Chapter 33: Besieged

Xie Yun was someone who, while never serious when idle, was completely dependable in a crisis.

In a city swarming with fully armed soldiers, he had in tow a whole bunch of panicked townsfolk, a few dozen impetuous young pugilists and a local heroine who moved like the wind and had a viciously sharp blade…but who quite frequently couldn't tell east from west.

Yet even so, Xie Yun still let Zhou Fei lead the way in tearing through the enemy's ranks. Then using the various little alleyways and abandoned houses of the townsfolk for cover, as well as a seemingly endless assortment of tricks to shake their pursuers off, he brought them safely out. They ran for their lives through the breach that Zhou Fei and the disciples had created in the troops surrounding the town.

The most extreme of crises could often push people to reach their fullest potential, be they highly-skilled pugilists or ordinary folk. Other than the elderly and young children, who several disciples helped to carry on their backs, the other townsfolk tore towards the dense forests. While the false dynasty's troops pursued them for several kilometres, they were ultimately no match for these locals, who knew this terrain like the backs of their hands. They had no choice but to let them slip through their fingers and disappear into the thickly forested mountains.

Back in the town, the Prince Duan of the North didn't seem too surprised that they had gotten away. After hearing this report from the tremulous soldier before him, he set his cup of tea down with a touch of disappointment. His excessive obesity appeared to be placing an inordinate strain on his bones and organs, which slowed down his motions considerably. This made his every movement come off as dignified and measured, giving him an air of staid elegance.

Lu Yaoguang exchanged a look with Kou Dan, neither of them daring to speak.

"So they've escaped, as I expected. I'd thought that they might, when they attacked the town shrine." Cao Ning sighed.

Lu Yaoguang said: "Your Highness, there's something I don't understand. Did you really leave yourself exposed and risk your life just to lure that brazen girl out?"

"The girl?" Cao Ning laughed. "I have no interest in girls whatsoever, while girls are usually disgusted at the sight of me. Those ill-mannered ones tend to react in the most offensive ways, and as for those dumb ones who fawn on me obsequiously to curry favour, I can instantly see through their facade of flattery. What they really think of me is blindingly apparent in every single one of their coquettish looks, winks and smiles – that I am a complete pig, for example, and that the sight of me makes their stomachs turn."

Lu Yaoguang found it entirely impossible to find a complimentary thing to say about Cao Ning from these words, and could only stand there quite peevishly.

Fortunately, Prince Duan of the North didn't expound on this topic further, quickly returning to the task at hand: "What interests me, however, is the other person that Mistress Kou mentioned. This person probably came here tonight with the others, and from your description, I find his looks and behaviour somewhat familiar, similar to someone that I once knew."

Lu Yaoguang and Kou Dan exchanged yet another look. Kou Dan shook her head, indicating that she didn't know who Cao Ning was referring to.

But Cao Ning didn't elaborate further, merely smiling as he said: "But enough about that, it isn't time for us to meet yet. Let's proceed with our plan – first give me a flagon of warm wine though, it really is too damp in these parts."

Zhou Fei sent several disciples to check if any soldiers were still after them, before getting the rest of them to settle down for a breather. While she hadn't managed to take the heads of Cao Ning and Kou Dan, she still felt a sense of accomplishment as she looked around her at all the people she'd managed to extract. She leaned against a wizened tree to catch her breath. Quite a number of the disciples were doing the same. While most of them didn't quite understand what had happened, and why they hadn't followed their original plan, based purely on these results they all believed that this operation had been a great success. As the townsfolk started to approach them to convey their thanks, they politely turned this down, still somewhat unused to it.

Zhou Fei closed her eyes. This close shave with the enemy had greatly increased her suspicions.

But since they had escaped so easily, there couldn't be a traitor in their midst, right? That was evidently just Xie Yun's overly suspicious mind at work, and was entirely unfounded. It was fortunate that she hadn't agreed to retreat, like he'd wanted at first.

Yet just when she had brightened up a little, she saw Xie Yun squatting by the side with a wooden stick in his hand, a troubled look on his face.

Seeing him like this, Zhou Fei's heart skipped a beat, and she started to tense up again: "What is it now?"

Xie Yun said gravely: "We escaped too easily."

Zhou Fei: "…"

So they couldn't even escape easily now? Was he just out to find fault with everything!

Flinging the wooden stick away, Xie Yun sprang abruptly to his feet. Just then, one of the disciples shouted: "Shimei Zhou, look!"

Zhou Fei turned to look. Smoke was billowing from the eastern slope of the 48 Zhai. It seemed to have been set on fire, and at more than one spot.

Zhou Fei exclaimed in surprise: "Have they attacked in advance? No…wait a minute! Isn't that fatty still in the town?"

As she said this, the distant sound of alarms could be heard from the eastern slope. The guards on the mountain had obviously reacted in a timely fashion. Having received her message, Lin Hao was aware that the eastern slope would be the key battlefront. The fires on the mountain quickly diminished, and in just a few moments, only a cloud of black smoke was left.

It was clear that their defences on the eastern slope were much stronger than usual.

But after a while, that uneasy feeling in Zhou Fei started to grow – why had it gone so quiet?

Xie Yun's eyebrow twitched. He said lowly: "That's not good."

Just then, flock after flock of birds suddenly started flying towards them from the western slopes. From their position, Zhou Fei couldn't see what was happening over there. All they could hear was the shrill, ear-piercing screeches of these birds. Zhou Fei's eye started to twitch – even though she had never seen a real battle before, she knew that there hadn't been such a huge disturbance when Gu Tianxuan and Kou Dan attacked the Ink-Washing River that night.

Which could only mean that there were far more assailants from the west than just those few dozen men from the Big Dipper!

Then what was that fire on the eastern slope all about? Was the enemy just testing the 48 Zhai's defences?

