Chapter 48: Pu Fengtian

The rebel troops pressed forward, Li Bucai and the other five followed silently behind, turned the corner, and the torchlight revealed the entrance ahead blocked by a huge boulder. **. mingshulou. com**

"Unit leader, the entrance is blocked by them," the rebels halted.

The iron‑clad spearman in the middle of the formation said, "Understood, go back and check the other entrances."

The formation turned its head, switching from rear guard to front guard, and suddenly spotted Li Bucai and his companions behind them, shouting at the approaching men, "Who are you?"

"Our own."

The man, noticing the different attire, shouted, "Bad, enemy troops are coming in."

Before the rebels could adopt a stance, Li Bucai and Qian Feng stood side by side to block the entrance, crouching low, sealing the rebels' path forward. Meanwhile, four men behind them released four arrows simultaneously; the tunnel was narrow, so the rebels could not maneuver, advancing only in pairs. As the hawk‑feather arrows flew, two rebel soldiers were struck and fell to the ground.

Another two soldiers charged side by side. Li Bucai lunged half a step forward, hooking his sword upward to deflect the two spears thrust at him, then seized one spear and swung it back forcefully. The man staggered, and Li Bucai's sword came down, cutting him at the foot. He sheathed his sword, borrowed the enemy's spear, and with a "Wind‑Assault Stab" leapt forward. The rebels could not dodge to either side; instantly, like a string of candied hawthorn, seven or eight rebel soldiers were impaled by spears and fell.

Li Bucai hadn't steadied his footing when he heard Qian Feng shout from behind, "Watch out, I'm coming! **. mingshulou. com**" Li Bucai quickly planted his feet and leapt up. Qian Feng executed a move called "Even Split", raising his shield overhead, his body horizontal in the air, spinning and skimming past Li Bucai's feet into the enemy formation. Instantly a series of "Ping‑pang" sounds erupted, like a bowling alley; everyone hit was tossed about by his massive impact, collapsing and fainting on the ground.

After he finished his move, Li Bucai again used a "Wind‑Assault Stab" to follow up, the two of them alternating their techniques in a rapid succession, driving the remaining rebels up against the massive stone at the tunnel entrance, leaving no escape. They continued to strike in turn, giving the rebels no respite. Over a dozen rebel soldiers, together with their unit leader, were pinned alive to the boulder. Those who had been knocked unconscious by Qian Feng were finished off by Wu Zhuoran and his men behind them, all meeting a grim end.

"Heh heh!" Qian Feng reveled in the killing, feeling immensely exhilarated, effortlessly wiping out the rebels, then rummaging through the corpses for loot. Finding nothing of value, he took the spear from the iron‑clad spearman and tossed it to Li Bucai.

Li Bucai smiled; the spear in his hand had struck the stone during the charge, breaking its tip. The iron‑clad spearman's spear could not extend or retract like a Ruyi spear; although forged of iron, it was merely an ordinary iron spear. The original Ruyi spear likely contained refined essence, making its weight and resilience superior to this iron spear, which was at least better than a common soldier's weapon.

Li Bucai then picked up a Torch, tossing them one by one to the people behind, saying, "Put on the rebels' clothes. /. mingshulou. com/"

"Lord!"

Li Bucai saw Rui Tong hurrying over and quickly asked, "Did the people over there come to kill us?"

Rui Tong nodded, "Lord Qian's men were identified by the rebels, couldn't hold them, and were brutally slain. Mu Nan is leading the enemy ahead to block the rebels, but it looks like they can't hold them; please, my lord, hurry to the rescue."

Li Bucai originally thought that if that man could hold the opponent, they could change into rebel clothes and catch them off guard; since the enemy had already exposed that man, changing clothes was no longer necessary.

The group hurried back, rounded the corner, and saw Mu Nan standing at the front protecting everyone, fighting while retreating. The rebel leader at the front wore a suit of bright‑bronze light armor that glowed with a shimmering green light; his hands wielded two copper hairpins about a foot long, also forged with green Magic Crystal, moving with great agility.

