Chapter 914
A Plan to Turn the Tide
If he were to lure Yan Shouyi's army to the place Xie Master had pre-set, even if Xie Master defeated Yan Shouyi's army, Xie Master would definitely not give him any credit. Based on his understanding of Xie Master, Xie Master's punishment after the victory would definitely be like discarding a used millstone, and then all the brothers would suffer along with him.
However, if he changes his mind now and does not act according to Master Xie's plan, and does not lure Yan Shouyi and the others to the place Master Xie set up in advance, and pretends to be captured by Yan Shouyi, he will still have a chance to join Yan Shouyi. Otherwise, he will not have any other choice but to be supervised by Zhao Daniu, the deputy that Master Xie assigned to him.
Even if he were captured by Yan Shouyi's army and executed, he would have no regrets. After all, being captured by Yan Shouyi would present both opportunities and risks, but returning to Master Xie would inevitably lead to his death. Analyzing the consequences of joining either side, he knew exactly what to choose!
Thinking of this, the second-in-command immediately abandoned the idea of leading Yan Shouyi to the place that Master Xie had set up in advance. He decided to take a gamble, not only for himself but also for his brothers and the mountain stronghold they had once been together in.
The second-in-command continued to be locked in a stalemate with Yan Shouyi's army. Seeing that their situation was completely untenable, Zhao Daniu, the deputy that Master Xie had assigned to the second-in-command, shouted loudly to the second-in-command, "Let's retreat quickly! We are no match for them!"
After hearing Zhao Daniu's words, the second-in-command replied, "Alright! But I haven't killed a single person yet. Let me kill one and have my fill before we leave!"
Upon hearing the second-in-command's words, Zhao Daniu, while fighting off Yan Shouyi's army, anxiously said to the second-in-command, "What time is it? Why are you still fighting? If this continues, we'll all be wiped out!"
The second-in-command shouted, "Soon, I'll be done soon. You take everyone and get out of here!"
Seeing the dire situation, Zhao Daniu shouted to his brothers who were fighting Yan Shouyi's army, "Retreat! Retreat..."
After hearing Zhao Daniu's words, some of the men followed him away, while others who were loyal to the second-in-command stayed behind to continue fighting alongside him against Yan Shouyi's army.
After a brief, charade-like fight, the second-in-command saw that Zhao Daniu and the others had vanished without a trace, and then ran all the way to Yan Shouyi.
Seeing the second-in-command approaching, Yan Shouyi assumed he wanted to fight and immediately drew his sword to strike. The second-in-command quickly made a gesture of surrender. Yan Shouyi was puzzled by this gesture; the two groups had just been locked in fierce combat, how could he surrender so suddenly? It didn't seem logical. Holding his sword, Yan Shouyi looked at the second-in-command warily and asked, "What do you want?"
The second-in-command briefly told Yan Shouyi about Master Xie's conspiracy.
Yan Shouyi knew Master Xie. Recently, he had also heard rumors that Master Xie had subdued several vampire beasts. There were also frequent reports of disagreements within their mountain stronghold. Based on Yan Shouyi's many years of combat experience, he believed that what the second-in-command said was probably true.
Yan Shouyi was eager to meet Master Xie again and assess his abilities. Someone had just told him about Master Xie's plan, and knowing it would make it safer to lead his men. With that thought, Yan Shouyi shouted to his men behind him, "Catch up with the people ahead!"
Then Yan Shouyi led everyone to chase after the place where Zhao Daniu and his group had fled earlier. Of course, he also brought along the second-in-command's group, but not as teammates; instead, they took them hostage.
About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yan Shouyi saw Zhao Daniu and his gang fleeing in front of them.
When Zhao Daniu first fled, he was worried that he would be punished by Master Xie if he returned because he had failed to complete Master Xie's plan. But now, seeing Yan Shouyi following closely behind them, he was extremely happy!
Since they were following behind him, it proved that Yan Shouyi had been tricked. He could then lead them to that low-lying area according to the route planned by Master Xie, so that Master Xie could catch them like turtles in a jar. In this way, his mission would be completed, and the life or death of the second leader would have nothing to do with them!
So Zhao Daniu ran forward along the route set by Master Xie, trying to lead Yan Shouyi to the designated location and complete Master Xie's order.
Before long, Zhao Daniu led his men to the location designated by Master Xie, while Yan Shouyi simply played along and led a group of men to follow Zhao Daniu into the low-lying area.
Master Xie and his group had been waiting around the low-lying area for some time, completely surrounding it.
After seeing that his men had successfully led Yan Shouyi and his group to that depression, Master Xie knew that Yan Shouyi and his men had fallen into his trap, and then he slowly walked out from where he had been hiding.
Then, standing on the high ground, he burst into laughter at Yan Shouyi and the others, shouting to Yan Shouyi, "As expected, my move was right! You're now sitting ducks in my trap! Hahaha..."
Yan Shouyi feigned helplessness, picked up the sword and placed it against the second-in-command's neck, then shouted at Master Xie standing above, "Master Xie, your man is in my hands now, don't be too smug!"
Master Xie glanced at Yan Shouyi, who had a knife to the second-in-command's neck, and laughed loudly, saying, "Yan Shouyi, did you think I wouldn't do anything to you just because you have a hostage? Too bad, too bad. You've miscalculated. The person you've captured is Long Wanshan's former lackey. I sent him out to lure you out. He's just a pawn in my game. Now that I've achieved my goal, you can kill me or torture me as you please. I don't care!"
Knowing full well what was going on, the second-in-command shouted at Master Xie, who was standing in the depression, "Master Xie, so all that you told me before was just empty promises! I never expected you to scheme against me like this!"
Master Xie looked at the second-in-command and said, "I don't even care about Long Wanshan, so why would I care about someone like you? If you fell for it, it just means you're too stupid!" (End of Chapter)