Chapter 646

In Huainan, atop a mountain peak.

A Jin noble wearing a gold-colored robe stood here, gazing into the distance, muttering to himself: "Although Honglie has gained some insight, he cannot reverse the decline of Qin Mountain. A few months earlier, a large crowd of Qin Lake people surged into the capital, causing a tragedy. I, the prince, am both dissatisfied and furious about this; therefore I have led you here to set an ambush to avenge that day!"

A Jin soldier behind him reported: "Your Highness, those people have already gone to Songshan Shaolin; according to our information, Shaolin has won and successfully reopened its mountain gate!"

"Oh?" the Jin prince showed slight surprise, curiously asking, "Did the various Daoist sects and those Qin Lake ruffians not exert all their strength to obstruct?"

He originally thought there would be a fierce battle between Shaolin and martial artists worldwide, after all this concerned the competition for incense followers and fate.

However, the result was that each side sent out one elder and the problem was settled; truly a great show of force but little actual movement.

"Your Highness, both sides seem to have exercised restraint and not fully expanded this dispute," the scout replied. "According to reconnaissance reports, that eminent monk of Shaolin has already passed into nirvana, while Lin Lingsu of the God-Heaven Sect lies unconscious, his life or death unknown."

The Jin prince nodded, smiling indifferently: "They did not exert their full strength; I had long anticipated this. The Daoist side needs no attention for now; we only need to watch over those Qin Lake martial artists passing through this area. As the paternal uncle of Wanyan Honglie, I naturally must avenge him."

This is Wanyan Honglie's uncle, Wanyan Hongxi, one of the influential princes in Jin. Although his name differs by only one character from Wanyan Honglie's, his seniority is higher.

"Yes!" the Jin soldier behind him replied, but at the same time frowned, saying, "Your Highness, I fear not many people will pass through this area."

After all, they may not all choose this route.

"No problem." Wanyan Hongxi waved his hand, calmly saying, "However many there are, I will wait for them. The force we have brought is not large, but I have heard that the Capital Guard Inspector of the Southern Song is that genius who has grasped sword intent? If the information is correct, he will surely return from here to the Southern Song, giving me the perfect opportunity to eliminate him!"

Only a talent that has grown into maturity is a true threat; a talent strangled in its cradle is merely an ant, not to be feared! "Your Highness is wise."

That person flattered: "It's a pity I am merely a weak scholar, and the army is now feeble; I do not know whether Your Highness has brought any martial arts masters."

This Jin person is a retainer in Wanyan Hongxi's household, specializing in Han Chinese culture, styling himself as a mere scholar.

Wanyan Hongxi confidently nodded and smiled: "Sir, you need not worry; I have already invited three masters to hide here, and they will appear when battle comes. In this plan, we will first let a batch of weak martial artists go, then slaughter a batch of strong ones; do you understand, sir?"

The Jin scholar, hearing this, was startled but quickly reacted, widening his eyes in praise: "Your Highness has great insight; this is a plan to kill two birds with one stone! It can avenge the Sixth Prince and intimidate the Southern Song Qin Lake, letting them know our Great Jin is not without people—truly an excellent scheme!"

The scholar clapped his hands in praise, wearing a fawning expression.

Wanyan Hongxi paid no heed to his flattery, sighing: "I use the intentional to counter the unintentional; I suppose those people never imagined such an outcome. On both sides of this place stand towering mountains, with only a narrow valley in between for passage. I declare that this place shall henceforth be called the Valley of the Buried Heroes! Even if those people are heroes and champions, they must meet their doom here!"

After leaving the Song Mountain territory, the Daoist sects returned to the mountains to devote themselves to cultivation, while also preparing to compete with the Buddhist sect led by Shaolin for incense and followers; meanwhile, the Qin Lake warriors each returned to their own sects.

Those traveling with Ye Qin were the Six Disciples of the All Truth Sect, Qiu Qianren, the Seven Oddities of Qin South, and Hong Qigong of the Beggars' Sect.

He had this group go ahead, while he and Huang Rong walked at the rear of the convoy, flirting and exchanging sweet talk and ideals. Half a day later, a scout from the Imperial City Surveillance brought a constable to report: "Sir, there is an abnormal situation in the South of the Huai territory; it appears that the Jin troops have set up an Ambush!"

"Oh?" Ye Qin blinked slightly, then sneered, "It seems after the last massacre in the capital, that fellow Wanyan Honglie has improved quite a bit. However, the South of the Huai borders our Great Song; it should be just a small force."

Stationing hundreds of thousands of troops in those places would inevitably cause panic in both countries and possibly trigger a war. As a Commissioner of the Imperial City Surveillance, he naturally understood the situations of various states. The Song dynasty wished to join forces with the steppes to destroy the Jin, while the Jin people are now so weak that they dare not station troops southward.

