Chapter 37: Gathering of Heroes (7)

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  Among the jumps, Huimei was the first to climb onto the city wall.

  Chaoyangmen, she and Lao Wang's group weren't here for the first time either. After entering the city, the first thing to do was to inspect the defense situation of the inner and outer city gates, draw a map, and prepare it for use by the Emperor and the army.

  She had gone up and down the city several times, only occasionally encountering some patrolling guards, but nine out of ten times, she didn't meet anyone. So, this girl made up her mind that those few imperial hounds following her would be better off being led to the top of the city wall, where she could take care of them once and for all.

  But as soon as she climbed up to the city wall, Huimei was shocked.

  On the city wall, two groups of people had already formed, one large and one small, right under the city gate tower of Chaoyangmen, not far away. The city wall was wide and deep, with a depth of several dozen steps, and the two sides were in a posture of advancing and retreating, all holding weapons in their hands, facing each other.

  It was just a group of people all wearing black clothes and masks, another group had only three people, with an old man in the middle, whose hair and beard were white, wearing a red robe and jade belt, obviously a high-ranking official. The other two people, one was a tall and strong man with several arrows inserted into his body, covered in bloodstains, the other was a young nobleman wearing brocade robes and jade belt, although he was surrounded, his face was calm and composed, without any sign of fear.

  If they weren't protecting a corrupt official, Huimei would have probably intervened in this case of bullying by the majority, but now she just smiled faintly and took a step back.

  "I have lived a life without regret, held high positions but remained humble and honest. I have not been ashamed of any deed before the emperor, nor have I harmed the people in any way. Now, dying for the country is also a glorious sacrifice, what is there to grieve about, what is there to lament?"

  The besieged official, however, showed no sign of fear, his voice loud and clear, as he exhorted the two attendants on either side: "You are skilled in martial arts, why must you die with me? Climb down the city wall now, there is still a chance to escape."

  "The old man who wants to leave has already left, don't persuade him anymore." The masked men surrounded and beat them for a while. Although the other side had only two people, they still wanted to protect an old man, but they couldn't take him down. Just now, Wei Yue rushed forward and injured two of them, but was also wounded by two knives and one sword, and his body was also hit by several arrows. This time, he barely surrounded these few people again. At this point, any fraternal affection or friendship could no longer be mentioned. Seeing that Wei Yue was seriously injured and powerless, the young master's skills were just average, and Duan, the captain of the hundred households, held his long knife high, waiting for his order to go forward together and chop these three people into minced meat.

  "This corrupt official is talking nonsense."

  After listening to Wang Jia Yan's words, Hui Mei first felt a stir in her heart, then slightly shook her head. She had seen thousands of officials, none of whom were not greedy or corrupt; this old official was probably going to boast loudly until his dying day, and couldn't be taken seriously.

  "The vast cold clouds rise at dusk, the smoke and dust of the war chariots have not yet retreated." Half leaning on the city wall, Wang Jia Yan suddenly began to recite a poem. The masked men were first startled, then looked at each other in confusion, but they didn't know what kind of trick this old man was playing, could reciting poetry really summon troops?

  "It's interesting, it's interesting." Huimei had also read a few years of books in the army, and now she smiled slightly, took a step back, leaned against the wooden pillar on the city wall, and listened carefully.

  Not far away, three brocade-clad guards climbed up, saw the expression, and were surprised and uncertain. However, they heard Wang Jia's voice reciting poetry, so the three of them hid their figures and listened quietly.

  Then later on, Zhu Ciwen rushed up to the city gate and finally caught up with the most exciting part of this big show.

  But see the falling snow, between heaven and earth a sheet of silver white, the old minister in his crimson robe and jade belt stood proudly, gazing at the mountains and rivers below the city and the approaching knife-wielding soldiers, yet he didn't show any concern, only loudly reciting: "The bright moon shines over the blue sea, The north wind blows frost and sweeps the white sand. In the quiet night, the crickets chirp again, In the severe autumn, the old chrysanthemum has no flowers. Pitifully, the passes are desolate and bleak, Countless families lie in the barren tombs."

  "Haha, great poem, great poem!"

  The several military officers surrounding Wang Jiaoyan were not entirely unrefined, and upon hearing the poem, they too felt a chill of sorrow in their chests. Looking at Wei Yue, they saw that he had already begun to shed tears, and even the young nobleman in brocade was overcome with grief.

  But Feng Kai Zhang said: "The world's affairs are like this, now if we die here, the country's affairs will be even more impossible to handle!" After speaking, he laughed loudly again, his hand pointing at the sword sound using force to pluck it once, laughing and saying: "But in the world there is no country that won't perish, also no person who won't die, if we die then so be it!"

  "Hmm, you can just die then, don't delay our fortune."

  Several masked officers were getting anxious, the little girl in the bundle at their feet was constantly squirming and making noise, worried that Wu's mansion would send people to chase after them, and this game of cat and mouse had also reached the time to wrap things up.

  "Huh? It seems like there's a woman in the hemp sack?"

  At this point, Huimei suddenly realized something was wrong and stepped forward, sword in hand, coldly smiling: "So you're still kidnappers, I don't care about anything else, let the woman in that bag go."

  "Where did these wild women come from? Kill them!" Several military officers' eyes were venomous, and at a glance they recognized that Hui Mei was a woman disguised as a man. Immediately, Commander She led two subordinates to charge forward, three people with swords drawn, hacking and slashing towards Hui Mei... At this time, it's not the moment to show mercy or compassion!

