The raging fire in Guyuan City was still spreading northwards.

The night wind carried the city’s scorching smell far away, and smoke, acrid and pungent, filled the streets.

On Kule Street, over ten cavalrymen of the Heavenly Policy Army, armed with long spears, surrounded Li Xuan and six commoners.

Li Xuan held his sword in his right hand, keeping the little girl tucked under his left arm, constantly changing direction to shield the commoners behind him.

One Heavenly Policy Army cavalryman raised his spear and thrust it towards an old man behind Li Xuan. With swift reflexes, Li Xuan tipped the spearhead with his sword, producing a harsh clang of metal on metal.

The spear vibrated violently from the sword’s touch, numbing the cavalryman’s hand. He immediately pulled back his spear and warned in a low voice, “Be careful, he’s very difficult.”

Another Heavenly Policy Army cavalryman gripped his reins, looking down at Li Xuan with a sneer. “You can barely protect yourself, yet you still dream of being a hero?”

Li Xuan panted heavily, “Guyuan City is already yours. Why do you still slaughter everyone? These commoners will be your subjects from now on. Why can’t you leave them a way to live?”

The Heavenly Policy Army soldier sneered, “How do I know if there are spies from your southern people hidden among them? Guyuan is one of the Nine Borders, vitally important. How could we leave hidden dangers like those fools in the border army? We’ll clear out the entire city and replace them with our northern people!”

Li Xuan’s heart was a mix of emotions. If even the Jing Dynasty people understood this principle, why did the Ning Dynasty border army not? How could the border army be so short-sighted, letting so many northern people in to collect tax silver, effectively destroying their own Great Wall?

Yet, he still retorted, “General Hu also did it for the livelihood of the border army…”

The Heavenly Policy Army cavalrymen exchanged glances, then suddenly burst into laughter, as if they had heard the greatest joke. “The one who let the northern people into the city for business was that dog thief Wen Tao, what does that have to do with Hu Junxian? The General Hu you speak of has been exchanging letters with our Grand Commander for several years. Even the mountain path we took to bypass your Ning Dynasty heartland was led by his trusted subordinate!”

Another man on horseback arrogantly added, “So you’re the real fool, sold out without even knowing it! The so-called ‘opening the gates and surrendering the city to protect Guyuan’s commoners’ was just a facade. That was merely a pretense to fool his border army soldiers. Hu Junxian had long intended to surrender Guyuan to our dynasty!”

Li Xuan stood stunned on the spot. “How can this be? How can this be!”

Seeing his mind falter, four Heavenly Policy Army cavalrymen instantly thrust their spears!

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

Li Xuan’s long sword danced in a brilliant display of sword art, blocking each of the four incoming spears.

One spear was severed by a single stroke. As the spearhead fell, Li Xuan kicked it away.

The spearhead, imbued with the force of wind and thunder, pierced the hindquarters of one soldier’s warhorse. The horse shrieked in pain and reared up, almost throwing the Heavenly Policy Army cavalryman from its back.

No one had expected Li Xuan to be so difficult to deal with, even when his mind was distracted.

Just as Li Xuan was about to seize the opportunity to strike down this Heavenly Policy Army cavalryman, a piercing whistle came from afar, and a sharp whistling arrow arrived in an instant.

The arrow’s trajectory was incredibly tricky, forcing Li Xuan to reluctantly withdraw his sword to defend and deflect the whistling arrow.

Someone among the Heavenly Policy Army said gravely, “He’s not border army. He might be a high-ranking official of the Seeker Realm! Wait for the whistling arrow to call for reinforcements, then we’ll surround and kill him together!”

At the same time, Li Xuan’s heart tightened: This was just an ordinary Jing Dynasty cavalry squad, yet they had someone attacking his morale, and someone providing distant support. Their offense and defense were so seamless and formidable, he couldn’t find any openings.

