Fifty-seven, Stone Electricity

  "How come there's still no news? Is he not coming?"

  A Huanxiang disciple was getting impatient, having stayed at Fushan Dock for several days. Tomorrow would be the 22nd of the first month, and that guy had left Xiang'an on the 16th. Even if he crawled, he should have arrived at Fushan by now.

  Unless he didn't take the Yangtze River route, if that's really the case, then the Huanxiang Sect's mobilization of their elite troops would be for nothing.

  Wang Haoxian glared at the man with anger, in recent years he had been deeply involved and had some control over the Hengxiang Sect, but these elite troops dared to complain in front of him. This was not a good sign, however, now he didn't have time to deal with this guy.

  The main thing is that this guy doesn't know why he came here, and the reason behind it. Only Wang Haoxian himself, Fang Sanye, and Fan Zhen are aware of it. Even that fat guy only knows because he wants to capture Yu Guozhen alive with Fan Zhen.

  "Cut the nonsense and save your energy." Fang Sanye growled softly, then they heard footsteps.

  "Here comes! Here comes!"

  The followers in charge of reconnaissance were excited and had been waiting for several days, finally they got their target, so they were naturally happy.

  Before long, a horseman was seen galloping towards them. It was one of the disciples who had been waiting at the mouth of White Lake to transmit messages.

  "How many people are there? Has the number of people changed?" Wang Hao asked cautiously.

  "There were four of them, apart from that little thief, there was a long follower and two footmen." The detective disciple said: "There wasn't a fifth one, I also passed by their boat and heard them talking about Tongling's Danpi and Que She tea. Originally they had delayed for two days, it was to buy these two things in Tongling, to use as birthday gifts."

  Wang Haoxian and Fang Saniu exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with joy. The other party had delayed in Tongling for the birthday gift, which was also a reasonable thing to do. Wang Haoxian narrowed his eyes: "Since that's the case, let's get everything ready!"

  They came in a group of over 100 people this time, dispersing into Congyang Town. Congyang was originally a major transportation hub on the river, so the arrival of over 100 people didn't seem out of the ordinary. Then they traveled from Congyang to Fushan by land, where they lay in ambush, right on the route that must be taken to reach Baidang Lake from Fushan.

  After waiting for about half a watch, a three-masted sailing ship finally came into view, swaying gently as it approached. The speed of the ship was neither fast nor slow, and it looked extremely leisurely. Before long, the ship docked at the shore, and Fang San pointed to the middle-aged dark and thin man who had come out first, saying: "That guy is the steward and guard of the Yu family, and he has a good fist."

  Right after that, a young man jumped onto the boat. He was tall and strong among his peers in the south, measuring up to 1 meter 72 centimeters by later standards. His face still had the innocence of a 16 or 17-year-old, but his eyes were as deep as the ocean, looking like those of a wise man in his fifties or sixties.

  There was a faint smile on his face, which made Wang Haoxian feel somewhat uncomfortable. He vaguely felt that something was off, but upon careful consideration, there had been no flaws so far.

  In Wang Haoxian's opinion, the other party did not know of his existence. Moreover, yesterday a fast horse arrived from Xiang'an with news that Yu Guozhen's most reliable household guards had gone to Chaohu for routine bandit suppression. Before the new year, they were clearing out water bandits and wild robbers in the area between Xi River and Chaohu.

  Wang Haoxian could understand this, the last time Fan Zhen and others attacked, Yu Guozhen was stifled with anger, and also exposed the weakness of the later batch of young people who were inexperienced in battle and afraid of the enemy. However, Wang Haoxian did not relax his vigilance, specially dispatching someone to keep an eye on them, if those young people had any unusual movements, they would immediately report back to him.

  So what's wrong with it?

  He thought back and forth a thousand times in his mind, but it was all just a momentary thing. However, no matter how much he thought about it, he still couldn't think of where he had gone wrong.

  "Master!" Fang Sanye reminded him in a low voice when he saw his hesitation.

  Wang Haoxian suddenly came to his senses, the people on the boat had already gone ashore, and even the two porters were carrying boxes ready to rush on their way. At this time, if he didn't take action, it would be too late.

  "Get to work!" he ordered.

  This matter is of great importance, because of the consecutive failures, Wang Haoxian no longer trusted others, so he came to command in person. Of course, he would not risk his own life, nor would Fang San'er, who was just protecting him from a distance.

  The Xiangxiang Sect crowd, who were hiding around the small dock, first appeared to be five or six of them. They looked no different from the locals of Pingshan, as if they were just passing by.

  What they want to do is cut off Yu Guozhen's retreat.

  Wang Haoxian's eyes didn't blink, and when the six men blocked Yu Guozhen's way back to the boat, he let out a sigh of relief. At this point, even if Yu Guozhen had any skills, it was impossible for him to escape.

  Yu Guozhen's retreat was already cut off, and immediately afterwards, a shout erupted from the surrounding area, as thirty or forty people rushed out. Wang Haoxian's face revealed a cold smile. These thirty or forty people were only the first wave. If Yu Guozhen managed to escape from these thirty or forty people, then on each of the escape routes around him, there would be more ambushes waiting for him.

  He saw one of the porters suddenly drop his carrying pole and turn to run away, but after only two steps, he knelt down on the ground with his head in his hands, trembling and begging for mercy. The other porter retreated to Yu Guozhen's side, holding onto his bamboo hat, while Yu Guozhen himself and Gao Buping stood with their swords drawn.

  "What kind of people are you? Under the Xiang'an Patrol Officer, Yu Guozhen is here. You have a big nerve!" Yu Guozhen shouted loudly.

