flstandardbreds Chapter 167 The Third King is Wounded and Loses One Eye; The Purple-Faced General is Imprisoned
Chapter 167 The Third King is Wounded and Loses One Eye; The Purple-Faced General is Imprisoned
Even with a series of clanging sounds from the forks, the two brothers attacked together. Even "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen and "Pilgrim" Wu Song couldn't defeat them, let alone Tian Biao.
At first, Tian Biao could hold out for more than ten rounds, but gradually he was no match for her. Jie Zhen stepped on Jie Bao's leg, leaped up, and flew straight for Tian Biao's throat with a fork.
Tian Biao hurriedly raised his fork to block, but "Two-Headed Snake" Xie Zhen suddenly changed his move, the steel spikes grazing his ear and gouging out Tian Biao's left eye.
Tian Biao originally intended to use his three-pronged Sky-Supporting Fork to block the attack, but it was completely ineffective. The three-pronged Sky-Supporting Fork was not under his control because it was firmly suppressed by "Double-Tailed Scorpion" Jie Bao.
"what!"
Amidst the spray of blood, Tian Biao screamed in agony. Suddenly, the pain unleashed a burst of strength, allowing him to break free from Erjie's entanglement. Fang Xuedu followed closely behind, and the two of them recklessly smashed through Fang Xuedu's remaining troops. Tian Biao even abandoned his trident, throwing it behind him, and sped away on his horse.
After all, it takes two legs to chase four hooves, and the "two-headed snake" Xie Zhen and the "two-tailed scorpion" Xie Bao simply couldn't catch up with these two guys.
However, even if they manage to escape, there's one person who can't: the unlucky Zhang Xiong. He's completely surrounded and has no way to break through.
Zhang Xiong's purple-gold hammer had already smashed the heads of three soldiers. His nickname in the martial arts world was "Purple-Faced General." He was tall and strong, with a face full of purple flesh, and was originally a blacksmith.
Zhang Xiong was originally a blacksmith from Luzhou Prefecture, Hedong Road, during the Northern Song Dynasty. Because of his purplish-red face, robust physique, and martial arts skills, he was known in the martial arts world as "Purple-Faced General".
His family had run a blacksmith shop for three generations, and was famous in the village for forging farm tools and weapons. They were especially good at casting heavy weapons. The purple gold hammer they made weighed forty catties and had a Yazi beast head pattern cast on the hammerhead. It was famous far and wide. Originally, they were living a pretty good life, but later things didn't go as planned, and they ended up in this situation. It was their bad luck!
The story begins to change in the third year of Chongning. At that time, Zhao Tingfang, the newly appointed head of Tiantang County in Luzhou, coveted the beauty of Wang, the wife of Zhang Xiong, and repeatedly harassed her by taking advantage of his position, but to no avail.
As the saying goes, "It's not the thief you should fear, but the one who has his eye on you." No matter if the thief is a big thief, a small thief, or a womanizer, they're all the same.
In May of that year, Zhao Tingfang fabricated evidence and falsely accused Zhang Xiong of "privately manufacturing armor." In most dynasties in ancient times, privately possessing armor was equivalent to treason. There is an old saying: "One suit of armor is worth three crossbows, and three suits of armor will lead to the underworld." This means that if an ordinary person possessed one suit of armor, the crime was equivalent to possessing three crossbows, and three suits of armor would result in an immediate death sentence.
A well-maintained suit of armor can easily withstand arrows and is difficult to pierce with swords and spears. If someone wears armor and carries a spear and bow, they can easily withstand an attack from multiple opponents. If a group of armored individuals act together, local police and militia will be helpless and will have to call upon the regular army to deal with them. In conclusion, while carrying weapons may not be a major issue, possessing armor illegally will be severely punished.
This accusation is no small matter. The dog chief led his constables into the blacksmith's shop, arrested Zhang Xiong in public and imprisoned him. They also kidnapped Zhang Xiong's wife, Wang, on the grounds of "failure to report knowledge".
