Chapter 249: Ambush

Hooves trampled flying mud, apricot blossoms fell in profusion.

The rain-soaked woods gained new vigor; lingering fragrance and tears intoxicated those heading home.

The three rode together on one horse, Black Rose galloping wildly; they rode for the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, the pursuers behind had vanished, but a fine rain began to fall from the sky.

Seeing the rain intensify, Niu Dingtian removed his outer coat and draped it over A Zhu and A Bi, but it helped only briefly; shortly, all three were soaked through and through.

"Young Master, what should we do about Miss Wang if we go?"

A Bi, wedged between them, tilted her head slightly and whispered.

Due to the poison, her jade-white face was pallid, her expression weary, and her fragrant, soft body nearly slumped in Niu Dingtian's arms.

A Zhu ahead also fared poorly; her body went limp and weak, so Niu Dingtian had to firmly hold her waist and abdomen to prevent her from slipping.

"Don't worry, Young Master Duan's skills are not weak; he can guard her well. I'll settle you first, then go find her."

While speaking, Niu Dingtian noticed A Bi's exhausted look, felt pity, and asked solicitously: "How are you? Anywhere uncomfortable?"

"Nothing." A Bi shook her head, her cheeks slightly flushed, "Young Master, please don't worry—I just have no strength."

Hearing this, Niu Dingtian felt somewhat relieved, then asked forward: "Miss A Zhu, are you still okay? If you feel unwell, just let out a sound; we'll first find a place to change clothes, then enter the city later."

A Zhu's face was already flushed red; hearing this, her expression grew even more embarrassed. After all, she differed from A Bi—riding together on one horse was already improper, and moreover, one hand was tightly pressing her waist and abdomen.

After a moment's thought, A Zhu suppressed her shame and said softly: "I'm cold and wet all over; Young Master Niu, let's first find a place to get out of the rain."

"We could head to the northeast of the apricot woods; I remember there are houses there."

Niu Dingtian hesitated not, patted Black Rose, and the three rode off northeast.

After riding a while longer, through the rain they saw a large mill; the rain grew heavier, a swishing sound filled the air, and everything around took on a misty white hue.

Upon reaching the mill, Niu Dingtian swiftly dismounted, lifted A Zhu and A Bi off the horse, and supported them left and right as they entered.

Stepping inside, they saw the stone pestle of the rice pounder rising and falling, continually striking the grain in the stone mortar; no one was in sight.

Niu Dingtian supported the two women as they walked inward, about to call out, but suddenly halted his steps.

"Young Master, why aren't you moving?" A Bi asked, tilting her head in puzzlement.

Niu Dingtian's eyes flickered slightly as he glanced at the innermost straw pile, then he said calmly: "Wait a moment before going in."

"Wait?" A Bi looked puzzled.

A Zhu also looked over, bewildered.

"Soon."

Niu Dingtian smiled slightly, helped A Zhu and A Bi to the bench by the door, and had them sit.

At the same time, a thought struck him: perhaps Miss Wang Yuyan didn't require him to make another trip after all.

Seeing A Zhu and A Bi's bodies slightly curled, Niu Dingtian hesitated, then took each of their delicate hands in his left and right, gently feeding them internal energy.

A Bi blinked her eyes, pressed her lips without speaking; A Zhu lowered her head, cheeks flushed like a blush.

"Who?"

Suddenly a sharp voice rang out from inside the mill; A Zhu hastily broke free, her face flushed, and shouted sharply.

"Ouch!"

From the straw pile two people cried out together, and instantly two figures rose up.

A young man and woman, both about eighteen or nineteen, rural youths; their clothes were disheveled, their heads covered with straw chaff; seeing Niu Dingtian and the three at the doorway, their faces flushed, they looked extremely embarrassed.

"They were just..."

A Zhu startled, instantly formed a judgment; she and A Bi exchanged a glance, and another flush rose on their faces.

Niu Dingtian cupped his fists: "Sorry to disturb you two; I am surnamed Niu, I wish to take shelter from the rain here and change clothes; could you do me a favor, young brother?"

The young man glanced timidly at Niu Dingtian, stammering: "I... I still have a few old clothes upstairs; if you don't mind, you can change into them."

Thank you, young brother.

Niu Dingtian thanked him, took out a silver ingot, walked over and handed it to the farm woman, smiling.

"A small token; could you trouble the young lady to fetch two garments to help them change? Would that be alright?"

The farm woman's face flushed, she hesitated: "I don't want the silver; I'll go get you the clothes."

Saying that, she headed toward the stairs.

"Young lady, wait a moment." Niu Dingtian called out, and again passed the silver ingot over.

The farm woman hurriedly declined, but Niu Dingtian insisted on giving it.

After refusing four or five times, the farm woman happily accepted the silver ingot, then went to help A Zhu and A Bi up to the loft.

"How should I address you, young brother?" Niu Dingtian cupped his fists toward the young man.

"I am Jin A Er." Jin A Er said, "Young Master, follow me; I'll lead you to the other side."

