Chapter 433: Sudden Upheaval

Before, Yuan Gang had not understood why Tianyu Sect's people had been leaving in separate groups. Now he did. He had no idea what method Feng Lingbo had used to draw them away and create an opening to strike. There was no time to dwell on that now.

He knew Shang Chaozong and the others were in immediate danger. If he failed to find a way to act, everything would become irretrievable. It would not be only their lives that were lost. Master Dao's painstaking work and plans would go up in smoke as well.

"Send the signal. Gather the men!" Yuan Gang ordered decisively.

"Yes!"

Niu Lin immediately ran outside, climbed onto the roof, and planted a strip of red cloth there. Inside the room, Yuan Gang stared at the map on the table, his gaze sweeping back and forth across it.

Yuan Feng reminded him again, "Boss, if you're thinking of going in to save them, think carefully. Feng Lingbo has a large number of troops inside the city. Once we get trapped, not only will we fail to rescue His Highness, none of us will have any way out."

Yuan Gang said nothing. The charcoal stick in his hand continued marking the map as he worked through the routes, calculating the fastest way to reach the target.

Yuan Huo said, "Boss, if we're really going to do this, why not attack the yamen where Feng Lingbo is based and try to seize him?"

Niu Shan immediately objected. "No. The yamen is even more heavily defended. We'd be surrounded before we could force our way inside. Besides, the compound is huge and we don't know its layout. We'd have trouble even finding Feng Lingbo immediately. We don't have time to search slowly. Without proper preparation, kidnapping him isn't realistic."

Yuan Huo said, "Can we create a disturbance and draw Tianyu Sect's people over? Or go straight to the city gates and find the Tianyu Sect cultivators there, then ask them to intervene?"

Everyone looked toward Yuan Gang.

Still staring at the map, he said, "Every district in the city is heavily garrisoned. We can't create a large disturbance. The moment anything breaks out, nearby troops will suppress and control it. As for Tianyu Sect, Feng Lingbo has heavy troops stationed at every city gate. Can you guarantee his men won't stop us? He's been planning this for a while. He probably made thorough preparations to prevent anyone from easily contacting Tianyu Sect. If we run straight into that, we could be seized or killed before we even reach them. Whether we can communicate with Tianyu Sect at all is uncertain. We cannot gamble on luck now."

He regretted that he had not managed to prepare any explosives. But there had been no way. They had not been in Changping City long. More importantly, after the war the garrison had taken control of every apothecary in the city to regulate medicinal supplies for the wounded. He could not easily obtain the materials needed to make explosives.

Yuan Feng said, "Then we concentrate everyone and force our way through together. If we clash with the troops around the city gates, I refuse to believe Tianyu Sect's people won't be alerted."

Yuan Gang raised his head and looked at him. "How long would it take us to run across the city? Then we'd still have to fight the guards. Even if we broke through and eventually reached Tianyu Sect, have you calculated the time?"

"The key right now is His Highness. Feng Lingbo has already moved. How many people are beside His Highness? He won't be able to hold out for long!"

Yuan Feng scratched his head anxiously. "Then what do we do?"

"We create a disturbance, yes. But first we keep His Highness alive. We help him hold out."

Yuan Huo asked, "How?"

"Here." Yuan Gang pointed to one spot on the map, then drew a straight line. "This route passes through many cramped stretches where large numbers of troops can't deploy at once. Defenses should be thinner, and the distance is short."

"We go straight through. Climb over every obstacle in the way. Once we reach the target, we help His Highness hold the position and set fires at the same time. Smoke and flame together. The moment Tianyu Sect sees something happening at the residence where His Highness is confined, they should hurry back."

Yuan Feng asked, "What if they've already succeeded by the time we get there?"

Yuan Gang did not find the question tiresome. On the contrary, he encouraged his men to raise every possibility they could think of.

He said heavily, "In street fighting, a large army can't fully deploy. That's our advantage. If we discover the situation can't be saved, immediately use the houses and obstacles to withdraw. Whoever can get out, gets out."

At those words, everyone present understood. This time, casualties were probably unavoidable.

Yuan Feng asked again, "What if Tianyu Sect can't get back in time?"

The room instantly fell silent. Everyone knew what that would mean. Under attack by a large army, even ordinary cultivators would have to be wary. Their group could not possibly hold for long. Yuan Gang did not stay silent long.

"His Highness's safety concerns too many people's interests. This is too important. We have to do everything we can."

"If we're only capable of handling smooth, easy matters, then there's no reason for us to exist."

"This time we're the closest people to His Highness. If we can't keep him alive, then we don't deserve the resources we normally enjoy. We might as well disband."

"If we do keep him alive, then only afterward will we truly have a place of our own in Nanzhou, rather than living there because His Highness gives us face on Master Dao's account."

"Pass those words to the brothers."

Yuan Huo and the others nodded in silence.

"Arrange four men, one for each city gate. Have them see whether they can get out. If anyone succeeds, contact Old Second Wu immediately and tell him what's happening."

Yuan Gang gave one final order. Before long, the group left the courtyard together and hurried away. Yuan Gang carried a thick wooden beam over one shoulder...

"Ah Fu, packing up this early today?"

On one street, a young man who had been crouching beside a handcart waiting for work suddenly started pushing it away. An old man tending a nearby stall, someone he had grown familiar with over the past few days, called after him.

"Something came up at home."

The young man tossed back the answer and pushed the cart away at a trot. Similar scenes appeared throughout the city. The men under Yuan Gang who saw the signal began converging on the rally point...

At an intersection between two alleys, Feng Ruoyi came jogging in with several hundred troops and met Tao Yan, who was arriving with several hundred men of his own.

