ChangNing’s Imperial Army

Chapter 115 – Stumbling Block
The town where Shen Leng and the rest were temporarily staying at was called Weicun. There was a small village located around six miles away, named Ji Shan Zhuang. From the day before till today, Liu Yun Hui’s men had been standing guard outside of Ji Shan Zhuang for half a day and one night. They could see every single movement of Guan Tang Kou’s men within the village very clearly.

Hei Yan squatted on the slope outside of the village with a pipe in his mouth, making him look slightly older than he actually was. However, when young people tried to look older, they ended up looking more adorable instead. However, the look in his eyes was not adorable at all; there was only murderous intent.

He mimicked the elders, tapping the pipe against the sole of his shoe. Hei Yan stood up. “It’s time.”

The man in white behind him took out a whistle and flicked it. The whistle let out a high-pitched sound and flew high up into the sky. The men in white who were in the woods by the village held onto their daggers and left the woods, without concealing themselves. They walked at a normal pace – neither slow nor fast.

On the roof of one of the houses, Duan, who had two daggers on his back, flipped himself over and leapt down. When he landed, he stabbed one of the Guan Tang Kou assassins in the neck, from the left side piercing through to the right, while using his other hand to cover that assassin’s mouth. When he released his hand, that person was no longer breathing.

He landed in the alley; dozens of Guan Tang Kou assassins charged over from one end of the alley. On the other end was a group of dagger-wielding assassins in white.

Duan ignored the fights that were going on at one end of the alley. He turned around and walked farther into the alley. The dozens of Guan Tang Kou assassins, who were guarding the entrance of a big house, charged towards him. He took one step forward and a cold ray of light flashed across; the four or five people right at the front collapsed to the ground immediately.

Li was still squatting on the roof ridge like a cat. The cold ray of light left behind by the flying dagger was still there.

Guan Tang Kou’s assassins bellowed as they charged towards him. The man in white at the top of the house drew his sword that had black tassels before landing lightly onto the ground. He slashed those Guan Tang Kou men in the back. His sword never once looked as though it was used to kill other people, but only a few people could kill faster than him.

The sword technique was like a dance; it did not look as fatal as it was.

It was only a short span of two to three breaths and yet a dozen of Guan Tang Kou men at the door were all killed. Duan, She and Li walked side by side into the big courtyard. There were three rows of Guan Tang Kou’s men, who were currently in formation, waiting to strike. They had already lifted their bows and repeating crossbows.

Seeing their enemies enter the door, without needing anybody’s orders, they started firing their arrows. The arrows were akin to a rainstorm that swept over towards them. Duan was on the left, while Li was on the right; both of them grabbed the doors at the same time and pulled it outwards. Both doors came together and one by one, the arrows struck the doors.

Guan Tang Kou’s fourth-in-command, Cui Sheng, went ashen. He did not expect Liu Yun Sect to appear in broad daylight. The people in the hidden sentry post set up in front of the village died before they could even give them any warning. The rest of the men who hastily tried to get organized could not resist against Liu Yun Sect’s power that had been accumulated over a long period of time.

“You should know that the person behind Guan Tang Kou is a very big and important person.”

Cui Sheng said to the people behind the doors. “In Changan city, we each mind our own business. Outside of Changan city, despite our conflicts, we do not have to go as far as to fight to the death. If you want to be that ruthless, aren’t you afraid that something bad would happen to Liu Yun Sect in Changan city?”

The reply he got was a blow from the two doors instead.

The doors flew horizontally, knocking the first two rows of Guan Tang Kou assassins to the ground. They did not even have any time to nock their arrows. Even if those people were well-trained, they were not as skilled as combat soldiers when it came to using the repeating crossbows.

Cui Sheng had a cold look in his eyes. “I have already give you face.”

He grabbed a random Guan Tang Kou assassin next to him to shield him, causing three flying daggers to stab that assassin.

