Chapter 3: Breaking the Formation (Part 1)

  With only seven days to spare, time was pressing. As soon as the Righteous Heroes returned to the temporary council hall in Chengkou Town, they set up tables and began studying maps of the terrain, discussing how to break through the enemy's defenses and attack their stronghold.

  Bu Suanzi is known as "heavenly calculations are not as good as human calculations". The Qimen Dunjia technique is unparalleled in the twelve linked rings of the Yangtze River waterway. On the rivers and lakes, it is very famous. Moreover, Hu Ge Village is located on the east bank, and the master is also a powerful figure. Many heroes have come from afar to challenge him, so-called "a strong dragon does not suppress the local snake". Therefore, he also dares not to slacken his efforts or underestimate his enemies.

  But everyone was confident in taking down Tiger Gorge and capturing Yu Hongjiao, with high morale. Not to mention that Geng Nanxing was skilled at arranging formations, having the reputation of "Eight Trigrams Array King"; even Xiao Si had broken through several strange gates and hidden arrays set up by Bo Suanzi in Yunyang Town, defeating the Twelve Linked Rings Fort, forcing Blue Master to withdraw from the dispute between the two families, and exchanging back the three captured fort owners.

  Moreover, this time the number of righteous heroes who came to Daba Mountain exceeded 300, all of whom had experienced a hundred battles and had high cultivation. With seven days' time, even if they advanced step by step, inch by inch, towards Hu Ge Village, they could still squeeze into the assembly hall.

  The group deliberated for a whole day, and by nightfall, Geng Nanxing and others did not rest. They continued to analyze the nine major formations and twenty-eight minor formations laid out by Bozhangzi, searching for ways to break through them.

  On the second day after lunch, Geng Nan Yi invited all the important figures in Zhengdaogroup to the conference hall to discuss the plan to break through the enemy lines again.

  At this time, a white tiger thousand halberd array diagram based on the terrain map of Tiger Gorge was hung high in the center of the conference hall. Around the large diagram, there were also nine major arrays and twenty-eight sub-arrays of derivation diagrams.

  For several days in a row, except for Geng Nanxing and others who stayed up all night to study the formation chart and think about the strategy of attacking the stronghold, many heroes had nothing to do and were waiting for a big battle.

  Seeing the array diagrams hanging in the conference hall, everyone was greatly inspired, and someone shouted: "Geng Zongbiao, give orders quickly, brothers are all suffocated!"

  Geng Nan Yi saw that the morale of the soldiers was good and could be used, so he smiled with joy and walked to the front of the main chart.

  In just two days, his eye sockets had sunk deeply, and his eyes were filled with bloodshot lines. With his exquisite skills, it was clear how much he had exhausted himself, neglecting sleep and forgetting to eat, and the pressure he bore on his body was heavy.

  "He cleared his throat and said: 'I, Ge Er, am deeply grateful for the kindness and generosity of all my fellow Taoists. I would like to extend my gratitude once again to all the brothers at the Jiangzhou Branch of the Tongbao Bureau!' With that, he bowed with his fists clenched and made a deep bow towards the heroes in the hall."

  Everyone quickly stood up and returned the courtesy, saying: "General Commander, you don't have to be so polite. We have also received a lot of kindness from the Hu Tong Security Bureau in the past, and this time we finally have the opportunity to repay it!"

  Zhao Baichuan laughed and said: "Old Geng, what are you singing about? Don't think that just by bowing your head you can escape the debt of a table of wine you owe me."

  Everyone burst out laughing. After the laughter subsided, Geng Nan said: "The Baihu Qiange Array is divided into nine major arrays: Jun Tian, Cang Tian, Bian Tian, Xuan Tian, Yu, Huang Tian, Zhu Tian, Yan Tian and Yang Tian. Among them, except for the Jun Tian array as the main array of the White Tiger Thousand Halberd Array, guarded by the four arrays of Zhu Que, Xuan Wu, Qing Long, and Bai Hu, the other eight major arrays are respectively assisted by the three arrays of Yu Qing, Tai Qing, and Shang Qing."