All this while, Zhou Fei and company had been searching for the location of the enemy commander. They had thought that the Big Dipper was just a decoy, and regardless of where they attacked from, the real battlefront would be where the enemy commander was. But to their surprise, this Prince Duan of the North had in fact stayed in that little town to be the decoy himself!

And if Lin Hao had received her message, and shifted their defences towards the eastern slope, then…

Xie Yun's suspicions had been entirely founded! From the very moment they descended the mountain, their whereabouts and plans had been completely transparent to the enemy. All the information that they passed on to the 48 Zhai had been simultaneously received by someone else. Cao Ning had used them as a stepping stone to attack the 48 Zhai!

If Zhou Fei had immediately believed what Xie Yun said the very moment that Prince Duan of the North emerged, and sent a message back to the 48 Zhai, there was perhaps still a chance that they might have been able to re-organise their defences in time. If only she hadn't been so blindly self-confident, or thought that she knew better…

One of the disciples beside her stuttered in shock: "Fei, what's happening? What…why is this happening now?"

Those words rang in Zhou Fei's ears. She couldn't bring herself to respond.

Xie Yun abruptly shoved her from behind. She actually found herself stumbling forward from this feeble scholar's push. She crashed into the pine tree beside her, Wu Chuchu's bundle of trinkets digging into her ribs.

Xie Yun said the words slowly and emphatically: "If you'd listened to me earlier…"

For a moment, Zhou Fei felt sure that he was going to say "…things wouldn't have gotten this bad". Those words would be like adding oil to that fire of regret raging within her right now, and her heart felt heavy with dread. But instead Xie Yun said: "…you wouldn't have sent one of your men to pass the message back as soon as possible either. Finding yourself unable to trust anyone, you would have first gathered the disciples here to withdraw from the town, and only then would you personally make the trip back to deliver the message yourself. All this travelling to and fro would mean that there was absolutely no way the message would be delivered back in time, don't you understand – why else do you think Cao Ning dared to swagger past you so boldly? He'd planned everything out right from the start!"

Zhou Fei bit her lip savagely.

She could almost hear those thunderous shouts of battle coming from the mountains.

Cao Ning had tens of thousands of troops. Even if the 48 Zhai had the natural advantages of its terrain, and many highly-skilled pugilists, how long would they last against them? Moreover, having re-arranged their defences after receiving her message, Lin Hao would have no time at all to react to this unexpected attack.

It had been over twenty years since Li Zheng escorted the Emperor of the Later Shao Dynasty down south, gathered the various sects, and established their base on this mountain. Was this the end of the 48 Zhai?

Xie Yun simply looked at her.

Zhou Fei stood silently under his steady gaze for a brief moment, before suddenly straightening and whirling around to face the disciples. In a loud voice, she said: "Everyone, don't forget why we descended the mountain in the first place."

They all fell silent, every one of their eyes glued to her.

Xie Yun had slowly and methodically taught her how to "use the strength of her own beliefs to influence others". While her first stab at this before the elders had been slightly awkward, she was now much better at it the second time round. Not a single trace of the panic and helplessness that she'd just been feeling could be discerned in her unyieldingly resolute gaze.

"We came here to save the innocent commonfolk from the clutches of the false dynasty," said Zhou Fei, loud and clear. "Leave those on the mountains to fight the battle. What, did you really think that Shixiong Lin Hao, Elder Zhao and Elder Zhang wouldn't be able to handle that? All these years, that Cao fellow has been raring to burn the 48 Zhai to the ground, but when has he ever succeeded? Only Merak and Alkaid are here tonight – but hasn't Dubhe himself personally led the charge in the past? Yet he too went crawling back the way he'd come!"

The disciples all fell silent, although they were starting to look a lot calmer now. And it was fortunate that they were all the young disciples left over after Lin Hao had had his pick of them. If she'd been speaking to that bunch of sly old foxes up there, there was no way they would be this easy to fool.

As she was speaking, Zhou Fei quickly straightened out her thoughts, and gradually, a plan of near-insanity started to take shape in her mind.

She calmly divided the disciples into several teams, sending them to survey their surroundings. While the battle on the mountain was raging on, they would first bring all these innocent townsfolk to safety, so that they wouldn't end up getting caught in the crossfire. Many of the town's residents had relatives in the surrounding villages, where they could take refuge. Several young men from the town valiantly volunteered to help show them the way.

As everyone was starting to head off in different directions, one of the disciples suddenly asked: "Shimei Zhou, then what are your plans now?"

Glancing over at that disciple, Zhou Fei's suspicions were instinctively aroused. She thought to herself: He's the only one who's asked – could he be the traitor?

Without missing a beat, she said: "I'm going back to tell Shixiong Lin what happened…even if it's too late, I only have myself to blame."

Bowing his head, the disciple didn't dare probe further.

Xie Yun hadn't spoken a word all this while. Only when everyone else had left did he follow after Zhou Fei and ask: "Are you really going back up to keep them informed?"

Zhou Fei turned and gave him a look.

"Ah." Just one look was enough for Xie Yun to understand her perfectly. He nodded and said: "I get it, you don't intend to do something as pointless as that just to punish yourself. You just wanted to drive away all those people whom you weren't sure you could trust. You're going back to kill Cao Ning now."

Zhou Fei looked at him expressionlessly: "What are you trying to say?"

Xie Yun's feet continued moving alongside hers, as he said: "Nothing at all, I would do the same if I were you. This is the only chance for survival."

Without turning to look at him, Zhou Fei said: "And yet you'd still dare to come along?"

"What would I do if I didn't?" Xie Yun sighed. "My dear heroine, could you please turn to your right? If you keep going straight you really will end up going back to the 48 Zhai."

Zhou Fei: "…"

It wasn't much trouble to have Xie Yun come along anyway. While he wouldn't be of any help when it came to an actual fight, he certainly wouldn't be a hindrance, could hide and flee quite well, and definitely did not need her to save him.

