The Tide Turns

The fire at the County Yamen naturally caused a huge commotion. By the time a group of soldiers rushed out of the yamen, the common people outside had all retreated into their homes, not daring to even show their faces. They had witnessed what these bandit soldiers had been doing since they entered the city over the past few days. The stubborn ones who refused to submit had long since been killed.

"Commander Zhu, none of General Fan's trusted aides came out."

This sentence made the leader's face look a little grim.

"What... what do we do next?"

A group of soldiers gathered around Commander Zhu, waiting for him to make a decision.

They knew that with their skills, it was impossible to catch an enemy who moved so quickly and skillfully, but they still had to show the proper attitude in front of the general. Otherwise, if the general, who was in a fit of rage, caught them and had them executed, where would they go to reason?

"Search according to the old rules, and be more alert. The general is furious right now, so don't do anything too obvious."

Commander Zhu glanced at the captain who had asked the question and gave him a reply.

"Yes."

Hearing Commander Zhu's order, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

No one wanted to die, and these soldiers were no different. Their loyalty was genuine, but it depended on who they were loyal to. If Prince Ning were here, everyone would definitely show twelve points of loyalty, but with General Fan in charge, it was hard to say how much loyalty remained.

After the group of soldiers left, they quickly began searching the streets.

Meanwhile, after escaping the County Yamen, Chen Luo did not go far. Instead, he hid in a nearby building, recovering the Internal Qi he had just consumed while looking for an opportunity.

He was determined to kill General Fan today!

His Junior Sister Apprentice hadn't been rescued, so how could he just run away? The reason he left first was simply to remove himself from a dangerous environment and change his identity from prey to hunter. Using one's advantage to deal with another's disadvantage was the best strategy. Fighting openly below, taking on a thousand enemies, and directly facing archers, poison arrows, and hidden weapons was not his style, at least not at this stage.

After Commander Zhu and his group left, Chen Luo quickly changed direction and sneaked back into the County Yamen.

After the previous assassination attempt, the yamen was in complete chaos. General Fan's subordinates, who had been alerted, were searching everywhere, and many dark corners were lit with torches to prevent potential assassinations. However, this level of search posed no threat to Chen Luo.

As long as he wasn't surrounded, no one in the yamen was his match.

After bypassing several hidden sentries, Chen Luo returned to the courtyard where General Fan was located.

This General Fan was also a bold person; he did not leave his familiar surroundings. This was the action of a smart person. If he had truly gone mad and fled to another place in the middle of the night by himself, that would have been truly foolish.

"Come here, put these women onto the platform, arranged according to their birth dates. No mistakes allowed."

Below, General Fan picked up the book again and gave orders to the soldiers beside him while comparing it to the book.

This time, even Chen Luo sensed that something was wrong.

'Could that book be some peerless secret technique?' Chen Luo's eyes flickered.

General Fan refused to put down that book even at this point; the secret hidden within must be significant.

Thinking this, Chen Luo lightly moved to the corner of the wall.

This was the corner of the courtyard, with a large tree nearby. It was a little distance from the central platform General Fan had set up, and only three people were on duty here. The three of them also held torches, illuminating the entire area brightly.

Chen Luo hid on the rooftop and lifted a tile with one hand.

With a slight force of his fingers, the tile was crushed into several pieces.

Puff puff puff!!

The shattered tiles, like hidden weapons, easily pierced the throats of the three soldiers after being infused with Internal Qi. The three fell to the ground instantly, not even having time to cry out.

"Who!!"

Although Chen Luo had been as careful as possible, the falling torches still attracted the attention of those nearby.

As soon as they noticed the movement, someone immediately shouted loudly.

The sound startled everyone.

"It's Jichun and the other two."

"They're dead!"

There was an uproar of voices, and everyone immediately became tense. They all gripped their weapons, looking around with nervous faces. The dark sky, at this moment, looked like a gaping maw of a demon king, giving a sense of boundless oppression.

They hadn't felt it during the previous siege, but now that the roles were reversed, everyone suddenly felt the terror of a Bone Forging Realm expert.

"What are you panicking about? If that bandit dares to come out, I'll chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"

General Fan roared, kicking over a soldier. Regardless of their reactions, he forcefully ordered them to continue the task.

The kicked soldier was full of grievances but didn't dare to resist, so he could only follow General Fan back.

Whoosh.

