Chapter 398: Five Fierce Soldiers

The defeat of the Grand Progenitor of the Ning Dynasty at Luocheng was once a much-discussed story in all the teahouses of the Ning Dynasty.

Storytellers would recount that the Grand Progenitor, though merely twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old at the time, had already displayed talent capable of holding up the heavens and supporting the seas, possessing unmatched bravery.

On that occasion, the Emperor of Northern Wei personally led a vast army of eighty thousand, with banners obscuring the sun and horses neighing, forcing the Grand Progenitor to hastily retreat from Luocheng.

The Northern Wei army pursued relentlessly. Helpless, the Grand Progenitor could only lead a force of three hundred elite soldiers as a rearguard, attempting to cover his main army's retreat into Wubei City.

In the official history of the Ning Dynasty, when the enemy general led cavalry in pursuit, the Grand Progenitor shot arrows with both hands, and the pursuers fell immediately, startling the enemy army into retreat!

In the teahouse anecdotes, the story included an additional general named Zhou, Zhou Huaijin!

Storytellers claimed that on that day, Zhou Huaijin, having reached the pinnacle of the Seeker's Path, faced the pursuers. He was seen in a blood-stained white robe, treading ritualistic steps, and a hemp rope in his hand shot into the sky like a living dragon!

From a clear sky, clouds suddenly swirled, and a white dragon, whose scales and claws were formed from flowing clouds, descended from the sky. Its tail swept away pursuers for a hundred zhang, and its roar made the Northern Wei warhorses collapse, unable to rise.

After retreating into Wubei City!

At that time, the Grand Progenitor, who was not yet the Grand Progenitor, stood on the wall of Wubei City and laughed heartily: "See that? Old Man Tuoba is trembling, cowering in his imperial carriage. Brother Zhou's technique shouldn't be called 'Rope Walking'—from today on, it shall be called 'Leading the Dragon,' leading that incompetent emperor by the nose."

"If you and I, brothers, join forces, even a hemp rope can bind a true dragon." However, before establishing the Ning Dynasty, the Grand Progenitor only felt that the name "Leading the Dragon" was spirited and inspiring. But after he established the Ning Dynasty and became emperor, he found the name "Leading the Dragon" awkward!

The Grand Progenitor hosted a banquet for Zhou Huaijin at Jinling Palace. During the feast, drunken crabs from Dongting were served in glazed goblets. The Grand Progenitor lightly tapped his golden cup with his fingertip: "Huaijin, recently, the popular stories always mention the old tale of 'Leading the Dragon.' When I hear it, it sounds as if that cloud dragon is the protagonist?"

Zhou Huaijin's hand, holding his chopsticks, paused slightly. He bowed his head and replied, "Your subject is terrified! That crude trick from back then, originally named 'Rope Walking,' was merely fortunate enough to protect Your Majesty and earn a fine reputation! Yet, there cannot be two suns in the sky; how can common folk presumptuously speak of 'Leading the Dragon'?"

The next day, a memorial titled "Petition to Restore the Name of the Rope Walking Technique" was presented to the imperial desk! The imperial approval was a single character: "Granted!"

The ink dripped like blood!

Such has human nature been since ancient times: a thousand years ago, it was so; a thousand years later, it remains so, never changing!

But the term "Leading the Dragon" had already spread widely among the common people and could not be stopped!

In the ninth year of the dynasty's founding, Zhou Huaijin was imprisoned for presumptuous remarks made while intoxicated. His release three years later to live as a wealthy elder in his hometown was considered a rare good ending!

At this moment, in Plum Valley, Zhou Kuang stood holding a hemp rope, and a Flower-Leaf Roaming Dragon moved with the rope. With his own power, he pulverized every incoming crossbow bolt into dust. The sworn assassins surrounding the Flower-Leaf Roaming Dragon were unwilling to give up, riding their horses around them, continuously firing arrows, but failing to injure a single person!

After the wooden arrow shafts shattered, they were swept up by the Roaming Dragon, becoming part of its body, while the iron arrowheads fell to the ground like rain!

Prince Fu clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Zhou Kuang, you are incredibly brave! Once we return to the capital, I must toast you at least two cups."

