Jiaohua

Shen Lie pursued the fleeing Li Xiao and the left wing of the Guan Ning army southward.

Upon arriving at Jinghe, he received two letters at the transit point. One was a secret letter sent by Fang Yiping, from which Shen Lie learned that Fang Yi and Xie Zhong were going to Zhuzhou to dig up Han Ruiqian's tomb.

Another letter came from Pingyue Peak, stating that Feng Qingang had kidnapped Sect Master Gu and Mu Tingyu to Zhuzhou, most likely Xinchun County in Zhuzhou. Moreover, recently, the major sects, which have always preferred quiet to activity, have been making moves, and their destinations seem to be centered around Zhuzhou.

Remembering Xia Zhaoyi's previous mentions of Zhuzhou, Shen Lie wrote to Hejing and Yong'an that very night, instructing Hejing to strengthen its northern defenses and dispatch heavy troops to intercept Li Xiao and Guan Ning's march. He also ordered Yong'an to immediately send Zeng Yuanzhi over.

Shen Lie then led only two hundred men to change course to Zhuzhou, while the remaining troops continued to pursue Li Xiao.

After entering Zhuzhou, the first troops discovered that Fang's army had driven away the self-recruited county soldiers of Xinchun County and taken over their territory.

Shen Lie didn't want to put Fang Yiping in a difficult position, so he deliberately bypassed the main urban area to avoid the main force of Fang's army.

However, on the way to Yunwan Village, still ten miles away, Yan Jun's scouts discovered that there was also a troop of soldiers there. Based on the marching tracks on the ground, it could be estimated that there were about five hundred of them.

Shen Lie instinctively knew it was Xie Zhong, and immediately ordered everyone to speed up.

Xie Qiniang made a brief appearance on the country road, then turned and ran, but she did not escape the eyes of Yan Jun's scouts.

Not long after, another scout returned and said that he had seen a young villager on the mountain, making a fool of a group of soldiers.

Shen Lie didn't immediately suspect Zhi Li, but as he rode closer and encountered the first wave of archers, he heard Zhi Li's cries for help.

Because they had encountered Xie Qiniang, Yan's army was well-prepared.

The first row of men mounted their crossbows, and the second row, maintaining a distance of three zhang (approximately 10 meters), also mounted their arrows.

Yan Jun had not yet reached the firing range of Fang Jiajun, but Fang Jiajun was already within range of Yan Jun's crossbow bolts.

Another group of archers from the Fang family army, under Xie Zhong's orders, rushed towards the open space where Danxianzhou and Zhili were located, and immediately began firing arrows at their legs, regardless of whether their own men were alive or dead.

Enraged, and realizing that Shen Lie had arrived, he no longer needed to hold back. He suddenly charged forward, crashing into a master who was turning around in shock to look at Xie Zhong.

This expert didn't expect Xie Zhongzhen to fire an arrow at his own men. If he hadn't reacted quickly enough, he would have died from his own arrows.

The expert exclaimed in surprise, "Master Xie! I..."

Before he could finish speaking, another volley of arrows came flying. At the same time, he was caught off guard and bumped into, his body falling in the direction from which the arrows came, and he was hit by three arrows in an instant.

Zhili used his body as a shield, quickly approached Xie Zhong, and then suddenly attacked Xie Zhong.

In an instant, all attention was focused on Zhili, and the arrows were all aimed at him.

Xie Zhong hid behind the crowd, quickly pulled two soldiers over and threw them towards the direction of the dispersal, then turned and ran.

The deputy general and Xie Qiniang didn't linger and fled with Xie Zhong under the protection of a group of guards.

Forced by the arrows, Zhili had no choice but to retreat far away.

He picked up a knife, his eyes bloodshot: "I'll kill you, you old beast!"

However, the enemy outnumbered us, and with the Danxian Boat caught in a stalemate, Zhili had no way to pursue them with all his might.

Immediately following, another volley of arrows rained down, and Zhili gritted his teeth and dodged again.

