Chapter Forty-Four: The Reverse Scales of the Dragon

  At this time, the sky was somewhat dark, and the sun had long since set behind the western mountains. Only the remaining afterglow illuminated the earth. (This chapter is uploaded by a netizen?)

  Dada, dada...

  The sound of horseshoes came from afar, and a small black spot emerged from the distance, more than 50 riders galloping wildly on horseback. This was Zhao Yun leading his troops, with a hint of coldness in his eyes, constantly whipping his warhorse.

  Zhao Yan felt that his personality had undergone a huge change, many things that he used to care about deeply now seemed trivial and even cold, and in the midst of anxiety, he couldn't maintain his composure like before, and didn't know whether it was good or bad.

  When Zhao Jiong brought his men to the Chao River, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of admiration at its grandeur. After a moment's thought, Zhao Jiong gave orders for his men to search along the river. Since the water bandits were making a living by robbing people on this river, it was likely that their hideout wasn't far from here.

  Chaobai River is the largest river in Beijing, passing through Shunyi District. The average width of the river is over 500 meters, and the widest part reaches 800 meters. Many scholars and poets have left poems here, including a famous one called "Watching the Tide on Chaobai River".

  Mountains and rivers, tides white, ten thousand miles condensed

  Governance through non-action benefits all people.

  Rolling waves surge into the sea.

  Soft purple ribbon with thoughts of returning home.

  Before long, a scout reported back to Zhao Yun that the bandit camp was discovered twenty miles ahead. Zhao Yun immediately led his men to the riverbank near the water camp and dismounted to hide in the nearby woods. Although he was anxious, Zhao Yun understood that launching a surprise attack on the water camp at this time would be no different from suicide. He ordered: "The whole army will dismount and rest on the spot, and set off with me after three watches."

  "Yes, Your Highness." More than 50 imperial guards received the order and gathered their horses, quickly taking out the food they carried with them and eating hastily.

  Zhao Bian stood by the river, his expression cold as he gazed at the water village in the river. The White River's waters flowed rapidly and turbulently. Zhao Bian stood still for a long time, but didn't see even one boat pass through this place. It seemed that the water bandits had been here for a long time, and perhaps they had some ambiguous relationship with the local officials.

  Zhao Kan raised his eyes and gazed into the distance, where a green marsh floated on the river, with a water stockade built on top of it. The stockade occupied the entire marsh, its shape somewhat rough and simple. Most of the houses were made of horizontal wooden planks, with many gaps and holes. The wood at the bottom had been eroded by the river water for a long time and was already somewhat damaged. On several wooden pillars, dozens of fishing boats of various sizes were tied up, swaying gently on the waves as the river flowed.

  Apart from the two on duty, the rest of the forbidden army had already entered dreamland. Zhao Jiong was tired, but at this moment he didn't rest, his eyes still coldly staring at the water stronghold.

  The day before, the leader of the water bandits, Chen Liangshan, robbed a group of people from the Imperial Forest Army. Wu Liangshan was ugly in appearance, with dull eyes and a short stature, making people feel disgusted at first sight. Although he was called Chen Liangshan, he was neither honest nor good, and many people who had crossed the river had died at his hands. If there were women among them, regardless of their age, they would all be taken to the water fortress, where those with good looks would be kept for himself, while the ugly ones would be distributed among his subordinates.

  Because Chen Liangshan was cruel and bloodthirsty in his daily life, no one dared to oppose him. For a time, the people around Chaobai River complained and grumbled, and the nearby officials, under pressure from the people, sent troops to surround and annihilate him. However, it is not known what means Chen Liangshan employed, but the arriving army was all thunder and no rain, merely making a show of force on the riverbank before retreating with a false report of completion. The matter of surrounding and annihilating the water bandits thus came to nothing, which also led to the area around Chaobai River becoming deserted and rarely visited by people.

  On that day, Wu Zaiyun was captured. Her beautiful and moving figure, gentle and elegant temperament, made Chen Liangshan stunned for a moment. He thought it was heaven's blessing to have such a beauty fall into his hands. Chen Liangshan really felt grateful and vowed to burn two more incense sticks every day.

  Chen Liangshan suddenly felt that the women he had caught before were like grains of rice compared to Wu Caiyun, and it was like comparing the light of a grain of rice to the brightness of the moon. Chen Liangshan really felt that he had lived in vain before, such a woman couldn't be won over by force, only when she was willing would it be meaningful.

  Chen Liangshan had his subordinates hastily bandage the knife wound on his back, and then he couldn't wait to put on a relatively new satin brocade robe, which matched his ugly face with horizontal flesh, looking very comical. It was absolutely impossible for a beggar to impersonate an emperor. Wu Liangshan had his subordinates carry the red sedan chair, running excitedly to meet Wu Caiyun.

  At this time, Wu Caiyun sitting in the house was very nervous. On that day, she was quickly submerged in water and lost consciousness. When she woke up, the first thing she did was to check her clothes immediately. After finding them intact, she let out a sigh of relief. Wu Caiyun looked around the room, a screen with a white crane playing in the water, a black desk, two orange wardrobes, and an intricately carved bed beneath her. The layout of the furniture in the house seemed to be arranged according to the local four-sided feng shui, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

  Chen Liangshan was somewhat nervous at the door, rubbing his hands hesitantly, and suddenly looked up to see a strange gaze from his subordinate beside him. He cleared his throat lightly and knocked on the door, saying in a deliberately gentle voice: "Miss, could you please open the door? I've brought some items that women usually use, for your convenience."

  Wu Zaiyun angrily said: "Get out of here! What have you done with those officers who came with me?"

  Chen Liangshan's face darkened with a hint of anger as he said in a low voice, "You'd better open the door quietly, don't force me to use violence."

