"Ah Qing, did you really see it?"
Jie Zheng asked anxiously to Aqing beside him.
"Yes. I can't be wrong." Ah Qing put his hands on his eyelids and squinted his eyes to look northwest and said in a deep voice, "Red and white Wu clothing, with a lot of blood splattered on the body, no shoes or socks on the feet, and the bear is also very big... The conditions are completely consistent."
At the end of Aqing's sight, there was A-Ming who was rushing to the hotel.
The area where Ah-Ming was located was almost deserted, and there were few pedestrians on the empty streets except Ah-Ming, so Ah-Ming, who was running on the street, was particularly conspicuous. Because of this, Ah-Qing was able to notice this particularly conspicuous red and white figure just now.
"We finally found her..." Jie Zheng showed relief and joy, and then quickly jumped down from the roof of the house, "Aqing, please help us find the way."
Ah Qing: "I know."
Under Aqing's guidance, Jie Zheng led his subordinates to chase after A-Ming.
In order to avoid being discovered by A-Ming, Jie Zheng deliberately kept a certain distance from A-Ming.
Aqing has very good eyesight, and even though they are far apart, she can see A-Ming's position clearly.
Aside from judo and marksmanship, Ah-Ming had no other special skills, and she was not good at anti-tracking.
A-Ming, who had not noticed that someone was following her from a distance, walked into the hotel under A-Qing's gaze.
"Jie Zheng." Ah Qing, who was crouching on a big tree, saw Ah Ming enter the hotel and immediately reported to Jie Zheng, "That woman entered the hotel."
Jie Zheng quickly climbed up the tree where Ah Qing was and squatted beside her: "Which hotel?"
Ah Qing pointed forward and said, "It's the inn with the plaque saying 'Tianchi House' on the door."
Jie was looking at the hotel that Aqing pointed to.
He looked thoughtful and was silent for a moment, then lowered his head and shouted to his subordinates waiting under the tree:
“Prepare for battle!”
Ah Qing was shocked: "Jie Zheng, are you going to rush over and catch him?"
"Yeah." Jie Zheng nodded and jumped down from the tree.
"That woman was able to kill Naganosuke, so her skills must be very good."
Ah Qing quickly called out to Jie Zheng who had jumped under the tree.
"So I think we should inform the main camp first and ask them to send some reinforcements. While waiting for the main camp's response, we should keep an eye on the woman's movements. This method is safer."
"That would take too much time." Jie Zheng said in a deep voice, "Sending a message to our formation, and then receiving a response from our formation, I don't know how long it will take. If it takes too long, something unexpected will most likely happen."
"Besides...if we ask for reinforcements from our main camp, our contribution will be diluted."
Jie Zheng pursed his lips at this time, and then looked at A Qing with a meaningful look.
“…I need merit now.”
"Besides—I don't think we need help to catch that woman."
Jie Zheng gave Aqing a gentle smile.
"I have a total of 46 musketeers under my command. Including you and me, there are 48 of us. Even if there are companions of that woman in that inn, they certainly cannot outnumber us."
"In terms of numbers, I have the advantage."
"Not to mention that our soldiers are each equipped with an advanced flintlock rifle."
"We were besieged by more than 40 musketeers. Among our Toyotomi army, only a few people, such as Toyotomi-sama and Yoshihisa-sama, were able to escape unscathed."
After saying that, Jie Zheng said no more and led his 40-odd subordinates to the hotel where A-Ming was staying, which was only a few hundred meters away from here.
Aqing cast a puzzled look at Jie Zheng's back, muttered "What's wrong with him", jumped down from the tree, and chased after Jie Zheng's back.
These musketeers were trained personally by English army instructors hired at great expense.
There was no need for Jie Zheng to give any orders. After learning that they were to surround the inn ahead, the 40-plus musketeers immediately dispersed and surrounded the inn from all directions.
When Ah-Ming discovered something strange outside the inn, Jie-Zheng and his men had already surrounded the inn, like a gradually tightening spider web, enveloping the inn...
…
…
"A-Miss A-Machi..."
Azhu discovered the strange noise outside the hotel almost at the same time as Atachi. When Atachi opened the curtains a little and looked out, Azhu also quickly leaned over.
After taking a closer look outside, Azhu immediately started to stutter when he spoke.
So many people holding muskets - this was the first time Azhu had ever seen such a scene.
"Who are these people?"
"...An unidentified enemy." After saying this with an unpleasant expression, Atachi pulled the curtains shut and whispered in a voice that only she could hear: "Was I being followed just now..."
A-Ming took out Su Ying from the Mariana Trench.
"Azhu, don't take your luggage yet. Grab your weapons and follow me. Let's go see if there are any enemies on the other side of the hotel."
Azhu, who had never seen any storm, was now in a state of panic. He followed A-Ming out of the room with a confused look on his face.
The windows of their room faced west.
A-Ming remembered that there was a window facing east on the easternmost side of the corridor outside the room.
After running out of the room, A-Ming hurriedly led A-Zhu to the easternmost side of the corridor outside the room, and looked out from the east-facing window at the end of the corridor - there were also a large number of musketeers on the east side of the hotel.
