The generals’ residence in Lin Nan City was filled with laughter and elation as the generals drank wine in big bowls and took large mouthfuls of delicious food. Someone picked up a wine bowl and stood up, then said with a laugh, “Let me give a toast to the generals. Today, the sound of the generals’ drumming shook the lofty mountains! The Chen Army was frightened out of their wits!”
All the generals in the hall stood up and raised their wine in succession, saying, “The generals drove back the enemy with their clever plans, we admire you!”
Smiling, Liu Jue drank a cup of wine. Suddenly, someone asked, “Where is General Tian Xiang?! I’m still waiting to toast him.”
“General Tian Xiang fought hard today and has gone to rest.” Liu Jue explained with a light smile. Raising his cup of wine, he said, “The Chen Army was overconfident and attacked us. They only came once, yet we killed a great deal of them, telling them to take a good look at the might of our South Army! Come! Let me give everyone a toast!”
The crowd roared with laughter and drank their wine.
When the wine was finished and the banquet was over, Liu Jue returned to the study and suddenly felt uneasy. Sentries had been posted wherever there was a possibility of an attack. He had planned on allowing the Chen Army to come into Lin Nan and letting their sneak attack go smoothly. Then seizing the opportunity in luring the enemy, they would hit the Chen Army hard and defeat them in one fell swoop. After thinking about it so many times and discussing the details repeatedly, he had made sure everything had been covered and had attended the banquet in a relaxed manner. Yet, why was he feeling uneasy still? Liu Jue mulled over it for a long time but was still unable to find the reason.
He walked into the courtyard where the begonias were still in full bloom. Ah Luo, Ah Luo. His heart felt like it had been pierced with a needle and he could not help but look towards West Mountain. At this moment, Liu Ying rushed in, “My Lord, something has happened with the Third Miss!”
Liu Jue felt like his mind was buzzing. Liu Ying said, “One of the Ming force’s sentries came back to report that more than a dozen black shadows had entered the courtyard where the Third Miss was living. It is likely that they are spies from the Chen Army and they are reported to all be martial art experts.”
Green fireworks flashed in the night over at the West Mountain, solidifying in the dark night like a sharp sword that stabbed Liu Jue’s heart violently. The Ming forces would not release these fireworks unless it was a critical emergency. Each group of the dark-clothed forces had their own unique fireworks and different ones were used for messaging and calling for urgent assistance. The three men from the Ming forces that Liu Jue had sent to watch over Ah Luo were all elites of the elites. The moment he saw these fireworks, he could not be certain and did not dare to imagine the situation. It was like there was a fire burning in his heart and it hurt everywhere inside him. When facing the enemy, he commanded calmly with a smile. Yet now, Liu Jue tried hard to not think, quickly leading the dark-clothed force and army soldiers, as he charged towards the West Mountain.
At this time, the two members of the Ming forces were risking their lives in battle against 13 black clothed men to protect Ah Luo. Both had been wounded in action as the black clothed men excelled in martial arts. They had not expected that these two men would fight with their lives on the line, being able to counterattack after fighting for so long. The leader calculated the time and was slightly impatient. If it had been a different time and place, he may have felt sympathy for these talented people and let them go, yet right now, he needed to make a prompt decision for a quick battle. He leapt into the air, turning his dagger to stab the Ming sentry, yet midair, it changed directions and headed diagonally towards Ah Luo. In the dark night, the black blade brought only a rapid wind without light. The sudden change was beyond all expectations. Ah Luo was unable to dodge. Right then, one of the Ming sentries forced his body in front of Ah Luo and the dagger pierced his chest. The Ming sentry gritted his teeth to endure his pain and with a push of his hand, he hissed, “Escort the Third Miss away!”
Anger rose in the other Ming sentry’s eyes and without another glance at his fallen brother, he grabbed Ah Luo’s hand and leapt out of the courtyard. The black-clothed man snorted coldly and threw his sword towards them. As the two of them were in midair, the Ming sentry had no way of dodging. Ah Luo felt dizzy from being lifted into the air, so how could she be aware that there was a sword behind shooting towards them. In this split second, an arrow flew over and struck the sword blade.
The Ming sentry landed outside the courtyard wall with Ah Luo. Seeing that Liu Jue and the dark-clothed force had arrived at Chang Le Restaurant, he fainted in relief. Ah Luo paused for a while, yet did not look at Liu Jue, then turned around and ran into the courtyard.
Liu Jue watched Ah Luo as she stood real and alive in front of him. He sighed in relief as all his anxiety and agitation disappeared. When he saw Ah Luo suddenly run towards the courtyard, he frowned and in a flash, he stood in front of her. Ah Luo looked up at him and her tears fell, “My mother and the others are still inside.”
Liu Jue said softly, “Don’t worry. You go and rest.”
Ah Luo halted her footsteps and wiped away her tears, looking anxiously towards the courtyard.
Sighing inwardly, Liu Jue restrained himself from reaching out and embracing her. He raised his voice and shouted, “To those in the courtyard, listen up. I am Liu Jue, General Ping Nan of the Ning Empire. I have waited a long time for you. If you lay down your weapons and surrender, I will spare your lives!”
With a thud, a corpse was thrown out from the courtyard. It was the Ming sentry who had died just now from being stabbed by a sword. Ah Luo cried out in alarm and covered her mouth tightly. Anger appeared in the eyes of everyone in the dark-clothed force and they unsheathed their swords. Liu Jue walked over to the corpse and untying his clothes, he looked at the wound. When he stood up, a murderous aura emanated from all over his body. A dark red mist flashed in his eyes. Turning his head, he said to Liu Ying, “Escort the Third Miss back.”
