Shi Lei was squeezed in the crowd but still had some room to move, especially as the people on his left and right saw they were about to fight and instinctively moved away, barely giving them a space of about two square meters in the middle.

The two men fought there with fists pounding into flesh. Fu Tinghan wanted to help. He had just touched the dagger at his waist when Shi Hongtu was grabbed by Shi Lei and thrown into the crowd…

Shi Hongtu flew over a handcart and two people’s heads before landing on the ground. But he rolled once and immediately got up. Seeing Shi Lei walking toward Fu Tinghan again, he stepped on a handcart with one foot and, like an eagle spreading its wings, pounced toward Shi Lei. He pressed down on Shi Lei’s shoulders with full force.

He held Shi Lei down tightly. Knowing that with his martial skills it would be difficult to achieve merit, he could only press down on the person while shouting loudly, “Young master, run quickly, run!”

Before he could finish speaking, Shi Lei had already exerted his strength, throwing Shi Hongtu off, then turning to strike his belly and chest…

The movements were too vicious. The refugees passing by all let out startled cries. Fu Tinghan had just stepped forward when an ordinary soldier grabbed him, then pulled and pushed, shoving him into the crowd. That soldier then also leaped forward, helping Shi Hongtu fight Shi Lei in hand-to-hand combat.

Fu Tinghan was pushed into the crowd. The flowing crowd immediately pushed him far away. He wanted to go back, wanted to find people. But when he turned to the side, on the left was a handcart, so he could only turn right. On the right were two people carrying bundles bigger than themselves. As soon as he turned his head, the bundle slapped him in the face…

If the left and right were like this, there was no need to mention the rear. Under such circumstances, even turning around was difficult for him. And locusts kept flying chaotically through the air.

After so long, the locusts seemed endless. They wouldn’t actively bite people, but being struck by them, especially when they accidentally flew into one’s face, still hurt quite a bit.

Shouting sounds were everywhere. Fu Tinghan wanted to open his mouth to call for people but had to consider whether his teammates could hear his shouts.

Zhao Hanzhang half-squinted her eyes, trying her best to ignore the locusts flying before her eyes. She reached out to part the crowd, moving with agile form, seizing every gap to go backward. But after searching a full circuit, she still hadn’t found Fu Tinghan.

Seeing the sky about to turn completely dark with night about to fall, Zhao Hanzhang felt somewhat agitated. Just as she was thinking whether she should expose her position a bit and start shouting loudly, her ears caught a familiar voice amid the sound of insects flapping their wings and the refugees’ clamor, as well as the sound of fists hitting flesh…

That was Shi Lei’s voice.

After weighing it briefly, Zhao Hanzhang apologized to Fu Tinghan in her heart, feeling that Shi Lei was still more important. So she decided to go after Shi Lei first.

She nimbly went against the flow, emerging from under someone’s armpit. As soon as she raised her head, she saw Shi Lei throw a soldier, then with veins bulging, grip Shi Hongtu’s neck…

Zhao Hanzhang’s steps shifted. She flew forward, striking Shi Lei’s elbow with one fist. As his hand loosened, she punched upward from below toward his chin…

Shi Lei’s entire head went blank. But his reaction was still fairly quick. When Zhao Hanzhang’s foot flew toward his lower body, he quickly lifted his foot to kick. The two legs collided, both quite painful. But neither showed it on their faces and continued fighting…

Zhao Hanzhang didn’t have her spear and was in close combat. Shi Lei wasn’t afraid of her. He had great strength and his fists swung with tremendous force.

However, Zhao Hanzhang was as slippery as a snake. Shi Lei reached out twice but couldn’t grab her. Shi Hongtu and the soldier who had been thrown quickly rejoined the battle. This circle was made even larger by them.

