There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 403 Robbery

The leader was a burly man with an eyepatch over his left eye. He carried a large knife and grinned.

"I built this mountain and planted this tree. If you want to live from now on, leave money to buy the road!"

The stale lines made the tense atmosphere somewhat comical.

Li Shuchen peeked out from behind the rock: "Brother, do you guys still use such an old-fashioned opening line? Can't you come up with something more creative?"

The one-eyed man was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting such a response.

Enraged, he shouted, "Enough nonsense! Hand over the grain and all your valuables!"

Liang Yuying stood up and calmly looked at the other party: "We are an imperial delegation on our way to Boyu Kingdom. You have intercepted our delegation. Do you know what crime you have committed?"

"The imperial court?" The one-eyed man laughed loudly. "In these misty, damp mountains, the imperial court is nothing! I'm the one who calls the shots!"

His henchmen also laughed, but their laughter sounded weak.

Why?

Because the opposing side consisted of regular Imperial Guards.

"Excuse me..." Gu Ziying suddenly raised her hand, like a student asking a question in class, "May I ask a question?"

The one-eyed man paused for a moment, then asked, "What's the problem?"

"How did you two hundred-plus people manage to hide so well in these mountains? We didn't notice a thing," Gu Ziying asked.

The one-eyed man proudly puffed out his chest: "We know this Misty Mountain like the back of our hand. We know exactly where the caves and secret passages are! What's two hundred people hiding here?"

"I see," Gu Ziying said thoughtfully. "Did you know about the mudslide just now?"

"Of course we know, we were hoping the mudslide would trap you so we could save our energy," the one-eyed man said, then realized he'd let something slip and quickly shut up.

Li Shuchen couldn't help but laugh out loud: "So you planned this all along? First, you let the mudslide trap us, then you came out to rob us?"

The one-eyed man's face flushed red: "So what if it is? You're surrounded now, so if you know what's good for you, you'd better surrender!"

Liang Yuying sighed and drew her sword: "It seems there's no point in talking."

The battle is on the verge of

Although outnumbered, the Imperial Guard soldiers were well-trained and quickly formed a defensive formation.

The black-clad bandits, relying on their superior numbers, attempted to break through from all sides.

Li Shuchen and Liang Yuying stood back to back, one wielding a staff and the other a sword, their coordination impeccable.

Princess Changning hid behind a carriage, observing the situation.

Suddenly a figure appeared and completely covered her.

"Princess, don't be afraid, I'll protect you."

Ruan Jingshang gripped his long sword with both hands, standing in front of Princess Changning, his body trembling uncontrollably. Clearly, this pampered young master had never seen anything like this before, and was not as composed as Princess Changning.

"Be careful"

Princess Changning shouted, snatched the long sword from Ruan Jingshang's hand, and stabbed at the charging bandit. The bandit was stabbed in the abdomen and staggered backward.

Princess Changning immediately swung her sword forward and began slashing wildly.

Ultimately, he killed the master with a flurry of punches and also took down a robber.

"Huh? I can protect people too?" Princess Changning looked at the blood-stained longsword in her hand with a mixture of joy and excitement, without turning her head.

"Ruan Jingshang, you'd better hide yourself."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Jingshang obediently hid where Princess Changning had just hidden, his eyes following her intently.

Even as she watched people die one after another before her eyes, she dared not make a sound, for fear of distracting her.

"Changning, slit his throat with a knife, kick him in the stomach," Li Shuchen instructed Princess Changning as he struck her.

Princess Changning did as she was told, slitting her throat to die and kicking him away.

"Remember to finish him off," Li Shuchen's voice came from afar again.

Princess Changning swung her knife at the chest of the enemy lying on the ground.

"Snip, snip," two more stabs followed.

Then deal with the next enemy.

Purple Pearl protected Ye Bingli, striking and retreating with ease.

Li Shuchen searched for Gu Ziying amidst the panicked crowd.

"Ziying"

"I'm here"

Looking towards the sound, Gu Ziying was squatting in an open space, drawing something with a twig, while Xiao Xiuyuan was protecting her beside her.

Li Shuchen dodged an attack from a bandit, fighting his way closer to Gu Ziying as he approached.

"Ziying, have you found anything?"

“Yes,” Gu Ziying looked up, “there’s a gap in their encirclement, to the southeast, where the terrain is steep and their men can’t stand firm.”

Upon hearing her words, Liang Yuying immediately adjusted the strategy: "Break through to the southeast!"

The Imperial Guards and the Mulan Army moved swiftly, and just as Gu Ziying had predicted, the bandits to the southeast were standing on a slope, their footing unsteady and their formation loose.

"Now's the time! Charge!" Liang Yuying took the lead and broke through the encirclement.

The crowd followed closely behind, abandoning even the carriage.

After all, saving one's life is the most important thing.

The bandits tried to give chase, but were blocked by the Imperial Guards.

The one-eyed man shouted angrily, "Chase them! Don't let them get away!"

During their escape, Li Shuchen asked Gu Ziying as he ran, "How did you know there was a gap there?"

Gu Ziying, panting, said, "From observation, their encirclement seems complete, but the people in the southeast direction are standing the most loosely, and they keep adjusting their posture, indicating that they are not standing steadily. Also, there are no archers in that direction, because they can't aim if they are not standing steadily."

Li Shuchen gave a thumbs-up in admiration: "Amazing!"

The group ran frantically, finally shaking off their pursuers and hiding in a secluded cave.

Zizhu counted the number of people and then reported to Liang Yuying: "Reporting to Lord Ying, the Mulan army suffered no casualties, only three people sustained minor injuries."

"General, no Imperial Guards were injured or killed, but five sustained minor injuries," Zhen Congming reported.

"Although we encountered bandits, fortunately no one was injured or killed," Liang Yuying said, wiping her sword.

“Although there are many bandits, their strength is average; they could even kill two of Changning,” Li Shuchen had just finished speaking when Princess Changning’s voice came from beside him.

“Li Shuchen, who do you think you are? I killed four people, a full four,” Princess Changning retorted, holding up four fingers.

"Good, good, good. Changning has made great progress. Before, we could only be protected, but now we can protect others too," Li Shuchen said, glancing at Ruan Jingshang.

She saw everything that happened on the battlefield.

Ruan Jingshang squatted by the fire, cooking porridge, a sweet smile on his face.

"It's a pity that only one cartload of grain remains; the rest were either destroyed by mudslides or fell into the hands of bandits," Liang Yuying said, her eyes filled with regret.

"What do we do now?" Princess Changning touched the enemy's bloodstains on her face. "We've run out of supplies, the roads are impassable, and we're being chased by bandits..."

Liang Yuying sat at the cave entrance, gazing at the mist outside, lost in thought for a long time.

“We need to find a safe place to replan,” she finally said. “This misty mountain is more dangerous than we imagined.”

Li Shuchen glanced at everyone: "That one-armed guard isn't here; it seems he didn't escape with us."

Only then did everyone realize that the one-armed guard who had been silently grinding and gathering herbs was gone.

Liang Yuying's expression changed, and Li Shuchen also frowned.

"He wouldn't..." Princess Changning covered her mouth.

Gu Ziying shook her head: "He'll be fine. He knows this mountain very well, even better than those bandits."

Everyone pondered...