Li Ying Appears to Save the Beauty, Teacher Makes a Strong Assault on the Pass

With a bang, Wang Ying was not dead.

When Yan Shun saw Wang Ying chasing after her, he sensed something was wrong and quickly followed. Just as Hu Rong swung her knife at Wang Ying, Yan Shun also drew his weapon and, at the critical moment, blocked Hu Rong's attack, saving Wang Ying's life.

Having narrowly escaped death, Wang Ying quickly broke free of the noose, rolled over in a lazy manner, picked up the copper rod, and said, "That was close! Brother, I almost died at the hands of this little wench."

Yan Shun looked at Wang Ying impatiently and said, "Let's finish this quickly. Since this girl's surname is Hu, she must be someone from the Zhu Family Village who is allied with the Hu Family Village. One of the girls has already gone to get reinforcements. If we don't leave soon, and a few skilled people come, we'll all be wiped out."

Wang Ying knew this wasn't the time to be lustful, but he was still somewhat unwilling, so he said, "Then let's take this girl down together."

Yan Shun was furious with this good-for-nothing, lecherous dwarf who couldn't even forget about women. He roared, "Kill him and that's it."

Wang Ying couldn't argue with his boss anymore. If it weren't for him, who had fought off the Zhu Family Village's men several times along the way, he probably wouldn't have escaped their encirclement so easily. More importantly, his boss had encountered more than a dozen robbers on the road and had taken them all under his command. If he disobeyed him, his boss might abandon him in a fit of anger, which would be troublesome.

The Zhu family originally intended to capture him, not Yan Shun, so Yan Shun's departure wouldn't have made much of a difference.

In fact, Wang Ying was also completely baffled as to why the Zhu Family Village wanted to arrest him. He guessed that it was because when he was raping a woman, there might have been a woman from the Zhu Family Village who happened to be of high status, so the Zhu Family Village went to great lengths to find him. Of course, in his eyes, there was no such thing as a woman being noble or lowly, only whether she was beautiful or not.

Seeing that she had missed the best opportunity, Hu Sanniang sighed. If she had been able to kill Wang Ying directly, she might have been able to break through the encirclement. But now that Wang Ying was still alive and another person had made a move, she realized that she was really in trouble this time.

If all else fails, she'll commit suicide to preserve her innocence; she absolutely cannot let that lecherous fellow touch her. Hu Sanniang secretly vowed this.

Thinking of this, she picked up her twin swords and shouted, "You outnumber me and still resort to sneak attacks? You're truly a bunch of 'heroes.' Come at me all at once!"

Without wasting words, Yan Shun grabbed his tiger-tooth knife and charged at Hu Sanniang. Wang Ying was not idle either; he picked up his bronze cudgel and swung it.

One was already a struggle, let alone two. Hu Sanniang struggled to support herself with her twin swords, a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth telling her that this battle had exceeded her body's limits.

Wang Ying swept his stick at Hu Sanniang's foot, and Hu Sanniang hurriedly took two steps back. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Yan Shun slashed Hu Sanniang's throat with his knife. Hu Sanniang also picked up her knife and stabbed at Yan Shun's heart. If Yan Shun did not defend himself, it would inevitably result in a lose-lose situation.

Yan Shun didn't want to end the battle with this life-for-life fighting style. He changed the direction of his tiger-tooth knife and slashed at Hu Sanniang's knife. Wang Ying missed with his stick, so he used a thrusting motion to poke at Hu Sanniang's shoulder.

Hu Sanniang's left-hand knife was blocked by Yan Shun, preventing her from turning to the side. She had no choice but to use her knife alone to block Wang Ying's copper cudgel. The knife and cudgel clashed, but there was no ear-piercing sound as expected.

Hu Sanniang could no longer withstand the force of the hammer swinging, and her single sword flew out of her hand. Wang Ying was overjoyed. He did not want to kill Hu Sanniang. Seeing that Hu Sanniang had lost one weapon and that another weapon was blocked by Yan Shun's tiger tooth knife, he quickly slammed the copper rod heavily on the ground and freed his hand to grab Hu Sanniang.

Hu Sanniang didn't want Wang Ying, that wretched short man, to touch her, so she kicked Yan Shun. Yan Shun quickly dodged, and Hu Sanniang loosened her grip on the knife, then swung it at Wang Ying.

"That idiot," Yan Shun muttered under his breath. With lightning speed, he slashed at Hu Sanniang's back with his tiger-tooth knife. If Hu Sanniang hadn't defended herself, she would have been killed instantly.

Hu Sanniang was resigned to her fate and ignored the knife in her back, only thinking that she could exchange it for another one.

That woman is a madwoman.

Yan Shun was speechless, but Hu Sanniang's momentum with her single sword had not diminished, and she couldn't save Wang Ying at all. He could only say, "Wang Ying, get out of the way quickly."

Anyway, I already reminded him that Wang Yingzhen is dead, so that's his fate.

