Chapter Seventy-Five: Yang Xuan Gan
Yang Zhaosu rarely left the Daxing Imperial Palace and seldom walked in the streets, so it was natural that he didn't recognize the origin of this group of female soldiers in front of him. But Che Li was different from the young prince. As the orthodox sect of the Great Sui Kingdom, officials and nobles naturally came to the Temple of Ultimate Bliss to offer incense and worship Buddha, listening to Mahayana Ye preach the Dharma. Therefore, these twin sisters who looked like Kunlun slaves appeared, and Che Li had already identified their identities as the leaders of the "Gui Luo Army" under Yang Xuan, the eldest son of Yang Su, Duke of Yue - Hu Niang and Bao Niang.
The Jie Luo Army, a female army, was carefully trained by Yang Su. The number of members is not large, and in terms of martial arts, there are no outstanding masters. However, everyone is proficient in espionage and assassination techniques. As the Right Assistant Minister of the Great Sui Dynasty, Yang Su has been threatened by many enemies over the years, but none have succeeded. The Jie Luo Army has made great contributions to this. In recent years, with Yang Guang ascending to the throne, the enemies who could threaten Yang Su have almost disappeared, so the Duke of Yue handed over this force to his eldest son, Yang Xuangan. Unfortunately, this young man, who was appointed as the General of the Upper Capital at a young age due to his father's influence, is a true prodigal son, greedy and lustful. The Jie Luo Army has become a tool for him to collect and hunt beautiful women, which is really regrettable.
Now that the Ji Luo army is right in front of him, he must have taken a liking to some good woman from who-knows-which family (most likely within the Wu An Bureau), with intentions of making a move. However, regardless of whether it's about martial arts or status, Che Li doesn't think he and his younger brother Yang Zhao need to give in to this group of female soldiers. So, he didn't utter a word to expose their identity, but instead just smiled slightly, feeling at ease as he watched from the sidelines.
The car drove away calmly, but the smell of gunpowder on Yang Zhao's side grew thicker. Although Hu Niang and Bao Niang were women, their personalities were no less fierce than those of men. The three successful blows from Little King did not immediately disable their combat power. After a brief moment of concentration, they suppressed the surging blood in their chests. The two sisters shouted in unison: "He's a tough opponent! Sisters, up!" They swung their long whips and attacked from both sides. Yang Zhao had already taken out the "Divine Hand" from his pocket and put it on. With this pair of celestial soldiers protecting him, he was not afraid of the sharp tips on the whip. He reached out to grab the whip, but just as his fingertips touched the tip, a figure flashed before his eyes, and a soft voice shouted. Suddenly, four more whips appeared from all directions, aiming at his vital spots, including his forehead and groin. It turned out that several other members of the "Qie Luo Army" had also joined the fight.
These whips were swift and powerful, the whip tips flashing with a cold light in the sunlight. Yang Zhao frowned and quickly retreated. The six whips collided in mid-air, but then closed like plum blossom petals. Hu Niang shouted loudly, leading the women to open up their formation and engage in a fierce battle on the outside. The Qi Luo Army was well-trained, advancing and retreating in unison, attacking like flowing mercury, defending like a copper wall and iron fortress; the six people worked together seamlessly, their coordination perfect, like a carefully designed formation.
Yang Zhao had never dealt with such a joint attack before. At this sudden encounter, he couldn't help but feel somewhat unadapted. With the situation unclear, he didn't rashly launch a counterattack. Instead, he employed his innate Eight Trigrams Step technique, advancing and retreating amidst the long whips' rapid merging and separating, often dodging the enemy's blades by a hair's breadth. Sometimes the difference was only a few inches, but that tiny margin made all the difference, allowing him to emerge unscathed.
The formation of the "Six Harmony Plum Blossom Formation" was originally a method recorded by Zhuge Zhan in the "Mysterious Mirror of Changes". Yang Su learned it and used it to train the Qieluo Army. Even if many people's martial arts skills were not high, once they formed an array, their power would increase exponentially, making six people like one top-notch master with twelve legs and twelve hands. As the battle reached its climax, Bao Ni suddenly shouted loudly, and four Qieluo soldiers whipped out their whips and wrapped them around the young prince's limbs at the same time.
This change was indeed clever, and the timing was just right. Just as Young Master Wang took a step forward, his back foot had not yet lifted off the ground. In an instant, both of Yang Zhao's hands and legs were bound by the long whip, with four great forces pulling outward with all their might, as if they wanted to tear Young Master Wang limb from limb. Yang Zhao let out a loud "Hmph!" and focused his energy, sinking his weight and stabilizing his feet firmly on the ground. He grasped the whip with his fingers, preparing to pull it back with force. Suddenly, a blue light flashed before his eyes, and Hu Niang and Bao Niang simultaneously released their grip on the whip, drew out two gleaming blue daggers from their waists, and stabbed at Yang Zhao's heart and abdomen with lightning speed. The speed was like thunder and lightning, more than three times faster than before!
