Chapter 42: The Female Assassin

  Outside Jinan City, dense forest.

  The remaining Bailianjiao members who escaped from the city and Li Yan and Hong Niangzi hid in this dense forest.

  Hong Niangzi stepped forward, sword in hand, and pressed towards the White Lotus leader, who was veiled and cloaked, asking: "Did you know that the government troops had 5,000 soldiers?"

  Hong Niangzi's killing intent was revealed, and Li Qing Shan, Yuan Shi Zhong, and Liu Ba Dao, who had just joined forces, quickly stepped forward to block the White Lotus Sect Master. Li Yan feared that Hong Niangzi would be at a disadvantage and hastily led dozens of his personal soldiers to surround them. The remaining hundred or so members of the White Lotus Sect also swarmed over, with both sides drawing their swords, on the verge of erupting into battle.

  The White Lotus Sect leader raised his hand to stop his subordinates and said coldly, "Does Lady Li think that I need to deceive you?"

  Hong Niangzi's tone was unfriendly, and she said in a menacing manner: "If you hadn't deceived us, that would be fine. But if you knew clearly that the government army had 5,000 elite soldiers, yet intentionally told us there were only 2,000 people, then you deliberately let us go to our deaths! These 3,000 elite soldiers all followed me, Hong Niangzi, through mountains of knives and seas of fire. They absolutely cannot die in vain like this!"

  "Mrs. Li, you're going too far!" White Lotus Sect Leader said angrily, "You and your husband lost 3,000 elite soldiers, but I also lost a large number of elites in the sect. If it's just to let you go die, why would I sacrifice these elites?"

  The matchmaker was silent.

  What the White Lotus Sect leader said is not unreasonable. If she wanted to send Hong Niangzi and her 3,000 elite soldiers to their deaths, there was no need to sacrifice 10,000 people from the sect. Those 10,000 people may seem like a mob to Hong Niangzi, but to the White Lotus Sect, they are all elite troops. Having suffered this defeat, the White Lotus Sect can be said to have been severely wounded.

  The White Lotus leader said: "If you want revenge, you should go find Wang Pu. It was Wang Pu who led the troops to destroy your 3,000 elite soldiers."

  Li Yan hastily came out to mediate: "My wife has a quick temper and wrongly blamed the Master, I hope the Master won't take it to heart."

  "General Li, you and your wife must be feeling terrible after suffering a defeat. I can understand that, but our sect has also suffered heavy losses, and my heart is equally troubled. Now is the time for us to encourage and help each other, so why should we suspect and attack each other?"

  Hong Niangzi was naturally generous and immediately apologized: "Just now, the young woman's words were rude and offending, I hope the master will forgive me."

  "General Li, Mrs. Li," said the White Lotus leader sincerely, "I have something to say, but I don't know if I should say it."

  Li Yan said: "Master, please speak."

  The leader of the White Lotus Sect said: "The government army has just won a great victory in the daytime, and their defense at night must be slack."

  "Is Master Jiao planning a surprise attack on Jining under the cover of night?" Hong Niangzi asked, "But now our two families combined have over 200 people, isn't that too few troops?"

  The White Lotus leader said, "With just over 200 people, it's impossible to retake Jining, but we can take advantage of the government army's lax defense and sneak in to assassinate Wang Pu. As long as we can kill Wang Pu, this group of government troops will be headless and nothing to worry about. At that time, I will summon believers from all over to retake Jining, which will be easy."

  Bai Lian's right-hand man, Li Qing Shan, said: "I know of a secret passage that we can use to sneak into Jining City undetected through the water. We'll be able to catch the government troops off guard and kill them before they even have time to react."

  Li Yan nodded and said, "The military book says that when capturing a thief, one must first capture the king. This is indeed a good strategy to turn defeat into victory."

  Hong Niangzi said: "If it's an assassination, having more people would be counterproductive. I can go alone."

  The White Lotus Sect leader said, "Wang Pu has caused great harm to our sect's foundation. I must personally take revenge on him for this blood debt. Lady Li, your martial arts skills are exceptional, you can go and I won't stop you."

  Li Yan said: "That girl will go with the master, and they can take care of each other."

