The Second Volume of Water Margin

  Without making too much noise, Wu Song and Liu Zheng killed the five soldiers at the gate in a short time. This result was still within Ximen Qing's expectations. Liu Zheng even kindly gave each fallen soldier a few more knives, especially the one who had been knocked down by Wu Song earlier.

  Liu Renzhong whistled, and the remaining sixty or seventy people emerged from the woods and crawled out of the grass. Under the leadership of the squad leader, they quickly divided into two groups, standing on both sides of the Fahua Temple gate. Drumming up courage, Ximen Qing also ran over to wait for assignment of tasks.

  "Third brother, I'm afraid you'll have to make another trip, sneaking back to the other courtyard. First, to investigate the situation, and second, to inform them of our situation here, so they can wait with peace of mind." Ximen Qing took over the command, gesturing as he instructed: "Liu Daizi, if we go past the left side, it's the other courtyard; take half the men with you. If we go straight in, it's the Grand Hall of Supreme Treasure; take the other half of the men with you, and don't show any mercy!"

  When Drumming on the Top of the Hut, Qiān didn't say a word and slipped away through the side gate.

  "Look at the situation at the gate and the peach forest, I estimate that the monks and guests inside are almost all dead. As long as they're not our people, anyone with a weapon in hand will be killed on the spot! No need to leave any survivors!" With these words, Xi Menqing's expression changed instantly, becoming fierce and menacing. Anyone who dares to move against his brother will not live to tell the tale, no matter how many lives they have!

  "We are outnumbered, be careful to advance step by step! Don't rush forward!" Wu Song also reminded on the side: "If you encounter any tricky situations or the martial arts masters of Zhenzhou City, you can stop and send someone to inform us! While fighting, pay attention to collecting useful weapons for me to use!"

  "I understand!" Liu Renzhong responded in a low voice: "We now have only seven or eight knives and must snatch them from the enemy's hands!"

  No guns no cannons, the enemy is creating for me!

  Although the enemy has four or five hundred men, many more than us, as long as we defeat them one by one and advance step by step, victory is still in our grasp. But most importantly, these hundred men are precious seeds for Ximen Qing, and he doesn't want to lose too many of them in this battle.

  So Ximen Qing finally ordered: "Don't be hard on them! If any brother is injured, I'll take him out! Don't leave any brother behind! Don't think that if someone dies, the rest of you can get more shares! If one person dies, I'll deduct a share from all of you!"

  As soon as this was said, Wu Song also felt quite surprised, and Liu Zheng felt warm in his chest, straightened up and patted his chest: "Don't worry, leader! The soldiers in Zengtou City are like children playing with guns and sticks to us, I guarantee that not a single brother will be left behind!"

  "Good!" Ximen Qing also picked up a steel knife and grasped it in his hand, took one last look at the troops preparing on the right, took a deep breath: "Let's make him fall like flowers flowing water!"

  The two teams shot out like a pair of dragons, swiftly heading in different directions towards the Backyard and the Great Hero Treasure Hall!

  "We must get out of here alive!" Ximen Qing felt the steel knife in his hand, although Wu Song was by his side as a bodyguard, but this time he was also taking a risk, after all, the situation inside was unclear, and once surrounded by the soldiers of Zengtou City, it would be very troublesome.

  But Ximen Qing did not regret his decision, nor did he have the slightest intention of turning back, for in the other courtyard, there were Snowy, Pan Jinlian, and also Juizi, Xiaotianqing, Shu Tong'er, Hua Tong'er, small servants and maids, who were hiding under the protection of Rascal Yan Qing and Golden Money Leopard Tang Long, trembling with fear, waiting eagerly for his arrival!

  Ximen Qing and others rushed into the other courtyard, only to find that the situation was even more dire than they had imagined!

  The ground of the courtyard was already soaked with blood, and limbs and broken arms were everywhere. Corpses with their chests ripped open were scattered all over, and Ximen Qing felt extremely fortunate that he had a medical background, otherwise he would have vomited.

  It's not a war here, but a small-scale unilateral massacre. Ximen Qing saw that the dead were all guests who came to admire the peach blossoms, and there were no soldiers in uniform. Even so, this scene makes people feel like they are in the underworld!

  Women! Everywhere were women stripped naked, it was impossible to tell whether they were respectable ladies or servant girls. Each woman was surrounded by four or five soldiers who took turns raping her. Zeng Qiang had lost all control over his troops since they stormed into the courtyard. The women's wails filled the air.

  So, the conflict that Ximen Qing imagined did not occur at all. Everyone was concerned about the woman under them or when it would be their turn, no one looked up, and no one noticed the more than thirty people who rushed in.

  "These beasts! Kill them all! Don't let a single one escape!" Ximen Qing gritted his teeth and gave the order.

  Watching Zeng Sheng's beastly movement, Langzi Yan Qing gritted his teeth and hesitated for a moment before finally not pulling the trigger. But in the next instant, Yan Qing was delighted to see a gray figure rapidly shuttling back and forth on the rooftop in the distance, with a speed that only Drumming Ants' Timely Migration could match!

  Shi Qian stopped on the rooftop recently, and Chonglangzi drew a few strokes to indicate that reinforcements had arrived, telling Yan Qing not to worry.

