To somersault and fall headfirst.
The people of Shimo Mountain Stronghold may be few, but their hearts are united.
A group of them rolled up their sleeves, pulled out homemade bows and arrows, and carried crude weapons as they hurried to the pine ridge under the cover of night.
To Mo Li, it came as a surprise when he noticed that Qian Xiaolang was among them.
“Don’t mind, Physician. Qian Xiaolang has been with us since he was eight years old and is quite agile.”
“They are all martial artists from the Jianghu, far superior to the people of our stronghold when it comes to martial arts,” Mo Li disagreed.
He had thought it would be the young and strong men of the stronghold, but even women and children were present. Only an old woman and a small child without a high enough table seemed to be missing.
Meng Qi’s perspective differed from Mo Li’s. He pondered, “That’s not necessarily true. They have the advantage of familiarity with the terrain.”
“To be honest, in fear of being encircled by the government, we have indeed set up some traps in the mountains,” added Yan Cen, who joined the conversation. He had several leather pouches hanging from his waist, likely filled with hidden weapons.
The head of the stronghold wanted to reprimand Yan Cen for not following the Physician’s advice and coming here on his own, but given the dire circumstances, no one would willingly stay in the stronghold waiting for news.
“Forget it, don’t act yet. That group has already gone to the right mountain…” Shimo’s leader said as he walked, and Yan Cen quickly came up with a plan. Pointing in a direction, he issued orders to everyone.
The people of the stronghold emerged from the cracks in the mountainside and immediately dispersed in all directions. The pitch-black night had no effect on their movements, surprising even Mo Li, not to mention Meng Qi.
“Don’t laugh, brothers. We often run like this in our daily lives…”
Meng Qi realized that he had underestimated the head of the stronghold, who had a strong sense of crisis even when living peacefully deep in the mountains. They trained even when there was no danger, not neglecting even nighttime battles.
What surprised Meng Qi even more was Yan Cen. The seemingly ordinary orders he gave were well-organized, ready to adapt instantly upon receiving any information, leading to a significant but controlled skirmish. Meng Qi couldn’t believe that the one giving orders hadn’t studied military strategy.
Why would a skilled hidden weapon expert who travels the Jianghu learn military strategy? Was it to protect the stronghold?”
However, now was not the time to speculate about Yan Cen’s identity, and Meng Qi did not inform Mo Li of this conclusion.
Mo Li’s gaze followed the distant torches, and with his martial arts skills, repelling the hundred or so people would not be a problem. However, if he and Meng Qi helped resolve the trouble for Shimo Mountain Stronghold, what about the next time?
That’s why when Meng Qi asked the leader to choose between escape or fight, Mo Li remained silent.
Shimo Mountain Stronghold was in a concealed and defensible position.
Mo Li could understand if others were attracted to the favorable conditions here and wanted to fight for it. But how did it end up involving some nonsense about a hidden dragon vein, the Heavenly King rebelling, and the Southern King of Wu wanting to revive the Chu Dynasty? What did all of this have to do with a poor mountain Stronghold?
Believing that severing the dragon vein could break the fortune of the Qi Dynasty, allowing someone to ascend to power and hold imperial authority—it was truly absurd!
Mo Li pursed his lips, showing rare signs of anger.
Meng Qi carefully watched Mo Li’s reactions, sensing the sudden coldness emanating from him. He knew that the group of people outside had indeed met their match.
Speaking of which, the mountain spirits were connected to the dragon veins.
Suddenly, a group of people came clamoring about severing the dragon veins, which made Meng Qi very uncomfortable. His eyes flickered as he began to think about how to make sure that the so-called Taoist named Daoist Sang would not return.
“What is the background of this Taoist named Daoist Sang?” Meng Qi interjected.
The two leaders of Shimo Mountain knew much more about the affairs of the martial world than he did.
“He should be from the Taiji Sect, but no one knows his real name. This person has a great reputation in the south, known for his ability to control wind and rain, and change one’s destiny against the heavens,” Yan Cen gritted his teeth as he finished the latter part of the sentence.
