Chapter 115: He Came, Treading on Colorful Clouds of Good Fortune!

Qufu.

Yang Sheng Gate.

“Hold the line! Everyone, hold the line!”

Kong Yinzhi brandished his sword, screaming with sweat pouring down his forehead.

The “Ten Thousand Ren Palace Wall” beneath his feet was enduring the test of war for the first time since those four large characters had been inscribed upon it. The surging armies of the Incense-Smelling Sect had crossed the moat that was only a few zhang wide and placed ladders against the city wall, climbing furiously like ants swarming over honey. On the wall, the household servants of the Kong family and the local militia organized by the County Magistrate fought desperately with various weapons to stop them. Corpses of Incense-Smelling Sect followers constantly fell from the wall, but the living ones still attacked the battlements fiercely.

Some had even already made it onto the wall.

Fierce fighting began to spread across the wall. Kong Yinzhi watched this scene, wanting to cry but having no tears. He frantically urged his servants forward.

Qufu had been suddenly attacked.

Moreover, it was by the main force of the Incense-Smelling Sect. In the distance, Zhang Dongbai’s banner could even be seen. This evil bandit, who had recently slaughtered the Meng family estate, had clearly set his evil gaze upon the genuine sage’s family now. Although Kong Yinzhi had already spent fifty thousand taels to hastily recruit a large number of local militiamen before this, facing this fierce and sudden attack, they were immediately brought to the brink of disaster.

“Fight off the bandit army! Five taels of silver for each person!”

He screamed like a madman.

But those militiamen clearly lacked courage, and some had even already begun to flee.

Zhang Dongbai was only attacking Yang Sheng Gate.

He made it obvious that he was targeting the Kong family. Inside Yang Sheng Gate, the Kong family and the other families in Qufu city were like two completely different worlds. The Kong Mansion and the Kong Temple together formed a city within the city. As long as the Incense-Smelling Sect only stormed into the Kong family grounds and did not go out to loot beyond the Kong Mansion, then the common people outside could simply watch the show.

Of course, saying they were watching a show was a bit excessive, but at the very least, there was no need for them to risk their lives for the Kong family.

They were all tenant farmers of the Kong family. If they died fighting for the Kong family, would the Duke Yansheng stop collecting rent later? The rent would still have to be paid just the same. As for the reward silver Kong Yinzhi promised, that wool still came from the sheep’s back. Everything the Kong family had came from the blood and sweat of the Qufu commoners. If the Kong family’s losses were great, they would just squeeze it back from the people later. Since that was the case, putting on a show of effort was enough. If the situation turned bad, they should still run, because their lives were their own. Similarly, for families like the Yan family that were attached to the Kong family, their mansions were also not inside the Kong Mansion compound. In short, fighting for the Kong family was possible, but there was no need to fight to the death.

The government troops from Yanzhou must have already been dispatched for reinforcements. It was just a few dozen li away; cavalry could arrive in an hour. In that case, if Zhang Dongbai broke into the Kong family grounds, at most he would loot hastily and then leave. So for the other families…

Let the Kong family take one for the team!

“Don’t run! Everyone, hold! Guard Yang Sheng Gate! Five… no, ten taels for each person!”

Kong Yinzhi continued to howl.

His words had just fallen when a violent tremor suddenly came from beneath his feet. Immediately after, the gate passage turned into a cannon mouth spewing flames. Gunpowder smoke, accompanied by fragments of the city gate, shot out both forward and backward simultaneously. A sound of explosion that seemed to shake heaven and earth boomed, and Kong Yinzhi was thrown to the ground by the blast.

When he quickly came to his senses from the explosion and peered out over the battlements…

“Kill!”

A battle cry rang out.

Beneath the large banner on the opposite side of the moat, Zhang Dongbai, one of the current three great leaders of the Incense-Smelling Sect, pointed his long spear forward from his horse. Then he spurred his horse and charged straight towards the lowered drawbridge. Behind him, thousands of cavalry and tens of thousands of infantry surged forward as well. Soon, under Kong Yinzhi’s terrified gaze, he charged directly into the “Ten Thousand Ren Palace Wall,” which was actually the barbican of Yang Sheng Gate. Behind him, a flood of cavalry poured in. Kong Yinzhi turned around at top speed and saw a warhorse carrying a gunpowder barrel suddenly rush out from inside the barbican. Under the whip of its rider, it dashed into the gate passage of Yang Sheng Gate in the blink of an eye. Immediately after, the rider frantically ran out, hiding to the side at the fastest speed.

