Chapter 32: The Assault on the Mountain (Seeking Continued Reading)

"What? The magistrate's daughter has been kidnapped?"

Zhang Long stood up abruptly, his face pale with shock. He had never imagined that anyone would dare to challenge the authorities so brazenly. However, those who dared to act were likely no ordinary figures.

Phoenix Slope was located on the border of Qinghe County, still within its jurisdiction. He recalled a gang of bandits holed up in the vicinity.

"Let's go! To the county office!"

Zhang Long, accompanied by Zhou Chen, Zhao Hu, and the others, hurried toward the county office in a flurry of activity. Magistrate Chen Fan and County Assistant Chen Dao were already there.

"Constable Zhang, take one hundred officers to Phoenix Slope immediately to investigate. You must rescue Chen Feng!" Chen Fan’s expression was grim as he issued the order.

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Long left the office with Zhou Chen to muster the men. The bailiffs and constables were already assembling rapidly. Zhou Chen returned home briefly to inform Qin Hongyu, then armed himself with a bow, arrows, and his sword before heading to the city gate to rendezvous with Zhang Long’s group.

Zhang Hu helped Zhou Chen secure a warhorse. Once everyone had gathered, Zhang Long gave the order: "Move out!"

Zhou Chen rode beside Zhang Long, leading the impressive procession as they galloped toward Phoenix Slope.

"Good heavens, such a large formation! What happened?"
"It must be something major!"
"I’d better sell my goods and head home to stay put; I’m not going out for a while!"

Seeing the rushing troop, the common folk stopped to gossip and whisper, their hearts filled with unease. They did not know exactly what had happened, but they knew something terrible was afoot, and their greatest fear was being caught in the crossfire.

Zhou Chen’s group moved quickly, arriving at Phoenix Slope in less than half an hour. The site was littered with corpses. These were the guards who had been escorting Chen Feng; some were pierced with arrows, while others had been cut down by a variety of blades and spears. It was clear that the party had been ambushed—first, a volley of arrows had decimated the guards and crushed their morale, followed by a swarm of bandits who slaughtered the survivors and abducted Chen Feng.

"Sir, based on the scene and the tracks left behind, it looks like the bandits fled in this direction," Zhou Chen said after a careful inspection.

Zhang Long nodded, his assessment matching Zhou Chen’s. "That direction leads to Wolong Mountain. A gang of about a hundred bandits is entrenched there. Their leader is Tie Xiong, nicknamed 'Tyrannosaurus,' who possesses the strength of a second-tier Body Refining martial artist. The second-in-command is Lu Xiao, known as 'Ghost Tiger.' His cultivation is unknown; some say he has no martial arts skill at all, and no one has ever seen him fight."

Zhang Long frowned in confusion. "In the past, the Wolong Mountain bandits would rob passing merchant caravans, but they never provoked the government. Since the mountain is easy to defend and hard to attack, we left them alone. Why would they dare to kidnap the magistrate’s daughter this time? Could there be a conspiracy behind this?"

Zhou Chen chimed in, "It's possible. Either Tie Xiong has had a breakthrough in his cultivation and become overconfident, or he has someone backing him. Or perhaps it’s all a misunderstanding?"

Zhang Long’s brow furrowed tightly. Without concrete clues, the possibilities were endless.

"It is also possible that the Wolong Mountain bandits didn't do it at all, and someone else is framing them to point us in their direction and make them the scapegoats," Zhou Chen added.

"A fair point." Zhang Long nodded. With a wave of his hand, he commanded, "Regardless, we have to go to Wolong Mountain. Even if they aren't the ones who did it, we’ll use them as our starting point!"

With no other leads, they had no choice but to target Wolong Mountain.

"Target: Wolong Mountain! Forward!"

...

At Wolong Mountain, in the Hall of Justice, the leader, Tie Xiong—a man as burly and imposing as a grizzly bear—carried a beautiful, fair-skinned young woman into the hall. He was followed by his second-in-command, Lu Xiao, and several other bandit chiefs.