Only on the way back to the town did Zhou Fei finally discover what it was called. Its name was carved into a little stone slab – Town of Returning Spring.

The town's defences had been tightened considerably, probably because of the gigantic ruckus that Zhou Fei and company had caused. While Zhou Fei was as anxious as could be, she didn't venture out recklessly. Xie Yun was right – it was no point being anxious. Such impatience was an assassin's worst enemy. Since they only had one chance of survival, they had to seize it at the right time, with exacting precision.

There was no one in tow to slow the two of them down now. Relying on Xie Yun's extraordinary qinggong and the cover provided by the town's lush trees, they circled Cao Ning's manor several times, getting increasingly close each time, and were ready to seize any available opportunity to strike. But after making a few rounds, they found that they couldn't get any closer – some of those rooftop archers were standing watchfully still, while others were patrolling back and forth, which gave them no chance at all to sneak in.

Zhou Fei tried to wait patiently, like the calm and collected assassin she was aspiring to be. While she was fine at the beginning, she ultimately wasn't a real assassin, and started to grow impatient after fifteen minutes. Her fingers began fidgeting subconsciously with the hilt of her sabre.

Xie Yun suddenly grabbed her hand.

Zhou Fei jumped, and very nearly flung him right off of her.

But Xie Yun refused to let go of her hand. He pried her clenched fist open and traced two words on it with his fingers: "Shift change."

He pointed at himself, and then somewhere in the direction of the manor.

Zhou Fei understood what he meant. Xie Yun intended to make himself seen and draw the archers' attention towards the other side of the manor. If he did this while they were changing shifts, they would be less alert than usual, making it easier to distract them. Zhou Fei could try seizing this opportunity to sneak in.

Zhou Fei furrowed her brow.

Perhaps Xie Yun had gotten this right by coincidence, or he was somehow familiar with how these troops operated – even before Zhou Fei could reply, she heard a series of shouts coming from inside the manor. Several ladders were propped up on both sides of the roof, as a new batch of archers prepared to climb up, changing shifts.

This was too sudden, she wasn't prepared! Zhou Fei sucked in her breath sharply, and reached behind her to tug at Xie Yun – but that fellow had already swerved away. Xie Yun's eyes twinkled as he shot her a brilliant smile, gleefully pointing at himself and giving a thumbs-up.

This wasn't the time for him to blow his own trumpet!

And then the very next moment, Xie Yun swiftly put his thumb up to his mouth and kissed it, then pressed it down lightning-quick on Zhou Fei's cheek. Then he sprang out from their hiding spot, and was gone in an instant.

Zhou Fei: "…"

No freaking way!

While Xie Yun had deliberately shown himself to these archers, he didn't deliberately slow down for them one bit. All they saw was an unidentifiable object come flying past them, which could have been a man or a bird. Alarmed, the two batches of archers who were still in the middle of changing shifts instinctively raised their bows, in search of that elusive shadow.

Seizing this opportunity, Zhou Fei bit the bullet and jumped down into the manor's courtyard.

As her feet touched the ground, the alarms in here started going off at full blast, and numerous soldiers poured out. Still unsure if she'd managed to sneak in unnoticed, Zhou Fei held her breath as she shrank into a corner of the stables here, crouching amidst the horses' stench. Her heart was beating so fast she feared it would burst, and the veins bulged on her hand gripping the Mountain of Lost Springs. While it had only been a few seconds, Zhou Fei felt as if an entire lifetime had passed. Her entire body was as tense as a drawn bowstring. After some time, she heard the sound of those footsteps and shouts start to grow more distant. She finally let out that long breath she'd been holding. But before she'd even managed to breathe normally, she heard the soft patter of footsteps again, rapid footsteps that were almost upon her in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Fei steeled herself.

There was absolutely nowhere else to hide, so she had no choice but to kill. She unsheathed the Mountain of Lost Springs in one deft motion, its blade gleaming silently as she pressed it right up against the neck of the person approaching. She immediately made to thrust it forward.

A long sabre like this was perfect for this purpose. Its blade was sharply tapered and slightly curved, such that with just a small motion, it could slice through the side of a man's neck all the way to his throat, ensuring that he would be dead before he could make a single sound – but the very next moment, Zhou Fei abruptly stilled her blade.

She had a clear look at the man beneath it.

This was a middle-aged man, whose hair was going white at the temples. While he wasn't exactly skinny, there was something about him that made him seem malnourished in an impoverished way. His sleeves were rolled up above the hands of a man used to hard manual labour, and patches of grass and hay were stuck to his clothes. Zhou Fei's sabre had moved too fast, such that the man hadn't even had the time to feel terrified. He was still wearing that kindly smile on his face which he'd had when he stumbled upon her. After realising that a blade radiating menace was pressed right up against his neck, that smile immediately froze on his face.

Was he the stable hand?

While Zhou Fei didn't know much about these things, she roughly knew that militaries would usually have someone in charge of their horses. Since taking care of these horses could be considered a military job, then was this person also a soldier of the false dynasty?

She furrowed her brow. Zhou Fei didn't want to take a human life unnecessarily, yet she was also afraid of letting her guard down. So she simply continued to press her sabre against the man's neck, ready to bleed him dry if he tried to pull anything on her.

Perhaps it was because of the calm expression on her face, and her lack of further violence – after the two of them stared at each other in tense silence for a few moments, that middle-aged man cautiously smiled at her once more, revealing a mouth full of rotting teeth. It was obvious that he had been born into poverty. And then, as if he were deathly afraid of aggravating the blade that was pressed against his neck, he moved his lips extremely softly, whispering in a near-inaudible voice: "May 'Five Prosperities Descend Upon Your Door', Miss! Dare I ask what colour they are?"