Zhou Kuang calmly replied, "Three cups!"

Prince Fu laughed heartily: "Ten cups!"

Yangyang watched Zhou Kuang hogging the limelight nearby and muttered under his breath, "Damn it, it's just that my technique isn't suited for deflecting arrows; otherwise, how could he steal the show?" At this point, Yangyang felt some regret: "A man this capable should be fighting alongside me on the battlefield! If we had his skill at Chongli Pass back then, I could definitely have stopped the general of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry! How can a man like this be kept by a noble as a bodyguard? He should join my Ten Thousand Years Army!"

Zhang Zheng chuckled, "That's His Royal Highness Prince Fu, not an ordinary noble!"

Yangyang impatiently said, "Is there a difference? It's all the same."

Zhang Xia quietly explained, "Zhou Kuang didn't willingly attach himself to Prince Fu. He served in the Five Army Camps years ago, but during the Battle of Chicheng, he killed prisoners, was impeached by a censor, and lost his official position!"

Yangyang was surprised: "He was the one who did that at Chicheng? There's no right or wrong in that matter; if it were me, I'd do the same! Those censors are just bored, and those eunuchs in the Jiefan Guard and secret service are always looking for trouble behind our backs!"

He then looked at Chen Ji: "You, young man of the Chen family, come join my Ten Thousand Years Army! The Imperial Forest Army is not where you belong!"

Qi Zhenzhuo suddenly asked, "Can I go?"

"You?" Yangyang scrutinized him: "Would the Qi family let you go? Heh heh, I heard about you wanting to go to Goryeo with Master Wang a while ago. You Qi family youths should just stay put in the capital!"

Qi Zhenzhuo's expression darkened.

Chen Ji ignored Yangyang and turned to look at Zhou Kuang.

Zhou Kuang showed no emotion, no hint of pride on his face. The Flower-Leaf Roaming Dragon was dispersing, suggesting Zhou Kuang was nearing exhaustion! Chen Ji looked down again and suddenly saw a crossbow bolt tip on the ground, gleaming with a dark blue hue under the sunlight!

He instinctively exchanged a glance with Zhang Xia: "Something's wrong, the crossbow bolts are poisoned."

"Poison?"

They had just been discussing that the assassins didn't coat their crossbow bolts with poison because the mastermind only wanted to kill Chen Ji, not accidentally kill Zhang Xia!

But now, the assassins had returned and had re-coated their bolts with poison. Their brief departure must have been to prepare thoroughly, coming back ready for a fight to the death!

Strange, aren't they afraid of accidentally killing Zhang Xia now?

No, it's no longer a question of whether Zhang Xia will die. It's that Chen Ji is now so close to the Crown Prince; when the assassins fire at him, they could also potentially shoot and kill the Crown Prince!

If this poison on the arrows is fatal on contact, how can the Crown Prince guarantee his survival? Does the Crown Prince have an antidote?

Even if he has an antidote, how would the Crown Prince explain to the court afterwards that he possessed one? It would be inexplicable!

Chen Ji's mind raced. He quietly turned to observe the Crown Prince. But at this moment, it wasn't just him who noticed the poison on the arrow tips; Master Liao had also noticed!

Master Liao's expression suddenly changed. He exclaimed loudly, "The arrows are poisoned! Protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

As he spoke, Master Liao grabbed two East Palace attendants by their collars and pulled them in front of the Crown Prince, fearing that a stray poisoned arrow might fly and endanger the Crown Prince's life!

Zhang Xia whispered, "It doesn't seem fake!"

Chen Ji's heart tightened: Master Liao was genuinely worried that these assassins would kill the Crown Prince. Whose people were these assassins? Were they really here to assassinate the Crown Prince and Prince Fu? No, no, that's not it!

At this point, Zhou Kuang retracted the rope into his hand, and the Flower-Leaf Roaming Dragon suddenly dispersed, falling to the ground like a heavy rain!

Everyone looked intently and saw that beyond the circle of forty-odd assassins, two other assassins, wearing straw cloaks and conical hats, were sitting cross-legged on the ground!

In front of each of them lay a palm-sized stone altar, though what they contained was unknown!

Runes made of fresh blood surrounded the stone altars, and the scent of blood wafted towards them with the wind!