The refugees passing by didn’t dare stop them and also tried not to approach. They could only squeeze past from the sides with effort. Occasionally someone strayed in and was either kicked away by Shi Lei or pushed away by Zhao Hanzhang…

Three against one, Zhao Hanzhang felt no shame at all. While Shi Hongtu and the soldier held Shi Lei back, she used one hand to block Shi Lei’s arm. Her right hand moved, and a short blade was gripped in her hand as she thrust forward…

Shi Lei’s eyes widened. “You, you’re shameless!”

Zhao Hanzhang pulled out the short blade with her expression unchanged, saying, “Thank you for the compliment. General Shi, in your next life, I’ll allow you to be shameless back.”

Zhao Hanzhang aimed at his heart, wanting to strike again. Shi Lei instantly felt a chill down his spine and his limbs go weak. He immediately shouted, “I’m willing to surrender to you!”

Seeing Zhao Hanzhang’s movements pause slightly, he immediately shouted, “Inspector Zhao, you Zhao’s Army doesn’t kill prisoners. You personally promised this!”

Zhao Hanzhang frowned.

Shi Lei continued, “I still have people in Shunyang Jun. If you kill me, Zhang Bin will certainly choose another lord. Then Shunyang Jun will remain isolated and cut off. Moreover, without me, you’ll have to directly face Liu Cong. Liu Cong still has two hundred thousand troops. If you count all of the Xiongnu State, at least five hundred thousand soldiers. Inspector Zhao, if you take me in, you’ll gain at least two hundred thousand troops.”

Zhao Hanzhang gripped the short blade and smiled slightly, asking, “Does General Shi still have two hundred thousand troops now?”

Shi Lei gritted his teeth and said, “But I certainly have one hundred fifty thousand.”

He still had a portion of elite troops in Zhang Bin’s hands. Including some miscellaneous soldiers and their families, he could at least conscript eighty thousand men. That made one hundred fifty thousand.

Zhao Hanzhang snorted coldly, put away the short blade, and gave Shi Hongtu and the soldier a look.

Shi Hongtu and the soldier immediately bound Shi Lei’s hands behind him and pressed him down.

Shi Lei let out a muffled groan, his face growing even paler.

Zhao Hanzhang glanced at the hole she had stabbed in his belly. She took out a bottle of wound medicine from her bosom, then felt out a strip of hemp cloth two fingers thick. She poured some medicine on the wound, used the cloth to bind it for him, pulled it tight viciously, and seeing his expression change, she smiled slightly and said, “General Shi, I keep my word. You must also keep your promise.”

In Shi Lei’s eyes, this was a smile that didn’t reach the eyes. He felt he had been threatened, but still nodded, saying, “This subordinate will certainly follow the Commander’s orders.”

Zhao Hanzhang hummed in acknowledgment, accepting it.

After giving him simple treatment for his wound, Shi Hongtu no longer bound Shi Lei’s hands behind him, but still tied his two hands together. Then he also tied his own hand to them to prevent him from escaping.

Shi Lei only glanced once. Right now, with serious injuries to both his ribs and abdomen, where could he run to in this crowd of refugees?

Now, following Zhao Hanzhang who had medicine might be his only chance to survive.

Zhao Hanzhang looked left and right. By this time, the sky had darkened. She could only see the faces of three or four people in front of her. She couldn’t see any farther.

She felt somewhat panicked and asked Shi Hongtu, “Where’s Tinghan?”

Only then did Shi Hongtu remember his master. He also panicked. “The young master was swept along by the flow. This… he has no one by his side.”

Zhao Hanzhang barely suppressed her panic. She carefully looked at the direction of the flow of people and found that basically no one was going against the current. So she said, “Let’s follow forward. The sky is getting dark. The locusts will stop, and the refugees will stop too. Then we’ll search carefully. We must find him.”

Speaking to this point, Zhao Hanzhang turned to look at Shi Lei and said, “Bring him along. When we encounter Shi soldiers, gather them and tell them that General Shi has pledged allegiance to me. Now our two families are one.”