Suddenly, a swift and sharp arrow shot through the air, piercing the heads of two archers, their brains splattering everywhere.

Unlike his men's crossbows, Shen Lie held a large bow in his hand.

The steed galloped wildly, and Shen Lie drew his powerful bow to its fullest extent. With a flick of his long fingers, an arrow pierced the clouds like lightning, instantly felling two more archers who were instinctively turning to look in his direction. The arrow pierced their chests and backs with tremendous force, the lingering sound like a deep thunderclap. Zhi Li was overjoyed: "Brother Shen!!"

These archers did not hold their ground. Hearing the archers outside being shot dead in droves, they had already begun to consider fleeing. Shen Lie's two arrows completely shattered their already dwindling morale.

With troops scattered and generals nowhere to be found, the already chaotic temporary encampment descended into utter chaos.

Yan Jun swiftly attacked, sweeping away all resistance like a whirlwind. Half of the Fang family's army, who were unable to escape, were killed, leaving the other half alive.

The surviving prisoners were all driven to a large flat area and made to squat down with their heads in their hands.

Liang Jun arrived quickly with a military doctor to examine Dan Xianzhou's injuries.

Zhili was good at this, so he sent the military doctor to take care of the Taoist disciples who had suffered severe torture, while he personally treated Danxianzhou's wounds.

Danxianzhou lay back in Xie Zhong's tent, finally baring his teeth: "It hurts so much, my dear nephew, are you injured?"

"Yes, but it's nothing serious. My condition isn't as severe as yours."

“I almost thought I was going to lose my life here today,” Danxianzhou said with his eyes closed. “If I had really died, your master would have been guilty of a great sin.”

Thinking about this, Zhili felt a lingering fear: "Life is unpredictable. Just like I didn't expect Xie Zhong to suddenly change his itinerary, and I followed him here, only to meet you here."

“Speaking of which, Shen Lie,” Dan Xianzhou looked around, “did you write the letter to him?”

Shen Lie's voice suddenly rang out: "No."

Danxianzhou and Zhili hurriedly went to look.

Shen Lie stepped in, with Ye Zheng beside him.

“I followed Li Xiao south, but when I received Fang Yiping’s letter, I changed course. He could no longer tolerate Fang Yinai, but he didn’t have enough military power to take over all of Fang’s army. Moreover, he was increasingly suppressed by Xie Zhong and could not openly fight Xie Zhong.”

Danxianzhou remembered: "Oh right, Zhili mentioned it to me, saying that Fang Yiping is one of your people."

"No, it's not that. I've got my eye on his Fang family army. I want Fang Yiping to guard Tangzhou and Ningzhou for me after the Daping army leaves."

Zhili said, "So, Brother Shen, our meeting here is not a coincidence, but inevitable!"

Shen Lie nodded, looking at Dan Xianzhou's injuries, which were very serious.

He then looked at Zhili: "How are Elder Sect Master Gu and Mu Tingyu? Have you found them?"

He shook his head, his voice faltering. "It's still unclear."

Then he rattled off everything that had happened in the past two months.

Shen Lie said, "...Use your own jewels to build a fake imperial tomb and then hand it over to Xie Zhong?"

Zhi Li sensed the subtle disdain in his tone and immediately said, "It was my junior sister's idea!"

Shen Lie paused, his slightly furrowed brows relaxing: "Ali is so thoughtful."

Zhili blinked and said, "No, Brother Shen, did you think I was a pig-brain before? How come you're so pleased with my junior sister now? Brother Shen, you're too biased."

Shen Lie smiled faintly: "Back then, Fang Yiping asked me to give him time, promising that he would definitely take control of the Fang family army. He also promised me that he would keep a close eye on Fang Yinai and try his best to prevent the Fang family army from running amok. Therefore, when I took Tongdu, I did not exterminate the Fang family army. After you showed Ali Fang Yiping's letter, Ali could have directly ordered Yun Bozhong to send troops against them, but she did so to avoid disrupting my plans, which is why this imperial mausoleum was built." (End of this chapter)