Seeing that there were people in the east, Ating went to look for the windows facing north and south, and found that there were enemies with musketeers in every direction.
—We are surrounded…
Ating tightened the grip on Suying.
——What’s wrong with me tonight…Why am I always surrounded by people…
After some twists and turns, A-Ming and A-Zhu returned to their room.
"Ms. A-Ming." A-Zhu was now a little calmer, but her face was still filled with anxiety. "What should we do now...?"
A-Ming pursed her lips and did not immediately respond to A-Tsuku's anxious question.
Because she didn't know what to do now...
According to her observation just now, she and Azhu have been surrounded. There are enemies on the east, south, west and north sides of the hotel. There are no less than 10 enemies on each side, and each of them has a flintlock rifle...
She had relied on strategy and luck to narrowly escape from the siege of Baixiang.
And now, the number of people surrounding her is several times that of Bai Xiang and others just now.
Ah Ting asked herself - she didn't have the ability to escape unscathed when surrounded by more than forty musketeers, she didn't have the skill to dodge bullets.
Snap, snap, snap…
The footsteps are approaching.
These were the footsteps of the enemy approaching the inn.
The footsteps were getting closer and closer, and the anxiety on Azhu's face was becoming more and more intense.
At the critical moment, Ating's lips, which had been tightly pursed, loosened.
She just sat down cross-legged, and then took out the Feiying, which she had not had time to reload, from the Mariana Trench.
"Azuki, take up your weapons and prepare for battle." As Atachi said this, he took out gunpowder and bullets and began to load them into the Feiying.
"Are we going to fight the enemy head-on?" Azhu's eyes widened.
"Of course not." Ating's technique of loading bullets was very skillful and neat. While she was talking, she had already stuffed bullets into the barrel of Feiying's gun. "If we fight them head-on, we definitely won't stand a chance of winning."
"You will come with me to the ceiling later and hide on the ceiling."
"The enemies outside are coming for us. In order to catch us, they will definitely let people into the inn."
"This gives us the opportunity to defeat them one by one."
"We will first wait for an opportunity to kill the enemies that have rushed into the inn and reduce their numbers."
"We killed all the people who came to arrest us. The remaining enemies outside the inn should be more or less panicked."
"Then we'll find a chance to escape from here."
"But... there must be a lot of people sent into the hotel to catch us..." Azhu hesitated, "With just the two of us, can we defeat all the people who rushed into the hotel...?"
"...Azhu, do you know? Ever since I followed Ayi and accompanied him through so many storms, I have realized a very profound truth." At this time, Acheng raised his head, smiled at Azhu, and said slowly in a half-joking tone, "'In a crisis, whether you can seize the opportunity to survive depends entirely on your strength and luck.'"
Bang!
As soon as Ating finished speaking, the sound of the door being kicked open was heard on the first floor of the hotel.
It was at this time that Atachi completed the reloading of Hiyakura.
"Azhu, come with me."
After temporarily stuffing Suying and the loaded Feiying back into the Mariana Trench, A-Ming took a small table next to him, stepped on the table, stood on tiptoe, moved the ceiling above his head, then entered the ceiling through the hole, and then reached out to A-Tsuki under the ceiling.
After hesitating for a while, Azhu gritted her teeth, reached out and grabbed the arm that A-Ming stretched out to her, and with A-Ming's help, she reached the ceiling.
The hotel staff hadn't cleaned the upper ceiling in some time.
Dust and spider webs are everywhere.
Ating silently lifted the spider web hanging above her head, and then took out the double guns that she had just put into the Mariana Trench.
Heartbeat - began to speed up uncontrollably.
While trying to control her breathing and reduce the sound of her breathing, Ah-Ming quietly listened to the chaotic footsteps coming from the first floor...
…
…
Jie Zheng and A Qing are now just west of the hotel.
The west was the direction of the hotel's main entrance. Therefore, Jie Zheng paid special attention to the west of the hotel and deployed the most troops in this direction.
After the siege of the inn was completed, Jie Zheng immediately waved his hand and sent a team of 16 of the most elite soldiers to rush into the inn to capture people.
Bang!
The door of the hotel was kicked open by the "raid team".
Jie Zheng, hiding in a dark alley, stood with his hands behind his back, looking calmly at the "assault team" that filed in through the kicked-open door.
The "assault team" that entered the hotel was divided into four groups of four. Each group held a gun, supported each other, and protected each other's backs.
Everyone in the inn had already fled - this greatly facilitated the "raid team"'s search for people.
The "raid party" moved slowly.
Because if they didn't move forward an inch, they would poke the ceiling with the flintlock in their hands - this was Jie Zheng's strict order for them to do so.
If there is someone hiding on the ceiling, the sound produced when poking the ceiling with a gun will inevitably be completely different from the sound produced when poking the ceiling with a gun when there is nothing above it.
This is to confirm whether there are any Tibetans on the ceiling.
Listening to the "thump, thump, thump" sound of the "assault team" poking the ceiling with guns coming from the first floor, Atachi subconsciously pursed her lips because of her heavy heart.
