Volume 2, Chapter 173: The Loss of Lieshan

Ge Erliang, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and the Four Little Demons left Liet Mountain, which had already been discovered by spies and reported to Huangdi. Huangdi thought that these people were Chiyou's supporters and the backbone of Chiyou's forces. If they were not in Liet Mountain, it would be an opportunity for him to regain control of the mountain. Huangdi immediately discussed with Fuxi. Fuxi said, "Opportunities are rare. Don't miss them, because they won't come again."
Yellow Emperor asked, "Sir, how can we reclaim Mount Lie?"
"Sudden attack," Fu Xi said. "While Ge Erlang, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie are not at Mount Lie, we suddenly attack and catch them off guard to reclaim the mountain. Immediately raise the tent, I will mobilize the troops and deploy the generals."
The Yellow Emperor said, "Please follow the advice of the sage."
Fuxi ordered, "Beat the drums and raise the tent."
Dong dong dong, the sound of drums rang out. The soldiers knew this was the signal to gather the generals, and that a big battle was imminent. The generals quickly arrived at the headquarters, along with Yuanshi Tianzun and his disciples. Fuxi said, "Now, there is a fire in the backyard of Chiyou's army. Ge Erlang, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie have gone to put it out."
Female Ghost didn't understand the meaning of "the backyard is on fire". Before Fu Xi could finish, she asked, "Did Chi You's backyard catch on fire?"
The crowd burst out laughing, including Huang Di and Fu Xi. Fu Xi said, "It's not that Chi You's backyard caught on fire, but there were rampant bandits in the land occupied by Chi You. These bandits were causing Chi You's distraction from the war with me. Thus, he had to first eliminate the bandit threat in his rear before being able to fight me. Therefore, Ge Erlang, Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie went to eliminate the bandits in the rear." Female Ghost finally understood what "the backyard is on fire" meant and felt a bit embarrassed.
伏羲接着说：“这正是夺回烈山的大好时机，需要众将齐心协力。风后、力牧、共工、应龙各带本部人马子夜出发，黎明攻城。以信炮为号，号炮一响，立即攻城。”四位将军接令在手，各自准备去了。
Fu Xi said to Hou Yi and Primordial Heavenly Lord, "Primordial Old Saint, please lead your disciples to join me and Mr. Hou Yi, and use the technique of riding clouds and fog to fly into the Lishan Mountain at dawn and kill the guards defending the city. In this way, the heaven and earth will be united, and with our combined strength, we can defeat them in one battle."
Ge Erliang and Sun Wukong are not present, and Yuan Shi Tianzun is not interested in attacking Lishan because they came for Ge Erliang and Sun Wukong. As for helping Huangdi fight Chiyou, it's just a matter of hitting two birds with one stone, but after all, they are living in the other's territory, so it's not easy to refuse.
After Ge Erliang, Sun Wukong, and Zhu Bajie left Lishan, Chi You ordered strict vigilance to guard against Yellow Emperor's sneak attacks. At the same time, he sent many spies to Sangping to monitor Yellow Emperor. Yu Shi said, "Your majesty, Yellow Emperor is not to be feared. Our army has been fighting him for such a long time, when has he ever won against us? What we are afraid of is Yuan Shi Tianzun and his disciples. These immortals can fly in the sky on clouds. If they suddenly attack from the air and our general, Sun Immortal, and Pig Immortal are not around, who among us can be their match?"
蚩尤一听脸色大变，这太危险了，急切地问道：“若他真来袭，我将如何应对？”
这时细作来报：“启禀大王，黄帝军离开桑平向烈山而来。”
As night falls, the attack on Lie Mountain must be cunningly planned. Chi You asks urgently, "Brother, do you have any clever ideas?"
The Rain Master replies, "Attack from the inside and outside."
"What do you mean by attacking from the inside and outside?"
The Rain Master said: "Order the Eight Immortals to lead their troops to wait within the city, while the rest of the army under your command will all lie in ambush in the grass and swamps outside the city. The lights in the city are sparsely scattered and dimly visible. Set up a few more straw men on the city walls to let them know that our army is lax in defense, so that they will be fully focused on attacking. When they rush into the city, half inside and half outside, the lights and torches in the city will suddenly light up, illuminating Lishan City as bright as day. At this time, they will realize that we are well prepared and will inevitably panic. The Eight Immortals will immediately lead their troops to attack from the inside out, while the larger army lying in ambush outside the city will kill from the outside in. In this way, the Yellow Emperor's army will have no coordinating measures and will only be beaten."
Chiyu's sorrow turned into joy and he laughed, saying, "This plan is very clever."
