Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 93

Zhen Sui may appear rough and boorish, but he is actually quite shrewd—perhaps that is why he and Li Ji of the past took a liking to each other—he estimated that Li Ji would be traveling north of the Yellow River to return to Chang'an, and that his first night's lodging would not be in Xin'an City, but at the post station in the west of the city.

It's inconvenient for me to go into Xin'an City, so I'll try looking at some of the post stations outside the city. I've been traveling all night, and this morning I only came to inquire at the first post station, only to run into Li Ji right there—if I had been a little later, Li Ji would probably have already set off.

Although the Tang and Yan armies were positioned across the river, with checkpoints and patrols frequently along the surrounding dozens of miles, making it difficult for large forces to secretly cross or launch surprise attacks, a few individuals or even a dozen or so could always find opportunities to penetrate deep into enemy territory. Those so-called江湖奇人 (jianghu qi, a term referring to martial arts masters or eccentric individuals) who were adept at hiding, traveling at night, and engaging in all sorts of petty theft and thievery need not be mentioned. As for Zhen Sui, he was originally a Tang general, extremely familiar with the Tang military system, and even carried his former Qianniu Beishen (千牛备身) credentials.

In those days, official documents were actually very easy to forge, especially for ordinary soldiers who had no skill to distinguish between genuine and fake documents. Besides, the certificate of success was real, it had just expired and been cancelled... In addition, he was bold and careful, and tried his best to avoid checkpoints and patrols, which is why he was able to run smoothly to Li Ji.

Who would have thought that his well-intentioned tip-off would be met with such a cold reception from Li Ji? At that moment, Zhen Sui truly felt the frustration of "I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shone on the gutter"—of course, he didn't know those two lines—and was about to storm off. However, he couldn't help but ask: Why are you treating me like this? Have I offended you? But then Li Ji revealed the whole story of Tanshan in a single sentence…

Oh, it's because of that misunderstanding. It's understandable. It's okay. I've been wanting to explain things to you two brothers for a while now. I've finally got the chance.

After the conversation, Li Ji's expression seemed to soften slightly, and Zhen Sui then revealed his purpose, saying that Zhou Zhi had sent people to kill you. Those martial arts masters were probably no match for you in a direct fight—regardless of what happened in the past, at least you were able to capture Gao Tinghui and Yu Wenjing alive now, so your abilities need no further explanation—they will most likely set up an ambush on the road and carry out a sneak attack, so you must be very careful.

Li Ji asked him, "How many people are there? And what kind of people are they?"

Zhen Sui shook his head: "I don't know either, and I ultimately don't care about that 'Divine Machine Guard'..."

He said that the "Divine Machine Guard" established by Zhou Zhi originally had two commanders and deputy commanders, twenty or thirty extraordinary individuals, and more than a hundred soldiers to assist him. After the defeat in Luoyang, and perhaps due to some secret operation that resulted in the loss of manpower, there are now less than ten extraordinary individuals left, while the number of soldiers has increased to five hundred, becoming Zhou Zhi's personal guard.

Sending out those soldiers would be useless; the only ones who might be mobilized are the so-called superhumans. Considering that it's impossible to wager all their resources on one operation, they'd probably only send five or six people to kill you at most. As for who these people are and what their supernatural abilities are, Zhen Sui has absolutely no clue.

Li Ji bowed to him and said, "I am deeply grateful for your kind words, Brother Zhen. If I live, I will repay this kindness."

Zhen Sui waved his hand and said with a smile, "No need." Then he frowned and asked, "Why hasn't anyone brought me any water yet?"

Li Ji pretended to be angry and said, "Is that child slacking off somewhere again? Let me drag him back and punish him properly!" His attitude successfully fooled Zhen Sui, who immediately laughed and said, "In that case, there's no need to trouble yourself. I'd better hurry back to avoid arousing Zhou Zhi's suspicion."

Li Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief after Zhen Sui left, never managing to resemble the Prime Minister Cui Qi.

