Chapter Nineteenth: Scheming Against the Bandit Chief

  The Iron Riders had just slaughtered the largest gang in Shuoan City, and were still basking in their triumph, when they least expected to be ambushed.

  A shrill cry suddenly echoed through the long street.

  These six feathered arrows were not shot at the three Cao Tianhao brothers. Cao Tianhao didn't say it, with this person's martial arts skills, let alone Xiao Ziyang's five-stone strong bow shooting out arrows, even his hand-held strange crossbow, three arrows fired in unison, and at this distance, they couldn't hurt him either.

  Cao Tianjie and Cao Tianyu, although their character is not good, but with Cao Tianhao's guidance, they are also considered to be among the best of the second-rate masters, and it's unlikely that anyone can hurt them from a distance of ten zhang with a strong bow.

  Xiao Ziyang took six arrows from the burly men with shaved heads who were guarding Cao Tianhao and his brothers.

  The Iron Riders can dominate the Golden State, and it's natural that there are only three top-notch experts like Cao Tianhao brothers. However, this time Cao Tianhao abandoned his family business and fled with only his two younger brothers and some trusted subordinates. The other leaders of the gang were left behind in the stronghold, unaware of what was happening, and became victims of the Hanmu Castle's blade.

  At this time, the several people guarding the three brothers were no match for Xiao Ziyang's sudden attack, and even the strongest bald man was only a third-rate fighter, all of whom fell to the ground with arrows and wailed in agony.

  After six arrows, Xiao Ziyang quickly grabbed the feathered arrow in front of him and shot it out.

  Bang, bang, bang, three consecutive shots rang out again, and three more bodyguards fell beside the Cao brothers.

  Cao Tianhao let out a loud roar and brought up a string of afterimages as he charged towards the house where Xiao Ziyang was hiding.

  Xiao Ziyang remained calm and shot two more arrows, knocking down two horse bandits. The bandit cavalry was thrown into chaos.

  Cao Tianhao rushed three zhang away from the house, his toes touching the ground, and then sprang up, pouncing towards Xiao Ziyang.

  Xiao Ziyang stared at Cao Tianhao, who was floating in the air, his face still calm. He stretched out his hand to grab the eaves of the house again, as if he wanted to take another arrow, but when his hand came up, what appeared in his hand made Cao Tianhao's expression change slightly.

  Xiao Ziyang picked up not an arrow, but a hand crossbow about the length of a foot. He raised the crossbow with its string already tightened and shot, three bolts flying in a triangular formation straight at Cao Tianhao's chest and abdomen, now only a few feet away.

  Cao Tianhao raised his knife to block, but these three crossbow arrows were as strong as ten stone-strong bows, and the distance was so close that even if he had used his right hand, which was uninjured, he would not have been able to block them all. How could he do it with his left hand holding a knife?

  Cao Tianhao barely managed to dodge and a crossbow bolt hit him right in the chest, while the other two bolts pierced deeply into his left and right dan tian.

  Tan Tian was injured, Cao Tianhao's body sank, and he hit his head on the roof beam, smashing through the roof and falling into a dark cave.

  Xiao Ziyang shot out three arrows at the same time, and then fiercely kicked off the roof and jumped down. He raised his hand and shot three strong crossbow arrows at Cao Tianjie and Cao Tianyu who were rushing up.

  The two brothers fell down at the same time.

  Xiao Ziyang did not take the lives of either of them, Cao Tianjie was shot in the shoulder and abdomen, while Cao Tianyu was only shot in the shoulder.

  Xiao Ziyang pounced on the two of them, drew out his saber with a backhand motion, and slapped Cao Tianyu's face with the flat side of the blade as he struggled to get up.

  Just then, a dull loud noise came from behind him. He didn't turn his head, and he knew what had happened behind him.

  Xiao Ziyang hastily turned around, raised his hand and pointed the crossbow at the front, while the blade of the horse-cutting knife in his hand slightly drooped, with the tip pointing between Cao Tianjie brothers who were lying on the ground.