With the whistling arrow signaling, more Heavenly Policy Army soldiers would soon arrive to encircle and kill them.

Li Xuan silently scanned his surroundings, then asked in a deep voice, “What you said about Hu Junxian earlier, that was just to disturb my mind, wasn’t it? You are just ordinary soldiers, how could you know military secrets?”

One Heavenly Policy Army soldier circled Li Xuan and the refugees on horseback, slowly saying, “This isn’t some secret within our Heavenly Policy Army… You’re not border army, so are you from the Imperial Guards? I am rather curious, why are you here alone? Where are your comrades? Did they all abandon you and run? Why don’t you surrender to our Heavenly Policy Army? You’ll find wealth and glory.”

Li Xuan suddenly recalled Chen Ji’s indifferent and distant gaze, but quickly pulled his thoughts back. He knew the Heavenly Policy Army soldiers were stalling for time, waiting for reinforcements, yet he was helpless.

No, he couldn’t delay any longer!

He stepped forward, intending to forcefully break through their formation.

But the moment he moved, the Heavenly Policy Army soldiers immediately thrust their spears towards the refugees, forcing him to defend. Another whistling arrow shot from the distant darkness, almost grazing his scalp.

A Heavenly Policy Army soldier laughed derisively, “As expected of the pampered army, soft-hearted! A dignified Seeker Realm official, trapped here by a few of us, all for a few commoners as worthless as weeds. Useless!”

These men had found Li Xuan’s weakness. As soon as he made a move, they would immediately attack the refugees to engage him. They were extremely cautious, absolutely refusing to launch a strong assault before reinforcements arrived!

Li Xuan wanted to abandon the refugees, but when he looked back and saw their tear-stained faces, he simply couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Then a Heavenly Policy Army cavalryman sneered, “If you have a Bodhisattva’s heart, why come to the battlefield? Remember in your next life to be reborn as a wealthy man, don’t come seeking death again.”

Li Xuan flicked the long sword in his hand, and it hummed loudly. “If I cannot protect the commoners behind me, what is the purpose of our cultivation?”

The Heavenly Policy Army scoffed, “Young masters of the pampered army, all you can do is spout pretty words… Hmph!”

Before he could finish speaking, a spray of blood suddenly splattered onto Li Xuan’s face.

Li Xuan abruptly looked up to see the Heavenly Policy Army soldier who had just spoken, his eyes wide open, an iron-tipped arrow having pierced through his mouth. Blood streamed down from his open lips.

Everyone turned in surprise, looking towards the direction from which the iron-tipped arrow had come!

Had the master archer missed?

Impossible! Every master archer in the Heavenly Policy Army had the skill to hit a willow leaf at a hundred paces. Even if an arrow was blown off course by the wind, it wouldn’t hit their own comrade!

Among the Heavenly Policy Army, someone roared, “Hide! The master archer’s bow has been seized…”

With a thud, an iron-tipped arrow pierced through this man’s chest and abdomen. The arrow was so powerful and heavy, it surpassed even the shots of the Heavenly Policy Army’s master archers!

Li Xuan was filled with doubt and surprise: What was happening? Who was offering help?

He didn’t have time to think. Seeing the Heavenly Policy Army’s formation now vulnerable, he immediately swung his sword to break through.

One Heavenly Policy Army soldier was hanging sideways on his horse, using the warhorse to shield himself from the direction of the iron-tipped arrows. But Li Xuan’s sword rose and fell, the blade slipping through the gap between helmet and shoulder plate, severing the man’s head!

In an instant, Li Xuan and the unseen archer hidden in the darkness attacked from north and south. Li Xuan, with a furious demeanor, darted up and down amidst the enemy, scattering the Heavenly Policy Army’s formation in mere seconds.

“Go! Find the centurion!” One Heavenly Policy Army cavalryman hung sideways on his horse and fled, hoping to link up with the approaching reinforcements. But an iron-tipped arrow shot from the night sky, lightly hitting his reins.