Actually, he really wanted to find out why Cui Qi disliked him so much, and what he had done to her. However, Cui Qi was still nearby, and might even be eavesdropping outside the door. Li Ji dared not cause any trouble, lest he offend the little girl as well.

After Cui Qi returned to the house, Li Ji recounted everything Zhen Sui had said. Cui Qi frowned slightly: "If there are five or six people... even three or four, I'm afraid I alone cannot protect you..."

Li Ji laughed and said, "Am I some weak scholar who can't even kill a chicken? Why would I need you to protect me?"

Cui Qibai glanced at him: "How many tricks of the martial world have you seen? Back then between Xinfeng and Weinan, if I hadn't drawn my sword to warn you, but instead intended to take your life, you probably wouldn't have been able to escape!"

The suggestion at the moment was: "If we can't win in battle, we can always avoid it. We might as well take a detour, cross Wangwu Mountain, and enter Hedong first..."

Unexpectedly, Li Ji curled his lip and said, "I'll still go the same way. I'll wait for them to come and see what those Jianghu tricks can do to me!"

Why was he so reckless? Actually, Li Ji was itching to do something.

Yu Chaoen wanted to frame him, and the scoundrel Wei Sun even set an ambush, binding him with ropes at one point. Li Ji, being young and impetuous, had a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it. Although he shouted a few words at Wei Sun before leaving the Tang camp, getting revenge on him, he couldn't see what would become of that scoundrel, could he? How could his anger possibly subside?

Then Zhen Sui arrived with the news, and upon meeting him, immediately tried to grab his wrist—Zhen Sui was somewhat jealous of this young man's meteoric rise to fame and wanted to test his strength against him. Li Ji instinctively parried, but gained no advantage. Although he had never liked Zhen Sui, the man had come to deliver a message, and since the past had been laid bare, it was inappropriate to continue glaring at him…

The original owner of this body may have shared a deep mutual respect with Zhen Sui, perhaps even a profound bond of friendship. However, the soul has been replaced, and the current Li Ji is entirely different. Since transmigrating, Li Ji has been searching through his past memories, discussing the ambush at Tanshan with Li Bi. For a considerable period, he mistakenly believed that Zhen Sui was a feigned friend but a true enemy, and that the assassins were simply those he had recruited, thus harboring resentment. Although the truth was gradually revealed, proving that Zhen Sui's actions were unintentional and that he himself was a victim, the preconceived notion made it impossible to shake off the bad impression.

Furthermore, the young girl Cui Qi doesn't seem to have much affection for Zhen Sui, which naturally affects Li Ji's likes and dislikes.

So, I clearly wanted to glare at you, but you came here with good intentions this time... Li Ji's anger inevitably grew stronger and stronger, and he urgently needed to find someone to vent it on—to put it bluntly, I want to beat someone up, or even kill someone!

Now that Zhou Zhi has sent assassins, how can I simply hide and take detours? Let's fight first!

Of course, Li Ji had a certain assessment of the dangers of the assassins and the mission, and he felt that the risk factor was not too high.

He explained to Cui Qi, "If it were just one or two people, they would surely flee if they missed their target; but since there are five or six of them, they will most likely spare no expense to capture me, which would give me a chance to fight back."

At this point, he waved his hand to stop Cui Qi from interrupting and continued his analysis: "So-called Jianghu methods are nothing more than scaling walls, hiding one's tracks, assassination, poisoning, and the like. As long as we take strict precautions, we can certainly evade them. Besides, they can't possibly go too far into Tang territory. Even if our fine horses can't defeat them in battle, surely we can escape? You know the road ahead better than I do, so if you were to set an ambush along the way, where would you choose?"

Cui Qi rolled his eyes and said, "From here to the west, it's a journey of several days, and ambushes can be set up everywhere. How can we possibly defend against them?"

Li Ji smiled and gestured to his forehead: "Don't just spout off, use your brain first." He then asked, "If we set off immediately, where will our next lodging be?"

