Chapter 728: Yunya Ancient Town (V)

Behind him was a raging fire, and in front of him was a formation of black arrows that were eyeing him eagerly.

At this moment, the situation of Liu Xunyi and his companions was far more difficult than a fight between a few and a large force.

"Lord Liu, we can't fight head-on!" Feng Tianba looked at the densely packed black-clad men with fear in his eyes, and whispered, "Once they fire all their arrows at us, we won't be able to escape. Even if you and Master Su are highly skilled in martial arts and may be able to fight your way out, don't forget that the princess is unconscious right now. If there is any mistake in the melee, she may..."

"No need to say more, just act according to circumstances."

Liu Xunyi interrupted Feng Tianba's reminder without turning back, and then handed the unconscious Zhao Xin to Su He's care, and slowly took three steps forward.

With every step he took, the men in black around him became more cautious and tightened the bows and arrows in their hands.

He took three steps forward because Liu Xunyi wanted to attract all the arrows to himself, so as to reduce the crisis for Su He, Zhao Xin and others.

Liu Xunyi stopped walking, held his head high, and looked at the masked men in black with neither arrogance nor servility. He suddenly smiled contemptuously and said sarcastically, "What? You dare not take responsibility for what you did? You have the upper hand with your numbers, so why do you have to cover up so tightly? You don't know that sooner or later you will have to meet your parents-in-law, and the government will catch you one by one and punish you severely."

"You actually brought up the government to scare us. If we were afraid of the damn government you mentioned, why would we show up here tonight and chase you like drowned dogs?"

With a slightly hoarse laugh, three masked men in black slowly walked out of the crowd. It seemed that they were the culprits of this tragedy tonight.

Unfortunately, their faces were covered with black scarves, leaving only three pairs of eyes visible. In addition, it was dark at night and the firelight was flickering, so Liu Xunyi had no way of identifying their identities.

"Are you afraid to see people? Or are you afraid to see me?" Liu Xunyi spat out a mouthful of blood and spit, pretending to be disdainful and testing, "Could it be that we know each other? Are you afraid that I will find out your identity?"

"Liu Xunyi, you were despicable enough in the past when you pretended to be kind and righteous in the martial arts world. I didn't expect that you would be even more despicable after returning to the court." A shorter man in black joked, "I thought you were so unjust in the martial arts world that you would be a loyal minister and a good general after returning to the court, but it turns out that it's easy to change the country but hard to change one's nature. When it comes to greed for money, power, and fame, you are second to none. I'm afraid no one in the world dares to claim to be first."

Although the black-clothed man's tone was not fierce, Liu Xunyi could still feel a strong hatred between his words.

"Do we have a grudge against each other?" Liu Xunyi took the opportunity to ask, "Or... have I ever offended you?"

"you……"

However, before the short man in black could speak, a thin man in black beside him suddenly interrupted: "The marriage between Song and Mongolia is not only embarrassing, but also a loss of power and humiliation to the country. You should know exactly how much gold and silver the Song Dynasty paid to the Mongols behind the marriage."

"The marriage between the two countries is also to put an end to the war..."

"Nonsense!" the thin man in black retorted. "The Emperor of the Song Dynasty was willing to submit to the barbarians in order to keep his throne and his wealth. He is really unworthy of being the emperor of us Han people. The real gold and silver given to the Mongols by the imperial court was euphemistically called 'dowry', but in fact every drop was the blood and sweat of the people. In the end, the real victims were still the common people, the millions of people."

"That's right!" the short man in black echoed, "The peace bought with the hard-earned money of women and ordinary people is more shameful than the destruction of the country and the extinction of the race. It is simply the greatest shame and humiliation for the Han people for thousands of years."

"Nonsense!" Feng Tianba could no longer suppress his inner anger and scolded, "Whether to fight or make peace is all decided by the imperial court. How can you, the unruly people, make irresponsible comments? If all Han people act impulsively like you, and fight and kill without regard for the consequences, it would be a real shame."

