The silver moon was like a hook.
In the neatly arranged poplar forest outside Baoyuanmen, it was completely silent.
Luo Ning leaned against a poplar tree, hiding in the dark and shadowy place, paying attention to the situation around the white stone road.
After killing Cheng Shilu at Tiefo Ridge yesterday, it had become common knowledge that "Ye Silang" would most likely arrive at Baoyuanmen in the next couple of days.
Exposing one's whereabouts in advance, giving the enemy a chance to set an ambush, was a major taboo in the martial arts world.
Although they were not sure if there would be an ambush, the three of them were extremely cautious when they came. First, they explored the escape and hiding routes around the area. Then, Ye Jingtang went to Baoyuanmen openly to handle the matter according to the normal process; Third Lady, who had strong attacking power, bypassed the area near the mansion from the dark and kept watch both inside and outside at the same time.
And Luo Ning, as a master of the inner sect, had much better movement techniques than Third Lady. She could come and go silently and was good at hiding. Together with the bird, she was responsible for finding the enemies who would act once Ye Jingtang showed up.
Luo Ning couldn't see much in the poplar forest where the tree crowns blocked out the sky, but the bird was not affected.
The bird had very big eyes and astonishing night vision. It could search for mice and snakes in the grass on the ground from high in the sky. If someone hid in the forest, unless they were buried underground, it was impossible not to be discovered.
Even if it was discovered, an owl-like bird appearing in the forest was hardly likely to arouse people's vigilance.
Such caution obviously paid off.
After waiting quietly for a while, Luo Ning heard from a distance:
"Gu gu~~ Gu~~"
Having been with Ye Jingtang for so long, Luo Ning could understand some of the signals through the "tone" of the bird's calls. She had even specifically learned it when she came, and she knew that the meaning was — two people, due east.
Luo Ning slightly stuck out her cheek to take a look. She could see that to the east of where the bird was calling was a small hill outside the poplar forest. It seemed that the enemies were hiding there. Since they could be discovered by the bird, it was highly likely that they were approaching the area when they saw Ye Jingtang arrive.
After scanning the surrounding environment, Luo Ning took the lead and silently leaped onto the tree crown, hiding on the route leading to the white stone road.
Ca ca —
In just a short while, two figures appeared in the forest below.
Both of them were wearing night clothes. The person in front was short and stout. He held a heavy square shield in his left hand and a single-edged sword in his right hand. Throwing knives and a net were hung behind his waist.
The person behind was slightly taller and had an imposing manner. He held a powerful bow in his left hand and a coiled soft whip around his waist. Judging from the length of the soft whip, it was probably about two zhang long.
When Luo Ning saw this combination of weapons, she knew that they were specifically here to deal with Ye Jingtang — the heavy shield protected the whole body, withstanding the frontal attack of the Overlord Spear. Throwing knives, nets, and the powerful bow were used to disrupt the formation, the long whip controlled the weapons, and then the swordsman would move in to kill with the spear.
If Ye Jingtang encountered them alone, he might be overwhelmed by this pair of unethical fighters.
Luo Ning didn't act rashly. Like a female ghost from the netherworld, she hid among the tree crowns, paying attention to the movements of the two men, waiting for Ye Jingtang to finish his business and for Pei Xiangjun to come so that they could find an opportunity to kill them.
But at this moment, a loud explosion came from inside Baoyuanmen.
Hong long —
The sound was like a thunderclap in the long night!
The sounds of tiles cracking and walls collapsing followed. It was earth-shattering, as if a meteor had crashed into Baoyuanmen.
Luo Ning glanced out of the corner of her eye and saw that half of the roof of the tallest building in the center of Baoyuanmen had been destroyed. She couldn't see clearly who was standing on it, but the little rascal didn't seem to have such great destructive power.
And the two killers below were also startled by the commotion and immediately prostrated themselves on the ground. There were some faint words:
"Damn it, you scared the hell out of me... What's going on?!"
