Strong wind reveals strong grass
Chapter quotation: Troubled times are like a furnace that refines true gold; times of turmoil reveal loyal ministers, and times of crisis reveal a person's true character.
---
Yan Qing galloped along, not daring to pause for a moment. Though he had temporarily escaped the pursuers, he knew they would never give up easily. The news of Peng Qi's capture weighed heavily on his heart, and he had to relay it back to the "Hidden Post" as quickly as possible.
Following the route he remembered, he rushed to the location he had agreed to meet with his contact—an abandoned mountain temple nestled in a valley. This remote, sparsely populated area was originally an important intelligence relay point set up by the "Hidden Post" outside the war zone.
However, when he saw the outline of the mountain temple from afar, his heart sank suddenly!
A faint plume of black smoke rose above the temple, and a faint smell of burning and blood wafted through the air!
Something happened!
Yan Qing immediately crouched low, taking cover among the weeds and rocks like a civet cat, and approached silently. The closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood grew. The temple walls bore clear marks of knife and axe blows, and the temple door lay tilted to one side, its panels splattered with blackened blood.
He held his breath and sneaked into the temple. He saw the courtyard in a shambles, tables and chairs shattered, incense burners overturned, and five or six bodies lying on the ground. They were all dressed like ordinary people, but Yan Qing recognized two of them as the contact personnel here! Their eyes were wide open, and their faces were frozen with shock, anger, and unwillingness. It was obvious that they were caught off guard and attacked. After a brief but fierce resistance, they were killed.
Judging from the wounds, most were knife wounds, brutal and sharp, likely the work of a military or well-trained martial arts expert. There were no signs of a large-scale search at the scene, and the enemy's purpose was clear: to kill and silence the witnesses!
Who leaked the news? Was it a spy within the "Hidden Post", or did the contact person reveal his whereabouts while passing the message?
Yan Qing felt a chill in his heart. The elimination of this stronghold meant that his connection with the "Hidden Post" was temporarily severed, and it also meant that the "Hidden Post"'s intelligence network outside the area might have been severely damaged.
He didn't dare stay for long and quickly left the mountain temple, hiding in the forest behind the temple. His mind raced. Now, with Liangshan fighting the government troops in front of him and unknown forces chasing him from behind, and the "Hidden Post" stronghold destroyed, he was almost isolated and helpless.
Where to go next? Return directly to the Hidden Post headquarters? The journey is long, and there's no telling how many ambushes lie ahead. Stay near the war zone? The dangers are rife, making any further progress impossible.
Just as he was hesitating, he suddenly heard a burst of hurried horse hooves and shouts coming from afar, getting closer and closer, and seemed to be coming towards the mountain temple!
The pursuers are here again! They are so persistent!
Yan Qing cursed inwardly, knowing he couldn't hesitate any longer. He took a look at the terrain and chose the most treacherous and difficult mountain path to climb. He had to take advantage of the complex terrain to escape the pursuers once again.
However, the pursuers this time seemed different from the previous ones. There were more of them, and among them were several exceptionally agile individuals with exceptional tracking skills. They were able to keep close to his tracks. No matter how he changed direction or created confusion, they always quickly adjusted, like a maggot on the tarsal bone.
The two sides engaged in a difficult chase through the mountains and forests. Yan Qing, relying on his adaptability to the terrain and his extraordinary martial arts skills, repeatedly avoided encirclement, but he also suffered several new wounds and was greatly exhausted.
As the sky darkened, Yan Qing was cornered at the edge of a precipice. Below, a bottomless depth of mist and clouds swirled. Behind him, the shouts and footsteps of his pursuers could be clearly heard.
There is no way forward and there are pursuers behind!
Yan Qing leaned against a huge rock at the edge of the cliff, panting, sweat mixed with blood dripping from his forehead. He looked at the enemies gradually surrounding him. There were about twenty of them, led by two men. One was the lingering commander of the Palace Marshal's Office, and the other was a tall, thin man with a sinister face and holding a pair of judge's pens. Judging from his skills, he was no less skilled than the commander.
"Yan Qing! Let's see where you can escape this time!" The officer grinned and approached step by step.
The tall, thin man said sinisterly, "Boy, if you know what's good for you, just surrender and tell us the location of the Hidden Posthouse. Maybe you can keep your body intact!"
Sure enough, they came for the "Hidden Post"! Yan Qing's heart was cold. It seemed that the other party's target was no longer just him.
He slowly stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and glanced at everyone. He suddenly smiled, a smile that was a little tired, but also had an inviolable pride: "Just relying on you, a bunch of chickens and clay dogs, you think you can keep Yan?"
"You still dare to be stubborn when you are about to die!" The officer was furious and rushed forward with his sword! The tall and thin man also attacked at the same time, and the judge hit Yan Qing's blood vessels directly!
The rest of the people shouted and rushed forward!