"Stop talking nonsense! Hand over Liu Xunyi and Zhao Xin, and tell us An Chen's whereabouts. We may be merciful and spare the lives of the others. Otherwise, kill them all!"

It was only at this moment that the third person in black spoke. What surprised Liu Xunyi and the others was that the third person in black leading the group was actually a woman.

Although she deliberately concealed her voice, Liu Xunyi still heard a hint of familiarity in her tone, as if the two had met somewhere before.

"Release the princess and the others, and I will stay!" Liu Xunyi said righteously, "Otherwise, we will never surrender even if we die, and we will not tell you the whereabouts of the King of Hexi."

"Humph! You spineless thing, as a Han Chinese, you are obsessed with protecting the Mongolian prince." The short man in black said sarcastically, "Sooner or later, the Mongolian cavalry will cross the Qinhuai River and annihilate Lin'an."

"Since they are stubborn and unyielding, there is no need to waste your breath on them." The thin man in black said impatiently, "Kill them first, and then send people to Qinling to kill them."

Hearing this, a bloodthirsty gleam flashed in the eyes of the short man in black. He slowly raised his right hand, signaling the crossbowmen to prepare, and said with a sinister smile: "Liu Xunyi, I will avenge you today. Use your dog life to pay tribute to his heroic spirit in heaven!"

"The heroic spirit in heaven?" Liu Xunyi's face changed, and he asked hurriedly, "Who is he?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" The thin man in black changed his expression and urged, "Quickly give the order to shoot arrows and kill Zhao Xin first!"

"Listen, everyone, aim at Zhao Xin..."

"Whoosh!"

"puff!"

"what……"

However, before the short man in black could wave his hand to give an order, a "black lightning" silently crossed the night sky and shot through his palm as fast as thunder.

It was a sharp arrow, exactly the same as the one that was used to report the news to Liu Xunyi at the West Street store. It was strangely silent, yet accurate.

"who?"

"Everyone be careful, someone is shooting a sneak attack!"

"They have helpers hiding in the dark, find them out!"

"Don't panic! Keep your composure..."

……

The sudden change caused the all-concentrated black-clad men to lose their composure and panic for a moment. Everyone was worried that they would be shot by the arrows hiding in the dark. "Brother Liu, take advantage of this moment!"

Seizing the opportunity, Su He made a prompt decision, shouted loudly, hugged Zhao Xin and flew up, quickly killing the man in black.

"Shoot! Shoot quickly!" The skinny man in black was furious and shouted, "Shoot them all, don't leave any alive!"

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Before he finished speaking, hundreds of arrows shot up into the sky, instantly weaving a terrifying arrow net above the narrow street. The sharp arrows, filled with anger and murderous intent, were as fast as meteors and as dense as a rainstorm, shooting towards Liu Xunyi and his companions.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Su He reminded loudly and swung the Blood Shadow Knife at the same time, knocking down the whistling rain of arrows.

At this moment, in order to prevent Zhao Xin from being shot by arrows, Su He had to use his back as a shield, swinging his sword with his right hand to block the endless rain of arrows, and holding Zhao Xin with his left hand, protecting her tightly under his body, and was forced to return to the ground from mid-air.

"puff!"

"Forehead……"

In a moment, the three guards behind Feng Tianba were all shot into "hedgehogs" by arrows because of their poor martial arts skills. Feng Tianba's condition was not optimistic either. He was hit by two arrows in his right arm, and blood gushed out, staining his sleeves in the blink of an eye.

"Whoosh whoosh!"

Just when Liu Xunyi and his companions were facing a huge threat, sharp arrows suddenly came from the end of the darkness, and wreaked havoc among the many men in black like flowers scattered by a fairy. Many of the men in black had already died innocently under the cold arrows before they could react.

This scene caused great panic among the men in black.

"Let's take action!"

"No!" The thin man in black grabbed the short man in black by the arm and warned, "If we take action, Liu Xunyi and Su He will definitely recognize our martial arts and guess our identities. Don't forget that the owner of the dock has repeatedly warned us not to reveal our identities, so as not to become enemies with the Mongols."

