Amidst openly plagiarizing poetry in front of its "original author," the situation held a certain comedic charm for Ning Yi. However, considering Liu Xigua's character, even if Li Bai himself stood before her, she would carry out such an act without batting an eye.

The poetry itself was but a trifle; the real prize lay in inducing the Tyrant Blade Camp to act at this juncture. Liu Xigua wasn't a fool. In the environment of Fang La's rebel army, maintaining the Tyrant Blade Camp's detached position, preserving its internal harmony through near-invisible methods, and retaining unwavering popularity within its ranks, all spoke to an intelligence and shrewdness far exceeding that of ordinary people.

It's often said that old ginger is spicier; with more experience, even with less thought, a person becomes more astute. Liu Xigua's experience wasn't particularly extraordinary, so everything could only be attributed to her innate cleverness and keen insight. She possessed strong convictions, and persuading her to risk a fallout with Bao Daoyi for any matter was extremely difficult. Ning Yi merely told her vaguely about extreme ideologies, the rarity of true "comrades," and the need for extraordinary measures.

Those words weren't initially intended for Chen Fan. This backup plan was only meant to ensure the survival of these children. When Chen Fan ultimately made the move, Ning Yi wasn't entirely confident that Liu Xigua would show up. Relatively speaking, these children were backed by a complex web of relationships, and saving them would benefit the Tyrant Blade Camp. However, Chen Fan alone didn't possess such great value.

A few days prior, Ning Yi wouldn't have even entertained the hope. Liu Xigua was assertive, magnanimous, and seemingly retained a good deal of innocence, still harboring indignation towards many things. But that didn't mean she was truly reckless. To prevent the Tyrant Blade Camp from suffering too much impact after Li Tianrun returned to the city, she could even kill Qi Yuankang herself. Regardless of her usual relationship with Chen Fan, she would certainly remain neutral when Chen Fan attacked Bao Daoyi.

But with those words, and the determination that night, there was some hope. Because everything happened so quickly, Ning Yi called upon a group of students to stall for time, also to give Liu Xigua more room to think, and to bind the "student" card as closely as possible to Chen Fan. However, Liu Xigua's decisiveness at this moment truly exceeded Ning Yi's expectations.

Once she made up her mind, she immediately rescued Chen Fan and retaliated with unmatched forcefulness. Initially, the Tyrant Blade Camp could have likely shirked responsibility or given Bao Daoyi a way out, but the short words offered no such avenue. In just a few sentences, she decided to fight, which became one of the reasons Bao Daoyi couldn't back down completely. Perhaps, on some level, it proved that after a few days of quiet contemplation, she had made an extraordinary decision regarding that matter.

"...If you truly have such an idea, you should think it through. What you're about to do will be incompatible with this world, not just the Wu Dynasty, but even this Hangzhou City, the Yongle Dynasty. Perhaps they can tolerate you for a while, but in the end, it will still be incompatible... I don't want to deceive you. The worst outcome is that one day, even half of the Tyrant Blade Camp will break away from you. How many people will stand by your side then...? You'll regret it then..."

Having made the decision, she immediately attacked Bao Daoyi. This was a further display of power, a preparation to ensure the Tyrant Blade Camp wouldn't be disturbed. She may not have truly engaged in this kind of unreasonable behavior on such a grand scale in recent years. However, once she decided to do it, the strength of the Tyrant Blade Camp was astonishing. As the first line, "Zhao Ke man hu ying, Wu gou shuang xue ming" was written, the first one or two hundred of Bao Daoyi's subordinates had already arrived nearby, and members of the Tyrant Blade Camp appearing on rooftops and in alleys were also gathering in this direction.