Cui Sheng tossed the corpse over, forcing Duan to take a step back. Thereafter, he charged towards Li, who was the weakest when it came to close combat.

Just as the dagger was about to slash Li’s throat, a black iron rod appeared from behind Li, piercing through Cui Sheng’s wrist before pulling it upwards, causing the dagger in Cui Sheng’s hand to point upwards.

Hei Yan walked out from behind Li. “Only but a fourth-in-command. And one who has to wait for his turn to use his position to bully others.”

He took out the iron rod; blood from Cui Sheng’s wrist started spurting out. Hei Yan kicked Cui Sheng in the lower abdomen, causing the latter to fly upon impact, like a shrimp that was folded in two. Before he landed on the ground, two daggers, one long and one short, stabbed him in the middle of his back. Right after Cui Sheng cried out in pain, a flying dagger pierced through his mouth.

Cui Sheng fell to the ground with a thud. He struggled to lift his head up and saw a black line heading towards. He was stabbed in the center of his forehead.

The black iron rod pierced through his hard skull and out of the back of it. There was blood on it.

Witnessing their fourth-in-command getting killed, the Guan Tang Kou people lost their will to fight. The majority of them chose to turn around and flee. Hei Yan narrowed his eyes, looking at those people as he snorted. He muttered to himself, “This is why Guan Tang Kou will never be as good as Liu Yun Sect.”

Guan Tang Kou’s men ran towards the back door. Before they got there, the door opened by itself. Immediately after, a human head flew over and struck the head of the assassin who was right at the front. The two heads collided; naturally, the one that was not afraid of pain was the winner….and of course, the one that could fly was not afraid of pain.

The head rolled far away and landed next to Hei Yan’s feet. Hei Yan lowered his head and looked. “Guan Tang Kou’s second-in-command followed here after you returned from Changan. All four commanders came to Anyang, hence we took action earlier than planned.”

Hei Yan looked that head; it belonged to Guan Tang Kou’s second-in-command, Li Jiumu.

The cut on the neck was very neat and straight. It showed how fast that sword was.

Shen Leng leaned against the back door and looked at the Guan Tang Kou assassins who were scared out of their wits. He asked, “Where’s your first-in-command?”

One of the assassins’ voice was trembling. “We don’t know where the first-in-command went to either. We haven’t seen her for two days.”

Shen Leng looked at Hei Yan. “What you’re saying is, all four commanders of Guan Tang Kou are here and that their target is still me? For all four of them to come here to see me, I should feel very honored.”

Hei Yan shrugged. “From your facial expression, I can see that you don’t feel honored at all.”

Shen Leng could not figure it out. “I just got promoted. Why did they dare to take action during this period of time?”

“Perhaps, they are afraid you will take action instead.”

 

Hei Yan said, “You are now in power.”

Shen Leng thought about how Mu Xiaofeng had been keeping a low profile lately. He guessed that the great scholar must have given him a warning that if anybody tried to kill Shen Leng during this period of time, it was akin to giving His Majesty a slap on the face. Even an idiot would know what would happen to him if he tried to kill Shen Leng. Hence, Mu Zhaotong was worried about another possibility…that Shen Leng, who was now in power, would harm his son.

Even though he might be worried, Mu Zhaotong did not believe that Shen Leng was that daring. And he did not believe that Shen Leng was that foolish either.

Regardless of when it was, whenever other people gained or lost power, there was one thing that would not be influenced – the fact that Mu Xiaofeng was his son. Being the son of the great scholar, who would dare to lay a finger on him?

Hence, for all four commanders of Guan Tang Kou to go to Anyang, they must have a different motive.

Shen Leng pondered for quite some time and thought about the Navy and the land combat soldiers’ combined training that was coming up soon.

“Their target is not me.”

Shen Leng suddenly thought of a possibility, which was so frightening that a calm person like him started to turn pale.

Hei Yan stared blankly. “Then who?”