Cui Qi said, "South of Wangwu County, there are post stations along the road..."

"And the next place to stay?"

"Then we'll be close to Yuan County."

Li Ji nodded and said, "There are postmen inside the post stations, and there are also houses for cover. As long as we sleep soundly, they will not have a chance. Therefore, they will not dare to make a move in the post stations. Besides, whether we are fast or slow, if we miss the post stations where they have set up an ambush, wouldn't that be a complete waste of effort?"

"They will most likely set up an ambush on the road during the day."

Li Ji said yes, but—"Do you remember the grain transport from Hedong that you saw when you passed Baiya on the way here?"

Baiya is a small mountain on the north bank of the Yellow River. Hou Jing once built a city on the mountain. In the third year of Xianheng in the Tang Dynasty, the Baiya Granary was set up on its old site, which regularly stored 200,000 shi of grain. Of course, the granary is now empty, but grain from Hedong is still transported to the Baiya Granary in accordance with the old practice, and then people from Heqing County transport it to the front line.

Therefore, Li Ji judged that although there were not many travelers along the way, there were still some, and grain convoys would pass by at any time, or even envoys sent by Heyang to Hedong to urge the delivery of grain. In that case, those "Divine Machine Guard" assassins would most likely not dare to block the road and rob...

Chapter Thirty-Two, The Khitan General

As Li Ji said, their horses were strong and swift, so even if they encountered an enemy, if they couldn't win, could they at least escape?

Therefore, what he was worried about was what tricks those assassins would play on the streets, such as digging traps or setting tripwires...

Actually, tripwires aren't hard to avoid, especially on official roads. A rope lying across the road is bound to be conspicuous and easy to avoid—the previous entrapment of Gao Tinghui was achieved by taking advantage of his eagerness to pursue Li Guangbi and hiding the rope in the grass. But if a trap is dug and disguised, it becomes much harder to dodge.

Fortunately, this road is busy with people, so it's unlikely that the other party would dig a hole in the road. Besides, north of the Yellow River, although the section between Heqing and Yuanxian is not a major thoroughfare, it is still a medium-width official road that has been trodden out by people and horses over hundreds or thousands of years. It hasn't rained much recently, so it's not so easy to dig with a shovel.

Theoretically speaking, once I leave the Tang camp, I will immediately ride westward, and those assassins will not be able to catch up with me at all. Only if they take advantage of my overnight rest and rush ahead in one go will they have a chance to set up an ambush—will there still be time to dig a trap?

He shared his analysis with Cui Qi, who glared at him and said, "Why bother digging a trap when we can just lie in wait by the roadside?"

Li Ji laughed and said, "I'm afraid they'll dig a pit, but I'm not afraid they'll set an ambush..."

On the main road, in a direct confrontation, Li Erlang showed no fear, unless the assassins were also skilled in spears and bows, each possessing the abilities of Gao Tinghui and Yu Wenjing. Therefore, the only way to increase his chances of capturing or assassinating them was by taking advantage of the terrain.

"Looking at both sides of the road, although it's not a flat plain and the terrain is uneven, most of it has been cultivated into fields. It's late autumn, the rice and wheat have all been harvested, and the stalks are less than two feet long. Where can anyone hide nearby? That means they can only ambush someone from twenty paces away with crossbows, darts, and the like. I'm a veteran of many battles, but with proper precautions, I can evade both crossbows and arrows; as for darts..."

At this point, Li Ji smiled at Cui Qi: "If it hadn't been at night and you hadn't been caught off guard, it wouldn't have been easy for you to shoot my saddle."

Cui Qi reminded him, "Do you only remember that Jingjing? What if four or five, or even six, people suddenly appeared by the roadside, each wielding darts and crossbows?"

Li Ji replied, “If there were so many skilled archers, Zhou Zhi would have renamed the ‘Divine Machine Guard’ to ‘Archery Guard’ long ago. Besides, I only need to wear armor to protect my head and face, which is more than enough.”

