Jianghu Qimen Lu

Red Moon waved his hand from horseback, and two soldiers stepped out from the ranks, one of them holding a prisoner! Tokugawa Munetake stared in astonishment, blurting out, "Isn't that Fujibayashi Hyōsetsu? How is he still alive?! Is he a man or a ghost? How did he get captured again?!" He turned to Fujibayashi Toshikaku and asked, "Your nephew is so elusive. I heard he was assassinated a few days ago, and tonight he's back in the enemy camp. What on earth are you two up to?!"

Fujibayashi Shunkaku hurriedly stepped forward, leaned close to his ear, and whispered some private words. This immediately dispelled the worry on Tokugawa Munetake's face, and he was overjoyed. He couldn't help but laugh and say, "Good, good! The old fox is indeed shrewd. The old master is indeed shrewd and capable, and one can't help but respect and admire him! It turns out that everything is under your control!" He then sat back and watched the two tigers fight, and said no more.

Fujibayashi Junke clapped his hands at the foot of the village gate, and several ninjas immediately came up the steps, escorting the handcuffed and shackled Yu Ruyi and Bai Jin, the siblings! When they appeared on the city wall, the chieftain's soldiers outside the village were thrown into chaos. Bai Shandian and Hong Yueliang looked at each other in shock and exclaimed in unison, "How come Yu'er has been captured by them too?!"

Fujibayashi Junke burst into laughter, arrogantly shouting, "White Lightning, you want to exchange your children for my Xue'er? Your wishful thinking is quite something! Let me tell you, don't even dream about it! Furthermore, let me tell you the truth: explosives have been planted everywhere outside the gates of the Xiaojinchuan official residence. With just one order from me, you and your entire army will be wiped out, leaving no trace! Heh heh!"

Upon hearing this, a buzz of discussion arose within the chieftain's troops, everyone trembling with fear and terrified. White Lightning and Red Moon exchanged a glance, also feeling a chill, but dared not show the slightest fear, lest their ranks fall into chaos!

Bai Shandian said loudly, "Fujibayashi Junke, don't try to mislead people and lie to them. Even if there were explosives buried underground, you wouldn't dare to detonate them easily, because you wouldn't murder your own flesh and blood!" Upon hearing this, Fujibayashi Junke felt his face burning, as if he had been slapped twice across the face, making him even more embarrassed!

He was secretly astonished: "How could this White Lightning know my secret that I've kept hidden for so many years! Back in my hometown of Koga, Japan, I had long harbored a crush on my beautiful sister-in-law. My elder brother suffered from a hidden illness that prevented him from having children, so, unable to bear the constant domestic violence he inflicted on her, I took a risk and secretly had an affair with her. She eventually became pregnant and gave birth to a son, Fujibayashi Hyōsetsu! Later, although my brother found out about this, he was wary of his position as the head of the Fujibayashi clan's ninja lineage and dared not speak out. Instead, he became increasingly respectful towards my sister-in-law! After my own son, the Fujibayashi Jonin, was killed by the Qing government, I had no successor and could only focus on treating Fujibayashi Hyōsetsu well. I not only diligently taught him ninjutsu but also publicly declared that he was my destined successor—the future head of the ninja lineage! This White Lightning is right, of course I can't bear to harm my own flesh and blood!"

He sneered and called down, "You treacherous fellow surnamed Bai! How about this, I'm willing to exchange your daughter, Yu Ruyi, for my nephew, Teng Lin Piaoxue. What do you say?" Unexpectedly, Bai Shandian scoffed and laughed, "One for one? You wish! What if I say no? What will you do then?"

Fujibayashi Toshikaku flew into a rage, shouting, "Then test my patience! See if I dare to sacrifice my nephew's life for the sacred and glorious cause of my Japanese Emperor! It would be a fitting end for him to die for his country!" Unexpectedly, Tokugawa Munetake, standing nearby, said sinisterly, "Don't worry, I will petition the Emperor to record your nephew Fujibayashi Hyōsetsu's great service and give him a grand funeral!"

At this moment, Fujibayashi Toshikaku was filled with regret. He never expected that his impulsive words would be taken seriously by his young master! He had truly shot himself in the foot—he had only himself to blame! Who could he blame? He quickly stepped forward, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Young master, I was deliberately testing White Lightning. Please don't be impatient, observe carefully. This is called psychological warfare! As long as we completely crush the enemy psychologically, they will be both shocked and terrified, and in the end, we can wipe them out without firing a single shot!" Tokugawa Munetake rolled his eyes coldly, somewhat incredulously saying, "Is it that simple? White Lightning isn't easily intimidated!"

Fujibayashi Shunke repeatedly raised his hands, assuring him, "Young Master, please rest assured, just give me some time, and I will definitely be able to do it!" Tokugawa Munetake looked him up and down with a suspicious gaze, and said with some concern, "Are you sure you can do it? What will you do if you can't?" Fujibayashi Shunke snapped his legs together, gave a standard samurai salute, and said loudly, "I am willing to accept military punishment and commit seppuku to atone for my sins!" Tokugawa Munetake suddenly smiled coldly and said solemnly, "You said it yourself! Very well, this young master will trust you one more time!"