Shen Leng had already turned around. “I need to do something.”

 

Hei Yan looked at Shen Leng as he left, and was somewhat in a daze. He thought to himself: Is this fella going crazy again?

However, he followed him, with the iron rod in his hand. The three people, Duan, She, and Li, were behind him.

The fight in that town did not last for long. Clearly, the Guan Tang Kou men and Liu Yun Sect men were on different levels. This was also one of the biggest enigmas within Changan city’s underworld – why were the people from Liu Yun Sect that good at combat?

Half an hour later, Shen Leng had already rode his horse to the main interconnecting path, speeding in the southwest direction. There were four people pursuing closely on their horses without letting up. When he heard the sound of the hooves, Shen Leng turned around and saw Hei Yan and his men chasing after him. He reduced his speed by a little and waited for them to catch up.

“Why are you in a rush? What are you going to do?”

“I neglected one thing.”

“What is it?”

“You brought people to kill Guan Tang Kou’s men because you want to seek revenge. But we are not the only people who wanted to seek revenge.”

Hei Yan still did not understand.

“Cen Zheng.”

Shen Leng’s reply blew Hei Yan’s mind.

“They dare to attack a Fourth pin Weiyang general?”

“As long as they don’t leave any evidence behind.”

Shen Leng frowned even more…Bai Xiu was also Mu Xiaofeng’s man. Perhaps, he was Bai Shangnian’s man. Regardless of who he was working for, Cen Zheng was the one who killed him. The people who wanted to kill Cen Zheng within the Navy could not look for an opportunity to do so. But presently, Cen Zheng had been transferred out of the Navy and was sent far away to Pingyue. When he left, he had only brought two soldiers with him.

As of now, Cen Zheng had already been gone for a day and a night. According to the speed he was going at, he should have left Anyang. If those people wanted to kill him, they definitely would not take action within Anyang itself. Outside of Anyang, within Jiangnan, there were Bai Shangnian’s informants everywhere. It was extremely easy for a general to take out three people.

They did not know that Cen Zheng was the inside information box, and they also did not know that Cen Zheng was one of His Majesty’s counselors.

At the same time, in the Navy.

Mu Xiaofeng leaned against the chair and looked at Mu Liu’er, whose clothes were disheveled. After venting it out, he had finally calmed down. On the other hand, Mu Liu’er was somewhat sluggish. She yearned for the day where she would have a closer relationship with the young master. She did not expect such a brutish and uncivilized behavior. There was nothing good to be said.

She silently adjusted her own clothes and stood at the side. Even if she was any stronger, she was ultimately only a woman.

“Pour some water for me.”

Mu Xiaofeng gasped for breath and pointed to the teacup across from him. Mu Liu’er walked over like a robot and started to pour a cup of water for him. Mu Xiaofeng drank it all at one go. “I guess I’ve finally confirmed that having you by my side has some benefits…just that you cannot tell anyone. You know what will happen if you do.”

Mu Liu’er nodded expressionlessly. “Understood.”

Mu Xiaofeng was silent for a while before saying, “As for this matter, do not get involved.”

Mu Liu’er lackluster eyes suddenly lit up. “Why?”

She thought to herself: Does young master care about me after all?”

“If you get involved, things might become worse instead. What my father meant was that we should not be involved in this matter. After you people provided all the information Bai Shangnian wanted, how he wants to take action is the Bai family’s problem…do you my father would be worried and preoccupied with killing an insignificant figure like Shen Leng?”

Mu Liu’er suddenly had a realization. “So, our target is not Shen Leng.”

“Of course not.”

“The Bai family wants to get rid of Cen Zheng?”

“You look at things too superficially. That is the Bai family’s personal feud. Nothing to do with us.”

Mu Liu’er looked up abruptly. “It’s him?!’

Mu Xiaofeng smirked. “Yeah…he is the stumbling block in front of me.”