Chapter 51

Chen Jialuo, Zhao Banshan, and the Chang brothers rushed up the hill and saw that everyone had already gathered. They counted the people and found that Wuchen and Weichunhua had not returned from their attack on the enemy. Additionally, Xu Tianhong, Zhou Qi, Li Yuanzhi, Zhou Zhongying, and Meng Jianxiong were also missing.

Chen Jialuo quickly asked, "Have you seen Brother Seven and Old Hero Zhou?"

Zhang Jin, lying on the ground, raised his head and said, "Brother Seven was injured and hasn't returned yet? I'll go look for him." He stood up, raised his wolf-tooth club, and was about to rush out, but the arrow wound on his back was severe, and he swayed, unable to stand steadily.

Shi Shuangying said, "Tenth Brother, don't move, I'll go."

Jiang Sigen said, "I'll go too."

Chen Jialuo said, "Thirteenth Brother, you and Fourth Sister-in-law go to the river and prepare the rafts."

Jiang Sigen and Luo Bing responded. Luo Bing was overwhelmed with grief, feeling empty inside, and followed Jiang Sigen.

Shi Shuangying held a single saber, leaped onto his horse, and circled around the hill. At this point, the Qing army was already spreading across the hills. He rode to a high place, looked far and wide, but saw no sign of Xu Tianhong and the others. He had no choice but to charge into the enemy ranks and search everywhere.

Soon, Zhou Zhongying and Meng Jianxiong ran up. Chen Jialuo quickly asked, "Have you seen Miss Zhou?"

Zhou Zhongying was extremely anxious and kept shaking his head.

Lu Feiqing said, "My young disciple is also trapped. I'll go look for him."

An Jiangang said, "I'll go with you."

The Red Flower Society heroes charged back into the Qing army, moving back and forth, but they still couldn't find Xu Tianhong and Zhou Qi, and they were all anxious.

Suddenly, a cloud of dust rose in the distance, and a rider galloped forward. As he approached, they recognized it was Jiang Sigen. They heard him shout, "Quickly retreat, quickly retreat, the iron-armored troops are coming."

Chen Jialuo said, "Everyone, get on your horses and charge to the river." The heroes all responded.

Zhou Zhongying was worried about his daughter, but where could he find her in the midst of thousands of soldiers? Meng Jianxiong, An Jiangang, and Shi Shuangying helped carry the injured, such as Weichunhua and Zhang Jin, with two people riding on one horse.

Just as everyone got on their horses, the iron-armored troops, illuminated by the firelight, were already charging over.

The Chang brothers, seeing the ferocity of the Qing army, led everyone to the right.

Chang Hezhi said, "The iron-armored troops use the divine arm bow, which is very powerful. Let's charge into the enemy ranks."

Chang Bozhi said, "Good."

The two led the charge into the Qing army, with the heroes following closely behind.

The two found that using their flying hooks was inconvenient, so they hid them in their robes. One grabbed a large saber, and the other seized a long spear. They slashed and thrust, cutting a bloody path straight to the Yellow River.

Jiang Sigen stuck the iron paddle into the sandy riverbank, splashed into the river, and jumped in to help with the rafts. Luo Bing paddled the sheepskin rafts to the shore and helped the injured, such as Zhang Jin, onto the rafts.

Chen Jialuo called out, "Everyone, quickly get on the rafts. Daoist, Third Brother, Old Hero Zhou, the four of us will cover the rear..." Before he could finish, the divine arm bow's arrows were already flying.

Wuchen shouted, "Charge!" The four turned and charged back.

Wuchen thrust his saber at the throat of the leading iron-armored soldier, but it couldn't penetrate. The iron-armored soldier's spear thrust at him, and Wuchen threw away his steel saber, raised his arm to block, and sent the spear flying into the air.

Zhou Zhongying's golden saber cut down several Qing soldiers from their horses.

Zhao Banshan picked up a steel dart and aimed it at the膻中穴 (zhongzhu point) on the chest of a Qing soldier on horseback. There was a clang, but the Qing soldier charged forward as if nothing had happened.

Zhao Banshan quickly fired more darts, aiming at the eyes of the enemy soldiers. Despite the darkness, he managed to blind five or six of them, causing them to claw and dig at their faces in pain.

By this time, everyone except Chen Jialuo and the other three had already boarded the rafts.

The iron-armored troops were well-trained and, despite the ferocity of the enemy, continued to charge forward.

In the midst of the battle, the rear of the iron-armored troops suddenly fell into chaos. A figure rushed forward, holding a person in his left hand and a sword in his right, with flashes of sword light like snow.

Wherever this figure passed, no one could withstand his sword. Even the iron armor of the iron-armored troops was often pierced, and the soldiers were killed on the spot.

In a short time, this person had already killed over twenty enemies, and the ferocity of his attack made even the iron-armored troops hesitate to advance.

Zhou Zhongying, upon seeing this, showed admiration and said, "Mr. Leng is truly a formidable person. To break through the iron-armored troops shows true bravery."

Daoist Wuchen looked closely and said happily, "Chief, the person Mr. Leng is holding seems to be Fourth Brother Wen."

Chen Jialuo was overjoyed and asked, "Really?"

Zhao Banshan confirmed, "It must be Fourth Brother Wen."

After rescuing Wen Tailai, Li Wuchang intended to rush up the hill to join the others, but seeing everyone retreating to the Yellow River, he changed direction.

Facing the iron-armored troops blocking the way, Li Wuchang didn't care. Relying on the depth of his Northern Sea True Qi and the sharpness of his Condensed Jade Sword, he charged straight into the enemy ranks.

As he fought his way through, he approached the Yellow River. He saw a Qing officer on horseback raising his saber to command. Without hesitation, Li Wuchang slashed with his sword.

The officer raised his saber to block, but halfway through, he saw a flash of light. The long saber was cut in two, and the officer was split in half.

With the death of the Qing officer, the morale of the troops dropped, and Li Wuchang easily broke through, rushing to the riverbank and joining Wuchen, Zhao Banshan, Zhou Zhongying, and Chen Jialuo on the rafts.

Jiang Sigen pulled up the iron paddle, and with Luo Bing, they paddled the rafts to the center of the river.

The Yellow River was in full flood, and the water was surging. The two large sheepskin rafts sped downstream. The iron-armored troops became smaller and smaller, and soon only the distant firelight and the roar of the water could be seen, while the noise of the troops gradually faded away.

Everyone calmed down. The Red Flower Society heroes were overjoyed to see Wen Tailai rescued. Luo Bing, overwhelmed with joy, said, "Big Brother," and threw herself into his arms.

On the Red Flower Society side, many were injured, and they checked their wounds. Among the experienced members, no one was unscathed. Everyone was injured, and what surprised Li Wuchang even more was that one person had died.

"What, Tiger Head was killed by an arrow?"

Li Wuchang asked in surprise.

Before the battle, Li Wuchang had already warned them not to charge too deep to avoid becoming targets for the Qing soldiers, but one person still died.

Liu Hongjun said indifferently, "Tiger Head was too excited in the fight and didn't notice. He was hit by an arrow from a Qing soldier, but I avenged him."

Among the experienced members, Tao Zhihu was not well-liked. He only fawned on Liu Hongjun and fought alongside him. When he was hit by the arrow, Liu Hongjun could have saved him but chose to protect himself.

Tao Zhihu's death did not cause much of a stir among the experienced members. They were all strangers, and he was not well-liked. Even Li Wuchang only felt a pang of regret for losing a thousand main god points.

However, the most severely injured, Fang Junjie and Guo Siyu, received careful attention from everyone. Li Wuchang observed that they were beginning to form a close-knit group.