Because of his unique physique, Yan Cen had heard enough nonsense from these Taoists and had developed a deep hatred for these troublemakers. In order to expose them, Yan Cen had made some efforts.
Most famous Taoists in the world were skilled in martial arts. Without swift hands, they couldn’t perform those deceiving tricks. If they wanted others to believe them, they had to demonstrate shocking “abilities.”
The art of deception had countless techniques, and Taoists mastered the majority of them.
“Taoists are divided into many schools. The most famous one in the north is the Taiji Sect, while in the south, it is the Zangfeng Sect’s Qingwu Ancestor. As for the Taoists I have encountered, they were only skilled in using their tongues. I do not know the true abilities of Taoists from these two sects,” Yan Cen explained.
Yan Cen didn’t directly dismiss Daoist Sang as a worthless fraud.
Taoists were truly a headache-inducing presence. They could cause mountains to collapse and rocks to explode just by refining pills.
“Fortunately, this time it’s Daoist Sang. If it were Qingwu Ancestor…” Yan Cen sighed bitterly.
Qingwu Ancestor Zhao Cangfeng had an aura of being the strongest martial artist in the world. Ordinary people in the martial world either feared him or held great respect for his words. The fact that such a person turned out to be a Taoist, and one who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to participate in a change of dynasty, surprised Yan Cen.
Meng Qi smiled but remained silent.
Qingwu Ancestor? According to Mo Li’s temperament, no matter who came today, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
At that moment, there was a faint commotion ahead, and the torches seemed to have halted their progress.
“Our brothers have already arrived,” Yan Cen explained. “With the natural barrier of the mountain wall, those who attempt to find the mountain stronghold through the stone gully easily mistake the right side with the forest as the way out. We have made preparations there.”
Because they were familiar with the paths of the stone gully maze, the group took a shortcut, and the forest was already visible in the distance.
They saw several ropes pulling up nets, lifting about ten individuals who had fallen into traps.
Angry curses filled the air.
“That’s right, this is it!” Daoist Sang exclaimed with delight. This was already the seventh round of traps they had encountered, and the fact that they had set up so many ambushes in the deep mountains indicated that the stronghold was ahead.
Just as Daoist Sang finished speaking, he noticed the angry glare from the red-faced leader and immediately realized his slip of the tongue. He quickly corrected himself:
“It was my oversight. These torches are too numerous and have already alerted the people in the bandit stronghold.”
The red-faced leader suppressed his anger, unable to vent it or hold it back. He could only make a mental note to settle the score with Daoist Sang once the matter was resolved. Perhaps using the excuse of sacrificing his life for severing the dragon vein would work.
“Someone up ahead!”
Suddenly, a loud shout rang out, and both Daoist Sang and the red-faced leader turned their gazes in that direction.
Indeed, they saw a small, hunchbacked figure hiding behind a tree trunk. It seemed that due to not concealing themselves properly, they had accidentally been exposed. Upon hearing the shout, the figure panicked and hurriedly ran forward.
“Chase after him!” Daoist Sang quickly called out.
The red-faced leader frowned and stopped him. “Wait, there might be an ambush.”
Whistling sounds echoed from deep within the forest, and the figure ran even faster.
“Gentleman Qing, you are too cautious,” Daoist Sang said discontentedly. “Didn’t the peddler say that the entire mountain stronghold, including women and children, has only about fifty people? They’re nothing more than farmers who picked up weapons after losing their farming tools. Gentleman Qing, who has roamed the southern routes, is actually afraid of them?”
As they spoke, Mo Li and the others had already reached the forest.
The trees in this old forest were dense, and under the torchlight, everything was a blur, making it difficult to discern the presence of enemies.
Several hot-tempered individuals from the martial world directly swung their blades, chopping through the undergrowth and low trees.
Enraged by Daoist Sang’s words, the red-faced leader reached into his pocket and took out a stone bullet. He hurled it at the fleeing figure in front, hitting them square in the back.
“Clang!”
A strange sound rang out, and the figure stumbled and fell to the ground.
The commotion didn’t sound like a hit on a person but more like hitting a brass gong.
