Chapter 763 A Domineering Robbery! (Second Update)

Gu Jiao took out a map. Ever since he learned of the king's intentions, Xiao Heng had consulted materials and specially drawn a detailed map of the Songshan Mountains for Gu Jiao. The map marked the locations of the three enemy camps to be attacked, as well as the various paths leading to the three beacon fire camps.

Gu Jiao pointed to the map and said, "We are currently closer to the southeast. Let's go after Fifth Master Han and Jun Xiuhan first."

Gu Changqing asked in bewilderment, "Which of these two do you think is the spy?"

“The ones who went to raid the enemy camp must be cavalry, and the ones who took the detour are spies.” Gu Jiao pointed to the route marked with cinnabar on the map. “If we don’t raid the enemy camp, at the normal speed of cavalry, the spies should be in this position by now. We’ll take this road from the east to get in front of them and block them.”

She even planned the route; it seems my sister really came prepared.

The Black Wind Riders' instinct is to follow the Black Wind King. With the Black Wind King leading the way, the Black Wind Riders run incredibly fast.

Gu Changqing even felt that it was faster than when he usually rode it.

However, things didn't go according to plan. Instead of catching up with Master Han and Jun Xiuhan, they ran into Mu Qingchen, who was coming from another direction.

Gu Jiao tightened the reins.

Gu Changqing also stopped.

The two silently watched Mu Qingchen not far away, neither of them understanding what had happened.

“He clearly headed east just now,” Gu Changqing murmured.

“He kept turning back, as if someone was chasing him,” Gu Jiao said. “Could it be… that he’s a spy, and that Master Qingfeng has discovered the real mission and is trying to steal his secret letter?”

Gu Changqing said, "I'm going to snatch the secret letter. You wait for me here and don't show yourself."

"Mmm." Gu Jiao nodded and stroked the Black Wind King's mane.

Black Wind King understood and gradually lowered his aura.

With one person and one horse lying in ambush behind a towering tree, Gu Changqing rushed towards Mu Qingchen at lightning speed.

Caught off guard, Mu Qingchen was caught up and instinctively drew her sword to slash.

His sword strike carried a fierce gale, sweeping up the fallen leaves in the forest and forming a huge vortex that engulfed Gu Changqing.

Gu Jiao raised an eyebrow.

It's surprising that Mu Qingchen had this trick up his sleeve. He held back when he fought the direct descendants of the five great families in the forest.

He did not use his full strength when fighting the Wang family.

Gu Changqing was a seasoned veteran, so he naturally wouldn't underestimate his opponent. The moment Mu Qingchen made her move, he drew his sword and unleashed a terrifying sword aura to meet Mu Qingchen's attack.

The vortex of fallen leaves was forcefully cleaved open by Gu Changqing's sword energy, and the fallen leaves, like knives, retaliated against Mu Qingchen.

Mu Qingchen quickly drew her sword to defend herself.

In that brief moment of defensive lapse, Gu Changqing stomped his foot, leaped into the air, and struck Mu Qingchen off his horse with a single palm strike!

This was out of consideration for Mu Qingchen's past help to Gu Jiao, so he didn't use his sword to hurt him, but instead used his left palm to knock him off his horse.

Mu Qingchen tried to get up, but Gu Changqing landed steadily and pressed a sword against his neck.

Mu Qingchen looked at Gu Changqing strangely: "Han Zeyu?"

"Hand over the bamboo tube," Gu Changqing said, looking down at him.

Mu Qingchen frowned coldly, took out a bamboo tube from her bosom, and tossed it to Gu Changqing.

Gu Changqing grabbed it with his backhand.

Mu Qingchen said coldly, "Are all members of the Han family so ruthless in achieving their goals?"

Gu Changqing countered, "Is this the first time you've met the Han family?"

The theft of the bamboo tubes did not arouse Mu Qingchen's suspicion, after all, it was also a way to make the cavalry mission fail.

Gu Changqing was worried that Mu Qingchen would give him a fake secret letter, so he opened the bamboo tube and took a look.

Thank goodness I watched it.

Because Mu Qingchen's identity was not that of a spy at all; he was a cavalryman from the Third Beacon Fire Battalion!

Gu Changqing was confused. Why was a cavalryman like you coming here instead of raiding the enemy camp?

Gu Changqing asked calmly, "Didn't you head due east? Why did you come this way?"

Mu Qingchen said unhappily, "That Taoist priest keeps following me, and I can't shake him off. I have no choice but to take a longer route."