Ah Luo was stunned and shouted loudly, “I am not leaving, I will wait for mother and the others!”
Liu Jue did not want her to see a blood-soaked scene and said lightly, “Follow Liu Ying home. I will personally bring your mother and the others back.”
There was no way that Ah Luo could feel assured and she stood there stubbornly, “If you do not let me watch my mother and the others come out safely today, I will hate you for the rest of my life!”
Just as Liu Jue was about to reply, the doors to the courtyard were thrown open and all 13 black-clothed men were standing there. Seventh Mistress, Xiao Yu, and Madam Zhang and her family stood beside them with their acupressure points pressed.
Ah Luo could not help but shout, “Mother!”
Seventh Mistress could neither move nor speak as tears poured from her eyes. Ah Luo felt like her heart was being pierced by a knife. A faint smile appeared on Liu Jue’s face. This group had certainly hit the target and they just had to abduct the Seventh Mistress of the Minister’s family. He sighed.
When the black-clothed men came out of the courtyard, they saw that the restaurant was already thoroughly surrounded. It was as bright as daytime from the torches. The leader was a young general with a slight smile on his face. Looking straight over, his gaze was colder than the river on a winter’s day, causing an unconscious shiver. The leader of the black-clothed men laughed loudly, “I have heard for a long time that the methods of the Ning Empire’s General Ping Nan are powerful. Seeing it today, you are truly extraordinary. I really wonder if we should regret entering the wrong courtyard, or if we should rejoice in being fortunate enough to capture a person that the General Ping Nan values.”
Liu Jue was secretly shocked that the black-clothed men had such sharp eyes. Yet he kept a smile on his face and said, “Surrender! Reveal your plans. Like I said, I can spare your lives.”
The black-clothed men laughed wildly, “Do you think we’re all cowardly and afraid of death? We came here without expecting to return alive!”
Liu Jue waved his hand and all around, the sergeants drew their bows and arrows. Just one order from him would lead to all those in front being shot until they resembled echidnas. Ah Luo stared at Liu Jue in horror and exclaimed loudly, “No!”
Liu Jue furrowed his brows, seeing the proud look in the eyes of the black-clothed men. He sighed inwardly, this was truly a case of fearing the repercussions of certain actions. He raised his voice and forced out his murderous aura, saying cruelly, “Quiet! Rather than breeding calamity for the future and ruining my plans, it would be better to kill them here! Surely these few lives are not worth trapping the entire city in the flames of war! Are you going to sacrifice my thousands of soldiers for the sake of a few of your loved ones?”
Ah Luo was forced to retreat back again and again by him. Liu Jue was right. The Chen Empire would never stop attacking after being repelled just once. These few elites had likely been sent to breach Lin Nan City. Allowing them to live would be a plan to trick the Chen Army to fall into the trap. Only by draining the Chen Army of their strength would he be able to avoid a disastrous war. Ah Luo’s tears fell for how could she bear to watch Liu Jue order them to shoot and kill Seventh Mistress and the others. If Seventh Mistress and the others died in this way, she would never be able to forgive herself as long as she lived. How could she continue to live on like this?!
Ah Luo steeled herself and violently drew a sword from the soldier beside her and held it to her neck, backing towards the courtyard.
Liu Jue yelled, “Ah Luo, what are you doing?!”
“I understand that nobody can be released. I cannot bear the responsibility of letting all the citizens of the city suffer through a war because of this, yet, I cannot bear to watch my relatives die in front of me. I do not blame you, I really do not blame you. I will die with them!”
Liu Jue was anxious, annoyed, and helpless as he watched Ah Luo slowly retreat. Ah Luo suddenly smiled at him. Under the moonlight, her smile bloomed like a rare flower, magnificently beautiful. Liu Jue’s heart skipped a beat and he almost lost his breath. The muscles all over his body tightened suddenly and he did not dare to blink as he stared at Ah Luo’s moving figure.
Ah Luo retreated right up to the black-clothed men and pointed the sword at them, she smiled proudly and said, “Release my mother’s acupressure points. Either way, all of us are going to die together!”
The black-clothed men were shocked to see this person who had slipped through their net, breaking their plans, and killing one of their elite members. Ah Luo reached up to untie her hair and it fell down to her waist like beautiful silk. Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the black-clothed men.
He was actually a woman!
Ah Luo lightly took off the black clothes and the thin silk clothes floated in the wind. She knew how beautiful it would be when clothes like this fluttered in the wind. Smiling slightly, she seemed like a mountain fairy, like the phantom of the night.
The black-clothed men were entranced. She was such a beauty!
In this instant, Ah Luo quickly swung the sword, forcing apart the black-clothed men who were guarding Seventh Mistress and the others, and brandishing the sword in front of them.
Liu Jue rushed forward as fast as lightning. Just as the black-clothed men were about to attack Ah Luo, Liu Jue had already reached her and blocked the attack. The Xuan soldiers of the dark-clothed force followed closely behind, separating them and them surrounding the black-clothed men. The soldiers in the outer ring had their arrows poised on the strings, aimed motionlessly at the black-clothed men.
The leader of the black-clothed men was stunned for a moment, then he laughed bitterly, “Forget it, it’s my fault for my lack of conviction, unexpectedly falling for a woman’s smile.”
