Chapter Seventeen: Zhou Tong Recognizes the Scheme within a Scheme

  Yelü Zhongwang used the tactic of delaying troops to send Wanyan Hongyu ahead, while he himself rested outside Bianjing with Zhou Tong, stalling for time.

  As the night wore on, it was pitch black everywhere. Zhou Tong only heard Yelü Zhongyuan talking to his subordinates and felt at ease in his heart. After all, it was late at night, and he was getting old, so it would not be good for him to take action.

  "Yelü Zhongwang, are you and your Wolf Lord plotting against the Central Plains again? Let me tell you, the Central Plains is vast and rich in resources, with countless talented people. Even if each person just spits a mouthful of saliva, it would be enough to drown you all. And let me tell you this: although I, Zhou Tong, may be old, my disciples are formidable characters. In the future, he will definitely take the stage and offer his allegiance." Zhou Tong said proudly.

  Yelü Zhongwang sneered, "Old hero, don't boast. I know your two disciples were extraordinary, but they were killed by the corrupt court of your Great Song. Now, apart from you, old hero, the Great Song is devoid of talent and can't withstand a single blow."

  "Haha, what a ridiculously arrogant guy! He actually dares to say that the great Song Dynasty's talents are dwindling and can't withstand a single blow. If you're capable, bring your troops and try us out, I guarantee you'll never return." Zhou Dang refused to show weakness.

  "Old hero, you've been lying low for years. Have you taken on an apprentice again?" Yelü Zhongwang asked curiously.

  "Not just one, but four or five brothers, each a hero. One of the disciples' skills far surpasses Lin Chong and Lu Junyi. I think in the future when they raise the anti-Jin banner, they will be invincible." Zhou Tong's emotions were extremely agitated as he spoke to this point.

  Yelü Zongwang felt a chill in his heart after hearing Zhou Tong's words.

  "It's impossible for someone like Zhou to come up with such words out of thin air, the Song Dynasty must have produced such talents. I need to find out what their names are and where they live, then send the top masters of Dajin to sneak attack and eliminate them in their infancy." Yelü Zhong thought of this, suddenly asked: "I wonder what is the name of Zhou's new apprentice? Where does he live? Since the Song Dynasty has produced such talents, I should go congratulate him."

  "This is it! I don't need to tell you, I know that you Koreans always do things without keeping your promises and are ruthless." Zhou Dang said calmly.

  Yelü Zongwang saw Zhou Tong being on guard against him, so he had no choice but to give up. However, he would never easily give up; he wanted to secretly investigate and find an opportunity to eliminate the potential threat.

  Zhou Tong and Yelü Zongwang were engaged in a heated verbal exchange. Wanyan Hongyu took advantage of the opportunity to slip out of Zhou Tong's line of sight, he came to where the horses were tied up, untied the reins of a fast horse, mounted it and hastily galloped towards the Jin army's large camp.

  Jin army's camp was located at Wangcheng Slope, one hundred miles inside and outside Kaifeng City. Wanyan Hongyu arrived at Wangcheng Slope, dismounted his horse, rushed into the camp, and reported to Commander Yelü Zhonghan about what had happened. Yelü Zhonghan listened with great anxiety in his heart. He immediately raised his flag, gathered all his generals to discuss ways to capture Zhou Tong alive.

  "General, don't worry, we don't need to mobilize a large army to deal with Zhou Tong. My four brothers and I can handle it alone. In the past, Zhou Tong was defeated by us brothers, and this time he's even older, so he won't be able to withstand a single blow. General, the prince is in imminent danger, we must act quickly or it will be too late." said Hali Chi.

  "Right! General, if you're not at ease, we can take a military oath. With us four brothers plus the prince and Wanyan Hongjun, Wanyan Honglie, seven of us against an old man over 70 years old, it's like catching a turtle in a jar, easy to capture." Hali added in agreement.

  "General, time is not waiting for us, give the order quickly! We guarantee to complete the task." Harry Qing also urged from the side.

  "Alright! Since you four brothers are willing to go through the trouble, then let's get going. The Four Great Heavenly Kings, listen up: set off immediately, must arrive before dawn, and only after dawn can we take action, strive to capture Zhou Dang alive. Absolutely do not startle the snake in the grass, letting Zhou Dang slip away from under our noses once again."

  "The four great Vajras obey your orders."

  The four mighty ones left the camp and went straight to the horse stable, chose a few fast horses, rode on them, followed Wan Yan Hongjun in a mad dash, arrived at the place where Yelü Zongwang and others tied their horses before dawn, tied up the horses, then quickly came to the place where Zhou Cong and Yelü Zongwang were sitting. In order not to startle the snakes by beating the grass, the four mighty ones first lay in ambush around them, waiting for daylight.

  Zhou Tong and Yelü Zongwang chatted for half the night, his body and mind were a bit tired, quietly closing his eyes to rest.

  Although he was advanced in years, his ears were still sharp and clear. With decades of cultivation, he could hear the sound of breathing from over a dozen meters away. As dawn approached, the surroundings were pitch black, Zhou Ping sat calmly with his heart and breath steady, his ears perked up to listen for any movement around him. Suddenly, he heard rapid breathing sounds coming from just behind him.

  "Come out! You few people are just behind me, I saw you. What kind of hero is sneaking around? If you have the guts, come out and let's fight to the death!" Zhou Tong shouted loudly from behind.

  The four Diamond Warriors were shocked by the sound of drinking. They thought they had done it very secretly, but didn't expect that Zhou Tong could even distinguish directions by listening to breathing, which was really not simple.

  "Zhou Tong, last time you managed to escape by luck, this time let's see where you can run? Brothers, up!" Harry Chi shouted, and the four brothers, Harry Hong, Harry Qing, and Harry Lu, all joined forces.

  Although Zhou Tong couldn't see the appearance of the incoming people, he knew from their tone and voice that it was the four great masters of Jin Guo, the Hali Red Brothers, who had arrived. Encountering the four great masters all at once, Zhou Tong secretly cursed his bad luck.

  The four masters' skills had been experienced by Zhou Teng a few years ago, they were indeed not ordinary people.

  "Do you think you can cheat the young with your numbers? I'm not that foolish. I'm in a bad mood today, so I won't bother with you lot. I'll take my leave." Zhou Teng said, then jumped to Ye Lu Zong Wang's side and grabbed him, saying to the four golden guardians: "You slaves, if you want your master to live, be honest with me."

  The four great golden ones never thought that Zhou Tong would come up with such a move, what to do? The prince's life is in Zhou Tong's hands, his life is more valuable than Zhou Tong's.

  "Zhou Tong, I didn't expect you to falsely claim to be a hero, and yet you're relying on holding hostages to save your own skin. We really misjudged you." Harry said disdainfully.

  "So many of you want to sneak up on an old man like me, are you heroes? You've already experienced the cunning of the Harry brothers, and now I won't fall for your tricks again." Zhou Tong said.

  The four Vajras had no choice but to confront them head-on.

  Before you know it, daybreak has arrived.

  Zhou Tong brought Yelü Zhongwang to the place where the horses were tied, chose a fast horse, threw down Yelü Zhongwang, and jumped up with a loud whip, the fast horse galloped eastward like lightning.

  The four mighty ones immediately rode their horses eastward in a frantic pursuit of Zhou Tong.