Soon, the gunners on the wall began firing continuously into the house.
Bang! Bang! Bang! A series of sounds. Then, silence fell instantly inside.
Xie Lanzhi raised her hand to signal the firearmsmen to retreat. Xie Xia peeked out from a corner of the courtyard and reminded her, "Marshal, what's there to talk about? Let's just charge in."
"Take your men and retreat." Of course, she knew that dealing with the enemy directly would be better. But weren't there monsters inside? If a few firearms could hurt them, that would be fine, but she was afraid that they would escape now.
Besides, she hoped to get some information from the other party. After Xie Xia finished intervening, she still refused to leave.
Xie Lanzhi had just reminded him to retreat when suddenly, a loud bang erupted, and a shell fired from somewhere caused the courtyard wall to collapse. Xie Xia was even knocked unconscious by the shock.
Xie Lanzhi observed that the artillery fire originated from behind Xiexia.
She shouted, "They also have a backup plan. Spread out and don't huddle together. Then find the bastard who launched the sneak attack."
"Yes!" Captain Xie ordered his men to give chase. Meanwhile, someone carried the unconscious Xie Xia on their back and hurriedly headed towards the mansion.
The cannon fire from the Prince's residence attracted the attention of many, and the guards, seeing Xie Bing's panicked expression, dared not rush in.
Even Xie Bing, the most fearless and capable fighter, showed signs of fear. Something serious must have happened inside. The guards followed Xie Bing and retreated from the outer city, taking refuge under the high walls.
After the courtyard was cleared out, the cannons never fired again.
Xie Lanzhi was certain the other person was still inside. She took a step forward, and soon roof tiles flew off as someone broke through from above. The person stood on the rooftop, glanced at her, and then jumped to another rooftop, as if intentionally leading her elsewhere.
Xie Lanzhi has no internal energy, let alone lightness skill. She ran with her head down, pushing aside Xie Bing in the road while looking up at the people running on the rooftops.
The other person was dressed in a tight-fitting black outfit, with a thin veil covering her face, obscuring her features. However, the intense, lingering aura of malevolence surrounding her seemed familiar. Just like Xie Lanzhi on the battlefield of Huayin Kingdom. She killed without hesitation.
Xie Lanzhi immediately understood the situation of the substitute. Even if the other party was no longer willing to die in her place, she couldn't escape. It was probably because the national shaman on Aqina's side had done something.
These Tai Sui amulets are all means for them to avoid misfortune. As for whether they are effective or not, it seems that each of the stand-ins carries one.
But it doesn't matter.
Xie Lanzhi followed the stand-in on the rooftop out of the royal city, from the most prosperous place to the seemingly dilapidated streets, and then to the City God Temple at the foot of a mountain after leaving the city gate.
Xie Lanzhi retreated behind a tree near the City God Temple, looking at the temple with no doors to conceal it. The stand-in slowly walked into the City God Temple.
"Could that be the duel location?" Xie Lanzhi was still unsure whether the other party had lured her here for the same purpose as Artu.
After all, she was a variable, and even now that she had survived by chance, she was still a variable. There was no guarantee that Aqina wouldn't use the same trick again to prolong her life.
The people inside didn't seem to be in a hurry at all, as if they weren't worried that she wouldn't come in.
Xie Lanzhi was wondering why the other person was so certain she would come in, until she saw a familiar figure, led by two servants and a shopkeeper dressed in silk, arriving at the entrance of the City God Temple.
Her pupils constricted instantly.
As soon as Xie Ying arrived at the City God Temple, she sensed something was off about the atmosphere around her. To make matters worse, the two servants urged her, "Young Master Qian, the head manager has left everything you need in the City God Temple. Come in with me to get it."
Seeing that she was too nervous to go in, Manager Lin specifically reminded her, "Manager Qian said that since he's not here, you're the one who needs to take this money. If you don't take it tonight, all the money will be gone tomorrow."
Xie Ying wasn't sure if she could actually withdraw the 40 million silver notes she had. She only came to check because she thought Li Yiguo was relatively honest and the two servants were trustworthy.
Xie Ying climbed the steps with some skepticism when a pebble struck her left arm precisely.