Footsteps mingled, figures converged, seeming somewhat chaotic at first glance. But upon closer inspection, almost everyone maintained the same distance from those around them. This group, roughly seventy or eighty strong, was uniformly clad in black and white, carrying long sabers on their backs. When Liu Tiannan waved his hand, Du Sha and others also came from the side, drawing their weapons to become the vanguard of this formation. Their movements weren't simple straight walks but interwoven advances, fixed on the first ranks of ruffians brought by Bao Daoyi. They were experts, and their opponents were also heroic outlaws. The atmosphere seemed as if they were about to engage in individual duels, but if anyone's mind was seized by the other, they would instantly find that the person before them had changed.

At the end of the long street where Ning Yi and the others were, more than thirty men from the Tyrant Blade Camp began to stand at the street entrance, blocking the road.

On Bao Daoyi's side, the original forty or so outlaws contracted their formation, while the two hundred or so who arrived later were led by a junior officer. The officer was still asking Bao Daoyi for instructions. He could also tell that the people coming were extraordinary. This wasn't an ordinary brawl. Bao Daoyi also felt some regret. He hadn't expected the Tyrant Blade Camp to start fighting so decisively. It was unscientific. But the dominant feeling in his heart was still anger: You little punk, are you out of your mind? Do you think I can't crush you?

In the center of the street, the vanguards of the two sides were closing the distance. The Tyrant Blade Camp advanced, and Bao

Daoyi's gang of outlaws retreated slightly.

"Yin an...zhao bai ma!"

Without much talk, the first sound of clashing weapons rang out, followed by countless more, the front lines locked in close combat. The street wasn't narrow, but at most only twenty people could fight at the same time. The first move among martial artists always seemed like a test, but this time it was different. Du Sha and the others in the Tyrant Blade Camp were incredibly skilled in their coordinated attacks. One of them had only exchanged two blows with Fang Shuchang when the opponent in front of him suddenly changed to Luo Bingren. Qian Luoning slashed at the opponent's central path. Just as the opponent wanted to block, Ji Qian'er's Mandarin Duck blades rushed over from the left, and as the body hastily shifted to the side, Fang Shuchang had already raised his long saber and drawn him into the attack from the right.

"Sa ta ru liu xing—"

Over there, Liu Xigua lowered her head to write poetry. In the midst of the loud chanting, the Tyrant Blade Camp's formation pressed forward two steps with a rumble, and the front line pushed against the first row of outlaws, and six people were swept into it, leaving behind only blood.

At the street entrance, another group of over a hundred people responding to Bao Daoyi's signal flares had also arrived. Seeing the thirty or so people blocking the road, they charged straight over, "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"

"This way is impassable."

"Tianrui Camp is handling matters! Who are you people!"

"I said it's impassable!"

The leader of the Tyrant Blade Camp's squad spoke sternly, but the others weren't afraid at all. They surged forward and drew their swords and spears, "Damn, you dare to cause trouble with so few people? Do you know who we're with! Get lost—"

Liu Xigua's voice rang out from the other end of the street.

"Shi bu...sha yi ren!"

"Damn, let..."

"Kill!"

The leading squad leader shouted in a deep voice and drew his saber with a backhand. Almost everyone drew their sabers at the same time. On this barrier composed of thirty or so people, the blade light was like the giant wheel of a lawnmower, sweeping across a circle, and the hundred or so people who surged forward were all cut down in blood.

The thirty or so people lowered their long sabers, and blood dripped from each blade.

"The Tyrant Blade Camp is here! I said you can't pass! Anyone who dares to step forward...dies!"

The people behind shrank back, opening a distance, and for a time, the ten or so corpses under those thirty-odd long sabers became even more glaring.

By the time Liu Xigua recited "Qian li bu liu xing," the entire scene was completely in motion, and sword light surged at the front of the street. The members of the Tyrant Blade Camp surged past the first carriage. Even among the Tyrant Blade Camp, these hundred or so people were elites. They practiced martial arts, were familiar with battle formations, and cooperated closely with each other. The outlaws in front were at most more skilled in martial arts. In this situation, how could they be a match? They were constantly forced to retreat, and people were being cut down from time to time. Someone near the roadside wanted to leap onto the roof to attack, but they were continuously intercepted by three members of the Tyrant Blade Camp. Someone who made it onto the roof was cut down with a slash as they were met head-on. The person on the roof twirled their blade, looked down, and continued forward. Someone leaped onto the roof of the carriage, shot an arrow forward, and then jumped down again.