The crowd, who were about to cheer for their leader, froze in astonishment, their voices stuck in their throats.
“Go and check,” the red-faced leader ordered angrily.
The scout proceeded with extreme caution, testing the ground and ensuring there were no pits or tripwires. As they reached the spot where the person had fallen, there was no trace of them.
There was a broken pot left behind on the ground, indicating that the person had been carrying it on their back, hence the appearance of a hunchback.
The leader’s face turned purplish-red with anger when he saw what his subordinates brought back.
“Burn, burn this forest!” he roared angrily, motioning for his men to withdraw from the woods.
“No, we can’t set it on fire. The feng shui of the hidden dragon’s lair must not be disrupted,” Daoist Sang objected, jumping out to oppose the leader.
Considering his earlier instigation to blindly pursue without regard for ambushes, the head of the Shimo Stronghold began to suspect that Daoist Sang might be their undercover agent.
Yan Cen stared intently at the red-faced leader and whispered, “It’s actually him?”
The head of the Shimo stronghold also recognized the man and explained to Meng Qi and Mo Li beside him, “This is Qing Dacheng, an elder of the Dongting Gang. I heard a few years ago that he wasn’t doing well in the gang, so he gathered a group of people to look for work… in other words, they engaged in robbery or disrupted the businesses of small escort agencies. His reputation is notorious.”
The head of Shimo Stronghold was even more furious. Having such a person show up at his doorstep was beyond exasperating.
Yan Cen whistled, and several responses immediately came from the woods.
“Damn it!”
As Daoist Sang had said, Qing Dacheng had been in the martial world for so many years. When had he ever suffered losses at the hands of a group of farmers? Although there were many ambushes in the woods, they were all harmless tricks. Falling into a pit or being suspended by ropes and then having the ropes cut would do no more than cause inconvenience. There was no real threat to their lives.
“It’s just a bunch of cowardly rats, kill them!”
Torch after torch was thrown, but the bushes didn’t immediately catch fire. Instead, thick smoke billowed out.
After all, it was still the season of melting snow, and starting a fire wasn’t that easy.
Amidst the smoke, a volley of arrows rained down.
The archers from Shimo Stronghold were not particularly accurate, but their orders were to shoot into the crowd, so hitting or missing didn’t matter.
This action exposed their position.
“They’re over there!”
Qing Dacheng’s men shouted angrily and rushed toward the direction from which the arrows had been shot. The people from Shimo Stronghold only fired one round of arrows before immediately changing direction.
“Ah!”
The first cry of agony rang out.
Followed by the panicked voices of the pursuers, “Stop, there’s a cliff ahead, no way through.”
More accurately, below the cliff was a forest, pitch black. The tree canopies were higher than the ground on top of the cliff, so in the dark night, it appeared as though the woods became sparse and the trees weren’t as tall.
Without thinking, they charged ahead.
In the darkness and thick smoke, the first person to cross slipped and fell off the cliff.
The others couldn’t stop in time. Some grabbed onto the trees at the edge of the cliff, while others tried to retreat but ended up bumping into the people behind them. In a blink of an eye, four or five people had rolled down the cliff.
Screams echoed one after another.
“Everyone, don’t panic.”
Just as the words left Daoist Sang’s mouth, another volley of arrows flew in from behind.
Instinctively, Yan Cen reached for his leather pouch. This was clearly a good opportunity for him to take action.
“Wait.”
But just as Mo Li stopped him, he suddenly noticed another hand in front of him.
“Cough, these are all patients of the Physician. Let me take a look,” Meng Qi said firmly, “The Physician said not to use internal energy recklessly, so let me handle the hidden weapons.”
With a swift motion, he deftly took the leather pouch from the unprepared Yan Cen.
Meng Qi hadn’t even had a chance to feel triumphant when he realized that the leather pouch hadn’t been successfully retrieved.
A hand emerged from under the cloak, grabbing the bottom of the “escaping” leather pouch just in time.
—It was purely instinct for Yan Cen, while Meng Qi had forgotten that the person in front of him had more than two hands.