  Wang Haoxian sneered, what kind of Xiang An patrol inspector, a small and insignificant title, also dared to take it out to intimidate people.

  "Thief dog, I've been looking for you! Drop your sword and kneel down, and I'll spare your life!" a member of the Fragrance Sect shouted.

  They made such a disturbance here, and the surrounding villagers were scared away in a hurry. There was also the sound of alarm bells ringing out, but Wang Haoxian didn't take it seriously at all. In the past, a dozen or so Japanese pirates could roam freely throughout the county, and now he had over a hundred men under his command, plus some local militiamen and village braves who didn't dare come out to fight him.

  Yu Guozhen has got it this time!

  "Hurry them up."

  Despite this, he was still worried about the long night and many dreams, and he gave a low order to Fang Sanye again. Fang Sanye understood, whistled far away, and immediately someone on the other side shouted loudly: "What's the point of talking nonsense with him, hurry up and capture him!"

  The crowd of Huanxiang followers rushed forward, pouncing on Yu Guozhen. The porter who had retreated to the front of Yu Guozhen took off his bamboo hat, revealing an old face.

  This old man's appearance was somewhat unusual, with a hint of red in his hair and beard, but he had a tall and robust build.

  Wang Haoxian saw this face and was slightly taken aback in his heart. This old vendor actually didn't show any fear, on the contrary, his eyes were full of excitement!

  "Has this old thief been scared silly?" Not just Wang Haoxian, almost all the Xiangxiang Sect disciples who saw his face thought so.

  "Kill him! Kill this old man!"

  Lao Tiao stood in front of Yu Guo, and to capture Yu Guo, they had to go through Lao Tiao first. Therefore, after a brief moment of stunned silence, the followers of Wen Xiang Jiao charged forward once again.

  For convenience, they all carried knives, so in this rush, five or six knives were chopped towards the old porter.

  In an instant, a cold light flashed in the eyes of the crowd, and an old peddler drew out a long knife from the load he was carrying. The knife shone like moonlight, and with a swift motion, two of the nearest Huanxiang Sect disciples were knocked to the ground with a pained cry!

  Another three of the Huanxiang Sect's disciples who were charging at Lao Tiaozi were so frightened that they rolled and crawled away, one of them even dropped his sword. Despite this, their bodies still suffered cuts!

  In the blink of an eye, two were dead and three retreated. The old porter's bravery was so fierce that it was unbelievable.

  "Changshu Shi Dian is here, who dares to fight me?" The old porter grasped his long knife and stroked his beard with a cold smile.

  "Hiss!"

  Others didn't know, but Wang Haoxian himself was also a master of martial arts, and he knew what Changshu Shi Dian was!

  Shi Dian Shi Jing Yan is one of the greatest masters of martial arts in the world, skilled in both knife and spear techniques, especially military spear techniques, and is considered to be the number one spear master in the world!

  Although these martial artists were highly skilled, they didn't have the mysterious and extraordinary abilities described in later generations of martial arts fiction. For example, Shi Jingyan himself was eventually surrounded and killed by a group of bandits who didn't know any martial arts. However, if they had a powerful weapon in hand, taking on ten or even more opponents at once wouldn't be a problem!

  Wang Hao Xian's gaze lingered on Shi Jing Yan for a long time before suddenly shifting to Yu Guo Zhen.

  Shi Jingyan was shocked by that one knife, but what shocked him even more was Yu Guozhen!

  This little dog is from where will Shí Jìng Yán change out, why does Wén Xiāng Jiào stare at him so tightly, but hasn't heard any wind?

  This doubt was like a hard bone stuck in Wang Haoxian's throat, making him feel extremely uncomfortable.

  And another question arises. Yu Guozhen invited Shi Jingyan, which proves that he was already prepared for the encounter, but did Yu Guozhen only make this one preparation?

  Wang Haoxian has been preaching for many years, and the government can't do anything about it. His thoughts are meticulous, and his methods are cunning, which can be seen from this. If it were a different time, when he had such doubts, he would have chosen to flee far away, just like when he instructed Xu Hongru to start something, but himself sensed that something was wrong and hid.

  But this time he hesitated, for a very simple reason, the bait was too enticing.

  The art of cultivating jade, it's a heavenly treasure. With this extraordinary skill, even if you don't rebel or start a revolution, it's enough to let your descendants enjoy wealth and glory for generations to come. And this heavenly treasure is in the hands of that young man!

  Yu Guozhen used himself as bait, in Wang Haoxian's mind, this should be an impossible thing, the son of a wealthy family would not stoop to such things, Yu Guozhen had the skill of "kindling pearls", how could he put himself in danger? It seemed that inviting Shi Jingyan was just Yu Guozhen's cautious insurance move, this was not a trap.

  Thinking of this, Wang Haoxian felt slightly at ease. After all, it was just Shi Jingyan; he could defeat ten or twenty people, but could he defeat over a hundred?

  Moreover, Wen Xiang Jiao is not some law-abiding good man, in his hands, there are other things that can pose a threat to Shi Jingyan!

  Shi Jingyan let out a loud shout, and the surrounding enemies unexpectedly didn't dare to move forward again. He was overjoyed in his heart. Being straightforward and not good with words, he shouted again: "Who dares to come and fight me?"

  Yu Guozhen smiled slightly, but at the same time shook his head gently. This Shi Jingyan still has the elegance of ancient times, isn't he just someone who has listened to too many storytelling sessions in rural areas?

  Just then, he heard an unusual sound, Shi Jingyan also heard this sound, and his face suddenly changed!

  Thank you

  (Thanks for the reward from kvr1333d3n9, Mù Tóu Zhú Zi and Jiāng Hú Bù Lǎo Kè, still asking for votes ~)