"Tie Xiong, you have some nerve to kidnap me! Do you have a death wish?" Chen Feng struggled and cursed. "You’d better release me now, and I might act as if nothing happened. Otherwise, when my father arrives, he will raze Wolong Mountain to the ground, and you will all die!"

*Smack!*

Tie Xiong delivered a powerful slap to Chen Feng’s backside. The force of the blow echoed through the hall, causing Chen Feng to tremble and tears to well up in her eyes.

"Since I’ve already kidnapped you, why would I fear your father?" Tie Xiong’s voice boomed like a bell. He dropped Chen Feng to the ground and turned to his subordinates, shouting, "Brothers, are you afraid?"

"No!"
"No!"
"No!"

The men roared in unison. Though some were fearful, the contagious atmosphere bolstered their courage.

"Good! That’s the spirit of our Wolong Mountain heroes!" Tie Xiong grinned. He reached out, grabbed Chen Feng’s delicate chin, and forced her face up toward the men. "Tell me, is this little beauty stunning or what?"

"She is!"

"Do you want her?"

The men went silent, glancing at each other, not daring to speak.

"Damn it! Are the heroes of Wolong Mountain nothing but spineless cowards?" Tie Xiong roared, then asked again, "Do you want her?"

"Yes!" The bandit leaders, their bloodlust stirred, bellowed at the top of their lungs.

"Since you want her, get in line!" Tie Xiong laughed mockingly as he hoisted Chen Feng up again.

"Hurrah!"
"Long live the Chief!"

All the bandit leaders shouted in excitement, scrambling to form a line.

"Hey, what are you doing? I’m in front!"
"Don't push, I was here first!"
"Get lost, go to the back!"

Amidst the shoving and shouting, a long queue quickly formed at the entrance of the Hall of Justice. The smarter leaders realized that the Chief was burning their bridges; once they had touched the magistrate’s daughter, there was no turning back. But no one retreated—they didn't dare to. Besides, for outlaws like them, a night with the magistrate’s daughter was worth dying for. To die under the peony flower is a romantic end, even in the afterlife.

Half an hour later, Tie Xiong and Lu Xiao emerged, adjusting their belts. The leader at the front of the line was overjoyed; after bowing, he rushed inside impatiently. Tie Xiong and Lu Xiao ignored them and climbed to the top of the fortress gate.

"The government forces probably won't reach the foot of the mountain for a few hours. I wonder if Chen Fan will come himself?" Tie Xiong looked ahead, a hint of worry in his eyes.

"Chen Fan is holding down the county office; he likely won't move personally. It should be Zhang Long leading the charge," replied Lu Xiao, the strategist of the group. "If Zhang Long fails to break through, Chen Fan will have no choice but to intervene."

"Then we must be prepared to hold off Zhang Long’s attack!"

Tie Xiong and Lu Xiao began to deploy their defenses.

...

Meanwhile, Zhang Long and his team were racing toward Wolong Mountain, arriving at two in the afternoon.

"Rest for half an hour, then we attack the mountain!"

Military success relies on speed. Besides, every moment the magistrate's daughter spent in the hands of the bandits was another moment of suffering. Zhang Long could not afford to delay. Furthermore, he was now a third-tier Body Refining martial artist, and with the support of Zhou Chen—a master archer at the second tier—he believed that taking Wolong Mountain shouldn't be difficult.

"Fengxia, keep watch for me," Zhou Chen warned himself, not daring to be careless. Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

Ji Fengxia was now at the fourth level of Qi Refining. As a ghost, her perception was far sharper than that of any martial artist.

"Don't worry, Master. I will protect you well!" Ji Fengxia lay half-reclined on the large bed inside the Fengyue Treasure Mirror, her curvaceous, alluring body on display. She offered a charming smile, her voice sultry.

Zhou Chen said nothing more and closed his eyes to conserve his energy. The half hour passed in the blink of an eye. Zhang Long drew his long sword and commanded:

"Attack!"