  Cao Tianhao had already broken through the wall, and at this moment, Cao Tianhao's pale golden face had turned crimson like blood. The left hand on his waist knife was emitting a faint bloody glow. This person had somehow managed to suppress the severe injury of being shot in the dantian with an unknown technique. At this time, his aura was like a rainbow, and he seemed as if he hadn't been injured at all.

  Cao Tianhao's eagle eyes shot out a bone-piercing hatred, staring tightly at Xiao Ziyang, step by step approaching him, without even glancing at his two younger brothers who were taken hostage by Xiao Ziyang on the ground.

  Xiao Ziyang saw the scene and knew that Cao Tianhao was suppressing his injuries at this time, and he would have to pay a huge price in the future. The chances of escaping would be greatly reduced. He must have hated himself so much that he didn't care about taking his own life!

  Through this movement, Xiao Ziyang surprisingly loosened his grip on the horse-slaying knife and let it fall to the ground. He withdrew his foot and stood upright, pointing at Cao Tianhao's hand crossbow which was also withdrawn to his chest. At the same time, he slightly lowered his head, closed his eyes, and relaxed completely.

  Cao Tianhao saw this strange scene, a hint of solemnity flashed across his face, and his feet involuntarily paused for a moment.

  Xiao Ziyang suddenly spoke up, "Cao Dazhang's lightness skill is excellent and his knife technique is superb, but I wonder if he has the confidence to dodge the last three crossbow bolts from my hand crossbow before taking my life?"

  Xiao Ziyang had adopted such a strange posture, completely abandoning his defense and concentrating all his energy on his opponent, seeking to counterattack with the crossbow in his hand at the last moment when the long sword was about to reach him, a move that would trade lives for lives.

  Cao Tianhao's face flashed with a hint of hesitation as he spoke. He saw that Xiao Ziyang's martial arts skills were only at the level of a second or third-rate master, and without the strange crossbow in his hand, he wouldn't be a match for him. However, Cao Tianhao was currently injured in two critical areas - his dantian and right hand - and although he had used a secret technique to suppress the pain, he could only exert about 50-60% of his usual martial prowess. At this moment, he really didn't have the confidence to take Xiao Ziyang's life while avoiding those three terrifying arrows from the crossbow.

  Just as Cao Tianhao was about to call out for his subordinates, Xiao Ziyang suddenly spoke up again: "Cao Dazhang's current use of a secret method to suppress the injury in his dantian is probably not a long-term solution, right?"

  As he spoke, Xiao Ziyang took out a brown dan medicine from his bosom and held it in his hand. At this moment, a gentle breeze blew by, carrying the pungent fragrance emitted by the dan medicine to Cao Tianhao's side.

  Cao Tianhao's face changed greatly as soon as he smelled the strange medicinal fragrance, and he sternly asked: "You have the world's number one crossbow 'Flying Dragon' in your sleeve, and you also have this life-saving Five Elements Dan. What is your origin?"

  This brown dan medicine was one of the many dan medicines he obtained from Taifu Mountain's evil cultivators, and it was also the only kind of dan medicine whose function he had found.

  He took out this Dan medicine at the same time, and was also considering in his heart how to make the other party believe that this was a life-saving medicine. Unexpectedly, this Dan medicine had a great reputation, and the other party actually recognized it.

  In his heart, he was secretly delighted, but Xiao Ziyang's expression didn't change. He slowly opened his mouth and said: "Who I am is not important. Today, I came only to save people, and I have no interest in your life. At this moment, if you are seriously injured, it would be impossible for you to escape the pursuit of Hanmo Fortress, let alone control these subordinates. But if you had this Five More Dan, all this would naturally not be a problem."

  At this point, Xiao Ziyang put the Wugeng Dan on his lips and asked again: "I don't know what you think?"

  Cao Tianhao suddenly realized that Xiao Ziyang still had a whole bottle of Wugeng Dan in his arms, and when he saw the other party putting this life-related medicine on the edge of his mouth, he was immediately flustered.