"It seems that Ye Silang and Li Hunyuan are having a fight in the arena. This commotion... something's not right."
"It's not just not right. I thought Jiang Zhahu had come... Is it Li Hunyuan or Ye Silang?"
"Ye Silang uses a spear. It sounds like the sound of fists. This Li Hunyuan really hides his strength well. If Ye Silang takes such a blow, he'll either die or be seriously injured..."
...
Luo Ning also thought that Ye Jingtang didn't have such terrifying power. Her heart tightened, and she silently wanted to leave the tree crown and go to help Ye Jingtang.
But the people below were obviously not ordinary martial artists. As soon as Luo Ning's figure moved, she heard:
Peng~
The strong bowstring sounded, and then an arrow whistled through the air!
Luo Ning's face changed suddenly. In an instant, the soft sword at her waist unsheathed. It was like opening a fan in front of her, instantly defending the entire side.
Ding ding ding~
The fine and soft sounds echoed among the tree crowns.
Ordinary bows and arrows were useless against top-notch masters.
The special feathered arrow shot by Wang Chengjing, the Mountain-Crushing Tiger, with his strong bow shattered into hundreds of flying needles the moment it left the string. In an instant, it submerged the tree crown, shooting the poplar leaves full of holes.
Seeing the sword light like a full moon in the sky, Wang Chengjing's eyes narrowed:
"It's the Screen-Opening Sword. There's a master lying in ambush. Retreat!"
Wang Er quickly raised the large shield, trying to cover his elder brother's escape.
But almost at the same moment when the sword light appeared, a black shadow rushed through the forest at the speed of thunder and reached behind the two men. Holding a nine-foot-long spear, the shadow blocked their way of escape.
Wang Er secretly thought it was bad. Immediately, he turned the large shield and placed it behind him, while Wang Chengjing drew his bow like a full moon.
Shua —
Ca ca ca...
Countless fine needles pierced into the tree trunk, forcing the spearman to hide behind the tree trunk.
Luo Ning landed on the ground, holding a three-foot green sword and using the tree trunk as cover. She asked from a distance:
"How is the little rascal?"
Pei Xiangjun held a large spear and used the big tree as cover. She shouted loudly:
"He killed Li Hunyuan. Just hold them off. These two are doomed."
?!
As soon as these words were spoken, the three people behind were all shocked.
Hearing that the commotion just now was made by the "target customer", Wang Chengjing, whose original plan was to transfer, directly changed it to a desperate escape. Holding the strong bow, he shot continuously to the left and right:
"Let's go!"
Sa sa sa —
In the forest, the flying needles were as dense as rain. In an instant, they filled the tree trunk where the two of them were.
Pei Xiangjun's large spear was named "Overlord", which ranked among the top three of the ten famous spears. It was two feet longer than Ye Jingtang's Black Lin Spear. It was a divine weapon that the old spear master once used to dominate the martial arts world.
But when facing such unethical things, without a shield, she still couldn't show her head. She asked coldly:
"How many arrows are left?"
"There are still four arrows left! And there are nine throwing knives and two nets."
The sound of the bowstring suddenly stopped.
"Chase."
Pei Xiangjun gave a low shout. Her figure burst out like a cheetah. Dragging the spear, she rushed out from behind the tree trunk.
Luo Ning's figure was like a ghost. She silently dashed left and right in the forest. In an instant, she had approached the two men.
Wang Er didn't dare to show his back while being chased, so he could only retreat quickly with the large shield in his hand.
Wang Chengjing had brought a pot of special feathered arrows. Since the target customer hadn't come out yet, he didn't dare to shoot randomly. He just kept drawing the bow and pointing it in the direction of the two men, forcing them to find a place to hide.
Ta ta ta...
The sound of footsteps in the forest was as dense as rain.
After chasing to a distance of five zhang, Pei Xiangjun no longer chose to hide. Her figure directly rushed into the open area between the two rows of poplar trees. She stepped heavily forward with her right foot, and her eyes were immediately filled with bloodshot. Her face under the face veil turned red, and the blue veins on her hands bulged.