"Thank you, Brother Jin." Niu Dingtian offered a polite remark, followed behind Jin A Er, and they walked together toward the opposite loft.

Inside the loft were piled rice stalks, rice sieves, bamboo baskets and other farm tools; in a broken bamboo basket lay several sets of coarse clothing.

"They're all old clothes; Young Master, please don't disdain them."

"It's fine."

Niu Dingtian smiled, but did not change clothes; instead he took out a silver ingot and handed it to Jin A Er: "If any armed warriors come later, Brother Jin, just take your little wife and hide well; definitely don't come out; any loss in the mill will be on me."

Jin A Er stared, his voice trembling: "Will they still kill people?"

"That won't happen." Niu Dingtian, not wanting to frighten him, smiled: "But they're all very lustful; if they really come later, no matter what noise you hear, you two stay hidden tight and don't come out."

"Thank you, Young Master, for the reminder!"

Jin A Er quickly left to inform the farm woman.

Outside the mill, the heavy rain continued, making a swishing sound.

"Bang bang!"

"Is anyone here?"

Not long after, the farm girl had just come down from the attic when she heard someone outside knocking on the door and shouting loudly.

Jin A Er peered through the crack in the door, saw a handsome young man supporting a beautiful woman, and thus felt reassured as he opened the door; at a glance they looked like offspring of a wealthy, respectable family.

"Sorry to bother, sorry to bother, we only came to avoid the rain; if you two have any business, just go ahead, no need to mind us."

The handsome young man hastily bowed to Jin A Er, then helped the beautiful woman up and seated her on the wet bench by the door, looking concerned as he said:

"Miss Wang, you're all wet—what shall we do?"

The beautiful woman's cheeks flushed slightly; she glanced at the farm girl beside her, pulled a gold hairpin from her bun, and softly said, "Sister, would you like to trade this hairpin for a set of clothes?"

The farm girl hesitated, thinking, "How odd—people usually trade gold and silver for clothes, but I don't believe this gold hairpin is real." She glanced at Jin A Er and then said:

"I… I don't want this gold hairpin; I'll go get clothes to exchange with you."

"How can that be?" the beautiful woman objected, quickly thrusting the gold hairpin toward her.

The farm girl repeatedly refused, but after a few tugs of war she finally accepted the hairpin and helped the beautiful woman upstairs.

Upstairs in the attic—

Niu Dingtian peered through the crack in the window at the graceful figure walking toward the room next to his, and involuntarily narrowed his eyes slightly.

The two were Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan; as expected, Murong Fu would soon arrive leading the Western Xia warriors.

"Should we kill him?" Niu Dingtian stroked his chin, his mind involuntarily beginning to calculate.

Murong Fu had shown killing intent toward him in the apricot grove; this grudge was hard to resolve. It would be better to kill Li Yanzong unknowingly than to openly slay the Southern Murong.

As these thoughts arose, suddenly the sound of horse hooves came from outside; downstairs Duan Yu exclaimed in alarm, "Oh no! Oh no! Miss Wang! The enemy is pursuing us!" "A Zhen! Quick! Quick, hide! There are knife-wielders outside!"

Having received Niu Dingtian's prior instructions, Jin A Er downstairs no longer bothered with Duan Yu, hurried upstairs, grabbed the farm girl, and darted into a corner.

The horsemen arrived extremely quickly; in a moment they were outside the door.

"Sure enough, they're here!"

"That girl general must be taken alive!"

With a "Bang," four armored warriors kicked open the door and burst in.

Before Duan Yu could react, a bearded warrior brandished his long saber, strode forward swiftly, and quickly climbed the wooden ladder.

"Miss Wang! Quick, hide! They're coming up!"

Seeing this, Duan Yu started in shock, seeing the warrior about to ascend the stairs, he shouted while pulling hard on the ladder to drag it down; with that tug, both man and ladder toppled straight down.

The bearded warrior flew into a rage, ignoring the pain, and swung his saber at Duan Yu.

Inside the room, Wang Yuyan happened to crane her neck out the window to see this, and urgently said, "Sir Duan, use your right index finger to press his lower abdomen point."

Duan Yu reacted extremely quickly; as he deployed the Lotus Microstep, his body instantly became an afterimage, and his right index finger swiftly jabbed at a spot on the bearded warrior's lower abdomen.

"Pfft—"

In an instant, a mighty sword qi pierced through his abdomen and struck a pillar behind him.

The bearded warrior spat a mouthful of hot blood onto Duan Yu's face, his eyes bulging as he collapsed to the ground.

Duan Yu jumped in fright, hastily staggering backward, while another saber swung at him from behind.

"Strike the thin-faced man's chest at the center of chest point! Stab the little bearded man three inches below his armpit! Pierce the stout warrior's chest seven inches!" Wang Yuyan urged, speaking extremely quickly.

"Oh oh."

Duan Yu once again circulated the Lotus Microstep; his afterimage swayed back and forth among the three, both evading and waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Next door, Wang Yuyan's room—

Niu Dingtian recalled Duan Yu's fingertip sword qi just now, and fell into a brief silence.