"Who?" Xie Ying immediately turned her head and looked left and right. Soon she saw a familiar figure walking out from under a tree. Xie Lanzhi made a crossed gesture to her, telling her not to go in.
Manager Lin and his two servants didn't notice. Xie Ying barely had time to react.
A figure descended from the roof of the City God Temple, capturing Xie Ying in one move and dislocating her right arm. Xie Ying looked up and kicked, but the attack was so sudden that the two servants and Manager Lin were knocked unconscious before they could react and were then dumped in the City God Temple.
Xie Ying cried out in pain, but the other person covered her mouth and pulled her into the City God Temple shrouded in shadow.
Xie Lanzhi immediately chased to the door, and with another loud crash, a wooden crate came crashing down on her. She punched through the crate and threw the remaining crates aside.
She rushed in, then her feet snapped, and she was hoisted up by a rope. The rope made a whooshing sound as it pulled her down to the beam in the hall. Xie Lanzhi immediately used her halberd to cut the rope.
She fell to the floor of the hall as the City God Temple was quickly slammed shut by two three-meter-long nailed doors. Only then did she realize that the City God Temple didn't actually have no doors; they opened inwards. She hadn't noticed because she was too tired. Just as she reached the door, she stepped on a mechanism and was pulled back in by a rope, which closed the doors behind her.
Xie Ying and the other three people clearly entered the City God Temple, but it was as if they had disappeared.
Xie Lanzhi observed the facilities of the City God Temple. The main hall was very large and covered with a pile of thatched roofs. There were two drag marks on each of the left and right doors leading to the back hall.
It was a stand-in who led Xie Ying and the others to the backyard.
Xie Lanzhi was about to rush to the back room when, just as she took a step, a figure stepped on her shoulder from the beam. The sudden, heavy weight forced her to kneel instantly.
She thrust her long halberd upwards, but her opponent grabbed it and snapped the wooden shaft in two with a powerful swing of his arm.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xie Lanzhi swept her foot towards her shoulder. The other person immediately leaped back, landing on tiptoe outside the hall.
Xie Lanzhi finally saw the other person's face clearly in the sparse moonlight. The face was beautiful and delicate, but the person was as cold and indifferent as a puppet, staring at her with eyes devoid of warmth, as if looking at a dead person.
"Xie Ying," the other person said, "I am An Shan, the one you are looking for."
Xie Lanzhi threw away the halberd in her hand; it wasn't her silver long halberd after all. Even though it was the best long halberd in Weidu, it still couldn't overcome An Shan's monstrous strength.
She was unarmed, and Anshan, who was holding her long halberd, threw it away, and the halberd stuck straight into the door.
"I think you're the one looking for me." Xie Lanzhi took the opportunity to loosen her shoulders; she had really stomped on me hard just now.
An Shan put her hands behind her back and stared at her intently: "We met before. You just don't remember."
Ichiban?
Xie Lanzhi said, "You mean the imposter you arranged?"
“Whether you remember or not, I remember you,” Anshan said. “That was my first failure.”
"You manipulate people's hearts, indiscriminately kill innocent people, and show no remorse," Xie Lanzhi said. "How many lives have you lost because of your methods?"
An Shan remained expressionless, raising her right hand and pointing north: "The lives lost in the battle are not enough to make up for my failure. My real failure was in Weidu."
"However, I don't want to continue this discussion."
Xie Lanzhi said, "Do you also want to duel with me like Artur?"
"Altu's death was just your good luck." Anshan seemed to have been prepared, and she wasn't afraid to say it outright.
“This time you have neither internal energy nor anything to defend yourself.”
Xie Lanzhi's eyes darkened, and she slightly lowered her waist, assuming a sprinting posture.
This woman was reminding herself that she had no internal energy, nor the wrist guards given to her by Little Phoenix, so she could only hope to escape this calamity by chance.
"Then you underestimate me." Xie Lanzhi's right hand moved swiftly, drawing her flintlock pistol and immediately pulling the trigger. She pulled the trigger again and again, but the flintlock pistol wouldn't fire.
Anshan reached out with her left hand, and a small pouch containing a few firecrackers slowly fell from her palm.
Upon seeing this, Xie Lanzhi immediately put the flintlock pistol back.
It seems the flintlock musket is no longer useful.
