Lu Ye was greatly alarmed.
He hastily dodged and retreated.
Clang!
The spearhead grazed past his eyes, carrying a gust of wind, and slammed fiercely into the ground, immediately leaving a long, deep mark.
The person then retracted the spear and stood in place.
She was wrapped in a red cloth, her wheat-colored skin glowing with luster, her eyes bright, and her pretty facial features carried an irrepressible, vibrant heroic spirit.
Wearing a form-fitting short martial arts outfit, it accentuated her tall, curvaceous figure; beneath the thin fabric, her two long legs were coiled with power.
Only, her apricot eyes were wide open beneath her arched brows, clearly in a bad mood.
It was none other than the sole daughter of Old Chuang Wang, Pan Furong, the benefactor of Lu Ye and Wang Hu, and her personal guard, Sister Hong, was also standing by the edge of the training ground.
The two hastily bowed.
"Greetings, Miss!"
Pan Furong waved her hand impatiently.
"Change into weapons you are comfortable with, we shall fight again!"
This young miss usually loved wielding swords and spears, and when she was in a bad mood, she would grab people to spar.
Moreover, with the personal instruction of the Old Chuang family, her martial arts were remarkable, having already reached the Bronze Skin Warrior Great Accomplishment Realm.
Lu Ye had used the Fish Dragon Diagram to observe this young miss; despite her pretty, girlish appearance, her vitality was nearly eight hundred!
She was even fiercer than the current Wang Hu!
Of course, Wang Hu was currently only at the Bronze Skin Realm Minor Accomplishment; if he reached the Middle Accomplishment Realm, he would likely be able to suppress this rouge tiger with his strength.
However, by then, Pan Furong might have already stepped into the Steel Bone Martial Master Realm, becoming even more severe.
In their daily sparring, she did not hold back, nor did she like her opponents to hold back.
And among the Refugee Army, those stronger than her valued their status and would not fight her, while those weaker than her would be scared into becoming soft-legged cats just by her glaring at them.
It wasn't until Wang Hu appeared; Wang Hu was thick-skinned and fleshy, innately strong, and had a straightforward personality—if he said he wouldn't hold back, he wouldn't, fighting to the bitter end.
Pan Furong then designated Wang Hu as her full-time meat bun, though Wang Hu's strength was indeed a cut below hers, making her feel less than satisfied.
One day, she saw Wang Hu and Lu Ye sparring.
Greatly delighted, she immediately grabbed Lu Ye as an addition.
In the days that followed, every time they sparred, Pan Furong would unleash her female might, beating her sparring partners until they were black and blue.
Lu Ye was responsible for the black and blue.
Wang Hu was responsible for the swollen face.
Now, Pan Furong was about to start fighting again.
Knowing her temper well, Lu Ye and Wang Hu hastily pounced toward the weapon rack to select their weapons.
If they were too slow, the young miss would not wait; if the two of them were to face a spear empty-handed, they feared it would be more than just black and blue.
Wang Hu chose an iron staff this time, while Lu Ye's spear technique was only at the entry level and not his strength, so he honestly chose a set of saber and shield, and also carried a bow and arrows on his back.
The two looked at each other, sharing a tacit understanding, and with a shout, they attacked simultaneously from the left and right.
Wang Hu used the iron staff with wide, sweeping motions, executing a "forcefully splitting Mount Hua" to seize the initiative.
Lu Ye hid behind his shield, crouching and moving with swift movement, then swung his saber, aiming directly at the woman's feet.
Pan Furong gave a cold snort.
She raised her spear to block, and with a loud clang, she blocked the iron staff.
She kicked the ground, and a spray of sand and soil flew toward Lu Ye—this young miss had also fought on the battlefield and was not restricted by rigid moves, knowing how to fully utilize the advantages of the surrounding terrain.
Lu Ye hastily raised his shield with his left hand to cover his face; although his line of sight was blocked, the momentum of his saber did not diminish, and he slashed down fiercely based on memory.
After kicking the sand, Pan Furong's foot was still in mid-air, but her change of move was faster than Lu Ye's saber, and she kicked his shield with incredible speed.
At the same time, she shook her spear, instantly thrusting three times at Wang Hu, forcing him to retreat continuously.
Bang!
A muffled sound rang out.
The shield was kicked until it deformed.
Lu Ye felt as if he had taken a solid hit from a wild bull, and his arm along with half his body went numb.
He shouted "not good" in his heart.
He followed the momentum and tumbled away, distancing himself from Pan Furong.
Swish, swish, swish!
Lu Ye dodged just in time; the ground where he had been was pierced with several small holes by the spear tail.
It turned out that although Pan Furong's spearhead was thrusting at Wang Hu, she seemed to have eyes in the back of her head; as the great spear retracted, it moved in her hands as if it had come alive.
The spikes on the spear butt pierced the ground along Lu Ye's escape route, leaving several deep pits.