In reality, the dog-headed chief took Wang directly home, coerced and bribed her, and forced himself on her, deceiving her that if she satisfied him, he would release her husband Zhang Xiong.
Wang endured humiliation and hardship, but the dog-headed constable took advantage of her, thoroughly enjoying her every whim. In the end, he did not release Zhang Xiong. Wang pleaded in vain, but was instead insulted by the dog-headed constable, who ordered the county soldiers to take turns humiliating her.
Three days later, unable to bear the humiliation, Wang committed suicide in the back house of the county constable.
Zhang Xiong was framed and imprisoned, beaten until he was covered in bruises, and forced to confess under torture. He was then imprisoned in a death row cell.
On the night of the Ghost Festival, May 15th of the same year, Zhang Xiong took advantage of the prison guards' drunkenness, broke off pieces of wood to make blades, killed two guards, escaped from prison, and sneaked into the county government office.
That night, he used a red-hot anvil as a weapon to kill Zhao Tingfang and 38 of his confidants, smashing their heads into the blue brick ground. Afterwards, he fled with the fine iron stored in the blacksmith's shop and became a fugitive, wanted by the government.
During his escape, Zhang Xiong hid in the Taihang Mountains, wandering between various mountain peaks, using his iron-forging skills to forge weapons for the bandit forces.
The weapons they forged, such as swords, spears, halberds, and fish-scale armor, became famous among the outlaws of Hebei due to their exquisite craftsmanship. Later, during the Zhenghe era, Tian Hu, the leader of the uprising army in Shanxi, captured Weisheng Army and earned the title of "King of Justice". Zhang Xiong considered him a worthy follower and led three hundred refugees to join him. Because of his bravery in battle and his skill in making weapons, he was appointed as a commander and led the heavy infantry.
It could be said that this person was not actually bad, or even a bad person at all, but rather a typical example of people being forced to rebel by their officials.
Such a person is actually different from those bastards. Even if they are in the same camp, they are not the same kind of people. When it was time to part ways, his companions abandoned him almost without thinking.
Zhang Xiong suddenly felt a gust of wind behind his head. Yang Zhi's precious sword, nicknamed "Blue-Faced Beast," was slicing down along the hammer handle. The blade, which could cut through iron like mud, cleanly chopped off the bronze tiger head decoration on the hammer head.
"Ok?"
Zhang Xiong himself was a very good blacksmith, so he immediately knew that Yang Zhi was using a precious sword that could cut through iron like mud, and that he needed to avoid it!
Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," swept across the battlefield with his staff, giving him no chance to catch his breath. Zhang Xiong, the "Purple-Faced General," raised his hammer to meet him, but the mad monk suddenly let go of his staff and grabbed the hammer handle with his fan-sized hand, pulling hard.
Zhang Xiong was pulled off his horse along with his hammer, and "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi's blade struck him heavily on the back of the neck.
Fortunately, it was the back of the knife; although he felt a jolt in his head, he was still able to stand up and fight.
Gunfire condensed into a blood-red mist at the bottom of the valley, the cannon fire of "Thunderclap" Ling Zhen rang out incessantly, and "Purple-Faced General" Zhang Xiong's purple-gold hammer gleamed dark red in the setting sun.
This 40-pound murder weapon is stained with the blood of seven people, and the Yazi beast head carved on the hammerhead has been stained pale white with brain matter.
That's why he's no longer facing a low-level platform soldier.
Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," held his water-polished monk's staff across his chest, the crescent blade dripping thick liquid from a blood groove.
"You bunch of idiots!"
"Purple-faced General" Zhang Xiong suddenly roared, and the shadow of his hammer, like a dark cloud pressing down, attacked again.
Instead of retreating, Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," advanced. This head-on confrontation was exactly what he had been looking forward to. His staff drew a crescent-shaped arc from bottom to top, unleashing a move called "Thunderclap from Flat Ground." The moment the hammer and staff collided, all the rubble within a radius of three zhang was thrown up, and several henchmen who were holding grappling hooks and preparing to ambush and capture the enemy were knocked to the ground by the shockwave.
