Chapter 160: Deadly Feud

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The one who reacted so quickly was naturally Gongsun Xu, who had received Lei Qing’s warning early on. Gongsun Xu was skilled in archery and had demonstrated this in front of Lei Qing more than once.

His Rapid-Fire Arrow technique was both accurate and swift.

Batu was slightly startled and hurriedly waved his javelin, knocking away the arrows with a clanging sound. But by the time he prepared to attack Shentu Xue again, she had already ridden more than ten yards away. Several generals in the Iron Cavalry Regiment, including Lei Qing, had already launched a rapid attack, making it difficult for him to have another chance.

Batu simply put away his javelin, looked up to the sky, and shouted, “Shentu Xue has fled. This round belongs to our Blood Wolf Army.”

“Despicable and shameless!” the soldiers of the Iron Cavalry Regiment shouted one after another. Many generals were emotional and asked Xiahou Huan for permission to fight, eager to have a go.

Xiahou Huan’s face was also very unsightly. He was aware of Shentu Xue’s weakness. However, few people in the entire Iron Cavalry Regiment knew about this weakness. Moreover, it was extremely difficult for Shentu Xue to reveal this weakness in front of outsiders under normal circumstances.

In this situation, unless Yuwen Di’s intelligence gathering was truly formidable, there must be a traitor among the high-ranking members of the Iron Cavalry Regiment.

Although Xiahou Huan felt somewhat stifled by losing this round, he did not care too much; it was lucky enough that Shentu Xue could come back alive. But what pained him was the possible existence of a traitor. The few people who knew Shentu Xue’s weakness were all very important figures in the Iron Cavalry Regiment and brothers he, Xiahou Huan, trusted immensely.

Whoever it was would cause him great heartache. However, now was not the time to consider such matters. Xiahou Huan looked grave and slowly raised his hand to stop the cursing of the soldiers and generals of the Iron Cavalry Regiment. He said loudly, “This round, our Iron Cavalry Regiment has indeed lost. To win, one must be able to afford to win; to lose, one must be able to afford to lose.”

Looking back at Shentu Xue, under the escort of Lei Qing and several other generals, she returned to her own camp. Her face was somewhat pale and unsightly. Gritting her teeth, she reached out and pulled the javelin from her chest, grimacing in pain. While sealing the wound with Fighting Qi, she cursed fiercely, “That bastard Batu, his attack was too ruthless. Luckily, my reaction was fast, and I turned my body at the critical moment. Otherwise, this javelin would have stabbed right into my heart. It is just a pity that I was almost able to beat him.”

Hearing that she could still curse, Lei Qing knew she was fine. He breathed a slight sigh of relief and smiled, “Sister Shentu being fine is the most important thing. I don’t think that Batu is a match for you, Sister Shentu. We will find a chance later to win back this breath.”

“That’s right, that greedy dog Batu. If I meet him again, I will whip his balls until they explode,” Shentu Xue shouted in indignation.

Hearing her burst out with crude words, the others who were worried about Shentu Xue also laughed loudly. Taishi Jian chuckled and said, “Shrew, you are too ruthless, aren’t you? But then again, that fellow deserves to die. He dared to shoot at our Shrew’s boobs. He deserves to die, truly deserves to die. Our Shrew’s whole body is only proud of her perky chest. If that were damaged, wouldn’t it ruin our Shrew’s treasure?”

“Taishi Jian, are you itching for a beating too?” Shentu Xue looked extremely fierce and said with a menacing expression, “You even dare to tease me. Do you want me to loosen your bones for you?”

“Alright, alright, everyone stop joking,” Lei Qing said with a stifled laugh. “The Boss is here, and his face looks very bad. Everyone be careful.”

As soon as these words came out, everyone immediately shut up, and their expressions became solemn.

Xiahou Huan rode his short, stumpy horse over, and sure enough, his face was somewhat gloomy.

Shentu Xue felt a guilty conscience and hurriedly said, “Boss, this was my mistake. It caused our Iron Cavalry Regiment to lose a battle.”

“This matter is not important.” Xiahou Huan glanced at Shentu Xue’s wound and, seeing that it was quite far from a fatal spot, he felt somewhat relieved. “I am relieved that you are fine. You don’t need to take the duel to heart. For the final round, we have Dual-Hammer Yuchi Kou, so we cannot lose. It’s just that…” He shook his head, hesitating to speak.

Lei Qing understood what Xiahou Huan wanted to say. If Shentu Xue’s weakness was not known to others, naturally it would not be too big a problem. But right now, nearly two thousand people had seen her weakness. In the future, whoever faced Shentu Xue would just need to bring a few toads to guarantee a win. It was equivalent to saying that Shentu Xue was not dead, but had been crippled.

However, Xiahou Huan found it very hard to say these words. So Lei Qing helped out and said, “Regiment Commander Xiahou, I have heard of a method that can overcome and treat this kind of weakness.”

Xiahou Huan and Shentu Xue’s eyes both lit up.

“It is very simple. The more you fear something, the more you must come into contact with it,” Lei Qing said calmly. “Catch a lot of toads and play with them in your hands every day.”

“What?” As soon as Shentu Xue thought of such a thing, her face turned pale, and she began to tremble. She hurriedly shook her head and said, “No, I won’t do such a thing even if I die.”

“If that is the case, then Sister Shentu, in the future, you will really have to go back and be a good wife and mother honestly,” Lei Qing said indifferently.

