Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 112 - 109 How to Correctly Infiltrate and Rescue People

Chapter 112: Chapter 109 How to Correctly Infiltrate and Rescue People

The clamoring of the Hehuan Sect disciples echoed back to the Zhang family, stirring up a hornet’s nest.

Zhang Yongmao, the head of the Zhang family, could no longer withstand such pressure.

It’s one thing to be heartbroken over his own youngest daughter.

The family’s reputation was at stake.

If others were indeed to see the women of the Zhang family, no matter what actions were taken afterward or how much silver was spent, the reputation could never be restored.

By then, the Zhang family would become the laughingstock of Qingyang City.

Even if they were to move to another county, this stain on their reputation would not wash away.

It must be said that the actions of the Hehuan Sect this time were greatly unreasonable and particularly malicious.

It was unclear whether this was orchestrated by the second-in-command of the Black Mountain Bandits.

Zhou Ping’an was actually quite puzzled too. That guy, known as the "Diviner," was named Wang Shouxin and acted as the brains of the Black Mountain Bandits. With the death of their leader Gao Jin, it was expected that he would lead his men to seek revenge, yet there was no movement at all.

Zhou Ping’an had thought that this band of thieves, having lost five leaders, would have already disbanded, yet unexpectedly, they had gotten entangled with the Hehuan Sect. It seemed fate had decreed their destruction.

"We must act without delay, a swift battle for a swift resolution. For this mission, the value lies in precision, not numbers."

Zhou Ping’an pondered carefully, sensing no warning in the depths of his soul, and thought that this should not be a trap set specifically against him.

Thus, there was no harm in stepping out for this task.

It would be safest to bring Lin Huaiyu along for the matter, but after all, it was not an affair of his own family, and with the Third Miss being a woman, it seemed inappropriate to trouble him.

Fortunately, the Zhang family was not entirely unprepared; they deployed six Strength-Training Martial Masters, and a total of thirteen Mastery of Sinews and Bones experts.

In terms of martial prowess, they should not be at a disadvantage.

.........

"It’s just ahead. Chen Family Fortress has probably been occupied by the Black Mountain Bandits for a while. According to villagers nearby, they’ve stealthily seen dozens of bodies being carried out from the fortress..."

"A direct assault is not impossible, but our only concern is the Second Miss; she’s still in the hands of those thieves. If they use her as a hostage, we would be severely hindered," the first to speak was a lean middle-aged man.

With prominent temples and wielding a seasoned copper rod, his name was Gao Tai.

He also had a brother, Gao Yun, wielding a hammer, who was much larger than him and resembled Wei Dazui to some extent.

However, the strength of these two brothers was infinitely greater than that of Wei Dazui.

These two were experts nurtured by the Zhang family itself.

Zhou Ping’an carefully sensed their presence and could hear the whooshing of the Qi-blood flowing within them. They were probably in the Blood Exchange Realm, if not at the pinnacle of Marrow Cleansing.

For a prominent family from a small county town to have such strong experts, in fact, was quite commendable.

Standing on the other side of Zhang Yuanhao was the leader of the Iron Wolf Gang, one of the two gangs and four families that formed the city’s three major martial arts institutions—Tie Sanyuan.

Coincidentally, Zhou Ping’an had met him before.

Not a particularly glorious encounter.

This Iron Gang Leader did not seem to think that his defeat by the Fiery Flame Messenger that day was a matter of shame. Instead, he appeared somewhat arrogant, accompanied by two Strength-Training experts, and said, "Mr. Tie is willing to lead the charge and fight at the forefront. As for Miss Yuling, since the highly skilled Young Master Zhou is here, why not have him infiltrate ahead of time to seize the opportunity to rescue her? This way, it would be better than facing encirclement on both ends."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ping’an couldn’t help but give the Iron Wolf Gang Leader another look, thinking that this guy had some ulterior motives.

On the surface, it seemed he had a lot of faith in Zhou Ping’an and was willing to entrust him with an important task.

But in reality?

Infiltrating to rescue a hostage, compared to a frontal fight where one could advance or retreat, was much more difficult.

Not to mention that the enemies would most likely anticipate their scheme to save someone.

To think of rescuing a defenseless woman and keeping her unharmed until they broke out meant facing the entire enemy alone.

If anything was not well-considered, or rescue did not come in time and Zhang Yuying met her demise, the responsibility for the incident wouldn’t need to be debated.

He would just have to carry the blame.

"Brother Zhou, what do you think?"

Zhang Yuanhao didn’t think so much.

Having been there once and retreating despite setbacks, he hadn’t received too serious a wound, having only been stabbed in the shoulder. After bandaging and taking some high-quality healing pills, he was ready to fight again.

During the last encounter, it was the house servants and archers who suffered the main losses, with more than twenty casualties. Fortunately, the enemies didn’t pursue their unclear motive, allowing Zhang Yuanhao to organize a second attack.

Among all those present, he knew best how strong Zhou Ping’an really was and had the most confidence.

"All right, the moment you strike, that will be my cue to infiltrate. Chen Family Fortress is in sight; let’s go our separate ways and take action from here."

Zhou Ping’an decisively agreed.

Since he had promised them and found the Hehuan Sect disciples’ actions intolerable, he would have wanted to take action without any reward.

Rescuing someone was rightfully his duty.

Without further ado, he turned and walked away.

A young girl in green, carrying a sword, followed closely behind him.

"Xiao Cui, the house still needs you, and you don’t need to follow me there, do you?"

Zhou Ping’an was quite exasperated.

This Xiao Cui girl was not as easy to reason with as Xiao Xue.

