Chapter 427: with translation of chapter title

"Does the Family Head know that person who just went in?" Chen Li asked.

Chen Wuji nodded, "He is the disciple of Zhang Lao of the Ciji Zhai, and also my junior martial brother."

"Is it because of this that the Family Head doesn't suspect him?"

"One of them."

Chen Li fell silent for a moment, then advised, "Family Head, I'm not deliberately stirring things up; it's just that this person's appearance is too conveniently timed, making me have to think a bit more."

"I know, even if this brat is really a spy under the Snake Staff Elder, I still have to keep an eye on him." Chen Wuji said, "Zhang Lao hasn't been in Yunan City lately; I can't let this brat die here."

"However, if he is indeed a spy under the Snake Staff Elder, he probably wouldn't face a life-or-death crisis."

"If he really is, then we'll act as the situation demands. Funing Street is in the city center; even if they have tunnels, they can only move to other buildings—leaving traces, making escape not so easy."

He used all the strength of Yunan City to set up this big net; if this pack of rats just slipped through and escaped, how could that be justified?

Even if he ultimately had to resort to a city-wide search as a last resort, Chen Wuji would drag out each rat one by one and then present their Head Trophies as a gift to the Snake Staff Elder.

Moreover, Chen Wuji felt this matter shouldn't be that difficult.

Gu Wenjie and the Snake Staff Elder sent these people with the purpose of achieving a big gain with a small force, to deal with his subordinates or places like granaries, not to assassinate any particular person, so they definitely wouldn't be short on manpower.

Even if the number of people they infiltrated into the city is not large, it should be around a hundred or so.

Qin Feng shouldered a sword and walked in leisurely.

"Why is there still no movement?" he asked, somewhat impatiently.

Chen Wuji glanced at him, "What's the rush? We have to let the arrows fly in the air for a while."

As his words fell, Xiaoyu darted out from the courtyard wall, scaling eaves and running along walls as if on flat ground, while shouting loudly, "Mao Laosan, you dog, lacking martial virtue to gang up on someone—pah! You scum of the Rivers and Lakes, you bastard, wait for me—I'm going to report you to the authorities!"

Behind Xiaoyu, a group of people rushed out quickly, chasing after Xiaoyu to kill him.

Qin Feng poked his head out to look, somewhat bewildered, "What's going on?"

"Some brat is causing trouble." Chen Wuji said speechlessly.

"Coincidence?"

"Probably."

Chen Wuji thought it probably was, but he didn't dare to be so certain.

Things in this world are never absolute; better to keep an eye out.

Xiaoyu's escape skills were excellent; in an instant he had already run across most of the street, and the five or six people chasing him were also not weak, as a group they maneuvered between rooftops and walls, appearing even more at ease than running on flat ground.

Just then, a whistle suddenly came from that courtyard.

The few people who had been chasing Xiaoyu quickly stopped their steps and then swiftly withdrew.

Chen Wuji looked carefully and did not see that middle-aged man from earlier among these people.

"Shall we attack?" Qin Feng instantly became excited, preparing to jump out the window.

Chen Wuji stopped him, "Wait."

"What are we waiting for? If we rush out now, chopping half and hacking half, even interrogating a few left over would make everything clear—the rats have already come out of their holes; we just need to catch them." Qin Feng said.

"I recall you're not an impatient person."

"I was never in a hurry; now it's not already... huh?"

Before Qin Feng finished speaking, he suddenly saw people pouring out unevenly from the surrounding courtyards, and even the ground floor of this teahouse heard dense footsteps.

Qin Feng went along and sat down, "Looks like we really should wait a bit longer."

Those carrying torches and weapons quickly gathered in the street; their sudden appearance threw the townspeople into instant chaos, with wailing and shouting all tangled together.

They had obviously rehearsed this; after gathering in the street, they paused not at all and rushed straight to the street entrance.

The whole process, though it sounds slow, actually took only a moment; looking at it, they indeed seemed quite elite.

Chen Wuji sprang to his feet, "Now we can act."

The enemy's maneuver surprised him quite a bit; this bunch of scoundrels actually turned their attention to the city interior.

"Commander Qin goes to the granary; your Xianya is left to me."

Chen Wuji threw that sentence at Qin Feng and quickly went downstairs.

If it's inside the city, their target isn't hard to guess—nothing more than the Xianya, granary, or city gate; and coincidentally, those are exactly where Chen Wuji has stationed heavy troops.

"You make it sound like that isn't your Xianya—we all said we'd follow you in rebellion, yet you still can't tell primary from secondary!" Qin Feng shook his head and leapt out the window.

This is also someone who relies on his skill and boldness, disliking to use the main gate.

The enemy moved quickly; by the time Chen Wuji reached the Xianya, the fighting here had already begun.

A hundred or so enemy troops attacked like ferocious tigers and wolves, yet they couldn't even breach the Xianya's main gate before being surrounded by several times their number of soldiers.

"Cut them down." Chen Wuji gave the order calmly.

Those enemy troops probably didn't expect the Xianya to have so many troops garrisoned; for a moment they seemed unsure what to do, withdrawing a bit while making probing attacks, without any reckless all-out charge inward.

But Chen Wuji's side began to charge.

The first to go into action was a volley of Crossbow Bolts.

Xiao Zong's proud creation, after over a month, finally became a tangible object.

However, due to limited time and manpower, it temporarily cannot satisfy the need for every one of the over nine thousand troops to have one.

Chen Wuji therefore prioritized equipping the Chen Clan Troops with it.

Today is also the first public appearance of this batch of hand crossbows.

The effect was quite good.

A round of concentrated fire sent swaths of enemy troops crashing to the ground.

Compared to arrows, the lethality of Crossbow Bolts is significantly lower; unless they hit a vital spot directly, they are hard to be fatal.

However, the hand crossbow made by Xiao Zong is a Linked Crossbow, with a fast enough rate of fire; if the soldier's hand speed is quick enough, he can fire several bolts in an instant.

A soldier without armor who takes several of these in a short time will not have much stamina left; even if he doesn't die, wanting to keep fighting is out of the question.

「Retreat, quick retreat! There's an ambush! 」

In the enemy camp, someone shouted loudly.

Chen Wuji's mouth curled with a cold smile, 「Still want to leave? I painstakingly prepared for so long; if I just let them leave like that, wouldn't I lose face? 」

「Shi Yi Shu, you all go up too! 」

Yes!

Chen Wuji's Personal Guard sprang into action.

To defend the key areas, Chen Wuji assigned the Personal Guard camp to the city gate and two granaries; at this moment he only had a hundred Old Veterans and Chen Wushuang among twenty-eight people with him.

Even with only a hundred men, they completely crushed the so-called elite under Gu Wenjie's command.

After only a brief close-quarters engagement, the enemy troops fell like wheat stubble.