“Boom!”

The explosion sounded again.

Clearly, the tactics Yang Xin had spread had been adopted by Zhang Dongbai.

Although digging tunnels and piling gunpowder to blow up the city wall was not very realistic—because this place was too close to Yanzhou, and the government troops there would not sit idly by—so the speed of breaching Qufu had to be fast. Blowing up the city gate with gunpowder was much simpler.

Kong Yinzhi watched with an ashen face at the three large characters of “Yang Sheng Gate,” at the gunpowder smoke and flames spewing outward from below…

“Yang Xin is here! Who dares disturb the peace of Confucius!”

Suddenly, a thunderous roar.

Kong Yinzhi lifted his head as if in a dream and saw a mighty figure appear atop Yang Sheng Gate.

He wore a suit of gleaming golden armor, a crimson red cloak over his shoulders, and held a Green Dragon Crescent Blade horizontally in his hands. He stood there, looking down haughtily, like a god of war descending from the heavens, even though he had actually been hiding in the city watching the excitement for a long time.

“We’re saved!”

Kong Yinzhi shrieked like a madman.

At this moment, in his eyes, Yang Xin truly seemed to have come treading on colorful clouds of good fortune.

“Righteous Yang! Hurry and stop the bandits!”

He shouted to Yang Xin.

“What did you say? I can’t hear you!”

Yang Xin said.

Alright, the one who comes treading on colorful clouds of good fortune isn’t necessarily a savior.

Inside the barbican, Zhang Dongbai took the lead, charging out with the flood of cavalry behind him.

“Five thousand! Five thousand taels! Fight off the bandits and I will reward you with five thousand taels!”

Kong Yinzhi clung to the parapet, stretched out his right hand, and splayed his five fingers, howling like a drowning man grasping for a branch on the shore.

“Between you and me, brothers, why talk of money?”

Yang Xin declared righteously and sternly.

Zhang Dongbai was already approaching Yang Sheng Gate. Behind the gunpowder-smoke-filled gate passage lay the Kong family’s mountains of gold and silver. He and the cavalry behind him let out excited roars simultaneously.

But Yang Xin still didn’t move.

Kong Yinzhi looked down below, then looked at Yang Xin…

“Ten thousand taels!”

He howled as if breaking down.

“Yang Xin is here!”

Yang Xin suddenly roared, then leapt down from the city wall.

Zhang Dongbai, leading the charge, immediately thrust his long spear upward diagonally. Yang Xin, in mid-air, brought his Green Dragon Crescent Blade down in a flat slap. The blade body collided with the spear tip, sparks flying, and the long spear was driven point-first into the ground. At the same time, the blade of the Green Dragon Crescent Blade reached the top of Zhang Dongbai’s head. This guy had some martial skill. He leaned back violently on his horse’s back. The blade tip swept past before his eyes and slapped squarely onto his horse’s head. Even though it was a flat slap, the terrifying weight still caused the warhorse’s brains to burst out. It fell forward, carrying Zhang Dongbai down with it.

Immediately after, Yang Xin landed.

Zhang Dongbai rolled aside without hesitation.

And above his head, Yang Xin’s Green Dragon Crescent Blade swept horizontally. Two cavalrymen who had arrived were almost simultaneously cut in half at the waist.

Zhang Dongbai cried out in fright. Watching half a corpse fall before him, and to avoid Yang Xin’s line of sight, he cleverly crawled on his belly towards his warhorse, which still had half its body attached. Just as Yang Xin cut two more cavalrymen in half, he pulled off the half corpse, mounted the horse at top speed, turned around, and prepared to flee. Clearly, he was a smart man too. Yet, at this moment, the Green Dragon Crescent Blade in Yang Xin’s hand, swung for the third time, suddenly fell like a kite with a cut string. Immediately after, Yang Xin clutched his chest in great pain…

“He’s injured! The arrow He Liuzi shot him with hasn’t healed yet!”

