Chapter 96

Real life-and-death struggles are nothing like the battles depicted in movies and TV shows, where the combatants exchange hundreds of blows.

Such struggles often end with a single fatal strike, with no room for drawn-out engagements. Yang Chenglie had even braced himself to lose an arm, as he viciously thrust his Broken Dragon saber into the assassin’s abdomen, a spray of blood splattering across his face.

But at that moment, a sharp metallic clang rang in his ears.

The large saber in the assassin’s hand had been struck by an iron ball, the force of the impact even breaking the blade in two.

“Father, don’t panic, I’m here.”

Yang Shouwen’s voice reached Yang Chenglie’s ears, instantly invigorating him. He then stepped back, dragging his saber to eviscerate the assassin.

“Jida, take out the archer!”

Yang Shouwen ran from the other end of the street, putting away his slingshot as he ran.

His movements were swift, like a bolt of lightning.

Behind him, Abusi Jida closely followed.

Abusi Jida held two large spears. Upon hearing Yang Shouwen’s command, he suddenly halted, raised his arm, and hurled one of the iron spears. The spear tore through the misty rain, piercing the chest of an assassin.

The assassin was about to slash at Yang Chenglie but didn’t expect Abusi Jida to throw the spear from a distance of twenty steps. Moreover, Abusi Jida was incredibly strong, and the spear flew through the air at great speed, pinning the assassin to the ground. Yang Chenglie panted heavily, sitting in the mud, and as he saw Yang Shouwen running over, he shouted, “Xizi, be careful.”

An assassin suddenly darted out from the side, raising his saber to strike.

Yang Shouwen, however, remained calm, his speed undiminished. He suddenly crouched and collided with the assassin.

He raised his hand, using a technique called “Hawk’s Claw,” and grabbed the assassin’s arm. His grip was like a steel claw, and with a twist, the sound of the assassin’s arm breaking was clearly audible amidst the cries of battle. He then thrust forward, striking the assassin’s face with his elbow, causing his face to be a bloody mess, with a clear indentation in the triangular area between his eyes and nose.

The assassin’s eyes nearly popped out, and he fell to the ground, covered in blood.

Yang Shouwen then seized the steel saber from the assassin’s hand, turned, and thrust it forward, impaling another assassin in the stomach.

He kicked the assassin to the ground and quickly reached Yang Chenglie’s side.

He reached out, pulled the Tiger Swallow spear from the corpse, crouched, and with a roar, thrust the spear into the chest of an approaching assassin.

“Father, are you alright?”

“Watch out for the archer!”

“It’s fine, Abusi Jida will take care of him.”

While talking to Yang Chenglie, Yang Shouwen’s movements did not slow, and he became even more ferocious.

He pulled out the spear, gripped it in the middle, and with another roar, thrust it into another assassin, knocking him to the ground.

At the same time, Yang Chenglie also regained his spirit.

His Broken Dragon saber flew up and down, cutting another assassin to the ground in a pool of blood.

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the alley, indicating that the archer and Abusi Jida had already engaged in battle. Without the archer’s cover, the assassins were at a disadvantage, and Yang Chenglie and Yang Shouwen were no longer hindered by the archer.

In a blink, most of the assassins had been eliminated.

From the direction of the city gate, Guan Hu’s shouts could be heard: “Don’t let the bandits escape.”

Flames flickered, indicating that the local militia and guards had noticed the situation and were rushing over to provide support.

Seeing the situation turn against them, the remaining six or seven assassins whistled and fled without a word.

Yang Shouwen wanted to pursue them but saw Yang Chenglie collapse to the ground, panicking as he rushed to his side and held him in his arms.

“Is the county magistrate alright? Is the county magistrate alright?”

Guan Hu and his men had already reached the street corner and were shocked to see Yang Chenglie in Yang Shouwen’s arms.

“Xizi, what happened?”

“Assassins, there are assassins!”

Yang Shouwen pointed in the direction the assassins had fled, “They ran that way… quickly find a doctor, my father is injured.”

Guan Hu did not hesitate, immediately sending a portion of his men to pursue the assassins.

At that moment, a commotion arose from the crowd.

The sound of metal clashing followed, and Yang Shouwen looked up to see Abusi Jida emerging from the alley.

Several guards rushed to capture Abusi Jida but were repelled by his spear.

“Stop, he’s one of us.”

Yang Shouwen spoke, lifting Yang Chenglie in his arms.

Abusi Jida ran over and gestured, indicating that the archer had fled.

If it were any other time, Yang Shouwen might have asked for more details, but now he had no time to worry about the assassins. He carried Yang Chenglie and ran home, shouting, “Uncle Guan, don’t let the assassins escape.”

Guan Hu quickly responded.

Soon, shrill whistles echoed throughout Changping County, and squads of militia and guards quickly gathered at the city gate. The entire county was in an uproar, with guards patrolling every street and alley.

Abusi Jida, carrying a large spear in each hand, followed Yang Shouwen in a panic to the entrance of the Yang residence.

Song Shi, Yang Shi, and Old Hu also heard the commotion and rushed to check the situation. When they saw Yang Shouwen carrying the blood-soaked Yang Chenglie, they panicked and hurried to his side.

“Xizi, what’s wrong with your father?”

“Mother, don’t worry, Father was ambushed on the way, but he’s not in danger.”

With that, Yang Shouwen rushed into the side room and laid Yang Chenglie on the bed.

Yang Shi adjusted the oil lamp to its brightest setting and brought several torches, illuminating the room brightly.

“Where’s the doctor? Why hasn’t the doctor arrived yet?”

Song Shi shouted, her voice breaking with tears.

The courtyard was in chaos, with people shouting and dogs barking.

Yang Shouwen did not hesitate, taking a dagger, sterilizing it over the fire, and then cutting open Yang Chenglie’s blood-soaked clothes. Yang Chenglie had three saber wounds and one arrow wound. The wounds were deep and bleeding profusely. Yang Shouwen took hemostatic medicine from his bag and sprinkled it on Yang Chenglie’s wounds. “Father, don’t be afraid. This hemostatic medicine is made by Tiancun Zheng, based on a formula left by the old immortal Sun. I’ve tried it, and it works well. You’ll be fine soon.”

Yang Chenglie was somewhat dazed but still conscious.

His face was pale, but he managed a weak smile, saying, “Brat, I owe you one today. Otherwise, I would have been done for.”

“How could that be? Father, you’re so strong; a few bandits are nothing.”

“Hehe, you think I’m strong?

Today, I killed at least four of them… if it weren’t for that damn archer, I wouldn’t be in such a mess.”

“Right, right…”

Yang Shouwen carefully tended to Yang Chenglie’s wounds and turned to Yang Shi, “Aunt, bring me the bandages I boiled last time.”

The last time he and Yang Chenglie were injured in Guguzhu, he discovered that the bandages used to dress wounds were often not sterilized, leading to infections. After recovering, he had Yang Shi buy a lot of white cotton cloth and boil it to sterilize it. He then stored the bandages properly and brought many with him when they returned to Changping.