Internal Breath was a good thing, but he had found that the further he trained, the slower and harder it became to increase.
Part of that was simply the nature of the process; part of it was that the Soul Slaves he used were low quality.
Still, as long as he kept making steady progress, Zhao An could accept it being fast or slow.
What he couldn't accept was stagnating.
"Brother Zhao, here." Zhao Chunzi brought over a pair of gloves and arm guards. They were Xu Donglai's equipment.
Both the gloves and the arm guards gleamed with a metallic sheen. Worn together, they could withstand blades and swords head-on!
After a moment's thought, Zhao An slipped on the arm guards. He kept the gloves with him, but had no plans to wear them regularly.
After all, wearing gloves would make it awkward to wield his blade.
He wasn't about to cripple his own martial skills.
That night.
Zhao An slept in his clothes, his long blade beside his pillow. Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi took turns keeping watch, in case thieves tried to break in.
He had thought he was being cautious enough, but events had spiraled far beyond anyone's expectations.
Suddenly, flames surged into the sky in the Outer City. The enormous uproar roused everyone.
"Something terrible's happened! Something terrible!"
"B-Brother Zhao, something big's happened!" Li Gou'er pounded on the door in a panic, waking Zhao An.
"What is it?" Zhao An asked with a frown.
"People outside are shouting that a Rebel Army has broken in!" Li Gou'er hurriedly replied.
"How could that be?" Zhao An stared blankly. How had this perfectly peaceful county town suddenly fallen to a Rebel Army?
But then he remembered that the County Commandant had taken the elite County Soldiers to Wangjiang Mountain and still hadn't returned.
The city defenses were at their weakest these past few days.
In fact, when Zhao An put the pieces together, he wondered if this siege had been planned all along.
First, lure the tiger away from the mountain; then kill the County Magistrate; finally, open the city gates from within and let the troops in.
"Could the banners atop the city walls change hands tonight?"
Zhao An drew a deep breath and had Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi haul heavy objects over to barricade the door.
Amid war and chaos, there wasn't much he could do alone. Fortunately, he had some martial skills to protect himself.
An ordinary civilian would be killed by a stray fire or arrow at a time like this, their life as cheap as roadside weeds.
Just as Zhao Chunzi was about to block the door, someone suddenly pounded on it from outside.
Zhao An had no intention of answering, until he heard a familiar voice beyond the door.
"Zhao An, give me a hand."
Cavalry thundered past outside, shaking the ground with every charge.
Black smoke billowed everywhere. The din, the sounds of killing, the pounding hooves—they showed no sign of stopping all night.
In the courtyard, Zhao Chunzi and Li Gou'er each gripped a cleaver. Li Gou'er also held a loaded crossbow, aimed at the courtyard gate.
Only after the street's rumbling finally died down did they let out a breath of relief.
Zhao An glanced at Meng Wanyi, who was clutching his sleeve. Meng Shao, on his other side, was hunched over, clinging to his trouser leg.
It was as if they could only feel safe that way.
Usually, these two female physicians were carefree and seemed afraid of no one. But with the Rebel Army sweeping through tonight, they had completely panicked.
"They're... they're gone..." Meng Wanyi's body went limp. At some point, her palm had grown slick with sweat.
Zhao Chunzi and Li Gou'er weren't faring any better. They simply slumped to the ground, dazed.
Of everyone in the courtyard, only Zhao An seemed composed.
Partly, it was because he had trained in martial arts. But also, in his past life he had been used to peaceful days and had never experienced the cruelty of war firsthand.
So it was hard for him to share the fear and dread felt by Li Gou'er, Meng Wanyi, and the others who had grown up here.
"How did you two end up here?" Zhao An finally had a chance to ask.
The ones who had knocked were the Meng sisters.
If he had taken any longer to open the door, they would have run straight into the Rebel Army cavalry in the street.
"A group of thugs showed up at the clinic. They seemed to be bandits from Black Wind Stronghold. Fortunately, my younger sister and I noticed in time and escaped through the back door," Meng Wanyi explained.
The city was in the throes of chaos, and they had nowhere else to go. That was why they had thought of Zhao An.
Finding his home had been no easy feat. They had even needed a bit of luck.
Zhao An nodded. "Go rest in the back room for now."
"Thank you." Meng Wanyi smiled back.
After a night of terror, they were lucky to have found somewhere to stay.
Zhao An sat astride a stone stool, with several long blades laid out on the stone table.
This was going to be a long, sleepless night.
"Brother Zhao, judging by the sounds, it seems the Rebel Army has stormed into the Inner City," Zhao Chunzi said, listening through the wall.
"Better they go plunder the Inner City's bigwigs than mill around in the Outer City," Li Gou'er said, plainly pleased.
Before long, the sounds of killing in the Inner City shook the heavens.
They guessed the Rebel Army might already have stormed the County Magistrate's residence. Lianjiang City could change hands tonight!
Suddenly, commotion rose in the street again.
"Damn it, those armored bastards are feasting inside while we're stuck scraping up leftovers out here!"
"Keep your voice down. It's good enough that the chief promised we could scavenge in the Outer City. We only joined the stronghold later, after all."
"Quick, there's a little courtyard here. There might still be something worth taking inside."
"..."
A burst of shuffling footsteps rapidly approached. Li Gou'er and Zhao Chunzi immediately braced themselves.
With a bang, the courtyard gate shuddered as if someone had kicked it hard.
But with heavy objects blocking it from inside, the kick failed to break it open.
"Boss, there's someone inside! They've barricaded the door!"
"Useless. Move aside." A rough shout rang out.
The next moment, a much louder crash sounded. The heavy barricade shifted, and the fairly sturdy courtyard gate swung crookedly open.
A spiked mace thrust through first.
A dozen men wearing black headscarves and thick hemp clothes crowded into the courtyard.
The man at the front held a spiked mace. One hit from it would leave you riddled with holes.
The others carried spears or swords, every one of them looking like a demon.
Their attire and unmistakable bandit air made it clear they were probably mountain bandits or river pirates.
"I am Wang Lin, Banner Leader of Black Wind Stronghold—"
Before the man with the mace over his shoulder could finish even half a sentence, the crossbow in Li Gou'er's hands had already fired.
The bolt missed Wang Lin, the Red Name, but the black-faced brute behind him clutched his neck and fell.
Tough luck for him. By sheer chance, the bolt had pierced his artery.
"Damn it! Attack!" Wang Lin roared. He had meant to say a few more words and threaten the house's occupants.
There was no need now. They would just kill them, then loot the place!
Seeing the bandits rush at him, Li Gou'er panicked. With no time to load a second bolt, he darted behind a pillar and ran around it.
Wang Lin swung his mace, easily smashing a courtyard pillar in half.
There was no doubt he was a Martial Master, and a formidable one at that—especially when it came to strength.
Just as Wang Lin was about to pursue him, a sudden, unexplained whistling sound tore through the air.
The temple on one side of Wang Lin's head throbbed. He didn't have time to think and threw himself forward in a clumsy roll.
Looking back, he saw a long blade embedded in the spot where he had been standing.
It had pinned the black headscarf on his head in place, too!
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