Rumble-
The thunder of hoofbeats echoed across the wilderness.
Over a thousand lightly armored cavalrymen galloped from Jianyang City. The three hundred riders in front carried twelve-foot cavalry lances, followed by men armed with bows, crossbows, sabers, and shields.
Most people in Baisu Town were martial artists traveling north and south, with solid foundations in martial arts. But soldiers were also fighting men, not men who neglected martial training. Many of their instructors were renowned masters from martial sects, with martial lineages more orthodox than those of most small fry in the martial world.
An ordinary soldier might not match a martial artist in single combat, but with a thousand armored men deploying in formation with powerful bows and crossbows, martial artists charging them en masse might lose seventy or eighty percent of their number before even reaching them.
Thus, the instant the troops appeared, Baisu Town erupted. Countless martial artists displayed their various abilities, fleeing into the hills in every direction.
The Moon-Bearing Pavilion disciples, however, did not understand the situation. They dared neither abandon their station without permission nor rashly attack the approaching soldiers. They could only conceal their weapons and stand on the town's outskirts as though facing a formidable enemy, awaiting orders.
Ye Jingtang led Luo Ning out of Moon-Bearing Alley. After making sure no one was following them, he hurried to another alley.
Third Madam had noticed something was wrong and was already waiting there with the horses. Seeing the two return, she hurriedly asked:
"Why are government troops here?"
"I don't know."
Ye Jingtang reached the horses, quickly stripped off his outer robe, and put on a Black Bureau constable's robe to avoid being mistaken for a bandit and injured by the soldiers.
"Prince Wu's trusted men have shown themselves. I sent Niao Niao