat, the man on horseback was not afraid at all. Instead, he looked at the beautiful woman opposite him with an extremely complicated expression, astonished, surprised and a little... confused.
"Jiao... Jiao Jiao," he called softly.
The woman opposite her was clearly stunned for a moment, then her expression immediately turned fierce. She glared at Tang Qi, who was holding a knife, as if Tang Qi was the real "villain" at this moment.
"Jiao Niang... why does he call you Jiao Jiao?"
"Shut up!" Jiao Niang turned around fiercely and glared at Zuo Ou, who had spoken.
"It seems you know absolutely nothing about your daughter." Tang Qi released the man's hand, her voice deep and serious: "Who do you think you're aiding and abetting? Who do you think you're putting up with? Who do you think... you're protecting?"
"She's not the pampered daughter you think she is." Tang Qi laughed again, looking at the woman opposite him and continuing, "If I'm not mistaken, the man in black standing on the mountain blowing the whistle was your mother, wasn't she?"
As expected, the beautiful woman fell silent.
The man on horseback stiffened. Tang Qi tilted her head and said, "Oh, I forgot, your wife isn't the wife you think she is."
Just then, Tang Qi felt a gust of wind on his face. He turned his head sharply, and the arrow whizzed past his face.
He looked over and saw a masked man in black slowly emerge from the crowd opposite him. It was the same man who had destroyed all hope with a single sentry.
The man in black stepped forward and stopped, unabashedly removing the black robe covering his head. His face was cold and stern, but his voice carried warmth: "You are very clever."
She raised her bow and arrow, aiming it at Tang Qi's head: "That's why I can't let you live."
Unexpectedly, Tang Qi simply raised an eyebrow and smiled, spreading his hands out generously without any intention of avoiding her.
"Ah...Ah Wu..."
The man on horseback suddenly struggled, crying out, "Awu...Awu! Awu!!"
The louder he shouted, the darker the man's face became. Finally, amidst the man's heart-wrenching struggle, the aim of A-Wu's bow and arrow shifted from Tang Qi's face to the man's.
Then--
An arrow shot through the air, tearing the straw rope across the man's terrified face.
The horse startled the man, throwing him to the ground. He scrambled to his feet, while Tang Qi stared in disbelief: "...Shooting so accurately?!"
"kill."
Ah Wu's voice was gentle, but the viciousness in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Finally, just as Tang Qi was about to take the man hostage, Gu Gu Fang suddenly unleashed a deafening battle cry.
Tang Qi curled her lip; they'd finally arrived.
＊
Hu Xingche took the lead, wielding his heavy longsword with an imposing aura of one man guarding a pass against ten thousand. Behind him, Lu Juezhen shouted at the top of his lungs amidst the soldiers: "Charge! Save General Wu! There are so many of us, let's kill them all!" Although he was not skilled in martial arts, he was full of vigor and commanded the soldiers left behind by Wu Shunyi to fight fiercely and charge forward. The momentum was so great that it seemed as if a thousand troops were attacking the pass.
"Mother! They really did have an ambush! Everyone, hold them off! Don't let a single one in!" A fierce glint flashed in Jiao Niang's eyes as she immediately dispatched a portion of her men to reinforce the valley entrance. She wasn't surprised by the current situation; today, she would wipe them out in one fell swoop!
The battle at the valley entrance instantly intensified, a cacophony of clanging metal, roars, and screams. Following Tang Qi's orders, Hu Xingche and his men did not attempt a breakthrough, but instead fought fiercely in the narrow valley entrance, relentlessly entangled the enemy's main force, creating the illusion of a powerful offensive.
In the chaos, Jiao Niang's attention was inevitably drawn more to the fierce battle at the valley entrance.
Tang Qi did not let the man escape. Instead, he chased after the horse, tied the man back up, and mounted the horse. His expression was stern, and his gaze swept over the steep, almost insurmountable cliff behind Fenghe Domain in a very subtle way.
Cheng Junshi, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, also had a cold gaze. Behind him stood Gui Luo and the three hundred elite Imperial Guards he had brought. Gui Luo's mask looked even more eerie in the shadows. He crossed his arms and looked at Cheng Junshi standing in front of him with great interest.
"Cheng Shaoqing, it's almost time." Gui Luo's voice carried a hint of amusement: "If you don't go up now, your man's 'east wind' might be blown out."
Cheng Junshi ignored his teasing, his eyes fixed on the near-vertical cliff face. Only one thought occupied his mind: Tang Qi was still waiting; he had to take down the precipice immediately.
"Go!" Cheng Junshi's voice was resolute. He was the first to rush towards the cliff. He was agile and there was no obvious place to climb on the precipice. So Cheng Junshi simply dug his fingers into the cracks in the rocks. Every step he took was extremely dangerous. Even watching from below was terrifying. Even the elite Imperial Guards who had been through countless battles swallowed hard and had the thought of retreating when they saw the almost vertical cliff. But Cheng Junshi did not hesitate or look back. He just raised his head and climbed up step by step, regardless of everything.
Three hundred elite Imperial Guards followed closely behind, like a silent tide, wave after wave, slowly sinking to the top of the cliff. In the middle, steep rocks almost hit their faces, but Cheng Junshi just held on tightly to the cracks in the rocks, his fingernails bleeding, but he dared not let go.
One wrong step, and there is no going back.
Cheng Junshi charged ahead, driven by a single belief: attack, smash down! Tear open a path to survival, for himself, and for them. He didn't trust Gui Luo, so he had to be faster and more ruthless than him. His climbing movements were driven by a frenzy akin to burning his life force; sweat instantly soaked his clothes, and his hands, rubbing against the cliff face, were already bleeding profusely, but he was oblivious to it all.
Gui Luo stared at Cheng Junshi's retreating figure, his eyes behind the mask momentarily blank. "Tsk, he's risking his life." Despite his words, Gui Luo actually started climbing.
It wasn't until Cheng Junshi was the first to climb to the top of the cliff that the midday sun finally began to shine. He was panting heavily when he took out a thick rope from his pocket and tied it to a tree trunk. When the rope, like a lifeline, dangled down, the soldiers' eyes lit up. Even Gui Luo breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the rope. He smirked, shook his hand that had almost ruined his climbing skills, and slowly said, "Debts of gratitude should not be incurred casually."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
