knife

Chapter 214 Two Groups, All in One Pot
Yang Lixin fled frantically.

His wounds had long since reopened, and blood had soaked through the bandages, staining his clothes red, but he was completely unaware.

They persevered until dawn.

As dawn broke, the allied forces from Hedong finally breached the city walls and stormed inside.

But this was already part of the previous plan, and street fighting had been prepared long ago.

They resisted house by house, pursued and killed alley by alley, waiting for He Zudao's garrison to launch a final all-out attack from outside.

In fact, after the Hedong army stormed into the city and began street fighting, the city's advantages became more apparent.

They lacked organized offense or defense, but in such chaotic battles, these outlaws were individually strong in combat, experienced in fighting, and used countless unorthodox methods, which made it difficult for the Hedong Allied Forces to advance and caused them to pay a heavy price.

Even the martial arts masters from the powerful families of Hedong didn't gain much of an advantage.

While they may not have as many top experts as Hedong, one Jiang Shu is worth two or three of them. Add to that Yang Lixin and his gang of desperate outlaws at the seventh or eighth rank of Xuan Yuan, and the two sides are truly evenly matched in the city, fighting to a standstill.

At this point, both Jiang Shu and Yang Lixin believed that victory was in their grasp.

Under such circumstances, with the addition of a third force, victory would be a piece of cake.

A third force has indeed arrived.

However, it wasn't what Jiang Shu and the others had hoped for.
Of course, this was not what the powerful families of Hedong had hoped for.

The third force launched an indiscriminate massacre against the powerful families of Hedong and the outlaws.

After a day and a night of fierce fighting, both sides were exhausted both physically and mentally. At this moment, they were supported by their will to win the final battle and hoped that the enemy would give up first.

When that hope is shattered, the person collapses.

Yang Lixin witnessed firsthand how a Xuan Yuan Rank 9 master from the Hedong aristocratic family coalition was shot into a pincushion by countless crossbow bolts in an instant while charging towards the army.

Another one charged back to rescue his comrade, only to be surrounded and then piled up and killed by countless people.

The whereabouts and fate of the other two were unknown to Yang Lixin. Upon seeing this, he turned and fled.

Jiang Shu, the leader of their own group, was indeed a man of loyalty. He guarded the west gate, covering everyone's retreat, which was also the only escape route within the city.

But Jiang Shu is no longer here.

In his last glance back, Yang Lixin saw Jiang Shu's tall figure fall heavily from the city wall, and in the spot where Jiang Shu had been standing, stood a Taoist priest holding a whisk upside down.

That one glance was enough to terrify Yang Lixin.

That was a master of innate skill.

Yang Lixin was certain of this judgment, because the only person who could kill Jiang Shu, the leader of the Hedong Green Forest Road, in such a short time could be a master of innate skill.

Yang Lixin never dared to look back.

He could only pin his hopes on such a master, who would never even consider a nobody like him.

That was indeed the case. The Taoist priest stood on the city wall and watched them flee for their lives, but he made no attempt to pursue them.

Indeed, having an elephant chase and kill ants is simply not feasible.

The roar of water filled his ears as the fugitives crossed the levee and rushed towards the beach. Yang Lixin stopped on the banks of the raging river.

Looking back, Yang Lixin realized that only a few hundred of his brothers had followed him all the way here, and he was overcome with grief.

A month ago, he had thousands of troops behind him and was a swaggering figure riding a tall horse through Taiyuan.

A month later, he became a fugitive being chased and hacked down by government troops.

"The pursuers are coming!" someone shouted hoarsely on the embankment. Everyone on the beach was terrified. Some people even got up and rushed into the river, but given their current condition and physical strength, the chances of them drowning were probably 99%.

The roaring river made those who wanted to go into the water hesitate.

Yang Lixin spurred his horse and charged up the levee. How could the government troops be so fast?

As the troops drew closer, their scattered flags and chaotic formations revealed them to be nothing more than defeated soldiers who had fled from Taiyuan City, just like the rest of the army.

The fugitives breathed a sigh of relief, but their expressions immediately tightened again.

It's true that enemies often meet, and those who escaped were indeed remnants of a defeated army, but they weren't from their group. Instead, they were from the allied forces of the Hedong aristocratic families. The leader, dressed in mountain-patterned armor, carrying a long spear, and covered in blood, was none other than Feng Congwen, who had fought a fierce battle with Yang Lixin yesterday and nearly caused Yang Lixin to lose his life.

The deserters from the Feng family also discovered them.

The two sides stared at each other nervously, about a mile apart.

Yang Lixin suddenly burst into laughter, laughing so hard that he fell headfirst off his horse. His laughter caused him to stomp his feet hard on the ground, which reopened his already ruptured wound, causing blood to gush out. "Yang Lixin, what's wrong with you?" Feng Congwen shouted from afar.

