Late night.
The entire city quieted down.
Ever since Wei Hongbin’s cavalry entered the city, even the night watchman had given up.
So at this moment, besides the faint barking of dogs, the entire city was exceedingly quiet, and the streets were deserted.
Zhu San, carrying a bundle of pig guts, staggered drunkenly down the street, humming a tune occasionally.
He was a butcher, having just slaughtered a fat pig for a familiar family, and then stayed to enjoy a good drink.
The butcher’s routine was to keep the pig’s innards after the slaughter, and coupled with a satisfying meal, Zhu San was very content at this moment.
He planned to take these pig innards to his lover’s house in the east of the city for the night. Surely, with these innards, Chunniang would be even more tender towards him.
Thinking of this, Zhu San felt warm all over and quickened his pace.
After turning out of the alley and walking a short distance along the main street, he would reach Chunniang’s house.
Zhu San knew this path well and could find it even with his eyes closed.
But today, as soon as he turned onto the main street, he felt something was off.
In the distance, it seemed like a shadowy mass of people were rushing somewhere.
The problem was, despite so many people gathering to travel, there wasn’t a single sound.
It was as if they were a group of ghosts.
Even Zhu San, usually daring, broke into a cold sweat and sobered up by seventy percent.
Ghost stories he heard as a child now flashed in his mind one by one.
Zhu San stood there, pale-faced, watching these "ghosts" approach him, unable to move his feet.
At that moment, the "ghosts" drew near.
Leading them was a handsome, extraordinary young man wielding a long knife.
Not ghosts.
But Zhu San was even more frightened.
Because he recognized them.
These were the disciples from the major martial arts halls in the Commandery, weren’t they?
Why were they not sleeping in the middle of the night, carrying weapons?
Could it be...?
In an instant, Zhu San’s face turned even whiter.
Zhu San thought it would be better to see a ghost than this.
He’s done for.
He had stumbled upon their tracks and would surely be silenced.
Chunniang, we might never meet again in this life.
Thoughts churned in Zhu San’s mind.
Just then, the young man reached him and glanced at the petrified Zhu San standing by the roadside, then softly said.
"Go home quickly; don’t come out these days."
With that, the young man strode off.
The other martial artists followed closely, brimming with murderous aura, yet swiftly and silently they left.
Leaving Zhu San alone, stupefied in place, recovering much later and then turning to run.
But because he had stood still for too long, his legs wouldn’t cooperate, and he tripped and fell after just two steps, the pig innards slipping from his hands.
But Zhu San didn’t care about all that; he got up in a flurry and raced to his lover’s house, slammed the door shut, and then hid inside, shaking with fear.
His lover Chunniang looked bewildered, not knowing what had happened.
Zhu San didn’t say.
Because he knew, it was sheer luck that he escaped with his life; how could he dare to speak recklessly?
Zhao Ya naturally didn’t know about this little episode.
To him, it was just an encounter with a drunken latecomer on the way to the government office, nothing worth pondering.
Most of the people Zhao Ya led were disciples from the Dingtai Martial Arts Hall, including Shen Dao and Miao Shaocheng.
As for the Fourth Senior Brother Xu De, he stayed back at the hall with Meng Shiwen to guard the master.
Besides, people like Pan Xuexian from the Hundred Steps Martial Arts Hall and Bai Shilai from the Mountain Guardian Boxing Hall were also in the ranks.
Through the next alley, they would reach Lion Street.
Zhao Ya signaled the group to stop.
"What’s wrong?" Shen Dao asked.
"We should be entering Wei Hongbin’s surveillance range soon if we go forward; let’s wait until Master Shang and Master Jin are in position before we act," Zhao Ya said.
Taking advantage of this time, everyone began their final preparations.
Many were polishing their weapons, not allowing a single flaw, as it concerned life and death on the battlefield soon, there was naturally no room for carelessness.
Pan Xuexian was no exception.
He carefully adjusted his bowstring.
The string was newly replaced before coming and had been stretched several times to activate its full resilience, then coated with animal fat to ensure optimal condition.
Moreover, the arrows he carried were meticulously chosen, their feathers finely trimmed to guarantee stability.
After he finished all adjustments, Zhao Ya asked, "Have you memorized Wei Hongbin’s face?"
"Don’t worry, it’s engraved in my mind. If he dares to show himself, I’ll take his life," Pan Xuexian replied solemnly.
Before action, Zhao Ya had obtained a portrait of Wei Hongbin from Shang Jingchuan.
The portrait, described by Shang Jingchuan and drawn by Shang Luoluo, was finely crafted.
Zhao Ya had everyone circulate it, demanding they memorize Wei Hongbin’s appearance to prevent his escape during the fight.
Especially Pan Xuexian, as the best archer in the entire Commandery, the task assigned to him by Zhao Ya was the heaviest.