Zhou Fei: "…"

It was quite ludicrous that this man could still ask a question like this whilst a weapon was being pressed against his neck. The absurd question disrupted Zhou Fei's anxious train of thought. For some reason, her brain recalled the persimmon-red seal carved with five prosperity bats that Captain Xu had offered to Li Yan as an apology in Shaoyang City. Without much thought, she blurted out: "Red."

The man's face grew serious. He slowly lifted his hands up towards his neck, and showed her the filthy string around it. Then carefully avoiding Zhou Fei's sharp blade, he tugged out the piece of sheep bone that hung on that thin string.

Beneath Zhou Fei's incredulous gaze, he broke that bone, snapping it in two right down the middle, revealing the tiniest of seals hidden within – on which five prosperity bats were painted.

It really was the Five Bat Token of the Wayfarers' Union!

Zhou Fei didn't have a good impression of the Wayfarers' Union, which seemed to be nothing more than a gang of sly thugs to her. But they weren't from the Northern Dynasty at least, or else Yang Jin and Captain Xu wouldn't have been shamed by her into delivering Li Yan back.

But how could it be that someone claiming to be an agent for the Wayfarers' Union would receive her right when she'd barged in? Such good fortune didn't just land in one's lap like this. This was highly suspicious no matter how she looked at it. Moreover, this plan to sneak in here had been completely last-minute, and other than Xie Yun, even the 48 Zhai didn't know about it. So what was this man doing here?

Seeing the suspicion written all over her face, that 'stable hand' quickly said: "My humble self is Big Zheng, from the 'Yellow Bat'. I was instructed by 'Red Xu' to 'store a rat in the ceiling beams', and have done so for more than three months now. Today is the day the 'moon would rise over the treetops', so when I heard the cats meow just now, I came to take a look. The 'old cat' is around, beware."

Zhou Fei: "…"

What kind of strange triad slang was this? None of it made sense to her!

Zhou Fei's gaze lingered on the Mountain of Lost Springs, as she thought to herself: Should I kill him, or keep him alive?

But this thought only flashed briefly through her mind, before she retracted the Mountain of Lost Springs – if she had been the kind of ruthless person who indiscriminately slaughtered everyone on sight, she wouldn't even have asked him anything in the first place. She would have already sliced open the neck of this 'Big Zheng'.

Oblivious to the fact that he had just been on the brink of death, Big Zheng bowed amiably towards Zhou Fei and said: "Follow me."

Zhou Fei hadn't sheathed her sabre. While she could tell that this man's martial arts were mediocre, she still didn't dare to let her guard down, continuing to watch his every movement closely.

And just as she was following Big Zheng through this large manor by a stroke of luck, Xie Yun had run into a little bit of trouble.

Drawing a couple of archers away should have been a piece of cake for Xie Yun, and he should have been able to shake them off quite quickly. But when those alarms started to sound, a black figure suddenly came leaping out from the manor's courtyard. While Xie Yun only caught a brief glimpse of it in his peripheral vision, he instantly knew that this spelled trouble, and started to run along the rooftop like his life depended on it – that man was gaunt of face and hooked of nose, and although he was dressed in the garb of an ordinary bodyguard, he was definitely no ordinary pugilist.

Even with his level of qinggong, Xie Yun wasn't able to shake that man off. With a cold smile, his pursuer flung a long sleeve out at him. A soft clinking could be heard as an iron claw came soaring through the air, heading straight for Xie Yun's back. Springing up off the roof with the tips of his toes, Xie Yun floated upwards like a feather, whirling around in midair. With a soft clang, that iron claw snapped shut like a mousetrap, ripping off a piece of Xie Yun's robe. Then it was yanked backwards along its chain, opening again in midair to release that tattered strip of cloth.

Xie Yun landed firmly back atop the roof, reaching a hand towards his shoulder to pat at the torn cloth there. He smiled: "That is one lecherous paw you've got there – Alkaid of the Big Dipper, I've heard so much about you, sir."

That weapon was actually named the 'Soul-Searching Claw of Death', and was a signature of Lu Yaoguang, Alkaid of the Big Dipper.

"'The Wind Passes Without A Trace'." Ignoring Xie Yun's saucy remark, Lu Yaoguang grinned widely: "And who might you be?"

Xie Yun fixed his clothes like a prim and proper scholar as he said: "Oh, just an errand-boy, my lowly name isn't worthy of mention."

"An errand-boy?" Lu Yaoguang fixed him with a stare. "When has The Wind Passes Without A Trace become so common? Has Zhao Yuan now trained up a bunch of cheap knock-offs to replace that nephew he killed?"

The orderly patter of footsteps could be heard. Xie Yun glanced over in their direction to find that those laggard archers had finally arrived. They swarmed towards him from several different directions, surrounding him with their bows drawn.

Xie Yun clasped his hands behind his back and smiled cheerfully: "In a place as grand as the royal palace, even its knock-offs certainly wouldn't look as cheap as me. 'The Wind Passes Without A Trace' is an excellent technique indeed, so I don't see anything wrong with the Emperor promoting it to the masses. If even its master in the Eastern Sea hasn't objected, there's really no need for Sir Alkaid to be so concerned."

Getting a familiar whiff of impertinence from this fellow, Lu Yaoguang dispensed with the chit chat, commanding: "This is an assassin – kill him!"

The archers fired at once.

Xie Yun quickly leaned backwards, 'falling' off the roof with his body parallel to the ground. That shower of swooshing arrows narrowly missed him, temporarily blocked by the low wall beneath the roof. Lu Yaoguang's large iron claw opened its jaws towards Xie Yun from above, intending to tear at him once he righted himself.

But to his surprise, Xie Yun landed on the ground in this horizontal position. Twisting his arm behind his back at an almost implausible angle, as if it were broken, he pushed lightly off the ground, propelling himself about half a metre backwards along the ground. That iron claw landed right smack in between his two long legs.