Ning Yi could also see at this time that Liu Xigua's hard work in writing poetry there wasn't just for show. The clear and loud voice was like a drumbeat. The sense of rhythm could not only boost morale but also allow everyone to coordinate and move forward, and make moves in unison. The changes in the figures of hundreds of people seemed chaotic, but almost everyone's footsteps were in the rhythm of that "Ballad of the Gallant." The fighting in front was fierce, and the voice continued relentlessly.

"...Shi le fu yi qu, shen cang shen yu ming...Xian guo Xinling yin, tuo jian xi qian heng! Jiang zhi dan Zhu Hai, chi shang quan Hou Ying—"

Combat, sword light, blood, and the most bizarre thing of all was the constant sound of poetry. Like the sound of weapons, it was domineering and resolute. Watching the people in front kill in rhythm as if dancing, the audience in the restaurants and teahouses, and the young people widened their eyes, and their breathing became rapid. Even Ning Yi couldn't help but feel a little excited and wanted to cheer for Liu Xigua's performance. Another group of Bao Daoyi's subordinates had already arrived, but there were too many people crowded together, and they couldn't reach the front. More people also came from the other side of the street. Seeing that there were only thirty or so people blocking the road, they shouted, "Kill them!" Everyone surged forward, the sword light collided fiercely, figures fell continuously, and blood surged. The thirty or so people sometimes advanced and sometimes retreated, but the battle line was always orderly, like a wave blocking the people who rushed over.

Next was "San bei tu ran nuo, wu yue dao wei qing." In the short lines of poetry, the vanguard of the army facing the thirty-odd people on the rear side of the street began to retreat again, but someone began to release arrows. However, the arrows shot down from the roof shot down more people. They were also archers from the Tyrant Blade Camp, and at this time they appeared on the roofs on both sides. In the battle against Bao Daoyi, the archers who appeared also kept a close watch on the situation. At this time, the lineup of the Tyrant Blade Camp was about two hundred people, and probably wouldn't be more. The battle situation began to become chaotic, and the people on Bao Daoyi's side began to rush to the roof, and casualties began to increase.

Ning Yi watched all of this. What was to come would probably be equivalent to war, something he hadn't anticipated. In the center of the street, An Xifu and a dozen Black Feather Guards were already in the rear of the Tyrant Blade Camp's elite and were also watching. But An Xifu shouted, "Stop! Stop it now!" He wanted to go straight to the house where Liu Xigua was, but Liu Tiannan held his shoulder. The two exchanged a few moves, but he was naturally not Liu Tiannan's opponent. The two were on the street

arguing.

Over there was also Bao Daoyi's voice: "Today, I'm going to have the Tyrant Blade Camp removed from the list! Kill them! Kill them..."

"...Yan hua er re hou, yi qi su ni sheng! Jiu Zhao hui jin chui, Han Dan xian zhen jing! Qian qiu er zhuang shi, xuan he Da Liang cheng..." Liu Xigua herself was also infected by this atmosphere. The lines of poetry, word by word, were filled with excitement and didn't stop.

Blood, chaos, countless sounds gathered together. This afternoon in Hangzhou City, Pingchang Street almost uncontrollably boiled over.

Amidst this madness, Ning Yi took a breath and looked towards one side of the restaurant. Suddenly, he saw a figure that stunned him.

The killing continued...

************

You can guess who Ning Yi saw. It's unrelated to this battle ^_^ (To be continued.) Vote for recommendations, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)

Support (Complete Book God Station) Share this site to those little friends who need it! Leave a message if you can't find the book!