With a whoosh, a throwing knife pierced Yan Shun's hand. Yan Shun heard the sound of the knife cutting through the air, but before he could react, the knife had already entered his arm. Instantly, his arm was in excruciating pain, and he could no longer hold onto the tiger-tooth knife, which fell to the ground.

Yan Shun was both shocked and furious, while Wang Ying, upon hearing Yan Shun's words, quickly lay down on the ground, causing Hu Sanniang's slash to miss its mark.

Hu Sanniang thought she was going to die today, but unexpectedly someone saved her at the critical moment. Overjoyed, she saw the throwing knife in Yan Shun's hand and exclaimed in surprise, "Brother Li, is that you?"

The man who came was none other than Li Ying, the Sky-Soaring Eagle. He knew that Hu Sanniang was coming to find him that day, but unfortunately he was accompanying his wife back to her parents' home. When they returned home, Hu Sanniang had already left. Li Ying asked his father and learned the general story. He was worried about his younger sister who had grown up with him since childhood, so he packed his bags, took his weapons, and rode off to find her.

However, he did not know where Hu Sanniang had gone. He guessed that Hu Sanniang was probably looking for Wang Ying and happened to run into the villagers who had been defeated by Wang Ying and fled back to Zhu Family Village.

After asking for directions, he continued on his way. Later, he learned that Zhu Biao had also personally led a group to look for Wang Ying. He figured that Hu Sanniang was probably alright, and since he didn't like seeing Zhu Biao, he decided to turn back to Lijiazhuang.

However, he was always cautious, and since he was already here, he thought he might as well see Hu Sanniang with his own eyes to put his mind at ease. Otherwise, if something really happened, wouldn't he feel guilty for the rest of his life?

Thinking of this, he arrived at the place where Wang Ying had hidden before, but there was no one there. Zhu Biao and Hu Sanniang were not there either. He had a vague feeling that something bad was going to happen. Just then, there were two forks in the road ahead, so he dismounted and carefully observed them before choosing one to continue forward.

That day, Li Ying was riding his horse through the dense forest when suddenly a horse appeared in front of him, galloping towards him. He looked closely and realized that it was none other than Hu Sanniang's maid, Xiao Min.

The maid Xiaomin also saw Li Ying. As if seeing a savior, she quickly rode her horse to Li Ying and, without saying much, told him that Hu Sanniang was in danger and was just ahead.

Knowing the situation was urgent, Li Ying didn't dare to ask further questions. He immediately whipped his horse and sped up.

They finally arrived at the last minute.

When Li Ying arrived, Hu Sanniang breathed a sigh of relief, but could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood. Some of the blood stained her white clothes, leaving tiny blood spots like newly withered roses. Though beautiful, they were fleeting, causing heartache and sorrow.

Li Ying's spear is different from ordinary spears. The spearhead is curved like an eagle's beak, and there are three barbs made of wrought iron at the bottom of the spearhead, similar to a hook-and-sickle spear, but without the iron hooks of a hook-and-sickle spear. This is also his unique weapon, the Iron-Beak Eagle Claw Spear, which corresponds to his nickname "Soaring Eagle". Although the spearhead is not straight, it will cause greater damage to the enemy when it is pulled out after piercing the body, and the wound will be difficult to heal. The barbs are not big, and are more like tiger head hooks to lock the enemy's weapon.

Li Ying, wielding an iron-beaked eagle claw gun and carrying four throwing knives on his back, rode slowly forward on horseback. His cold and aloof demeanor was like that of a grim reaper, each step signaling the countdown to their deaths.

Yan Shun couldn't stand Li Ying's oppressive aura and shouted, "What are you still standing there for? Get up here!"

Upon hearing their leader's order, more than a dozen henchmen grabbed their knives and charged at Li Ying, howling as they did so.

Li Ying's lips curled slightly, and with a flick of his spear, he charged towards the henchmen.

The spear moved like a silver snake spitting its tongue, or a dragon emerging from the sea. Each swift movement of the spear reaped a life, just as the Grim Reaper's scythe wielded its blade.

When Li Ying threw the flying knife, Yan Shun knew that this man's martial arts skills far surpassed theirs. Sending his henchmen to their deaths was simply to buy himself time to escape.

Soon, the henchmen were all slaughtered by Li Ying. Looking at the Prince of Yan and his companion fleeing into the distance, Li Ying sneered and pulled out two throwing knives from behind him, throwing them out.

*Thud!* Yan and Wang were stabbed in the back and nearly fell to the ground.

However, these two were tough and resilient. Despite the pain, with throwing knives stuck in their backs, they continued running towards Qingfeng Mountain.

Hu Sanniang asked, "Are we just going to let them escape like this?"

Li Ying laughed, "They're just rats. If they survive being hit by my flying knife, they're lucky!" Although Li Jun's flying knife wasn't coated with poison, it was still incredibly accurate. Since these two weren't dead, Li Ying didn't bother to kill them further!

