Tiger Roaring Hill Ambush
Chapter Quote:
Crossbows and arrows whiz by at Jingyang Ridge, tigers roar in the woods, murderous intent appears;
He cleverly used the power of heaven to break through the siege and return the hidden arrows to himself.
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It was almost noon, and the official road leading to Jingyang Ridge was silent. Yan Qing and Yan Shun stopped their horses at a fork in the road, surveying the mountain path ahead.
"Captain Yan, after crossing this forest, we'll reach Zhangjiaji in another thirty miles. We have a rendezvous point there," Yan Shun said, pointing to the map. "But this area has been quite uneasy lately. I heard there were tigers attacking people, so all merchants need to travel in groups."
Yan Qing gazed at the lush forest, his brow furrowed slightly. His years of experience in the martial arts world had given him a whiff of something unusual. It was too quiet—not even a bird's song could be heard. It was obvious someone had disturbed the forest's animals.
"Dismount," Yan Qing suddenly whispered, "and tie the horses to the woods by the roadside. We'll cross the hills on foot."
Although Yan Shun didn't understand what he meant, he still did as he was told. The two hid their horses deep in the dense forest, and Yan Qing deliberately stuffed a packet of special powder under the saddle - this was his unique tracking mark.
Just as they were about to leave, Yan Qing suddenly pressed Yan Shun's shoulders and gestured for silence. He leaned forward, his ear to the ground, his expression gradually becoming solemn.
"There are at least twenty of them, coming in three directions to flank us." Yan Qing stood up and brushed the dust off his clothes. "They are all trained warriors, their steps are steady and powerful."
Yan Shun's expression changed: "Could it be someone from Liangshan?"
"Not like it." Yan Qing shook his head. "I recognize anyone on Liangshan who has such skills. Their steps are so synchronized, they look like...experts in the army."
As they spoke, figures began to loom in the woods ahead. A dozen masked men in black fanned out, their crossbows gleaming coldly in the sunlight. The leader, a burly figure, masked, had a pair of sinister eyes that struck Yan Qing as strangely familiar.
"Leave Yan Qing here and I'll spare your life." The masked leader's voice was hoarse and he deliberately changed his tone.
Yan Qing sneered, his right hand seemingly hanging casually at his side, but in fact he had already grasped the Sichuan crossbow in his sleeve. "Since you recognize me, why hide your identity? Are you a soldier from Jizhou Prefecture, or... an official from the Imperial City Department?"
The leader's pupils shrank slightly, and although he tried his best to conceal it, this moment of hesitation confirmed Yan Qing's guess.
"Kill!" The leader said no more and gave an order, and the crossbow arrows flew through the air!
Yan Qing was well prepared. He dove behind a tree with a sideways roll, and three crossbow arrows "thump, thump, thump" were nailed to the trunk. At the same time, he fired the Sichuan crossbow in his sleeve, and three cold stars shot out, and the three people on the opposite side fell to the ground.
"What a beautiful crossbow technique!" Yan Shun praised, drawing his sword to protect Yan Qing. "Leader, go ahead, I'll cover the rear!"
"No need." Yan Qing glanced at the battlefield. "These people are well-trained. Fighting head-on is not an option. You go left and I go right. We will break out separately and meet up at the old place."
As they spoke, the men in black had already charged forward. Yan Qing observed their movements closely, becoming increasingly certain that they were military veterans. The leader, in particular, wielded his broadsword with powerful, deadly movements, clearly a seasoned veteran.
"Are you from the Palace Front Department?" Yan Qingge suddenly asked.
The leader's movements faltered slightly, and although he didn't reply, Yan Qing had already seized this momentary flaw. Yan Qing's figure flashed like a ghost, and before he knew it, he was already close to the leader's side, and with one finger he quickly tapped the other's ribs!
"Ugh!" The leader groaned and retreated several steps. Although he avoided the vital points in time, a waist badge on his waist fell to the ground with a clang.
The waist badge shone with gold, and on it were engraved five small characters: "Imperial City Office"!
At this moment, a deafening tiger roar suddenly came from the depths of the forest!
The sound shook the entire area, even the ground seemed to tremble. Both sides involuntarily stopped fighting.
A fierce tiger with a white forehead and hanging eyes emerged from the forest. It was over ten feet long and had a fierce look in its eyes. It seemed to be attracted by the smell of blood and approached the battlefield with a low growl.
The masked men were in a commotion. The leader said anxiously, "Kill Yan Qing first!"
However, the tiger had already pounced on the nearest man in black. With a wave of its sharp claws, the man screamed and his chest was torn open.
