Chapter 556: Attacking the Courtyard
Editor: Atlas Studios
Mu Yangling moved the huge rock away from the passageway that could accommodate one person. Turning around, she said, “Go in. As long as no one moves the rock away, don’t come out. There’s enough food and water inside to last you for half a year outside.”
Li Jinghua was dumbfounded. “When was this place dug up?”
Mu Yangling revealed her white teeth. “We’re lucky. We just finished digging it before the new year.” However, she didn’t expect it to be used in less than a month. Back then, she had only made this as a backup plan, not really expecting it to be used.
All the servants in the residence entered. Spring said hesitatingly, “Fourth Madam, come in too. Third Young Master might look for you when he wakes up later.”
Mu Yangling shook her head. “If this courtyard can’t be defended, someone will definitely lure them away.”
Everyone’s faces turned pale.
Mu Yangling said to Li Jinghua, “Take good care of Little Bear.” With that, she pushed him in and turned to look at Li Jinghua.
Li Jinghua opened her mouth and said bitterly, “Ah Ling, don’t worry. As long as Little Treasure is alive, Little Bear will definitely be alive.”
Mu Yangling nodded and pushed everyone in. Then, she moved the huge rock back and sealed the entrance of the cave.
This rock blended in perfectly with the mountain rocks. If not for a guard who coincidentally discovered it, they would not have known that this rock stood independently. As this rock was huge, other than Mu Yangling, even if the 23 guards in the courtyard worked together, they might not be able to move it.
Mu Yangling moved the rock back to its original position and cleaned up the traces. She then got someone to light incense everywhere in the courtyard and house to completely cover up the smell of humans.
“Light all the lanterns and hide.”
In the dark night, the brightly lit Zhu residence was extremely conspicuous. At this moment though, the prosperous and warm residence made the people watching from afar shrink back.
“Sir, they must have found out. What should we do?”
Mo Yong’s gaze darkened. “Even if they already know, we have to take action. Their residence isn’t big, so there definitely aren’t many people. Since they already know, we’ll head over openly.”
“There are many villagers in the village. Why don’t we use them to threaten the people in the courtyard to appear?”
Mo Yong looked at him as if he was an idiot. “Do you think the people in the courtyard will appear for those villagers? They’re not General Yuan. They’re just some women with children by their side. The priority of those women and guards is definitely the children.”
Mo Yong only brought 63 people. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to bring more, but he only had these people in the entire army.
Because Mo Yong and the others were no longer hiding their tracks, Guard One quickly discovered them. Almost at the same time, a messenger pigeon landed in the courtyard with a flap of its wings.
Guard One quickly took down the letter and handed it to Mu Yangling.
Only then did Mu Yangling know why their hiding place had been exposed. She had thought that it was because of them. Who knew that it was Qi Haoran’s side that had leaked the secret?
“Fourth Madam, they’re coming up.”
Mu Yangling put away the letter and said, “Get the archers to prepare and split up to kill them. Focus on defense. Fourth Master has already sent people to save us. They should be here in two days.”
Guard One agreed.
Mu Yangling turned around and went back to get her bow and arrows. With a wave of her hand, all the lanterns were extinguished. The courtyard, which had been brightly lit just a moment ago, instantly fell into darkness.
Mo Yong, who was walking over, stopped in his tracks. He understood that the light just now was to intimidate them or lure them out.
Taking a deep breath, he continued to lead his men towards the courtyard.
Mu Yangling’s eyes took some time to adjust to the darkness before she saw a blurry shadow in the hazy moonlight.
If she was already like this, others should be the same, right?
A fire was burning in the southeast corner of the courtyard, and many torches had been thrown on the ground. They were all taken out of the kitchen at the last minute by the guards. Fortunately, they had been preparing these things, so they did not lack them.
Mu Yangling went forward to light a torch and looked at Guard One. With a gesture from Guard One, the torch in Mu Yangling’s hand was thrown out, falling not far in front of Mo Yong and the others. Their expressions changed drastically and they instantly moved away. However, the moment they moved away, a few arrows tore through the air and hit the spot where they had been standing.
After that, torches shot out from the courtyard one after another, falling in the direction they were heading in every time. Moreover, those torches quickly fell together to illuminate the half-lit ground outside the courtyard wall.
Mo Yong gritted his teeth and said, “Charge forward and enter the courtyard.”
However, the people in the courtyard would be invisible in the darkness. Mo Yong and his men would not be able to see the enemy, but they would expose themselves under the illumination of the flames. It would be very disadvantageous for them.
Therefore, as soon as their people rushed forward, there were casualties. However, those people did not die for nothing. When they rushed forward, they would extinguish the torches or kick them away, clearing a path for the others behind.
Moreover, although the arrows were fast, those men were not slow. The arrows only managed to strike less than one out of five.
After Mu Yangling threw out the torches, she quickly carried the four quivers into the gatehouse. Then, she climbed the ladder to the second floor and opened the window…
The people on the left who were about to rush up the wall were suddenly shot down by arrows. One after another, five people died just like that. Mo Yong, who was standing outside the shooting range and commanding, looked up and saw a section of a house sticking out with three opened windows.
He said in surprise, “This is a watchtower, right? What’s going on? How could we not have noticed it before?”
That house was only a little higher than the courtyard wall. Who would pay attention to this?
Mu Yangling was most proud of her archery skills. Qi Haoran had worked hard for many years but could not compare to her. Coupled with the fact that they had caught the other party off guard, they quickly reduced the enemy’s number to double theirs. However, Mo Yong’s men also managed to rush into the courtyard.
The guards, who originally were unscathed, began to suffer casualties. Mu Yangling let Guard One take over the commanding position and stood steadily on the gatehouse. Every arrow she shot out accurately struck the enemy.
Although Mo Yong didn’t know who was shooting arrows from the gatehouse, he knew that that person posed the greatest danger to them. However, their arrows couldn’t penetrate the window at all. The window had also been specially set up.
The people he brought this time were good at assassination, but they were not good at archery and long-range attacks.
They had to close the distance because their forte was close combat.
Mo Yong gritted his teeth and said, “Throw a torch at that gatehouse.”
This was practically forcing that person down with their life.
The few of them picked up torches at the same time and threw them at the gatehouse. Mo Yong thought that the other party could only shoot down one person through the flames, but Mu Yangling shot three arrows at the same time and took three lives instantly.
With an ugly expression, Mo Yong drew his sword and leaped into the courtyard nimbly. Knowing that he was the leader, Mu Yangling quickly nocked an arrow. However, after glancing at the other party, she decisively gave up on him and shot another person.
This person moved too swiftly and the distance was too short. She could not hit him at all.
When Guard One saw Mo Yong, he drew his saber and went up to him. The two of them quickly fought.
Now that smoke started billowing from the gatehouse, Mu Yangling had no choice but to go down. When she reached the bottom, her advantage as an archer could not be utilized at all. She could only draw a broadsword and join the battle.
Mo Yong roared angrily. He had paid such a huge price, but he had failed to even enter the inner courtyard. Almost all his anger was directed at Guard One and the archer who had just left the room.