TNIBFT -Chapter 326 Don’t Worry About Me

The massive impact sent Old Yang staggering backward several steps.

He clutched his shoulder with one hand while turning to look at the city wall.

Seeing Ye Tian’s figure, Old Yang’s face twisted with bitterness. No wonder his master had refused to let him become a general—it was to prevent him from throwing his life away!

Now he finally understood Ye Tian’s careful consideration, but unfortunately, it was too late.

He thought of the hotpot shop.

He thought of Ye Shuangxue and Ye Tian. Gritting his teeth, Old Yang resolved: even if he died, he would die for a purpose—to clear obstacles for Ye Tian. “Damn it!”

“You idiots! Want to kill me? Come on!”

“Come on! I, the infamous Ghost-Frightener, have slain countless people—am I scared of a few of you mutts?”

Ignoring the wound on his shoulder, Old Yang snatched the long sword from a Daliang soldier and began hacking wildly, like chopping watermelons. His arms trembled, and drops of blood fell from his left hand onto the ground.

Lin Qingyao’s expression remained unreadable.

If she acted, the fool in front of her would certainly die.

She wanted to see how Ye Tian planned to save him. If he didn’t save him… Lin Qingyao’s lips curved slightly. She looked at Old Yang: “Tell me, you risked your life for Ye Tian. Do you think he’ll save you?”

Old Yang froze.

Deep down, he yearned for it. In a crisis, if Ye Tian could save him, it would mean Ye Tian valued him—that his efforts over the past time had been meaningful.

But Old Yang knew the situation in Sifang City: the gates couldn’t hold, and everyone would die!

Including Ye Tian’s three children!

“Stop trying to sow discord!”

Old Yang sneered: “I don’t need anyone to save me. If I have to wait for Ye Tian, don’t worry—I’ll go myself, and I won’t hold him back!”

“Really?”

Lin Qingyao smiled, looking up at the walls of Sifang City. A slight curve appeared on her lips: “But it seems Ye Tian really does plan to save you!”

“Such devotion between master and servant!”

What?

Old Yang spun around sharply and saw soldiers on the walls of Sifang City moving hurriedly, seemingly dispatching troops. Ye Tian stood atop the wall giving orders. In moments:

“Bzzzz!”

The sound of horns echoed throughout the city and beyond.

“Open the gates!”

“The city lord commands: open the gates!”

Soldiers shouted loudly, full of authority. Immediately, the heavy gates of Sifang City began to slowly swing open. Inside, Ye Tian’s newly trained soldiers surged into the battlefield in orderly ranks. The war drums thundered. Zhu and Yu, along with other Ye family bodyguards, led the vanguard, fighting through the bloodbath toward Old Yang.

“Master!”

Old Yang’s voice choked. He looked up at the city wall; the light was blinding, making it hard to see Ye Tian’s figure.

He wiped his eyes, and his vision cleared. He saw Daliang soldiers falling one after another. Gritting his teeth, he thought: if it weren’t for me, these people wouldn’t have opened the gates, and they wouldn’t be dying!

A guilt he had never felt before surged in his heart.

Old Yang glared furiously at Lin Qingyao before him: “Bitch, I’ll kill you first!”

“Die!”

Old Yang roared and charged with all his might, reckless and unstoppable. His limbs felt ablaze, and inside, it seemed as if a fire gave him inexhaustible strength.

“Since you want to die, I’ll grant your wish!”

Lin Qingyao sneered, meeting Old Yang’s attack with her own.

Meanwhile, a Daliang soldier shouted: “The gates of Sifang City are open! Charge!”

“Kill Ye Tian, and you’ll gain rank and wealth! Kill!”

Countless soldiers raised their swords and charged.

Old Yang kept retreating step by step. This woman’s strength surpassed his. No matter how recklessly he fought, he could not defeat her. A sense of helplessness welled up in his heart.

“Old Yang!”

“Old Yang!”

Covered in blood, just as despair gripped him, Zhu and Yu rode up.

“Old Yang, take the horse! You go first!”

“The young master orders you to return immediately—this is a command!”

Zhu and Yu’s eyes were bloodshot, shouting while brandishing their long swords.

Seeing the bodies littering the ground, Old Yang felt even more guilty. The battlefield shifted in an instant. These people risked their lives to save him, leaving themselves vulnerable, obeying Ye Tian’s orders. And what had he done?

“No!”

Seeing the people who saved him die before his eyes, he could not accept it.

Old Yang shook his head.

Seeing Lin Qingyao attack Zhu and Yu, Old Yang leapt forward to shield them: “Don’t worry about me!”

