Chapter 68: Finding the Cave
Qin Xiangnuan had been intentionally adjusting her physical condition recently. The original owner's physical foundation was weak, and even with morning exercises and secretly tying sandbags to her ankles in the evenings, she had only recovered about 70% of her former strength. But for this place, it should be enough.
The mountain road of Phoenix Mountain is winding and rugged, but there are no wild beasts in the jungle, which saves Qin Xiangnuan a lot of trouble.
She stepped on the solid and steady stones, and shot out a series of curved hooks and ropes from her sleeves, tied them to the edge of the cliff, and swung her body up with the wandering force. Then she reached out to Anliu, "Catch me!" Anliu was a man and wanted to show off his strength, but his foot almost stepped on empty air. The strong desire to survive made him hurriedly grab Qin Xiangnuan's elbow. He could feel a powerful force, and the next second, he was standing beside Qin Xiangnuan.
Is this the kung fu of the General’s Mansion?
He yearned inwardly, yet concealed it well on the surface. He carefully examined the delicate woman beside him. For half an hour, the two of them had barely paused for a rest. He was even slightly out of breath, but Qin Xiangnuan remained composed, not even a bead of sweat visible on her forehead, and her breathing was even. This inner strength was likely far more profound than his own, and should not be underestimated.
"How many of Gu Mingqi's men have arrived?"
Qin Xiangnuan could sense the scrutiny of his gaze and could probably guess what he was thinking, but now wasn't the right time to sit down and talk. With pursuers coming from behind, she had to resolve this thorny issue quickly, otherwise there would be endless trouble.
Anliu was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied, "Based on our estimation, there should be ten, all top-notch masters."
"When the Seventh Prince was in the capital, news came that he was keeping a group of death warriors in the suburbs. Those death warriors were all excellent assassins. I think the ones sent this time are also among the best." Anliu did not dare to be negligent and told Qin Xiangnuan all the information he had.
Death soldiers are good at close combat. It seems that we can only defend well and find ways to defeat them one by one.
"How are your men injured?" Qin Xiangnuan paused for a moment, then continued trudging forward, taking the time to look back at Anliu. Anliu, scouts ahead for her, spoke without turning back, "They're all minor injuries, nothing's wrong. Two of our brothers are probably more seriously injured. We gave them a simple bandage and came back to tell you. They should be with the others in the General's Mansion."
Qin Xiangnuan frowned. They couldn't move very fast while dragging the injured.
"Draw out the directions you know, where Gu Mingqi's men are, and the route you took when you were looking for me." Qin Xiangnuan squatted on the ground, found a slab of earth, and lifted the branch on the ground with her toes, letting it fall accurately into Anliu's hands. Anliu stared at Qin Xiangnuan's smooth movements in amazement, not daring to blink. Qin Xiangnuan urged impatiently, "Hurry up!"
Anliu came to his senses and drew a simple marching sketch on the ground.
This map was only used on the battlefield, and it contained many markings known only to generals and soldiers. Anliu almost subconsciously followed the method he had used when reporting to Jiang Lin. Only after he finished drawing did he realize that as a woman in the boudoir, she might not understand the deeper meaning behind it. He wanted to explain to Qin Xiangnuan, "This is..."
"I can understand."
Qin Xiangnuan interrupted him directly and thought about the strategic deployment as quickly as possible.
Judging by numbers, the General's Mansion had a slight advantage. However, most of the men had no battlefield experience. They could drive away thugs and guard the house, but fighting against the assassins was simply a fantasy. The only warriors available were Anliu and his men. Qin Feng and Qin Yi could be considered two, but a rough estimate put them at a bare minimum. In a one-on-one fight, their chances of winning were no more than 50%.
In the original owner's memory, he once saw a suspicious figure in Gu Mingqi's mansion when he followed him.
In her opinion, the martial arts of those assassins must be superior to Anliu. It seemed that they could only use military tactics and terrain. Qin Xiangnuan looked up and saw several huge boulders almost at the top of the mountain. She narrowed her eyes and said to Anliu, "Come, help."
Anliu followed her without hesitation, thinking that it was easy to set up an ambush here.
Qin Xiangnuan loosened the soil beneath several boulders and used several smaller stones to prop them up, barely maintaining their stability. Anliu looked at her with admiration, unable to resist exclaiming, "I've never seen a woman so well-versed in military tactics. The Third Miss is truly a heroine."
"Oh? Now is not the right time to praise me."
Qin Xiangnuan lifted her sleeves, wiping the dust and sweat from her cheeks. She looked back for a place where the women of the general's mansion could hide until she saw a sunken cave. She ran over and jumped in without a word. Anliu barely had time to react. By the time he reached the entrance of the cave, his heart was in his throat. He shouted into the pitch-black, bottomless cave, "Third Miss!"
"What should I do? How am I going to explain this to the prince?"
Anliu was so anxious that he was thinking of jumping in to see what was going on. Suddenly, a clear female voice came from the bottom of the cave, "Find a rope and pull me up." It was Qin Xiangnuan. She was fine! Anliu was delighted and pulled out the cloth strip from his waist and ran down.
Qin Xiangnuan slowly emerged from underneath. "I've explored. There's enough space in here, more than two meters deep. Send a signal now and have them all rush over here. The injured secret guards and the women from the general's residence will all hide down there. I'll use some large leaves as cover to hide the entrance. As long as they stay quiet and don't make any noise, even if Gu Mingqi's men pass by from above, they won't notice anyone is underground."
"How can this be possible? We don't have enough manpower to begin with. The people from the General's Mansion can stay, but even if we die, we, the secret guards, will die on the road to battle. We will never retreat and become deserters." Anliu knew that Qin Xiangnuan was thinking about them, but in this situation, they absolutely could not be afraid of death. This kind of righteousness made Qin Xiangnuan feel disgusted. "No matter what difficulties we encounter, we must always find a way to survive."
"Even if I have to please him, I have to save my life for now before I plan for other things."
Qin Xiangnuan looked at the undercurrent, knowing that his views were deeply ingrained and difficult to change overnight. "A person's life is their own. Don't ruin yourself for some foolish loyalty or mission. That would be utterly foolish! Since I have made such arrangements, I must be absolutely certain. Do as I command! Don't influence my judgment."
"Yes..." Anliu bowed his head respectfully and said no more.
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