This move is the real deal, and it's where the true strength of the two leaders of the Gui Luo Army lies.
Golden light burst forth, dazzling the eyes. A pair of divine hands simultaneously conjured up the Xun and Dui trigrams in their palms. The left wind swirled and the right water churned as Yang Zhao unleashed his signature move, borrowing strength to augment his power. In an instant, the four members of the "Qie Luo Army" who had been restraining him were shocked to find that the whip's energy had vanished into thin air, leaving them weightless. Suddenly, the four people found themselves involuntarily lifted off the ground and became human shields for Yang Zhao, hurtling towards Hu Niang and Bao Niang. Amidst the cries of alarm, the six women collided with each other, flying backward like cannonballs before crashing into a horse carriage in the middle of the street with a loud "Boom!" The four horses let out a terrified whinny as they somehow managed to pull the stationary carriage forward by two or three zhang. The six members of the "Qie Luo Army" crashed heavily onto the cobblestone road, each one battered and bruised, either breaking bones or dislocating joints, unable to get back up again.
Yang Zhao patted the dust off her body with both hands and said coldly, "This is a warning to you all, do not take lives lightly again."
"How dare you! When did I, the young master, need to be taught by you?" A loud and cold shout suddenly rang out, and before the sound had even faded, the walls of the Wu An Pavilion burst forth from within with a deafening explosion. Countless bricks and stones that had been half-melted by the intense flames shot towards Young Master Wang like living projectiles, their momentum fierce and overbearing, truly not to be underestimated.
In the blink of an eye, strange changes emerged, but Yang Zhao was shocked yet unflustered. He circled his arms and simultaneously unleashed the "兑泽漩" (Du Ze Whirlpool). The soft and gentle rotating palm energy constructed an invisible protective shield three feet away from his body, which could withstand even a thousand flying embers coming in dense and urgent waves, making it impossible for them to cross the Thunder Pool by half a step. However, the fierce flames intensified instead of subsiding, and amidst the loud shouting, a tall and slender figure emerged, carrying a blazing flame, like the Fire God Zhu Rong reborn, leaping out with incredible speed. The momentum was too fast, too sharp to withstand. The "兑泽漩" protective shield was instantly broken, and a pair of scorching hot iron palms, like those from a furnace, struck towards Young Master Yang without hesitation, determined to kill Yang Zhao on the spot!
The image of the mountain appears in the palm, and the young king's move is so fast that it seems like he doesn't need to breathe. The four palms face each other, and a dull explosion sounds out. Yang Zhao stands still like a rock, and the incoming figure is shocked and retreats. Seven footprints are left on the bluestone pavement, and only then can he barely stand firm.
Trying to show off his might, he ended up losing face. The man was furious and humiliated, clenching his fists, ready to increase his power and fight again. Carrying a cold eye from afar, Che Li had already seen everything clearly. This young nobleman, dressed in finery and with a handsome face, was none other than Yang Xuan Gan, the eldest son of the current Prime Minister Yang Su.
The lesson of Ji Luo Jun is not worth it, but if it's for the sake of the common people of Wu An Biao Ju and causes conflict with Yang Xuan Gan, then it's not worth it. He changed his mind and immediately moved in between Yang Shao and Yang Xuan Gan, opening his hands to either side and shouting loudly: "Everyone stop! Young Master Yang, I am Che Li of the Extreme Joy Sect!"
Jile Zhengzong was the state religion of the Great Sui Kingdom, and its leader, Mohaye Gui, was the national teacher. Along with his direct disciples, the "Five Branches", they were also famous throughout the land. Yang Xuangan may have been a dissolute young master, but he was not that kind of brainless fool. He immediately restrained his fiery energy and asked sternly: "Che Li, what do you want to do?"
"It's not what I'm doing, but what you're doing yourself." The carriage turned sideways, so Yang Xuan could see the appearance of the young king behind him. In a stern voice, he said: "His Highness the King of Henan is here, does Mr. Yang want to commit regicide and rebellion?"
As soon as the big hat was pressed down on his head, Yang Xuan felt a shock all over his body and immediately looked up to gaze at him. The four eyes met in mid-air, and both of them felt a slight pain, hurriedly lowering their heads and blinking. They simultaneously called out in a low voice: "Yang Xuan (King of Henan)?"
On New Year's Eve, the Goguryeo envoy Yizhi Wende brought out the monk Zhu Fa Ran to stir up trouble. At that time, Yang Xuangan had joined forces with Yuwen Huaji to attack and try to suppress the monk's arrogance, but they were no match for the powerful and overbearing Baidao of the Ice and Fire Seven Heavens. Later, Yang Zhao stepped forward and forced Zhu Fa Ran back with three moves. Therefore, whether it was the young prince or Yang Xuangan, they all knew each other. However, Yang Xuangan felt that Yang Zhao's success on that day was entirely due to his taking advantage of the fact that the monk had already exhausted himself after fighting against Li Yuan and Yuwen Shu, two great masters (this was also half true), so he harbored a grudge against Yang Zhao from then on.