Both lowered their heads, cut open their wrists, and dripped their wrist blood into the altars!

Then, they stood up, raised their hands above their heads in supplication, and performed a grand kowtow!

From the stone altars, a burst of flames suddenly erupted, shooting skyward!

The flames in the air transformed into the eerie silhouettes of a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses, as if they were about to charge out of the fire!

The flames solidified in the air without dispersing. The soldiers within the flames wore skull masks; some carried long spears, some had bows and arrows slung over their backs, and some held ropes!

The skeletons were ferocious!

These soldiers charged wildly within the flames, seemingly confined by the fire and unable to escape!

That's right, how could those who dared to turn back and clash head-on with the Crown Prince and Prince Fu's men not have a backup plan? How could there be no ritual officers holding the line?

Yangyang's expression changed, and he urgently asked, "Axia, what kind of technique is this? I've never seen it!"

Zhang Xia carefully observed the skeletal soldiers in the flames and solemnly said, "Soul-Collecting and Prohibiting Wuchang Soldiers, Mountain-Roaming and Hunting Wuchang Soldiers, Blade-Sealing and Bone-Mending Wuchang Soldiers, Nanshan Conjoining Wuchang Soldiers, Chicken-Slaughtering and Blood-Sacrificing Wuchang Soldiers—I've only ever seen them in shadow diagrams!"

"So Wuchang Soldiers are these demonic things? How are these demonic things still in the world?" Yangyang said irritably, "Chen family boy, I hear those stone altars can't be moved. Shoot at them, don't hold back."

Chen Ji immediately drew his bow and fired. He bent the bow like a full moon, his two fingers hooking the string, then suddenly released it. The feathered arrow shot from the string, and the bowstring twanged with a thunderous sound in the air!

The feathered arrow streaked like a meteor, heading straight for the stone altars!

But the two ritual officers suddenly looked up, their faces beneath their conical hats twisted in eerie smiles, as if victory was assured!

The assassins who had previously been hunting Chen Ji now spurred their horses forward to block the arrows!

Chen Ji's arrow struck an assassin, piercing through their chest and remaining in their body!

Chen Ji's expression remained unchanged. He fired arrow after arrow, until he had shot all eleven arrows from his quiver. Only when he felt the empty quiver did he stop!

Arrow after arrow, like a string of pearls, flew directly towards the stone altars. The assassins gathered like a flood, forming a straight line to block in front of the altars!

The feathered arrows pierced through one assassin after another until they were all blocked by their bodies!

Arrows pierced their hearts, and the assassins slumped in their saddles, their heads hanging low!

Yet, the two ritual officers holding the line chanted in low voices: "We humbly beseech, noble official, personally lead your elite troops, overturn altars and demolish temples, stir up sand and stones, specifically seize living souls, and sever future troubles. This matter is urgent; no delay is permitted."

"Rise."

In that instant, the flames in the air turned into a chaotic stream of meteors, and clusters of fire separated from them, drilling into the bodies of the deceased assassins!

Those assassins, clearly pierced through the heart by Chen Ji's arrows, suddenly raised their ashen faces, their eyes burning with fire!

Over sixty deceased assassins all simultaneously reached into their chests, forcibly breaking off a rib and pulling it out! The ribs then violently twisted and grew, transforming into skull masks!

The assassins placed the skull masks on their faces, then simultaneously broke off another rib from their chests. In some hands, the ribs grew into long spears; in others, they grew into stiff bows; and in yet others, they grew into great sabers!

The assassins stood silently, wearing their skull masks. The foremost among them, holding a great saber upside down, slowly rode his horse towards the two ritual officers. He looked down and asked, "We know your wish. Do you know the price for summoning us?"

The two ritual officers prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to lift their heads: "We know!"

"Good." This Blade-Sealing and Bone-Mending Wuchang Soldier raised his great saber high and brought it down heavily. The heads of the two ritual officers rolled to the ground!

Yangyang was dumbfounded: "Damn, this is truly demonic."

No sooner had he spoken than the sixty-odd Wuchang Soldiers all turned their heads and looked over. They spurred their warhorses into a charge, shouting, "Victory!"