Chapter 49

Lu Bing rushed to the second large carriage and lifted the curtain. Disappointment followed one after another, and she did not dare to call out again. The person inside the carriage, however, called out, "Who is it?"

This single word pierced into Lu Bing's ears, filling her with indescribable sweetness. She immediately threw herself into the carriage, hugging Wen Tailai's neck and crying, unable to speak.

Wen Tailai, unexpectedly seeing his beloved wife, was overjoyed, but with his hands bound, he could not embrace her to comfort her. The two of them, inside the carriage, forgot everything around them, oblivious to the shouts and clashes outside.

After a while, the large carriage began to move. Zhang Jin poked his head in and said, "Fourth Brother, we are taking you back."

Wen Tailai shouted, "Quickly go save Fourteenth Brother!"

Zhang Jin, focused and undistracted, leaped onto the driver's seat and hurriedly drove the carriage north.

Several guards fought desperately to seize the carriage, but Yang Chengxie, Wei Chunhua, Jiang Sigen, and Zhou Qi turned back to drive them off, forcing them to retreat. They shouted, "Release the arrows!" Dozens of Qing soldiers drew their bows and shot. In the darkness, Yang Chengxie cried out, "Ah!" as an arrow pierced his left arm.

Wei Chunhua was greatly alarmed and asked, "Eighth Brother, how are you?"

Yang Chengxie, using his teeth to bite the arrow, swung his left arm outward and pulled it out, shouting in anger, "Kill all these slaves!" Ignoring the bleeding wound, he raised his steel whip and charged into the Qing soldiers.

Wei Chunhua shouted, "Good, let's kill more."

The two of them charged forward together, and in a short time, they injured seven or eight Qing soldiers, causing the rest to scatter in all directions. Meng Jianxiong and An Jianggang rushed up to support them.

Meng Jianxiong fired a volley of bullets, hitting over a dozen Qing soldiers, making them cry out in pain.

The Red Flower Society and the Iron Gallantry Manor attracted most of the Qing soldiers' fire, providing cover for the other experienced fighters, allowing them to complete their tasks.

At this moment, Fang Junjie, with a fierce expression, seized the opportunity and, with a grim face, beheaded a Qing soldier with a single stroke.

The head flew up, and blood splattered all over his face. Fang Junjie felt a wave of nausea and vomited on the horse's back.

Just then, an arrow shot from the side. If it had hit Fang Junjie, he would have lost his life. Many of the experienced fighters nearby were shocked, but no one could or was willing to help.

Li Wucheng spurred his horse forward, rushed up, and swung his sword, knocking the arrow away. He sternly said, "Fang Shiyu, at a time like this, how can you be distracted? Do you want to die?"

"Sorry... I'll be fine soon," Fang Junjie forced himself to say, suppressing his nausea.

Unlike Fang Junjie's poor performance, Liu Hongjun, Jingwei, and Zhao Dingkun performed much better. After a series of slashes, they were close to completing their task.

Even Fan Qi, Liu Juan, and Guo Siyu performed well, working together to take down their opponents.

However, when Guo Siyu first killed someone, her reaction was not much better than Fang Junjie's, and even worse. If it weren't for the support of Fan Qi and Liu Juan, she might have given up.

Jiang Sigen and Zhou Qi protected the large carriage, and Zhang Jin drove it to a small hill and stopped, watching Chen Jialuo and Zhang Zhaoyong fight.

Chen Jialuo's skills were already inferior to Zhang Zhaoyong, and with Zhang Zhaoyong wielding the Green Jade Sword, he broke Chen Jialuo's shield, forcing him to retreat.

Dustless Daoist joined Chen Jialuo, but after a brief fight, Zhang Zhaoyong, relying on the Green Jade Sword, cut off Dustless Daoist's sword. Zhao Banshan then joined the fight.

Zhao Banshan, known as the Thousand-Handed Buddha, was not given this title for nothing. As soon as he acted, a barrage of iron lotus seeds, bodhi seeds, and silver darts flew toward Zhang Zhaoyong.

Zhang Zhaoyong dodged and avoided the various projectiles, but suddenly, a white, curved object flew toward his face, making a peculiar sound.

He feared it might be poisoned and did not dare to grab it head-on. Instead, he caught its tail, but the Dragon Wall unexpectedly slipped from his hand and flew back. Zhao Banshan caught it and threw it again.

Zhang Zhaoyong was greatly alarmed and did not dare to catch it again. He swung the Green Jade Sword to cut it, but suddenly, two silver darts shot from both sides.

He accurately judged their trajectories, leaped over a丈 (several feet), and let the darts fly past his feet. Unexpectedly, the darts' tails hit the ground, and the spring mechanisms inside the darts activated, causing them to turn and shoot upward.

He realized the danger and quickly blocked them with his hand. One dart hit his palm, and he immediately used his internal strength to retract his hand, neutralizing the dart's momentum without injuring his skin.

However, the other dart could not be avoided and pierced his calf, causing him to cry out in pain.

Seeing him injured, Zhao Banshan pressed his attack. Zhang Zhaoyong raised his sword to block. Zhao Banshan, knowing that the Green Jade Sword was a sharp blade, avoided a direct clash, tilting his sword slightly and using the "adhering" technique of Tai Chi sword, pulling the Green Jade Sword several inches.

Zhang Zhaoyong was startled and felt a growing fear, not daring to engage in a prolonged battle. He looked around and saw the guards and soldiers fleeing in all directions, and the carriage holding Wen Tailai had been seized by the enemy. He was greatly alarmed.

With three swift sword strikes, he forced Zhao Banshan to retreat several steps, pulled the silver dart from his calf, and threw it at him. Zhao Banshan ducked to avoid it, and Zhang Zhaoyong charged toward the carriage.

Lu Bing cried out, "Ah!" and blocked the carriage with her twin knives. The heroes saw Zhang Zhaoyong approaching and surrounded him.

Zhou Zhongying suddenly appeared, blocking the path, and raised his golden-backed broadsword, shouting, "You came to Iron Gallantry Manor to take people, not respecting this old man. We will settle this today!"

Zhang Zhaoyong, recognizing him as the leader of the northwest martial arts community, Iron Gallantry Zhou Zhongying, did not dare to be careless and thrust his sword swiftly.

Zhou Zhongying turned his broadsword, using the back to block the sword. Zhang Zhaoyong's sword, swift and agile, grazed the back of the broadsword, leaving a deep cut.

At this moment, Zhou Qi, Zhang Jin, Xu Tianhong, and the Chang brothers each wielded their weapons and attacked from all sides.

Seeing the overwhelming number of opponents, Zhang Zhaoyong used the Green Jade Sword to create a defensive circle. The others, fearing its sharpness, withdrew their weapons.

Zhang Zhaoyong targeted the weakest, lunging at Zhou Qi. Zhou Qi raised her sword to strike, but Zhang Zhaoyong grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and took her sword. Zhou Zhongying was greatly alarmed and threw two iron darts at Zhang Zhaoyong's back.

At this moment, Chen Jialuo's three Go stones flew toward Zhang Zhaoyong, aiming at his Shenfeng, Guanyuan, and Quchi acupoints.

Zhang Zhaoyong, feeling a chill, quickly swung his sword to knock the stones away. He heard the sharp sound of the iron darts approaching.

He turned and reached out to catch the first dart. Unexpectedly, it hit his chest with a thud.

Zhang Zhaoyong, caught off guard, felt intense pain in his chest, staggered, and dared not breathe. He released Zhou Qi's wrist, pushed Zhang Jin and Xu Tianhong away with his arms, and rushed to the carriage.