Yan Qing took a deep breath, a flicker of determination in his eyes. He no longer held back, pushing the remaining internal energy within him to its limit. His body spun like a top, his short knife slashing out cold arcs of light. He was attacking instead of defending, forcing his way through the crowd!
Swords flashed, blood and flesh flew everywhere! Yan Qing was like a mad tiger, completely disregarding his own defense, attacking without defending, and using all his strength in every blow! In an instant, several enemies fell to the ground with screams!
The officer and the tall and thin man did not expect Yan Qing to fight so bravely like a trapped beast, and they were forced into a panic for a while!
But the other side had more people after all. Although Yan Qing's fighting style shocked everyone for a while, his internal strength and physical strength were also rapidly consumed. He had several wounds on his body that were deep enough to see the bones, and the blood almost turned him into a bloody man!
He knew that he couldn't hold on for much longer.
Just when he was exhausted and about to be hacked to pieces, something strange happened!
“Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!”
Three flares were shot out from the depths of the forest with a sharp whistle, not at people, but at the treetops above everyone's heads!
Then, a dense rain of arrows poured down from the forest like locusts! The target was not Yan Qing, but the pursuers who were besieging him!
"Ah!" "There's an ambush!"
The pursuers were caught off guard and seven or eight of them were shot down in an instant, causing chaos in their formation!
The officer and the tall, thin man were both shocked and angry. They waved their weapons to block the arrows and shouted, "Who are you?!"
A clear and playful voice rang out from the forest, "Bullying the weak with your numbers—what kind of skill is that? I can't stand it, I'm just seeing injustice!"
Before he finished speaking, a white shadow rushed out from the forest like a startled wild goose, holding a long spear in its hand like a dragon emerging from the sea, and pierced the tall and thin man!
The tall, thin man hurriedly raised his pen to block the attack. With a loud clang, he was so shocked that he stepped back repeatedly, his arm going numb! He looked in horror and saw that the person coming was a young man in his early twenties dressed in white. He had a handsome face and a hint of cynicism between his brows, but the spear in his hand was as steady as a rock, and his momentum was fierce!
At the same time, more than ten nimble men rushed out of the forest, each holding a weapon, and attacked the chaotic pursuers. These men were highly skilled in martial arts and coordinated well, and in an instant they scattered the pursuers.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the officer made a feint with his sword and turned around to slip away.
The young man in white had already set his sights on him. With a flick of his spear, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, he struck directly at his back! The officer, sensing a venomous threat from behind him, hurriedly turned to block the attack, but the immense force from the spear cracked his jaws, sending his sword flying!
"I can't let you go!" The young man in white snorted coldly, and the tip of his gun trembled, ready to end his life.
"Brother Shi Jin, spare his life!" A slightly anxious voice sounded.
Then another person walked out of the forest, wearing a green shirt and with an elegant face. It was the "Divine Military Strategist" Zhu Wu!
Upon hearing this, Shi Jin stopped the tip of his spear abruptly half an inch in front of the officer's throat, curling his lips in dissatisfaction: "Brother Zhu Wu, what's the point of keeping such a lackey of the imperial court?"
Zhu Wu quickly stepped forward and bowed to Yan Qing, who was panting and trembling against a boulder. "Brother Yan Qing, I'm sorry to frighten you." Then he said to Shi Jin, "Although this man is a hawk or dog, killing him will do no good and will only cause trouble. Just tie him up."
Shi Jin then reluctantly put away his gun and ordered his men to tie up the officer, who looked as pale as death.
Zhu Wu walked up to Yan Qing and saw that he was covered in blood and seriously injured. He quickly took out some medicine and applied it to him, sighing, "We received a message via carrier pigeon from the Hidden Post saying that this stronghold might be exposed. Master Gongsun was worried that our brothers would be in danger, so he ordered my brother Shi Jin and I to bring people to rescue them. Fortunately... we arrived in time."
Yan Qing looked at Zhu Wu and Shi Jin, a mixture of emotions welling up in his heart. He hadn't expected that they would be the ones to save him from such a desperate situation. Shi Jin, a native of Shijia Village in Huazhou, was a chivalrous young man with exceptional martial arts skills; Zhu Wu, a resourceful and resourceful man, was known as the Divine Military Strategist. They should have been living in Shaohua Mountain by now, so how could they be connected to the "Hidden Post"? And how could they have been ordered to rescue him?
As if sensing Yan Qing's confusion, Zhu Wu bandaged him while whispering, "This isn't the place to talk. Your injuries are serious, so let's get out of here first. I'll report the details later."
Shi Jin also came over, sizing Yan Qing up curiously, grinning, "Are you the Prodigal Yan Qing? You're truly a skilled fighter! Mr. Gongsun praised you to the skies in his letter, and seeing you today, I can see you're truly worthy of your reputation!"
Yan Qing smiled bitterly and wanted to speak, but it agitated his wound and caused a sharp pain. His vision went dark and he could no longer hold on and passed out.
---
Chapter 21 End
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
