Mountain Path Ambush, the Soup Has Arrived
Within Qingning County.
Inside the Red Candle Inn, three young talents from the Jianghu — Yang Huayu, Liu Xian, Yun Fei —are conversing in a room.
Yang Huayu said, "Haitang went to seek help, and a whole night has passed. Why hasn't she returned yet? Could something have happened to her?"
"Brother Yang, you are overthinking this. Haitang is of illustrious status; she is the daughter of Constable Li. Who would dare to easily harm her?" Yun Fei said calmly.
"I'm afraid there might be some fools who won't see the truth," Liu Xian said.
Yang Huayu said, "That Jar Immortal has long since entered the Essence Consumption Realm, and he's not easy to deal with. What if he escapes again this time?"
"Hehe, aren't we at the Essence Consumption Realm? If it weren't for his superb lightness skill, we would have been caught long ago." Liu Xian chuckled smugly.
Including Li Haitang, the four are all hunting Cloud Immortal. Li Haitang is the daughter of a master constable, only fifteen or sixteen years old, and has just entered the Jianghu, needing to capture the culprit and make a name for herself.
Yang Huayu is the young master of Yang Family Estate in Purple Jade County. His cousin was once kidnapped and drunk by the Jar Immortal, and he has a deep hatred for that villain.
Liu Xian and Yun Fei, both from Qiongtian Prefecture, were also investigating the Jar Immortal for various reasons.
They met along the way and joined forces to kill the Jar Immortal. However, the Jar Immortal was extremely cunning and repeatedly escaped danger.
They chased him all the way to Qingning County.
Just then, Li Haitang returned on horseback, went up to the inn, and joined the three of them.
"How?"
The three immediately surrounded them.
Li Haitang nodded. "The one in the manor is Wen Caitang."
"Wen Caitang?" Liu Xian opened his folding fan, his demeanor elegant, and said, "Is she the one, the 'Lady Broken Sword' of the Jianghu?"
Li Haitang said, "Yes, it is her."
"If we could get her help, the Jar Immortal would be a piece of cake," Yang Huayu sighed.
"Heh, how could she lower herself to kill a mere Jar Immortal?" Li Haitang said. "However, out of respect for my father, she sent thirty men."
"Oh? Where is it?" Yun Fei was overjoyed.
Li Haitang opened the window and pointed to the street, where thirty people were standing and waiting.
Yang Huayu said, "If these people had a foundation in Martial Dao, they could easily be overwhelmed if they joined forces."
Li Haitang said, "A head-on confrontation is ultimately not advisable. Although these people are servants, they were obtained by using my father's name."
"The more people die, the more my father owes her. But I don't want my father to owe her anything; everyone knows she has many enemies."
Liu Xian sighed, "Madam Wen is unparalleled in her elegance and noble appearance, attracting many to covet her. However, she is not someone to be trifled with. She is ruthless and vicious. In her youth, upon hearing of Fang Meng of the Flower Cage Sect, she had her heart ripped out and killed."
"This feud is no small matter; Fang Meng is the nephew of the Flower Cage Sect's leader," Yun Fei said.
"Pah, that Flower Cage Sect is no good either. My cousin is beautiful, so they sent people to harass her and try to kidnap her," Yang Huayu said.
Yang Huayu's cousin Yang Mengluo, was a renowned beauty. Unfortunately, her beauty was short-lived; she was captured by Jar Immortal and made into a drink of blood.
Yang Huayu was now furious with the Jar Immortal and vowed to kill him.
"Enough, business is more important." Li Haitang interrupted, "You all proceed according to plan. I'll go teach them the Iron-Net Criminal-Capturing Formation."
"Okay!" Liu Xian, Yang Huayu, Yun Fei said in unison.
Outside Qingning County.
"You will be divided into groups of ten: four carrying Iron Net, two carrying spears, two carrying iron shields, and two carrying longbows."
"Hear my command, form the battle formation!"
Li Haitang raised the command flag and began a temporary rehearsal of the battle formation.