A black light flashed.

With a splat sound, the throat of the soldier who had just taken two steps was instantly pierced. Hot blood splattered all over General Fan's face. Almost at the same time, several other soldiers were also attacked. What was even more bizarre was that with so many of them, not a single person saw the location of the attacker from beginning to end. Every time they rushed over, they saw only an empty corner of the roof.

"What kind of hero are you, sneaking around? If you have the guts, come out and fight openly!"

The voice spread out, reaching even outside the County Yamen.

Even Wang Dajiang of the Sha Lake Gang, who was hiding in the dark, heard it.

'An expert is indeed an expert. He alone is terrifying the Imperial Court dogs to the point where they can only bark uselessly. Xiaomin is saved this time.' Wang Dajiang was incredibly excited internally, wondering if he should find a husband for his niece after this situation passed.

This 'Senior Brother Apprentice' seemed quite good. They were both disciples of Master Ma, and his martial arts were so powerful.

Bang bang!

In the courtyard, two more bodies fell.

The same method, the same hidden weapon.

The surrounding people grew increasingly panicked. They abandoned the formation meant to guard the courtyard, and everyone who was still alive gathered together. General Fan was helpless; he now deeply regretted not taking the risk to fight earlier, which had led to his current passive situation.

The only thing he could do was constantly provoke the opponent with words, forcing them to show themselves.

"A dignified Bone Forging Realm expert, only daring to launch sneak attacks from the shadows? Is your Martial Path the 'Path of Rats'!"

Chen Luo was an incredibly steady person. After experiencing the previous dangers, he had been reborn. Stability was paramount in all things! How could General Fan's few words possibly provoke him into coming out?!

Ten minutes later.

A few more people had died. Including the hidden sentries, there weren't many people left guarding the courtyard. The roof and houses had been mostly torn down by General Fan and his group.

But even so, they still couldn't catch anyone.

The opponent was like a ghost, not even a shadow could be seen.

Now everyone had gathered in the open courtyard, and the nearby trees had all been cut down.

Without cover, it wouldn't be so easy to be ambushed again.

Pfft!

Another person fell to the ground.

"It's a sleeve arrow!"

The soldier who knelt down to examine the body's face changed.

The safe area they had painstakingly created was rendered useless by a single sleeve arrow.

Stones were blocked, but sleeve arrows were not!

"It's the General's sleeve arrow," someone recognized the mark on the sleeve arrow.

This result made General Fan's face even worse.

The group quickly returned to General Fan's room and found that the contents inside had indeed been ransacked. Not only were the banknotes gone, but even General Fan's favorite sleeve arrows had disappeared.

Pfft!

Several more sounds came, and the soldiers who were bringing up the rear fell to the ground, dead again.

'Seven people left, four with hidden weapons, three with knives.'

Chen Luo, hidden in the dark like a venomous snake, scanned the seven people remaining outside. Among the more than a hundred brains, the one most skilled at observing enemy situations quickly provided feedback.

"Be careful and stay alert."

Sweat appeared on General Fan's palms as he gripped the iron spear.

He had only a few people left by his side now. Looking at the dark night sky outside, he felt regret for the first time. If he hadn't come to Qingya County, would he not have encountered something like this? At the same time, a surge of anger rose in his heart. He was a dignified Imperial Court general, when had he ever been forced to such a state by a Jianghu Wanderer? As long as he held out until dawn, he would definitely find this bandit and exterminate his entire clan!

His response was the sound of another body falling.

When a Bone Forging Realm expert completely disregarded their reputation, the pressure they brought was this strong.

The few people remaining in the courtyard now had no way to defend against the opponent. Even if the opponent jumped out openly at this point, they couldn't win. But the enemy in the dark was so cautious; even at this stage, they still hadn't shown themselves, only continuously launching sneak attacks.

"Kill one to break even, kill two to make a profit! If you don't come out, I'll slaughter all these women."

Under the threat of death, the remaining few finally went mad.

They no longer cared about the importance of those women to the General; they only wanted to force the venomous snake in the dark to come out. Two of them quickly rushed towards the unconscious He Min and the others, holding knives.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh...

Several more sleeve arrows flew out. The three people who had rushed out had only taken two steps when their throats were pierced by the sleeve arrows.

Their wide-open eyes stared, and blood flowed down their throats.

Until their death, they never saw where the person who attacked was hidden.