Chapter 2: Interception

  The following is:

  At dawn, General Chen paid his respects to Her Majesty and requested permission for the dragon to take the water route. Her Majesty agreed with pleasure.

  Long Er borrowed an official ship at the ferry terminal and spent another five days getting it ready. The group set off from the small town, rushing to the Yellow River ferry terminal to board the ship.

  In just a few days, Chen Taiwei and his entourage spent more than the town hall's annual expenses. The county lieutenant was already feeling uneasy. Fortunately, the nearby state capitals all had big shots who personally led their staff to come and pay respects to Princess Yao and the marshal. Everyone got along well and each shared part of the expenses, so they all dispersed with great joy.

  Zhang Yuanwai's family also received many rewards from Princess Yao, and more than a decade later, he met with Princess Yao again under different circumstances. This is another story.

  Chen Taiwei led the crowd to the ferry terminal, boarded the boat, and arranged a place for each person. Thinking that the overland journey was shortened by a lot, and it was possible to travel day and night, everyone let out a sigh of relief and rested separately.

  September is the time when the Yellow River's water rises, and at night, the sound of the river flowing becomes even louder. The sky starts to rain, with pea-sized raindrops falling on the deck, pattering away. Accompanied by the howling wind, it makes one feel uneasy.

  Suddenly, a dense knocking sound came from the bottom of the official ship. Immediately afterwards, a group of black-clad men appeared on the deck, all with shaved heads and masked faces, holding cold and shiny blades, not saying a word, and slashing at anyone they saw.

  Chen Taiwei suddenly woke up and hastily called out: "Someone come! What's going on outside?"

  A little soldier tumbled into the cabin, adjusting his armor and shouting: "Sir, there are bandits! They kill anyone they meet!"

  Chen Taiwei was shocked and his hairs stood on end, he hastily grabbed the sword beside him and rushed to Princess Yao's quarters.

  The situation was urgent, and Chen Taiwei couldn't care about etiquette, so he pushed the door open and entered. Seeing that Princess Yao had already dressed up, with only a small eunuch and a small palace maid by her side, he hastily said: "The bandits are powerful, Your Highness please follow me."

  The words had barely been spoken when a cold arrow broke through the window and shot in. General Chen, being an official from a military background, was not afraid at all, and with a "ding" sound, he used his sword to deflect the arrow. Just as General Chen was about to turn around, a man in black clothes burst in through the door, without saying a word, swung his wooden knife, and rushed forward, chopping towards General Chen.

  General Chen was just about to resist when he heard a crashing sound. A long spear suddenly burst through the window paper and stabbed straight in.

  Taiwei was shocked and pale, he kicked the small stool beside him towards the black-clothed man holding a pu dao, slightly blocking him, his right hand raised his sword to parry the long spear.

  "With a loud 'ding', the long spear plunged down with great force, and the sword at his waist was unable to withstand it, being knocked flying. The long spear pierced through General Chen Ping's skull in one swift motion. Poor General Chen Ping, he lost his life in a daze."

  Then two men in black walked into Yao Fei's cabin, one holding a long gun and the other grasping a divine arm bow. They were none other than the strongmen who had just joined forces to kill Chen Taiwei.

  Three men in black looked at the corpse of Chen Taiwei on the ground, and the one holding a wooden knife smiled and said: "You can dodge the old man's arrow, you are also a good Han, it is not unjust to die under the joint blow of our three ghosts of the Yellow River."

  Ladies and gentlemen, the Yellow River Three Devils are notorious bandits on the Yellow River. With one bow, one spear, and one arrow, they have earned a reputation as "Yan Wang's Banquet". The Yellow River Three Devils joined forces to strike down countless heroes and good men.

  The three ghosts of the Yellow River kicked open the corpse of Chen Taiwei, turned around and walked towards Yao Fei, sneering: "Sorry, Your Majesty, tonight we were ordered to take your head, don't look back for us three brothers on the road to the underworld."

  "This is a great crime of destroying nine clans, are you not afraid?"

  The one who spoke was a small eunuch beside Princess Yao, who had initially appeared unremarkable when he burst in, but stood up to be over seven feet tall, with a sturdy build and quite an imposing presence.

  "The little eunuch is really asking for death!" The man in black clothes, holding a wooden sword, cursed and took two steps forward, swinging his sword at the little eunuch.

  The little eunuch stepped aside and let Pu Dao pass.

  The man in black missed with one knife, didn't panic, immediately twisted his waist, left hand clenched fist, and hit the eunuch's chest with force.

  The little eunuch didn't move, allowing the black-clad man's fist to hit his own chest.

  The man in black was delighted, his kung fu had already reached the level of "refining essence and transforming energy" as described by Taoist masters, and the punch he threw contained the overall "energy" of his entire body. An ordinary person would die immediately if struck on the zhongzhong acupoint, with their breath reversed and bones shattered.

  However, the little eunuch who was hit not only didn't get hurt but also got a crush.

  Divine power bursts forth

  The man in black was suddenly electrified, his whole body stiffened and swayed.

  The little eunuch was also impolite and kicked his leg forward.

  With a "crack", his leg kicked out with a crisp sound and landed squarely on the black-clad man's solar plexus.

  This is not a kick, it's clearly the "upper momentum" in Tai Zu's boxing method. The little eunuch used his leg as a spear.

  The man in black was blown up and hit the cabin wall. Strangely, he stuck to the wall for two or three seconds before floating down to the ground like a painting.

  Fell to the ground, the man in black's pupils were scattered, seven orifices bleeding, and he let out his last breath.

  "Is he a master of divine power? No, hitting people like hanging paintings is the mastery of Xuanxu's power?" The black-clothed archer was stunned.

  The black-clad archer had thought he had reached the realm of "merging energy and spiritualizing", a high-handed master with divine power, plus two sworn brothers at the peak of "energy" level, freely coming and going on both banks of the Yellow River, unstoppable. Who would have known that today he encountered the legendary master who cultivated to "refine spirit and return to void".

  The man in black holding a hatchet and the little eunuch exchanged blows for only one round, and in the flash of lightning, he was kicked to death. It's too late to save him now. The men in black holding bows and guns were also fierce and ruthless, thinking of the power and cruelty of those who hired them, since there is no way out, let's go all out!

  A man in black clothes with a long spear shook his gun, and the long spear in his hand suddenly turned into three spears. He leaped forward, simultaneously stabbing at the small eunuch's brow, solar plexus, and lower abdomen.

  "A Plum Blossom in Three Stanzas"

  The little eunuch hadn't finished speaking when "whoosh, whoosh, whoosh" three arrows shot from the left, middle and right almost simultaneously towards the little eunuch, leaving him with no room to dodge. The two men in black felt they had never performed so perfectly at this moment.

  Suddenly, the little eunuch took a powerful step forward, his foot and five fingers exerting force, his whole body surging with energy, and in an instant, he was like a startled giant python flying forward to meet the storm of guns and arrows.

  "Surprise Snake Charging Style? It's actually the Surprise Snake Charging Style from the Yang Family Gun Method!!!"

  The man in black holding a bow is also considered to have seen and experienced much. In those years, the Yang family's gun technique, apart from the world-renowned "Horseback Gun", had another killer move called "Surprise Snake Rush". While rushing forward and dodging, it was truly impressive. As long as the Yang family general's cavalry charged forward, neither wind nor rain could stop them, and even the famous Black Iron Bow Camp of the Great Liao Dynasty was powerless against them. And yet, this little eunuch in front of him had actually applied the horseback skills to flat ground. The man in black holding a bow truly regretted it until his intestines turned green.

  Want to know what happens next? Please listen to the next episode.