“Tell Master, don’t worry about me!”

Old Yang grabbed Lin Qingyao’s long sword barehanded, blood dripping from his wrists onto the ground.

Ye Tian stood on the wall, shaking his head helplessly. He shouldn’t have assigned Old Yang to defend the city—this guy needed a lesson the hard way.

Just as Lin Qingyao kicked Old Yang aside, preparing to finish him off, Ye Tian pulled out a fire gun and pulled the trigger: “Bang!”

The explosion was terrifying.

Lin Qingyao stepped back, clutching her shoulder. She looked up at the wall, incredulous: “Ye Tian?”

“What weapon did you use?”

Blood trickled through her fingers, her expression grave.

A hundred-step piercing shot with such power—what could Ye Tian possibly be holding?

“Deputy General Lin!”

“Deputy General?”

Injured, Lin Qingyao was immediately surrounded by a large group of Daliang soldiers, all alertly watching the walls.

“Hahaha… scared now, huh?”

“Our city lord has plenty of treasures. Those who aren’t afraid to die, come on!” Old Yang laughed arrogantly, disdainfully looking at Lin Qingyao: “I advise you, go back where you came from. If this fight breaks out, it’s not certain who will suffer!”

“Hmph!”

“Stop pretending to be a god!”

Lin Qingyao straightened, facing Old Yang: “Such tricks won’t fool me.”

“All soldiers, obey the orders!”

Lin Qingyao shouted. The Daliang soldiers kneeling around her complied. She continued: “Capture Sifang City. The first to enter the city will be granted the title of Sixth-Rank Ever-Victorious General!”

“Yes!”

The Daliang soldiers’ morale soared.

Lin Qingyao looked at the hole in her shoulder and scoffed: “I think Ye Tian is nothing special. Even this divine weapon can’t harm me. He’s just a useless man!”

No sooner had she spoken…

Someone in the Daliang ranks shouted: “That… that person…”

“Yes, you!”

Lin Qingyao frowned and turned.

“Bang!” Another loud explosion. Before anyone could react, Lin Qingyao’s eyes widened, and her body fell straight to the ground.

A black hole appeared between her brows, blood flowing outward.

“Deputy General Lin?”

“Deputy General Lin!”

The soldiers of Daliang were thrown into chaos, not even knowing how Lin Qingyao had died.

How were they supposed to explain this when they returned?

Among the Daliang troops, someone dressed as a soldier was waving a strange object wildly and laughing hysterically.

“Hahaha…”

“Too amazing, too amazing!”

“Ye Tian is useless, I’m not useless, I’m not useless! What a good thing, what a good thing!”

Sun Wuji ran around excitedly. Someone shouted, “Seize the traitor! Seize him! He killed Deputy General Lin!”

“Take him down! Or we’ll all die!”

A shout from within the Daliang ranks prompted a surge of soldiers to swarm Sun Wuji.

Sun Wuji no longer tried to hide; he removed his hat, revealing a tangled mess of white hair like a bird’s nest. He moved swiftly through the crowd, untouchable.

“Bang!”

“Bang! Bang!”

A series of deafening gunshots shook everyone’s nerves. Each time a matchlock fired, another Daliang soldier fell dead, eyes wide, blood pooling, with no chance to resist.

Everyone stared in horror at the corpses, some asking, “What… what kind of hidden weapon is this?”

“Even someone as formidable as Deputy General Lin can be killed in a single strike, without a chance to fight back?”

“This is a weapon used by Ye Tian…”

“Ye Tian’s people…”

Without a leader, morale collapsed.

The Daliang soldiers panicked. Those who had been attacking the city were now retreating. Someone suggested, “If we continue the fight, we’ll be annihilated. Deputy General, we should withdraw!”

“Yes!”

The acting commander, ostensibly Xiao Xun’er but actually Lin Qingyao, had no intention of continuing the battle after her death.

“Vroom… vroom!”

The horns sounded, hooves clattered, and the Daliang army began a disorderly retreat. Several mounted officials spurred their horses like they had wings, while infantry chased behind, flags held high.

Old Yang’s face was streaked with blood, his body covered in wounds.

Gripping his greatsword and gasping for breath, he watched the Daliang forces flee and roared in fury: “You worthless dogs, running just because you can’t fight?”

“Ask your grandfather if he would approve!”

Earlier, Xiao Xun’er had tried to save him, but he had misunderstood her. Now, with her captured, her life was in grave danger!

Ignoring his injuries, Old Yang leapt onto his horse. “Drive!”

Zhu Heyu shouted, frowning, “Old Yang! Come back!”

“Do not pursue a cornered enemy! The Young Master did not give orders—acting alone is forbidden!”