Chiyu urgently beat the drums to gather his generals and, following Yushi's plan, assigned them to their positions. Tieguai Li, Lu Dongbin, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and He Xiangu each led their troops and lay in ambush within the city, waiting for the arrival of Huangdi's army. Under Chiyu's command, generals such as Kuafu, Houyi, Fengbo, Yushi, Chisongzi, and Fengningzi led their troops and lay in ambush outside the city.
Emperor Huangdi led Fenghou, Limu, Gonggong, and Yinglong to follow the order of Fuxi and led a large army. They quietly arrived at Lishan, with soldiers holding spears and horses holding bamboo. When they looked up at the city walls, there were no banners displayed and the lights were faintly visible, indicating that Chiyou was not on guard. Emperor Huangdi ordered, "Fire the cannons and attack the city."
As soon as the cannons of "dang, dang" sounded, under the command of Fenghou, Limu, Gonggong, and Yinglong, the soldiers rushed forward like a raging mountain, and they did not encounter any resistance. The soldiers quickly stormed into the city, and the first ones to enter opened the city gate, followed by others pouring in. Fenghou Limu took the lead and charged into the city. As they entered the city, suddenly it was brightly lit, as bright as day. Ambushed soldiers of Chiyou around the city shot a volley of arrows towards the Yellow Emperor's soldiers, and the soldiers in front fell down in a large number with a "swish."
Tie Guai Li also jumped off his skinny horse and picked up a big gourd from behind. He rode on the gourd, which flew up into the air. He pointed the mouth of the gourd towards Huangdi's army and slapped it. A ball of fire shot out of the gourd and headed straight for the soldiers of Huangdi. Tie Guai Li kept slapping the gourd and more and more balls of fire spewed out towards the advancing army. At the same time, Lu Dongbin, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and He Xiangu led their troops to fight against the soldiers of Huangdi. Feng Houli noticed something was wrong and Chiyou was prepared for this. They had walked into a trap. Chiyou quickly shouted, "We have been tricked. Retreat, retreat!"
冲进来的军兵掉头就往回跑。铁拐李收了大葫芦，骑上那匹瘦马和吕洞宾、蓝采和、韩湘子、何仙姑率兵就追。
这时，“当当当”几声炮响，埋伏在城外草丛中、洼地里的蚩尤军兵，在夸父、后羿、风伯、雨师、赤松子、封宁子的带领下，向黄帝军兵冲来。这样前有铁拐李，后有夸父等人对黄帝军形成前后夹击之势，而黄帝的军兵冲进来又冲出去，一下全乱套了，人挤人，人踩人，死伤不计其数。
黄帝一看在此危急时刻，千万不能乱，一乱就败局已定。他自己是关键，一定要镇定，他两脚一踹金麒麟，向前提了提，一挥手中的金柄龙蛇剑，大声喊道：“公孙轩辕在此，兄弟们不要慌乱。”他这一喊所有的人全都不动了，静静地看着他，就连蚩尤的军兵也都停下来傻傻地看着他。这么一停下来，稍微镇定了一下，所有人的心不那么慌乱了，把倒地的互相搀扶起来。
Meanwhile, Chi You has led Kuafu, Fengbo, Yushi, Hou Yi, Chisongzi, and Fengningzi to block Huangdi's path and stand in front of him.
Chi You urges his mount, Jade Kirin, to charge forward and shouts, "Emperor Xuanyuan, you are already surrounded here, there is no chance of escape. Surrender now or face the consequences!"
Huangdi shouted, "Traitor and rebel, dream on! How could I, Gong Sun Xuanyuan, surrender to you?"
Chi You suppressed his anger, calmly saying, "Lord Xuanyuan, don't be too selfish. Even if you don't care about yourself, you should consider your brothers and soldiers. Do you want them to die with you? If you surrender, we can turn our swords into plowshares, bring peace to the world, and ensure the safety of you and your men. Isn't that a win-win situation?"
The Yellow Emperor said, "Bah! How could I associate with you, a rebel, and have such delusions."
Chi You knew that the Yellow Emperor was a wise and just ruler who was deeply loved by all the people of the world. Although the Yellow Emperor had lost more battles than he had won in the past, defeating him completely was not an easy task. So Chi You said, "Let's draw the boundary and divide the world equally. Is that not beautiful?"
"Honk!" Yellow Emperor flicked his whip and pointed at Chiyou, cursing: "Shut your stinking mouth. A perfectly good country, ruined by you rebels, leaving the people in dire straits. You also deserve to have each state for themselves, dividing the world equally - wouldn't that be advantageous to you? I will surely tear your body into pieces, to alleviate the anger of the people under heaven."
