The People of the Central Plain Are Crazy (Part 1)

The escort was at Bishui Town in Changzhou, the town that had been plunged into complete chaos. Bishui Town was under Changzhou's jurisdiction. Further southeast was Taihu's coast. It would take one night of travelling around to reach Huzhou's border. Shen Yiren went from Suzhou to Huzhou, which was the opposite direction, but it was more time efficient.

The streets in Bishui Town were trashed, yet they were still fighting after an hour of fighting. The townsfolk were terrified and panic-stricken. It was two hundred and twenty-five men from Tea Lake Manor, Qian Clan and Horse Divine Association against Night Fortress' allies which numbered roughly seven hundred men. The former team's men were forced to fight a fight they didn't even know the reason for.

Since Night Fortress' side had more adepts and the escort, it should've ended quickly. Sadly, the terrain made for a horrible battlefield. They weren't on a flat plain, where they could spread their armies and fight. They were large men trying to squeezing into a small town. Moreover, most of them were experts at street fighting. As soon as they lost, they'd make a dash.

When hooligans fought, the loser would flee with the winner in pursuit across eight streets, at the very least. If the grudge was more serious, they'd chase them across half a city. Any stalls they toppled in their frenzy were just considered unlucky. When they bumped into people, they'd drop a quick apology. If they bumped into a maiden, they considered themselves lucky. Those situations were just part and parcel of gang fights. Worse, some of them weren't skilled but compensated with tenacity. Their unbecoming fighting style led to them devastating the townsfolk's homes.

Since the trio's team were weaker, had no desire to fight and leaders weren't present, they only engaged briefly before fleeing. They weren't formidable fighters, but they sure were formidable runners. Horse Divine Association's members were the fastest runners; perhaps it had to do with them training horses. They went as far as rubbing oil on the bottom of their footwear to turn tight corners and slip into alleys. It was impossible for groups to squeeze into a single alley, after all. The sounds of their footsteps were comparable to annoying and booming drum beats. The town's layout wasn't complex, and there were few dead ends, creating an endless game of tag.

Two hundred people couldn't possibly defeat seven hundred people. With that said, seven hundred people couldn't necessarily catch two hundred people. The two hundred weren't unified, but neither was the seven hundred randomly slapped together. The seven hundred even quarrelled amongst themselves every now and then, vying to impress Night Fortress.

Jiangnan's citizens weren't used to clan wars because the Seven Champion White Princes rarely allowed anybody to run amok in their territory. The odd small skirmish here and there was inevitable; however, they would be quashed before anyone tough to deal with could exacerbate the situation. It had been ten years since a riot of that scale was seen. All the cursing in the world wouldn't have been able to stop the hooligans.

Emperor Yuansheng and Miss Lyu were engaged in conversation in the carriage and were oblivious to the unpredicted turn of events. Dugu, Tang Ye, Tie Hanyi and Bai Laimu led a group of pugilists on a mission to evacuate the townsfolk. Alas, the groups fled into the alleys, leading to fights breaking out in alleys, as well. There was nothing they could do to keep every townsfolk safe from harm in a fight of that scale.

Bai Laimu: "They're running without even putting up a fight! How are we supposed to catch them? We'll never catch them if we chase them down one by one."

Tie Hanyi: "There are more than two hundred and twenty of them. There are too many from the same group, so I would assume they're proficient at combined attacks. Those points combined with our numbers difference will make it impossible to catch them."

Dugu sighed: "We had victory in the bag, yet we're now stuck. It's been one thing after another since entering this town. I'm starting to question if somebody set us up. If this was premeditated, we're up against someone astute."

Tie Hanyi wrinkled his nose: "Wait, are you suggesting we were set up this entire time?"

"I don't know, but I'll argue it's highly probable." Dugu casually expounded, "Look at their formation. It's clear they know we'll prioritise the citizens. Even if this isn't a setup, it's a tough pickle to get out of. One thing I can't figure out is why they're stalling. They can't reserve the tables unless he has a backup plan."

"Let's worry about that after we deal with these guys. Another house over there has been destroyed!" Bai Laimu pointed out.

Dugu folded his arms: "We need a plan to stop them."

"Have you been listening? There are over two hundred of them!" thundered Bai Laimu. Suddenly, he had a spark of inspiration: "I almost forgot! There's an internal style technique called Lion's Roar in Buddhism. If someone with Just Realm energy uses it, they could incapacitate weak opponents!"

Dugu was stunned for a second before he contended,