Who can understand the fear of being followed by a powerful figure?

Gu Jiao rubbed her forehead.

She forgot that the monk had told her that Master Qingfeng was terrible with directions.

Master Qingfeng followed Mu Qingchen because he didn't know the way.

As for why he followed Mu Qingchen among so many people, it was because he had borrowed a compass from the Imperial Advisor the day before yesterday. The compass could indicate the general direction. He was going east, and Mu Qingchen was also going east.

Once Mu Qingchen deviated from this direction, Daoist Qingfeng stopped following.

Gu Changqing sheathed his sword: "I won't hurt you, just leave the game yourself."

Returning the bamboo tube to him is impossible; that would expose the hidden mission.

Gu Changqing returned to his horse and circled around before finally reaching Gu Jiao's location. By then, Mu Qingchen had already ridden away.

"Shall we go find Master Qingfeng next?" Gu Changqing asked.

Gu Jiao thought for a moment and said, "Master Qingfeng is too difficult to deal with. Let's go find Master Han and Jun Xiuhan first and make an ally."

"Okay." Gu Changqing agreed without hesitation.

He never considered himself to be in charge of the selection process; he respected all his sister's decisions and was willing to pay any price for them.

The two followed the shortcut on the map to Huangshupo, the location of the Second Beacon Battalion's raid.

At this time, the area had not yet been conquered by cavalry, and the two of them appeared directly and wiped out the enemy camp in one fell swoop.

These soldiers were all NPCs in the examination hall, not real enemy troops. Gu Jiao and Gu Changqing acted with restraint and did not hurt anyone; they simply tied them all up.

The two then began a long wait.

"Do you think it will be Jun Xiuhan or Fifth Master Han who comes?" Gu Jiao asked.

"Who do you hope it is?" Gu Changqing asked.

“Fifth Master Han,” Gu Jiao said.

Speak of the devil and he appears.

A rapid sound of hooves approached, and the rider was indeed Master Han!

Gu Jiao quickly led Black Wind King to hide.

After riding his horse to the scene, Fifth Master Han looked at the messy temporary camp, then at Gu Changqing on his horse, frowned, and asked, "What happened?"

Gu Changqing said, "I was ordered by His Highness the Crown Prince to assist Fifth Master in passing through the pass. I saw that Fifth Master was heading southeast, so I planned to take a shortcut to meet him. However, I heard the sound of fighting on the way, so I came to take a look."

"What is your mission?" Han Wuye asked.

Gu Changqing tossed his bamboo tube to him.

Master Han opened Gu Changqing's bamboo tube. The contents of the tube were similar to his, except that Gu Changqing was planning a surprise attack on Biyuetan and heading to the First Beacon Fire Camp.

Gu Changqing said without changing his expression, "I guess this selection is about who can deliver the secret letter to the designated camp first. Master Qingfeng's horse can't outrun Fifth Master's horse, so he had to steal Fifth Master's secret letter, making it impossible for Fifth Master to complete the mission."

Master Han frowned: "You mean, it was Daoist Qingfeng who launched a surprise attack on this place?"

Gu Changqing lied through his teeth: "Yes, when I came here I saw him leaving from here, and he was holding a secret letter in his hand."

"Where did he go?" Master Han asked in a deep voice.

Gu Changqing pointed due east: "Over there! Fifth Master, I'll go with you!"

Gu Jiao touched her chin.

That went so smoothly.

It's not that Master Han is stupid, but that he didn't have an omniscient perspective and didn't know that Gu Changqing had given him his bamboo tube for this hidden mission. What else could he possibly suspect?

...

"Zicao Pool should be around here, but I can't find it."

Master Qingfeng held the compass and circled it five times. On the sixth circle, Master Han Wu appeared, looking menacing.

The black demon horse was imposing, raising its front hooves and tearing at Qingfeng Daoist's white horse like a ferocious beast!

Master Qingfeng leaped into the air to protect his horse and slapped the black demon horse's head with his palm!

How could Master Han possibly let him have his way?

Master Han struck out with his palm in mid-air, meeting the force of the palm wind.

The powerful internal energies collided, and if it weren't for the fact that Master Han was riding the Black Demon Horse, he would probably have already suffered internal injuries from the aftershocks of the internal energy.

We can't use up the Black Demon Horse too early; we'll still need it for the 300-mile raid later.

Master Han dismounted.

Master Han, his silver hair like the moon, had a pair of icy eyes that gleamed with a chilling light: "Hand over the secret letter! Otherwise, I'll make sure you don't leave here today!"