Xie Yun sprang to his feet, smiling: "Ah, so this isn't a 'lecherous paw' after all, but a 'claw of castration'! Alkaid's ruthless reputation is truly deserved, you have my deepest…"

As he said 'deepest', he was already hurtling like a rocket towards the oncoming soldiers. The soldier right in front wasn't holding a crossbow, but a regular bow and arrow, and had only just fired an arrow. Xie Yun was already before him before he had the chance to load another. Perhaps these soldiers had been traumatised by the way Zhou Fei had brutally ripped through them earlier, tearing limb from limb – they panicked when they saw Xie Yun swoop towards them.

"…respect" – Xie Yun flung his long sleeves out at these somewhat terrified soldiers, yelling: "Boo!"

Many of them instinctively covered their heads.

Xie Yun blithely ran across them, using their heads as stepping stones. Lu Yaoguang certainly didn't care about the lives of such lowly soldiers – his Soul-Searching Claw of Death remained hot on Xie Yun's heels, which grasped unsuccessfully at this slippery 'assassin' and took down these soldiers instead.

Xie Yun chortled: "Good aim!"

He deliberately headed straight for areas where there were more soldiers, causing the iron claw to take out a good number of them wherever he went. Then all of a sudden, the sharp blast of yet another alarm was heard, startling everyone including Xie Yun.

Someone from deep within the manor shouted: "Assassin! Catch the assassin!"

Lu Yaoguang furiously realised that he'd been duped by a decoy!

Xie Yun's heart filled with dread – Zhou Fei had been too impatient after all.

However, the real assassin Zhou Fei was currently crouching atop a roof in bewilderment, thinking to herself: Who could they be after?

Big Zheng was extremely familiar with the deployment of soldiers in this place. Half an hour ago, he had safely brought Zhou Fei within close proximity of the inner courtyard, although he wasn't skilled enough to go any further.

While this manor looked incredibly grand from the outside, its inner courtyard seemed a tad down to earth. There weren't any imposing towers here, nor rooftops swarming with archers. Full of suspicion, Zhou Fei thought to herself: Is that fatty hiding out here?

She hadn't ventured in rashly, continuing to crouch outside as she cautiously searched for a place inside where she could conceal herself. Then she saw a lizard, climbing up a corner of the wall of the main building.

Inspired by this, Zhou Fei shimmied up the wall, plastering herself to it as the lizard was doing. When the guards in the courtyard had their backs turned, she quickly sneaked up onto the roof – there was a large tree shading it, which while insufficient to hide a burly grown man, provided just enough cover for the slender Zhou Fei if she curled herself up.

She was so close to her target. Zhou Fei held her breath, and it took her a whole fifteen minutes before she carefully and silently pried one of the tiles off.

Her heart leapt – Cao Ning was indeed here. He was extremely easy to pick out, due to his 'unique' physiognomy.

But then it swiftly sank – this Prince Duan of the North had several bodyguards with him. While one of them was dressed as an ordinary male guard, upon closer inspection Zhou Fei still managed to tell who that was: Kou Dan.

Zhou Fei had already more than surpassed herself in her fight with Kou Dan just now. If it had gone on for a little longer, she would certainly be no match for Kou Dan. Taking Cao Ning hostage under her watch was of course impossible.

Yet she was so close to success – how could she bear to give up now?

Zhou Fei's heart was racing madly, yet she didn't dare take any deep breaths for fear that Kou Dan might notice. She suppressed her breathing to the faintest of sounds, closed her eyes, and went completely still. Rapidly gathering her thoughts and focusing hard as she had done so many times before, she planned out in her mind exactly how she would barge in, how Kou Dan might react, and how she would respond…and just after she had exchanged several hundred blows with Kou Dan in her head, she heard those shouts of 'Assassin!' coming from outside.

Zhou Fei's eyes flew open, and she thought to herself: Could it be Xie Yun?

But she quickly shook her head, as it didn't quite seem like it – because the commotion was growing louder, and closer. Xie Yun had been helping her to lure the guards away, so he wouldn't lead them back here again.

Then…

She suddenly recalled Big Zheng with all his strange riddles, who had led her in for some reason and was currently waiting for her outside. Might he actually have been waiting to receive someone else?

The sounds of weapons striking weapons could already be heard from just outside. At a signal from Kou Dan, several of the bodyguards in the room tightly surrounded Cao Ning, while the rest went out to investigate.

Cao Ning set the scroll in his hand down, saying in surprise: "Are the pugilists of the 48 Zhai this reckless?"

Kou Dan naturally assumed that it was Zhou Fei outside – after realising that she'd been tricked, that girl might have thought to make one last desperate attempt. But Kou Dan wasn't too troubled by this. While she conceded that Zhou Fei's Snow-Breaking Sabre had a semblance of the real thing, and could indeed take one by surprise at first, yet technical proficiency didn't mean that she would be able to snatch someone from her. She gave a dismissive smile as she reached up her sleeve for her hook: "Your Highness, there's no need…"

But before she could finish her sentence, something suddenly came crashing through the window. One of the bodyguards was quick enough to pick it up and hurriedly fling it away. But that object exploded in mid-air, spraying an eye-tingling mixture of dirt, pepper and flour everywhere – if that bodyguard's reflexes hadn't been quick enough, it would have blown up right in their faces.

Kou Dan: "…"

Such underhanded tactics really didn't seem like something that upstanding bunch of pugilists from the 48 Zhai were capable of.

The soldiers quickly recovered, and surrounded Cao Ning in a tight circle.

These intruders were a motley bunch of misfits in tattered rags, who wouldn't have looked at all out of place in a refugee camp. Some of them were brandishing fishing harpoons, others were wielding riding whips, and someone was even whipping around a dirty dishcloth that had spikes affixed to one end of it. Each and every one of them seemed to have the words 'I am gangster' written all over their faces. Only their leader was brandishing a proper weapon – a goose-wing sabre – and he looked young and dashing and perfectly respectable…although he had a dark scowl on his dark face.