"Marshal Xie is really cunning."
Xie Lanzhi thought about how the other party even deceived women: "In this respect, I seem to be no match for you."
"That woman, Marilyn, you must still remember her? Also, your wife from the first marriage."
"You cheated people out of money and sex, and deceived their feelings. You indiscriminately killed innocent people and instigated war to wreak havoc on the region. Anshan, only the deepest hell can give those victims some justice."
An Shan didn't take it to heart. After dropping the fire, she spread her arms and strolled leisurely toward Xie Lanzhi.
However, the next moment, the wind from An Shan's punch blew a strand of Xie Lanzhi's dark hair by her ear. Xie Lanzhi threw a punch without hesitation, even though she knew her opponent possessed superhuman strength.
The sound of bones cracking echoed as two heads collided. It was unclear whose hand had been broken.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 18:49:27 on February 5, 2022 and 20:04:12 on February 6, 2022!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: Hongyan (1);
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: G (8 bottles); QAQ (5 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 192 War is About to Break Out in the Central Plains
An Shan grabbed Xie Lanzhi's hand and pulled her back. Xie Lanzhi kicked An Shan in the shin, causing one of them to fall to the ground on her knees. The other person did a backflip and turned around, pulling her right arm back.
Anshan, seemingly oblivious to pain, immediately stood up and delivered an elbow strike to Xie Lanzhi's abdomen.
Xie Lanzhi was sent flying. Her back slammed against the main beam. She felt a metallic taste in her throat and spat out blood. Xie Lanzhi wiped it with the back of her hand. She watched with a calm gaze as An Shan took a few steps toward her, then bent her right leg, seemingly unable to support her standing posture.
Anshan frowned immediately and asked, "What are you hiding?"
Xie Lanzhi raised her right leg straight up, dangling it in the air. Through the moonlight, one could see an iron saddle pressed against the toe of her boot.
"Ridiculous." An Shan's gaze fell on Xie Lanzhi's right hand, which was trembling uncontrollably.
An Shan exhaled a palm strike, the force of which transformed into wind and struck Xie Lanzhi's right shoulder.
Xie Lanzhi crashed into the main beam again, coughing up blood. A burning pain shot through her chest, making her tremble all over. An Shan, dragging her right leg, staggered towards her step by step.
Xie Lanzhi got up from the ground, but An Shan grabbed her belt, lifted her over her head, and threw her out of the hall. She hit another door panel.
The door slammed shut. Xie Lanzhi collapsed to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.
Taking a break, An Shan straightened herself up. After her bones were set, she was full of energy again. With a leap, she charged towards Xie Lanzhi.
Xie Lanzhi got up again, and the two started fighting again.
The spies who had remained behind, leading Xie Bing, were heading towards the City God Temple. They encountered the same danger: cannons were firing at them from the shadows, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of Xie Bing's soldiers.
The spies dared not take Xie Bing any further and planned to secretly rush into the City God Temple to help Xie Lanzhi.
Just as the spy left, a sudden rumble shook the sky, and the previously pale moonlight was instantly covered by dark clouds. Thick clouds swirled above the City God Temple, creating a suffocating and oppressive atmosphere.
A bolt of lightning struck the doorway with a sharp, piercing bang. The spy almost instinctively stopped in his tracks, staring in horror at the dark clouds hovering above the City God Temple, and streaks of lightning churning and twisting among them like dragons.
"W-what's going on?!"
This is too bizarre.
As soon as the spies finished speaking, Xie soldiers from the nearby area, some of whom had returned from Nilubei, swallowed hard and told the spies about the strange celestial phenomenon: "This situation is the same as what happened in Lu. The Marshal dealt with Artu in the same way, with a sudden downpour and lightning."
The spy exclaimed, "Is that really true?!"
Xie Bing didn't say that ever since the Grand Marshal became even more bizarre at Niliupei, the lightning seemed to be specifically aimed at him. At that time, everyone was carrying the Marshal, and none of them felt that the lightning wasn't meant for him. But everyone felt the lightning flash around their ears, as if it had grazed their cheeks. Although it didn't actually strike them, it gave them a feeling of being on the verge of death.
The spy heard fighting sounds inside again and immediately said, "Something's not right."