Chapter 33: A Flaw in the Plan

Just then, a rapid series of whistles split the air. Already airborne, Chen Guishuo abruptly changed his sword movement, whipping the blade sideways and scattering a spray of sword flowers.

Clang-clang-clang!

Five or six incoming arrows were knocked aside by the flashing sword. Below, more than a hundred men who had been lying in ambush suddenly surged out under Guan Tie's command, bows and crossbows leveled as they charged uphill on foot. Earlier, acting on Lan Ruoting's signal, Guan Tie had quietly brought his men over to investigate. By sheer coincidence, they arrived just in time to see Yuan Gang in danger. Knowing how highly the prince regarded Yuan Gang, how could Guan Tie stand by and let him die? Under cover of the first volley, Yuan Gang broke free at once and rushed downhill. Chen Guishuo landed hurriedly, with no time to seek cover. Another volley came immediately.

This time there were dozens of arrows packed tightly together. Even with his sword, Chen Guishuo could not deflect all of them. He quickly flung out both arms and circulated his cultivation, releasing spiritual power outward until it formed a protective aura around his body. The moment the dozens of arrows reached him, they slowed sharply. Then they stopped in midair. His spiritual power had trapped them by force. Some arrowheads hung farther away, some closer. The nearest stopped only a finger's breadth from Chen Guishuo's eye, frightening him badly enough to break out in a cold sweat. There was a reason the suspended arrows had penetrated to different depths.

Each successive impact had nearly broken through Chen Guishuo's defense. The arrows that struck first encountered the strongest resistance, but in doing so they consumed part of that defensive strength. Those that arrived afterward met less resistance and naturally drove closer. And it was not over. Guan Tie waved again. Another rain of arrows came pouring in. Chen Guishuo no longer dared take it head-on. With cultivation only in the Qi Refinement Realm, there was no way he could withstand an endless succession of arrows. He swept one hand outward, blasting away the arrows suspended before him, then threw himself sideways and flashed behind a large tree.

Thunk-thunk-thunk!

Arrows hammered into the trunk, their shafts and feathers quivering. Others hissed past both sides of the tree. Chen Guishuo had been pinned down. Yuan Gang, meanwhile, had already rushed into the shelter of the troops and was safe for the moment.

Holding a saber in one hand, Guan Tie looked Yuan Gang up and down. Seeing no obvious injury, he asked, "What happened?"

Yuan Gang answered indifferently, "Don't know."

Noticing that Yuan Gang was alone, Guan Tie seemed to remember something and asked urgently, "Where's Su Jieren?"

Yuan Gang looked toward the summit.

"Still inside the temple!"

Guan Tie did not hesitate for even a breath.

He waved toward his men. "Up!"

He was about to lead them into Nanshan Temple to rescue Su Jieren.

Yuan Gang caught him by the arm and warned, "There should be more than one cultivator. It's dangerous."

Guan Tie replied heavily, "The Yingyang and Wulie Guards do not abandon their brothers!"

Yuan Gang paused. He stared at Guan Tie, his expression changing subtly. Guan Tie did not stop to think about it. He jerked his head toward his men again.

"Move!"

The group began rushing uphill, pressing toward the tree where Chen Guishuo had taken cover. Yuan Gang had originally intended to use the situation as an opportunity to slip away according to plan. He glanced once toward the road leading down the mountain, then looked back at the men charging uphill. His jaw tightened. In the end, he did not follow the plan. Instead, he ran after them. Passing one of the crossbowmen, he borrowed the Saber strapped across the man's back, then accelerated and pushed to the front to hold the line. Just as the group was closing on Chen Guishuo's hiding place, a figure suddenly dropped backward from the treetops overhead. Xu Yitian. The instant he landed among them, sword light flashed in all directions.

Blood blossomed again and again. In the blink of an eye, five or six men had fallen beneath his blade, throwing the formation into chaos. Xu Yitian plunged directly into the crowd. The surrounding men no longer dared loose arrows for fear of hitting their own people. One after another, they drew sabers and rushed him in close combat.