At that moment, Yang Zhi's precious sword, nicknamed "Blue-Faced Beast," slashed along the hammer handle. The blade rubbed against the bronze-cast Yazi beast head, creating dazzling sparks, and actually carved a three-inch-deep groove into the hammerhead.
"Purple-faced General" Zhang Xiong twisted his wrist rapidly, and the purple-gold hammer transformed into a swirling shadow like a meteor hammer. He gripped the chain behind the hammer handle, and the chain rattled three times, instantly increasing the attack range. This move forced "Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi to retreat five steps.
"I come!"
"The Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen rushed ahead of "The Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi, wielding his monk's staff fiercely, head-on collision after head-on collision. Due to the force of the impact, "The Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen's monk's shoes sank deeply into the mud, and his monk's staff danced in front of him like a copper wall, each strike causing sparks to fly from the hammer and chain.
"Here you go!"
Suddenly, "Purple-faced General" Zhang Xiong let go of the hammer, and the hammerhead, propelled by centrifugal force, whistled as it smashed towards "Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi's face.
His "Meteor Chasing the Moon" move had caused the brains of countless heroes to splatter. Now, his feint attack was a last-ditch effort, an attempt to take someone down with him before he died.
However, his stroke of genius was caught by the crescent blade of the monk's staff just three inches from the nose of "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi.
Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," had muscles that bulged like the roots of an old tree, and he managed to keep the forty-pound Purple Gold Hammer firmly in mid-air.
A look of horror flashed in Zhang Xiong's eyes. He had thought that Yang Zhi's single sword could not stop his purple-gold hammer, so he had let go and struck out with the hammer. Now that his intention had failed, he suddenly pulled the hammer chain. The iron chain was taut and straight, creating a deadly triangle between the three of them.
Suddenly, Yang Zhi, the "Blue-Faced Beast," slashed down with his precious sword, which grazed the chain. The shrill sound of the blade rubbing against the iron chain was enough to make one's teeth ache. Although he couldn't fight the Purple Gold Hammer head-on, he was never afraid of iron chains!
In the instant seven sparks flew, the three purple-gold hammer chains snapped. As "Purple-Faced General" Zhang Xiong staggered backward, "Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen had already closed in, his staff bringing down with the force of a thousand-pound weight.
Amidst the thunderous clang of the hammer handle striking the staff, "Purple-Faced General" Zhang Xiong heard his arm bones groan from the unbearable strain.
He rolled to avoid Yang Zhi's sweeping blade, while his purple-gold hammer carved a foot-long trench in the ground, sending up pebbles that shot towards the two like hidden weapons.
Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," had his monk's robe billowing and his staff sending pebbles flying. But Zhang Xiong had already leaped onto a rock, intending to use it for a jump.
"Where are you going?!"
Yang Zhi, the "Blue-Faced Beast," leaped into the air, his precious sword transforming into a blue rainbow that pierced the sun. Zhang Xiong threw out half of a hammer chain with his backhand, and the fine iron rings unfolded in the air into a deadly trap.
The blade flashed like a waterfall, shattering the twelve iron rings. Yang Zhi's blade, nicknamed "Blue-Faced Beast," was also deflected three inches, sparking as it grazed Zhang Xiong's shoulder armor.
At that moment, Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," plunged his staff into the rock and staggered backward, crashing into a pine tree as thick as a bowl. The pine tree instantly bent into a breathtaking arc, and with the force of the rebound, the mad monk hurtled towards Zhang Xiong like a boulder launched from a catapult.
Zhang Xiong, the "Purple-Faced General," parried with his hammer. The moment the two forces collided, the centuries-old moss on the boulder was completely stripped away, and cracks spread across the rock surface like a spider web. A large chunk of rock crashed down.