Zhou Fei's jaw dropped. She actually knew these people – it was that block-headed gorilla Yang Jin and the Wayfarers' Union!

She only needed to think a little to figure out what had happened.

Big Zheng was from the Wayfarers' Union, and had somehow managed to disguise himself as a soldier of the Northern Dynasty. He was supposed to serve as their guide in here, which Zhou Fei had benefited from entirely by accident. Since Yang Jin and company hadn't managed to find him, and had instead been discovered by the soldiers on patrol, they had no choice but to create the hugest commotion possible and force their way in!

That secret agent of theirs was really lousy – why hadn't the Wayfarers' Union gotten rid of him already?

Kou Dan's slender brows furrowed as she dispersed the cloud of smoke and dust with a wave of her hand: "You aren't from the 48 Zhai! State your names!"

Charcoal Yang snorted indignantly: "I've seen the atrocities you're capable of – you want my name? You're not worthy of that!"

Zhou Fei: "…"

This block of coal was using her line!

Cao Ning arched a brow: "I know that Li Jinrong never associates with outsiders, no matter what threats or offers they might make. Since you don't belong to the 48 Zhai, why don't you mind your own business?"

Yang Jin scoffed: "Does one need to be acquainted to right an injustice, or to help someone in need?"

"Righting an injustice," said Cao Ning with a chuckle: "What are you doing here when the battle is currently raging up in the mountains? Who told you that I was here?"

Yang Jin: "…"

Zhou Fei wanted to pluck a leaf from the tree overhead and cover her eyes with it – she couldn't bear to watch this. For the first time, she felt that the way she'd defeated Yang Jin purely through trickery…had been a tad too mean.

Fortunately, his comrades from the Wayfarers' Union were savvier than him, and seeing that Yang Jin was about to spill all their secrets, one of them stepped forward and interrupted: "Enough with the talking, kill this dog!"

This was immediately echoed by the rest.

Only now did Yang Jin realise that the enemy had been trying to manipulate him, and his shame at this made his rage all the greater. But while he was hopeless with words, his skills more than spoke for him. His Lone Goose Sabre and the gold rings on it started quivering, producing that familiar clanging which had once given Zhou Fei such a headache. He charged straight at Cao Ning.

Zhou Fei finally had the chance to witness his Thirteen-Stroke Lone Goose Sabre in its full glory. Yang Jin's broad sabre was the exact opposite of Ji Yunchen's Slicing Water and Tangling Silk – the former was incredibly fast, while the latter was infinitely cunning. Yang Jin's blade was entirely free of artifice, and had been painstakingly honed through years and years of genuine, hard practice. Each stroke and thrust brimmed with power.

So this was what Xie Yun had meant by Yang Jin's 'solid' sabre skills!

If one gave him two blocks of tofu stacked atop each other, and asked him to slice only the block on top, Yang Jin would be able to dice the top layer into neat cubes in the blink of an eye, while the bottom layer would not bear a single scratch.

This was real skill.

The bodyguards tried to close in on Yang Jin, but were driven back by his blade. The young man charged ahead unfazed, with all the fearlessness of youth. But the archers on both sides had already gotten into position, and let loose a shower of arrows at him. Several thugs from the Wayfarers' Union immediately leapt forward, holding up a massive fishing net to cover him. This net was extremely fine, and seemed to be made of some extraordinarily tough material that allowed it to deflect arrows of iron and wood as if they were lame birds.

Kou Dan bellowed: "How dare you! Seize them!"

The bodyguards surrounding Cao Ning had already rushed ahead. While Zhou Fei hadn't managed to identify them just now, as they started fighting she recognised that these were Mingfeng assassins!

An outsider from the faraway southern frontiers was currently fighting tooth and nail to defend the 48 Zhai, while their own traitors were acting as personal bodyguards for the dogs of the false dynasty! Zhou Fei felt the bitterest sense of irony. She gripped the Mountain of Lost Springs tightly, the emotions roiling within her. Yet she still managed to keep herself in check.

She needed to wait. The time wasn't ripe yet.

If Zhou Fei had a unique advantage against Mingfeng, then Yang Jin had a unique disadvantage against this sly sect.

Yang Jin fumbled to cope with these assassins' infinite arsenal of tricks, as well as the occasional shower of 'Purple Rain' from Kou Dan, and after a while, he was forced to retreat out of the room and back into the courtyard.

At the same time, the others from the Wayfarers' Union had joined the fray, making the scene quite lively indeed – that odd weaponized dishcloth was whirling around every which way, carrying with it not just those deadly spikes but also a sour whiff of unwashed cloth and dust; that large fishing harpoon was as long as an infantry spear, spanning more than two metres, and wouldn't have been out of place if wielded on a warhorse. It was currently being used to pick off those archers one by one, like it was spearing fish…while several others were lobbing those strange pepper bombs at the guards whenever they got the chance. In a matter of minutes, mayhem reigned in this staid little courtyard.

Kou Dan's face darkened slightly. She turned to face Cao Ning: "Your Highness, we have no idea where these hooligans are from. It's complete chaos here. Why don't you take cover somewhere else first?"

From her perch atop the roof, Zhou Fei had a clear view of everything that was going on down there. She noticed that several bodyguards were still sticking closely to Cao Ning, and hadn't obeyed Kou Dan's command to attack Yang Jin just now.

Cao Ning seemed remarkably composed despite the circumstances, with all the dignity that one might expect of royalty. He didn't respond to Kou Dan's question immediately. Peering out from between his guards to shoot Kou Dan a meaningful glance, he said: "Indeed, but perhaps in a few moments – Sir Alkaid went out to investigate just now, why isn't he back yet?"

Zhou Fei thought to herself: Sir Alkaid? Then that black-caped man walking beside Gu Tianxuan just now had indeed been an imposter.