But how could they possibly be his match?

Watching one brother after another fall, Guan Tie's eyes nearly split with fury.

"Signal arrows!" he roared.

Yuan Gang had just turned his head to see what was happening when Chen Guishuo flashed out from behind the tree and stabbed straight at him. Sensing the attack, Yuan Gang whipped his saber across in a horizontal cut.

Clang!

Sword and saber collided. Chen Guishuo once again experienced Yuan Gang's brute force firsthand. The impact sent his sword vibrating violently and numbed his palm. Yuan Gang, by contrast, seemed completely unaffected. He immediately began hacking and chopping at Chen Guishuo with ferocious abandon. Raw power overwhelmed technique, forcing Chen Guishuo to retreat again and again while seeking cover. Chen Guishuo suddenly reversed one hand and struck with the Xuanqing Palm. The force of the palm blasted through the air and struck Yuan Gang squarely, knocking him staggering backward. Yuan Gang planted one foot hard, steadied himself, then instantly charged forward again with saber raised and resumed his savage assault. Several signal arrows were fired one after another.

Streams of light screamed into the sky.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Red flares burst overhead in rapid succession. On the official road below, everyone waiting there snapped their heads toward Nanshan Temple. A red light had exploded above the mountain. Then came several more sharp reports as additional red flares appeared in the sky.

An emergency distress signal!

Shang Chaozong, Shang Shuqing, and everyone else reacted at once, vaulting into their saddles. The scattered troops stationed near and far rushed back at full speed. Hundreds of riders gathered together with bows, crossbows, and battle sabers in hand, then thundered toward the mountain to reinforce their comrades. Niu Youdao's brow furrowed deeply.

What was happening?

Why had several distress signals gone up?

This was already outside the plan. Worried that something had happened to Monkey, Niu Youdao spurred his horse after them. Qu Wu and the others from Guangyi Commandery were stunned to see Shang Chaozong's force suddenly rush off in such urgency. Qu Wu mounted and waved.

"Move! Let's see what's happening!"

All ten riders galloped after them. Inside Nanshan Temple's reception hall, Su Jieren, who had been answering questions and trying to stall for time, abruptly turned his head when he heard the emergency signals. Song Yanqing and Yuan Fang were startled as well. Several men rushed outside immediately and saw the flares blooming in the sky. Su Jieren's expression changed drastically.

Clang!

He drew his sword and tried to charge out. Song Yanqing's eyes flickered. He flipped one hand and struck with the Xuanqing Palm. The blow landed squarely on Su Jieren's back. Su Jieren spat blood and was hurled forward, crashing to the floor.

"Keep him under guard!" Song Yanqing barked at Yuan Fang.

Then he flashed outside, leapt onto the roof of the front hall, and ran swiftly across it to see what was happening. Back in the forest, Xu Yitian saw that the enemy had fired distress signals and knew they could no longer afford to remain entangled. Seeing Chen Guishuo still being forced into a frantic retreat, Xu Yitian reversed one hand and struck with another Xuanqing Palm. The blast knocked several men over. He flashed forward, cut his way out of the encirclement with a sweep of his sword, then sent the point lunging toward Yuan Gang's exposed back.

"Watch out!" Guan Tie shouted.

At the same time, he charged across to intercept, bringing his Saber down in a furious chop at Xu Yitian.

Clang!

Xu Yitian knocked the saber aside with a single stroke. The sword continued with the motion. A burst of blood sprayed. The blade drove directly into Guan Tie's chest. Warned in time, Yuan Gang twisted around and slashed hard at Xu Yitian.

Xu Yitian had already sprung into the air. He flipped over Yuan Gang, kicked off a tree trunk, and shouted, "Go!"

