Damn, no wonder Li Hong's moves looked so familiar. Back in the Yanxia days, to promote traditional health-preserving martial arts like Tai Chi, they made it a mandatory subject in university sports. But they worried students would find it too difficult and be reluctant to learn, so they cooked up a simplified version, the Yang-style Tai Chi Twenty-Four Forms. Not only was the number of forms reduced, but the moves themselves were also simplified. The opponent was clearly knowledgeable and immediately recognized that this wasn't Tai Chi!
I was so impressed by Li Hong. Just moments ago, I thought she was a Tai Chi grandmaster. Turns out, she's on the same level as me!
"Crested Crane..." the woman squinted at Li Hong, then at Li Bing. "Could it be that you two are the siblings Yun Zhonghe and He Dinghong, the demon kings of Jiubei?"
"Precisely," Li Bing replied, stepping forward and striking a Praying Mantis stance. "If you're unconvinced, we can fight again!"
The woman sighed, turned to her two companions, and whispered something to them. Then, the three of them dropped their weapons and surrendered!
It was my turn to show off. I clapped my hands and walked forward with a smile, "Wise men know when to stop. Since you three are willing to..."
I was only halfway through my boast when suddenly, Sha Wuji grabbed me from behind, yanked me back, and flung me three or four meters away, nearly face-planting in the dirt!
I barely managed to steady myself. When I came to my senses and looked back at the ambush site, all I could see was a thick cloud of yellow smoke. Our twelve-person team was being forced to retreat by the yellow smoke.
What is this? Poison gas?
Unable to see the enemy, I immediately activated my qi-sensing technique to search. The three of them had already fled far away, escaping the encirclement and heading towards the village exit at high speed.
I quickly circled around the poisonous gas and climbed onto a battlement to look. The three of them had just exited the village.
"Where are they!" I pointed at them. "Comrade Sun, fire!"
The six Fucheng Shakespeare guards, avoiding the gas, found firing positions, but it was still a little late. The three women had fled into the woods and vanished. Although I could see the location of their qi, I couldn't accurately mark it for the Shakespeare guards. Soon, the three of them escaped my qi-sensing range and disappeared completely.
The yellow mist they left behind was still expanding. Li Hong ran over to me and pulled me directly back to Han Yin Temple on the mountainside. Li Bing and Sha Wuji pursued them with the "Sanqing" for a while but didn't catch them and returned dejectedly.
"Damn it, we were too careless. We thought they were genuinely surrendering when they dropped their weapons," Sha Wuji said with annoyance.
"It's alright. They know how capable you are, so they probably won't dare to come back," I said. "Who were they?"
Sha Wuji shook his head. "Don't know them. Never seen this kind of yellow mist before."
Daoist Master Wan Qing stroked his beard and frowned, "I've roamed the martial world north and south for years and have never encountered this. Perhaps, they are Sakura ninjas?"
"That's possible," Li Hong said. "During the Russo-Japanese War, I saw similar underhanded tactics in Lushun."
"Sakura Country..." I couldn't help but wonder. "What's their connection to the Mohe? But they came from Beijing!"
Everyone was clueless about what was happening.
Sha Wuji's phone rang. He said that the real Shakespeare headquarters' reinforcements had arrived at Wofenggou Town.
"I'll go pick them up, and also see if those women have gone far," I said, pointing to my eyes.
Sha Wuji knew I possessed qi-sensing abilities, but he was worried about my safety, so he asked Li Hong and Li Bing to accompany me down the mountain.
When we drove down in one of the "Qing" Daoist masters' BMW 7 Series, the fog in the abandoned village had mostly dissipated. But for safety's sake, I still held my breath and rushed through, driving forward while maintaining my qi-sensing.
After driving seven or eight kilometers, I still hadn't found the three enemies. They might have escaped via a different route.
A vehicle approached us. This time it was a Mercedes, and inside, there were again three women at the initial purple qi level. However, their complexion was slightly different from the previous three. I couldn't quite explain it, but their purple qi was definitely different. I suspect only girls who are very knowledgeable about lipstick shades could name this kind of complexion.
I got out of the car to greet them, but to my surprise, the one driving was actually Lin Xi!
I couldn't help but become tense again. Shouldn't Lin Xi be tracking the large Mohe contingent in the Liaodong region? Why was she here!
Could it be another batch of counterfeit goods?