What you say is absolutely correct, Sir. According to our constable's report, there are only a thousand Jin soldiers, but there should also be some highly skilled martial artists. That scout smiled and flattered.

Let the brothers ready themselves for battle; for us, this is a tough fight. After giving that order, Ye Qin secretly wondered whether he should inform those troublesome fellows ahead.

Qin Gege, why not let that group up front take the vanguard? They are unaware, so it would be a good chance to further weaken their strength. Huang Rong whispered to Ye Qin.

Ye Qin rejoiced at the words, quickly embraced Huang Rong and said, "Rong'er, you are truly my lucky star, a heroine among women! Once this plan is carried out, the Iron Palm Sect and the All Truth Sect will each lose some of their strength. The weaker they are, the happier I will be."

After all, the Jin state is like a grasshopper after autumn, unable to last much longer. Once the steppe's iron cavalry arrives, they will only be reduced to ashes.

Qin Gege, don't do that!" Feeling the roaming hands on her body, Huang Rong blushed, "There are still people here!"

Ye Qin leaned close to her ear and whispered, "So you mean, as long as there's no one else, we can…?"

"Nice try!" Huang Rong gave Ye Qin an annoyed glance, shook off those mischievous hands, and continued forward.

As they drew nearer to the South of the Huai territory, Qiu Qianren and the remaining Six Disciples of the All Truth Sect grew increasingly uneasy, as if some major event were about to occur. Earlier in the capital, the Seven Disciples of the All Truth Sect had already lost one, and with Qiu Chuji crippled by Ye Qin, only five retained combat ability. Meanwhile, the Seven Oddities of Qin South, though possessing considerable brute strength…

At that moment, in the Bury Hero Valley of South of the Huai.

Wanyan Hongxi suddenly asked again, "Have those people arrived?"

The scholar beside him smiled and nodded: "Your Highness truly possesses divine foresight! That group of Qin Lake people has indeed come, and even the Commissioner of the Imperial City Surveillance has come, hehe!"

The blades have been sharpened, just waiting for them to take the bait.

In response, Wanyan Hongxi's lips curled slightly as he secretly gloated: "Even heroes and champions—what of it? Under this king's slaughtering blade, there is only a dead end!"

You must know, he is not a martial artist, nor are those Jin troops; they need not worry about anything. A long-planned Ambush is about to unfold!

In the Bury Hero Valley

The surrounding mountains rose peaks, jagged rocks scattered, mixed woods grew thick, and wild grass was as dense as a forest—an ideal hiding place.

As Ye Qin's party stepped into the valley, they faintly sensed that something major was about to happen. Ye Qin looked around, thinking to himself: "No wonder this is an old hand at marching and war; choosing this terrain for an ambush is indeed advantageous for a sneak attack. However, I am not afraid—before me are many fellow martial artists, beside me are the Imperial City Surveillance guards protecting me, and I myself have some martial skill; this trip should be fine."

He felt he was not a lofty sage who could stand heaven and earth, and had no need to bear any great burden.

"Your Highness, they have all arrived." At that moment, the Jin scholar‑official reminded him cautiously, after all, these Qin Lake people were not easy to deal with.

Wanyan Hongxi's eyes narrowed, and he said coldly: "Just in time, just in time to dampen these fellows' spirits and display the might of our Great Jin State!"

Immediately, he shouted at the Jin soldiers lying in Ambush on both sides of the valley: "Kill!"

A brutal melee was about to begin.

Faced with the sudden appearance of the Jin troops, everyone felt astonished that the Jin would set an ambush here—it was truly unexpected. "They're Jin dogs; let's fight them!"

The Qin Lake men's faces turned ashen; they never expected to be ambushed midway—the Jin intended to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

The Five Masters of Quanzhen also turned pale with shock, shouting hastily: "Quickly defend, don't let the Jin succeed!"

After all, when life and death are at stake, even the most self‑righteous person cannot remain unmoved.

Qiu Qianren of the Iron Palm Gang looked sullen, bullied wherever he went, and he roared: "Too much!"

Saying this, he waved his hands and charged at the Jin troops, already fuming with rage.

The Seven Oddities of Qin South were also furious; the Jin had actually used such a treacherous tactic, truly hateful to the extreme.

The Jin soldiers burst forth, and the melee began.

Wanyan Hongxi slowly stepped out and roared at the place he had named Burial Hero Valley: "If you surrender, I can still grant you a path to life; if you remain obstinate, only death awaits."

His cold voice echoed in the valley; everyone hearing it fell silent, even the Seven‑Oddity Hong Qigong showed a bitter expression. This narrow terrain is extremely advantageous for army arrows, yet highly disadvantageous for the Qin Lake martial artists.