In a moment, he would launch the attack first, setting the government office on fire with arrows to create chaos, aiming to force Wei Hongbin to show himself, and then shoot him dead with a single arrow.
Of course, that was the ideal scenario.
The situation on the battlefield changes rapidly, and no one dares to claim they can foresee every unexpected occurrence.
Zhao Ya was merely preparing as best as he could for everything he could anticipate.
He took out the layout map of the government office and examined it carefully.
The government office was located in the middle of Lion Street, with no residences around it, the terrain was open, the walls were tall, and facilities like watchtowers and arrow towers were built, making it easy to defend and hard to attack.
However, Zhao Ya never intended to truly invade the inner courtyard. His plan was to create as much chaos as possible, forcing Wei Hongbin out of his turtle shell.
Therefore, he would lead the main attack on the front gate, with Shang Tiefeng and Jin Zhenming flanking on both sides.
After confirming everything was correct, Zhao Ya looked up at the sky.
By now, the moon was setting in the west, and it was at least two or three in the morning.
This was the time of day when people were the most tired, making it the perfect time for a sneak attack.
Just then, Zhao Ya heard a strange flute sound coming from a distance.
The sound was sharp, able to travel far through the silent night.
Zhao Ya immediately understood that Jin Zhenming and Shang Tiefeng were already in position.
He also took out a flute with a peculiar shape, put it to his lips, and blew hard as a response.
Then Zhao Ya took a deep breath, waved his hand forcefully, and said, "Attack."
At his command, the martial artists, already ready to go, charged out of the alley like fierce tigers descending the mountain, heading straight for the front gate of the government office.
The guards at the gate were completely unaware and were dozing off against the wall.
So when Zhao Ya and the others rushed out, they were stunned.
Zhao Ya wasted no words, cutting down a few guards and sending them to the afterlife.
At this point, the remaining guards realized what was happening, and someone opened his mouth to shout for an attack.
An iron bullet shot through the air, flew right into his mouth, then pierced out from the back of his head.
With a thud, the dead body fell to the ground.
Jiang Zhong smiled and waved his large slingshot, full of pride.
But at this moment, rapid drumming sounded from the gate tower of the government office, and the previously calm place became a hive of activity.
"Break down the gate, advance to the front yard," Zhao Ya shouted.
The government office was specially designed during construction, with a very narrow street in front to prevent large groups from gathering to attack the gate.
As he spoke, Shen Dao took the lead, knocking away several guards before reaching the gate and landing a punch.
With a loud thud, the vermillion-painted door kicked up a cloud of dust but didn’t even shake.
"The door is reinforced with steel!" Shen Dao shouted.
Meanwhile, arrows rained down from the arrow towers on both sides of the gate tower.
Two martial artists, caught off guard, were hit in the arms, but were quickly shielded by their companions.
"Old Pan!" Zhao Ya shouted.
But there was no need for him to shout, as Pan Xuexian had already drawn his bow and shot an arrow into the shooting port of an arrow tower.
Thud.
A scream came from within, and the rain of arrows thinned significantly.
Then Pan Xuexian continued to suppress these arrow towers on his own.
Meanwhile, the sound of horses’ hooves echoed from the streets on either side of the government office.
Those were the stationed cavalry.
Zhao Ya did not panic and simply shouted, "Release the fire arrows!"
Then he leapt onto the gate tower, cut down two guards rushing forward, and jumped behind the large gate.
There was a squad of armored soldiers stationed here, along with several huge logs propping up the gate.
Seeing Zhao Ya land, the leader of the guards shouted, "Form up."
These guards were Wei Hongbin’s elite troops, battle-hardened and unflustered.
Upon hearing the command, they quickly formed ranks and advanced toward Zhao Ya with disciplined steps.
Clang!
Zhao Ya swung his blade, but to no effect.
It turned out that when he struck, at least four or five soldiers simultaneously raised their shields to block the blow.
Even so, three soldiers had their shields shatter, and with a muffled grunt, clearly had their arms injured.
However, Zhao Ya’s target was not them.
After striking, Zhao Ya flashed to a log, exhaled sharply, and exploded with a punch.
Crack.
The log, thick enough to require the embrace of a grown man, was blasted in two with one punch from Zhao Ya.
Then Zhao Ya continued to move, breaking each log one by one.
At the same time.
Thanks to the fire arrows released by Pan Xuexian and his fellow disciples, fires broke out all over the government office.
Simultaneously, deafening shouts of killing echoed from both sides, creating a terrifying momentum.
Zhao Ya slashed back at the guard commander, then leapt up and broke the massive door bolt with a punch.
Boom!
The large gate swung open, allowing Shen Dao and others to rush in.
By now, the cavalry had also arrived, but due to the inconvenient terrain, they couldn’t effectively charge.
Zhao Ya paid no attention to the cavalry and simply said in a deep voice, "Charge inside, the louder the better."