Yang Lixin straightened up, pointed at Feng Congwen and said, "Young Master Feng, I never thought you'd end up like this. It's bad enough that I, Yang, was chased like a dog, but now you've become a stray dog ​​too, hahaha!"

Upon hearing this, Feng Congwen, unusually, did not retaliate with insults, but instead rode his horse slowly over.

Yang Lixin stopped sneering, placed his hand on the nine-ringed sword beside him, and coldly stared at Feng Congwen as he walked over.

Feng Congwen dismounted, empty-handed, without his usual spear.

"You're right, I, Feng, am just like you, I've indeed become a stray dog!"

Seeing this noble young master, who would never have given him a second glance before, readily admit it, Yang Lixin felt uneasy: "You fucking go back to Shangdang and you can make a comeback again. You're not like me!"

A look of despair crossed Feng Congwen's face as he shook his head and said, "The patriarch risked his life to cover my escape. His last words were a warning: never go back to Shangdang! Leave a glimmer of hope and chance for the Feng family of Shangdang."

Hearing the implication of these words, Yang Lixin was dumbfounded: "No way? You mean they're going to kill you all too?"

"Now that we've already taken action, we must eliminate any potential threats. Haven't you seen the fate of the Liu family of Jinyang and the Wang family of Taiyuan?"

"General He killed the Liu family, and we killed the Wang family!" Yang Lixin was puzzled: "Aren't you all in cahoots with the imperial court? Why did they kill you too?"

Looking at this rough-and-tumble hero before him, Feng Congwen smiled wryly: "You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

"Even at a time like this, you still look down on me!" Yang Lixin said angrily.

Feng Congwen sighed: "Yang Lixin, is there any need for us to fight anymore?"

“We outlaws can get tricked, we’re not as smart as you guys, but you’re all supposed to be so clever, how come you got tricked too?”

"Those who calculate more win, those who calculate less lose." Feng Congwen said with a wry smile, "There is always someone stronger than the strong, and there is always someone better. This time, you and we have all become playthings in their hands. We have been wiped out in one fell swoop! Now the whole east of the river belongs to them."

Who are you talking about?

“The imperial court! Kou Zhong, Wei Zhengdao, and their ilk!” Feng Congwen said.

"Why is the imperial court targeting you all as well? We are rebels, but are you rebels too?" Yang Lixin asked, puzzled.

Feng Congwen remained silent.

"Young Master Feng, what are you planning to do next? If you really have nowhere to go, why don't you come up the mountain with me and become a bandit king? Although it's a bit of a mess, at least you'll have a place to stay, a place to go back to after you've come out," Yang Lixin said with a smile.

Feng Congwen's facial muscles twitched a few times, and he shook his head.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I have somewhere to go!"

Yang Lixin nodded: "That's true. You big families can find relatives everywhere, so you're never short of places to go. Naturally, you wouldn't stoop to becoming outlaws like us. Young Master Feng, actually, it seems we're pretty much the same! We're open bandits, you're clandestine bandits. We open bandits only care about a little wealth, while you're after much bigger things. What's that called again?"

Yang Lixin tapped his head. "General He said that, but I forgot!"

"Those who steal hooks will be punished; those who steal from the state will become kings!"

"That's exactly what I meant!" Yang Lixin clapped his hands. "Young Master Feng is truly insightful."

"He Zudao betrayed you, don't you hate him?"

"Why should I hate him?" Yang Lixin asked, somewhat puzzled. "The General's original plan was for us to hold you off until both sides were exhausted, at which point he would deliver the final blow. In the end, General He must have discovered the Imperial Army's tricks. Why would he come to his death? Impossible! He would naturally flee. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same."

The two leaders spoke calmly, and although the two groups below were still quite a distance apart, the hostility between them was slowly dissipating.

Yesterday, two groups of people were fighting to the death, but now they are all defeated and being hunted down. They are sitting together calmly and talking. The strangeness of life is truly lamentable.

There's a boat on the river!

someone shouted.

The two turned around and saw that there were more than a dozen boats floating down from upstream. Yang Lixin became excited when he saw the flags on the boats.

"It's General He! General He has come to pick us up!"

As they were talking, the people on the boat noticed them. A boat slowly approached the shore, and an officer stood at the bow and shouted, "Who's in charge? Come out and say something. Which team are you from?"

Yang Lixin rushed to the riverbank in three strides and shouted at the top of his lungs, "I am Yang Lixin, who is on the boat?"

The people on the boats did not answer, but waved their flags, and then a dozen or so boats moved toward the shore.

"General Yang? I was sent by General He to pick you up!"

One sentence brought tears to Yang Lixin's eyes, and his voice became choked with emotion.

(End of this chapter)