Having forced Lu Ye back, she immediately used her spear to press her advantage, attacking Wang Hu until he was in a flurry.
Lu Ye knelt on one knee on the ground.
He saw that the shield in his hand had been kicked until it cracked, rendering it half-useless, and looking at the weapon rack, there were no more shields.
So, he simply abandoned the shield, bit his waist knife in his mouth, took his bow and arrows, drew the bow and nocked an arrow, and aimed ahead.
Pan Furong held her spear, her offensive surging toward Wang Hu like a tide.
Wang Hu swung his iron staff until it was airtight, struggling to defend.
Both were full of vitality and possessed great strength; the collision of the spear and staff produced a piercing sound, accompanied by sparks.
Lu Ye took a deep breath and immediately drew his bow like a full moon.
Then, with a twang, the string sounded.
Pan Furong indeed jumped aside to dodge, but she did not expect that Lu Ye had drawn an empty bow, with no arrow fired at all.
Wang Hu seized the opportunity, swung his staff in a fierce attack, took the chance to stabilize his footing, and entangled Pan Furong, who wanted to rush toward Lu Ye.
Just as Pan Furong used a dozen spear thrusts in one breath to suppress Wang Hu and was about to expand her advantage.
Lu Ye continued to fire his bow from the side.
Twang!
It was another empty string pull, yet under the traction of the atmosphere, Pan Furong was forced to dodge.
From then on, the sound of the bowstring rang out from time to time on the training ground.
Half a quarter of an hour later.
Lu Ye was exhausted; he had forgotten how many times he had drawn the longbow, knowing only that his arms were now so sore he couldn't lift them.
He only had a rough grasp of archery and was not even at the entry level, so the arrows he shot had no accuracy at all.
When Pan Furong was entangled with Wang Hu, he didn't dare to shoot, only firing cold arrows when the two opened up some distance.
By now, a quiver of arrows was almost gone.
Over there, Pan Furong used an upward sweep to knock Wang Hu's iron staff away, then struck him with the spear shaft, sending his massive body flying.
Then, the spear wove between her hands, she twisted her waist, and the spearhead suddenly thrust toward Lu Ye.
Lu Ye used his last bit of strength to draw the bow fully and fired an arrow.
Pan Furong shook the spear shaft, knocking the arrow away, circled the spear, and the spearhead grazed past Lu Ye's throat as the shaft swept across.
Lu Ye abandoned his longbow and used his knife to block, and a massive force came through.
Like Wang Hu, he became a tumbling gourd.
"Hoo..."
Pan Furong let out a long breath, her complexion rosy, and her tightly locked brows finally relaxed; she threw the spear in her hand, and it landed steadily on the weapon rack.
The young miss had finished venting her anger and felt comfortable.
She thought to herself that these two sparring partners were becoming more and more capable and could no longer be defeated as easily as before; she panted slightly, but pretended to be relaxed as she spoke.
"Why are you two so fragile?"
"How can you continue to be this miss's sparring partners?"
Lu Ye and Wang Hu stood up, grimacing in pain.
This time they weren't black and blue, but their bodies ached severely.
"Miss is mighty! Your martial arts are high, so of course we brothers are no match for you!"
Lu Ye didn't forget to offer some flattery, though in his heart he thought that if his archery had reached the entry level, he might have been able to fight to a draw.
The corner of Pan Furong's mouth hooked up slightly.
"You two must work harder; on the battlefield, your opponents will not show mercy."
Lu Ye and Wang Hu hastily agreed.
Pan Furong was in high spirits after the fight and, having vented her anger, asked Lu Ye to bring out the horses for a ride.
Wang Hu took his leave, Lu Ye led the horses out from the stable to follow on foot, and Sister Hong followed on a mule.
They left the camp and reached the wilderness.
Pan Furong galloped back and forth, and only after she had her fill of enjoyment did she tap the saddle with her horse whip.
"Hey, Horse Groom, where did the story of Yi Zhang Qing leave off last time?"
Lu Ye's spirits lifted, and he immediately began to tell it.
"Miss, picking up where we left off."
"The Earth Wisdom Star, Yi Zhang Qing Hu Sanniang, encountered that lecherous fellow, the Short-Statured Tiger Wang Ying, and in a few rounds, she cut off the dog head of the opponent with one slash..."
"Hmm? Why wasn't it with a spear?"
"Let me think, ah, right, Hu Sanniang used a spear; I remembered it wrong."
"Then when will Song Jiang finally kill the dog emperor and seize the empire?"
"Miss, don't be impatient, it's coming soon; in a few dozen more chapters, Song Jiang will become emperor and even appoint Yi Zhang Qing as a female general..."
"Then can this female general decide her own marriage?"
"Of course, she is a general; who would dare force her to marry, unless it were the emperor."
"Then why doesn't Yi Zhang Qing become the emperor herself?"
"Eh, Miss, that is a good line of thinking..."
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