“Lei Qing, don’t think you can bully me just because I am easy to talk to,” Shentu Xue said with a livid face, staring fiercely at Lei Qing. “If you have the guts, say it one more time.”

“Sister Shentu, I admire your boldness and bravery,” Lei Qing said, looking straight at her without any fear in his eyes. “But a person who cannot overcome their own weaknesses is not qualified to be called a strong person, nor is fit to lead troops in war. Because your weakness will only cause your own death, and also cause the death of your brothers.”

“Bullshit, who says I can’t overcome my weakness?” Although Shentu Xue was domineering and somewhat aggressive, she was not an entirely unreasonable person. Lei Qing’s words made sense, but she said unconvinced, “Overcome it, I will overcome it when I go back. Isn’t it just playing with toads?” Although her tone was tough, her face was incredibly pale.

“Severe illness requires strong medicine,” Lei Qing said with a slight frown. “It seems that Sister Shentu’s fear of toads is extremely deep. Even mentioning or thinking about it makes your heart hairy and your face pale. I suggest catching a few hundred toads and putting them in Sister Shentu’s room, letting her be with them day and night.”

When Shentu Xue heard this, she almost fainted. She wished she could whip Lei Qing to death to end it all. Tears were about to flow out as she stared with peach-blossom-like apricot eyes and said, “Lei Qing, didn’t I just touch you a few times and take advantage of you a few times? Is it worth being this poisonous and this ruthless?”

“Enough, Little Xue,” Xiahou Huan said angrily. “I spoiled you too much in the past. Actually, I should have used this method to help you overcome your weakness a long time ago. Just as Lei Qing said, if you cannot overcome it, not only will you harm yourself, but you will also harm your brothers. Say no more. This time, when we go back, I will personally help you overcome it. Unless, you feel you do not want to continue in the Iron Cavalry Regiment.”

“Then… remember to tie me up when the time comes.” Shentu Xue was also a tough person. She knew that if she could not pass this hurdle, she would really have no way to lead troops in war. She could only grit her teeth and say.

“You cannot tie her up,” Lei Qing said with a smile. “If you don’t tie her up, and she relies on her own willpower to get through this, not only will it remove Sister Shentu’s weakness, but it will also greatly hone your willpower, Sister Shentu. Maybe you will even break through yourself, break through the bottleneck, and greatly increase your cultivation. Therefore, I suggest it is better not to tie her up.”

“Then we won’t tie her up,” Xiahou Huan said, clearly trusting Lei Qing and following his advice.

Shentu Xue shouted with a pale face, “Little Lei, you are too ruthless. Come, come, let your sister have a good feel before she dies.”

The generals laughed loudly.

…

“Hey! Hey!” On the opposite side, Yuwen Di saw the lively scene over here and secretly cursed that they were acting so smug even though they lost. They were clearly trying to delay time, so that their own side’s high morale would dissipate on its own. He immediately shouted, “Xiahou Huan, are you going to fight in the third round or not? If not, we will take it as our win.”

“Yuwen Di, you are thinking quite beautifully,” Xiahou Huan responded with a cold sneer. “Seeing how arrogant you are, how about you and I fight in the third round? Let’s add some stakes. Whoever loses has to crawl under the other’s crotch. Whoever doesn’t fight is a coward.” Xiahou Huan was also a tough guy and said fiercely.

This kind of talk was also a strategy. The purpose was really to dismantle the opponent’s morale after winning a round and to boost the morale of their own fighters. When experts competed, it was often a battle of inches. Low or high morale would make some difference.

Sure enough, the fierce soldiers and generals on the Iron Cavalry Regiment’s side shouted one after another, “Boss will win! Boss will win!”

Blood Wolf Yuwen Di’s face darkened, and he cursed angrily, “Xiahou Huan, I think you are clearly seeing that you are about to lose and are intentionally causing trouble. Messenger Cao, is this how your side treats the agreement, trampling on it so recklessly?”

Cao Zhong had no choice but to cough twice and say, “Brother Xiahou, hurry up and send your subordinate to fight. Stop making trouble, or it will be difficult for me.”

“Fine, since you, Yuwen Di, don’t have the guts to fight me, let my subordinate fight,” Xiahou Huan said with an arrogant look. “Yuchi Kou, go out and fight for me. If you don’t win this battle, I’ll skin you alive.” He did have some capital to be arrogant; his fist was a size bigger than Yuwen Di’s. He could totally afford to provoke him.

Lei Qing took the opportunity to shout, “Yuwen Di, turns out you are a coward! A coward!” Having caught an opportunity to strike a blow at the enemy’s morale, how could Lei Qing let it go?

The subordinates of the Iron Cavalry Regiment also started to shout, “Coward! Yuwen Di, coward!”

Blood Wolf Yuwen Di almost spat out a mouthful of blood; he felt an incredibly deep sense of humiliation. But then, who told him that he was no match for Xiahou Huan in a duel? He could only stare at Lei Qing from afar with a gloomy expression. “Kid, starting today, you are the deadly enemy of me, Yuwen Di. Sooner or later, I will chop off your head and use it as a chamber pot.”

Lei Qing said with disdain, “Yuwen Di, are you too brainless? From the moment you invaded our Yehe Town, we were already deadly enemies. Even if you sent your wife over for me to sleep with, I wouldn’t forgive you.”

…