When the captains heard Xue Ruhong’s order, they were confused but didn’t ask questions. Clasping their fists, they responded in unison, "This subordinate accepts the order."
After the captains left to carry out the task, Xue Ruhong looked at the remaining soldiers and said, "Follow this general to the western district."
With that, Xue Ruhong went to the western district, followed by fifty soldiers.
Arriving there, Xue Ruhong ordered, "Spread out and guard the alleys and roads."
After the soldiers dispersed, Xue Ruhong activated his lightness skill and leapt onto the rooftop of the tallest building near the inner entrance of the secret passage.
Standing on top of the roof, he looked down and observed the situation below.
After a while, Xue Ruhong noticed some movement from the eastern, northern, and southern districts.
Seeing a few groups rushing toward the western district, his cold eyes flickered for a second. ’As expected. The rats are walking right into the trap.’
Unaware that they were running into Xue Ruhong’s carefully woven net, the soldiers of the Yuezhi Tribe hid from the Feng Army while making their way to the inner entrance of the secret passage.
Hiding in the shadow of an alley, one of the Yuezhi soldiers watched the Feng Army search door to door and cursed under his breath, "Damn it! Why are they suddenly searching the city for no reason?!"
Squatting beside him, one of his companions said, "I heard they just won a hard battle against 100,000 troops of the Jin Army. Maybe they are searching for Jin soldiers."
Listening to him, the soldier could only hold back his frustration and cursed again, "What bad luck!"
Initially, they had wanted to take advantage of the Feng Army’s weakness after the battle with the Jin Army. But because of that very battle, they now had to hide around the city, avoiding the Feng soldiers.
While the soldier cursed his bad luck, the Feng Army soldiers finally left the area.
Seeing the opportunity, the soldier quickly said, "Let’s go!"
Without wasting any more time, he and his companions rushed out of the dark alley, and headed straight for the inner entrance of the secret passage.
Observing the situation from the rooftop, Xue Ruhong calmly waited until all the soldiers of the Yuezhi Tribe had moved into the western district.
With the Feng Army blocking the streets and alleys, the Yuezhi soldiers had no choice but to take the unguarded paths.
Unbeknownst to them, those "unguarded" streets and alleys had been deliberately left open by Xue Ruhong to lure them into the trap.
When they were nearing the entrance of the secret passage, Tan Pengtai and his men quickly withdrew from the area.
Meanwhile, Kai Mu and his men were walking down the secret passage in the darkness. Not wanting to alert the enemy, they dared not light a torch.
As they moved along the tunnel, one soldier asked his companion in a low voice, "Hey, do you smell something?"
Sniffing the air, his companion shook his head and replied, "No."
Hearing this, the soldier scratched his head in doubt and muttered, "Did I imagine it?"
Overhearing his words, another soldier whispered, "Stop talking. You will alert the enemy."
The soldier nodded, shut his mouth, and pushed his doubts to the back of his mind.
Walking in front, Kai Mu frowned and thought, ’Some parts of the wall are damp. Is there a water source nearby?’
As the thought crossed his mind, his eyes flickered with realization. ’Could there really be a water source inside Xiqiang City? If that’s true, then as long as this general seizes control of it, defeating Feng Xiyan will not be a problem.’
While Kai Mu was plotting, the Yuezhi Tribe soldiers inside Xiqiang City were already nearing the entrance of the secret passage.
Xue Ruhong patiently waited until they stepped into Fan Wanming’s encirclement before reaching into his leather pouch to take out a small bamboo tube. Pulling the cord, he fired a signal flare into the sky.
On top of the city wall, Ding Zhenshun saw the flare. He immediately pulled out his own and pulled the cord.
Hiding near the outer entrance of the secret passage, Zhan Qi and his men spotted the yellow flare.
Grabbing his spear, Zhan Qi grinned. "It’s time. Let’s go!"
With Zhan Qi leading in the front, Mo Yuan, the Mo Dao team, and the elite soldiers rushed out of their hiding places, startling the Yuezhi Tribe’s captain and his men.
Drawing his sword from its scabbard, the Yuezhi Tribe’s captain quickly shouted, "It’s an ambush!"
Hearing this, the soldiers scrambled to draw their weapons, but Zhan Qi and his men were too fast and outnumbered them.
Before the Yuezhi Tribe soldiers could fight back, they were cut down by Zhan Qi and Mo Yuan. The elite soldiers and the Mo Dao team didn’t even have a chance to act.
Flicking the blood off his spear, Zhan Qi turned to his men and calmly ordered, "Close the entrance!"
At his command, the elite soldiers pushed the huge stone boulder back into place, sealing the secret passage.
Then Zhan Qi looked at the others and said, "You guys, collect their weapons and armor. Then burn the bodies."
After the corpses were burned, Zhan Qi took out another signal flare and launched it into the sky.
From the top of the city wall, Ding Zhenshun answered with his own signal flare.
When Xue Ruhong saw the yellow flare, he leapt down from the rooftop and went to find Fan Wanming.
Meanwhile, the Yuezhi Tribe soldiers had finally gathered in front of the inner entrance of the secret passage.
Looking up at the sky, one of them said with curiosity, "What are those things exploding up there? The colors are beautiful."
Another soldier glared at him and said in a low voice, "Be quiet! Do you want to bring the enemy here?!"