Chen Guishuo immediately turned and broke away. Arrows hissed after them. The guards rushing up behind opened fire with bows and crossbows, but dense forest prevented the weapons from displaying their full power. Using the trees for cover, Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo bounded several times into the canopy, then flew away above the treetops and disappeared from sight. A group of men surged forward with bows and crossbows raised, remaining on high alert. Others crowded around the fallen Guan Tie.

"My lord! My lord..."

Guan Tie, surrounded by his men, stretched out a blood-covered hand. He reached toward Yuan Gang, who stood silently nearby, and looked at him with unmistakable expectation. The others turned toward Yuan Gang as well. Two men moved aside to make room for him. Yuan Gang stepped forward, took Guan Tie's bloody hand, and slowly crouched. Guan Tie gripped his palm with all the strength he had left.

"Brother Yuan... stay. Stay..."

Yuan Gang said nothing. He simply watched him. Guan Tie's voice faded. His head tilted to one side, and he went limp in the arms of the man holding him. Even then, Yuan Gang never gave him the answer he had wanted. Ignoring the grieving and furious looks around him, Yuan Gang remained expressionless. He planted the saber point on the ground and slowly stood. Then he looked around. In only this brief clash, more than thirty of the hundred-odd guards Guan Tie had brought were already lying on the ground. Outside Nanshan Temple, Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo came flying back and met Song Yanqing at the temple gate.

Seeing the blood spattered across Xu Yitian's clothing, Song Yanqing immediately asked, "Did you get him?"

Xu Yitian shook his head. "We didn't see Niu Youdao. We ran into a group of elite soldiers instead and ended up fighting them. They should all be Shang Chaozong's personal guards."

"That little thief is slippery enough." Song Yanqing sneered. "Does he really think Shang Chaozong can protect him?"

At that moment, the rumble of hooves rose from below. A large force was clearly charging up the mountain.

Chen Guishuo sounded worried. "Senior Brother, it should be the rest of Shang Chaozong's men. Should we avoid them for now?"

Song Yanqing turned and snapped, "Avoid what? Do you think Shang Chaozong's men can keep us here?"

Chen Guishuo frowned. "Shang Chaozong is still a proper Commandery Prince. If word gets out that we attacked a prince, it could cause serious trouble. We can't afford to offend either side."

"Who said anything about attacking Shang Chaozong?" Song Yanqing said disdainfully. "I don't want to provoke him, but he had better not provoke me either. What can a washed-up Commandery Prince do?"

Then he sneered.

"Since I've come all this way, Shang Chaozong owes me an explanation. He must hand Niu Youdao over!"

Xu Yitian and Chen Guishuo exchanged a look. After thinking about it, they had to admit he had a point. With Shang Chaozong's present strength, keeping the three of them here was basically impossible.

"Gather everyone in the temple together. Don't let that bear demon run away!" Song Yanqing ordered over his shoulder.

Then he walked to the steps descending from the temple, clasped his hands behind his back, and looked coldly down the mountain road as though waiting for honored guests to arrive. Chen Guishuo quickly returned inside to gather the monks. Several hundred riders charged halfway up the mountain and joined the remnants of Guan Tie's force. Shang Chaozong jumped from his horse and strode urgently into the forest beside the uphill road. He stopped before Guan Tie's body. His gaze swept slowly across the dozens of corpses nearby. All around them, the troops remained on the highest alert. Niu Youdao arrived shortly afterward. The moment he saw Yuan Gang standing there safe and unharmed, he finally released a heavy breath.

He simply could not understand why Yuan Gang had failed to leave according to plan. Shang Chaozong's Adam's apple bobbed.

With his face dark as a storm, he asked, "What happened?"

"Your Highness, we came here to investigate and found Brother Yuan under attack, so we intervened to rescue him..."

One of the guards gave a detailed account of everything that had happened. After hearing it, Niu Youdao frowned deeply and stared at Yuan Gang, who remained silent. When Shang Chaozong learned that Su Jieren might still be inside the temple, his gaze shifted first to Yuan Gang, then to Niu Youdao. At last he waved one hand.

"Up the mountain!"

[End of Chapter 33]