stonecrandall Chapter 1151 Fan Xian and his party are stopped again!
Chapter 1151 Fan Xian and his party are stopped again!
Fan Xian chuckled wryly and rubbed his nose: "You really can't blame me for this; I'm completely baffled myself."
He was telling the truth. The deaths of Yan Xiaoyi and Shangshan Hu were completely beyond his expectations. The enemy's strength was frighteningly high, and their ruthless and decisive style was chilling. Currently, among their own forces, Sean's condition was unclear and his stance was delicate; the only Ninth-Rank expert they could truly rely on was Haitang Duoduo.
As for the enemy, Ran Min and Lü Bu alone, who have already shown themselves, are far beyond what Haitang Duoduo can handle alone, let alone any other potential ambushes. Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best.
Haitang Duoduo dropped her joking expression and nodded. She was quick-witted and had already pondered the order, "Except for Fan Xian, leave no one alive." This order was too strange, full of contradictions and deeper meanings. If the other party was from the Southern Qing side, intending to disrupt some possible "tacit understanding" or deal between the Northern Qi and Southern Qing, then killing the Northern Qi general Shang Shanhu was the target; why would they also kill Yan Xiaoyi, a key general in the Southern Qing military?
A ninth-rank master is incredibly precious; the loss of even one would be a devastating blow to any nation. There's no way Nanqing would do something so foolish as to harm themselves and others, unless… killing Yan Xiaoyi was one of their objectives, perhaps even more important than killing Shang Shanhu? If the other party isn't from Nanqing, then which faction could it be?
Northern Wei? Dongyi City? Or some mysterious organization lurking in the shadows, intending to stir up trouble across the land? It seems that Fan Xian's secrets are far more numerous and complex than she knows. Haitang Duoduo's mind raced, but she showed no sign of it on her face, simply burying her doubts deep within.
“I’m even more curious than you about who they are,” Fan Xian said frankly, meeting Hai Tang Duoduo’s probing gaze. “Of course, I know that doesn’t sound very convincing.” He shrugged, looking like he was “helpless too.”
"You..." Haitang Duoduo was speechless with anger at Fan Xian's nonchalant attitude. This guy seemed to have a natural talent for making people laugh and cry at the most tense moments, yet he was also slippery and impossible to catch.
But before they could even set off, Guo Baokun and his group, who had just disappeared at the other end of the woods, suddenly retreated in a panic. Their faces were even more grim than before, as if facing a formidable enemy. They retreated extremely slowly, their steps stiff, as if a ferocious beast was driving them from behind.
"You..." Fan Xian's question was cut short as soon as it left his mouth.
Beside her, Haitang Duoduo had already drawn her double axes from her waist with lightning speed, holding them horizontally in front of her. She leaned forward slightly, assuming a fully alert fighting stance. Her beautiful face was now as cold as ice, her sharp gaze sweeping across the darkness ahead.
Fan Xian's heart sank, and he followed their gaze.
From the shadowy trees all around, numerous figures silently emerged. There was no neighing of warhorses, no clanging of armor, only a suffocating, disciplined silence. They were all dressed in uniform dark blue close-fitting clothes, wielding standard longswords. Their movements were swift and coordinated, like ghosts seeping out of the shadows of the trees, forming an extremely oppressive encirclement that firmly trapped Fan Xian, Haitang Duoduo, Xiao En, and the retreating Guo Baokun and his group of more than ten people in this small clearing in the woods.
A quick glance revealed no fewer than fifty people. What alarmed Fan Xian even more was that these men possessed a calm and focused aura, sharp and cold eyes, clearly not ordinary martial artists or rogue soldiers. They were obviously elites who had undergone rigorous training, specializing in assassination or special operations. Their seemingly loose formation actually blocked all possible escape routes, and they were coordinated with each other, their auras subtly intertwined.
The encirclement was complete, and the crowd parted to both sides like a tide, making way for a passage. A middle-aged man slowly walked out. He was about forty years old, with a thin face, three long strands of beard flowing down his chest, wearing a faded gray cloth long gown and ordinary cloth shoes, dressed like a down-on-his-luck scholar or an accountant.
Only his eyes, which gleamed with a sharp light as they opened and closed, seemed unfathomable. Most striking were the two neatly trimmed mustaches on his lips, which, with the slight upturn of his lips, conveyed a sense of unspoken confidence and smugness.
After he appeared, the people in blue seemed to become even more focused, and an invisible pressure spread out, even the chirping of insects in the forest seemed to disappear.
The middle-aged man's gaze swept calmly over everyone present, finally settling on Fan Xian. He bowed respectfully, his movements unhurried, his gentle yet clear voice echoing through the silent forest:
"I am Di Renjie. I greet Young Master Fan and all of you." He paused, his tone still polite but carrying an undeniable air of authority. "By order of my lord, I have come to invite Young Master Fan to come and have a chat. I would be honored if Young Master Fan would do me the honor of speaking with me privately."
His gaze then turned to Haitang Duoduo, Xiao En, Guo Baokun, and the others: "As for you all, please wait a moment and remain calm. Rest assured, my purpose in coming here is only to invite Young Master Fan, and I have no intention of harming any of you. Of course—" His tone shifted slightly, his smile deepened, and his mustache twitched slightly, "I also hope that you can understand and cooperate. Please don't put me in a difficult position."
"Di Renjie?" Fan Xian frowned, frantically searching his memory for the name. High-ranking officials of the Southern Qing court, the records of the Censorate, rumors of the martial arts world… none of them mentioned this person. Judging from his bearing and presence, he was definitely not an unknown figure; either it was an alias, or he came from some deeply hidden force. And who was this "lord" he spoke of? Was he affiliated with Ran Min and Lü Bu?
"Cooperate?" Haitang Duoduo snorted coldly, taking half a step forward, her twin axes reflecting a cold glint in the dim light.
"What if we don't cooperate? Do you really think your men can stop us?" The pride and confidence of a ninth-rank expert allowed her to issue this challenge even when surrounded. Her gaze was sharp as a knife, trying to find a flaw or hesitation in Di Renjie's face.
Upon hearing this, Di Renjie was not angry, nor did his smile diminish in the slightest. He merely shook his head slightly, as if sighing at the youth's impulsiveness, and then casually raised his hand.
The movement was small, but it felt like pressing a fatal switch.
"Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish—!"
The next instant, a piercing sound of arrows tearing through the air suddenly rang out from all directions, so dense it was chilling! Those were not scattered arrows, but a volley of arrows that had been precisely calculated and had extremely high coverage!
Dozens of jet-black crossbow bolts, not aimed at the crowd, but with a sharp whistle, accurately struck the ground less than a meter in front of Haitang Duoduo, and the open ground around Fan Xian, Xiao En, Guo Baokun, and the others. The arrows sank deep into the soil, their fletchings trembling violently and emitting a low hum.