Chapter 47: 47. Light Cavalry Shows Its Might

Ghost servants fear fire.

Tonight, however, is a rainy night.

Ghost servants know how to use the rainy night to attack; this is already a sign of intelligence. Song Cheng associated this with the "Hua Zhi" from before, who actually still had a favorability rating, and in his heart, he already had a further judgment regarding the "intelligence of ghost servants": ghost servants are able to inherit a portion of the deceased's intelligence and memories.

Da-da-da-da, horse hooves tread upon the spring rain.

In the pitch-black street, water splashes between the bricks and tiles.

A few hanging red lanterns only illuminate hurried horse shadows and puddles shattered like red silver; the group of people wear straw rain capes and conical hats.

Raindrops fall, splashing and bouncing off the dragon-whisker grass, then are whipped into water mist by the speed of the horses.

Everyone grips their reins, eyes looking sharply ahead, galloping through the rainy county town, heading north at high speed.

Before even reaching the North City gate, they already hear the chaos in the distance.

Drawing slightly closer, they see that the city gate has already been rammed open; ghost servants are pouring in from the outside, locked in battle with the County Soldiers inside.

In the dark night, aside from the faint illumination of some lanterns, it is impossible to see clearly who is who, especially since the ghost servants are human-skin ghosts, making it even harder to distinguish them.

The group cannot help but stop.

In the distance, three or four Jin Realm experts from the government are locked in a struggle.

However, the ghost servants are fierce and fearless of death, while the Jin Realm experts, though strong, are still flesh and blood; if struck by blades, they will not only be injured but their strength will plummet—this is far inferior to the automatic body protection of the Qi of the Xing Realm Peak.

Therefore, the government's Jin Realm experts are all being exceptionally careful.

As for the remaining County Soldiers and County Braves, many have already died.

That they can remain fierce and unyielding without being able to clearly see the number of ghost servants is already extremely rare.

Yet, even though they refuse to retreat, the defeat is already set; they are now just holding on by a thread of belief: "Cannot retreat, there is nowhere left to retreat to, behind us are our own families."

In the wind and rain in the distance, besides strange roars, screams, loud shouts, and the sound of blades, there are also some angry questions and answers.

"Why hasn't the support arrived yet?!"

"We really can't hold on!"

"Why are these ghost things so fierce tonight?"

A rather steady voice suppresses these doubts, and that voice roars: "Reinforcements are almost here! I received word! Almost there, almost there!!"

In the dark night, it is hard to distinguish anything, but at least the fact that everyone can hear this voice that settles the heart is enough.

The pitch-black darkness and the chaos make An Chenyu frown.

But Song Cheng clears up the situation with a single glance.

Same as usual, this batch of ghost servants is still primarily composed of ghost servants with a combat power of a dozen or so, but among the high-level combatants, besides three with combat power in the thirties, there is actually one in the forties.

Fortunately, the upper and lower limits of the ghost servants are the same, otherwise, the city gate here would have been breached long ago.

And the man roaring right now, saying there are reinforcements, is an acquaintance.

It is precisely the County Lieutenant who came to the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce to investigate that day.

Song Cheng has also heard many people quietly talk about the County Lieutenant and the County Magistrate, all saying they are muddled officials. But looking at it now, muddled or not, at least when something truly happens, they can still step up.

No sooner said than done, in an instant, Song Cheng completes his rough analysis. He sweeps his gaze over Ding Kui and the others and says: "Protect the Young Miss, I alone am enough."

In the time it took for just one battle at the East City gate, the image of Song Cheng in the hearts of Ding Kui and the other guards has completely changed, from "Brother Song" and "puppet son-in-law" to the "true son-in-law." No one thinks anymore that "An Chenyu marrying Song Cheng was just because Song Cheng is good at pleasing women, or that An Chenyu wanted to find a puppet," because the spirit and strength of that "one man guarding the city gate" just now has already shocked them.

From now on, all that remains for them is the same respect they have for the Young Miss.

This... is exactly what Song Cheng needs.

He wants to transform the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce into a "home suitable for his long-term residence," not a place where "he has to lower his head, imitate a character from his past life called the Wry-Mouthed Dragon King to play the coward, then aggrievedly play the pig to eat the tiger, clearly having power but not wanting to reveal it at all, and then blaming others for not recognizing his greatness."

He wants to live a normal life.

Ding Kui and the other guards hurriedly say: "Don't worry, Son-in-law, we will protect the Young Miss well!"

Song Cheng nods, his Fine Blade leaves its sheath, shaking off the raindrops. He lifts his legs and leaps into the air from the horse's back. After landing, he streaks forward like a gust of wind, shouting: "Reinforcements have arrived!"

The four words explode in the night, like thunder igniting the hearts of the County Soldiers who were struggling to resist.

The County Lieutenant's fat body also jolts, and he turns his head in astonishment.

He sees a figure, like a lightning whirlwind, killing its way into the group of ghost servants.

Song Cheng strikes with his blade like a long willow; as his ape-like arms stretch, blade light flashes everywhere.

Every move and every style does not deviate from the scope of the Flicking Willow Strength.

Just as he enters the group of ghost servants, two human-skin ghost servants are slashed in two, emitting shrill, harsh sounds before dissipating.

The County Lieutenant vaguely recognizes this as the Flicking Willow Strength of the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce, but for a moment, he cannot guess who the person is.

The situation is urgent, so he does not find it convenient to ask more, just straining his throat and roaring along with the momentum: "Reinforcements have arrived! Drive these ghost things out of the city!"