  In the arena, swords and sabers clashed, the fight was intense. Huimei's martial arts were not weak, but three people fought her alone, all of whom were high-ranking officials in the Imperial Guard. This girl had a strong spirit, her long sword awkwardly parrying left and right, refusing to show weakness, but discerning eyes could see that she was at a disadvantage.

  "What should I do?"

  The scene before his eyes was also called the three Jinyiwei guards nearby, Xiao Li scratched his head and said: "One side is a big thief who wants to kill an official, one side is a bandit, which side should he help?"

  "Help these women who are in a difficult situation, we must protect Master Wang at all costs!"

  Hu Yan's bold and decisive action was very quick, Wang Jiaxin's situation was critical, if he was killed, the national affairs would be greatly affected, even the Imperial Guards would lose face, allowing a great thief to sneak into the capital and assassinate the Grand Minister of War... afterwards everyone would be too ashamed to show their faces!

  Three Embroidered Uniform Guards wielding Spring Embroidery Knives charged out, but they were directly attacking the several hundred households surrounding Hui Mei. The battle situation suddenly became chaotic, but Wei Yue and others knew they couldn't escape. There were still over ten bandits left, with most of them surrounding Wang Jia Yan's side. The leader of the bandits also dispatched three people to assist in resisting the Embroidered Uniform Guards, leaving five people on this side. With Wei Yue severely injured and Feng Ke Zhang's half-hearted kung fu, it was still absolutely impossible for them to deal with the five powerful bandits!

  "Go die!"

  Duan Baihu's face turned sinister, and with a swing of his knife, he chopped down. Wei Yue stepped forward, slashing towards Duan's chest. This move was actually the "Mutual Destruction" technique. Despite having two men supporting him, Duan still retreated hastily, his body trembling with rage. He bellowed: "Kill him! Kill him!"

  In this sudden and urgent moment, without changing his tone, Wei Yue's expression changed slightly, as if he had already figured out who the masked big man in front of him was.

  But in the flash of lightning, two long knives had already chopped over, Wei Yue swung his knife to block, and again two men swung their knives forward, he only felt a sweetness in his throat, but it was because he repeatedly forced himself to use force, a mouthful of blood could no longer be suppressed, and finally spurted out of his mouth!

  "Whatever...". Wei Yue felt disheartened and demoralized. Looking at the current situation, it seemed like an unsolvable dead end.

  "Haha, come on, hurry up!"

  The sturdy thief leader swung his knife and charged again, although there were many changes, as long as he could deal with these people in front of him one by one, he could still keep himself safe!

  This heavy snowfall before our eyes will cover up everything afterwards!

  "Ouch!"

  "Oh no......"

  The sudden change occurred in the blink of an eye. Just as these several military officers were about to make their move and reap the rewards, the sound of bowstrings being drawn taut could be heard, with several iron arrows flying over one after another without any pause. The several sword-wielding officers all had their right hands pierced by the arrows, which entered through their wrists. The crowd only heard the continuous sounds of anguished cries, and upon looking again, they saw that these strong men's wrists were gushing out with fresh blood, while the long knives in their hands also fell to the ground on top of the city wall with a series of clanging sounds.

  "Who is it?"

  The hundred households were shocked and looked around in all directions, but suddenly froze in place, unable to move again.

  Around the city, there were already dozens of big Hans with arrow jackets and felt hats, holding either knives or swords, or bows and quivers in their hands, with cold glints on their weapons, everyone's expression was cold and stern, looking towards this side.

  The one who drew the bow and shot the arrow was naturally Ren Shang, the first divine shooter. He shot a few more arrows, wounding the martial officer who was fighting with Jin Yiwei and Huimei, before smiling slightly and lowering the iron bow in his hand.

  At this point, the situation on the city wall was complex to the extreme and strange to the extreme. The people who were originally surrounding others were now surrounded by others in the middle. Except for Wang Jia Yan wearing official robes, which made his identity obvious at a glance, the three Jin Yiwei were also dressed in short jackets and hemp shoes. If one didn't carefully distinguish the embroidered spring knives in their hands, it would be hard to tell what identities these people really had.

  Everyone was stunned, only the masked man with iron feathers inserted in his hands couldn't help but whisper softly, the fresh blood on his wrists kept dripping onto the ground, bursting and blooming on the snowy ground, like a few clusters of bright red plum blossoms deliberately scattered on the snowy scene.

  "What kind of people are you?"

  After a moment of silence, it was Wang Jia Yan who was the calmest. He furrowed his brow and asked the masked man in front of him: "Judging from your skills and weapons, you're not ordinary bandits. Are you members of the Outlaws?"

  "We men don't tie up women!" Huimei stood panting with her sword, her pretty face covered in cold sweat. Today's battle had seriously wounded her confidence.

  Ordinary soldiers and officers, even if they came in groups of three to five, would only delay the inevitable, ultimately no match for her. Today's battle was a good fight, surprisingly without any weak links. Even with her exceptional martial arts skills, she could at most hold her own against them.

  "We are..."

  At this time, Duan Baihu already knew that it was impossible to kill and silence him, and with Ren Shang and others present, the crown prince might also arrive soon. He stammered on one side, while his eyes darted around wildly, looking left and right, thinking of a way to escape.

  "Hmm..."

  Just as the silence was about to be broken, Duan Baohui's foot suddenly loosened the knot on the hemp sack, and a breathtakingly beautiful woman with radiant light all over her face emerged from the snow-covered hemp sack, making people almost dare not gaze directly at her...