Leaving aside flying swords and darts, crossbow bolts can reach great distances, but their flight speed is relatively slow. The more powerful the crossbow, the slower it flies. Based on Li Ji's battlefield experience, he would dodge at the sound of the bolts. Unless thousands of crossbow bolts were fired from all directions simultaneously, it would be difficult to injure him. Even if they did hit him, he was protected by iron armor. From his previous encounters with Jingjing'er and subsequent battles, he knew that projectile weapons in this era actually had limited penetrating power.

Of course, if it hits the gap between the armor plates, it can still injure the skin and flesh, but the chances are too small. Li Ji felt that this small risk was worth taking.

Cui Qi was still uneasy: "What if they poison the darts or arrows?"

Li Ji still smiled: "Even when they plotted to assassinate Marshal Li Yu, there was no poison on Jingjing'er's darts. And since they wanted to capture me, they probably wouldn't use poisoned darts or arrows right away."

He had once inquired about poisons from Jia Huai and knew that not just anyone could use them; without specific skills, it could easily harm oneself. Moreover, poison coated on weapons would easily lose its effectiveness upon contact with air; even if it broke the skin, it wouldn't cause instant death like in novels, and with timely treatment, one could most likely be saved.

Of course, it's possible that the other side has some master of poisons, or even possesses potent poisons that Jia Huai has never even heard of. But Li Ji has already made up his mind to take the risk and kill the traitors to vent his anger, so there's no need to tell Cui Qi about these concerns.

He simply asked Cui Qi, "If we head west from here, all the way to Yuan County, there probably won't be many places along the way where we can set up an ambush. Can you delineate the area?"

Cui Qi stared at him for a long time without saying a word, finally letting out a soft sigh: "Do you really have to take this risk?"

Li Ji said solemnly, "Since Zhou Zhi has his eye on me, who knows if he won't send Jingjing and the others to infiltrate Chang'an again to assassinate me? At that time, I would be caught off guard and attacked in a narrow place, which would be ten or a hundred times more dangerous than today! It would be better to thwart his plot here first, or even kill one or two assassins. Perhaps this can deter Zhou Zhi and force him to give up." He then flattered the little girl, "And having you by my side today is a hundred or a thousand times better than those imperial guards and thugs in the capital!"

Cui Qi did not agree with Li Ji's words. He did not believe that any capable person would dare to or be able to sneak into the capital of the Tang Empire to assassinate an important figure. Touching the Ding'an Imperial Palace, which was not heavily guarded, was already the limit. Otherwise, if Zhou Zhi had just assassinated the prime minister or minister, wouldn't the Tang Dynasty have been thrown into chaos?

—Of course, she couldn't have known that more than fifty years later, that bloody scene would actually appear on the streets of Chang'an…

However, Cui Qi had been a maid in the Cui household since childhood, and had developed a habit of obeying orders. Since her master ordered her to travel east to Luoyang to retrieve Consort Shen, she naturally had to obey Consort Shen's orders; conversely, Consort Shen's subsequent order for her to look after Li Ji meant she should also obey Li Ji's orders. Specifically, she could disobey the order for Li Ji to charge forward alone and for her to retreat; but if Li Ji wanted to lead her to her doom, and she refused to listen to his advice, then they could only walk side-by-side into the abyss…

In particular, Li Ji even went so far as to provoke him: "If you are afraid of death, you might as well part ways here and take a detour to Wangwu Mountain."

Cui Qi couldn't help but glare at him angrily: "The assassin wanted to kill you, not me. What do I have to be afraid of? Besides, I still have to collect your corpse!"

Li Ji sighed softly: "I also hope that in the future—not in the near future—when I die peacefully in my old age, you can mourn and hold a funeral for me..."

Soon, the two rode away from the post station, but unlike yesterday, Li Ji donned armor and a helmet, his hand on his lance, fully alert. Cui Qi, on the other hand, resolutely refused to wear armor, because her strength lay in agile leaps, and armor would hinder her from utilizing her strengths.