As the two of them were momentarily stunned, Mo Li reached out and took the leather pouch away.
“What kind of hidden weapons are there?”
“There’s everything—iron lotus seeds, flying locust stones, fine needles…”
Yan Cen awkwardly retracted his hand, while Meng Qi casually picked up a handful of hidden weapons and moved forward.
“Boss, our brothers are ready,” a man carrying a bow and arrow ran back and reported.
With a whistle, several large trees were simultaneously toppled, followed by the release of over a dozen large stones from higher ground. Rolling stones and crashing wood combined to force the desperate fugitives to run forward, with a cliff ahead.
“Jump off the cliff and grab onto the trees!”
Qing Dacheng relied on his strong martial arts and smashed away a falling rock, furious at seeing his men having no way to escape.
Except for those who managed to avoid the rolling stones, most of the people chose to cling to the tree crowns, trembling as they listened to the sound of the stones hitting the tree trunks.
Torches scattered on the ground, thick smoke billowed, and everyone coughed incessantly.
“Not good.”
Yan Cen’s expression changed.
Once the fire started, it would be difficult to put out, and the people from the Shimo Stronghold were no match for the martial arts experts. They could dodge and withstand a few moves, but they would definitely lose in a one-on-one battle.
“Retreat!”
The big boss’s voice rang out like a bell, suppressing the angry curses and shouts.
Momentarily confused, they thought it was Qing Dacheng’s command, but it was actually the people from the Shimo Stronghold who heard the voice and began to run out of the dense smoke.
“Damn it, meet your death!”
Qing Dacheng saw a figure in the smoke and immediately attacked without hesitation.
However, he was shaken back seven steps, feeling a tightness in his chest and a horrified expression on his face.
“Who are you?”
Meng Qi smiled and waved his hand.
In the flickering firelight, the remaining ten-plus people around Qing Dacheng were also hit by hidden weapons, their arms, knees, and weapons dropping to the ground.
“Imperial Teacher Meng?!”
Daoist Sang jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, his voice reaching a high pitch.
To somersault and fall headfirst.
The people of Shimo Mountain Stronghold may be few, but their hearts are united.
A group of them rolled up their sleeves, pulled out homemade bows and arrows, and carried crude weapons as they hurried to the pine ridge under the cover of night.
To Mo Li, it came as a surprise when he noticed that Qian Xiaolang was among them.
“Don’t mind, Physician. Qian Xiaolang has been with us since he was eight years old and is quite agile.”
“They are all martial artists from the Jianghu, far superior to the people of our stronghold when it comes to martial arts,” Mo Li disagreed.
He had thought it would be the young and strong men of the stronghold, but even women and children were present. Only an old woman and a small child without a high enough table seemed to be missing.
Meng Qi’s perspective differed from Mo Li’s. He pondered, “That’s not necessarily true. They have the advantage of familiarity with the terrain.”
“To be honest, in fear of being encircled by the government, we have indeed set up some traps in the mountains,” added Yan Cen, who joined the conversation. He had several leather pouches hanging from his waist, likely filled with hidden weapons.
The head of the stronghold wanted to reprimand Yan Cen for not following the Physician’s advice and coming here on his own, but given the dire circumstances, no one would willingly stay in the stronghold waiting for news.
“Forget it, don’t act yet. That group has already gone to the right mountain…” Shimo’s leader said as he walked, and Yan Cen quickly came up with a plan. Pointing in a direction, he issued orders to everyone.
The people of the stronghold emerged from the cracks in the mountainside and immediately dispersed in all directions. The pitch-black night had no effect on their movements, surprising even Mo Li, not to mention Meng Qi.
“Don’t laugh, brothers. We often run like this in our daily lives…”
Meng Qi realized that he had underestimated the head of the stronghold, who had a strong sense of crisis even when living peacefully deep in the mountains. They trained even when there was no danger, not neglecting even nighttime battles.
What surprised Meng Qi even more was Yan Cen. The seemingly ordinary orders he gave were well-organized, ready to adapt instantly upon receiving any information, leading to a significant but controlled skirmish. Meng Qi couldn’t believe that the one giving orders hadn’t studied military strategy.
