Chapter 158: The Trap

The pavilion was cramped, making the four-way brawl extremely crowded. Long Chen’s long spear could not be fully wielded, and Hou Ping’s hidden weapons and poisons were equally rendered unusable.

Though Hou Ping and Wuming had formed a temporary alliance, he had not yet resorted to using poison to incapacitate all three of them right from the start.

Wuming gripped his short sword, attempting to pounce on Long Chen, but Zhang Qian blocked him tenaciously with her dagger, the two of them locked in a fiercely contested, evenly matched struggle. Wuming’s cultivation was originally superior to Zhang Qian’s, but having taken a heavy punch and two kicks from Long Chen during the day, his strength was severely compromised. For the moment, he found himself unable to defeat her.

Though Long Chen’s long spear could not be fully extended, he kept it whirling continuously around his body, the tip jabbing repeatedly toward Hou Ping, preventing him from closing the distance while making it impossible to deploy his poisons.

Driven blind with rage, Hou Ping snatched a handful of poisonous powder from his sleeve and flung it straight at Long Chen’s face. Long Chen shifted his form in a flash, smashing through the window and landing outside. Hou Ping doggedly pursued him, hurling two poisoned darts, and vaulted out the window after him.

Wuming was still locked in combat with Zhang Qian. When the toxic powder was scattered, Zhang Qian, who had long been on her guard, hastily dodged the cloud and vaulted through the window. Wuming knew Hou Ping was prone to using poison, but he had not expected it to be deployed so quickly, right inside the pavilion. Holding his breath as the powder drifted over, Wuming retreated through the main doorway.

As Long Chen smashed through the window and flew out, the two poisoned darts assailed him from behind. Twisting his body mid-air, Long Chen soared up into a tree by the edge of the pond. The darts embedded themselves into the trunk. Hou Ping pursued him from below, but Long Chen whirled his long spear and plummeted from the treetop, thrusting the spear straight down at Hou Ping.

Hou Ping retreated in a panic, two more poisoned darts flying from his sleeve.

With the night now pitch-black, Long Chen dared not lower his guard for fear of being struck by a hidden projectile, and he had to fight with extreme caution.

Emerging from the window, Zhang Qian saw Long Chen and Hou Ping engaged in fierce combat while Wuming had yet to catch up. She reached for the small crossbow strapped to her waist and loosed a bolt straight at Hou Ping.

Because Long Chen was holding Hou Ping’s attention from the front, Hou Ping failed to notice the stealthy bolt from behind, which struck him squarely in the waist. As he scrambled to turn around, Zhang Qian charged in with her dagger flashing.

Internally, Hou Ping cursed Wuming for being utterly useless, failing even to keep Zhang Qian tied down. It was not that Hou Ping had been careless; rather, knowing that Wuming possessed the cultivation of a Martial Emperor while Zhang Qian was merely at the King realm, he had assumed Wuming could easily handle her and thus paid her no heed. Wuming, however, had concealed the fact that he had been heavily wounded during the day, causing Hou Ping to grossly overestimate his combat prowess.

Struck by the crossbow bolt and caught in a front-and-rear pincer attack by Long Chen and Zhang Qian, Hou Ping fled in a panic. Long Chen thrust his spear forward, piercing Hou Ping’s thigh. With a muffled groan, Hou Ping flipped over and tumbled into the pond.

At that moment, Wuming rushed in to attack. Long Chen and Zhang Qian spun around to encircle and assault him.

With spear and dagger working in tandem, alternating between long-range strikes and close-quarters combat, Wuming was soon thrown into frantic disarray.

"Aren't you going to help?!" Wuming bellowed in fury.

He saw Hou Ping climbing out of the pond and bandaging his wounds on the bank. Convinced that Wuming had intentionally held back earlier, Hou Ping ignored the plea and focused entirely on tending to his own injuries.

"I’m wounded! Hold them off yourself!" Hou Ping replied coldly.

Wuming cursed inwardly at Hou Ping for ignoring the bigger picture. The two of them had originally intended to surround and crush Long Chen, but the tables had turned, and they were now the ones being besieged.

Realizing this was a rare opportunity, Long Chen pressed the attack at close quarters with all his might, while Zhang Qian seized the moment to press her offensive as well. Already lacking in stamina, Wuming found himself fighting entirely on the defensive.

Sitting on the bank and binding his wounds, Hou Ping kept his eyes fixed on the three combatants. Wuming was entirely at a disadvantage.

"This scoundrel deceived me; he is no Martial Emperor."

Hou Ping concluded that Wuming’s cultivation had never reached the Martial Emperor realm, realizing he had been played.