  He took a breath and continued: "The entire White Tiger Thousand Spears Formation is based on the Nine Palaces, with the Twenty-eight Constellations as its veins, the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams as its roots, and the Three Talents and Four Symbols as its trunk. The thousand transformations of the formation are like branches and leaves, borrowing from the timing of heaven and the advantage of the terrain. When attacked on the left, the right responds; when attacked in front, the rear provides support. The head and tail call out to each other, with layered defenses set up, and killing intent lurking everywhere, making it impossible to advance or retreat!"

  The conference room was silent as a tomb, with no one speaking for a long time.

  Many heroes are completely unaware of the Qimen Dunjia technique, although they have also heard that Bu Suanzi's attainments are profound, but in their hearts, they never took it seriously. In secret, more than 300 top-notch experts joined forces to kill and flatten the mountain stronghold.

  At this moment, after hearing Geng Nan Yi's introduction, they suddenly realized that the White Tiger Thousand Halberd Array was far from being as simple as they had thought. Their optimistic mood vanished instantly, and each of them lowered their heads to ponder a solution.

  Suddenly, a voice from the crowd asked: "Xie Shu Gong, I heard that you also set up a 28-constellation formation at the Jiangzhou branch, how does it compare to Bu Suanzi's Hundred Tigers Thousand Spears Formation?"

  Xiao Si didn't sleep all night, and as soon as it was daytime, he started to feel drowsy, leaning against the back of his chair and dozing off. When he heard someone ask a question, he opened his eyes in a daze, covered his mouth to stifle a yawn, and looked towards the direction of the sound, only then did he see clearly that the person speaking was Long Zhaoyuan.

  He was similar in status to Wan'er, so he stood beside her, but at a considerable distance from Xiao Si. However, this distance did not prevent Xiao Si from sensing the hostility and disdain emanating from Long Chao-yuan's body. He couldn't help but wake up from his drowsiness, cursing Long Chao-yuan in his heart for seeking death, while calmly smiling and saying: "Ordinary, ordinary, third in the world."

  According to his ranking of the Qimen Dunjia technique, Lao Lao was first and he humbly ranked himself as second. Then wouldn't that old blind man be third?

  Yu Linglong shook her head, thinking that this young master of Wodragon Mountain Villa, Long Chuyuan, was really strange and didn't know what kind of medicine he had taken wrong, repeatedly making a scene with Xiao Si in public.

  She feared Long Chuo didn't know when to advance or retreat, and was still entangled in unclear thoughts. She spoke out first: "There's something I've never been able to figure out. Since it's called the Hundred Tigers Thousand Spears Formation, there must be some hidden meaning in the divination, who knows if it isn't the key for us to break through the formation."

  Xiao Si smiled lightly and said, "Some people always like to boast about themselves. With a hundred or so men and a few hundred guns at their disposal, they dare to call themselves the 'Hundred Tigers' and 'Thousand Spears'. But it's also possible for them to be rotten inside despite their impressive appearance."

  When he spoke, his eyes stared at Long Chao Yuan without blinking, and some people couldn't help but cover their mouths and smile secretly.

  The dragon glanced at Xiao Si and said, "Yesterday, I carefully observed the terrain on the mountain. The surrounding mountains of Hu Ge Village are continuous, like a hundred tigers crouching, and the green peaks stand upright, as if a thousand halberds point to the sky. These four words 'hundred tigers and thousand halberds' should refer to the terrain where the formation is located."

  A helmsman of the Ching Teh gang smiled and said: "With Old Master Chuang's dragon around, even a hundred tigers would have to become small cats."

  Xiao Si looked at the helmsman and admired: "This person's flattery skills are not bad, no wonder he can become a helmsman."

  At this time, Geng Nan Yi picked up a thin bamboo stick from the table and began to analyze and explain the formation chart.

  The heroes concentrated their minds and listened intently, and whenever they encountered something they didn't understand, they would raise their hands to ask questions, which Geng Nanxing would carefully explain in detail.

  It took Geng Nan Yi more than two hours to finish explaining the general situation of the Hundred Tigers Thousand Spears Formation. He said, "The formation is dead, but people are alive. The wonder of its use lies in one's mind. As long as we take a steady and steady approach, we can turn the tables and defeat the enemy!"