The two formations merged and continued forward without stopping. At the next intersection, the two commanders exchanged a glance and nodded, then divided again and approached the residence where Shang Chaozong was confined from two directions. Feng Ruoyi led his men straight to the main gate.

The officer commanding the guards there immediately cupped his hands. "General Yi."

"Change the guard," Feng Ruoyi said coldly.

The officer looked surprised. "General Yi, it isn't time for relief yet. Before Mr. Bai left, he gave explicit orders that no one was to abandon his post without permission. If anything happens, this subordinate will be held responsible!"

Clad in armor, Feng Ruoyi drew the command arrow from his waist.

"Do you intend to defy orders?"

Shing!

The armored attendants on either side of him instantly drew their swords halfway from their sheaths.

The officer was startled. "This subordinate would not dare. I accept the order!"

He immediately waved his men together and led them away. Feng Ruoyi tilted his head toward both sides. His soldiers instantly took control of the gate and the entire front of the residence. Almost simultaneously, Nong Changguang arrived with another force and entered the alley along the residence's right side.

With that, Feng Ruoyi sealed the front gate, Feng Ruojie sealed the rear gate, Tao Yan sealed the left side, and Nong Changguang sealed the right.

Tao Yan and Nong Changguang both briefly showed themselves at the mouths of their respective alleys and signaled toward Feng Ruoyi to indicate they were ready. Feng Ruoyi nodded.

He walked to the center outside the main gate, one hand resting on the sword at his waist, looked up at the lintel, and gave a signal. Two junior officers immediately ran up the steps and knocked. The gate opened.

"What is it?"

The man who answered was one of Shang Chaozong's personal guards. One junior officer stepped closer as though to reply, then suddenly hooked an arm around the guard's neck and clamped a hand over his mouth. The guard reacted with extraordinary speed and drove an uppercut into the officer's ribs.

The officer's face twisted in pain, but this was the moment to prove his loyalty. Even if the pain killed him, he refused to let go.

Shing! Shing!

Two flashes of cold steel struck from behind. Blades stabbed viciously into the struggling guard's body. The first officer used the opening to pin him hard against the wall beside the gate while the others stabbed again and again from both sides. Blood burst from the body pressed against the wall. A final slash severed the guard's throat. He collapsed. The gate was open. A group rushed inside.

Another personal guard, hearing the disturbance, had barely appeared to see what was happening when a volley of arrows hissed through the air and shot him down. The way had been cleared.

Feng Ruoyi's jaw was taut as he climbed the steps, hand still resting on his sword. A mass of soldiers flooded in behind him and spread to both sides as they advanced through the residence. The moment Tao Yan and Nong Changguang saw Feng Ruoyi enter, they knew the operation had begun. Both turned and signaled. Their troops immediately began scaling the walls and joined the attack. Inside the main hall, Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting were discussing something.

In the courtyard below the steps, Luo An was pushing Meng Shanming's wheelchair on a slow walk. Suddenly Luo An stopped and gripped the chair. Meng Shanming tilted his head slightly as well, listening. Bowstrings. They were all veterans who had survived a hundred battles. One sound was enough.

"Enemy attack!"

The two personal guards keeping watch from the upper floor suddenly shouted the warning. An instant later, arrows hissed toward them. The two men reacted quickly. Each shoved the other aside and rolled in opposite directions, dropping flat to the floor. Arrows skimmed past their falling bodies. More shafts struck the carved railing and pillars with heavy thuds, their tail feathers quivering violently from the force.

"Enemy attack!"

Still lying flat, the two guards continued shouting while crawling toward the edge and using the structure for cover to look down below. Their swords were already drawn. Several screams and furious cries rang out in the outer courtyard. Shang Chaozong and Lan Ruoting rushed out of the main hall to see what was happening. The courtyard around Luo An offered no cover. He immediately turned the wheelchair and ran for the main hall, trying to get Meng Shanming indoors.

Several armed personal guards rushed in from both sides and formed behind Luo An, covering Meng Shanming's retreat. From behind the spirit wall in the courtyard, large numbers of archers surged out on both sides. Bowstrings erupted in a dense, sudden chorus. A rain of arrows swept forward.

Shang Chaozong had just reached the doorway when his expression changed. He kicked Lan Ruoting hard, sending him sprawling behind one side of the door, while using the force to throw himself backward as well. Both barely escaped the volley. Shang Chaozong immediately rolled along the floor and tucked himself behind the doorframe. Arrows tore through the hall, smashing and clattering into everything inside. Lan Ruoting broke into a cold sweat. If His Highness had not kicked him aside, his life would probably have ended right there.

The four personal guards shielding Luo An from behind were turned into pincushions and collapsed. Luo An, hunched over Meng Shanming and driving the wheelchair up the steps, was instantly exposed. Several arrows struck him in the back in quick succession. Then a figure flew from the wheelchair. At the critical moment, Luo An grabbed Meng Shanming's gaunt body and hurled him bodily into the main hall.

"Luo An!"

Meng Shanming cried out in grief. Flying through the air, he twisted his head and saw the one sight he least wanted to see. Blood poured from the corners of Luo An's mouth.

His body went weak and collapsed over the wheelchair. Unable to stop, he slid down the steps with it, shouting wildly, "Don't mind me! Close the doors!"

The instant he steadied himself at the bottom, he surged upright again, turned, and swung the wheelchair in front of himself to block the arrows. Then he staggered straight back toward the soldiers rushing in.

His eyes bloodshot, he roared, "Dog thieves! Your grandfather is here! Come on!"

[End of Chapter 433]