Chapter 149: Tang Yi Ambushed, Undressing Reveals Her Female Identity

"Iron ore? How could there be earth-mines in a place like that?" Xia Yu asked with a puzzled expression.

Tang Yi thought for a moment and explained, "It is difficult to mine iron ore with ordinary human labor; it can only be extracted by blasting the rock apart with large quantities of earth-mines."

Song Mo's expression darkened as he said, "If that is the case, does it mean the Taiping Army might have gained control of the iron ore mines?"

Tang Yi nodded. "It seems matters are even more troublesome than we imagined."

"Let me check which iron ore location has had an excessive usage of earth-mines." Tang Yi opened the ledger once again, and before long, the source of the problem was revealed.

Laiwu Iron Mine.

The amount of earth-mines used here exceeded the normal consumption by more than ten times, and not a single shipment of iron ore had been transported into the city for several months.

"These corrupt officials deserve to die!" Xia Yu cursed. If the personnel from the quartermaster's depot had not provided protection, a problem of this magnitude should have been uncovered long ago.

"Let's put those corrupt officials aside for now. I need to make a trip to the Laiwu Iron Mine." With those words, Tang Yi strode swiftly out of the quartermaster's depot.

...

At the Laiwu Iron Mine, Tang Yi arrived swiftly with a light cavalry detachment of Six Fan Doors constables.

"My lord, this place appears to have been abandoned for some time," a constable observed, glancing around the completely deserted mining site.

"No, there is blood here," Tang Yi pointed out, indicating the stains on the ground.

Before long, Tang Yi and his company discovered the corpses of a group of laborers within the mine.

"This is bad. This place might be a trap," Tang Yi shouted gravely.

Suddenly, figures flickered outside the mining site. A group of men wearing bamboo rain hats and wielding daggers surrounded Tang Yi and his subordinates, while arrows rained down upon them as if they were utterly worthless.

"Break through!" Tang Yi roared at the top of his lungs, drawing his broadsword and charging forward. The Six Fan Doors constables under his command likewise drew their blades and rushed into the fray. Both sides clashed fiercely within the mining site. "Kill them all, quickly!" the leader of the group shouted.

"What manner of men are you, that you would slaughter innocent commoners?" a constable demanded loudly.

"Slaughter innocent commoners? Ha! We only know how to kill and loot," the leader sneered coldly.

"Impudent!" a constable rebuked angrily.

"Hmph! Impudent? Today I shall show you just how impudent we can be." With that, the leader brandished the longsword in his hand, unleashing a crimson arc of sword Qi straight toward Tang Yi's vital points.

Tang Yi hastily raised his broadsword to parry, but was still grazed by the sword energy. "Puff~" A mouthful of blood spewed forth. Having succeeded in his initial strike, the leader did not pause, thrusting his blade toward the other five men. "Run!"

Tang Yi shouted the command. Hearing this, the others quickly retreated, and Tang Yi pursued closely behind. "My lord, watch out!" An exclamation pierced the air. Tang Yi turned his head to see someone shooting an arrow directly at him. He dodged hastily, yet the missile still tore through his garments, leaving a deep wound.

"Audacious villains, surrender at once!" Roaring with fury, Tang Yi lunged toward the ambusher.

"Courting death!" The man glared at Tang Yi, brandishing his longsword as he thrust forward. While parrying the onslaught, Tang Yi observed his surroundings.

Suddenly, Tang Yi spotted another group of people concealed ahead. All of them wore black cloth masks and wielded weapons, causing a sense of foreboding to rise in Tang Yi's heart. "Kill them, quickly!" Tang Yi roared. Hearing the order, these figures rushed toward him in a swarm. "Kill!" Tang Yi shouted loudly, drawing the treasured sword strapped to his back to meet them.

"Clang, clang, clang, clang!" Blades collided, sending sparks flying in all directions. Tang Yi cut down three men in succession, but another managed to pierce his arm. A jet of hot, crimson blood immediately spurted from the wound, staining Tang Yi's clothes.

Crying out in pain, Tang Yi hastily withdrew his blade and stanched the bleeding.

"Hmph!" The armed man sneered, brandishing his weapon and thrusting toward Tang Yi once more. Tang Yi raised his sword to block again, but his opponent's weapon was exceptionally sharp. Under the immense impact, the web of Tang Yi's hand went numb, and his broadsword was knocked flying from his grip, landing far away. His body staggered back several steps. "You have lost your weapon; today you shall surely die," the man laughed heartily. Tang Yi let out a fierce shout: "Kill!" With that, he lunged at the man bare-handed.

"Courting death!" The man sneered coldly, his longsword driving straight toward Tang Yi. A flash of cold light brushed past Tang Yi's neck. Tang Yi hastily ducked his head, narrowly evading a fatal blow.

Terror gripped Tang Yi's heart. This man was actually a first-rank expert of the Huang grade; had he been even a fraction of a second slower, his throat would have been pierced.

Realizing this, Tang Yi did not dare to be negligent, throwing a punch toward the man. The man stepped back quickly and thrust his sword toward Tang Yi's chest. Tang Yi scrambled to dodge sideways.

