Chapter 147: Luring the Wolf into the Trap

After the apothecaries and medical halls in Hejiang Town and Anning Town were bombed, the Witch Doctor Sect convened an emergency meeting of its senior leaders in the royal city.

Zhou Bing led a group of high-ranking members in berating Huang Taiyi.

Huang Taiyi had believed that unless Chu Yun was eliminated, endless trouble would follow. The plan to assemble troops in Qingtan Town and attack Chu Family Town had been devised by him.

But the campaign ended in a crushing defeat. The Witch Doctor Sect lost control of the two major towns of Nanhuai and Qingtan, handing them over to Chu Yun for nothing.

Now that the apothecaries and medical halls in Hejiang and Anning had been bombed, it was obvious that someone was targeting the Witch Doctor Sect.

Panic spread throughout the sect’s branches across the Great Qi Dynasty.

Zhou Bing naturally seized the opportunity to put pressure on Huang Taiyi. He blamed him for attacking Chu Family Town and provoking the Thunder God’s retaliation. This would further diminish Huang Taiyi’s standing within the sect and ensure that he posed no threat to Zhou Bing’s position as branch leader.

Through Chu Yun’s deliberate embellishments, everyone had already become firmly convinced that his master was the Thunder God.

Faced with their accusations, Huang Taiyi was deeply displeased, but he remained perfectly composed. He announced that he had devised a new plan for dealing with Chu Yun.

The Witch Doctor Sect would pretend to withdraw all its forces from Hejiang and Anning. In reality, it would gather a large army and lie in ambush, luring Chu Yun into taking control of the two towns.

They would draw him into a trap.

After all, Chu Yun had only the Fierce Tiger Army. Among his subjects, there were no more than one or two thousand able-bodied men—hardly enough to be taken seriously. So long as he dared to march north and take over Hejiang and Anning, the army waiting in ambush would crush him with ease.

If every able-bodied man in Chu Yun’s territory were killed, he would have little fighting strength left. The Witch Doctor Sect would then find it far easier to deal with him and seize his lands.

Even with the Thunder God protecting Chu Yun, they might find it difficult to capture all his territory. But Chu Yun would still struggle to develop it.

Moreover, if Chu Yun truly intended to take over Hejiang and Anning and expand his domain so recklessly, the lords in every direction would be thrown into a panic and launch attacks against him.

Even the Great Yue Dynasty might be unable to resist striking at Chu Yun.

Huang Taiyi’s plan successfully won over the sect’s senior leaders.

The Witch Doctor Sect then carried it out. On the surface, it withdrew all its forces from Hejiang and Anning.

In secret, however, it used the opportunity to assemble an army of five thousand men, ready to ambush Chu Yun at any moment.

Although the autumn harvest was approaching and it was not an ideal time to wage war, a war of self-defense was a righteous war—a war fought for one’s family. Thus, recruiting an army of five thousand presented no difficulty.

When the Witch Doctor Sect learned that the Fierce Tiger Army had moved from Nanhuai Town to Qingtan Town and was marching north toward Anning, it was delighted.

The senior leaders were filled with admiration for Huang Taiyi’s strategy.

The sect immediately transferred all five thousand soldiers to Anning Town and prepared for battle.

They knew that Chu Yun could not possibly divide his forces and send them toward Hejiang and Anning at the same time. To do so would be no different from courting death.

They all believed that Chu Yun intended to seize Anning first and Hejiang afterward, just as he had taken Nanhuai before Qingtan.

As for why he would choose Anning first, they assumed it was because Qingtan had just endured a war and was desperately short of able-bodied men, leaving it without the strength to defend itself. Chu Yun had to expand his territory further, and with Qingtan situated at its center, he could ensure its safety.

The scouts sent by the Witch Doctor Sect discovered that the Fierce Tiger Army had crossed the border of Qingtan and continued north into Anning. They grew even more excited.

Just as Huang Taiyi had said, Chu Yun now had only the Fierce Tiger Army as a standing force. If the entire army were ambushed in Anning, Chu Yun would be left with nothing but ordinary civilians, who posed no threat at all. At most, he could rely on the Thunder God’s protection to hold a corner of his territory and struggle on in desperation.

They waited eagerly for the Fierce Tiger Army to enter their trap.

Unfortunately, night fell, and the army halted sixty li from the ambush site.

The Witch Doctor Sect could only hope that the Fierce Tiger Army would charge into Anning that night or the next day, entering their trap in one swift movement.

But Luo Hu, who commanded the Fierce Tiger Army, was no fool.

He had been making a great show of marching toward Anning, pretending that he intended to attack the town. How could he possibly launch a genuine assault?

With only a hundred and fifty soldiers, charging forward would be no different from throwing their lives away.

After discovering Witch Doctor scouts observing them from a distance, Luo Hu deliberately ordered the men to make camp inside Anning.

Then, once the night had deepened and he judged that everyone had rested sufficiently, he led them out of Anning under cover of darkness and returned to Qingtan.

They were still far from Qingtan’s city, and the only men capable of fighting remained the same hundred and fifty soldiers.

But Luo Hu was certain that the Witch Doctor Sect would not dare attack them recklessly.

First, the autumn harvest was approaching, and no one would ordinarily initiate a war at such a time.

Second, they had entered Anning and then turned back. Their movements were so strange that who could say there was not some hidden scheme behind them?

More importantly, Luo Hu believed that since Chu Yun had ordered him to pretend to attack Anning, Chu Yun must be taking action in Hejiang.

Though Chu Yun had few men capable of fighting, his master was the Thunder God.

Meanwhile, in Hejiang Town, darkness had fallen completely. The night was so black that one could not see one’s hand before one’s face, and the city gates had already been closed.

Chu Yun said to the others, “All right. It is nearly time to act. Stay here and keep an eye on the horses. Do not let them panic and run off. I will throw a bomb first and blow open the city gate. Once we see what happens, we will decide on our next move.”

Everyone acknowledged his order.

Ye Zelan grabbed Chu Yun by the arm. “Brother Chu Yun, let me blow open the gate!”

Chu Yun smiled and shook his head. “No need. I am stronger than you, so I can throw the bomb farther. I can also run faster, and I know how to use bombs better.”

Ye Zelan hesitated for a moment before saying, “All right. But you must be extremely careful.”

Chu Yun nodded. He took a bomb from the box and ran toward the city gate.

When he drew close, he studied the guards on the wall. Finding the right moment, he slipped into a patch of grass from which he could throw the bomb to the gate and hid there.

After observing the guards again, Chu Yun saw that none of them was paying any attention to his position. He immediately lit the fuse, ignited the bomb, and hurled it with all his strength.

Boom!

A moment later, the bomb exploded with a deafening roar.

The terrifying force blasted apart the city gate, which dozens of strong men would have struggled to break down.

Chu Yun immediately looked up at the guards on the wall.

To his surprise, they fled in terror, shouting as they ran, “The Thunder God is here! The Thunder God is here!”

A faint smile curved Chu Yun’s lips.

Heh.

It worked.