And then pondering this a little further, she wondered to herself: What did Fatty Cao mean by that? Is he worried that Kou Dan and his bodyguards added together are still insufficient to protect him? Or…could it be that he doesn't quite trust Kou Dan?

The more she observed what was happening down there, the more she was sure of it: while Cao Ning appeared to be entirely at ease with Kou Dan, there was just something about the way his bodyguards were positioned – at a glance, they seemed simply to be surrounding Cao Ning in a tight circle; but upon closer inspection, it became clear that they were in fact protecting him from Kou Dan.

Zhou Fei felt her scalp prickle in anticipation. She stroked the blade of the Mountain of Lost Springs, letting that sensation of cold steel on her skin remind her to get a grip on herself. Her mind was racing: Based on what Cao Ning had said, Alkaid was here just now, although he'd left for some reason. And then right after he departed, this gang of hooligans from the Wayfarers' Union had come barging in. What a fishy coincidence…since Kou Dan was capable of killing even Elder Yu, who wouldn't she betray? Fatty Cao was most definitely suspicious of her. Then why didn't he question her just now – was he afraid that she might kill him on the spot?

Just then, they heard a long whistle from the courtyard, and someone yelled: "The old cat's here!'"

Zhou Fei tensed – while she still didn't understand this strange slang, she could roughly infer that Alkaid had returned! Yang Jin's Lone Goose Sabre suddenly grew urgent in its speed, the rings on his blade making a tremendous din. He seemed determined to shake off those Mingfeng assassins around him.

Seeing this, Kou Dan prepared to attack him herself.

Zhou Fei quickly seized this opportunity, shouting from the roof: "Thank you for your help, Sister Kou Dan!"

With that, not only had she placed herself on the same level as Kou Dan, she had also exposed her location.

Zhou Fei immediately slid down from the roof and pressed herself closely against the outer wall of this little house, below the rear window. One of the guards reached the roof just as she finished concealing herself. But he didn't manage to find anything – the roof's overhanging eaves blocked his line of sight.

Kou Dan's lips pursed into a grim line.

Cao Ning hadn't voiced his suspicions just now because he didn't want to further complicate the already-chaotic situation. But now that Zhou Fei had said that, he had to act first regardless of whether Kou Dan had really betrayed him – because he knew that Kou Dan had been abundantly clear about his suspicions all along, and was wary that he might kill her once she was no longer of use to him.

This delicate balance between them had been upset by Zhou Fei's words!

The bodyguards at Cao Ning's side instantly sprang into action, launching themselves at Kou Dan. At the same time, Zhou Fei could see Alkaid's dark figure nearing this courtyard already –

Zhou Fei knew that it would be game over for them once Alkaid joined the fray. Without any further hesitation, she burst through the rear window. The two remaining bodyguards beside Cao Ning spun around in shock. They brandished their swords, coming at her from each side, but ran right into her Mayfly Formation – which was specifically intended to help one evade capture.

Zhou Fei had no time to spare for them. She weaved swiftly past them both, and thrust the Mountain of Lost Springs at Cao Ning without a single moment of hesitation.

Cao Ning's obesity wasn't of normal human proportions. It seemed to be borne of some chronic illness, which made Zhou Fei quite certain that he wasn't capable of any martial arts. She roughly grabbed him by the collar, actually managing to tug that colossal figure off his chair. And before he could react, her long sabre was already pressed up against his neck!

This had all happened far too quickly. Everyone else in the room stopped what they were doing to look at them in stunned silence.

Zhou Fei felt like her heart was about to leap out of her throat. So she didn't rush to speak, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down first as she slowly and deliberately swept her gaze across the faces of the people in the room. Only after she felt a little more composed did she turn to an open-mouthed Yang Jin and smile: "Many thanks to Brother Yang for your assistance, I guess we're even now."

Yang Jin: "…"

How could this shameless little rascal just swoop in to claim all the credit like that!

Zhou Fei placed her foot on that upturned chair which had toppled over together with Cao Ning. She yanked on his collar with some effort, forcing him to raise his head. Then she turned to Lu Yaoguang, who had almost reached them: "Alkaid of the Big Dipper? It looks like I've beat you to it."

The corner of Lu Yaoguang's eye twitched. He said lowly: "You've got quite some courage, girl."

Zhou Fei found that she'd learnt how to properly read people's faces by now. From that dark look in Lu Yaoguang's eyes, she knew that she had won this round. On this battleground of sinister schemes and Machiavellian plots, the sabre in her hand was her one true anchor, capable of giving and taking life. With this in mind, that heart of hers which had been racing madly started to slow down.

Zhou Fei arched a brow at Li Yaoguang, and said meaningfully: "I wouldn't say that I'm courageous, nor am I highly-skilled. My success today really must be owed to Sister Kou Dan."

Lu Yaoguang turned his dark gaze on Kou Dan.

Kou Dan was incensed – this girl was relentless! Zhou Fei was still trying to sow discord between them, and doing so extremely convincingly at that. She could only sneer: "I applaud you – I can't say anything to that. Bravo, Zhou Fei, who would've thought that I'd fall at the hands of a little chit of a girl. Mistress Li doesn't compare to you."

"You flatter me," said Zhou Fei with a quick smile, and looked down at Cao Ning: "Prince Duan, would you prefer to die, or would you like to withdraw your troops instead?"

While she had Cao Ning in her clutches, he hadn't lost his composure even in his frightened state, and even managed a smile beneath the menacing gleam of her blade: "Miss…"

But before he could stall further, he felt a sharp stab of pain at his throat, and couldn't manage any more words.

Lu Yaoguang's face grew stern, and he roared: "Don't you dare!"

