Chapter 562: The Big Scene at Qingjiangpu

And that wasn't all. With Zheng Bao's victory, everyone would only praise the Henan Cart Gang's prestige. When word later reached Lian Ping'an and the other big bosses, they too would only say the Henan Cart Gang was mighty, and would inevitably hold them in higher regard.

That was precisely what vexed Zhang Yunxian. Even though he could see through the other side's scheme, in this atmosphere of shared hatred against a common foe, he could neither expose it nor compete for glory, letting the other side claim all the credit for nothing.

After a few more shouts from this side, just as the crowd was roaring to charge in, the gates of Cloud Mountain Cart Company opened a little wider and a young man walked out. Not yet twenty, tall and slender, carrying a long spear. His face showed no particular fear; he merely swept a calm glance over the crowd.

"Daxiang, be careful."

This voice was drowned out by the clamor of drums and noise; no one could hear it clearly. They only saw the young man turn his head and answer something. To the onlookers, this movement looked like a timid gesture of wanting to retreat. Watching from afar, Zhang Yunxian wrung his hands in regret—how had such a perfectly ripe opportunity fallen into Gao Mabian's lap first!

"You still sucking your mother's milk?"

"Want us to clean you up and make you a catamite!"

All sorts of vile taunts rose in a jumble, and some laughed uproariously, treating this young man as nothing more than meat on the chopping block. Zheng Bao let out a savage grin, swung the guandao in his hands, and bellowed hoarsely: "You little bastard, today's just your unlucky day!"

Ji Xiang shook his head, merely let out a breath, leveled his long spear, and muttered under his breath: "Always treating me like a kid."

With those words, Ji Xiang did not wait for his opponent to move. He simply stepped forward, swung his long spear, and thrust straight ahead—footwork, waist and legs, shoulders, both arms, wrists, the full strength of his body all channeled into the spear, power issuing along a single line, stabbing fiercely straight forward! In a life-and-death fight, who waits for a signal to start?

The moment he moved, Zheng Bao moved too. Despite his towering, burly frame, his reactions were not slow at all; he responded and launched his attack almost simultaneously, roaring as he swung his blade down in a chop. But the instant Zheng Bao made his move, he realized something was wrong. His own strike was a downward chop; his opponent was thrusting straight, and with speed and power perfectly coordinated. No matter how he figured it, he would not be faster than his opponent. He could dodge, but in this cramped space there was no way to evade. No, this was a military technique—how could a mere carter possess such skill!

He himself could also use a long spear. Even a simple podao would be better than what he had now. But out in the jianghu, carrying this guandao made it easier to intimidate people. Besides, in the jianghu there were few with real skill; wielding a heavy, massive guandao was both imposing and frightening. But now, it was useless...

Most people could only see Zheng Bao's back. Few could notice Ji Xiang's movement. All they saw was Zheng Bao swinging his blade with a roar, chopping down—a strike full of power and majesty. The crowd all cheered loudly. Then, everyone saw the tip of a long spear burst through Zheng Bao's back, the point emerging slick with blood, before swiftly withdrawing, leaving behind a very distinct bloody hole. The bloodstain spread rapidly across his back. The man died, his strength gone, and the great blade veered off course. Ji Xiang withdrew his spear. Zheng Bao stood there as if frozen for a moment, though in truth it was only an instant.

With a hissing, air-leaking roar, the once mighty and imposing Zheng Bao toppled to the ground.

The scene fell deathly silent. For a moment, everyone was quiet, every face wearing a stunned expression, as if unable to accept it. No one had expected this outcome. A young man of no great age, a long spear as common as dirt on the street—and he had just skewered a hero of their side in one thrust? How was this possible?

Ji Xiang wiped the spear tip on Zheng Bao's body, then looked with some puzzlement at the suddenly silent crowd. Then he heard an angry roar: "This brat used trickery! Brothers, all together now! Kill every last piece of trash in this cart company! Kill all these Xuzhou barbarians!"

The crowd instantly boiled over. Everyone surged forward with furious shouts. Ji Xiang hastily turned and darted back through the gate. As soon as he entered, he saw Zhao Jin standing beside the small square formation. Zhao Jin smiled and asked him: "Daxiang, how did it feel?"

Ji Xiang scratched his head and answered with a grin: "Felt pretty good. No wonder those storytellers love talking about tournament fights..."

Outside, the furious roars merged into a single din, growing closer and closer. Ji Xiang said no more and ran over to his own small square formation.

The moment he saw Zheng Bao fall, the seasoned Gao Mabian instantly realized things had gone wrong. If he waited for everyone to come to their senses, today's fight would likely be over before it began. He immediately shouted, and that one shout ignited everyone's passions. To hell with trickery or no trickery—everyone charge together, bury them under sheer numbers!

The main gate was rammed open. The Cart Gang and the various factions of Qingjiang Road jammed and jostled their way in, all convinced there would be plenty of money and goods inside, so they scrambled over each other. Some were shoved down from behind and trampled underfoot by the crowd; no one paid any heed to their screams.