The sword technique was fierce and mighty, like Shi Potian's startling power; if mastered, it would far surpass his current One Yang Finger.

"Sir, outside are the voices of Miss Wang and Sir Duan; have they also arrived?"

While Duan Yu was fending off the remaining three warriors, Niu Dingtian moved along the roof beams, silently reaching the room where A Zhu and A Bi were; A Bi faced him and whispered a question.

Niu Dingtian nodded, handed the Asura Blade in his hand to A Bi, and said softly:

"There are still experts outside; I'll hide near Miss Wang soon, waiting for a chance to strike, aiming for a sure kill—you must not leave this place under any circumstances."

"Young Master Niu, do you have confidence?" A Zhu's eyes showed concern.

"Rest assured!" Niu Dingtian smiled.

He then retraced his steps, hiding in the dark of the beams, preparing to wait for an opportunity to act.

Having decided to kill Murong Fu, he could not give him a chance to speak; otherwise, among the three girls in Nian Fang, at least two would desperately plead for mercy.

At that moment.

Piercing cries rang out; the three warriors collapsed one after another, each bearing bloody finger holes.

Nian Fang fell silent, save for the heavy rain outside still pattering.

Wang Yuyan poked her head out the window, curious, and asked, "Sir Duan, are you using the Lotus Microstep? I've seen Sir Niu use it too—could you be from the same sect?"

Hearing this, Duan Yu felt a bit sour.

These past two days, beside the three women, all he heard was either Master Murong or Master Niu, making his ears weary.

He thought to himself, as a refined gentleman, if the martial world mistakenly thought he shared a teacher with the ruthless Niu Dingtian, that would be bad, so he quickly said:

"No, no, Miss Wang, don't misunderstand—I also don't know where Sir Niu learned it. Miss Wang, if you want to learn, I…"

"Pfft!"

Before he could finish, a sudden swishing sound rang out; three crossbow bolts shot through the air, two of which Duan Yu dodged, but the last struck his left shoulder.

Outside Nian Fang, in the heavy rain, eleven warriors surrounded the entire place.

Three of them had arm-mounted crossbows on their arms; after firing three bolts, a middle-aged warrior wearing a yellow leather hat called out, and all eleven charged in together.

Wang Yuyan panicked, "Sir Duan, are you alright? Quickly pull out the crossbow bolt, then use the Lotus Microstep to hold them off."

The opponent had not yet made a move, but for a moment she could not discern their martial art style.

"Okay… okay." Duan Yu replied hastily; deep down he felt a hint of sweetness—Miss Wang was showing concern for him.

He gritted his teeth, pulled out the crossbow bolt, not minding the blood gushing from the wound, took a deep breath, activated Wave-Treading Tiny Steps and rushed forward.

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

The crossbow bolt shot again; Duan Yu shifted his footwork urgently and hurriedly dodged.

"Young Master Duan!"

"Strike their Shoulder Well points!"

"Ah... good!"

Duan Yu replied, as if pumped with adrenaline, weaving between the onrushing warriors and instantly immobilizing four of them.

"The black-faced man uses Earth Hall Blade Technique—strike his Life Gate point!"

Wang Yuyan quickly said, "The two on the left use Outside Pass Subduing Dragon Hand; the energy points are under both armpits."

"The yellow-bearded man uses Liu Family Returning Wind Blade Technique—strike his Kidney Shu point!"

With Wang Yuyan's guidance, Duan Yu seemed divinely aided; in less than the time to finish a cup of tea, only three warriors remained in the workshop.

"Li Yanzong!"

"Let me kill this little bastard!"

Seeing his men fall one by one, the middle-aged warrior in a yellow leather hat couldn't help but feel frightened, and angrily shouted at the figure that suddenly appeared at the doorway.

This person's complexion was waxy yellow, his expression stiff and wooden, like a corpse.

As his shout ended, a cold light flashed; he lunged forward, swishing three blades, slashing at Duan Yu.

Duan Yu went to meet his face, his heart timid; having missed three acupoint strikes, his fear grew, so he dodged sideways while shouting, "Miss Wang, quickly tell me where to strike—I can't hit him!"

"I'll kill you, you bitch!"

The middle-aged warrior caught sight of Wang Yuyan; without waiting for her to speak, his expression turned vicious, and he flung his long sword straight at her.

"Oh no!"

Duan Yu started, turned, reached to grab the long sword, but the distance was too great and he fell short by about a cun.

Bang!

Just then, with a loud clang, the frightened Wang Yuyan, about to shout, saw an object fly out from behind her head, directly knocking the long sword away.

The stiff-faced warrior's blade was about to slash Duan Yu's left shoulder; seeing this, he couldn't help but be startled.

The next moment, his heart gave a violent throb; then he saw the door where Wang Yuyan was suddenly burst open, a black shadow swung out a peerless palm force that came crashing straight at him, arriving instantly! "Boom!"

"Puff—" (End of chapter)