Yang Zhi, the "Blue-Faced Beast," wielded his blade amidst the flying rocks. Whenever Zhang Xiong, the "Purple-Faced General," tried to use the momentum to maneuver, the blue light would block his path like a persistent boil.
The protective circle created by the purple-gold hammer was getting smaller and smaller, and blood droplets began to mix into the sand and dust stirred up by the hammer wind—"Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi's blade tip had already cut seven wounds of varying depths on his left leg.
If they hadn't both known that Li Hanxiao valued talent, Zhang Xiong would probably have been dead many times over by now.
Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," suddenly changed tactics. He no longer used his staff to fight head-on, but instead used his crescent blade like a venomous snake to strike the joints of the hammer chain.
Zhang Xiong had to focus on protecting his weapon's vital points, which immediately exposed an opening in his right ribs.
Yang Zhi, the "Blue-Faced Beast," slammed the back of his blade heavily onto Zhang Xiong's Zhangmen acupoint. This blow carried a bone-piercing force, causing Zhang Xiong's internal organs to almost shift.
&34;Wow!&34;
Zhang Xiong spat out bloody saliva, and the Purple Gold Hammer suddenly flew out of his hand. The hammer chain circled the cliff cypress three times, using the force to fling him into the air.
This was originally the "Chain Hammer" technique, "Hawk somersault," but at the moment of takeoff, the monk's staff hooked onto his belt.
"The Flower Monk" Lu Zhishen pulled him back to the ground like a kite, and blood flowers in the shape of a human exploded on the yellow earth. Zhang Xiong was seriously injured.
As Yang Zhi's blade pressed against his throat, Zhang Xiong's right hand was still twitching as he reached for the purple-gold hammer three zhang away.
The Yazi beast head on the hammerhead was submerged in a pool of blood, its single eye facing its master's distorted face.
Lu Zhishen stepped on his back and asked, "How does my staff feel?"
Zhang Xiong suddenly sprang into action, but Yang Zhi's blade flashed in a precise arc. The back of the blade struck eight major acupoints on Zhang Xiong's body in succession, finally striking him on the back of the neck with the flat side of the blade.
"Purple-faced General" Zhang Xiong struggled to get up, but found that the strength in his limbs and bones was dissipating like the receding tide. There was nothing he could do; he had exhausted himself too much, and "Blue-faced Beast" Yang Zhi was attacking his acupoints.
Seeing this, Lu Zhishen, the "Flowery Monk," struck with his staff. Although he held back and did not kill, Zhang Xiong was still beaten unconscious.
Now that he's at his last gasp, what can he do?
"The Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen immediately tore off his cassock and ripped it into a long rope, which he used to tie up "Purple-Faced General" Zhang Xiong.
When the cowhide rope cut into his wound, Zhang Xiong, who had roamed Hebei like a ravenous beast, finally let out a wild howl.
Yang Zhi picked up the Purple Gold Hammer, weighed it in his hand, and suddenly used all his internal force to smash it against the stubborn stone. The hammer chain broke into nine pieces, and the Yazi beast head shattered on the bluestone.
"Good stuff, too bad, it belongs to the enemy!"
Yang Zhi said.
"What a waste of such a fine hammer."
Lu Zhishen kicked at the broken fragments of the purple-gold hammer on the ground. Such a heavy weapon was very suitable for him, but even if he used it, he probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it. It was too light, much lighter than his monk's staff...
As dusk fell, a dozen grappling hooks dragged Zhang Xiong toward the newly made makeshift prison cart.
This thug, who once silenced a child's cries, now resembled a mangy dog with its spine ripped out, dragging a winding trail through the blood and mud.
"The Flowery Monk" Lu Zhishen stuffed a rag into his mouth, then turned to "Blue-Faced Beast" Yang Zhi and laughed: "This fellow is more resilient than the sumo wrestlers I encountered back in Tokyo, and his martial arts are even better. If someone like him could follow our chieftain, he wouldn't be much worse than you or me."
"A difference of a hair's breadth can lead to an error of a thousand miles."
Yang Zhi only gave this one answer.