He simplified the family's "Iron-Net Criminal-Capturing Formation" and passed it on to everyone.
This formation is simple and easy to learn, emphasizing tacit cooperation. To Proficiency requires a long period of practice and refinement, but to grasp its basics, one can do it quickly.
Li Xian, holding a longbow, observed the changes in the formation. He felt it was quite extraordinary; each person's position and angle followed the principles of the Eight Trigrams, cooperating and restraining each other, as if they were a unified whole.
Advance and retreat, attack and defense, feints and real attacks... this formation of ten is ever-changing.
But the killing blow lies with the archer.
"If I were trapped in this formation, I would have no choice but to surrender."
Put yourself in their shoes.
He had absolutely no way to break the formation. Li Xian even more was that this formation did not require any strong martial arts skills.
If you're smart enough, you can quickly grasp it and apply it flexibly.
"Very good, very good."
Seeing that everyone had grasped the concept, Li Haitang nodded, feeling very pleased.
He then summoned Li Xian and the other two Grade-B House Guards to his side and said, "The Jar Immortal has a very unusual appearance and is easily recognizable."
He is currently hiding in the mountains.
"My companions and I will search the mountains later. With my ability to track tracks, we'll find him quickly. He'll surely put up a fierce resistance and try to escape at all costs. This thief is very agile; we can't catch him."
"Listen to my command: set up ambushes at three strategic crossroads in advance; do not concern yourself with the rest."
After briefly explaining the situation, they split up. Li Haitang met up with Liu Xian, Yun Fei, and Yang Huayu and went into the mountains to search.
Li Xian and the others headed towards the pre-arranged mountain path to lie in ambush.
If you encounter Cloud Immortal, simply focus all your efforts on restraining him.
"Master Li, what should we do if we really encounter that Jar Immortal?"
One of the Grade-C House Guard, said with some concern.
"If we do encounter them, then let's face them." Li Xian remained calm. "Remember our formation; as long as we don't panic, taking them down shouldn't be difficult."
He wasn't really sure himself. But he had to appear confident in front of his subordinates, otherwise his morale would plummet and the group would fall apart.
Noon.
Li Xian led his team to the mountain path.
The mountain path is very long. The first half is lush with vegetation, making it very suitable for Tibetans. The second half has a very different terrain, with towering stone pillars and narrow mountain crevices.
He gestured for everyone to hide in the bushes on either side of the mountain path and wait for the fish to take the bait.
"The idea of meeting Cloud Immortal sounds intriguing. I both hope to encounter one and fear doing so; my feelings are quite complex."
"If we encounter them, let me see what these so-called thugs of the Jianghu look like and how powerful they are."
"If you don't find him, going back to Commander Pang and receiving the reward for nothing is also quite good."
Li Xian held his breath and focused his mind.
They didn't care about the progress of Li Haitang and the others, and just quietly did their own part.
"The terrain here is treacherous; even the Cloud Immortal might hide here."
"I just don't know how Li Haitang and the others will find them, hiding in a place like this."
After a long while, there was still no movement, so Li Xian pressed his ear to the ground.
Listening for any subtle sounds, everything remained as usual.
For the first few hours, there was not a sound, and the Jar Immortal was nowhere to be seen.
I couldn't help but feel relaxed.
However, around 3 PM, Li Xian suddenly heard footsteps.
Approaching rapidly from afar, Li Xian was startled, realizing he had hit the jackpot. He pelted the group with pebbles, signaling the arrival of a formidable foe.
Panic flashed in everyone's eyes.
Don't be afraid.
Li Xian gave an encouraging look and held up three fingers. He silently counted down to three, and just as he reached one, a dark figure entered his field of vision.
"Put!"
Li Xian roared. The four Guard holding nets stood up instantly and scattered the Iron Net.
The figure was startled and dodged left and right, but the Iron Net spread out in the air, covering a very large area.
This happened so suddenly, it was really hard to avoid.
They were suddenly covered by Iron Net.
"Hehehe, how dare you, how dare you, another one's here to make soup." A shrill voice rang out.