Master Qingfeng was a spy; he did indeed have a secret letter in his possession, and he thought that Master Han was trying to steal his secret letter.

He said, "Come and take it if you dare."

To Master Han, this meant that Daoist Qingfeng had admitted to stealing the secret letter from the enemy camp at Huangshupo.

He launched a deadly attack at Master Qingfeng.

Neither of them used weapons, yet their bare-handed duel transformed the forest into a smoke-filled battlefield.

Gu Jiao and Gu Changqing followed closely behind.

The two rode on horseback, watching from a distance as Master Qingfeng and Master Han fought.

The two fought fiercely, neither gaining the upper hand. The birds in the forest were so frightened that they flapped their wings and flew away, and the wild beasts roared in fear and fled in all directions.

"Is Han Ci's martial arts skill really that high?" Gu Jiao exclaimed, noting that he had almost fought to a draw with Master Qingfeng.

Gu Changqing said, "I'll go help."

Gu Jiao nodded: "Mm."

Gu Changqing spurred his horse forward and stopped it near where the two were fighting, trying his best to prevent the innocent horse from being affected by the internal force.

"Fifth Master, I'm here to help you!" Gu Changqing drew his longsword and joined the battle.

Master Qingfeng's aura suddenly surged!

Gu Changqing frowned. Such powerful internal energy!

Master Qingfeng rose into the air, his surroundings swirling with energy, as if forming an invisible, enormous Bagua diagram behind him.

"Into the formation!"

He slammed his palm down, kneeling on one knee, the force of his palm striking the ground hard.

In an instant, sand and stones flew, and leaves fell everywhere.

In what appeared to be a passive exchange, Master Qingfeng actually maintained absolute control, with both Gu Changqing and Master Han falling into his formation.

Gu Changqing is in the east, occupying the Li position, while Han Wuye is in the west, occupying the Kan position.

Within his formation, he is the king!

He shouted: "Li, Kan, Po!"

The powerful internal force, imbued with the boundless Dao intent of heaven and earth, was like countless invisible blades, attacking Gu Changqing and Han Wuye with the force of mountains and rivers!

The two of them flew out together!

Gu Jiao frowned, spurred her horse forward, and landed in front of Daoist Qingfeng with a light tap of her toes: "I can't stand your Han family bullying others! What kind of heroes are you, ganging up on one person! Daoist! I'm here to help you!"

Master Qingfeng's move depleted a lot of his internal energy, and he does need some time to recover.

Gu Jiao wasn't incapable of taking advantage of his misfortune, but if he recovered and came after her, she would be completely doomed.

Therefore, we still need to outsmart them.

After falling to the ground, Master Han immediately stood up.

Hmm, he's even more resilient than Han Ye.

Just as Fifth Master Han was about to attack Gu Jiao, Gu Changqing also stood up, clutching his chest: "Fifth Master, you don't need to lift a finger for this greenhorn. I'll take care of him!"

The brother and sister fought fiercely on the field.

It looks fierce, but it doesn't actually use much force.

With her back to Daoist Qingfeng, Gu Jiao clasped her hands together, sealing Gu Changqing's longsword.

Gu Changqing winked at her.

Gu Jiao nodded slightly.

"Prepare to die!"

Gu Changqing struck Gu Jiao's shoulder with a palm strike, the powerful internal force sending her flying as she fell towards Qingfeng Daoist.

Master Qingfeng leaped up and caught Gu Jiao's soft waist in mid-air.

With a flick of her finger, Gu Jiao slipped the small bamboo tube that Qingfeng Daoist was hanging on his waist into her own sleeve, while at the same time she hung Mu Qingchen's small bamboo tube back on his waist.

In this way, the weight remains unchanged, and Master Qingfeng will discover it later.

Master Qingfeng and Master Han rejoined the battle, and Gu Jiao and Gu Changqing fought further and further apart.

"Xiao Liulang, don't even think about escaping! I'm going to kill you today!"

The brother and sister rode their horses at full speed until they could no longer hear the sounds of Master Qingfeng and Master Han fighting, then they breathed a sigh of relief and stopped.

"How is it?" Gu Changqing asked.

Gu Jiao took out Qingfeng Daoist's small bamboo tube, looked at the secret letter, and smiled, "Got it!"

Gu Changqing looked at his sister and smiled, a smile unconsciously flashing in his eyes: "Including yours, we now have two secret letters."

The last secret letter was in Jun Xiuhan's hands.

(End of this chapter)