Mu Nan wielded a massive scythe; the tunnel was already narrow, the giant scythe too long to use properly, so he could only barely block weapons with it. Several kicks struck his abdomen, sending him stumbling backward, and the crowd behind erupted into chaos, blocking Li Bucai and his companions' path. The rebel leader charged at Mu Nan again.

"What do we do?" blocked by the crowd, unable to reach the front, Qian Feng was extremely anxious.

"Carry me across," Li Bucai said, then lightly leapt. The tunnel was only a little over two meters high; when he reached the height of the crowd's heads, he curled his body, thrust his feet backward. Qian Feng turned forward, kicking his feet, propelling Li Bucai like an arrow over the heads. He used the stone wall for extra thrust, and as the rebel leader's dual hairpins thrust toward Mu Nan's chest, Li Bucai jumped between them, shaking his spear to create a plum‑blossom‑shaped spear shadow that covered the incoming hairpins. The clashing of weapons rang out, forcing the man back a few steps. Li Bucai landed steadily between the two, blocking the rebels' advance.

At this moment, Qian Feng squeezed to the front of the crowd, saw the rebel leader's gear, and his eyes flashed with excitement: "Fatty, big brother, dual hairpins, gauntlets, shoulder guards, greaves... he can strip off several Magic Crystals in one go. What the heck is this guy's background?"

The man, seeing two leaders appear at once, recognized after Li Bucai's move that he was facing worthy opponents. He stepped out with both of them, realizing he couldn't hold them. Meanwhile, the troops on that side had vanished, presumably wiped out. He protected himself with his dual hairpins and retreated step by step.

Li Bucai said, "Whatever his background, if he's Fatty we can't let him escape. I'll drive him back; you take people to cut off his retreat behind him."

"Leave it to me."

Having spoken, Li Bucai suddenly surged forward, forcing the rebels back into the right‑hand cave, while Qian Feng hurriedly led his men to dash into the left‑hand cave.

The rebel leader, seeing the unfavorable situation, shouted, "Retreat!" He feigned a forward thrust, slipped past an empty block, then turned and leapt, sprinting away.

Li Bucai left Wan'er to tend Mu Nan's injuries, and led Wu Zhuoran and others to give chase. The rebel soldiers were ahead, moving slowly; the leader was behind. Though his light‑step was swift, his path was blocked. As they were about to catch up, several rebel soldiers turned, letting the leader pass to block Li Bucai. He raised his spear and struck down two of them in succession. The leader had already fled to the center of the crowd, farther from Li Bucai.

At that moment, chaos erupted among the rebels; it was unclear what had happened elsewhere, but rebels were being hurled about by a massive impact force, scattering wildly. The rebels halted their advance. Li Bucai unleashed a "Wind‑Assault Stab", blasting aside several soldiers blocking his way, and lunged at the leader who was facing away. Before his spear could reach the body, a huge suction pulled the leader toward it, causing Li Bucai's spear to miss. The rebel leader, while flying forward, slammed his head into a finely‑crafted bronze round shield, producing a deafening crash; his footing gave way and he fell.

Behind the shield emerged a pair of chilling eyes—none other than Lord Qian Cang, Pu Fengtian.

"Hmph hmph hmph hmph, we meet again."

Pu Fengtian sneered, pulling his shield back behind him, his gaze flicking over to Wu Zhuoran beside Li Bucai. Among the two servants following him, one stepped forward and sliced the rebel leader's throat with his sword; two streams of blood spurted from the carotid arteries, a spray landing on Pu Fengtian's face. He licked his tongue with relish. The other servant moved forward, cleanly stripping the leader's armor and clothing, preparing to pocket them.

Li Bucai hadn't intended to clash with him at this moment, but after all his effort, the Magic Crystal he was about to obtain was now being hoarded by him alone. He had no way to explain to Qian Feng. He had come from that side, stating that there were no more rebels behind, and had long wanted to spar with him properly; now was the perfect opportunity.

He extended his spear forward, pressing it between the young woman's hands and her armor.

"Yeah, we meet again." (from the famous book)