Why would a skilled hidden weapon expert who travels the Jianghu learn military strategy? Was it to protect the stronghold?”
However, now was not the time to speculate about Yan Cen’s identity, and Meng Qi did not inform Mo Li of this conclusion.
Mo Li’s gaze followed the distant torches, and with his martial arts skills, repelling the hundred or so people would not be a problem. However, if he and Meng Qi helped resolve the trouble for Shimo Mountain Stronghold, what about the next time?
That’s why when Meng Qi asked the leader to choose between escape or fight, Mo Li remained silent.
Shimo Mountain Stronghold was in a concealed and defensible position.
Mo Li could understand if others were attracted to the favorable conditions here and wanted to fight for it. But how did it end up involving some nonsense about a hidden dragon vein, the Heavenly King rebelling, and the Southern King of Wu wanting to revive the Chu Dynasty? What did all of this have to do with a poor mountain Stronghold?
Believing that severing the dragon vein could break the fortune of the Qi Dynasty, allowing someone to ascend to power and hold imperial authority—it was truly absurd!
Mo Li pursed his lips, showing rare signs of anger.
Meng Qi carefully watched Mo Li’s reactions, sensing the sudden coldness emanating from him. He knew that the group of people outside had indeed met their match.
Speaking of which, the mountain spirits were connected to the dragon veins.
Suddenly, a group of people came clamoring about severing the dragon veins, which made Meng Qi very uncomfortable. His eyes flickered as he began to think about how to make sure that the so-called Taoist named Daoist Sang would not return.
“What is the background of this Taoist named Daoist Sang?” Meng Qi interjected.
The two leaders of Shimo Mountain knew much more about the affairs of the martial world than he did.
“He should be from the Taiji Sect, but no one knows his real name. This person has a great reputation in the south, known for his ability to control wind and rain, and change one’s destiny against the heavens,” Yan Cen gritted his teeth as he finished the latter part of the sentence.
Because of his unique physique, Yan Cen had heard enough nonsense from these Taoists and had developed a deep hatred for these troublemakers. In order to expose them, Yan Cen had made some efforts.
Most famous Taoists in the world were skilled in martial arts. Without swift hands, they couldn’t perform those deceiving tricks. If they wanted others to believe them, they had to demonstrate shocking “abilities.”
The art of deception had countless techniques, and Taoists mastered the majority of them.
“Taoists are divided into many schools. The most famous one in the north is the Taiji Sect, while in the south, it is the Zangfeng Sect’s Qingwu Ancestor. As for the Taoists I have encountered, they were only skilled in using their tongues. I do not know the true abilities of Taoists from these two sects,” Yan Cen explained.
Yan Cen didn’t directly dismiss Daoist Sang as a worthless fraud.
Taoists were truly a headache-inducing presence. They could cause mountains to collapse and rocks to explode just by refining pills.
“Fortunately, this time it’s Daoist Sang. If it were Qingwu Ancestor…” Yan Cen sighed bitterly.
Qingwu Ancestor Zhao Cangfeng had an aura of being the strongest martial artist in the world. Ordinary people in the martial world either feared him or held great respect for his words. The fact that such a person turned out to be a Taoist, and one who wanted to take advantage of the chaos to participate in a change of dynasty, surprised Yan Cen.
Meng Qi smiled but remained silent.
Qingwu Ancestor? According to Mo Li’s temperament, no matter who came today, they wouldn’t be able to escape.
At that moment, there was a faint commotion ahead, and the torches seemed to have halted their progress.
“Our brothers have already arrived,” Yan Cen explained. “With the natural barrier of the mountain wall, those who attempt to find the mountain stronghold through the stone gully easily mistake the right side with the forest as the way out. We have made preparations there.”
Because they were familiar with the paths of the stone gully maze, the group took a shortcut, and the forest was already visible in the distance.
They saw several ropes pulling up nets, lifting about ten individuals who had fallen into traps.
Angry curses filled the air.
“That’s right, this is it!” Daoist Sang exclaimed with delight. This was already the seventh round of traps they had encountered, and the fact that they had set up so many ambushes in the deep mountains indicated that the stronghold was ahead.
