Chapter 4: Breaking the Formation (Part 2)

  Three people came to the noodle shop and each ordered a bowl of noodles. Yuanyu only ate a few mouthfuls before putting down her chopsticks, staring blankly at the noodle bowl.

  "Little sister, why aren't you eating? Is it because the flavor isn't good?"

  Xiao Si snorted, "Who else is as heartless and ruthless as you? If we can't take down the Chao Tian Jiao within seven days, we'll lose the bet with the Tong Bao Bureau. My nephew, Hua Xian, will have to pay with his head."

  Wan Er's slender body trembled slightly, her bright eyes gazing at Xiao Si and asking: "You say, can we win?"

  Xiao Si let out a deliberate sigh and said, "It's up to us, everyone does their best."

  Wan'er's pretty face turned pale, and a faint mist rose in her eyes as she said softly: "I've already thought it through, if we lose, I'll take Father's place to die on the mountain!"

  "Eldest cousin, don't listen to his nonsense," Long Chuyuan hastily comforted. "With your grandfather and my grandfather around, a mere Tiger Gorge Stockade is nothing!"

  Xiao Si slowly said: "I heard that Old Master Geng intends to issue a reward, if anyone can capture the leader of the Chao Tian Jiao gang and win this round, he will marry his own granddaughter to that person. Regardless of whether they are old or ugly, or blind or crippled, he will not go back on his word. As the saying goes, 'a great reward must have brave men', I believe that once this is announced, Tiger Gorge Village will be broken in half."

  Long Chouyuan's face flushed red with rage, and he slammed his chopsticks down, exclaiming: "Impossible! You're talking nonsense!"

  "Old Fourth is just talking nonsense, I'm afraid you won't have a chance to figure it out."

  He shook his head and said, "It's about Miss Wan'er's lifelong matter, no wonder Old Master Geng is so entangled and hesitant to announce it. Dragon Young Master, I advise you to just listen and forget, after all, it's none of our business, everyone has only heard rumors."

  Suddenly, Wan'er's face turned pale and she said in a low voice: "If I can save Father, I...I..."

  "How are you? Don't be silly, cousin!" Long Chao Yuan slapped the table and said: "If it's really an old and ugly cripple, would you marry him?"

  Wan'er hung her head and didn't speak, secretly hoping in her heart that Xiao Si would also say something to her like Long Zhao Yuan did.

  Xiao Si snorted at Long Chuo Yuan's words, saying indifferently: "What's the point of slamming the table? If you have the ability, go catch the Chao Tian Jiao for me."

  Long Chouyuan angrily said: "Do you think I dare not?"

  Xiao Si shook his head and said, "At present, more than 300 masters of the righteous path have gathered in Chengkou Town. No one dares to say that Tiger Gorge Village will definitely be broken through, nor does anyone dare to say that they can capture Chao Tian Jiao. Dragon Young Master, you are young and vigorous, your courage is commendable, really admirable."

  Long Xuan Yuan listened to Xiao Si's words with a tone that was both sarcastic and condescending, which made him angry. Looking at the deep and mysterious eyes of Wan Er, he gritted his teeth and said: "No one dares to do it among the more than 300 people? This young master is not necessarily unable!"

  "Maybe, actually Old Master Geng is too straightforward in his dealings, always wanting to attack Tiger Gorge Village head-on." Xiao Si saw that the timing was almost right and without hesitation added more oil to the fire, speaking slowly and deliberately: "Actually, war is a deceitful art - if we take advantage of the night to send one or two brave soldiers to sneak into the gathering hall of Tiger Gorge Village according to today's route map, catch Chao Tian Jiao off guard, it's not impossible to win the bet without shedding blood."

  He shook his head and sighed, "For the sake of Wan'er's lifelong happiness, I also wanted to take a risk, but unfortunately, my cultivation is really too poor."

  After finishing speaking, he hung his head in shame and pretended to eat noodles, stealing a glance at Long Chuyuan's reaction with the corner of his eye, but unexpectedly, Yuanyu was quietly staring at him.

