Chapter 142: Exercise in Progress!

Hou Junji ordered his men to intercept the person in black within the Qingming Canal, and had others line the banks in strict readiness, prepared to shoot arrows into the water at any moment.

A captain asked, "General, should we send two more brothers down there?"

Hou Junji replied indifferently, "No need. Given his martial arts skills, sending a few people down is useless—it would just be sending them to their deaths. If we send too many, we don't have that many brothers who can swim well. This will do. As long as we maintain a perimeter along the banks, if he wants to escape, he can only swim toward the city. Moreover, after swimming a certain distance, he will inevitably have to surface for air, and at that moment, he will undoubtedly die!"

The captain nodded in agreement and went down to instruct everyone to exercise caution.

About half an incense stick's time—roughly thirteen or fourteen minutes later—there was still no movement whatsoever on the water's surface.

The captain asked, "General, it's been so long. Could he have drowned down there?"

Hou Junji frowned and said, "Impossible. No matter how much willpower someone has, before suffocating, there would be some disturbance. This canal is not deep; if he were moving around too much at the bottom, the surface would definitely react. Yet look at the water—it hasn't changed at all!"

The captain said in surprise, "Does the General mean he hasn't escaped at all?"

Hou Junji said, "It's possible. Actually, what puzzles me now is why he hasn't fled. If he wanted to escape, those brothers blocking the canal mouth certainly couldn't stop him! Yet he hasn't run!"

Hou Junji's brow was furrowed into a tight knot, unable to figure it out. He re-traced his train of thought from the beginning, and suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Damn it! We've fallen for a stratagem of luring the tiger away from its mountain! He stayed here just to buy time and provide cover for those two individuals who entered through the Mingde Gate earlier!"

The captain asked incomprehensibly, "That can't be! Didn't their disguise technique require time?"

Hou Junji's expression turned ugly as he said, "They could force their way through! I brought most of Mingde Gate's garrison forces here; the remaining men simply cannot stop them!"

Just as Hou Junji finished his analysis, a soldier came running from ahead, panting heavily as he reported, "Reporting to the General! A moment ago, two people dressed as commoners suddenly made a move, broke through our blockade, and escaped into the city!"

"Dammit!" Hou Junji cursed fiercely. He stood on the bank, glanced back at the still calm surface of the water, snatched the bow and arrows from the captain, and said viciously, "You continue guarding here. I'm going to summon troops. I swear I'm going to capture these two alive!"

With that, Hou Junji turned to leave. But at the exact moment he turned, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a subtle, sudden movement on the water's surface before him. Hou Junji gave a cold smile, then continued his turning motion as if completely unawares. Yet the very instant he completed the turn, he suddenly spun back around and fiercely loosed an arrow straight at the spot where the disturbance had occurred, the shaft plunging directly into the water!

Hou Junji first smiled smugly, but his smile instantly froze on his face. He discovered that the expected blood did not appear in the water. And just as he was stunned for a fraction of a second, a grappling hook attached to a rope shot out from the water, directly catching onto the armor on his chest. Then, with a powerful yank from the person beneath the surface, Hou Junji was hauled headfirst into the water! Everything happened in the blink of an eye—so fast that none of the onlookers had time to react. The only thought that managed to flash through Hou Junji's brain was: *"Motherfucker, it's a trap within a trap!"*

The person hiding in the water was none of other than Moylang Chen Mo of the War Wolf Team. As for the two Hu individuals, the one who rescued people was Donglang Chang Dong, and the other was Tielang Lei Gang!

The three of them formed a unit whose objective was to infiltrate the city and assassinate Hou Junji. However, they had been discovered right at the city gate, forcing Chang Dong to temporarily alter the plan and use this diversionary tactic. Although Moylang Chen Mo was a northerner, he was the best swimmer in the War Wolf Team. He could hold his breath underwater for seventeen or eighteen minutes—a feat that even Li Yi couldn't help but marvel at. It was pure talent that others simply could not learn. Chen Mo had originally planned to leave after stalling for time, but he later made a impromptu decision to execute this decapitation strike. The ripples on the water just now had been caused by him swimming up from the riverbed to the surface. And Hou Junji had genuinely fallen for it; he truly believed Chen Mo was about to leave. Only out of caution had Chen Mo stayed tightly pressed against the canal bank, which fortuitously allowed him to dodge the arrow. This was Chen Mo for you. Anyone else would never have dared to take such a risk. Just as Li Yi had once said, though Chen Mo was cold and taciturn by nature, he was the most adaptable person of them all.