Song Cheng weaves through the crowd, his blade light stretching out.

With one slash, he sends a ghost servant with a combat power of over thirty flying.

With one thrust, he pierces through the ghost servant with a combat power of over forty.

The government's Jin Realm experts, who were struggling to hold on, suddenly feel the pressure ease, and they recover their senses to help other County Soldiers. Thus, in about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the ghost servants are killed off completely, and the North City gate is closed once again.

Song Cheng's arm is numb. He takes another look at the Fine Blade; it is worthy of being a blade made by the Imperial Court's master craftsmen, it seems to be fine, there isn't even a crack.

One must know that although those ghost servants are human-skin ghosts, each one of them is like copper skin and iron bones.

In the distance, the County Lieutenant, while calling for people to defend, walks over quickly, rainwater mixed with black hair sticking to his face.

"Many thanks!"

The County Lieutenant cups his hands, first saying this gratefully, then adds, "May I ask who from the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce this is?"

Song Cheng smiles and says: "County Lieutenant Ouyang, we meet again."

The fat County Lieutenant is stunned, leans in, and squints for a long time, but... it is dark, it is raining, and he simply cannot tell who it is.

He awkwardly wipes his face.

Damn, this is too awkward.

However, County Lieutenant Ouyang's reaction was still very quick. He immediately revealed a smile and said, "Yes, it was a pleasure to meet you last time, and it is truly a fortunate event to see you again today. Once the rain clears and the city is empty, I will certainly visit your home to express my gratitude!"

Song Cheng:??? What does this mean? "Brother"? "A pleasure to meet you"? The fat County Lieutenant Ouyang cupped his hands again and hurried away.

He couldn't very well say he didn't recognize who this expert was, could he?

In the world of the jianghu, who doesn't want to save face? Someone comes over, helps you turn the tide, and even says "we meet again," but if you don't know who the other party is, that won't do; it would be very offensive.

The thought flashed by, then was immediately covered over by the matters at hand.

The fat County Lieutenant Ouyang quickly arranged for personnel to guard the city, then took one Jin Realm expert and four Force Realm Martial Artists and headed toward the West City Gate.

The West City Gate was the place the County Magistrate was guarding.

The fat County Lieutenant Ouyang had actually guessed it long ago; the reinforcements for the West City Gate failing to arrive meant, nine times out of ten, they had encountered an equally fierce attack. Since things were stable here now, he naturally had to go provide support.

As for the Nancheng Gate, there were many martial arts halls and small gangs there, plus the County Soldiers and County Braves assisting in the defense, so it should be the most secure.

Song Cheng also dragged his exhausted body back.

The guards of the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce had already transformed into sycophants.

"Son-in-law, you're fierce."

"Son-in-law, how is it that the Fuliu Jin Jin Jin you use is so good?"

"Son-in-law, I'm afraid this strength technique of yours can compare to our Chamber of Commerce's Wang Da Xiansheng."

Wang Da Xiansheng?

Song Cheng was stunned for a moment.

The guards spoke on their own, but An Chenyu spoke up: "It is Uncle Wang who sits in charge at the ancestral home in the Prefecture City. He is also the father of the Wang brothers. Like you, he has read the *Jue Jin Jin Jin*, and now he is practicing with focus at the ancestral home in the Prefecture City; he should have reached Completion."

Song Cheng nodded and waved his hand, saying, "Brother Ding, don't talk nonsense. I have only just started out; compared to Wang Da Xiansheng, I am still far behind."

Once these words were out, the few guards only felt that the son-in-law was still as easygoing as before, and their favor for him grew.

An Chenyu dismounted, approached Song Cheng, pulled his hand, looked at it, and said, "Are we still going to the West City?"

Song Cheng said, "Yes."

"Then you must listen to me," An Chenyu said softly. "After we go, don't rush to make a move. You have already killed enough tonight."

"And you are already tired; I am afraid you might suffer a mishap."

"Our role is to be an extra layer of security. If the West City Gate is truly about to collapse completely, then we will strike."

"In the meantime, you will at least have time to rest for a while."

"If the situation is not good after we strike, let's not force it; we will flee backward and wait until we have recovered our strength before talking further."

Song Cheng nodded.

He had to admit that An Jie really knew how to make arrangements and really knew how to handle situations. She would always think of the next related event and propose her own way of handling it just as one event had ended and others were still immersed in it.

Her mind was very sharp.

The group rested briefly, then spurred their horses westward again.

As it turned out, the West City was indeed in chaos as well.

However, the County Soldiers and the County Magistrate guarding the city were no pushovers; they stubbornly held off wave after wave of Ghost servant charges on the city.

Under an old tree in the curtain of rain, An Chenyu watched all of this and said, "Let's circle around from the Nancheng, then go back. Tonight can be considered survived."

The group did not reveal themselves and circled back. By the time they returned to the East City, the rain had cleared, and the gray sky signaled that dawn was likely coming. Returning to the Ruyi Chamber of Commerce, there was already some cooking smoke in the Dining Hall.

An Chenyu pulled off her straw raincoat; her hair was a tangled mess. She brushed it aside casually, letting it fall onto her shoulders, looking very much like a beauty in an ink wash painting.

"Little Song, eat some breakfast before sleeping."

She smiled.

Song Cheng immediately recalled the scene of "eating breakfast with friends after pulling an all-nighter at an internet cafe" before he transmigrated. A faint warmth welled up in his heart, so he smiled and replied, "Alright, let's eat together."

(End of this chapter)