The man's sword struck Tang Yi once again, coming within a hair's breadth of piercing straight through his chest.

"Who on earth are you? Why are you trying to assassinate me?" Tang Yi demanded angrily.

The man laughed uproariously. "Why I am assassinating you? I won't tell you. What can you possibly do about it?"

"You bastard!" Tang Yi cursed furiously, continuing to evade and maneuver while seeking an opening. Although his martial arts were inferior to his opponent's, his footwork was exceptionally swift, and coupled with his remarkable agility, the man found himself temporarily unable to land a decisive blow.

Even so, Tang Yi remained no match for the man. Lowering his guard for a split second, Tang Yi took a hit to his left arm. Sweat poured from his brow from the agonizing pain, yet he refused to yield, gritting his teeth to continue the struggle.

The man could not help shaking his head, realizing that this stubborn youth had no intention of submitting today. "Your martial arts are too weak, so you might as well surrender obediently!" the man shouted, his sword flashing forward in a rapid thrust directed straight at Tang Yi's heart.

Startled, Tang Yi twisted his body to dodge. No sooner had he steadied himself than his arm suffered another severe wound, forcing him to drop to one knee as blood streamed down his limb.

Gritting his teeth, Tang Yi continuously circulated his inner energy to mend his injuries.

"Ha, ha! Do you really think you can escape the palm of this old man's hand?" the man laughed derisively.

"We will fight you to the death!" Tang Yi yelled aloud.

"Hmph, since you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit, do not blame this old man for being ruthless!" The man roared in anger, driving his longsword swiftly toward Tang Yi.

Tang Yi dodged hastily, but was still clipped by the sword Qi, sending fresh blood spraying into the air. "Weren't you trying to capture me? Then come and get me!" Tang Yi sneered.

Hatred filled the man's eyes; he wished nothing more than to slaughter this young wretch immediately.

"Attack!" Brandishing his longsword, the man renewed his assault. Tang Yi raised his fists and used every evasion technique he knew, but the opponent's sword was too razor-sharp, and unable to defend himself effectively, he was soon wounded again.

"Ah—!" Tang Yi let out a miserable cry. "Ah—!" Both of Tang Yi's legs were pierced by the sword, bringing excruciating agony. With a dull thud, Tang Yi collapsed heavily onto the ground.

"My lord, run! We brothers will hold them off!"

Several blood-soaked figures came rushing up, wielding blades. They shoved Tang Yi backward, using their own bodies as a human shield against the approaching man.

"Run!" the men shouted at the top of their lungs, yet none of them made any move to save themselves. Tears streamed uncontrollably down Tang Yi's face. "Don't worry about me!" Tang Yi cried out.

"My lord, you needn't worry about us. Just leave quickly!" the men yelled. With a heavy heart, Tang Yi cast a final, reluctant glance at his subordinates, his eyes blurred with moisture. Yet he knew he could not allow them to die in vain alongside him. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself up, gripping the ground tightly as he prepared to continue the fight.

At that very moment, however, the man lunged forward once more, driving his sword directly toward Tang Yi's chest. Tang Yi instinctively raised his hands to shield his torso, but the blade still slashed across him, and fresh blood gushed forth.

"My lord, go!"

The blood-soaked men clung desperately to the man's legs, refusing to loosen their grip even as sword stroke after sword stroke sliced into their flesh.

"Go!" the men roared in weak, fading voices.

Hesitating no longer, Tang Yi vaulted onto a horse, large tears rolling down his cheeks.

Soon, a solitary horse vanished beyond the horizon.

"With wounds so severe, you cannot possibly survive."

With a sweep of his sword, the man severed the heads of the men clinging to his ankles, licking his lips as he spoke.

...

During the hour of Xu, Song Mo sat within Morgue No. 7, an inexplicable sense of restlessness gnawing at his mind.

Suddenly, a faint, hesitant knocking sound echoed from the door.

Song Mo pulled the door open, and a heavily bleeding figure collapsed inward.

Focusing his eyes, Song Mo was shocked to see that it was none other than Tang Yi.

"Search my soul... perform soul-searching on me," Tang Yi murmured in a daze, his consciousness slipping away as he spoke weakly.

"No... I will not let you die."

Hearing Tang Yi ask him to search his soul caused Song Mo a pang of anguish sharper than any he had ever known. Rummaging frantically through the room, he gathered every medicinal pill he had accumulated from corpse-stitching and applied them all to Tang Yi's wounds in a frantic flurry.

When the morning sunlight finally streamed through the window, Tang Yi's long eyelashes fluttered before he slowly regained consciousness.

"You're awake."

Song Mo stood to the side, a mix of pleasant surprise and awkwardness keeping him from approaching too closely.

Tang Yi nodded faintly at first, then lowered his gaze to inspect himself, realizing that Song Mo had already stripped away his blood-soaked garments and changed him into fresh attire.

"Did you see everything?" Tang Yi asked, his gaze turning chillingly cold.

"No, I only saw a tiny bit!"

Song Mo had never imagined in his wildest dreams that Tang Yi was actually a woman—and a remarkably breathtaking one at that.

"Song Mo! I'm going to kill you!"

With a flick of her right hand, Tang Yi hurled a silver needle through the air.