However, being an innate peerless master, he felt no fear; at worst, he would carve a bloody path out.

!

Ye Qin secretly rejoiced, thinking: "Perfect—let the two sides wear each other down; these Jin troops have arrived just in time, and it also gives those Qin Lake people a lesson."

These undisciplined bastards, it doesn't matter even if they all die.

"It's you, Wanyan Hongxi!" Hong Qigong beside him instantly saw through the newcomer's identity. This Jin prince always kept a low profile, but now he shows no intention of staying low.

"Indeed it is this prince!" Wanyan Hongxi stepped out slowly, coldly smiling at Hong Qigong and the others: "Now you're surrounded by me; you'd better surrender quickly, I can still leave you a whole corpse, otherwise..."

Wanyan Hongxi exuded a fierce aura, completely disregarding everyone under heaven.

Ye Qin said dissatisfiedly: "What else? Don't say you're just Wanyan Hongxi, a mere late-era prince; what ability do you have to make us surrender? Even if your ancestor Wanyan Aguda came, it wouldn't work—just a thousand men trying to bury us here, you're being too naive!"

This number of troops is really too few.

An ordinary soldier who loses one hand basically loses combat capability; even a martial artist who loses one hand will see his strength greatly diminished, like Qiu Chuji—now they're only called the Five Masters of Quanzhen, with no trace of the Seven Masters left.

After hearing Ye Qin's words, Wanyan Hongxi's face turned ashen: "Damn it, dare to insult my ancestor?"

To the Jin people, Wanyan Aguda is the most outstanding and sacred ancestor; they will not allow anyone to humiliate him.

He gritted his teeth and roared: "Kill! Have them all slaughtered for this prince!"

At this moment, he no longer cared whether killing would affect his mind; after all, he considered himself not a martial artist.

"Yes, Your Highness!"

The Jin scholar immediately passed the order down, driving the thousand Jin troops to massacre wildly, as if they didn't spare their lives at all.

Up front are the Five Masters of Quanzhen and Qiu Qianren blocking the way; Ye Qin isn't worried; in the middle are Hong Qigong and the Jiangnan Seven Freaks, likewise no need to worry.

As for the rear of the column, there's him and the Imperial City Guard's guards defending; to kill him one must first get past the two front lines, otherwise it's just a daydream.

"Old fool, today I'll just kill a prince." Ye Qin thought darkly, "Anyway, this Wanyan Hongxi doesn't know martial arts, nor is he the Wanyan Aguda whom the Jurchen revere like a deity—no need to fear!"

Of course, now isn't the best time; for Ye Qin, the final harvest is the best time—that's when he'll show his true colors.

Soon, the battle ahead broke out. That Jin scholar was carelessly struck by Qiu Qianren's Iron Sand Palm, his eyes rolled up and he fell silent. The remaining Jin troops, though unafraid of death, were successively cut down by the enraged Qiu Qianren and the Five Masters of Quanzhen.

Hong Qigong hadn't made a move yet; he simply calmly scanned his surroundings, watching what was about to happen, secretly speculating: "With the temperament of these Jin princes, they certainly bring some martial arts masters when they go out; I just don't know who they brought this time."

He couldn't help muttering to himself.

"Qin brother, you're really bad."

Huang Rong suddenly said to Ye Qin, making him a bit embarrassed. He stammered: "Rong'er, this idea was yours to give me."

How did it become his fault?

Huang Rong slyly smiled: "I just gave the idea, didn't harm anyone, hehe!"

Alright!

Ye Qin came to understand, wryly smiling: "You little girl still come to tease me. I actually wanted to tell them about the Jin ambush from the start, but back then you thought anyone would believe it?

Even if someone believed, they wouldn't feel grateful to me. The Quanzhen Sect hates me to death; even if I saved them again, it would be useless."

Anyway, relations couldn't be mended, so I might as well go with the flow and screw them over.

Meanwhile, on the left mountain path of the valley, Wanyan Hongxi watched as Jin soldiers fell one by one, his face ashen: "Does this prince have no Qinhu masters?"

He snorted coldly, his gaze like torches sweeping the surroundings, then shouted loudly into the valley: "You lot, still not coming out? What are you waiting for?"

Whoosh!

On both mountain sides, several figures suddenly darted out, rushing like a gale at the Qinhu martial artists; their overwhelming strength made people shudder.

Hong Qigong, who had been vigilant all along, suddenly exclaimed in shock: "You, you're still alive and have defected to the Jin—aren't you afraid of being despised by all the heroes under heaven?"

Three figures in purple Taoist robes, about fifty or sixty years old, suddenly appeared before everyone; with a light flick of their whisks, several Qinhu men collapsed, life or death unknown—this scene fully demonstrates the terrifying power of these three Taoists.

"Seven Master, this is…" (End of chapter)