With Long Chen and Zhang Qian closing in from all sides—Zhang Qian darting in for close-range stabs while Long Chen unleashed heavy ranged assaults—Wuming’s dual swords could no longer hold out. Long Chen’s spear broke through his defense, and Zhang Qian seized the opening to stab Wuming in the calf.

Wuming screamed in fury, "Are you still not helping? Do you want to die?!"

If Wuming were killed, Hou Ping would fare no better.

"My injuries are too severe! Hang on a little longer!" Hou Ping retorted coldly.

Wuming cursed, "A worthless fellow not worth plotting with!"

Having cursed Hou Ping, Wuming turned and bolted, with Long Chen and Zhang Qian hot on his heels.

Within a few breaths, Wuming reached the courtyard wall. Once over it, he could dive straight into the alleys.

With a single bound, Wuming sprang onto the top of the wall, and Long Chen and Zhang Qian pursued him in unison.

At that exact instant, upwards of a hundred toxic needles suddenly burst from the ground outside the wall. Wuming had never anticipated such a trap here, and more than a dozen needles pierced his body.

Sensing the incoming barrage, Zhang Qian violently spun around and threw her arms around Long Chen. The poison needles drove deep into Zhang Qian’s back. Shocked, Long Chen caught her in his embrace and retreated back into the courtyard.

"Qianqian!"

As they hit the ground, blood poured simultaneously from Zhang Qian’s mouth and nose, and she lost consciousness entirely!

"No matter how cunning you are, you still fell for my poison needles."

Hou Ping limped over, a look of supreme gratification on his face.

Puff...

A mouthful of black blood sprayed from Long Chen’s lips as well.

Lowering his head, Long Chen pulled open his own tunic and let out a helpless sigh. "How did you know an ambush here would work?"

Hou Ping let out a dry, chilling laugh. "I didn’t. I originally intended to use myself as bait, but I never expected him to play the part for me."

Hou Ping had laid the trap here with the intention of making his own escape while luring Long Chen into the snare. Never had he imagined that Wuming, through some freak twist of fate, would flee in this exact direction and trigger the mechanism himself.

"I should thank him. If I had been the bait, you certainly would have been suspicious. With him as the bait, you suspected nothing." Hou Ping laughed uproariously.

Long Chen forced a bitter smile. "Man proposes, heaven disposes. To think I would die by your hand."

Hou Ping stepped forward, a cold sneer on his lips. "Cut off your own hands and feet, and I can spare your life."

"His Excellency is very interested in you. I’m taking you back to Jinling."

Cradling Zhang Qian, Long Chen sighed. "You're thinking too much."

He dropped his long spear to the ground, cast Zhang Qian’s dagger aside as well, and then produced yet another object from his robes...

At first, Hou Ping watched warily as Long Chen discarded his items—the spear, then the dagger—causing Hou Ping’s vigilance to slip slightly.

Suddenly, Long Chen drew a small crossbow and fired a bolt straight at Hou Ping.

Swish!

Startled, Hou Ping twisted sideways just in time to dodge it, but Long Chen lunged forward with a spear thrust that drove straight into Hou Ping’s abdomen.

"You aren't poisoned!"

Horrified, Hou Ping spun around and bolted.

Long Chen did not give chase. Zhang Qian slowly sat up, and Long Chen gently helped her strip off her outer garments.

The toxic needles had struck her armor and been blocked entirely. The trap’s mechanical release lacked deep penetration, and moreover, Wuming had acted as a human shield right in front of them.

Since Wuming, Long Chen, and Zhang Qian had fled and pursued in a nearly straight line, virtually all the poison needles had embedded themselves into Wuming’s body.

"That was close!"

Wrapping his hand in fabric, Long Chen carefully plucked out the remaining needles.

"My lord, that scoundrel is getting away!" Zhang Qian urged anxiously with a flushed face.

Long Chen chuckled. "He won't escape."

Confirming that all the needles had been cleared, Long Chen helped Zhang Qian tidy her clothes.

"Thank goodness everything is intact here. I've always loved this spot the most." Long Chen could not resist tracing a few circles on Zhang Qian and kneading her plumper curves.

"What time is it, and you're still in the mood to flirt?" Zhang Qian complained.

"Let’s move! Time to hunt him down!"

Lifting his spear and bringing Zhang Qian along, Long Chen tracked the trail of blood and gave chase.

Hou Ping had assumed the poison needles had found their mark in both Long Chen and Zhang Qian. Never had he dreamed those two had put on a masterclass of acting to trick him into closing in, resulting in a spear wound straight through his gut.

Enduring the agonizing pain, Hou Ping vaulted onto the courtyard wall. Just as he prepared to drop to the ground on the other side, the sound of a bowstring twanged through the air, and a feathered arrow buried itself deep into his chest.

Bang!

With his legs turning to jelly, Hou Ping pitched forward off the wall and crashed heavily onto the ground.