Zhang Dongbai shrieked with wild joy.

Alright, Yang Xin finally knew who the assassin on Nishan Mountain’s superior was.

That made sense. The mastermind who hired them was most likely Young Master Wang. Only he and Wild Boar Skin held such bitter hatred for Yang Xin. But Wild Boar Skin might not have connections with the Incense-Smelling Sect at this time, whereas Young Master Wang easily could, especially since the Incense-Smelling Sect had even spread teachings in the Capital City for many years before. Also, the assassin was familiar with the Nishan Mountain environment. Avoiding the Kong family to sneak into Nishan, hiding and waiting there, including knowing Yang Xin would go up Nishan—only someone from the Qufu area could do all that. Zhang Dongbai, as the sect leader of Zou County, also controlled the believers in Qufu. Only he could accomplish this.

That assassin could only be his subordinate.

However, Righteous Yang was not in a hurry to take revenge. Instead, he fled in panic inside, dragging his Green Dragon Crescent Blade behind him.

And his steps were quite unsteady.

The morale of the Incense-Smelling Sect followers behind him suddenly soared. Zhang Dongbai pointed his sword forward and led his men charging straight into Yang Sheng Gate.

Kong Yinzhi on the city wall was dumbfounded.

“This… this damned scoundrel!”

He said, his lips trembling.

It was unclear whether he meant Zhang Dongbai or Yang Xin.

But the Yang Sheng Gate beneath his feet had already been breached. Surging Incense-Smelling Sect followers poured through continuously like a flood. The defending militiamen had already begun to scatter in large numbers. Some Kong family household servants also withdrew to the Kong Temple, preparing to continue the fight within this vast complex of buildings.

“Master, let’s run!”

A household servant beside Kong Yinzhi said, trembling with fear.

“Run where? Go get the silver drafts!”

Kong Yinzhi shouted angrily.

Immediately after, he sprinted eastward along the city wall.

Behind him, Yang Xin had already retreated into the Kong Temple, and Zhang Dongbai’s army also swarmed into the temple grounds. However, the battle was far from over, because there were still several more high walls ahead. To reach Dacheng Hall, they would have to pass through multiple layers of separation. The Kong Mansion and Dacheng Hall stood side by side, east and west. The area in front was all gardens. Exiting through the east or west gates from these gardens did not lead to the Kong Mansion, but to the residential areas of the Qufu commoners and the “Que Li Guesthouse” where the Kong family entertained guests. In other words, before the Incense-Smelling Sect followers fought their way to the Dacheng Hall area, they posed no threat to the Kong Mansion.

Of course, they could easily fight their way through.

Because those militiamen completely gave up on stopping them. As long as the sect followers didn’t exit through the east or west gates, it meant they definitely would not attack outside the Kong Mansion. For the militiamen, as long as they blocked these two gates, it was fine. The militiamen who had retreated from the city walls were reorganizing defenses in this area. They could sit back and watch the Incense-Smelling Sect attack the Kong family grounds, but they absolutely could not sit idly by if they tried to come out.

Similarly, as long as the Incense-Smelling Sect did not try to charge out…

Then they could do as they pleased within the Kong Temple grounds.

And the Kong Mansion only had a small number of household servants left. These servants certainly could not hold them back. So at this time, the Kong family’s savior was only one person—Righteous Yang, who was dragging his blade and running towards Dacheng Hall.

As for Kong Yinzhi…

He clearly understood what game Yang Xin was playing!

He knew how to replenish Righteous Yang’s health, how to make this scoundrel defend the Kong family.

Very soon, along with the defeated militiamen, he descended from the city wall, immediately mounted a horse, and galloped headlong towards the Kong Mansion. Meanwhile, within the gardens of the Kong Temple, Yang Xin was still fleeing in panic. Or rather, along the way, he kept cleaving open one closed gate after another, guiding Zhang Dongbai’s army to continue advancing towards Dacheng Hall.