After hooking Hou Junji, Chen Mo leaped up, grabbed Hou Junji directly, and poured pig's blood—which he had prepared beforehand in a small bamboo tube—all over Hou Junji's body. This signified that Hou Junji had been "killed in action"!

Having "dispatched" Hou Junji, Chen Mo plunged back beneath the surface and escaped amid the chaos!

...

By the time the captain reacted, Hou Junji had already been "killed." He hurriedly ordered his men to rescue Hou Junji from the water.

Once pulled ashore, Hou Junji was furious at first, but his anger gradually subsided. He sighed in admiration, "Ah! I lost after all. This team is formidable!" Only he knew that the anger in his heart hadn't truly vanished; it had merely been suppressed.

The captain asked cautiously, "General, what should we do?"

Hou Junji snapped irritably, "Do you even need to ask me? Report what needs to be reported, and set up defenses where needed! I am already dead—don't talk to me!"

"Yes! Yes!" The captain acknowledged the order and hurried away. He needed to find someone capable of stabilizing the situation to clean up the mess!

...

Nearly a quarter of an hour after these events transpired, another battle was about to take place at the Guangguang Gate on the western side of Chang'an!

Outside this Guangguang Gate, the garrison troops deployed were identical to those at the Mingde Gate. Normally, city gates were guarded by the Gate Monitoring Guards, but for the sake of unified management during this drill, they had been temporarily handed over to the imperial guards.

The general stationed here was none of other than Yuchi Jingde. He and Hou Junji were stationed east and west respectively. Hou Junji had placed his bets on the Mingde Gate, whereas Yuchi Jingde had wagered on the Guangguang Gate. His reasoning was simple: Guangguang Gate was the closest gate to the Western Market, and Li Yi's territory—the Jinding Corporation—was located precisely in the Western Market. Yuchi Jingde was convinced that members of the War Wolf Team would head there to seek reinforcements, so he had set up his blockade right here.

As the old saying goes: a wise man, for all his thousand thoughts, is bound to make one mistake; a fool, for all his thousand thoughts, is bound to find one gain! Thus, this stubborn oaf Yuchi Jingde had won his bet once again!

In front of the Guangguang Gate, Yuchi Jingde had placed his chair right before the portal, staring fixedly at the entrance. Around ten o'clock in the morning, Yuchi Jingde spotted something unusual. It was a fresh batch of people entering through the left gate passage: an old man, five Hu individuals, a cripple, and a young master of wealthy demeanor!

Yuchi Jingde's suspicions centered entirely on this young master. Though rash by nature, Yuchi Jingde was also one of the top-ranking martial artists of the Zhenguan era. With a single glance, he discerned the anomalies in this young man: his posture, his physical reactions, and the fierce glint in his eyes all indicated that he was unquestionably someone who had undergone rigorous military training—and an absolute expert at that!

Yuchi Jingde narrowed his eyes, snatched a single-edged steel whip from his deputy, and without uttering a single word, charged straight at him. That was Yuchi Jingde for you: if he suspected someone, he would beat them first and sort it out later. As for whether his suspicion was correct, he would find out in the thick of the fight!

Faced with Yuchi Jingde's sudden charge, the young master was momentarily stunned. Clearly, he hadn't expected Yuchi Jingde to be so utterly reckless, throwing blows without a single word of warning—making even Cheng咬金 look tame by comparison!

The young master had no time for second thoughts. Confronted with Yuchi Jingde's oncoming steel whip, he had no choice but to dodge. Dropping into a rolling evasion to the side, he snatched a saber from a nearby soldier, parried the descending whip, backed up to evade Yuchi Jingde's sweeping low kick, and countered with a slash that forced Yuchi Jingde to retreat, finally buying himself a brief moment to catch his breath!

