Qiang Jin Jiu (Author : Tang Jiuqing 唐酒卿)

Chapter 110 : Son of A Concubine

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Lei Jingzhe did not dare to be too complacent. Unable to dodge in time in his haste, he could only brandish his broadsword to ward off the blow. The arrow struck the blade with a loud clang, and the impact numbed Lei Jingzhe’s entire arm. He promptly and decisively spurred his horse past Zhou Gui in an attempt to lead his men into charging into the city.

“Shut the gates quick—!” Zhou Gui was swept off his feet and thrown to the ground. Paying no mind to the sorry sight he presented, he lifted the hem of his robe and shouted at the city soldiers. 

Pressing their shoulders against the city gates, the city soldiers bellowed in unison and shoved the gates towards the center to shut it. But Lei Jingzhe’s horse was faster. His blade arrived at the same time as his horse, cutting down the men who were pushing away at the gates. He was just about to drive straight in to take over Cizhou, but in that critical moment, Lei Jingzhe felt a chill at the back of his head and swiftly bent the upper half of his body over. Following right after, the back of the horse sank as a youth of about sixteen or seventeen of age climbed onto it.

Ding Tao’s slashed his palm towards Lei Jingzhe’s neck. Lei Jingzhe turned aside to dodge it and backhandedly made a stab at Ding Tao’s chest and abdomen. Ding Tao clung onto the saddle and slid down to evade the blade. His legs touched the ground, and he raced along with the madly galloping horse for a few moments before he hoisted himself up with his arms and clambered back up again.

“Hey!” Ding Tao gripped Lei Jingzhe’s arm and raised a hand to fling a brush worth of ink onto Lei Jingzhe’s face when he turned back. 

For all Lei Jingzhe’s plotting, he never expected such a move from the youth who had come to the rescue. He could no longer see his surroundings with the ink splashed in his eyes, but he had a keen sense of hearing. The instant Ding Tao launched a sneak attack on him, he sensed Ding Tao’s movement, and in their confrontation, he hauled Ding Tao by the collar and flung him off the horse. 

Ding Tao fell heavily on the ground and felt the stab of pain in his back. He yelled out in pain, but before he was done yelling, a horse’s hoof came aiming right for him. Ding Tao hurriedly rolled over to dodge the hoof. But as he rolled over, his back was inadvertently exposed right under Lei Jingzhe’s eyes.   

It’s now or never!

Lei Jingzhe promptly hurled his steel blade out. 

Ding Tao wanted to evade it, but a bandit who had caught up with them from behind grabbed hold of his ankle. He was forced to sprawl flat in the muddy water. He propped himself against the ground with both arms, wanting to lift himself up, but he was dragged down again. The steel blade was already right behind him. With his face all smeared with filthy mud, Ding Tao gritted his teeth and straightened up his upper body to shout at those in the city, “Open up the south gates! The reinforcements are here!” 

Lei Jingzhe cussed in fury. But then he saw the steel blade he had hurled out intercepted mid-air by an extremely narrow sheath. The impact of the collision sent his blade hurtling off-course until it stabbed into the ground at a slanting angle and remained there. 

Ding Tao was still badly shaken as he turned back for a look. The bandit who had been yanking his ankle earlier was already dead, his head separated from his body. Ding Tao immediately crawled up from the ground, hopped several times in succession, then poked his head out from behind Shen Zechuan and said to Lei Jingzhe, “You’re dead meat!” 

One side of the city gates had already been shut. Lei Jingzhe led his men to crowd at the entrance of the bridle path to squeeze their way through but was obstructed. He recognized the man blocking his path. The entire outfit of white peeking out from under the cloak was a color the other man had not changed out of after leaving Qudu. Lei Jingzhe’s horse took a few steps back, but then, in the next instant, he brandished his whip and barged his way over. Shen Zechuan pulled off his cloak and tossed it into Ding Tao’s arms, Lang Tao Xue Jin raised its hooves and charged forth. In the split second the wind rose, Yang Shan Xue had already left its sheath.