Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 465 Zhang Fei Reborn

At 3:45 PM, the area inside and outside the North Central City was completely silent.

The white-robed soldiers patrolling the city walls at night watched the Wei army camp with vigilance, not missing a single movement.

However, they were so focused on keeping an eye on the movements near the city wall that they failed to notice that Erzhu Zhao had led 20,000 elite Qihu troops, with men gagged and horses with their hooves wrapped, to quietly slip out of the camp from the outside.

The night was as dark as ink, thick clouds obscured the moon, and the 20,000-strong army, like a winding giant python, slowly marched towards the Yellow River.

The horses' hooves, wrapped in cotton cloth, trod on the soft earth with almost no sound, except for the occasional clash of weapons, which sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet night.

Riding on his tall horse, Erzhu Zhao warily scanned his surroundings. He saw mist shrouding the river, and the outline of the opposite bank was vaguely visible. He then scanned the area again with his Heavenly Eye to prevent any ambush by the White-Robed Army.

Having suffered greatly at the hands of the White-Robed Army, he knew that no amount of caution was excessive. Although Erzhu Shilong assured him that there would be no problem, he still found it difficult to trust this unreliable uncle.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. The vanguard soon reported that they had met up with the Xiazhou army that was there to meet them.

When Erzhu Zhao arrived at the pontoon bridge, he indeed saw soldiers from Xia Prefecture waiting there with lanterns. When they saw him coming, they immediately stepped forward and introduced themselves with obsequious expressions.

But Erzhu Zhao had no interest in being polite with them and coldly asked, "The bridge was built so quickly?"

“Reporting to General of the Cavalry, all the parts are readily available. Just arrange the boats, connect them with iron chains, and lay down planks to make a bridge.” The leader was the chieftain of the Xiazhou people, who hurriedly said with a smile, “We are all experienced and it won’t take long.”

"Where are your people?" Erzhu Zhao asked again.

"They've all been evacuated to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings," the chieftain replied. "Now there are only a few of us guarding both sides of the bridge, so the general can cross with peace of mind."

"Did Yuan Hao's men not notice?" Erzhu Zhao was still uneasy.

"No. Before we took action, we already eliminated the supervisor he sent," the clan chief said, making a beheading gesture.

"Hmm." Erzhu Zhao nodded in satisfaction. Just as he was about to order the troops to cross the bridge, he suddenly asked in a low voice, "The White-Robed Army won't come, will they?"

"Ah..." The clan chief was taken aback at first, then smiled wryly and said, "The White-Robed Army is all in North Central City. Do you think they can just sprout wings and fly over here?"

"Indeed." Erzhu Zhao chuckled inwardly at himself for almost becoming a frightened bird. Only then did he relax and give the order in a deep voice: "Cross the bridge."

The advance team then stepped onto the pontoon bridge, reached the riverbank, and quickly searched the area to ensure no one was around before continuing. They successfully crossed the southern section of the pontoon bridge and reached the opposite bank.

After searching again and confirming there were no ambushes, they sent a signal to the north bank that it was safe to cross the river.

Upon hearing the agreed-upon partridge call, Erzhu Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the army to cross the river quickly.

So nearly 20,000 troops began to cross the river in single file. As expected of the Yellow River Bridge built by the imperial court, the large army walked on it very steadily, and you could hardly feel any swaying.

Within the time it takes to eat a meal, nearly half of the Wei army successfully crossed the river, and the situation remained calm and orderly.

Only then was Erzhu Zhao completely relieved. Surrounded by his personal guards, he slowly stepped onto the pontoon bridge. But soon after he stepped onto the bridge, a flash of white light appeared before his eyes, and a huge shockwave rose up beneath his feet, carrying towering waves that threw him and the guards huddled around him, along with their horses, into the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom! A series of violent explosions rang out like thunder, and flames shot into the sky, illuminating the entire night. The pontoon bridge was instantly shattered into pieces, with fragments of planks flying everywhere like raindrops. Before the Qihu soldiers on the bridge could react, they were swept into the river by the blast wave, their screams and cries for help echoing throughout the area.

Erzhu Zhao was known as the number one warrior of the Qihu, so he shouldn't have been killed so easily. He steadied himself in mid-air, wiped the black ash off his face, and looked intently at the riverbank. He saw the white-robed army emerging from the ground, charging out of the shadows like tigers among sheep, rushing towards the chaotic Qihu soldiers.

Seeing this, Erzhu Zhao roared, "Quick! Counterattack!"

However, the Wei army was completely stunned and unable to organize an effective counterattack.

When they saw the approaching enemy army dressed in white robes, they completely collapsed, shouting "The White-Robed Army is here!" They threw down their armor and fled in panic. Countless soldiers, in their haste, jumped into the Yellow River and were swept away by the swift current.

The Qihu soldiers who crossed the river were in the same tragic situation. They were driven into the river by white-robed ambush soldiers who attacked from all directions. Countless people who fell into the water were trampled to death.

Seeing this, Erzhu Zhao's eyes widened in fury. He roared and was about to rush down to fight when suddenly a beam of green light shot towards him!

Erzhu Zhao was immediately terrified, remembering his blind left eye.

He quickly stopped in his tracks, barely dodging the flying sword. Following the direction the sword came from, Erzhu Zhao indeed saw the boy who had blinded him in one eye.

No, we can no longer call him 'that kid,' but 'the esteemed demigod.'

"You're bullying the weak and disregarding the rules!" Erzhu Zhao protested angrily as he fled without hesitation.

"Hahaha, it was your uncle who broke the rules first." Ren Yuan stood with his hands behind his back on the river, laughing loudly at Erzhu Zhao's back. "He set the first rule, so why can't others do the fifteenth?"

"You wait, I'll get my uncle to deal with you!" Erzhu Zhao yelled and went home to find his parents.

"I'll wait for him to come." Ren Yuan didn't chase after him, because he still needed to maintain the illusion.

Once he leaves Hezhongzhu, the terrified Wei army will discover that there is no White Robe Army at all, and all the ambushes are just illusions created by Ren Yuan.

Of course, the explosion was not an illusion, but Ren Yuan's great supernatural power—the Five Elements Transformation. After becoming a demigod, he could finally transform the entire floating bridge into fire and blow it up with a wave of his hand, just like the Fifth Dimension did in his dream.

~~
With Chen Qingzhi's flawless planning, Hezhongzhu was naturally a flaw he deliberately left for Erzhu Rong, just waiting for Erzhu's army to sneak across!
Originally, Chen Qingzhi wanted Zu Geng to set up several teleportation arrays and arrange enough soldiers to be teleported to Hezhongzhu, but after Ren Yuan became a demigod, all of this was unnecessary. He could handle it all by himself.

After Mr. Gongsun overheard Erzhu Rong's arrangements using his keen hearing, Chen Qingzhi ordered Ren Yuan to act accordingly that evening.

After advancing to demigod status, many things became simpler. When Ren Yuan arrived at Hezhongzhu, he saw the Xiazhou army building a pontoon bridge.

He didn't stop them, and just watched quietly as they finished. After that, the clan chief instructed his son to lead the main force away.

Ren Yuan originally planned to use the "Forgetful River Reflection" technique to control the clan leader and the others, making them act according to his wishes, but after thinking about it, he realized it was unnecessary and there was no need to add anything unnecessary.

(End of this chapter)