This young master was none of other than Jiang Lichen, known as Wild Wolf! His mission was identical: infiltrate the city and seize the opportunity to assassinate Yuchi Jingde. Yet he never expected to be exposed right at the city gate by Yuchi Jingde, who launched into a completely unreasonable brawl without a word. Even now, he felt slightly bewildered. Calming his nerves and wiping away a cold sweat, he grew serious. Being able to fight a duel with Yuchi Jingde was something he actually looked forward to!

The nearby soldiers, perhaps accustomed to Yuchi Jingde's ways, merely escorted the commoners to safety and formed a perimeter around the two combatants without stepping in to help.

Seeing that Jiang Lichen had regained his composure, Yuchi Jingde spoke up, "How is it, little wolf? Have you caught your breath? If you have, get serious and let me see what kind of martial arts Yi's boy has managed to train into these men!"

Jiang Lichen tensed his body, easing the numbness in his hands caused by the impact. With a slash of his blade, he tore open the fabric of his trouser leg and drew out a combat dagger—a weapon custom-forged for them by Li Yi, with every member possessing one. He casually discarded the stolen saber, squared his stance, and slowly said, "This junior likewise wishes to receive the high-ranking guidance of the Duke of E."

"Oh? A combat dagger, you say? It seems you really are Little Wolf! Hahaha, looks like old Yuchi is going to win first prize today! Take this whip!"

With that, Yuchi Jingde wielded his steel whip and struck directly at Jiang Lichen's center guard. Jiang Lichen parried with his blade, employing the soft-force deflection principles of Tai Chi to neutralize the momentum of the whip while redirecting it to the side. At the same time, he spun around and thrust straight at Yuchi Jingde's flank. Yuchi Jingde countered with a backhanded flick of his whip to deflect the dagger, simultaneously unleashing a sweeping leg kick. Jiang Lichen leaped upward to dodge, and mid-air, thrust his blade toward the back of Yuchi Jingde's head, forcing Yuchi Jingde to sidestep in evasion.

And so the two of them traded blows, exchanging over a dozen rounds in short order.

The hallmark of Yuchi Jingde's style was precision, overwhelming dominance, broad and sweeping motions, and vast combat experience! However, Yuchi Jingde excelled primarily in mounted combat, and his preferred weapon was the long lance. Fighting on foot with a steel whip meant he could only unleash about eighty percent of his combat prowess.

Jiang Lichen's style, on the other hand, was a synthesis of the embroidery saber techniques and Tai Chi saber techniques he had learned in his youth, blended seamlessly with modern military close-quarters combat. It was tricky, bizarre, combining hardness with softness, and specialized in delivering fatal blows.

The two fought to a complete standstill. Of course, the primary reason was that Jiang Lichen's moves were so unorthodox that Yuchi Jingde was temporarily at a loss on how to counter them. Yet, given enough time, Jiang Lichen would undoubtedly lose!

After another half an incense stick's worth of fighting, Jiang Lichen suddenly delivered a horizontal slash that forced Yuchi Jingde to retreat. Abruptly, he turned and sprinted toward the city gate. Reaching the portal, he kicked aside an imperial guard and yanked the cripple toward him, holding the blade against the cripple's neck to use him as a human shield. This cripple was none of the other men who had entered in the same group as Jiang Lichen!

Seeing Jiang Lichen's action, Yuchi Jingde frowned, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. He had actually developed a fondness for Jiang Lichen's talent and was even contemplating forcibly recruiting him under his own command, never expecting that Jiang Lichen would resort to such despicable tactics.

Yuchi Jingde walked toward Jiang Lichen and said coldly, "I never imagined that the elite soldiers trained by Yi's boy would stoop to this level—kidnapping unarmed commoners. To think you could actually do such a thing. I'll give you one more chance: release him, and I can consider letting this matter go. Furthermore, I'll allow you to follow me, and I can grant you a lifetime of glory and wealth!"