Just as Daoist Sang finished speaking, he noticed the angry glare from the red-faced leader and immediately realized his slip of the tongue. He quickly corrected himself:
“It was my oversight. These torches are too numerous and have already alerted the people in the bandit stronghold.”
The red-faced leader suppressed his anger, unable to vent it or hold it back. He could only make a mental note to settle the score with Daoist Sang once the matter was resolved. Perhaps using the excuse of sacrificing his life for severing the dragon vein would work.
“Someone up ahead!”
Suddenly, a loud shout rang out, and both Daoist Sang and the red-faced leader turned their gazes in that direction.
Indeed, they saw a small, hunchbacked figure hiding behind a tree trunk. It seemed that due to not concealing themselves properly, they had accidentally been exposed. Upon hearing the shout, the figure panicked and hurriedly ran forward.
“Chase after him!” Daoist Sang quickly called out.
The red-faced leader frowned and stopped him. “Wait, there might be an ambush.”
Whistling sounds echoed from deep within the forest, and the figure ran even faster.
“Gentleman Qing, you are too cautious,” Daoist Sang said discontentedly. “Didn’t the peddler say that the entire mountain stronghold, including women and children, has only about fifty people? They’re nothing more than farmers who picked up weapons after losing their farming tools. Gentleman Qing, who has roamed the southern routes, is actually afraid of them?”
As they spoke, Mo Li and the others had already reached the forest.
The trees in this old forest were dense, and under the torchlight, everything was a blur, making it difficult to discern the presence of enemies.
Several hot-tempered individuals from the martial world directly swung their blades, chopping through the undergrowth and low trees.
Enraged by Daoist Sang’s words, the red-faced leader reached into his pocket and took out a stone bullet. He hurled it at the fleeing figure in front, hitting them square in the back.
“Clang!”
A strange sound rang out, and the figure stumbled and fell to the ground.
The commotion didn’t sound like a hit on a person but more like hitting a brass gong.
The crowd, who were about to cheer for their leader, froze in astonishment, their voices stuck in their throats.
“Go and check,” the red-faced leader ordered angrily.
The scout proceeded with extreme caution, testing the ground and ensuring there were no pits or tripwires. As they reached the spot where the person had fallen, there was no trace of them.
There was a broken pot left behind on the ground, indicating that the person had been carrying it on their back, hence the appearance of a hunchback.
The leader’s face turned purplish-red with anger when he saw what his subordinates brought back.
“Burn, burn this forest!” he roared angrily, motioning for his men to withdraw from the woods.
“No, we can’t set it on fire. The feng shui of the hidden dragon’s lair must not be disrupted,” Daoist Sang objected, jumping out to oppose the leader.
Considering his earlier instigation to blindly pursue without regard for ambushes, the head of the Shimo Stronghold began to suspect that Daoist Sang might be their undercover agent.
Yan Cen stared intently at the red-faced leader and whispered, “It’s actually him?”
The head of the Shimo stronghold also recognized the man and explained to Meng Qi and Mo Li beside him, “This is Qing Dacheng, an elder of the Dongting Gang. I heard a few years ago that he wasn’t doing well in the gang, so he gathered a group of people to look for work… in other words, they engaged in robbery or disrupted the businesses of small escort agencies. His reputation is notorious.”
The head of Shimo Stronghold was even more furious. Having such a person show up at his doorstep was beyond exasperating.
Yan Cen whistled, and several responses immediately came from the woods.
“Damn it!”
As Daoist Sang had said, Qing Dacheng had been in the martial world for so many years. When had he ever suffered losses at the hands of a group of farmers? Although there were many ambushes in the woods, they were all harmless tricks. Falling into a pit or being suspended by ropes and then having the ropes cut would do no more than cause inconvenience. There was no real threat to their lives.
“It’s just a bunch of cowardly rats, kill them!”
Torch after torch was thrown, but the bushes didn’t immediately catch fire. Instead, thick smoke billowed out.
