After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

In the blink of an eye, a dark shadow splattered over. Ah Lin instinctively tried to block it, but it was too late; blood had already splattered into his eyes.

As he blinked hard, he seemed to realize something, and with a start, he instinctively swung the knife in his right hand at Ning Baixuan, who was kneeling on the ground.

Hiss, the cold blade ripped through the air.

The movements were decisive and fierce.

But this strike naturally missed its mark.

As Ah Lin wiped the blood from his eyes with his left hand, he vaguely saw the other person roll to the side.

and……

He took out the musket from his waist.

Ah Lin sneered, and without the slightest hesitation, strode forward before the other party could draw his gun.

His knife was already aimed at the opponent's right arm.

The blade flashed, and the distance between them was less than an inch.

Fortunately, Ning Nan did not intend to use the musket to fire directly, but only used the barrel as a blunt weapon.

"Clang!"

Parry the opponent's blade.

Ah Lin's strength was extremely great and skillful, and Ning Nan's hands immediately felt a sharp pain in the tiger's mouth.

He had previously asked the dark-skinned woman, Qin Yuanyao, about practicing martial arts.

After all, the sight of this woman calmly walking down from the top of Black Tiger Mountain while carrying a hideous human head had a tremendous visual impact on him.

But the dark-skinned man said calmly:

"To master martial arts, one must either be exceptionally talented or start training from a young age to develop a set of 'boy's skills'."

Knowing he lacked the skills of a virgin, Master Ning gritted his teeth and said:

"Am I not exceptionally gifted?"

Blackie sneered, "Li Sanzhuang is as strong as an ox and has big bones, so he can barely be considered to have some talent. As for you..." She glanced at him up and down with a cold and disdainful look, "Hmm... you have absolutely no talent to speak of."

Ningnan was somewhat devastated.

However, without "lightness skill" or "qigong," the dark-skinned woman couldn't perform feats like leaping across rooftops or killing a bull with a single punch, which relieved him and made him less envious.

At that moment, the dark-skinned woman glanced at his somewhat dejected expression, then changed the subject, saying:

"Your martial arts skills will never be as good as mine, but that doesn't mean you'll never be able to beat me."

Master Ning raised his head and said, "I have a gun. A musket!"

"I'm not talking about muskets."

Qin Heipi shook his head.

He glanced at him with a complex yet indifferent look, and said earnestly:

"If you can go to the battlefield and survive for three years, even the best martial arts training won't be enough to defeat such a seasoned veteran. If you can also achieve the feat of being the first to scale the enemy lines and capture the flag..."

Qin Heipi looked at him and said in an upward tone:

"Even the most skilled martial arts master would tremble in the face of such murderous aura."

…………

"There is great terror between life and death."

Throughout the night, Ning Nan was constantly scheming and worrying, her nerves on edge. She kept calculating possible accidents and imagining what backup plans she could make.

He was mentally and physically exhausted, but in the face of life and death, he still pushed his physical limits.

If it weren't for the years of farming and hunting in Lijia Village, as well as the conscious training over the years that made him physically strong and sharp enough, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand two blows from Ah Lin tonight.

The throbbing pain in his hand, the stinging pain from the knife wound on his left leg, and the soreness in his thighs and arms made him feel the threat of death for the first time in a long time.

But... there's no way to change it now.

The people in the mission camp cannot move too early and impersonate Han Qing, otherwise it will attract the scouts of the Northern Dynasty camp.

Zhen Susu and the others couldn't move, and they couldn't even send any of them to Shuijing Township in advance to impersonate Han Qing.

Otherwise, it would inevitably arouse Ah Lin's suspicion. As soon as he sent Zhen Susu and the others away, Ah Lin would definitely send someone to follow them.

The same applies to the three groups of spies. Presumably, there were people from the Northern Dynasty in all three groups, or perhaps Ah Lin sent people to follow them.

Tonight...

Ning Nan sighed softly.

He had no one left to use.

After arriving here.

