Chapter 87

When Xi Zhicai's men arrived, it was already a quarter of an hour later. The Zhong family soldiers had already cleaned up the battlefield, but the convoy had only retreated a hundred or so yards, reorganized their formation, and remained on high alert with their strong crossbows.

Ludian, who had come to greet Xi Zhicai, reported that there were three more groups of masked men nearby, each with about a hundred people. They were closely watching, seemingly having received news of the treasure, and wanted to get a piece of the action. However, seeing the tragic end of the Wuling savages, they were temporarily intimidated.

However, the Zhong family's treasure convoy did not dare to leave easily, and the two sides were still in a standoff.

The Wuling savages were always poor, and the bodies of the savages had nothing valuable. The main task of the Zhong family soldiers in cleaning up the battlefield was to recover intact crossbow bolts. They paid no attention to the spoils of the Xiongxi side, leaving the bodies to rot in the wilderness.

Looking at the scattered blood and corpses around, Tan Yu's pupils constricted, deeply affected. This was the first time he had seen such a large-scale post-battle scene.

Under the escort of Zeng Yinyin and Zeng Xiaodie, the remaining Xiongxi forces, including Lady Deng, quickly withdrew from the battle.

After this battle, Zeng Yinyin's impression of Tan Yu improved significantly. When parting, she even nodded at him and said, "You did well!"

I did well? Tan Yu shrugged, but noticed that Xi Zhilan seemed to give Zeng Yinyin a subtle glance.

Not far behind, Ludian was quietly briefing Xi Zhicai on the intelligence about the Shouchun convoy.

"Inside the convoy, there are at least forty well-trained archers. The leader, Ji Hu, is the cousin of the Zhong family general Ji Ling and the commander of the Zhong family's strong crossbow battalion. His command skills are excellent, and he can maximize the power of the crossbow formation."

Xi Zhicai was staring at the convoy three hundred meters away, frowning.

"Hmm, the injuries of the arrow-pierced savages are very organized, which shows that Ji Hu is indeed very strong."

After examining a few bodies, Tan Yu said, "There are sword experts among them. Those who weren't shot mostly died from a single sword strike."

"It's Tian Chanzi!" Ludian looked at Tan Yu, "If you had arrived a little earlier, you might have seen him."

Tan Yu detected a slightly provocative tone in his voice, smiled slightly, and ignored it.

Who are you, anyway?

Sorry, I only do business with big bosses.

Ludian's face turned serious, his thick brows knitted, and he stared at Tan Yu.

"The sword techniques of the Huainan Sect have always been known as the 'Southern and Northern Twin Swords' alongside the Zidian Sect," Xi Zhicai added, then asked Ludian, "Where is Old Zhang?"

"Old General Zhang was pursued by Huainanzi and went northwest. I couldn't catch up with him," Ludian reported, his demeanor reverting to respect as he bowed his head.

"Hmm, send another team to assist him. We must get Old Zhang out no matter what."

"Yes, I will go myself," Ludian waved his hand and led five black-clad men away quietly.

Tan Yu was a bit puzzled. For a fighter of Zhang Jin's level, either he wins and chases, or he loses and flees. It's rare for a fight to end in a stalemate. What kind of assistance could these few people provide? They could only wait for Zhang Jin to appear and offer some food and drink, and perhaps annoy him a bit.

But his mood was not good, and he just stared at the ground covered with corpses, lost in thought.

"Ludian is like that, he has a strong personality," Xi Zhicai said lightly.

"Is that so?" Tan Yu replied casually, showing some politeness.

Xi Zhilan said, "Brother, the enemy is very strong!"

"Of course, a pseudo-emperor of a generation wouldn't have the treasure convoy reach here without such strength," Xi Zhicai looked at Tan Yu and asked, "Tan Yu, what do you think we should do?"

"What should we do?" Tan Yu smiled and glanced at the dozen or so people behind Xi Zhicai, "If I say we attack now, do you think we can handle it?"

"No!" Xi Zhicai shook his head, "Not now. The best time to act is after dark." He looked at the sky, "Tonight will be clear, and the darkness will be more suitable for our people to act. Let's wait for Wang Jianzhu and the others to arrive before making a decision."

