Rebel Army Enters the City (Seeking Daily Follow-ups)

This Internal Breath was a good thing, but he found that the further he practiced, the slower its growth became and the harder it was to cultivate.

On one hand, this was simply the nature of things; on the other, it was limited by the poor quality of the Soul Slaves he used.

Still, as long as he kept making steady progress, Zhao An could accept whether it was fast or slow.

What he could not accept was stagnation.

"Brother Zhao, here." Zhao Chunzi fetched a pair of gloves and arm guards, precisely Xu Donglai's gear.

Both the gloves and the arm guards gleamed with a metallic luster—wearing them allowed one to clash head-on with blades and swords!

Zhao An thought for a moment, then slipped on the arm guards, but only carried the gloves with him, not intending to use them often.

After all, with gloves on, he wouldn't be able to wield his blade smoothly.

He wasn't about to cripple his own abilities.

That night.

Zhao An slept in his clothes inside the house, his long blade placed by his pillow, while Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi took turns keeping watch to prevent any intruders from breaking in.

He thought he had been cautious enough, but the turn of events far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Suddenly, flames lit up the Outer City, and a massive commotion alarmed everyone.

"Disaster! Disaster!"

"Z-Zhao, Brother Zhao, something huge happened!" Li Gou'er pounded on the door in panic, waking Zhao An.

"What's wrong?" Zhao An asked with a frown.

"Outside, everyone's shouting that the Rebel Army has broken in!" Li Gou'er said hurriedly.

"Is that so?" Zhao An was stunned. This peaceful county town—how had it suddenly been breached by the Rebel Army?

But then he thought of it—the County Commandant had led the elite County Soldiers to Wangjiang Mountain and hadn't returned yet.

These past few days, the city's defenses were at their weakest.

In fact, piecing it together, Zhao An wondered if this wasn't a premeditated siege?

First, lure the tiger away from the mountain, then kill the County Magistrate, and finally, coordinate from within and without, open the city gates, and lead the troops in.

"Could it be that the banner atop the city walls is about to change hands tonight?"

Zhao An took a deep breath and had Li Gou'er and the others move heavy objects to block the door.

In the chaos of war, he alone could do little. Fortunately, he had some martial skill to protect himself.

If he were an ordinary civilian, a stray fire or arrow would have killed him in an instant—his life as cheap as roadside weeds.

Just as Zhao Chunzi was about to block the door, a knocking sound suddenly came from outside.

Zhao An initially wanted to ignore it, but he recognized the familiar voice from beyond the door.

"Zhao An, lend a hand."

Outside the house, cavalry passed by, shaking the ground with every tremor.

Black smoke billowed everywhere; the clamor, the sounds of killing, the hoofbeats—none of it ceased all night.

In the courtyard, Zhao Chunzi and Li Gou'er each held a cleaver, and Li Gou'er also had a loaded crossbow aimed at the gate.

Only when the vibrations on this street finally calmed down did they breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhao An glanced sideways at Meng Wanyi, who was gripping his sleeve tightly, while on the other side, Meng Shao was even more cowering, clutching his pant leg and refusing to let go.

As if only this way could they feel some sense of safety.

Usually, these two Female Physicians acted carefree, as if they feared no one, but tonight, with the Rebel Army passing through, they were utterly panicked.

"They're... they're gone..." Meng Wanyi's whole body relaxed; at some point, her palms were drenched in sweat.

On the other side, Zhao Chunzi and Li Gou'er weren't much better off, collapsing onto the ground in a daze.

In the entire courtyard, only Zhao An remained relatively calm.

On one hand, it was due to his martial training; on the other, he had lived a peaceful life in his past life and had never personally experienced the cruelty of war.

Thus, it was hard for him to share the same fear and dread as Li Gou'er, Meng Wanyi, and the other locals.

"How did you two end up here?" Zhao An finally had a chance to ask.

The ones knocking at the door just now were the Meng sisters.

If he had opened the door any later, those two would have run straight into the Rebel cavalry on the street.

"A group of ruffians broke into the clinic—seemed like bandits from Black Wind Stronghold. Luckily, my little sister and I noticed in time and slipped out the back door," Meng Wanyi explained.

The city was in the throes of chaos and war, and with nowhere else to go, they thought of Zhao An.

Finding Zhao An's residence was no easy feat, and even took some luck.

Zhao An listened, then nodded and said, "You two go rest in the inner room first."

"Thank you," Meng Wanyi replied with a smile.

For them, it had been a night of terror, and they were fortunate to have finally found a place to rest.

Zhao An sat boldly on a stone stool, several long blades laid out on the stone table before him.

This night was destined to be sleepless and long.

"Brother Zhao, listen to the noise—that rebel army seems to have charged into the Inner City," Zhao Chunzi said, pressing his ear to the wall.

"Let them go bother the big shots in the Inner City; it's better than them prowling around the Outer City," Li Gou'er said, counting it a good thing.

Before long, the sounds of slaughter in the Inner City shook the heavens.

The few of them speculated that the rebel army might have already stormed the County Magistrate's residence—Lianjiang City was about to change hands tonight!

Suddenly, noise came from the street again.

"Damn it, those armored bastards get to feast inside, and we're left to sip the dregs out here!"

"Keep your voice down. The Stronghold Leader promised we could scavenge the Outer City, and that's not bad, since we joined late."

"Hurry, there's a small courtyard here—maybe there's still some loot to be had."

"..."

A rustle of hurried footsteps rapidly approached, and Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi immediately braced themselves.

With a loud bang, a dull thud came from the courtyard gate, as if someone had kicked it hard.

But because heavy objects were piled behind it, the kick didn't break it open.

"Boss, there's someone inside! They've blocked the door!"

"Useless, get out of the way." A rough shout.

The next moment, an even louder crash sounded, the heavy objects shifted, and the fairly sturdy gate tilted open.

A spiked mace poked through first.

A dozen men in black headbands and thick linen clothes and pants crowded into the courtyard.

The leader raised a spiked mace, its surface bristling with barbs—one hit from that would leave a body full of holes.

The rest carried spears or held blades, all looking vicious and murderous.

With that getup and their undeniable bandit air, they were most likely mountain brigands or river pirates.

"I am Wang Lin, a Banner Leader of Black Wind Stronghold..."

Before the leader, who had the mace resting on his shoulder, could finish half a sentence, Li Gou'er's crossbow had already loosed a bolt.

The bolt didn't hit this Red Name named Wang Lin, but instead struck a dark-faced thug behind him, who collapsed clutching his neck.

Lucky for him, a fluke shot—the bolt had pierced his artery.

"Damn it! Charge!" Wang Lin roared in fury. He'd planned to say a few more words, to intimidate the owner of this house.

No need for that now—kill first, loot after!

Seeing the bandits rushing at him, Li Gou'er panicked, didn't have time to load a second bolt, and slipped away to circle behind a pillar.

Wang Lin swung his mace, and with one blow easily shattered a courtyard pillar.

This man was undoubtedly a Martial Master, and no weak one at that—his strength was astonishing.

Just as Wang Lin was about to give chase, a sharp sound of something cutting through air appeared without warning.

Wang Lin's temple twitched violently; ignoring everything else, he rolled forward like a lazy donkey.

Turning back to look, he saw a long blade embedded in the spot where he'd been standing.

Pinned along with it was the black headband on his head!