Hong Dingxian could not help but rejoice that he had left Red Cloud Mountain with Zhou Jing. How could it be so exciting to stay on the mountain?
“Of course. Back then, when I followed Second Brother and caused a ruckus in An Lin Prefecture, it was also a normal thought for him.”
Fang Zhen laughed.
Guo Haishen was more experienced and said worriedly, “Second Brother, are you really going to kill your way to Jiangchun with great fanfare? This way, I’m afraid we won’t be able to take a single step in the future. Once we show ourselves, we will definitely be hunted down by the officials.”
Zhou Jing took a sip of tea and waved his hand, “We’re wandering everywhere, and there are too few of us. Even if the officials mobilize, it’ll be difficult to surround and capture us.”
By the side, Lin Song did not dare to speak.
He had seen Zhou Jing’s style of doing things over the past few days and knew that this person was completely lawless. He was now truly terrified and did not dare to provoke him again.
Just as the group was drinking tea, a few sweating passersby walked in.
Seeing this group of strong men, the passersby hesitated for a moment before sitting in a corner.
When Zhou Jing and the others saw that there were outsiders, they stopped talking and drank their tea.
After a while, the passersby started chatting. Because they were afraid of disturbing Zhou Jing and the other burly men, they lowered their voices so that ordinary people could not hear what they were saying.
However, many of Zhou Jing and the others were proficient in martial arts and had outstanding hearing. They had heard a series of words like “Imperial Court’s troops”, “Red Cloud Mountain”, and “Exterminating bandits”.
Hearing these words, everyone’s eyes flashed as they exchanged glances.
Guo Haishen immediately stood up and walked over with a bowl of tea.
He had traveled extensively and was also good at socializing.
Guo Haishen chatted with the passersby for a while before returning to everyone’s side. He gave them a look, indicating that this was not a place to explain in detail.
Everyone understood and paid for the tea. They left the teahouse and walked a short distance before asking for the reason.
“I just asked around. The four states of Lu River have joined forces to send troops. They’re said to have gather 30,000 troops to attack Red Cloud Mountain. An Zhou Prefecture has sent out 6,000 soldiers, and they happen to be nearby. Those passersby saw them yesterday.”
Guo Haishen’s tone was solemn.
Everyone jumped at his words.
“30,000 troops to suppress the bandits? Why are there so many this time?”
Hong Dingxian was shocked.
In his life in Tiger Head Mountain, he had also seen the soldiers suppressing bandits, but this was the first time he had heard of such a huge number being mobilized.
Fang Zhen snorted, “Heh, there are many people in the army who are collecting empty headcount wages. It’s already good enough if half of these 30,000 people are even present.”
“Half of them are still 15,000 people, not a small number. Second Brother helped Red Cloud Mountain expand, and the three strongholds combined became the Lu River great bandit stronghold. I reckon that the magistrates of the various prefectures can’t sit still anymore and want to send troops on a large scale… Red Cloud Mountain is in danger this time. Second Brother, what should we do?”
Guo Haishen asked.
Everyone simultaneously turned to look at Zhou Jing.
Zhou Jing stroked his chin slowly as he breathed out heavily, “Does anyone have any ideas?”
“I say we return to Red Cloud Mountain and assist the chief in repelling the soldiers.”
Guo Haishen did not hesitate to speak his thoughts.
However, Zhou Jing shook his head and did not comment.
“Could it be that you plan to ignore it?” Guo Haishen was surprised.
Zhou Jing waved his hand, “Since the An Zhou army is nearby. I’ll go and investigate first. If there’s an opportunity, I will disrupt this army and break a finger of the soldiers. As for Red Cloud Mountain, we don’t have to go back.”
He did not want to return to Red Cloud Mountain to help. After all, they were not in cahoots. He had already repaid Yu Feng’s kindness by helping him expand. Although the latter had attracted the soldiers’ conquest because of this, it was best for Red Cloud Mountain to survive this hurdle alone. They could not always rely on him to clean up the aftermath.