  Langzi Yanqing was overjoyed and stared intently at Zeng Sheng, the moment Zeng Sheng stood up was the moment when vigilance was most relaxed!

  This moment didn't make Langzi Yanqing wait for long, soon Zeng Sheng stood up with a strange cry, satisfied and started pulling up his pants.

  This was the opportunity that Yan Qing had been waiting for, without hesitation, Yan Qing changed from a prone position to a half-kneeling posture, raised the crossbow in his hand and pulled the trigger!

  That small arrow shot forth with the wind, directly striking Zeng Sheng's Temple of the Sun!

  "Hah! Hah!" Zeng Sheng, with his pants still up, felt that the fire in his heart had been vented to its best, and without paying attention to the soldiers who were taking over and launching an attack on the woman who was at her last gasp, Zeng Sheng contentedly took a long drag of the air filled with the smell of blood, and subconsciously turned his head to take a glance towards the inner part of the courtyard!

  With this glance, Zeng Sheng saw both Yan Qing on the rooftop and the arrow right next to him.

  "Ah!" With a sound, the arrow that was supposed to shoot into Zeng Sheng's temple deeply pierced his right eye!

  The swift arrow and sudden pain made Zeng Sheng let out a loud roar, his body retreated half a step, blood flowed from his right eye into his mouth, making Zeng Sheng taste the bloody flavor again, but this time, it was his own blood!

  Yan Qing was just about to shoot his second arrow, but Zeng Sheng had already fallen to the ground, making it impossible for him to aim. Yan Qing muttered "Oh no" under his breath, and then heard Zeng Sheng wildly shouting: "There's someone in the backyard! Kill them!"

  The soldiers near the city gate were stunned: "There's another courtyard in the back? That means there's still wealth, and women!"

  Immediately, the one who was pulling up his pants and the one who was holding a tool pointed to something on the ground with one finger: "It's right over there!"

  "Master Wu, what's wrong?" Only then did the soldier see that his own Master Wu was covering his right eye, with an arrow tail exposed from between his fingers.

  "Never mind me!" Zeng Sheng quickly scrambled up, hid behind the soldier, looked up and saw that the person shooting arrows on the roof was gone, but it was certain that there was someone in the backyard!

  "This is terrible!" Drumming on the roof, he could see clearly, but now he rashly came down from the rooftop, passed through the soldiers of Zengtou City, and turned over the wall, which would definitely be discovered.

  Then he had to return to the front yard again to inform Ximen Qing and others!

  "Break down the door!" Zeng Sheng shouted under the cover of the soldiers, covering his eyes and directing: "There must be someone inside!"

  The soldiers took orders and didn't know where to find a thick wooden stick to start ramming the door!

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!" The sound of knocking on the door came in, as if it was knocking at Tang Long and Xiao Tianqing's hearts.

  "Have we finally been found?" Tang Long and Xiao Tianqing looked at each other, with the same thought flashing through their minds.

  The rogue Yan Qing slid down from the roof with a look of regret, pulled out his dagger and also stuck his body to the courtyard wall, being vigilant.

  The earth mound shook slightly with the impact, and some small clods of earth fell off, but overall, it was impossible to knock open the heavy earth mound weighing thousands of catties behind with just one wooden stick.

  Yan Qing's only hope now is that Ximen Qing and the others can arrive in time, because the door cannot be opened, and the people outside will definitely think of other ways. If they come over from the wall, relying on Yan Qing and the three of them, it's unknown how long they can hold on!

  As expected, after a burst of impact, Zeng Sheng found that the gate didn't even budge. Enduring the intense pain in his eyes, Zeng Sheng shouted at the soldiers to retreat and kicked the gate with one foot.

  "What's behind Grandma's back that's so hard!" Zeng Sheng's leg strength was completely bounced back by the courtyard gate and the soil pile behind, and he immediately felt something was wrong.

  "Damn it, get me a ladder! Climb over and take a look!" Zeng Sheng angrily said: "I must catch that archer thief, cut him into pieces, chop his bones to dust, only then can I vent my anger!"

  "Master Wu, shall we bandage you first?" A nearby soldier kindly reminded him: "You're all battered and bruised, where can you find a ladder to go?"

  "I don't care, get me a ladder!" Zeng Sheng gritted his teeth and had the soldiers simply bandage him up, securing the arrow slightly, before feeling a bit better: "First send two or three people to go over and take a look!"

  "Good!" They acted quickly, and in just a few minutes, they set up two ladders. Two brave soldiers, with steel knives clenched in their teeth, climbed up, first looking around from the top of the wall, but seeing no movement inside the courtyard, they then jumped down from the wall.

  The soldier who jumped down on the left side held a steel knife in his hand, looking around, but didn't know that an iron hammer had already been raised high behind him and was about to hit the back of his head.

  This iron hammer weighs over thirty catties, and Tang Long is an ironworker with a heavy hand. When he swings it to hit the bluestone, it breaks in two with one strike. A person's skull is even more fragile than the bluestone. The soldier didn't even make a sound before his head was smashed by the hammer, falling to the ground and convulsing all over, clearly on the verge of death.