The two held their breath as the arrows pierced the tree trunk, startling the sleeping birds on the treetops. In their dazed state, the birds flapped their wings and flew off in all directions.
The two figures, Black and White Impermanence, remained motionless, observing the situation.
Suddenly, a man's voice rang out from ahead.
"Boss, there's no one here. It's probably just a wild animal that ran by."
"That's good. But don't be careless. The boss has given the order: better safe than sorry." The man who spoke had a hoarse voice, what people often call a smoked voice.
"Don't worry, boss. We know exactly how many tigresses there are on this mountain. If anyone enters the mountain, we'll have to alert the second steward of the manor first."
“Keep a close eye on your post and don’t let your guard down. If the imperial court finds out, guess what the boss will do?” asked the man with the smoky voice who was being addressed as the boss.
Another man replied, "Our boss also has skilled fighters; he won't just sit here and wait to be killed."
"No matter how many experts there are, can they withstand the Emperor's vast army? Utterly foolish!"
Seeing that the man's throat was sore from the smoke, he weakly said, "What else can we do? At worst, we can just abandon this place and find another place to continue mining."
"Hmph! Even if we abandon you here, we won't leave any survivors. Good luck to you all."
As the smoky voice finished speaking, Black and White saw a figure leap up in front of them and disappear into the dense forest in an instant.
A voice rang out from the dark passageway, praising the skill of light-footedness.
Wuchang also saw what was happening in front of him. After a moment, Hei Bai pointed to the left front of Wuchang.
Wu Chang understood, and using the moonlight filtering through the leaves in the dense forest, the two bypassed the sentries ahead and sped to the left front.
Both of them guessed that there were many sentry posts here, so they slowed down their advance considerably.
Every so often, the two would stop to observe their surroundings and make sure they hadn't alerted the sentries before continuing.
The sentry post was hidden in the woods, and even with their excellent eyesight, the two men couldn't see it.
Along the way, the two relied almost entirely on their keen hearing to determine whether there were people around them.
After crossing a mountain pass, the two finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
The two walked to a protruding rock and stood there for a moment.
Looking at the vast forest, Hei Bai said, "The place we just passed should not be far from the mine. We took a mountain path, and there should be a relatively flat mountain path in the low-lying area nearby that leads directly to the mining site."
Wuchang looked at the undulating mountains in the distance and said, "The quarry should be in a lower area. We just need to search in that direction."
A night breeze rustled the leaves.
Taking advantage of the night wind, the Black and White Impermanence leaped swiftly towards the low-lying area.
Guo Baoxian thought his first line of defense was flawless, with no sentries behind it, allowing the Black and White Impermanence to proceed unimpeded.
The two crossed the mountain pass and found the main road leading in and out. They ran along the road for about two miles before they saw a light ahead.
Upon closer inspection, a row of buildings blocked the way into the ravine.
The building is connected by two large wooden doors in the middle, so large that the inside cannot be seen from the outside.
The wooden buildings on the left and right are as tall as four stories, with two lanterns hanging under the eaves of the second floor of the wooden buildings.
"Shh! Don't go any further. There are people under the second-floor corridor." Black and White pulled Wuchang aside, and the two of them hid under the trees by the roadside.
Wuchang peeked out and, sure enough, saw two figures in the shadows under the corridor.
The two people in the shadows lowered their heads slightly, as if they were dozing off.
The buildings on either side of the gate are cleverly constructed, with the houses built against the cliff face.
If they were to leap over that tall gate, both of them were quite skilled in light footwork and could do so effortlessly, provided they didn't alert the two lookouts on the second floor.
If they didn't enter through the main gate, the two would have to go around to the edge of the cliff and circle into the dense forest.
Hei Bai looked up and saw that the mountains on both sides were not low. Under the hazy moonlight, he could vaguely see clumps of white mist halfway up the mountains.
The fact that this location was chosen as the entrance and exit point indicates that the terrain on both sides is extremely rugged and complex.
Black and White immediately decided to try entering through the main entrance.
"Old Hei, should I go and distract them?" Wuchang gestured towards the second floor.
"No, we can't be exposed." Black and White's tone was resolute and left no room for doubt.
Wu Chang asked in bewilderment, "Why? With our skills, even if they discover our whereabouts, they can't do anything to us."
Black and White gripped Wu Chang's arm tightly and whispered, "It's a small matter if we're exposed, but it'll be troublesome for Lord Lin."
Before Wuchang could ask, Hei Bai continued, "That Third Master Qin just met with Lord Lin to discuss business today, but the deal fell through. Tonight, someone has gone into the mountains to scout the place. Isn't that putting Lord Lin in a deadly situation?"
Wu Chang suddenly realized, "That's right, with Master Qin's abilities, he'll be able to thoroughly investigate Lord Lin very quickly."
Merchants came and went at the dockside inn, and Lin Xiangzhi did not do anything unusual that would attract Guo Baoxian's attention.
If anything happens, Guo Baoxian's men are no pushovers. They only need to detain the person and investigate, and within five days Lin Xiangzhi will have nowhere to hide.
“It would be easier for us to be spotted if we went through the main entrance.” Wu Chang looked to the other side, but there was no one in sight under the second-floor corridor.
Looking further up, I noticed a blurry dark shape in a corner of the third floor. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was two figures leaning against each other, dozing off.
Jiangzhou has a mild climate, but the temperature in the mountains is a bit cool.
The wind is stronger under the third-floor corridor, so it's naturally colder than under the second-floor corridor at night.
Judging from their appearance, the two of them leaned against each other and fell asleep as if they were keeping each other warm.
With a wave of his hand, Black and White followed closely behind, moving along the tree towards the main gate.
Despite their excellent lightness skills, the dry branches on the ground still made a "crackling" sound when they were stepped on.
At this moment, it is unclear whether the two people on the second-floor corridor heard the cracking sound of the dry branches, or whether they woke up after a nap.
Two figures stood up and peered down, one of them coughing loudly.
"Pooh!"
A wad of phlegm fell from the sky and landed just a step away from the two of them.
Black and White: "..."
Impermanence: "..."
Holy crap!!!
That's fucking disgusting.
If the two had been any faster, the phlegm would have been spat in their faces.
"Shall we continue?" Wuchang gestured to Hei Bai.
Hei Bai paused for a moment and pointed to the woods on one side.
Just as the two were about to retreat into the woods to wait for an opportunity, they heard the sound of car wheels behind them.
"Hurry, someone's coming from behind." Black and White whispered, then slipped into the nearby woods.
Wuchang glanced back and saw a group of people approaching from afar under the cold moonlight.
The two entered the woods and leaped onto a large tree.
Looking down through the dense foliage, I saw two kerosene lamps lit up the second-floor corridor.
People on the third floor also stood up and walked back and forth in the corridor.
"Open the door quickly, the goods have arrived!" someone on the second-floor corridor shouted to the gatekeeper downstairs.
Soon the wooden door opened from the inside, and two agile men came out to greet them.
"Fourth Master has arrived. Please come in."
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