But once inside, they realized something was off. The courtyard was indeed very spacious, with hardly any buildings in sight. In the empty yard stood two neat formations of men. If someone had been meticulous enough to count, they would have found that each square formation was twenty men across and five deep, with one man standing at the side of each.

The men in these two square formations were all young, wearing clothes a size too large that bulged out oddly, each holding a thick bamboo pole, standing in orderly ranks. A closer look revealed that the thick bamboo poles all had sharpened, angled tips.

"Kill all these outlander barbarians! Loot and kill as you please!" someone bellowed, whipping up the mob.

At the thought of being able to run wild without restraint, everyone's fervor surged. They strode forward, charging ahead. They were just a bunch of half-grown boys, wearing ill-fitting padded jackets, holding bamboo poles to put on a show. Once they got close, they'd scatter them easily. Charge through, charge through and then they could do whatever they wanted. The madness in every mind began to burn. The desperate, skilled fighters hired from various places all thought that against such a formation, they could easily dodge when they got close—either through the gaps, or from below—somehow they'd get in range.

And those hardened criminals released from the prison thought: at worst, a life for a life. These kids were young, looked like they came from decent families—how would they dare trade lives? The moment they closed in, the kids would surely scatter and run, and then they could strike at will.

Each harboring their own thoughts, they brandished the blades, axes, clubs, and staves in their hands, charging closer and closer, growing more and more excited. They saw the bamboo poles leveled row by row. The sharpened angled tips were somewhat blackened, as if scorched by fire, and in places bore a little grime, as if stained with something.

Faces twisted with excitement, they roared as they charged closer and closer, instinctively believing this would scare the enemy into fleeing. But as they drew nearer, the long bamboo poles did not waver in the slightest; they remained steady, pointing straight at them.

They couldn't stop. There was no way to dodge now. They could see those bamboo poles all draw back slightly—but only to thrust forward with even greater force!

The momentum of their charge carried their bodies straight onto the oncoming bamboo poles, effectively doubling the stabbing power and speed of the poles, allowing them to pierce even more easily through padded robes, leather jackets, and human flesh and blood.

The wet, tearing sound of penetration, heart-rending screams, and frenzied roars intertwined in an instant. The bamboo poles of the first and second rows were bent by the impact of their targets. And these sharpened bamboo poles were not easy to pull free; the men in the third and fourth rows had to use their own poles to push, shoving the bodies impaled on the front poles off.

Neither the officers and soldiers of the Wolf Mountain Vice Commander nor the fierce bandits from everywhere north of the Yangtze had ever broken through the Zhao Camp's square formations. This hastily assembled rabble stood even less chance.

The hardened criminals released from the prison were disappointed. Their opponents indeed would not trade lives with them—because there was no need. The bamboo poles pointed forward without the slightest slackening. Even when the charge reached them, there was no dodging or yielding. These hardened criminals were the first to feel fear. They had come out to fight like this precisely to gamble for a chance to live; they didn't want to throw their lives away. But it was already too late. Pushed and shoved by those behind them, they simply crashed right onto the poles!

Some men were indeed very agile. The moment they reached the front, they twisted and turned sideways, trying to slip through the gaps between the bamboo poles. What awaited them were the poles of the second row. Others dropped and rolled on the ground. The poles of the third and fourth rows stabbed down at an angle. There were simply no gaps to exploit!

After that instant of collision, dozens of corpses lay on the ground. Some did not die immediately and lay there clutching their bleeding wounds, howling loudly—a sight that struck even greater terror into the heart. But the momentum of the charge was too fierce. The front had stopped, but the rear had not. Driven by the inertia of so many people pushing, many were practically screaming as they crashed onto the sharpened bamboo poles.

No one had imagined this outcome. They had expected to scatter the enemy with one charge, but instead met a wall of bronze and iron. They smashed into it headfirst and came away bleeding. Those coming up from behind had been pushing forward during the charge, but now they reacted just as quickly, screaming as they turned and fled outward in a blind panic. Those even further back still had no idea what was happening. The entire mob simply jammed up, motionless. Only after a while did they begin to retreat. Everyone scrambled backward, trying to open up distance. But the moment they moved, the two square formations moved too, pressing forward step by step with shouted cadences, and the distance was no more than ten paces!

Who would dare meet them head-on now? Seeing the two square formations bearing down, everyone turned to flee. But the main gate of Cloud Mountain Cart Company was only so wide. With so many people trying to jam through it at once, they couldn't get out for the moment. A single step too slow meant death. Realizing this, no one cared about jianghu fellowship anymore. Whoever blocked their path, they hacked at with their blades—they had to carve a bloody road to escape!

Naturally, those in front were not willing to be killed like that and turned to fight back. The shouts and sounds of slaughter descended into utter chaos. Only, those sharpened bamboo poles from behind were drawing closer and closer...

Some of the quicker-witted ones thought to turn around. If they couldn't flee forward, then they'd seek life in the face of death! They would circle around from behind or between the two square formations. If they couldn't run through, crawling through would do. Some actually succeeded, slipping through just like that with ease. Once past, they let out a long breath of relief, then thought viciously: I'll attack your rear and see how you fight then.

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