At this time, Yang Xuangan saw the young king suddenly appear here, and also defeated his own "Gui Luo Jun" army. He was even more angry in his heart. Coldly said: "Oh, it turns out that the King of Henan has arrived, but I don't know what these subordinates have done to offend the king, so they had to trouble the king to take action? Is it because the king saw the beauty of these subordinates and was moved by lust? If so, then no matter who the king favors, just speak up. I am only a humble general, not comparable to the king who governs the land, that is something I dare not refuse."
These few sentences are sarcastic, obviously imitating the words of Yang Xiu's letter, ridiculing Yang Zhao for being greedy for his aunt's beauty and ignoring the uncle-nephew relationship to kill people and steal treasures, which is very biting. Yang Zhao was originally not fond of Yang Xuangong, who would become the rebirth of the King of Chu, and now hearing the other party's sarcastic words, he became even more furious. However, there was no need to explain anything about his relationship with Yang Xiu and Tang Zhong to this dissolute young master in front of him.
At this time, the young king didn't care about the other party's cold ridicule and hot sarcasm, and said in a low voice: "The Duke of Yue is indeed well-educated. This road isn't opened by your family, is it? Why use horse-drawn carriages to block others from passing? I just spoke a few words, and they want to fight and kill, haha, really good momentum and killing intent, even the guards in the Taiji Palace are far inferior. Now, I really don't know whose surname this great Sui Dynasty belongs to, Yang or Yang."
Yang Zhao's words also had a hidden edge, implying that Yang Su was arrogant and overbearing, his prestige even surpassing that of Yang Jian. Conversely, it was also a big hat of "treason" being placed on him. Yang Xuangan's expression also changed slightly, and he turned around to sternly ask the crowd of officials who had just barely managed to get back to their feet: "What's going on?"
At this time, the Hu Lao army had already helped each other up. Tiger Girl and Leopard Girl endured the pain, reconnected their dislocated joints, and walked to Yang Xuan's side, saying in a low voice: "Report to Master, things are like this..." They told him what happened. After hearing that it was his own people who took action first, Yang Xuan was even more furious, glaring at the Hu Lao army girl who had been injured by the steel crossbow. However, he didn't want to publicly discipline his subordinates in front of outsiders, so he reluctantly cupped his fists and bowed to Yang Zhao, saying coldly: "Fine, it's my subordinate who collided with the king. Let's just end it here today and come to the king's mansion another day for a lesson." He then turned around and waved at Tiger Girl and Leopard Girl, ordering them: "Take the people onto the carriage, let's go."
The master has a mind to avoid war, and it's clear that this child can't be found again. Hu Niang and Bao Niang looked at each other in dismay, unable to do anything, and could only follow orders. The two of them walked into the Wu An Escort Agency through the broken wall, and soon came out with two women who were tied up with ropes and wore black veils, intending to get on the carriage. Yang Zhao had come to visit and take care of the widow of the Wu An Escort Agency, how could he allow Yang Xuan Gan to cause trouble? He furrowed his brow, stretched out his arm to block the carriage, and shouted in a low voice: "Halt! These two women aren't from the Yue Guo Gong Fu, are they? In broad daylight, in front of me, you're kidnapping civilians, Yang Xuan Gan, do you still respect the law of the Great Sui?"
Those two women heard the sound and were shocked at the same time, standing still and refusing to move. They muttered in their mouths, struggling desperately, as if they wanted to ask Yang Zhao for help. Hu Diao and Bao Diao had just suffered a serious injury, but suddenly they couldn't hold back. Yang Xuan turned around with his eyes blazing like fire, shouting: "What's this about strong-arming civilians? Your Highness doesn't know the situation, don't casually shed blood or it won't be good for you. A life for a life, a debt repaid in full, isn't that just the natural order of things? This broken-down escort agency owes a debt to the Yueguo Duke's manor and can't pay it back, so I'll have them use people as collateral, what's wrong with that...
Yang Xuan's words were not yet finished, when the woman who was being held by the leopard girl suddenly struggled and spat out the gag in her mouth, calling out in a trembling voice: "A Zhao, A Zhao, is that you?" The sound entered Yang Zhao's ears, and he was immediately struck as if by lightning, instinctively raising his hand to slap out a palm. The gentle palm wind lifted the black veil covering the woman's face, tearing it open with a ripping sound, instantly revealing a beautiful face that was so stunning it could move people to sorrow: Ming Yue, the renowned master of music and art known as the "Heavenly Music".