Hong —
A strong wind blew among the trees, blowing away the fallen leaves around Pei Xiangjun.
Pei Xiangjun inserted the tip of the spear into the ground, sending countless broken stones and soil flying. Then her figure broke through the night. Almost following the flying broken stones, she appeared in front of them in the blink of an eye. She raised the nine-foot-long spear in her hands and stabbed forward with all her strength.
Sa —
The tip of the spear pierced the air, emitting a shrill scream.
The speed of this spear was so fast that even Luo Ning's eyes showed astonishment. She recognized that this was the unique skill "Reversing Blood in Fengchi" that only the Red God of Wealth could use, and it was also the capital for the Overlord Spear to become the spear master.
Wang Chengjing shot out the arrow in his hand. Seeing the terrifying spear momentum, his hair stood on end. He kicked the heavy shield from behind, forcefully pulling his younger brother, who was still hiding behind the shield with his head down, away.
Dang —
The tip of the spear flashed and arrived instantly. The strong wind it brought stirred up the bursting flying needles. The two-foot-long spear tip covered with battle marks directly stabbed into the heavy shield specially prepared for the Black Lin Spear.
Ca —
The one-inch-thick black iron heavy shield burst out with lightning-like sparks at the front and back. In an instant, it was pierced through. The remaining force didn't decrease, and it stabbed into the shoulder of Wang Er, who had just escaped from the shield.
Amid the explosion sound, the Wang brothers, together with the shield, almost instantly slid half a zhang backward, leaving a groove on the ground.
The force of this blow was terrifying, but the Wang brothers were no ordinary people. The moment the spear tip released its force, Wang Er, regardless of the pain, pushed forward violently, making it difficult for the opponent to withdraw the spear.
Wang Chengjing swept out the two-zhang-long whip in his hand. But because the distance between the poplar trees was less than two zhang, he could only swing it down from the top and slash towards Pei Xiangjun above the large shield.
Pa!
The sound of the whip echoed in the forest.
Luo Ning followed closely behind. Seeing this, she leaped into the air, and the soft sword in her hand accurately blocked the powerful and heavy soft whip.
"Open!"
Seeing the shield pressing down, Pei Xiangjun let out a delicate shout. She slid her right foot and exerted force with her right hand, trying to sweep the shield away.
As a result, the moment the shield moved away, Wang Er let go of it and threw a handful of white lime powder forward.
Sha ~
Pei Xiangjun's eyes were slightly startled — the fox spirit was intercepting the long whip in the air and couldn't borrow strength to move. If she retreated, the fox spirit would directly land in front of the two men — to prevent the fox spirit from being hit, without hesitation, she abandoned the spear and jumped back, and at the same time, she grabbed the hind leg of Luo Ning, who was in mid-air.
Hu la~
As the white lime powder scattered, the two of them retreated several zhang at the same time, one above and one below.
Seeing the ambushers retreat, Wang Er immediately picked up his knife and prepared to run. But Wang Chengjing's ears twitched, and his face changed slightly:
"Raise the shield."
At the same time, he drew the bow and set the arrow, shooting towards the tree crown in the distance.
Shua —
Hua la —
I don't know what hit the tree crown diagonally above. The tops of several trees directly exploded. Amid the flying broken branches, a black figure holding a spear appeared.
Hong —
The black figure fell straight down from the sky. When it found hundreds of flying needles, it kicked the tree trunk halfway, and its figure shifted horizontally in the air. Like a black lightning bolt, it shuttled back and forth between the tree trunks.
Dong dong dong —
Looking from the sky, in the poplar forest under the moonlight, a row of tree crowns shook violently, as if a dragon and python had fallen into it and was rampaging in the forest.
Wang Chengjing shot out three arrows in an instant, but he didn't even touch the corner of the black figure's clothes.
Seeing this scene, while leaping back quickly, Wang Er bit the single-edged sword in his mouth and threw the cloth bag in his right hand into the air.