Although the "assault team" was not moving very fast, the hotel they were staying in was not big either, with only two floors, and the area of ​​each floor was very small.
After a while, A-Ming heard the footsteps of the "assault team" appearing at the staircase connecting the first and second floors.
"...Azuki." A-Ming turned and whispered to Azuki behind him, "After the enemy enters the room below us, we will jump down together and attack the enemy."
"This room is not very spacious. This kind of terrain is in our favor but disadvantageous to the enemy who uses flintlock rifles."
"We have a better chance of winning if we fight in the room."
"But... judging from the footsteps, there are at least 10 enemies..." Azhu stammered, "Although the terrain is favorable for us to fight in the room, it's too difficult for the two of us to fight against a dozen enemies holding flintlock rifles... I've never fought against enemies using muskets before..."
"What a coincidence." A-Ming smiled at A-Tsuku, "I have little experience fighting against enemies who use muskets as weapons."
After saying that, Ating held her breath, listened carefully to the enemy's footsteps to judge the enemy's current location, and quietly loosened the ceiling board in front of her to make it easier for them to jump down later.
After panic and fear flashed in Azhu's eyes for a while, she gradually calmed down.
With an expression of "I'm going all out", he slowly pulled out the wakizashi worn on his left waist.
The enemy's footsteps - have appeared in the corridor outside the room.
After finding herself surrounded again, Ating became panicked and anxious, but she tried to remain calm.
But there is a limit to pretending to be calm.
When he heard the enemy's footsteps appearing in the corridor outside the room, beads of nervous cold sweat still appeared on Ating's forehead and back.
Even Atachi broke out in a cold sweat, let alone Azhu.
Although it was a warm night tonight, Azhu felt wet and cold all over, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
The enemy's footsteps——already appeared outside the door.
Ating swallowed hard to moisten his throat which had been dry from nervousness.
Wow...
There was the sound of the paper sliding door being opened.
The enemy's footsteps——have appeared in the room!
The sound of extremely clear footsteps reached my ears.
There are more than 10 enemies... Now they are under the tatami, 4 steps away from Atachi and the others.
Knock knock knock…
The "assault team" were still meticulously poking the ceiling with their muskets.
They checked every part of the room, including the ceiling, as they slowly walked into the room. The originally empty room gradually became crowded.
Knock knock knock...!
A-Ming and A-Zhu huddled in the southwest corner of the room.
There were knocking sounds coming from the ceiling three steps in front of Ating.
Knock knock knock!
The knocking sound came from just two steps away from Ating.
Tap tap tap!!
The enemy... is already under Ating!
——Right now!
Ating gritted his teeth and clenched the two guns in his hands tightly.
Azhu, who was squatting next to Ating, gritted his teeth and clenched the knife without Ating's instructions.
But just as Atachi was about to jump out of the ceiling and fight the enemy below to the death -
"You are surrounded by us! Just drop your weapons. This will benefit both you and me!"
A male voice suddenly came from outside the hotel.
Hearing the male voice, Ating was stunned at first.
Then he subconsciously smiled with joy.
It was an old male voice.
This is an old male voice that makes people feel safe after listening to it.
…
…
Jie Zheng, hiding in a dark alley, with his hands behind his back, looked expressionlessly at the hotel not far away, quietly waiting for news from the "assault team" that would rush into the hotel to arrest people.
Ah Qing, who was standing next to Jie Zheng, showed impatience at this moment: "Why has there been no movement for so long..."
"Ah Qing, don't worry." Jie Zheng comforted him, "After all, we are arresting someone in a hotel, so it will naturally take some time."
"Don't worry, that woman can't run away ."
"We are the ones who seize the initiative on the battlefield."
Jie Zheng's mouth corners raised in a confident arc.
"We can attack or defend. If we find that woman is difficult to deal with, we will just avoid the battle for the time being."
"Anyway, the terrain here is vast and there are many ways to escape. If we want to run, is there anyone who can stop us..."
"Genichi, we managed to catch up..."
"Yeah, that's right... ahem... you are surrounded by us! Just drop your weapons, it will be good for both you and me!"
Jie Zheng was still proudly stating that the initiative on the battlefield was in their hands when two old male voices suddenly sounded above his head.
Jie Zheng was so frightened that his pupils shrank suddenly, and he quickly looked above his head.
He saw two old men standing on the roof of a house behind the dark alley where he was hiding.
One of the old men had a big beard and a shiny head without a single hair. Under the moonlight, it reflected a strong light that was difficult to look directly at.
The other old man also had many wrinkles on his face, but his hair was very thick.
Her thick white hair was tied into a neat bun, she was wearing a burgundy haori, a pair of black full-finger gloves, and a katana and wakizashi with dark red hilts and scabbards on her waist.
The burgundy hem of the haori swayed slightly in the evening breeze.
He looks so cool.
"Who are you?" Jie Zheng asked anxiously as he led the people around him to retreat quickly and distance themselves from the two mysterious men.
"If you don't lay down your weapons, I will chop you all down." The very handsome old man said lightly.