Therefore, Li Ji refused to walk alongside Cui Qi anymore and made the little girl follow behind him, about ten steps behind him. Otherwise, if a dart or crossbow suddenly appeared by the roadside, I would be fine with my armor, but you would be hit, injured, or even killed. What would that be like?

If the other side intends to capture me, their first attack will likely be relatively mild, but it's hard to say what they'll do with my entourage...

However, Li Ji's grand and righteous reason was: "If I go first, I will attract the assassin's attention; if you go behind, you can find their tracks and quickly kill one or two of them, then we will have a chance of winning."

From Heqing to Yuan County, bordered by the Yellow River to the south and the Taihang Mountains to the north, the road stretches for about thirty li. The terrain on both sides is mostly low hills, with crisscrossing fields and little tall grass or dense forest—not ideal for an ambush at this time of year. Based on his memory, Cui Qi had identified four or five relatively dangerous locations beforehand, either with small hills to the north or woods to the south. Whenever they passed these places, Li Ji would keep his eyes wide open, ears perked, and be on high alert, ready for any sudden attack or flying darts or arrows.

As for the other locations, just keep your eyes scanning the road ahead from time to time to watch out for tripwires and to see if there are any places to hide by the roadside—a person's nerves can't be on edge for long.

According to Li Ji's assessment, he would encounter the assassin today, without having to wait until tomorrow. This was because the assassin would have to rush ahead of him overnight to set up an ambush along the roadside, and if the distance grew too great and time dragged on, the assassin would be more likely to be exposed as they penetrated deeper into Tang territory. Besides, who knew if he might change his route halfway for some reason?

As expected, it was just past noon. They were probably separated from Hengshui County by the Yellow River, and they were passing through a dangerous area. There were small hills to the north and woods to the south. Just as Li Ji became wary, he suddenly heard a whistle from a poplar tree on his left, and then a lasso came swooping down on him!

This was indeed far beyond Li Ji's expectations.

He had originally estimated that if the assassin did not set up a tripwire, he would most likely use a crossbow or throwing darts to injure the horse first and then the person. With Li Ji's skills, it was simply a pipe dream to think that he could capture him without inflicting some injury first. But to his surprise, the other party actually used a lasso!

The lasso was originally a tool commonly used by nomadic tribes on the grasslands to lasso horses and catch sheep. However, it is said that the Khitan cavalry in Northeast China were also adept at using lassos to capture generals.

During the Wu Zhou period, Li Jinzhong, the leader of the Khitan Dahe tribe, raised the banner of rebellion and proclaimed himself "Supreme Khan." Empress Wu Zetian dispatched twenty-eight generals, including Cao Renshi, General of the Left Eagle Guard; Zhang Xuanyu, General of the Right Golden Guard; Li Duozuo, General of the Left Might Guard; and Ma Renjie, Vice Minister of Agriculture, to lead troops to suppress the rebellion. However, they suffered a crushing defeat. On the battlefield, Li Jinzhong's general, Li Kaigu, was skilled in using the "lasso," a type of noose. It was said that "deer, foxes, and rabbits, even when on horseback, could be caught by the lasso, leaving no one untouched." He even "lassoed" two Zhou generals, Ma Renjie and Zhang Xuanyu…

Li Ji had heard about this and knew that Shi Siming commanded many Khitan cavalry. He had been wary of lassos on the battlefield. But who would have thought that a lasso would come from the side while walking on the main road? Aren't you supposed to be martial arts masters? How did you manage to infiltrate with Khitan soldiers?!

Is it true that "wherever there are people, there is a martial arts world," so the Khitans also had their own martial arts world, and the Khitans could also be martial arts figures...?

Caught off guard, he was caught by the lasso around his shoulder. The person holding the lasso pulled hard, tightening the slipknot and binding Li Ji's arms firmly. Li Ji's instinctive reaction was to release his lance, grip the saddle tightly with both hands, squeeze his legs against the horse's belly, lower his body, and use the momentum of his mount to continue leaping forward.