  Long Chouyuan hesitated for a moment, and the "crack" sound of the chopsticks breaking in his hand was almost imperceptible. He suddenly stood up, threw down a silver ingot, and hastily said: "I have something to attend to, I'll leave first, you all eat slowly."

  "Wan'er raised her head and called out: 'Older cousin!'"

  Long Chouyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he turned back expectantly: "Cousin sister, is there something you want to say to me?"

  "She's worried that you're getting a fever and acting impulsively, trying to advise you not to be foolishly optimistic about doing something impossible."

  Long Chouyuan coldly snorted: "It's impossible that I don't have my own measure, no need for you to worry about it!" He turned his head and left.

  He had already made up his mind and thought to himself, "I don't need to bother with this kid. Once I capture the Azure Sky Pepper and return triumphantly, my cousin will surely look at me in a new light and willingly marry me. At that time, won't this kid be consumed by jealousy!"

  These days, he has been hearing a lot of praise for Xiao Si, and in his heart, he is truly envious and resentful. Now that the opportunity to gain face has arrived, how could he let it slip away?

  Wan'er gazed at Long Chuo's rapidly disappearing figure, then suddenly jumped up and said: "No way, I have to keep an eye on my brother, can't let him go take risks! You tell me, were those words you just spoke deceiving?"

  Xiao Siyi was pulled by a hand, and she smiled softly: "I don't know if Long Zhaoyuan believes me or not, but I do. Besides, why would I cheat you?"

  Wan'er fell silent for a moment, then spoke softly: "You also have a bet with Bo Suanzi, don't lose to him!" After speaking, she boldly met Xiao Si's gaze, her eyes sparkling like water about to overflow.

  Xiao Si let go of his hand unintentionally, and Wan'er took the opportunity to shake him off and run out. Xiao Si looked at the remaining noodles in the bowl but had no appetite, and hummed: "Which pot doesn't open, mention which pot! It's strange that this little girl is so concerned about what Laozi does?" He picked up the silver ingot left by Long Chuo Yuan and threw it to the shopkeeper, saying: "Put all the remaining money on account, and use it again when I come back."

  He left the noodle shop and returned to the inn where he was staying, closed the door, took off his boots and prepared to go to sleep. But after lying down for a while, he heard Yuanner knocking on the door outside: "Fourth Uncle, open the door quickly!"

  Xiao Si shouted towards the outside of the door: "Fourth Uncle is not in!"

  "Wan'er hastily said: 'Just now I went to the guest house and couldn't find my brother, then searched around the town for a while but still didn't see anyone. I guess he must have gone to Hu Ge Village!'"

  "Hey!" The door was opened with a creak, and Xiao Si stood inside with his feet bare, saying: "He really thinks he's a heroic god descended from heaven?!"

  Wan Er stamped her foot and said: "You still have the heart to joke around, what if Brother Biao falls into Cheng Xianhu's hands?"

  Xiao Si smiled and said: "Nothing will happen to him, at worst he'll be taken in by Old Blind as a disciple."

  Wan'er shook her head and said, "It won't happen, why would Brother Biao worship this demon as his master?"

  Xiao Si said, "It's also hard to guarantee that Chao Tian and your brother won't become sworn enemies after meeting him with his red lips and white teeth, like a jade tree in the wind. I might as well take him in as my little husband."

  "Stop your nonsense! I'm going up the mountain right now to bring him back!"

  Xiao Si hastily grabbed Wan'er's arm and said, "You can't catch up with him now even if you chase after him. It's better to hurry and inform Old Man Geng and Master Long of Dragon Village."

  Wan'er thought about it and could only do so, after waiting with difficulty for Xiao Si to slowly put on his shoes, the two of them left the inn together and rushed to the temporary meeting hall.

  At this moment, the sky is pitch black, and the lamps in the conference hall are shining brightly. Geng Nanxing and others are still discussing the plan to break through the enemy's formation and attack their stronghold overnight, ensuring that everything goes smoothly without any mistakes.

  Wan'er found Geng Nan Yi and Long Zaitian, telling them about the disappearance of Long Chao Yuan, but didn't mention the matter of the wanted poster for marriage at all. After all, she was a lady, and still had some of her own little thoughts in private. She only said that Long Chao Yuan was eager to make a name for himself and intentionally went solo to achieve a great feat.