  A guard from the Metropolitan Escort Bureau shouted: "Geng, the head of the escort bureau, these formations and whatnot are all Greek to us rough men. Just tell us how to fight and we'll do it!"

  Geng Nan Wing nodded and said, "I, along with the Dragon Villa Master, Zhao Help Master, and Qiu Ge Master, have weighed and negotiated repeatedly, and drafted no less than five or six array-breaking plans. In the end, we decided to adopt a two-pronged approach, opening up on all four sides, playing to our strengths while avoiding our weaknesses, and making a direct thrust into the Justice Hall!"

  Yu Linglong said: "The so-called double pipes down, is the division of troops into two routes, advancing from the front and back mountains. In this way, we can fully utilize our advantages in numbers and strength, and try to avoid the disadvantages of the complex terrain that are not conducive to the gathering of large troops. At the same time, we must also make Hu Ge Village look around and be at a loss, ultimately revealing weaknesses and collapsing."

  "First, I'll lead the troops from the Yan Tian formation to attack the front gate of Hu Ge Village; Second, General Yu will command the troops, assisted by Fourth Brother, and break through the Xuan Tian formation in the rear mountain to launch a feint attack on Hu Ge Village. The specific changes in the array diagram and the battle plan have been written out, and they will be distributed to everyone after the meeting. Please make sure to memorize them thoroughly tonight."

  After saying this, he looked at Xiao Si and said: "Brother Xiao, is there anything you want to say?"

  Xiao Si'er murmured vaguely: "Attack the Tiger's Gorge Stronghold, capture Chao Tian Jiao alive."

  Chu Lie slammed his hand on the tea table and shouted: "That's right, we're going to attack Tiger Gorge Village and capture Chao Tian Jiao alive!"

  As soon as the mention of Chao Tian Jiao, the group of heroes who were originally dizzy and sleepy suddenly became spirited again, laughing and shouting: "Right! Whoever catches Chao Tian Jiao will be the top contributor!"

  It was Geng Nan Yi, Yu Ling Long and Zhao Bai Chuan who thought more deeply and pondered: "Fourth brother's reminder is not bad, we are going to attack the stronghold and capture people, as long as we can capture Yu Hong Jiao, it will be considered a win, but there is no need to compete with the Hundred Tigers Thousand Blades Array, and instead fall into Bu Suan Zi's sinister plan.

  Wan'er, however, was crystal clear in her mind that this little brat had ill intentions. Seeing Xiao Si's half-closed eyes and distracted expression, she thought to herself: "That deadbeat Xiao Si is still obsessed with Chao Tian Jiao!"

  The meeting went on until dusk before it was dismissed. Xīao Sì was again pulled by Gěi Nán Yì and others to discuss in detail for a long time, and finally managed to escape, walking listlessly towards the inn.

  His belly was full of tea and pastries, so he didn't feel hungry, only wanting to go back and take a nap, then continue to ponder the mysteries of the Thirty-six Heavenly Star Formation.

  Just a few steps out of the meeting hall, I saw Yuanner standing in the courtyard beckoning to me and said: "I know where there is delicious spicy noodles, want to go together?"

  Xiao Si Ben thought of rejecting him with a single sentence, but unexpectedly saw Long Zhao Yuan standing beside Wan Er like a ghostly figure with a long face, his expression on his face was so hateful that he could swallow himself in one gulp.

  He immediately shifted his attention and smiled: "Really? How did you know I was hungry?"

  Long Chouyuan hummed and said: "I only invited my cousin, I won't pay for anyone else's meal."

  Wan Er curled her lip and said: "How much can a bowl of noodles be worth? I'll treat."

  She was very annoyed that Long Chao Yuan had been staring at her all day, as if she could run into him wherever she went. However, every time she saw Xiao Si's displeased gaze towards the guy, she felt a small sense of satisfaction and happiness.

  Long Chuyuan didn't understand Wan'er's thoughts and his face sank as he said, "Cousin, are you trying to pick a fight with me? Fine, I'll invite everyone then."

  His mood grew darker and more depressed, while Xiao Si's mood became brighter and more refreshing. The bad water gurgled out: "How can I make this little white face disappear from my sight? Should I ask the friends on the mountain for help?"