Chapter Thirty: Night Raid on the Tang Family Fortress

The night was deepening, and the cold mist in the forest grew ever thicker. Each person could feel the heavy dew settling on their bodies, yet the atmosphere at this moment was even heavier.

This peach grove lay on the remote southwestern outskirts of Dongling County. Less than thirty li away stood a grand estate—the headquarters of a martial sect known in the world as Tang Fortress.

Zhang He felt a twitch in his right eye and wondered silently, “Could it be that tonight’s target is someone from the Tang Clan?”

Daniu seemed to sense the doubts of his four companions. “That’s right. Tonight, we’re striking against the Tang Clan.”

Though everyone had anticipated this possibility, hearing Daniu say it aloud still sent a jolt through them. In Yizhou, the largest sect was the Qingcheng Sect atop Mount Qingcheng, but it had become sprawling and unwieldy, with many of its disciples lacking talent or discipline. The Tang Clan, the second largest, was a different story—its standards were high, and though their numbers were few, each member was formidable, famed especially for their mastery of hidden weapons and poisons.

Judging by the plan, it seemed they weren’t merely targeting an ordinary branch leader tonight. Each person could feel their heart pounding faster.

Daniu spoke in a low voice: “The Tang Clan’s Grand Elder of Alchemy, Waterdream, has just harvested the rare Blood Parrot Flower, which blooms only once a year. According to our information, he’ll be returning to headquarters at 3 AM, and has already set off from Yizhou City at a gallop.”

Second Sister asked, “Is our mission to seize the Blood Parrot Flower?”

Daniu replied, “Not only must we seize the flower, but we also have to get away safely and deliver it to our respective employers. As long as any one of us gets it to their client, we’ll have accomplished our mission.”

Fourth frowned. “From what I know, the Grand Elder of Alchemy is a combat specialist, a position in the Tang Clan almost on par with their Protectors.”

His words sounded another warning bell in everyone’s mind—they would be facing a fifth-tier opponent, whose actual abilities likely approached the sixth tier.

While the strength of sixth-tier experts varied between sects, they were universally formidable. Five average level-thirty novices would stand no chance against Waterdream, not even fifty or a hundred of them could prevail.

But these five were hardly ordinary players. With some luck, perhaps their plan could succeed.

Daniu then unfurled a large parchment map, laying out the steps of their operation in detail.

To guarantee success, the plan was to strike at Qingsong Bridge, just before reaching the main gates of Tang Fortress. By choosing a spot so near the Tang Clan’s headquarters, they hoped to catch Waterdream off guard, lulling him into a false sense of security.

Qingsong Bridge, built of long wooden planks, stretched fifty meters and was the only way into the fortress. Once Waterdream thundered onto the bridge, Daniu, lying in wait beneath the planks, would break several boards in the middle. Waterdream and his horse would surely tumble off, only to be ensnared by a large net stretched along the cliffside below. Second Sister, concealed on the cliff, would strike with poison and snatch the Blood Parrot Flower.

Once she succeeded, she would leap into the river below, where Sanpao would be waiting with a swift arrow boat, ready to carry her downriver straight to the peach grove. By then, the Tang Clan would be in pursuit, likely pouring out in force. The team would switch boats halfway to evade the first wave of pursuers, ensuring safe arrival at the grove.

Should a battle break out in the peach grove, Fourth could don the robes of a Tang disciple and play dead, while the others handed her the flower and scattered. In the confusion, Fourth would slip away by water, returning to the spot beneath Qingsong Bridge, where a second arrow boat lay hidden among the rocks. Zhang He would provide the final cover, and at dawn they would regroup in the peach grove—by then, it would be the last place the Tang Clan would think to search. There, they would make their final rendezvous before each went their separate ways.

It had to be said, the escape plan was even more meticulous and ingenious than the attack. No matter how formidable the Tang Clan, they would never expect their enemies to move so boldly right under their noses and vanish without a trace.

Daniu dared take such a risk because he was more than eighty percent certain of success.

First, he had calculated every route, hiding spot, and corpse-strewn site in the grove. When the Tang Clan’s main force arrived, it would be the perfect moment for Fourth to slip away unnoticed.

Second, Second Sister was a master of mechanical traps and poisons. Waterdream himself was a poison expert, so ordinary toxins would be useless, but even if her poisons couldn’t fell him entirely, a brief paralysis of just a few seconds would suffice.