—You may be able to trap me, but you may not be able to subdue me. Let's have a contest of strength and see if you can push me off the horse or I can pull you down from the tree!

With a "whoosh," the fine steed from Longyou beneath me shook its head and neighed, its four legs slipping as it came to an abrupt stop. Then, due to inertia, the horse lost its front hoof and fell forward.

Li Ji thought to himself, "This doesn't make sense. How could you possibly move me and my horse? Are there four or five people huddled in the tree, pulling on the rope together?" He was afraid that the horse would fall and crush him, and with his arms restrained, he would have no power to fight back and would be helpless to surrender. So, he instinctively let go of his hands and legs, and at the same time, his feet came off the stirrups, and he leaped off the horse's back.

And so, the mighty Li Erlang, like a kite, was pulled by a thin string and flew diagonally through the air...

While in the air, Li Ji finally realized that the other end of the rope was indeed in someone's hand. However, that person had tied the lasso to a tree branch and was pulling the rope down himself. Using his own weight and the acceleration of the fall, he not only forced his mount to stop but also sent Li Ji flying like a kite...

Then the subsequent development should be a foregone conclusion: this person will fall to the ground, while Li Ji will climb the tree... When his arms are bound and he is suspended in mid-air with nothing to hold onto, won't Li Ji be at the mercy of others?

The only problem is that the rope is a bit long.

A typical lasso can only be thrown five or six steps, enough to lasso a horse or capture a general. But the lasso this man used was five zhang long, and he could throw it nearly ten steps. Without such amazing skill, he wouldn't have been recruited by Zhou Zhi. There were at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, of people in the Khitan tribe who knew how to use the lasso. Only this man could lasso people on the road from a considerable distance.

Therefore, the man landed on the ground, while Li Ji hadn't even climbed the tree yet; his feet were only four or five feet off the ground. While in mid-air, Li Ji twisted his waist and used his feet to push off the tree trunk. The man's feet had barely touched the ground before he was pulled up.

As he stood up, Li Ji suddenly bent down and squatted down under the tree roots and in the grass.

No sooner said than done, a figure flashed behind the tree, a cold glint in the eye, and a blade slashed down towards Li Ji's shoulder. Li Ji had just landed and, unable to dodge, simply rolled away to avoid the attack. He was in quite a sorry state, but the person using the rope was in an even worse predicament, finding no foothold in mid-air and forced back up into the tree…

Suddenly, branches and leaves swept across the man's face, causing him to cry out "Ouch!" and let go of his grip. He then tumbled and fell back down from the tree, this time landing on his back first, nearly killing himself and unable to get up for a moment.

Li Ji rolled on the spot, and just as he was about to straighten up, the blade flashed before him again like a leech. So Li Ji gritted his teeth, swung his arm horizontally to parry the blade—let's see how sharp your blade is, enough to pierce my heavy armor!

With a sharp "crack," the blade pierced through the armor plate, penetrating the lining and wedging itself directly into Li Ji's right arm. Of course, Li Ji wasn't stupid; he hadn't parried the blade head-on, but at an angle of about forty-five degrees. Therefore, the blade didn't penetrate deeply into his flesh, and certainly didn't damage any tendons or bones. More importantly, even the armor was broken; the lasso wasn't made of fine steel, so how could it not break?

Li Ji rolled to the side again, the blade leaving his flesh, and blood naturally seeped out. At the same time, he struggled with both arms and broke free of the lasso. He then pressed his left hand to the ground, leaped into the air, and naturally brought his right hand behind his back, drawing out an iron mace.

The man wielding the knife lunged again, but Li Ji struck with his mace, and with a clang, the knife broke in two. He then steadied himself, drew his own mace with his left hand, and smashed the man's head to pieces...

Li Ji thought to himself, "Huh, what kind of extraordinary person is this? Or is it that you haven't had a chance to use your 'extraordinary ability' yet?"