"God help me!" Yan Qing's eyes lit up, remembering Gongsun Sheng's warning to "be careful near the water." It turned out that this was the danger, and the turning point. He immediately winked at Yan Shun, and the two of them took the opportunity to break out to the side.
"Don't let them run away!" the leader shouted anxiously, but the tiger rushed left and right in the crowd, and no one could escape from the pursuit for a while.
Yan Qing and the other two broke out of the encirclement, but were in no hurry to flee. He took out a small porcelain bottle he carried with him and sprinkled the powder in the path they had come from.
"This is..." Yan Shun was puzzled.
"Specially made beast-luring powder." Yan Qing sneered, "Since they gave us such a great gift, we must return the favor."
Sure enough, the tiger smelled the special scent and became even more frantic, clinging tightly to the group of men in black. Screams rang out one after another.
Yan Qing was in no hurry to leave. He took cover in the woods and carefully observed the battle. The leader seemed to reach into his arms in the chaos, pulled out something, and tried to throw it at Yan Qing, but the tiger pounced and the object fell into the grass.
"Let's go!" Yan Qing made a prompt decision and evacuated quickly with Yan Shun.
The two dared not take the official road again, and instead turned to a secluded path. This path was more than fifty miles long, but it was secluded.
"Chief Yan, why didn't you just kill the leader just now?" Yan Shun asked.
"It's more useful to keep him." Yan Qing's eyes were deep. "Why did the Imperial City Bureau want to kill me? There must be a bigger conspiracy behind this. Besides..."
He suddenly stopped and took out something from his sleeve - it was the badge he had picked up from the ground in the chaos just now.
"This is..." Yan Shun took a breath.
"This is a waist badge from the Imperial City Bureau." Yan Qing played with the badge, his eyes growing colder. "But this waist badge is new, as if it was made not long ago. And look at the pattern..."
Yan Shun looked carefully and found that the cloud pattern on the edge of the badge was slightly different from the official style.
"Someone is impersonating the Imperial City Bureau?" Yan Shun was shocked.
"Or... someone within the Imperial City Bureau wants to use someone else to get rid of me." Yan Qing put away his badge. "No matter what, we must be more careful."
At sunset, the two rushed to a hidden cave - this was the backup hiding place arranged by Lu Junyi in advance.
After lighting a fire, Yan Shun examined the captured crossbows and arrows: "They are indeed military possessions, but the markings have been erased."
Yan Qing, however, was concerned about something else. He carefully examined his entire body and, as expected, found a tiny oil-paper package on the inside of his outer robe's collar. He opened it and saw a colorless, odorless powder inside.
"Tracking incense." Yan Qing's face darkened. "No wonder they were able to find our location so accurately. It seems that the leader deliberately engaged in close combat just to put this on me."
"What a sinister trick!" Yan Shun said angrily, "I'll go get rid of this thing right now."
"No." A wise light flashed in Yan Qing's eyes. "Since they want to track us, we will show them a way."
He took out another vial, mixed the powder inside with the tracking incense, then carefully wrapped it up and put it back in its place.
"This is..."
"This is my specially made tracking powder," Yan Qing smiled. "When mixed with the tracking incense, it will interfere with the hounds' sense of smell, causing them to wander around in circles within a ten-mile radius."
That night, Yan Qing lay awake for a long time. He took out the jade pendant and examined it in the firelight. The jade pendant had a smooth texture, intricately carved with cloud patterns, and a faint "Yan" character on the back.
Is this jade pendant the key to solving all the mysteries?
He recalled how the leader had dropped his badge earlier that day, seemingly intending to pull something else out of his arms. What could that be? Why, at such a critical moment, had he considered throwing it at him?
All kinds of doubts lingered in his mind, making him realize that this trip might be far more than just finding out his life experience.
At the same time, in a manor thirty miles away, the masked leader from the daytime was reporting to a figure with his back to him:
"...The plan failed, and Yan Qing escaped. However, I left the thing on him as you instructed."
The figure slowly turned around, and in the candlelight, it was Wu Yong's confidant - Bai Sheng! But at this moment, he was not as vulgar as usual, and his eyes were shining.
"Is it done cleanly?"
"It's absolutely clean. He will never notice it."
Bai Sheng nodded with satisfaction: "Very good. Next, it's time for our Yan Xiaoyi to lead us to find that old palace servant."
He looked out the window in the direction of Daming Mansion, a sinister smile appearing on the corner of his mouth.
And further away, in the darkness, another pair of eyes was watching all this. The man gently stroked a jade pendant in his hand—it was almost identical to Yan Qing's, except that the "Yan" character on the back was more distinct.
"The time is almost here..." An almost inaudible sigh came from the shadows.
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Chapter 58 End
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