Third, Sanpao was not a combatant but a master carpenter; his arrow boat was a masterpiece. Even those with the lightest of lightness skills would struggle to catch them downstream.

Fourth, Fourth was adept at lightness skills and had the best chance of escaping in the chaos. To minimize risk, each had prepared a set of Tang Clan robes.

Zhang He’s role was to provide cover at the end. He would witness the initial attack and facilitate the final retreat, adapting as needed if anything went awry.

When Daniu finished explaining these five points, everyone was convinced—this was a flawless plan. With such careful preparation, there seemed no reason for failure; they might even come out of it unscathed.

Every detail was impeccable, every route the most logical, every member’s role perfectly placed. From start to finish, the whole operation would take less than three hours.

Even Zhang He had to admit, Daniu was a born leader—not only calm and meticulous, but also gifted with words, able to explain the plan with perfect clarity and brevity.

Now, all that remained was for the east wind to blow.

The night mist thickened, so dense that the broad official road flickered in and out of sight. In the darkness, it resembled the half-extended tongue of some monstrous beast. A swift horse galloped into the swirling fog.

It was a fine horse, a first-rate steed with a gleaming mane, rented by Waterdream from “Baole Ju” in Yizhou City for a hundred taels of silver. It could cover a hundred and fifty li in an hour, rivaling the finest Mongolian horses.

Returning from Qingzhou in the north to Yizhou with the Blood Parrot Flower, Waterdream had faced countless ambushes and enemies along the way, but had overcome them all.

The Blood Parrot Flower was a crucial ingredient for supreme elixirs. Its components were not rare, but its value lay in the fact that it grew only atop Mount Huawu in Qingzhou, and only one bloom appeared each year.

Every year, this single blossom sparked fierce struggles among the martial world’s factions. This year, the Tang Clan had obtained it only thanks to the support of the Qingzhou hero, Dreamwithoutend, who safely escorted Waterdream to Yizhou before departing.

As one of the Tang Clan’s ten Grand Elders, Waterdream was not only a formidable fifth-tier expert, but also well-known across the provinces. The higher-ranking masters, mindful of their honor and reputation, would not stoop to robbing him of the Blood Parrot Flower. Bandits and minor thugs, however, were legion—though none were any match for Waterdream.

Of course, if he had encountered members of the Demon Sect, the story might have been different.

But he had not, and with his experience, Waterdream remained vigilant. Now, in the thickening fog, he slowed his horse.

Though the horse moved slowly, Waterdream strained his ears to detect any movement around him, not relaxing until Tang Fortress appeared in view.

By night, Tang Fortress loomed immense and imposing, resembling a centuries-old gray citadel. The two colossal statues of the Tang Clan ancestors in front of the gates drew the eye—one held “The Classic of Poisons,” exuding an immortal air that suggested “mastery of all poisons to relieve the people’s woes”; the other wore a treasure chest at the waist, lively and spirited, embodying “skilled hands, compassionate heart, bringing aid to the world.” In the lore of “Dynasty,” it was the Tang Clan’s centuries of heritage that earned it such an indelible place in the martial world.

The fortress was ablaze with light, and rainbows of seven colors continually flashed down from the night sky to the Taiji stone in the main courtyard, transforming into the figures of Tang Clan members—players returning to their sect using recall scrolls. This made the area around Qingsong Bridge and the Tang Family River even more tranquil, casting an ancient, poetic air over the scene. Every returning Tang Clan player felt a sense of homecoming—this was the unique allure of the “Dynasty” sects.

Yet Waterdream could never have imagined that, at this very moment, someone was lying in wait beneath the planks of Qingsong Bridge, ready for his arrival.

Zhang He lay below the riverbank on the arrow boat, watching the boards overhead. Daniu clung beneath the bridge like a gecko, motionless for forty-five minutes. So long as he kept his breathing steady, he would never be detected.

Even Zhang He could not help but admire him. Once Daniu’s plan was set in motion, it would be a breathtaking and perilous spectacle—but the monotonous, nerve-wracking wait that came before would drive most people mad. Not even game techniques to reduce fatigue or enhance stamina could account for this level of patience and focus; it was a quality that came from within.

Now, Waterdream was on the bridge. Hoofbeats echoed—soft, steady—across the wooden planks. Daniu, Second Sister, and Zhang He all held their breath, focusing their minds on their hands and eyes. As soon as Waterdream’s horse set hoof between the twenty-ninth and thirty-third planks, there would be no escaping a fall.