After all, it was still the season of melting snow, and starting a fire wasn’t that easy.
Amidst the smoke, a volley of arrows rained down.
The archers from Shimo Stronghold were not particularly accurate, but their orders were to shoot into the crowd, so hitting or missing didn’t matter.
This action exposed their position.
“They’re over there!”
Qing Dacheng’s men shouted angrily and rushed toward the direction from which the arrows had been shot. The people from Shimo Stronghold only fired one round of arrows before immediately changing direction.
“Ah!”
The first cry of agony rang out.
Followed by the panicked voices of the pursuers, “Stop, there’s a cliff ahead, no way through.”
More accurately, below the cliff was a forest, pitch black. The tree canopies were higher than the ground on top of the cliff, so in the dark night, it appeared as though the woods became sparse and the trees weren’t as tall.
Without thinking, they charged ahead.
In the darkness and thick smoke, the first person to cross slipped and fell off the cliff.
The others couldn’t stop in time. Some grabbed onto the trees at the edge of the cliff, while others tried to retreat but ended up bumping into the people behind them. In a blink of an eye, four or five people had rolled down the cliff.
Screams echoed one after another.
“Everyone, don’t panic.”
Just as the words left Daoist Sang’s mouth, another volley of arrows flew in from behind.
Instinctively, Yan Cen reached for his leather pouch. This was clearly a good opportunity for him to take action.
“Wait.”
But just as Mo Li stopped him, he suddenly noticed another hand in front of him.
“Cough, these are all patients of the Physician. Let me take a look,” Meng Qi said firmly, “The Physician said not to use internal energy recklessly, so let me handle the hidden weapons.”
With a swift motion, he deftly took the leather pouch from the unprepared Yan Cen.
Meng Qi hadn’t even had a chance to feel triumphant when he realized that the leather pouch hadn’t been successfully retrieved.
A hand emerged from under the cloak, grabbing the bottom of the “escaping” leather pouch just in time.
—It was purely instinct for Yan Cen, while Meng Qi had forgotten that the person in front of him had more than two hands.
As the two of them were momentarily stunned, Mo Li reached out and took the leather pouch away.
“What kind of hidden weapons are there?”
“There’s everything—iron lotus seeds, flying locust stones, fine needles…”
Yan Cen awkwardly retracted his hand, while Meng Qi casually picked up a handful of hidden weapons and moved forward.
“Boss, our brothers are ready,” a man carrying a bow and arrow ran back and reported.
With a whistle, several large trees were simultaneously toppled, followed by the release of over a dozen large stones from higher ground. Rolling stones and crashing wood combined to force the desperate fugitives to run forward, with a cliff ahead.
“Jump off the cliff and grab onto the trees!”
Qing Dacheng relied on his strong martial arts and smashed away a falling rock, furious at seeing his men having no way to escape.
Except for those who managed to avoid the rolling stones, most of the people chose to cling to the tree crowns, trembling as they listened to the sound of the stones hitting the tree trunks.
Torches scattered on the ground, thick smoke billowed, and everyone coughed incessantly.
“Not good.”
Yan Cen’s expression changed.
Once the fire started, it would be difficult to put out, and the people from the Shimo Stronghold were no match for the martial arts experts. They could dodge and withstand a few moves, but they would definitely lose in a one-on-one battle.
“Retreat!”
The big boss’s voice rang out like a bell, suppressing the angry curses and shouts.
Momentarily confused, they thought it was Qing Dacheng’s command, but it was actually the people from the Shimo Stronghold who heard the voice and began to run out of the dense smoke.
“Damn it, meet your death!”
Qing Dacheng saw a figure in the smoke and immediately attacked without hesitation.
However, he was shaken back seven steps, feeling a tightness in his chest and a horrified expression on his face.
“Who are you?”
Meng Qi smiled and waved his hand.
In the flickering firelight, the remaining ten-plus people around Qing Dacheng were also hit by hidden weapons, their arms, knees, and weapons dropping to the ground.
“Imperial Teacher Meng?!”
Daoist Sang jumped up like a rabbit whose tail had been stepped on, his voice reaching a high pitch.
