Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 347 Rescue
Si Buping brought a total of four thousand men this time. He sent one thousand men, led by Fu Bai, to Xiao'an Village downstream, while the remaining three thousand men were led by Si Buping himself to Da'an Village upstream.

When Li Chengge and Du Lingzhou saw Xiao Wang arrive, they immediately spurred their horses to greet him and asked him what was going on.

"They've split up, what should we do?"

Xiao Wang replied without hesitation, "Go upstream."

So the group of five hurried upstream along the Yueshui River and soon they saw Da'an Village. The villagers were terrified when they saw so many soldiers. Some wanted to call the village chief, but when they arrived at the village chief's house, they found that the house was empty.

Upon learning that the village chief had disappeared, Si Buping immediately dispatched a thousand men to remain in Da'an Village, determined to bring everyone in the village under control.

The remaining two thousand people followed Si Buping and continued upstream along the Yue Shui River.

Xiao Wang searched carefully along the riverbank and finally found a bamboo raft in a patch of reeds. He called Uncle Jiu and Du Lingzhou, and the three of them dragged the raft out together.

The villagers nearby tried to speak up to stop them, but were met with stern rebukes from the soldiers and had no choice but to shut their mouths in frustration.

Li Chengge left their horses and carriages in Da'an Village and asked Yue Jin of the Inner Guard to take care of them. Given his status as the Prince of Jin, Yue Jin couldn't refuse him and had no choice but to accept the request.

The group of five boarded the bamboo raft one after another. Uncle Jiu rowed the long bamboo pole, and the raft moved forward smoothly.

Because they were going against the current, their speed was relatively slow, and they quickly fell behind the main force led by Si Buping. However, as the mountain road became increasingly rugged, the horses could no longer walk on the steep mountain paths, and Si Buping's main force had to switch to walking. They also had to clear weeds and trees to clear a path as they walked, which forced them to slow down their pace considerably.

In contrast, Xiao Wang's bamboo raft was moving faster and faster, and soon they overtook the main force led by Si Buping.

Seeing Xiao Wang and his group of five departing on a bamboo raft, Si Buping immediately ordered his men to cut down bamboo and wood in the mountains to make rafts. Ten people would board the rafts and travel upstream along the Yue Shui River.

Xiao Wang stood at the front of the bamboo raft, gazing into the distance. After the raft had traveled for about two hours, he suddenly spoke up.

"Pull over to the side of the road ahead."

The other four looked in the direction he was looking and saw what appeared to be a ferry crossing ahead.

The ferry crossing was extremely rough and simple, consisting of just a few stone slabs laid on the riverbank and a wooden stake next to it. Because the riverbank was overgrown with weeds, some of which were about half a person tall, the wooden stake was hidden among them and was difficult to spot unless one looked closely.

Once the bamboo raft was brought to a stop, Xiao Wang was the first to jump ashore. Uncle Jiu threw him a rope, which he then tied to a wooden stake to prevent the raft from being swept away by the river.

Once the other four people had all reached the shore, they dragged the bamboo raft ashore and hid it in the nearby bushes.

Xiao Wang heard two whooshing sounds and turned around abruptly. He saw arrows flying towards him. At the critical moment, Uncle Nine stepped in, drew his sword, and deflected the two arrows.

Upon seeing this, Li Chengge and Du Lingzhou simultaneously drew their swords and shielded Chaolu, who knew no martial arts, behind them.

Xiao Wang looked around and quickly spotted the attacker. He took out a pipe from his sleeve, pulled out the fuse, and threw it on the ground, from which thick smoke billowed out.

White smoke spread rapidly, obscuring the figures of Xiao Wang and the others.

The two men in black hiding in the woods lost their target; their bows were fully drawn, but they couldn't bring themselves to fire the arrows.

Just as they were hesitating, Uncle Nine and Du Lingzhou suddenly appeared behind them and struck the back of the neck of the two men in black with the hilt of their knives. The two men in black fainted.

Si Buping noticed thick white smoke rising ahead and guessed that it was Xiao Wang's doing. Those five guys were likely discovered by the Five Gods Sect. It would be bad if they alerted the shaman and let him escape.

He immediately ordered them to speed up! The two men in black were woken up by being splashed with cold water. Xiao Wang asked them about Yan Ciwan's whereabouts, but both of them said they had never seen her.

Xiao Wang could tell that the two men weren't telling the truth. Normally, he would have slowly coaxed them out of their lies, but now he was in a hurry to save people and didn't have time to waste with them.

He pointed at one of the men in black and said coldly.

"kill him."

Without hesitation, Uncle Nine raised his knife and slashed the black-clad man's neck. The man fell to the ground with his eyes wide open, blood flowing continuously from the wound, staining the grass beneath him red.

Xiao Wang looked at the other man in black who was stunned with fear and asked expressionlessly, "I'll give you one last chance. Where is Aci?"

This time, the man in black didn't say he hadn't seen anything. He stammered, "I...I don't even know who Aci is?"

"A beautiful seventeen-year-old girl with high martial arts skills, who used a knife as her weapon."

Upon hearing this, the man in black immediately remembered and hurriedly said, "I've seen her! This morning she sneaked into the dungeon and released the two prisoners who were locked up there."

Xiao Wang pressed further, "Where is she now?"

"She tried to escape and injured many of our brothers, but in the end she was outnumbered and fell to Ah Shan and Ah Fu. The shaman took her away, saying he was going to hold a secret ritual."

"What kind of sacrifice? Where is it held?"

The man in black shook his head frantically, sobbing uncontrollably, "I really don't know! We're just small fry, usually responsible for keeping watch here. They don't usually notify us of anything important within the sect. I swear, if I'm lying, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death!"

Where is your headquarters?

The man in black hesitated for a moment, but when he caught a glimpse of his companion beside him, whose eyes were wide open and who was dying, his heart trembled. The fear of death made him dare not hesitate any longer, and he spoke honestly.

"Underground in the main hall of Hengqing Temple."

How can I find Hengqing Temple?

The man in black extended a trembling finger: "Follow that mountain path all the way up. When you get halfway up the mountain, you will see a Taoist temple. That is Hengqing Temple."

Xiao Wang pressed further, "Was the sorcerer there too?"

The man in black, his face ashen, nodded silently.

Xiao Wang didn't ask any further questions. He turned the silver ring on his right hand, and the ring activated a mechanism. A silver needle shot out and pierced the black-clad man's heart perfectly.

The man in black suddenly opened his eyes wide and fell straight to the ground.

He won't die, but he'll be paralyzed and unable to move for three hours before he recovers.

Xiao Wang strode up the mountain, and the other four quickly followed.

They hurried along the mountain path and soon spotted a corner of the Taoist temple amidst the lush forest. They immediately quickened their pace, and when they reached the vicinity of the temple, they suddenly heard a heavy bell ringing from within!