Zhou Fei pressed her hand down hard and then relaxed her grip, which left a small cut on Cao Ning's neck. With a stony face, she said: "Prince Duan, I know that you're a smart man. But I'm just a country bumpkin who hasn't seen much of this world, and have no interest in engaging in a battle of wits with you. So apart from answering my questions, you'd better not say a single word more, nor make a single move."

Lu Yaoguang said coldly: "If Prince Duan is missing even a single hair on his head, you and every single person in the 48 Zhai will die a horrible death, and your corpses will be mutilated beyond recognition! You'd better believe it!"

"Oh, I believe you alright," said Zhou Fei matter-of-factly. "What else are all of you here for? Could it be that they're having a party up there, instead of a fight? If all the hairs on Prince Duan's head were to remain intact, would we be allowed to live then? Ha! It doesn't really matter what happens to our corpses, either way we'd still be dead."

Lu Yaoguang had no answer to that.

"The very fact that I dared to barge into the lion's den means that I'd thought everything through already," said Zhou Fei coldly. "Let me ask you this once more – do you want to die, or do you want to withdraw your troops? You'd better think hard before you answer, Prince Duan. After all, a poor tramp like me has nothing to lose."

Cao Ning lowered his eyes. While he had besieged the 48 Zhai on the pretext of 'rooting out bandits', he had only been slaughtering orthodox pugilists and ordinary peasants thus far. Only now, feeling that cold steel against his throat, did he get a true whiff of thuggery from this young maiden. Sighing, Cao Ning said: "Give the order to retreat."

Lu Yaoguang stood there for a good long while, his face tense, before angrily gesturing at his men to pass the order down, his eyes glued to Zhou Fei's every move.

"Thank you," said Zhou Fei with a twinkle in her eye. When she smiled, she still looked very much like a young girl. That smile was a little carefree, a little spirited, and even a touch innocent. But after the dark night that she'd been through, it was inevitably tinged with blood-soaked menace. Zhou Fei hauled Cao Ning up and said: "Since that's been decided, I'd like to invite Prince Duan to be a guest of the 48 Zhai. Would Brother Yang and all you gentlemen here care to accompany us?"

Those thugs from the Wayfarers' Union looked at Yang Jin for approval.

While the seemingly omnipresent Wayfarers' Union technically belonged to the murky underworld, through the efforts of 'Mr Xuan' and 'Mr Bai' over the past few years they had begun to develop a relationship with the imperial court of the Southern Dynasty, and had started trying to infiltrate the North. To their pleasant surprise, they had actually succeeded in planting an agent within the ranks of the Northern Dynasty's troops. It was a shame that this agent had infiltrated the enemy camp purely by chance, and had no impressive skills of his own. He'd only managed to become a lowly stable hand for Prince Duan's troops, and was unable to obtain any important intelligence.

Until this attack on the 48 Zhai. On the way here, one of Prince Duan's sturdy steeds had collapsed and died under the 'weighty responsibility' of bearing the Prince. But as His Highness couldn't very well be blamed for crushing that horse to death, all the blame had been placed on his poor stable hand, who had been executed. Knowing that being Cao Ning's stable hand meant certain death, all of the soldiers had desperately pulled various strings to avoid being picked. Eventually, this 'plum job' had fallen to Big Zheng.

A few days into his new job, Big Zheng discovered that this time the troops were marching towards the 48 Zhai, and had dutifully conveyed this information back to the Southern Dynasty.

For this information to reach Jinling, it first had to pass through Shaoyang City, where Captain Xu just happened to be. While Yang Jin had lost to Zhou Fei, he didn't bear her any grudge, and on the contrary remained full of admiration for the Southern Blade of the Li Clan. So when he'd learned of this attack on the 48 Zhai, he immediately took it upon himself to get involved. For some reason however, each time Yang Jin saw Zhou Fei in person, his admiration for the Southern Blade tended to diminish quite significantly.

His instincts told him that while the Southern Blade was a good technique, Zhou Fei probably wasn't a good person.

Yang Jin looked warily at Zhou Fei, who gave him a big smile.

Grimacing, Yang Jin said: "Fine, let's go."

The men from the Wayfarers' Union immediately stepped forward, surrounding Zhou Fei and Cao Ning in a tight circle.

Their hands tied, Lu Yaoguang and company had no choice but to follow them at a distance. All the archers were forced to stand down, and could only watch as they strode regally out the front doors of the manor.

Xie Yun had managed to shake off the soldiers that were after him, and hurried back just in time to witness this. Breaking into a smile at the sight, he bowed at Cao Ning: "Well hello there, Your Highness. It's been a while."

Cao Ning fixed him with an inscrutable stare, but didn't dare say anything with the Mountain of Lost Springs pressed against his collar. Zhou Fei gave him a good shove, forcing him to continue trudging painfully forward.

The journey up with Cao Ning in tow wasn't an easy one. He couldn't exert himself for long periods of time, huffing and puffing after just a few steps as if he were about to collapse. With all the breaks that he had to take, they ascended the mountain at a snail's pace. Zhou Fei was seized with anxiety over the situation in the 48 Zhai, while also having to be on her guard at all times against any fast ones that this fatty might try to pull.

It took them from noon till dusk to reach the battlefront.

Having learnt of Cao Ning's seizure, Gu Tianxuan didn't dare do anything that might jeopardize his commander's safety, and had withdrawn his men here, just beyond the outermost guard posts of the 48 Zhai.

The picturesque drawbridge and lush forest here were in a desolate state. Traces of blood and ash were everywhere. The perilousness of the situation was plain to see…if Zhou Fei had been just a little bit slower in seizing Cao Ning, all three levels of the 48 Zhai's defences would probably have crumbled today.

Zhou Fei subconsciously tightened her grip on her sabre, prompting a muffled groan from Cao Ning. He said with much difficulty: "Miss, please be careful."

Zhou Fei hissed in his ear: "Don't you worry, the day will come when you will pay for this with your life – tell your men to move aside. Now get a move on!"

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