Old Yang didn’t turn back. Waving his long sword, he charged after the Daliang troops.

Below the walls of Sifang City, the battlefield was strewn with corpses, piles of soldiers from both sides. Weapons, arrows, and other debris littered the ground. Fang Shenghu was tasked with clearing the battlefield. Zhu Heyu and others had returned to the city. Sun Wuji, having used up the ammunition for his matchlock and feeling bored, also returned to the city.

Ye Tian stood on the city wall, officials of Sifang City behind him.

Zhao Kang, anxious, said, “City Lord, the Daliang forces were ferocious, their morale extraordinary. I suspect they brought someone important.”

“Yes. Lin Qingyao was a rare martial prodigy. Sending someone like her to Sifang City…”

“I fear an even fiercer battle awaits!”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ye Tian said, “Lin Qingyao is dead. Now, let’s see what they do next.”

“We should also expedite the construction of secret escape routes for the civilians.”

“Yes!”

Orders were acknowledged.

Ye Tian turned to leave, but then noticed Sun Wuji, messy-haired and dressed in Daliang’s dark red uniform, glancing at him nervously.

Guilty as charged.

Before Ye Tian could speak, Sun Wuji tossed something.

Ye Tian caught the matchlock.

Without a word, Sun Wuji said seriously, “This thing isn’t all that powerful, huh? Only six shots—what use is that? Made me all excited for nothing!”

He glanced at Ye Tian. Seeing no anger, he struck a pose, arms crossed.

Ye Tian sighed, “Old man, this is my wife’s, and you just took it without saying a word…”

“Hey, don’t talk so harshly!” Sun Wuji snapped, tilting his chin up. His voice softened, “I knew there were people on the snowfield. I took your thing to help you, and now you blame me? Don’t you have a conscience?”

“I’m taking this up with my daughter-in-law—wah wah wah…”

Pretending to wipe away tears, Sun Wuji ran down from the wall.

Ye Tian could only shake his head.

Zhu Heyu chuckled, “Master Sun’s unrestrained nature is well-known, but he genuinely cares for the Young Master. If he hadn’t killed Lin Qingyao, today we’d all have suffered greatly.”

“Yes, we should be grateful to him.”

“He’s today’s hero!”

Everyone agreed.

Ye Tian didn’t actually blame Sun Wuji, though he wished the old man had at least said something before vanishing with the matchlock for a few days, causing concern…

“City Lord! Old Yang has returned!”

Someone called out. Ye Tian squinted, seeing Old Yang galloping toward Sifang City on a chestnut horse.

Everyone fell silent, tense.

Had Old Yang not acted on his own, the later events would never have occurred. Disobeying orders was a capital offense.

After a moment:

“Master!”

Old Yang knelt on one knee before Ye Tian, armor and hair matted with blood, a clear sign of the brutal fight he had endured. His hands were bloodied, and he bowed low, unable to speak.

Ye Tian scanned him briefly. “Why did you chase after the Daliang troops?”

“Once is disobeying orders, and not learning from it afterwards?” Ye Tian’s voice was calm but commanding.

Old Yang didn’t look up. “I know my mistake and am willing to accept punishment, but Miss Xiao just saved me. If I let her be captured and did nothing, I couldn’t live with myself!”

Ye Tian was silent.

Old Yang was a man of the Jianghu, valuing quick justice and loyalty—he didn’t fit neatly into military discipline.

He didn’t know what to say. Xiao Xun’er had helped him multiple times before. Old Yang continued, “Master, during the fight, Miss Xiao asked me to tell you that her elder brother has been captured. She covered my retreat so I could escape and relay this. She said if possible, she would rescue her brother herself.”

“What?”

“Xiao Tianchen was captured?”

Everyone was shocked. They had expected Daliang to send a commander, not this.

“Now that Miss Xiao is helping us but has been taken, her life is in extreme danger. Master, I’m willing to volunteer to rescue him!”

Old Yang clasped his fists, sincerity on his blood-streaked face.

All eyes turned to Ye Tian. Deploying troops now was risky. Sifang City, reinforced under Ye Tian’s command, was nearly impregnable; taking the initiative outside the walls would be a death sentence.

“City Lord, think carefully!”

“Yes, this must be an enemy trap designed to lure you out of the city!”

“We cannot fall into their scheme!”

Everyone spoke in unison.

Old Yang knew it was a difficult task. Looking up at Ye Tian, his eyes full of determination, he said, “Master, if allowed, I will infiltrate the enemy camp to rescue him. That way, we avoid the trap and might save Miss Xiao without obstruction.”