The reins snapped, and the cavalryman lost his balance, his upper body inevitably falling downwards. The moment his head emerged from under the horse’s belly, an iron-tipped arrow arrived instantly, piercing through his skull.

The cavalryman’s left foot remained caught in the stirrup, and his body was dragged further and further by the warhorse.

Li Xuan’s pupils suddenly constricted.

He had encountered many master archers from the Heavenly Policy Army today, but he had never seen such fierce and unpredictable archery skills.

After striking down the last Heavenly Policy Army soldier, Li Xuan couldn’t help but turn to look towards where the iron-tipped arrows had come from, but there was only the pitch-black night, making it impossible to discern who was drawing the bowstring.

Was it a Ning Dynasty spy infiltrated in Jing Dynasty territory? Or a skilled official from the border army?

Faintly, Li Xuan saw a dark figure leaping across rooftops, coming closer and closer.

Li Xuan didn’t know if it was friend or foe. He could only shield the refugees behind him, holding his sword and holding his breath.

The next moment, he suddenly exclaimed, “Chen Ji?!”

In the darkness, on the rooftop, Chen Ji had, at some unknown point, changed into the black armor of a Heavenly Policy Army master archer, wearing a pheasant-tailed helmet with a black pheasant tail feather pointing high towards the crescent moon above.

Chen Ji held a bow in one hand and an arrow nocked in the other. Two quivers hung at his waist, suggesting he must have killed two master archers in the dark!

“How is it you?!”

Li Xuan was astonished. The arrow that had pierced the running horse’s reins just now, even a Heavenly Policy Army master archer might not have been able to achieve that.

The key was that he had never expected Chen Ji to come and save him… Earlier, when passing the alley entrance, it was clearly Chen Ji who had warned him with his gaze. So why had he returned now?

Li Xuan murmured, “You…”

Chen Ji’s gaze slowly swept over Li Xuan and the refugees. He calmly said, “Why aren’t you leaving quickly?”

Li Xuan quickly re-shouldered the little girl and turned to run north. But after only a few steps, he heard the sound of hooves approaching from ahead, likely Heavenly Policy Army cavalry guided by the whistling arrow!

He then ran west with the little girl on his back, but hoofbeats also echoed from the west.

Li Xuan stopped and listened intently, realizing with alarm that Heavenly Policy Army cavalry were galloping from all directions; there was no escape.

He turned back to Chen Ji with a bitter expression. “I’m sorry to drag you down. Why don’t you escape on your own? With your skills, they shouldn’t be able to stop you. Could you perhaps take this little girl with you? She’s still so young…”

Chen Ji gave him a strange look, then pointed towards the northwest. “Go that way, through a small alley, then head north.”

Li Xuan shook his head. “People are coming from that direction too, we can’t get away. These Heavenly Policy Army soldiers are hard to deal with. If they latch onto us, no one will survive.”

Chen Ji didn’t reply. He casually pulled out three whistling arrows from his quiver, nocked them onto his bowstring simultaneously, and shot them towards the east.

The piercing whistles faded into the distance, disappearing into the night.

Li Xuan was startled. He heard the thunder of hooves that had been coming towards them suddenly become chaotic, then swiftly change direction towards where the whistling arrows had flown.

The whistling arrows were the signals in the night, guiding all Heavenly Policy Army soldiers to battle!

Li Xuan’s eyes widened. Only then did he understand Chen Ji’s intention in killing the two master archers. With whistling arrows in hand, he didn’t even need to deliberately evade the Heavenly Policy Army; he could simply make them clear a path for escape!

This young man was too daring, undertaking such a risky feat, yet it actually worked!

Li Xuan quickly told the refugees, “Quick, follow me!”

He ran towards the small alley to the northwest with the little girl on his back. Before entering the alley, he couldn’t help but look back, only to find Chen Ji’s figure was no longer on the rooftop.