The officials were powerful, so if he did not return, the Green Forest Path would not say anything. However, it was not in line with Chen Feng’s personality to stand by and do nothing. Therefore, Zhou Jing decided to indirectly help. It could be considered that he had gained the loyalty of the Green Forest and also to expand his reputation.
Fang Zhen was shocked, “Second Brother, how are we going to disrupt the 6,000 troops in An Zhou?”
Zhou Jing said in a deep voice, “I have my own plans. You don’t have to follow me. I alone am enough.”
“How can we let you take the risk alone?!”
Everyone was in an uproar and immediately objected.
“The fewer people there are, the better. If you interfere, it will be more risky.”
Zhou Jing’s tone was firm as he dissuaded everyone and explained his plan.
After hearing this, everyone was secretly speechless.
However, everyone had seen Zhou Jing’s astonishing martial arts. After hesitating for a while, they were still persuaded and decided to let Zhou Jing take action alone.
…
Night time.
Beside Yellow Creek County, the thousands of troops led by Liu Tong had set up camp and were on standby to rest.
At the same time, Zhou Jing lay on a slope and observed the camp below, his eyes flickering.
“The fortifications and sentries are quite reliable. They’re much better than the bandits. The commander is more or less a knowledgeable soldier… Unfortunately, the defenses are still useless to me.”
A large number of the Imperial Court’s officials did not hide their tracks, so Zhou Jing only needed to ask around during the day to know the location of the An Zhou Prefecture’s troops.
On the way, he also discovered that there were soldiers and scouts searching for him, so he thought about the whole story… Clearly, this team had passed by Yellow Creek County and discovered traces of his crime, so they temporarily stopped their march to try to capture him.
Guo Haishen and the others continued forward, revealing their tracks to the passersby. They deliberately led the pursuing troops away, making others think that they were leaving the area.
Zhou Jing himself quietly returned and took advantage of the night to reach the camp of the An Zhou army.
He did not intend to break through the thousands of troops in An Zhou, but instead chose to target the commanding officers of all levels. The plan was also rough and simple — after killing most of the officers, this army would be almost paralyzed since the troops relied greatly on following commands.
He was not strong enough to kill a thousand troops head-on. His own assassination skills would instead maximize the efficiency of destruction.
He could not attack during the march, but the troops needed to set up camp. This was an opportunity. No matter how vigilant the soldiers were, with his skills, he could always find flaws if he wanted to sneak in alone.
“An Zhou Prefecture is said to have 6,000 troops, but why doesn’t it seem like they have even half?”
Zhou Jing observed the camp and muttered to himself.
This was good news. It would be more convenient for him to sneak in and kill.
He took a deep breath, turned on the map radar, and quietly crept towards the camp under the cover of the night.
…
In the main tent of the camp.
Commander Liu put on his helmet and armor and read at night, looking at the military information reported by the scouts during the day.
“This Chen Feng hasn’t gone far… I’m really lucky!”
He was in high spirits and overwhelmed with emotions.
If he took down Chen Feng, he would definitely be rewarded by the Imperial Court.
Moreover, Chen Feng had once injured Minister Qin’s students. If he made this contribution, he might even be able to climb up the ranks of the Qin Faction. His meteoric rise was just around the corner!
The more he thought about it, the more excited he got. He felt that the future of promotion and wealth was waving at him.
At this moment, the curtain was suddenly lifted.
A person dressed as a soldier walked in without informing anyone.
Commander Liu was stunned and subconsciously shouted, “Which battalion are you from? Who let you in? Where are the guards outside?”
Zhou Jing did not say anything and drew his saber.
At this moment, Commander Liu realized that something was wrong. His expression changed drastically as he hurriedly pulled out his sword.
“Someone! Save…”
Swoosh!
A snow-white blade light flashed.
Commander Liu froze. A line of blood appeared on his neck, and fine blood beads seeped out.
His eyes widened in disbelief, and he let out two “Eh-eh” sounds from his throat before falling backward and crashing to the ground.
“I haven’t displayed my skills yet. How can I die here…”
Commander Liu’s face revealed deep unwillingness. He struggled to raise his hand, as if he wanted to grab something, but his palm finally hung down weakly.