Sha sha sha~~
The white dust mist rose and filled the forest in an instant.
Seeing this, Ye Jingtang immediately landed on the ground. Holding the spear in one hand, he blocked it horizontally and stepped forward, gathering strength from the ground:
"Die for me!"
With a loud shout, all the muscles in his body tensed up instantly.
Shua —
The sharp sound of breaking wind resounded through the forest.
The Black Lin Spear turned into a javelin and shot out from his hand. With a sharp scream, it instantly tore through the white dust mist in front of him, creating a swirling void.
Wang Er's eyes were filled with horror. Knowing that the heavy shield couldn't block it, he still bravely raised the shield without fear of death.
Hong —
The seven-foot-long spear pierced through the iron shield. The remaining force didn't decrease. It shot through the shoulder of the burly Wang Er and, together with the shield, crashed into the back, stabbing into Wang Chengjing's side.
Pu!
The terrifying qi contained in the spear tip, like skewering candied haws, knocked the two brothers out and they fell to the ground in the forest.
Wang Chengjing had the iron plate and Wang Er as a meat shield. It was just a minor injury on the skin. The moment he fell to the ground, he pushed Wang Er away, pulled out the spear tip that had pierced into the flesh, and then kicked the shield, pulling the Black Lin Spear out of Wang Er's shoulder.
"Ah —"
A scream.
Wang Chengjing grabbed his younger brother with one hand and, regardless of everything, turned around and ran desperately.
Wang Er endured the intense pain while being dragged on the ground. He still didn't forget to sprinkle white powder, forcing the opponent to have difficulty chasing.
After shooting out the spear, Ye Jingtang didn't risk rushing into the dust mist. He let the bird, which was on standby in the air, chase in the direction where the two men fled. He himself leaped to the two women.
After a careful look, he could see that Miss Luo was holding the sword and was unharmed. There was a little white lime powder on her clothes; Third Lady pulled down the face veil. Her face was flushed, and she threw a few pills into her mouth. When she saw him, she said angrily:
"It's Snow Moth Scale. These two villains really have no martial ethics. Let's find a safe place to hide quickly."
Ye Jingtang noticed that Third Lady's complexion was not right. He whistled, and the horse galloped over from outside Baoyuanmen.
Ye Jingtang raised his hand and hugged Third Lady horizontally, and then leaped onto the horse. Luo Ning landed behind Ye Jingtang and looked at the few martial artists who were watching from behind the stone lions:
"It's Snow Moth Scale. Whoever picks up the spear will be handsomely rewarded."
"Ah?!"
The few martial artists who were named while just watching the scene turned pale when they heard this. But no one moved. If they didn't move, they might be asking for trouble.
One of the martial artists hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and ran over. He rushed into the white dust mist, picked up the two famous spears from the ground, and ran back and threw them onto the horse.
Pei Xiangjun took out a handful of banknotes from her bosom and threw them into the martial artist's hand. She didn't forget to give a warning:
"Whoever dares to snatch them, Honghua Tower will kill without mercy. Let's go."
"Giddy up —"
The big horse raised its hooves and then galloped in the direction of the official road.
Clip-clop, clip-clop...
Inside Baoyuanmen, the lights were bright. More than a hundred martial artists watched in silence as the fierce horse galloped away.
It was only after the sound of the horse's hooves had disappeared for a long time that the sound of "shua shua shua" was heard, and many martial artists in the martial arts world scattered and fled.
Among them, there were also some random words:
"Master Ye's martial arts are a bit too overbearing..."
"That's not nonsense. He's the young master of a wealthy family. Do you think he's a small figure in the martial arts world? Master Li is also stubborn. Since Cheng Shilu is already dead, he still dares to set up an arena..."
"Master Li wasn't even killed. He really lives up to his reputation..."
"Getting so much money for picking up two spears. No wonder it's Honghua Tower..."
"You fool, this is hush money. Go and have a good meal..."
"How could the future leader