  Long Tian was shocked when he heard the news. He knew that his precious grandson, Bao Bei, had a proud and arrogant personality and acted impulsively. To put it nicely, this is called being young and ambitious with high aspirations; to put it bluntly, it's being overly confident and unrealistic.

  But the wife is someone else's good, and the children are one's own treasure. Long Tian has placed countless hopes and expectations on this grandson, if something were to happen to him, how would that be acceptable?

  He angrily exclaimed, "This child is so reckless and presumptuous! He's been too spoiled in the past. This time I brought him to the escort agency was to temper him a bit, if something happens to him, how can I explain it to his parents?"

  Qiu Junyi advised, "Dragon brother, don't get angry. Zhao Yuan is also worried about his uncle and doesn't want him to fall into the hands of the Tiger's Gorge bandits. That's why he took a risk alone. At such a young age, he already has this kind of courage and demeanor, truly a rare talent."

  Geng Nan said, "Zhao Yuan has gone to Hu Ge Village. We can't just sit back and do nothing. For now, the only thing we can do is to launch an attack ahead of schedule. Tonight at midnight, according to the original plan, our troops will divide into two routes and start breaking through the enemy lines."

  "Impossible, I can't wait that long," Long Tian said resolutely. "You all just follow the plan, I'll head to Tiger Gorge Village immediately and risk my life to rescue Zhao Yuan!"

  Long Tian said so, but Geng Nan Yi was in a dilemma. Moving up the attack on the Bai Hu Qian Ge array to midnight was already quite forced, and if they launched an attack now, they would inevitably be unprepared.

  But he and Long Tian are old relatives, and Long Chuo Yuan is also helping the Hui Tong Biao Bureau to break through the mountain, so he can't just stand by and do nothing.

  He thought for a moment and said with a sigh: "In that case, let me and Shaohua accompany Dragon Brother to go ahead first!"

  Zhao Baiquan said discontentedly, "Brother Geng, what do you mean by this? Are we all just afraid of death and eager to live? Whether we fight early or late, it's still a fight. Let's attack the mountain now!"

  Xiao Si watched as things escalated, and wisely retreated to the side, secretly regretting: "This deal is a loss for me. Who knew that Xiao Bai's face was useless, but his grandfather was very useful, with just a few words, a bunch of people became hot-headed and wanted to be heroes. If it were me trapped in the formation, I don't know where I could find someone like Grandfather to help me out."

  He thought that if he himself were to encounter danger, the old man would probably be of no help, and one had to rely on oneself for good fortune. If all else failed, he might as well give up and become a flute player for the blind old man.

  Due to the suddenness of the event, everyone was unable to wait for Yuling's leading detachment to detour around the back mountain and launch another attack, so they simply turned the feint into a surprise attack. Led by Geng Nanwing, the main force attacked the front mountain first, attracting the attention of Hu Ge Village, while Yuling, Xiao Si and others avoided the opponent's scouts and launched a surprise attack from the back mountain, attacking them off guard.

  Thus, Zhao Bai Chuan and the elite of the Chao Tian Gang, Qiu Jun Yi's proud disciple of the Sword Pavilion, all joined Yu Ling Long's team. Together with Chu Lie and other skilled bodyguards from the Tong Bao Bureau, they formed a group of over 100 people who rushed out of Chengkou Town towards the back mountain of Hu Ge Village.

  Halfway through, the sound of killing shook the sky and flames soared into the air from the direction of the front mountain. Geng Nanxing and Long Zaitian led more than 200 Orthodox heroes to start attacking the stronghold.

  At this time, the dark night sky floated with misty rain, and the cool raindrops hit people's bodies, feeling refreshing. The continuous undulating majestic mountains stood quietly in the black night, the forest was vast and thorny, and the nocturnal birds chirped, unknowingly arriving at the back mountain of Hu Ge Village.

  Xiao Si suddenly stopped in her tracks as she stared at the dark mountain pass ahead, took a deep breath and said: "That's not right!"

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