Chapter 291 Foothills of Cloud Peak

"Real power control?" Doctor Luo didn't understand.

But Mu Xi had already made up her mind, so she didn't explain further. Instead, she asked Qi Qingyuan some more details about Yunding Temple.

Then they called Dai Xin over as well, and the group discussed the plan in detail.

Three days later, at the northern foot of Yunding Mountain in Qinzhou, in the southern border region, the mountains were layered and shrouded in mist, and few people could be found.

An ordinary-looking caravan slowly made its way along the rugged mountain road, its wheels rolling over the gravel. Finally, as dusk fell, the caravan stopped at a secluded mountain pass.

Dressed in a black outfit, Dai Xin rode his horse closer to the carriage, his voice low: "Your Majesty, we will soon encounter the first sentry post. Why don't you stop here for now? I will be right back."

"Alright, now that everything is arranged, let's get started." Mu Xi's gaze fell on the somber-faced Doctor Luo across from her, and she added to the outside, "Remember, speed is of the essence in war."

"Yes." Dai Xin responded softly, then gestured in several directions before disappearing into the sunset.

Hearing Dai Xin lead his men away, Doctor Luo sighed softly, "Alas, if that person in the tower is indeed Shen Lun... he was imprisoned by his twin brother for half his life, then this old man is truly..."

"Dr. Luo, there's no need to blame yourself. Didn't you previously advise me that I shouldn't pay the price for other people's mistakes, but rather that others should pay the price for their own mistakes?" Mu Xi comforted her.

Doctor Luo understood the reasoning perfectly, and shook his head with a wry smile: "Hehe... Yes, but I have resented him for most of my life. If in the end it is proven that I was blind to what was right, it is truly ironic."

"We've come this far, so we don't need to think too much about it. Let's just wait." Mu Xi's heart has been in turmoil these past two days, and she is finding it hard to process the sudden news brought by Qi Qingyuan.

Doctor Luo didn't have much to say, and the two of them remained silent in the carriage, with only Bao Fan sitting beside them making a "crunch crunch" sound as he took out a bag of peanuts and chewed them haphazardly.

On the other side, Dai Xin had already secretly dispatched troops yesterday to completely surround the two mountain slopes of the upper and lower Yunding Temples on the north side of Yunding Mountain. Now she is personally leading a disguised team of men in black to strike at the heart of the enemy.

An hour later, as the setting sun dipped below the mountainside, Mu Xi and Doctor Luo at the foot of the mountain, along with Qi Qingyuan and hundreds of elite soldiers in the carriage behind them, all saw strange white smoke rising from the direction of the Cloud Peak Temple on the mountaintop.

The smoke was made by Doctor Luo three days ago using local herbs. It ignites easily, and the white smoke it emits after ignition can make people drowsy.

An hour later, after the white smoke rose up, the sky in the mountains became completely dark. The mountain breeze carried the faint sounds of fighting and battle, and the surrounding elite soldiers immediately went on alert.

After waiting for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, faint light and soft rustling sounds could be heard from the pitch-black forest ahead.

"You're back." Mu Xi couldn't contain herself and jumped off the carriage first.

"Be careful." Doctor Luo and Bao Fan followed one after the other.

The two got off the carriage one after the other, only to see that Qi Qingyuan and several others were already standing outside the carriage, all looking in the direction of the sound.

As the rustling sounds grew louder, the footsteps of dozens of people finally emerged from the jungle and came into Mu Xi's sight.

"Light the lamp, light the lamp..." The moon had not yet risen, and it was the darkest time in the mountain valley.

At Mu Xi's command, dozens of torches were instantly lit up around them.

Dai Xin came into view first, but soon Mu Xi's attention shifted to the three people behind him, or rather, four. Three of them were Dai Xin's elite troops; one carried an unconscious man in a gray robe on his back, while the other two supported and protected him, working closely together.

Dai Xin quickly approached, first gesturing with his hands, causing the elite troops to stop and scatter instantly, then he and the four people behind him quickly stepped forward.

Mu Xi, Doctor Luo, and Qi Qingyuan couldn't wait to go and greet them.

Before Dai Xin could even bow, Mu Xi steadied him, asking, "How did it go? Did you succeed?"

"Yes, I have fulfilled my mission." Dai Xin cupped his hands neatly and stepped aside to reveal the person he was carrying on his back. "This is the person in the tower. He woke up halfway through after smelling the thick smoke. I was afraid of causing more trouble, so I gave him a second boost."

"Hmm, very good. First, put the person in the carriage." Mu Xi said, pointing to the carriage that had been prepared in advance, and called out, "Dr. Luo..."

Doctor Luo followed without being told.

In the firelight, Mu Xi watched as the person on her back was placed onto the carriage and laid flat on the carriage floor. Then, Doctor Luo was the first to follow.

Since the carriage had limited space, Mu Xi thought for a moment and then instructed Bao Fan behind her: "Take the oil lamp and go upstairs to assist Doctor Luo."

Bao Fan didn't answer immediately, but his tall and strong figure, now grown up, took a step and followed.

Mu Xi stood outside the carriage and glanced into the carriage a few more times, but from this angle, she couldn't make out the face of the person lying down.

At this moment, a soldier brought over an oil lamp, which Bao Fan took and used to light the way for Doctor Luo.

"How is it? Is that so?" Mu Xi asked immediately.

Under the dim light, Doctor Luo glanced at the face of the unconscious man on the car floor, and nodded after a moment's thought.

"Very good." Mu Xi didn't linger any longer. He turned around and headed back to the carriage he had just been in. At the same time, he ordered, "Let's go back first. General Dai will ride with me. He can explain what happened to me in detail on the way."

"Yes," Dai Xin agreed and immediately followed.

Subsequently, a caravan of hundreds of elite soldiers, disguised as merchants, set off under the cover of night, heading south.

Along the way, Dai Xin recounted the general course of events following the operation to Mu Xi.

The whole process was almost exactly as Mu Xi had predicted, except for the unexpected ambush they encountered halfway down the mountain after descending.

To be on the safe side, Mu Xi finally asked, "Are the shamans in the Cloud Peak Temple just ordinary people, as Qi Qingyuan said?"

“Yes, at least they don’t know martial arts, and they are completely defenseless against the sleeping potion prepared by Doctor Luo,” Dai Xin answered straightforwardly.

Mu Xi then asked, "Was he the only one in the tower? Besides people, did you find anything else important?"

“Indeed, there was only that one person,” Dai Xin replied. “Before entering the tower, I released sleeping gas. When I entered, the person was already unconscious. The tower has seven floors in total. The first five floors were empty. The person lived on the sixth floor. The room contained nothing but a simple bed, table, chairs, and clothes. There wasn’t even a piece of paper or a book. It was extremely rudimentary. I searched both the sixth and seventh floors carefully, as Your Majesty instructed, but there was nothing else.”

"It's so clean?" Mu Xi had expected that Shen Lun was cautious and wouldn't leave anything for the other party to "take advantage of" while imprisoning the twins.

But besides basic necessities, there was even a book and a piece of paper. Wouldn't that be even more unbearable than being in prison?

I really don't know how those who were imprisoned for more than 20 years managed to survive. They must have gone crazy from the suffocation.