But this idea was quickly dismissed by Chen Xiaobei himself. Who could get close to the Jueding Daoist?
So he had to settle for the next best thing. With this thought, Chen Xiaobei asked again, unwillingly, "Then how is this Jueding Daoist's Qinggong?"
When Qinggong was mentioned, Huang Ying's eyes were full of pride. "If you ask about martial arts, I truly admit I'm not as good, but if you ask about Qinggong, I, Huang Ying, have never bowed to anyone, except my senior sister Ziyan."
Hearing Huang Ying's overconfidence, Shen Ziyan, who was beside her, also chuckled. "You, where did you put our senior sister Lianhua? Her Qinggong is the best."
Seeing their mutual humility, Chen Xiaobei suddenly had a brilliant idea.
"If I asked the two of you to go to Qingniu County and lure out that Jueding Daoist, could you do it?"
Huang Ying chuckled and patted her chest confidently. "A piece of cake. It's just luring out this old Daoist? I can do it myself, no need for my senior sister to act."
Chen Xiaobei, however, was solemn. "Don't be careless. You said yourself that he is highly skilled in martial arts. If he catches you, it will be troublesome."
Shen Ziyan smiled even more brilliantly. "Don't worry. I may not have other skills, but when it comes to escaping, even I can't compare to Huang Ying."
Chen Xiaobei nodded, his mind made up.
Before dawn the next day, Chen Xiaobei, Liu Rumei, Huang Ying, Shen Ziyan, and a group of village guards and Liu family guards arrived at a small grove five li east of Qingniu County.
Chen Xiaobei circled the grove many times, verifying from various angles, and finally identified several possible routes into the woods.
Then he marked potential mine locations along each route, and had everyone climb to the treetops to select suitable ambush points.
As soon as the mines exploded, thick smoke would obscure the Jueding Daoist's vision, and a volley of chained crossbow bolts would follow, leaving him dead or severely wounded.
The final plan was for Liu Rumei to lead a group of masters to attack the Jueding Daoist, striving to capture him alive. With him captured, they would have leverage to negotiate with Zhu Meng.
Everyone worked until after noon before the plan was finalized. After a brief rest, Chen Xiaobei had Ziyan and Huang Ying familiarize themselves with the mine locations, ensuring they wouldn't accidentally trigger the fuses even if they ran into the woods in the dark.
With everything prepared, it wasn't until the second watch when Chen Xiaobei was busy with the others laying mines that Huang Ying and Shen Ziyan set off.
After the mines were laid, Chen Xiaobei signaled everyone to quickly climb trees. As they ascended, his heart tightened.
Huang Ying and Shen Ziyan hid outside Qingniu County until the second watch before quietly entering the city through a corner of the city wall.
There were few pedestrians on the streets of Qingniu County, only the occasional sound of patrolling guards' orderly footsteps.
According to the intelligence provided by Liu Rumei, the Jueding Daoist did not live in the county yamen but in a courtyard east of it.
The Jueding Daoist was quite arrogant, with only two or three guards in the courtyard. He himself was sitting cross-legged in his study.
As he was practicing his breathing, a faint sound came from the roof.
The Jueding Daoist's eyes snapped open.
The next instant, he waved his sleeve and extinguished the oil lamp.
Seeing the light suddenly disappear below, Shen Ziyan tugged Huang Ying and they turned to run.
The next moment, the Jueding Daoist had quietly slipped out through the window.
He spun in mid-air and landed on the roof.
Looking up, he saw two dark figures about seven or eight zhang ahead of him.
The rather arrogant Jueding Daoist didn't think much of it. He stamped his foot and gave chase.
Seeing someone pursuing them from behind, Shen Ziyan whispered, "They're coming. Quickly, out of the city."
The two changed direction and headed east.
Seeing them suddenly turn east, the Jueding Daoist smiled slightly. Heading east, they were going to leave the city? That direction led towards Centipede Ridge.
There were no truly concealed spots along that route.
As long as he kept tailing these two, he had a very high chance of capturing them both alive.
With this thought, he had an idea. As he walked, he loudly shouted for the soldiers in the city to quickly gather at the east gate.
Qingniu County was very small. In less than half an incense stick's worth of time, Huang Ying and Shen Ziyan were only half a li from the city gate.
And under the Jueding Daoist's continuous shouting, the guards on duty were alerted.
Seeing soldiers blocking their path ahead, Huang Ying still seemed a little nervous.
"Sister, what should we do?"
Ziyan smiled calmly. "Just a few ordinary soldiers. Are you scared of them?"
Seeing her speak so lightly, Huang Ying's heart relaxed a bit. "Sister is right. They are just a few ordinary soldiers. We'll charge straight through."
As she spoke, they each took a few large steps to the side, becoming more separated, and visibly slowed down, charging towards the city gate tower.
The soldiers on the city wall clearly saw them. The leader immediately shouted loudly, "Hey, stop immediately, or we'll shoot!"
However, after shouting three times, Huang Ying and Shen Ziyan clearly slowed down but did not stop, because the Jueding Daoist was only a dozen zhang behind them.
As the two drew closer, the leader finally made up his mind. "Prepare arrows."
Just when the two were only ten zhang from the city gate tower, Ziyan suddenly let out a soft cry.
Upon hearing the signal, Huang Ying stomped her feet, increasing her speed.
Shen Ziyan also leaped into the air like a bird and flew directly towards the city gate tower.
The two had deliberately slowed down, which gave the enemy on the wall a false impression. So when they suddenly accelerated, the guards on the wall hadn't even realized what was happening before they felt a chill at their wrists.
The next instant, they could no longer hold their bows and arrows, which clattered to the ground.
Then came the screams.
Finally, they felt the sting of pain.
In the blink of an eye, Huang Ying and Shen Ziyan had rushed out of Qingniu County.
When the Jueding Daoist arrived, he saw more than a dozen soldiers squatting there, clutching their wrists and moaning in pain.
Eager to pursue, the Jueding Daoist had no time to deal with these matters. He only shouted, "Quick, open the city gate and give chase."
As he shouted, the Jueding Daoist was already in hot pursuit.
Huang Ying and Shen Ziyan were not just boasting. Their Qinggong was indeed extraordinary. The Jueding Daoist exerted his full strength but could only maintain a distance of about ten zhang from the two.
Five li passed in a flash. Soon, the two reached the edge of the woods. Fearing that the Jueding Daoist wouldn't catch up, they waited outside the woods for a moment.
Seeing the two disappear into the woods, the Jueding Daoist hesitated for a moment.
But then he thought, he had seen this forest before. It wasn't large and didn't offer many hiding places. Perhaps the two were desperately seeking any refuge.