"What's the harm in guessing it? As long as we kill them all, who would know that this matter is related to Jinjianwu..."

"That won't work either!" The thin man in black shook his head firmly. "There is a master hiding in the dark and shooting arrows to support Liu Xunyi and his men. How do you know if he will recognize us? What's more, there is no wall that is impenetrable. As long as one person recognizes us, there will be a second and a third..."

"That's enough!" the short man in black complained, "If you don't want us to take action, why did the owner send us here?"

"Two armies are facing each other, in front of thousands of soldiers, do you and I, as commanders, have to fight in person?" The thin man in black advised, "The reason why the master gave you three thousand soldiers is to let you learn how to plan and deploy troops, and use your brains and strategies to trap the opponent into a dead end, rather than relying on your own courage and fighting with them face to face. Don't forget that the master's expectation for you is to become a capable general in the future, rather than a reckless warrior who is brave and aggressive."

"Wen Lian is right! Now that An Chen has escaped, our plan tonight has failed. If we blindly pursue Liu Xunyi, it will only benefit Lu Tingxiang for nothing, and there will be no other benefits for us. If our identities are revealed, I'm afraid it will not be worth it."

The woman who spoke up to smooth things over was Dong Xiaoer, the short man in black was Ding Ao, and the thin man in black was Wen Lian, who was sent by Jin Fuyu to monitor them.

Finally, after repeated persuasion from Dong Xiaoer and Wen Lian, Ding Ao reluctantly left North Street and headed straight for the West Street store.

During the battle, the cold arrows relieved the pressure on Liu Xunyi and his men, and when they rushed into the crowd, the threat of the rain of arrows disappeared. Many men in black were forced to abandon their bows and arrows and draw their swords to fight them in close combat.

"Brother Liu, do you know who was secretly helping you just now?"

Su He pulled out a sharp arrow from his shoulder with all his strength, and stabbed it into the throat of a man in black who was coming towards him.

"I don't know." Liu Xunyi was becoming increasingly confused about the situation in front of him, "But they should be friends, not enemies."

"If I find this person one day, I will definitely thank him for saving my life!"

"must!"

While he was talking, Su He rushed to Liu Xunyi's side, handed the unconscious Zhao Xin to him, and said solemnly: "Let's fight our way north. Not far away is the entrance to the mountain. It is very narrow and easy to defend but difficult to attack. When the time comes, I will block their pursuit for you, and you take the princess away first!"

"Master Su, I'll go with you!"

Feng Tianba, covered in blood, swung his knife to cut off the two sharp arrows stuck in his arm. The piercing pain made him go crazy and strangle the neck of a man in black, breaking the man's cervical vertebrae.

"No, I can't abandon you..."

"You didn't abandon us, but protected the princess from danger." Su He waved the Blood Shadow Knife to defend Liu Xunyi from attacks from all directions, and said anxiously, "The princess is our biggest concern. Only by protecting her can we escape. What's more, the princess's life is related to the war between Song and Mongolia, and there must be no mistakes. I have agreed with the King of Hexi to bring the princess to the Jingbei camp within 15 days. If you break your promise, Song and Mongolia will definitely go to war..."

"What?" Liu Xunyi was confused and had a lot of thoughts in his mind, "But you..."

"Don't worry about us!" Su He interrupted, "There is a Horyuji Temple at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains. The abbot of the temple, Master Konghui, is an old friend of mine. You can take the princess there to recuperate. We will meet at Horyuji Temple in three days."

"Master Liu, I will go with Master Su, you can take the princess with you!" Feng Tianba said righteously, "We will meet at Horyuji Temple!"

Under the repeated urging of Su He and Feng Tianba, Liu Xunyi finally compromised for the sake of Zhao Xin's safety.

The three of them worked together to break out of the encirclement, and said goodbye to each other at the entrance to the mountain. Then Liu Xunyi no longer hesitated, holding Zhao Xin in his arms, he dived into the Qinling Mountains and quickly disappeared into the night.

……

(End of this chapter)