Hu Sanniang sighed and said, "If you hadn't arrived in time, I probably would never have seen me again."

Li Ying glared at him and scolded, "How dare you say that? A woman running around like that almost lost her life. Now come back with me right now!"

Hu Sanniang stuck out her tongue playfully and said, "Since you've said so, then I'll listen to you." But she breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the Zhu Family Village had probably come to the wrong person.

Li Ying laughed and said, "You're a little injured, can you still ride a horse? If it weren't for your maid, I don't think I would have been able to get here in time."

Hu Sanniang also laughed and said, "This little injury is nothing. I can ride a horse. It's not like I've been so good to her all this time."

Li Ying laughed and said, "She's waiting for us up ahead. Don't be so impulsive in the future."

Hu Sanniang nodded and said, "Then let's go back!" After thinking for a moment, she continued, "Don't call me Hu Rong anymore, just call me Hu Sanniang."

Li Ying didn't react for a moment. He looked at Hu Sanniang, who was walking towards the horses, shook his head, and smiled. Hu Sanniang, that name is interesting, but for some reason, it sounds quite fitting and pleasant to the ear.

Crack! A bowl shattered on the ground. A young general was sitting in the commander's chair, fuming. This man was Huang Xin.

Zhu Biao sat down beside him, looking dejected and silent. Luan Tingyu, on the other hand, still had that cold, unreadable face.

"Three days! Three whole days! We haven't even seen a shadow of the bandits from Erlong Mountain. Instead, we've suffered over fifty casualties. What a disgrace! What a disgrace!" Huang Xin roared.

Zhu Biao didn't know how to respond. He originally thought he could come with Huang Xin to help out, gain some credit, and give the Zhu Family Village some face. Little did he know that Erlong Mountain was a tough nut to crack. After arriving, he realized that this difficult task was completely thankless and he couldn't even finish it in three days.

Even though Zhu Biao was usually quite wise, he didn't know what to do in this situation. The bandits of Erlong Mountain were like turtles hiding in their shells, unmoved by any shouts or curses. If you tried to attack them, they would throw down logs, rocks, and arrows as if they were free.

In fact, Huang Xin underestimated the treacherousness of Erlong Mountain. There is only one road leading up Erlong Mountain, and there are three passes along this road. If they wanted to take it by force, let alone Huang Xin's few hundred men, even ten times that number of men would not be able to take it. It is truly a place where one man can hold off ten thousand.

Huang Xin had previously become a military officer through Qin Ming's connections and was in dire need of merit, but unfortunately, such merit was not easy to obtain.

Zhu Biao thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a solution, so he looked at Luan Tingyu with pleading eyes. Luan Tingyu was also helpless. He didn't want to get involved in this mess in the first place, but Zhu Biao insisted on coming, so he came along to prevent Zhu Biao from getting hurt. After all, Zhu Biao was his apprentice, and he couldn't just watch him get into trouble.

Luan Tingyu pondered for a moment and said, "We'll fight one last time at midnight. I'll go to the pass alone first and see if we can take it by surprise. You all wait for my message at the foot of the mountain. If it works, wait for my signal to attack Erlong Mountain. If I fail, I'll come and join you, and we'll withdraw."

Huang Xin thought about it and agreed. After all, Luan Tingyu was the most skilled among them. If he failed again, they would have no chance of taking down the first pass of Erlong Mountain with just this few men, even if they used all their strength. At worst, they could just go back and get a scolding. It was better than being wiped out.

At midnight, Luan Tingyu changed into night clothes, grabbed a waist knife, and lightly arrived at the foot of Erlong Mountain. He knew from previous visits that taking Erlong Mountain by manpower alone would require tens of thousands of men; the mountain was simply too treacherous. A poem praised it thus:

Two cliffs rise into the clouds, and the pagoda appears and disappears in the mist.

There's nowhere to go but towering mountains and steep ridges, and occasionally a bird appears in mid-air.

The dense forest is as fierce as a barrier, and even wild beasts cannot pass through it.

Even if 10,000 or 20,000 men were to force their way through, it would still depend on the fact that Deng Long was an incompetent man. Moreover, Deng Long only had three or four hundred men in total. If a large band of 10,000 or 20,000 men were to come, along with a few skilled thieves, this place could definitely become a major threat to the imperial court.

Luan Tingyu was unwilling to risk his life here for nothing. His idea was to see if he could successfully cross the pass and take advantage of the darkness to kill the guards without anyone noticing. Of course, this was extremely risky. If he was discovered by the henchmen while climbing the pass, he might not be able to return.

Although the pass in front of us is not as sturdy as a magnificent city wall, its length of more than four meters and the narrow passageway that only one person can walk through make its defensive capabilities no less than those of a city wall.

Luan Tingyu sighed, took out a grappling hook, and threw it. The hook caught firmly on the pass. Luan Tingyu pulled hard on the rope, but the hook didn't budge. It seemed to be securely fastened. Luan Tingyu gripped the rope tightly with both hands and climbed up the pass.