She was somewhat stubborn.

Most of the time, she protected the Herb Gathering Team or sat firmly in the Precious Pharmacy.

Ever since Tian Shouyi’s death and the disbandment of the Baicao Hall, which had become insignificant, she returned to the mansion and stayed close to little Jiu’er in the backyard, painstakingly practicing her Sword Technique and martial arts.

On this day, Zhou Ping’an had not intended to inform Lin Huaiyu of his departure.

But somehow, upon reaching the door, Xiao Cui quietly, like a shadow, started following him.

"The young lady said that for those flower-picking lechers and thieves, she wants me to give them a few slashes."

Xiao Cui’s brows slightly furrowed, resembling a vigilant little cat as she muttered, "Don’t think about driving me away..."

"Fine, I won’t drive you away."

Zhou Ping’an was helpless.

Facing a straightforward and stubborn girl, what could he do—knock her out directly?

That didn’t seem quite appropriate.

The two of them sped forward and soon arrived behind the Chen Family Fortress.

Passing through a bamboo forest, Zhou Ping’an didn’t stop his footsteps, as silent as a ghost as he continued to push forward.

"Didn’t you say we should wait a while, and only sneak in when the attack at the front gate starts?"

Xiao Cui was quite puzzled.

Her footsteps were light, and her body left behind three faint afterimages, evidently having learned the Ghostly Shadows Step from Lin Huaiyu as well.

From this, it could be seen that the two maids were the absolute confidantes of the Third Miss, nurtured with the same care one would give a younger sister.

Of course, Xiao Cui and Xiao Xue were worthy of this trust and nurturing, not only possessing considerable cultivation but also being fiercely loyal.

They didn’t need to be told twice about any task; even if it meant venturing into a sea of flames or a mountain of knives, they would dare to take the challenge.

The bond formed from growing up together was indeed incomparable to ordinary relationships.

Zhou Ping’an chuckled softly and said in a low voice, "Silly girl, I was just bluffing to deceive them. Why would you believe it too?"

Seeing Xiao Cui’s confused face, he knew this maid seemed to have invested all her talents into martial arts, and compared to Xiao Xue, her wits might not be as sharp.

Thinking it over, if she could be capable of handling things on her own in the future, that would be even better for his team, so he explained, "If we really wait until the other side launches an attack, it would undoubtedly be alerting the thieves inside that there are enemies approaching. If you were a disciple of the Hehuan Sect, what would you think? What would you do?"

"Fight back, what else?"

"What about Zhang Yuying?"

Zhou Ping’an almost sighed.

Those people, holding the Second Miss of the Zhang Family and still expecting a ransom of Silver, obviously had major designs.

With such an important hostage in their grasp, could they really afford to ignore her?

"Of course, keep her close by, or hold a knife to her throat."

Fortunately, Xiao Cui wasn’t truly foolish. With such a reminder, she immediately understood.

The main task this time was not to kill but to rescue.

Therefore, the safety of the hostage must be the top priority.

If their approach alarmed the enemy, causing them to surround the hostage tightly, even overwhelming martial force would be rendered as futile as a mouse trying to move a turtle—nowhere to begin.

Zhou Ping’an said a few offhand remarks, his footsteps becoming even lighter and his figure flickering like shadows, swiftly reaching the side of the courtyard wall. With a flick of his finger, two tiny needles flew out silently and invisibly.

Hiss...

Two almost inaudible sounds of needles entering flesh sounded simultaneously.

The two Black Mountain Bandits hiding behind a stone pier outside the gate, yawning and chatting, didn’t even grunt before their heads tilted, and they slumped to the ground.

Zhou Ping’an stepped up to the gate, lightly pressed his right hand on the thick wooden door, gently released a bit of the Ninth Turning of Wave Subduing Soft Strength, and turned the wooden bolt behind the door into dust, then pushed the door open and entered.

"Didn’t you say we were going to sneak in?"

Xiao Cui was so shocked her jaw almost dropped.

Entering so boldly, as if stepping into his own home, wasn’t he afraid of alerting others?

Two flashes of knife light flickered slightly.

Two patrolling strong men went limp, and Zhou Ping’an raised his hand to gently counteract the weight of their fall, turning back with a smile, "Let me tell you another principle, if you kill all the witnesses you see, naturally, that’s the most perfect way to sneak in."

No sooner had he finished speaking than his figure dissolved into nine afterimages on the spot, charging toward the front.

Wave after wave of countless afterimages, seemingly never-ending, formed layer upon layer of shadows, advancing towards the Central Courtyard.

Wherever he swept through the back courtyard...

An immediate silence ensued.

"This..."

Xiao Cui felt at that moment she was utterly superfluous.

She couldn’t help recalling her mistress’s words, "Follow him, obey orders, observe more and talk less."

Originally, she thought she was sent by the Third Miss to protect this Head Servant, that she was his capable assistant.

After all, with so many enemies, it would always be safer for two people to coordinate attacks together than just one.

Only now did she understand what her mistress meant by "observe more and talk less."

Wasn’t she just brought along to broaden her horizons?

No, it was to learn.

She couldn’t deny it.

This method of "sneaking in" indeed set her blood racing.

In the silence, thunderous impact.

Killing until bodies lay strewn everywhere, yet it seemed as though nothing had happened at all.

Zhou Ping’an, however, was unaware of the drama playing out in the young maid’s mind behind him.

He indulgently burned ten Mind Wish Power Silk Threads.

Just one second.

In the overclocked state of his brain, he had already locked onto the whereabouts of three masters.

...............