CHAPTER 415: 328. KILL BACK _2

At this moment, Qi Zhenzhuo no longer needed guidance, retracting the spear and thrusting out without any hesitation.

...

...

The young man on the Chunfeng Courtyard’s upper floor withdrew his gaze from the alley: "This is too boring, isn’t it? The Yulin Army truly lives up to their name as the Dandy Army, getting defeated so easily. The noble children of my Ning Dynasty are hardly fit for great tasks. We still need to recruit talents from humble origins."

Zhou Kuang thought for a moment and said: "Sir, there are also formidable characters among the noble children. Hu Junxian from the Guyuan Border Army, Yangyang of the Longevity Army, the eldest son of the Qi family, and the eldest son from the second branch of the Chen family, all are powerful figures. Once these people become formidable, with favorable circumstances, innate talent, backed by noble family resources, they truly can’t be compared to the sons of humble families."

The young man sighed deeply: "But they won’t be used by me."

This remark seemed to contain deep meaning, and Zhou Kuang dared not reply.

The young man smiled and changed the subject: "Do you think whether these Yulin Army have been on the battlefield makes such a big difference?"

"Sir, an old soldier is worth four new recruits, this isn’t an exaggeration, but rather an unspoken truth among commanders," Zhou Kuang recalled: "The first time I went out of Chongli Pass, my legs were shaking. When I killed my first person, I cut open his stomach, and his intestines spilled all over the ground. That day, I vomited intermittently for four hours, and at night I dreamed of those intestines all over the ground, waking up to vomit once more. Before going into battle, all I could think about was making achievements, but when I saw so much blood, I was scared out of my wits, just wanting to find a place to hide, or smear some blood on my face and lie down, waiting for the battle to end."

The young man, amused, said: "Even the top man of the Five Armies Camp has times of fear?"

Zhou Kuang sat on a small chair, watching the red clay stove in front of him, self-mockingly said: "Scared? Of course, I was scared. With blood everywhere, heads and short limbs all over the place, anyone would be scared. Who is born a natural killer?"

The young man asked: "Did you hide?"

Zhou Kuang laughed heartily: "I wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to hide. Truly, those who have been in battle understand this truth, hiding is useless, you can only survive by being fiercer than your opponent."

Zhou Kuang smiled wide: "Later, during winter in Jianing year 25, when I was fighting on the battlefield, my hands were almost frozen stiff, I killed an enemy and cut open his stomach, using his intestines to warm my hands, it was really warm. When I was warming myself, a new recruit from the Jing Dynasty who had rushed up close saw me, I looked up and smiled at him, and he was scared out of his wits."

The young man laughed and cursed: "That’s really damn disgusting."

When the young man turned his head again, he saw that Chen Ji and others had already broken through the Yulin Army brought by Chen Wenren, reaching the entrance of Li Shamao Alley.

He stood up and stretched lazily: "Boring, I thought I would see a life-and-death battle, did not expect to lose two court officials, not to mention the opponent being uninteresting."

Zhou Kuang instructed to the people outside the door: "Come on, pack up, prepare to return home."

Two men entered from outside, surprisingly, they reached into the stove with bare hands to pick up the red-hot coals, then rubbed them out with their hands. They skillfully boxed the small stove and tea set together and carried it away.

The young man leaned against the window lattice, silently watching Chen Ji and others fighting their way out.

Just when the men were getting up to leave, he suddenly spoke: "Wait, don’t go yet, come back, the good show isn’t over!"

Zhou Kuang couldn’t help but walk to the window, leaned over to look out, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

...

...

In the alley, the Yulin Army fought their way out back-to-back, with obstruction in front and pursuing enemies behind.

Everyone was panting heavily, only feeling their weapons growing heavier in their hands, their feet becoming more sluggish. More ruffians charged out of the brothel’s courtyard, trying to break the connection of the Mandarin Duck Formation.

Like waves, crashing over and over, never stopping.

But the blocking Yulin Army, without Chen Wenren, the ones he brought were no longer willing to risk their lives, collapsing like a landslide. Wang Fang led the Yulin Army, fighting and retreating, unwilling to admit defeat just to maintain some dignity for himself.

As they continued killing, when Qi Zhenzhuo stabbed down another, he found the front to be empty, only the hollow mouth of the alley.