When the toast was refused, and the penalty wine was drunk, Chiyou was filled with hatred and rage, gritting his teeth and seething with anger. He swung his diamond treasure sword and fiercely spat out one word: "Kill!"
Upon hearing Chiyou's command, Kuafu charged forward wielding his bronze club with great speed and force, ready to strike. Houyi also ordered the archers to shoot arrows at the Yellow Emperor's army.
After seeing Kuafu coming, Fenghou urged her five-colored divine bull and shouted, "Kuafu, don't be arrogant, Fenghou is here." Waving her golden-bronze javelin, she met Kuafu and the two fought together. Kuafu was tall and powerful with a heavy club, and after a few rounds, Fenghou couldn't hold on and was defeated.
Gong Gong rose into the air with a wave of his hand, blocking Kuafu with his big halberd. Although Kuafu was brave, he was no match for Gong Gong. Gong Gong's halberd could be long, short, thick, or thin. When the two fought, Kuafu couldn't even touch Gong Gong, while Gong Gong could hit Kuafu. After a few rounds, Kuafu looked embarrassed and couldn't hold on anymore.
At this moment, Feng Bo and Yu Shi rose up into the air. Feng Bo performed a spell, chanting incantations and waving his invisible fan. A gust of wind blew so fiercely that Gong Gong was unable to keep his eyes open and had to retreat back to his army. Meanwhile, Tie Guai Li, Lu Dongbin, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and He Xiangu led their troops to charge forward. Tie Guai Li rode a skinny horse, which swayed and stumbled under the weight of his plump body, staggering three steps forward and two steps back. However, Tie Guai Li paid no attention to it. He shouted and urged the horse with his big iron crutch, following his brothers to attack Huangdi's army again. Huangdi's soldiers were once again thrown into chaos, crying and screaming, with casualties everywhere.
At this moment, Yuan Shi Tian Zun, Fu Xi, Sui Ren, Guang Cheng Zi, Yun Zhong Zi, Lei Zhen Zi, Tai Yi, Ju Liu Sun, Pu Xian, Yu Ding, etc. descended from the sky. Lei Zhen Zi used a golden stick to knock down Feng Bo and Yu Shi from the sky. When Huang Di and his soldiers saw Yuan Shi Tian Zun and his disciples, as well as Fu Xi and Sui Ren, their spirits were lifted and they launched a massive counterattack.
Lu Dongbin, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and He Xiangu also flew up and stopped the other immortals from fighting. Tie Guai Li jumped off his skinny horse and rode on a big gourd, which flew up into the air. He aimed the gourd at the immortals and Fu Xi and Nu Wa, and then slapped it hard. A burst of flames spewed out of the gourd's mouth, along with smoke, heading towards the immortals. The immortals dodged and weaved as Tie Guai Li continued to slap the gourd, causing more flames and smoke to rain down on them.
Grand Origin Heavenly Sovereign saw that this Li Lame could also show off, holding a broken gourd and beating the disciples around, and angrily shouted, "Iron-Crutch Li, stop showing off." He took out a three-foot jade ruyi and raised it high while chanting a spell. Suddenly, the light was dazzling, making it impossible for people to open their eyes. Iron-Crutch Li refused to admit defeat and closed his eyes, hitting several times in a row. The big gourd sprayed several fireballs aimlessly.
Lü Dongbin watched as Tie Guai Li was blinded by the Jade Ruyi of Yuan Shi Tianzun. In order to help Tie Guai Li, he threw his lightning-fast sword towards the Jade Ruyi, hoping to knock it out of Yuan Shi Tianzun’s hand. However, when the sword hit the Jade Ruyi, there was a loud "clank", and the Jade Ruyi remained as steady as before while the sword bounced back. Lü Dongbin caught the sword and knew that its power was not enough to shake the Jade Ruyi. He sighed in resignation.
这时伏羲手拿八卦神盘风驰电掣冲向铁拐李，燧人手持风火大钻，钻尖火苗突突乱跳，脚踏火烧云，流星赶月般扑向吕洞宾。广成子、云中子、雷震子、玉鼎、太乙等一齐向八仙杀过来。八仙的本事再大也没有这些仙人的本事大，几个回合便败下阵来。他们一败，夸父、后羿、风伯、雨师等也无心恋战，纷纷后退。
Emperor Huangdi was inspired and spurred his golden Kirin horse forward with a wave of his dragon and snake sword. He charged into the Chiyou army, with all the generals and soldiers following him courageously, shouting loudly and boosting the morale of the army.
Chi You suffered a great defeat and fled in a sorry state under the protection of his generals and the Eight Immortals. He lost Mount Li and many soldiers died and were injured. Although Huang Di recaptured Mount Li, the losses were also very heavy.