In the end, the only person he could use was himself.

Sweat dripped from his forehead and into Ning Nan's eyes.

He gritted his teeth and let out a slight breath.

"Come on," he said.

"Bang bang bang bang bang!"

It was at this moment...

It was at the very moment the blade clashed with the gun barrel...

That was the moment Ning Nan doubted whether he would ever be able to go home and see his wife again...

Three or four miles behind them... came a deafening burst of gunfire, hoofbeats, and shouts of battle...

"ha……"

With sweat beading on his forehead and bloodshot eyes, Ning Nan finally managed a smile…

Xiuxiu has arrived...

Zhen the Fox and Qian Sijin will be here soon too...

Alin also heard the commotion; his pupils contracted, and he said in a cold voice:

"You and Han Qing actually ambushed the Heavenly Principle Sect? Where is Han Qing?! Where is he?!"

Xiuxiu has arrived... Chen Ruhai and Shangguan Zhao must have escaped... Granny Cui Cui will definitely receive the news... Knowing that he has already won most of the battle tonight, Ning Nan's lips curled into a smile.

His arms suddenly bulged.

"Han, you son of a bitch," he cursed.

With his steel knife pressed against Ning Nan's gun barrel, Ah Lin suddenly raised his foot and delivered a powerful whip kick to Ning Nan's abdomen!

"Bang!"

Ning Nan gritted his teeth, and as the opponent's foot kicked, he pushed off with both arms, deflecting the steel knife in A Lin's hand, and then fell backward, dissipating the force of the kick.

Even so, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen from the kick.

As he fell to the ground, his right hand slammed to the ground, while his left hand frantically reached into his pocket to pull out a tinderbox.

"Bang!"

Ah Lin sneered and kicked Ning Nan's left hand, sending the firecracker flying.

"I told you. You're too close to me; the musket is useless..."

They even thought about lighting a fuse...

"Bang!"

A huge sound exploded beside my ears, and a flash of fire streaked past.

As Alin kicked the firecracker away,

Ning Nan had already adjusted his right hand, tucking the gun handle under his armpit with the barrel pointing upwards.

The trigger was pulled.

The original matchlock gun was in front of the north gate. After Chaotianye fired a shot at it, he ordered Zhen Susu to replace it with a flintlock gun developed by the Ministry of Works outside the Yonghe Temple.

At the same time the trigger is pulled.

The felt inside the flintlock musket struck the flint, and the sparks that flew out ignited the powder box.

Gunpowder explodes!

The lead bullet flew out.

"Bang!"

……

……

Blood loss.

exhausted.

My head is spinning.

His face was covered in cold sweat, and his limbs were sprawled on the ground.

My eyes were slightly unfocused as I gazed at the moon and stars in the sky, and slowly, my vision became a little blurry.

The sound of horses' hooves came when he was about to fall asleep... or it may have come after he had taken a nap.

The horseshoe made an unpleasant sound as it stepped on the stones.

He sniffed, smelling a bloody odor, but he couldn't tell if it was his own or Ah Lin's.

He turned his head on the grass in the direction of the sound of hooves, not knowing whether the person coming was Qian Baihu or Zhen Huli.

In a blurry vision.

About twenty or thirty riders came galloping over.

A figure jumped off the horse.

His vision was blurry, and he couldn't see clearly, but he could make out that the figure was wearing red and green clothes.

"Zhen Susu?"

His eyes were filled with blood, but his remaining consciousness suddenly told him, no, that's not right, Zhen Fox is wearing black tonight.

The figure appears to have a problem with his right foot.

He walked with a limp, his gait extremely unnatural.

But they are moving at a fast pace.

They are walking towards him.

He blinked.

Before long, the slender figure arrived in front of him and squatted down.

The person reached out a slightly cold hand and touched his cheek.

The figure looked him up and down with pity, her breath becoming heavier as if she were sobbing.

"Brother,"

Her voice was soft, with a hint of suppressed sobbing:

"...Your older sister is here to pick you up."