  ■■■

  Let's talk about Wang Pu again. Although Jining has been recovered, he and Chen Yuanyuan are still living on the boat.

  It's not that Wang Pu didn't want to live in a luxurious mansion, but the truth is that before fleeing, the White Lotus bandits set off a huge fire. By the time the government troops finally put out the fire, almost the entire city was reduced to ruins. The few remaining houses that were still habitable were used to accommodate injured government soldiers, and Huang Xiyong, the magistrate of Jining, really couldn't spare a decent house to accommodate Wang Pu.

  The night was quiet and still, with more than 50 warships quietly moored at the dock.

  Although the government army had just won a great victory, the defense was not slackened. Each warship's crow's nest was equipped with sentries, and there were two teams of government soldiers standing guard on the dock, vigilantly scanning the dark night sky. Anything that moved around them would not escape their eyes.

  The oil lamp in Wang Pu's room is still lit, this isn't a new marriage, they're working hard at that stuff.

  On the embroidered couch, two naked bodies were tightly glued together. Chen Yuanyuan's jade face was flushed, her breathing was short and rapid, and her bright and charming eyes sparkled like water, capable of dissolving people. Wang Pu moved his body slightly, and Chen Yuanyuan, who was lying on top of him, let out a soft moan.

  Wang Pu reluctantly withdrew his hands from the woman's hips and said: "My dear, I'll go get some supper."

  "Master, would you like some supper?" Chen Yuanyuan lazily sat up and said softly, "I'll get it for you."

  "Hey, lie down." Wang Pu stretched out his hand and gently pressed Chen Yuanyuan back onto the embroidered couch. He leaned forward and lightly kissed the woman's bright red lips, saying softly, "It's not that the husband wants to eat a midnight snack, but rather the husband is going to make you a midnight snack. Today, let you taste the husband's craftsmanship."

  Chen Yuanyuan sat up again, hastily saying: "This won't do, where is the principle of a husband serving his wife?"

  "What's wrong with that?" Wang Pu angrily said, "I say it's okay then it's okay, dare you not listen?"

  "Husband..."

  Chen Yuanyuan was both delighted and heartbroken, she called out "husband" but couldn't say anything else.

  "Quickly lie down, madam, don't catch a chill, I'll get someone to take care of it for you."

  Wang Pu helped Chen Yuanyuan lie down again, and then casually put on a pair of pants and rushed to the kitchen at the stern of the boat with his upper body exposed.

  It was late at night, and the cook on the boat had also gone to sleep. The kitchen was empty, without even a ghostly figure. Wang Pu rummaged through the cabinets for half a day, finally managing to prepare a bowl of silver ear lotus root soup. Suddenly, he felt a chill on the back of his neck, and when he looked down, he couldn't help but jump in fright - it was a sharp Qing steel sword!

  "Shut up, or I'll cut your throat!"

  A lazy, gentle and charming yet piercingly murderous voice emerged from behind like a ghost.

  Wang Pu nodded vigorously, ensuring his neck wouldn't be cut off. Tonight was truly an unlucky night. He had originally planned to get a bowl of midnight snacks for Yuanyuan, but instead encountered an assassin - and judging by the sound, it was a woman! This woman was incredibly formidable; even the surrounding guards hadn't been able to stop her?

  "Turn around slowly, you dare to play tricks, beware of your head!"

  Another pleasant-sounding voice rang out, Wang Pu slowly raised his hands and turned around slowly. With the dim light in the cabin, Wang Pu found that there were two lines of water marks on the deck of the ship's cabin, extending from the side of the ship to behind him. It seemed that these two assassins had come up from underwater, no wonder the sentries all around hadn't discovered them.

  "Look up!"

  The cold and desolate voice of the female assassin echoed in Wang Pu's ears once again.

  Wang Pu slowly raised his head, and after seeing the figures of the two assassins, he couldn't help but feel a thrill. The physiques of these two female assassins were absolutely top-notch. Under their tight-fitting leather jackets, their plump breasts bulged out, their rounded buttocks were full and plump, and their slender waists accentuated the curves of their bodies, making them look like they would make one's blood boil with excitement!