In the blink of an eye, a flash of silver light appeared, and a dart came straight at his face...

Chapter Thirty-Three: A Dream of Clear Autumn

Li Ji had been practicing with the "Azure Lotus Four-Sided Mace" for some time and felt quite confident in himself. Even if he couldn't say he had maxed out his skills, he should be able to take on Qin Huan or two without any problem. However, within Chang'an City, he couldn't actually use the mace to fight people. On the battlefield, apart from fighting Yu Wenjing once and throwing it at Li Riyue once, he basically hadn't had much opportunity to use it.

Because cavalry combat in those days mainly relied on spears and lances, and unless it was close-quarters melee, halberds were rarely used, let alone maces. Otherwise, how could Qin Shubao have been so skilled with the mace, but truly famous for "leaping forward on horseback with a spear in hand, always stabbing into the midst of ten thousand men and horses, causing them to flee in terror"?

Only today did Li Ji have the chance to wield his iron mace and smash a human head. The feeling in his hand was quite wonderful—damn, so crisp and clean, like cracking open a watermelon, it was simply a fucking pleasure!

Still preoccupied with "opening the watermelon," Li Ji was caught off guard when a dart flew straight at his face. With no way to dodge, he instinctively twisted his neck, and then felt a sharp pain beside his ear—a "clang"—presumably hitting the phoenix wing protecting his ear.

A chill ran down his spine. Before he could even straighten his head, his vision blurred, and he heard another sharp crack. Li Ji didn't react for a moment. A full quarter of a second later, the afterimage on his retina entered his mind, and he realized that a flying sword had struck a dart from the side, and both had changed their trajectories, bouncing off somewhere unknown.

Li Ji understood; it was Cui Qi, the little girl, who had finally arrived.

The dart looked familiar; it must be Jingjing'er. Whether it was the lasso used to "slap" him or the knife used to chase and slash, the other party must have still intended to capture him alive—otherwise, even with all their might, the knife-wielding assassin might not have been able to smash his head with a single blow—and Jingjing'er's first dart was aimed directly at his face, indicating that the other party probably figured capturing him alive was impossible and planned to kill him outright.

One dart is easy to dodge, but two are hard to defend against. Li Ji hadn't expected the interval between the two darts to be so short. If Cui Qi hadn't intervened with his sword in time, he might not have been able to dodge the second dart, and at the very least, his nose would have been hit...

However, if such a trick catches me off guard the first time, it probably won't work the second time. After all, I have a helmet on my head and armor on my body. Unless it hits my face or throat directly, such a two-inch-long thing probably can't break through my armor. And how big are my face and throat? I only need to dodge slightly, just like before, and I can deflect the dart with my phoenix wings.

Li Ji was invigorated: "Your petty tricks in the martial world, let's see how I counter them with battle formations! You may be agile, but my defense is even higher. If you can't break through my defense, it's like using a saber to cut through a tank; I won't be the first to die!"

However, first they needed to find where the other party was… Li Ji looked closely and saw that Cui Qi had dismounted and was squatting in the ditch by the roadside. With a flick of her wrist, she launched a sword strike towards the small hill opposite. Following the trajectory of the flying sword, however, she couldn't see anyone…

Then a flash of silver light appeared, and Cui Qi exclaimed in surprise, "Oh dear!"

Li Ji panicked and, without even paying attention to the person who had fallen from the tree, rushed over to check on Cui Qi. He heard Cui Qi shout, "Don't come any closer!" Li Ji ignored her, leaping forward and pulling the little girl beneath him. Then, he felt a jolt in his back; he guessed she had been hit by a dart.

Cui Qi turned his head to the side, reached his right hand behind Li Ji, and unleashed another sword strike. There seemed to be a sound on the hill, followed by a voice calling out, "So you're a fellow practitioner. Would you be willing to register?"

Upon hearing the sound and identifying the location, Li Ji immediately turned around, brandishing his double maces and charging straight at the enemy, shouting, "Tell your mother's name! Jingjing, come and die!"