Fujibayashi Toshikaku suddenly ordered several ninjas to tie Yu Ruyi and Bai Jin's hands behind their backs and hang them upside down above the castle tower! The hanging pole was a type of torture device, also called a "swing," used for hanging. After the prisoner was bound, they would be suspended upside down on a horizontal beam, then the rope would be cut, causing the prisoner to fall to the stone slabs below and have their brains splattered. The hanging pole consisted of a tall upright post and a horizontal beam that could rotate. The prisoner, bound to the beam, would be suspended and swayed as the beam rotated until they fell to their death.

Gazing at their two children hanging high in the air, Bai Shandian and Hong Yueliang felt their hearts ache. Bai Shandian shouted angrily, "Fujibayashi Junke, you villain, what exactly do you want?!" Fujibayashi Junke chuckled strangely, "I don't want anything, I just want to clean house. First, I'll deal with these two traitors, then I'll detonate the explosives, and with a bang, hehe, I'll send your whole family to meet in the underworld! Heh! Heh! Heh!"

White Lightning finally relented: "What are your conditions? Speak! As long as you release my two children, I'll do anything you ask!" Fujibayashi Toshikatsu burst into uncontrollable laughter, unable to contain his excitement, before finally saying, "My request is actually very simple: as long as you release Fujibayashi Piaoxue, then kneel on the ground and commit seppuku to apologize, and promise to withdraw your troops, I can show leniency, release my two traitors, and guarantee that I will not pursue their responsibility again!"

With a wave of his hand, Bai Shandian forced the two chieftain soldiers to unlock their chains and release Teng Lin Piaoxue. The boy made a face at Bai Shandian and Hong Yueliang, then ran happily back to the village. Bai Shandian jumped off his horse, walked shakily to the village gate, knelt down with a thud, and drew his imperial sword with a clang. Tears streaming down his face, he addressed his two children in the air, "My children, your father is incompetent and must go first!"

When Yu Ruyi and Bai Jin saw that their father was about to commit suicide by disembowelment for their sake, they cried out in anguish, "Father, no! Please don't!" Then, in unison, they shouted at Teng Lin Junke, "Teng Lin, you old scoundrel, I never thought you were so wicked! If our father dies because of me today, from this day forward, we will not only sever all ties and have no further connection, but we will also vow to avenge our father to the death, and hunt you down to the ends of the earth!" Their words were scathing and heart-wrenching, like the mournful cry of a cuckoo, so powerful that they moved everyone present.

Red Moon cried out, "Damn it!" She flung a throwing knife, which flashed across the night sky like lightning. Startled, Tokugawa Munetake ducked, and the knife knocked off his official hat, embedding it with a clang into the pole. Fujibayashi Toshikaku hurriedly drew his golden sword, shouting, "Protect the young master!" Tokugawa Munetake was instantly disheveled and utterly humiliated! Enraged, he drew his Kusanagi sword and slashed at the rope tied to the pole!

As soon as the rope snapped, the siblings, Yu Ruyi and her brother, plummeted headfirst to the ground like wild horses! Everyone knows that falling objects from a great height is extremely dangerous. Before their execution, both of them had six acupoints on their bodies struck, rendering them powerless. Moreover, they were bound tightly like dumplings. Surviving this time was harder than climbing to heaven! It seemed they were about to suffer head injuries and die on the spot!

"Yu'er! Jin'er!" Red Moon screamed, unleashing the world's number one lightness skill - Phantom Ghost Step, flying straight from the saddle to the gate of the village. She was truly as fast as a shooting star and as swift as lightning. Although she arrived at the scene in time, she could not do two things at once. Two fists could not fight against four hands, and she could only grab the body of Bai Jin, who was closest to her!

"Yu'er—" Bai Shandian didn't possess the astonishing lightness skill of Hong Yueliang, and besides, his body hadn't fully recovered. He could only watch helplessly as Yu Ruyi's body plummeted towards the ground! Seeing a beautiful woman about to perish, he closed his eyes in horror and cried out from the bottom of his heart, "My poor, short-lived daughter—"

However, a cry of alarm came from the city wall: "Ah, how did you save her? Are you out of your mind?!" Bai Shandian hurriedly opened his eyes and looked up, only to see Teng Lin Piaoxue tightly gripping the rope binding Yu Ruyi with both hands! Yu Ruyi was only a little over a meter away from the hard ground, and she would have been smashed to death with her brains splattered!

Fujibayashi Piaoxue hurriedly pulled the rope up, like drawing water from a well, her hands alternately lifting and lowering with all her might! Fujibayashi Junke then suddenly realized, a sense of relief washing over him: "So this kid wanted to capture the criminal. I thought he'd rekindled his old flame and was trying to be a hero! Even the young master almost misunderstood him!"

But at that very moment, shouts of battle suddenly erupted from the distant stockade walls. A surging crowd of figures climbed the walls using ladders, brandishing swords and spears, and charged forward! Tokugawa Munetake exclaimed in surprise, "Whose troops are attacking us?" Fujibayashi Toshikazu looked closely and saw that the man at the very front was a fat, big-eared monk, wielding two broadswords and fighting with great gusto. He was horrified and exclaimed, "It's the Eighteen Chieftains' Alliance Army attacking!"

While everyone was still in shock, Bai Shandian leaped into the air, swung his sword and cut the rope, saving his daughter!