Qi Zhenzhuo looked back in a daze: "Master, there’s no one ahead."

Chen Ji was also taken aback, turning to look behind, only to see Yulin soldiers wailing in pain all over the ground. Wang Fang at some point climbed the walls to sneak to the back, carrying Chen Wenren away, ignoring what would happen to the rest of the Yulin soldiers in the alley.

Duobao, leaning on his Iron Wolf Brush, panted heavily: "Broke through?"

"Broke through."

The Yulin Army rushed out of Li Shamao Alley, and the view suddenly widened. The cool breeze of the night brushed against their faces, dissipating some of the oppressive heat.

The ruffians from Heji stopped at the alley’s entrance, seemingly unwilling to pursue further. Ahead was Zhengyang Gate Street, a central official road, patrolled by the Five Cities Military Department at night.

Duobao stood not far from the alley’s entrance, leaning on his Iron Wolf Brush, laughing heartily: "Keep chasing!"

The ruffians in the alley pointed axes at him, cursing angrily: "Come back if you dare!"

Amidst the curses, everyone outside the alley panted, their sweat soaking through masks and clothes.

Everyone was very tired, but the Yulin soldiers exchanged glances, and saw joy in each other’s eyes.

Someone whispered: "It’s been a long time since I felt this good."

Another sounded still unsatisfied: "We shouldn’t stay in the Yulin Army, being viewed as monkeys. We should go to the Longevity Army, to the Divine Machine Camp, to the Five Armies Camp, to the Guyuan Border Army."

Someone spoke spiritedly: "When the rich young men indulge in cockfighting at the entertainment districts, we shall go against them, leading the troops north!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Li Xuan slapped the back of that someone’s head, dousing them with cold water: "Having beaten a few street idlers, fought a few dandies, you think that’s something? And shouting so loudly, not feeling ashamed at all? Let’s go!"

Duobao dragged his Iron Wolf Brush, turned to look at Li Xuan: "Sir, do you want to return to Guyuan?"

Li Xuan was silent for a moment: "No. Enough talk, tomorrow everyone write a reflection, summarizing the gains and losses of today’s array, we have many areas to improve."

Just as he finished speaking, everyone heard the sound of long spears being thumped on the ground nearby, and they turned around to see Chen Ji standing behind them, his gaze full of spirit: "Not leaving."

Li Xuan raised his eyebrows: "Hmm?"

Chen Ji pointed at the ruffians in the alley: "Fight back!"

Duobao, Qi Zhenzhuo, and others were stunned.

After struggling so hard to fight their way out, why go back?

Chen Ji pointed at those ruffians: "Just a bunch of useless rabble, fight back."

Qi Zhenzhuo hesitated: "Master, there are many of them."

Chen Ji smiled: "So what if there are many? Only you know how to speak defeatist words! Everyone looks down on you, but you yourself are the most unambitious, you saw earlier, there aren’t many difficult things in this world; it’s just a matter of whether you dare to face them."

Li Xuan advised: "It’s not easy to have fought our way out today, after we study the flaws and issues of the array tomorrow, it won’t be too late to return."

Chen Ji patted Li Xuan’s shoulder: "Tomorrow and tomorrow, there are so many tomorrows? Lord Li, unload your shackles, I fear the chains on you weigh around three thousand jin."

After speaking, he turned and shouted to the second floor of Li Shamao Alley: "Visitors above, who has a sword? Lend it to me!"

The young man upstairs laughed loudly: "I will lend it to you. Come, someone, give him a sword!"

With a clang, someone inside the house drew a sword and threw it across, embedding it with a clanging sound in front of Chen Ji.

Chen Ji pulled out the sword and handed it to Li Xuan: "Here, use your most handy weapon."

Li Xuan silently accepted the sword.

Chen Ji looked at the ruffians in the alley: "By the way, how did the Guyuan Border Army shout slogans, who still remembers the complete one?"

Duobao raised his Iron Wolf Brush again, and said in a deep voice: "Armor on! Halberd ready! Guard the border!"

Li Xuan muttered to himself: "Enemy invaders, heads, drink blood..."

But Chen Ji shook with both hands, the long spear in his hands emitted a terrifying vibrational hum: "Kill!"

The Yulin Army reformed their formation, charging back into Li Shamao Alley.