  "I will never open the door for you." Wu Caiyun said, hastily stepping forward, using the door bolt to lock the door, and then pushing the nearby cabinet over to block the door. She retreated two steps, trembling slightly, and sat down on the bed in a panic, her eyes fixed tightly on the door.

  Chen Liangshan completely lost his patience, and with a cold face, he took down a sharp giant axe from behind one of his subordinates, and with a loud crash, he chopped at the door, instantly shattering it to pieces. Chen Liangshan kicked out with one foot, and the door fell to the ground with a loud thud, splinters flying everywhere.

  Wu Caiyun's beautiful eyes widened in shock as she stared at Chen Liangshan, who was carrying a huge axe and had a ferocious expression on his face, walking in from the doorway. Chen Liangshan said in a deep voice, "Don't give me any attitude, I'll show you what happens when you resist."

  The opponent, a burly man with a scar on his face, gave a signal, and the ruthless pirate smiled slightly and took orders to leave. A bare-chested Imperial Guard soldier, whose hands were tied behind his back, was dragged over by the pirate. The Imperial Guard soldier was soaked from head to toe, having been submerged in water for a whole day, and his body was already extremely weak. He was casually thrown to the ground by the burly man, landing with a heavy thud.

  The warrior struggled to open his eyes, looked at the surrounding pirates, and let out a cold laugh without a hint of fear.

  Chen Liangshan walked over and dragged the soldier over, grasping his hair with one hand and sneering coldly: "I think you should recognize him. Let's take a look at the price of resisting me."

  In Wu Caiyun's terrified eyes, Chen Liangshan used the sharp blade of his axe to slash at the warrior's chest, gradually increasing the force, and fresh blood gushed out of the wound like a fountain, instantly dyeing the breastplate red. Wu Cai let out a shrill cry and closed her eyes, not daring to look again.

  The soldier of the Imperial Forest Army was very tough, biting his steel teeth tightly, his eyebrows were tightly locked, enduring severe pain, his body uncontrollably trembling, cold sweat constantly seeping out, suddenly his head tilted and he fainted.

  Chen Liangshan threw the bloody Imperial Guard soldier to the ground, smiling at the scar-faced man: "Cut him into pieces and feed them to the dogs."

  The scar-faced pirate walked forward and dragged away the half-dead Imperial Forest Army soldier.

  Chen Liangshan said to Wu Caixia, who was sitting there in a daze: "I'll give you an hour to consider. If you agree with me, then you will be the mistress of this water stronghold, and no one will dare disrespect you. If not, after an hour, I will take good care of you with my brothers." After finishing speaking, he used his eyes to scan Wu Caixia's entire body, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and left laughing maniacally.

  Wu Caiyun sat stupidly on the bed, expressionless, as if she had lost her soul.

  Three periods of time passed quickly, and now the sky was already late. More than 50 forbidden military generals reorganized their weapons and stood together in a row. Zhao Jiong just said lightly: "Listen to the command and act later, don't make any noise, set off."

  Zhao Kan was the first to jump into the water, and the Imperial Guards followed him into the Chao River. The river surface splashed up with waves, and soon became calm again.

  Zhao Kan took advantage of the equipment on his body and quickly left the Jinyi soldiers behind. The riverbed was filled with mud, sand, and rocks everywhere, and aquatic plants grew luxuriantly among them. From time to time, fish swam past Zhao Kan's side, and as soon as they saw this huge creature, they immediately turned around and escaped, disappearing into the water.

  At this moment, Zhao Jiong's eyes condensed and swam to the river bottom. He saw a Imperial Forest Army soldier lying quietly at the river bottom with his eyes wide open, having long lost his vital signs. Zhao Jiong still remembered that this soldier was once one of his own guards, who had taken an arrow for him during the defense of Yan Mountain City. Now he had died in such a humiliating way here. Zhao Jiong sighed and stretched out his hand to gently close the soldier's wide-open eyes, then quietly laid his body flat on the river bottom, and swam towards the green vegetation in the river.

  Zhao Yin slightly raised his head under the rotten wood, and he could hear footsteps coming and going above. He quietly took out the dagger he was carrying with him and waited for an opportunity. Before long, the Imperial Guard who had been shaken off by Zhao Yin caught up, and Zhao Yin formed a palm shape with his hand and slowly slid backwards. The Imperial Guard understood and nodded slightly, then quietly moved his body over and hid under the rotten wood.

  Zhao Jin let the forbidden army wait, and he himself slipped into the bottom of the water village along the surface of the water. A pirate yawned and walked out from a corner, Zhao Jin seized the opportunity to rush up, using his body's impact force to knock that pirate against the wall. At the same time, Zhao Jin covered the soldier's mouth with one hand, and with the other hand, he sent it into the opponent's heart in the midst of the opponent's panicked eyes. Everything was done in a flash. As Zhao Jin grew older, combined with the processing of the Golden Giant Dragon, the dragon's body had made great leaps in all aspects.

  Zhao Jian gently placed the dead bandit on the ground, pulled out his dagger and wiped it clean on the bandit's clothes, then dragged the corpse to a dark corner. When Zhao Jian killed this bandit, there was no mercy in his eyes, just like cutting grass with ease.

  Zhao Jian stuck to the shadow, continuing to move forward. A bandit was lying on a chair with his legs crossed, swaying back and forth. Zhao Jian flashed a cold light in his eyes, walked past him lightly, and quickly covered the bandit's mouth with one hand. The dagger in his other hand almost simultaneously inserted into the bandit's throat. The sharp dagger instantly cut open the bandit's throat, and the bandit's head was only half connected to his body. Fresh blood sprayed out, and the bandit struggled twice before his eyes rolled back, and he died.

  Zhao Kuang heard footsteps from a distance and moved the dead body into the shadows, hiding his crossbow.