Most of Xi Zhicai's subordinates were night assassins, all with rich experience in night combat. The good weather he mentioned would be a night with few stars and a faint moon. On Tan Yu's side, the five or six people were all experts with keen senses, and their night combat abilities were not significantly reduced.

The enemy's camp and arrow formation would lose much of its power in the dark. As long as they could withstand the few strong opponents like Huainanzi, victory should not be difficult.

"Then that's settled. However, it's at least two or three hours until nightfall, and delays can lead to changes," Tan Yu looked at the sky and calculated the time, "Brother Zhicai, you keep an eye on things here, and I'll go back to assist Old Wang and the others."

Xi Zhicai said to Xi Zhilan, "You escort Brother Tan Yu."

Xi Zhilan nodded.

The two remounted their horses and returned to the road.

"Do Old Wang and the others need our assistance?" Xi Zhilan asked Tan Yu, puzzled, as they rode at a moderate pace.

"Of course, if they fall into an ambush, we'll have to save them!" Tan Yu said seriously.

"What kind of ambush?"

"Like the Xiongxi savages," Tan Yu replied.

"They were just too stupid!" Xi Zhilan said disdainfully, "Knowing that the trap was set, they still rushed in. It's no wonder they were shot to death."

"Exactly, so I'm worried whether Old Wang and the others can break through the enemy's trap."

"They..."

"They have already ambushed Shen Qiniang and the Mounu," Tan Yu said with a smile, "I wonder what Shen Qiniang and the Mounu will think when they see Old Wang."

Xi Zhilan's eyes widened, and after a moment of thought, she suddenly asked, "Brother Yu, did you send Old Wang and the others to secretly ambush Shen Qiniang and the Mounu?"

"Exactly!" Tan Yu said with a righteous expression, "So they won't be back in half an hour. We need to prepare for battle."

"Oh!" Xi Zhilan didn't understand why they needed to prepare, but she casually touched the Qiu Shui sword at her waist.

Xi Zhilan, who had only opened six of her seven senses, would eventually be deceived! Tan Yu decided that after today, he would give her some special training to prevent her from being a liability and getting deceived in the future.

While chatting, Tan Yu suddenly perked up his ears and shouted to the opposite side.

"Is it Old Wang?"

"Ah, you brat, what are you doing here?"

"How did the inspection go?"

"Fine."

What does 'fine' mean? Tan Yu was taken aback and leaped off his horse.

Wang Yue floated over like a breeze, carrying Zhang Ren. His speed was as fast as a galloping horse on snow.

"All done." Zhang Ren landed, extended his right index and middle fingers in a V, and carried a medium-sized leather bag, his face beaming with suppressed excitement.

Tan Yu breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Was the harvest good this time?"

"We found two more groups transporting treasure. It turns out they split into three routes. These two groups each carried some smaller valuables, and only one or two people set out quietly, making them hard to detect," Zhang Ren said excitedly.

"Ha, thanks to this little junior! His eyes are really good, hitting the mark every time!" Shi Huang, who arrived shortly after, said, holding a person horizontally. He laughed heartily and threw the person to the ground with a thud, but the person made no sound, "Old Brother Wang and Han Sheng each took out one, and caught one alive, who fainted."

Tan Yu noticed that Shi Huang also had a package at his waist, similar in size and style to the one on Zhang Ren's shoulder.

"Was it that easy?" Tan Yu was also surprised.

"Yeah, we didn't run into Shen Qiniang and the Mounu," Wang Yue added.

"Didn't run into them?" Tan Yu's mind raced, "Could it be that they are waiting for the treasure convoy?"

"Possibly!" Wang Yue thought for a moment and could only explain it that way.

"But they didn't take our route," Tan Yu, who had made a round trip, knew the route well, "There are actually three routes for the treasure transport?"

"Yes, the last route is the large convoy," Shi Huang was very happy.

"Where is Old Huang?"

"Han Sheng is taking some of the larger and heavier treasures to Xu Deng's people. It's safer to store them with the cargo-selling family, and they won't be lost."

——

Vote, store it with me, it will be absolutely safe and won't be lost!

Page flip, AD starts

Page flip, AD ends