The next day, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the countless branches and leaves of the forest and shone into Fourth Master's tent, he opened his eyes. He raised a hand to rub his chin; he hadn't washed or shaved for several days, and his beard had started to grow. Fourth Master sat up abruptly, still wearing his clothes. It turned out that he had slept fully clothed the previous night, without taking them off at all.
He slowly crawled out of the blanket, walked to the front of the tent, and slightly opened it. He saw that it was still dark outside. The sun had only risen not long ago, and the light was already insufficient. In addition, the trees in the forest were so dense that the light inside was even dimmer.
Fourth Master withdrew his hand, returned to the covers, and lay down again, but he couldn't fall asleep at all. Gradually, the light outside grew brighter, and he could hear people getting up.
"Has it been discovered by now?" Fourth Master thought to himself.
Just then, someone rushed into the tent in front of the Fourth Prince, shouting, "Fourth Prince, something terrible has happened! The two people hanging from the tree have disappeared; they've escaped!"
Fourth Master suddenly sat up with a jolt, scrambled to his feet, quickly pulled open the tent flap, and slipped out.
The man outside was one of Al-Hatu's subordinates. Fourth Master looked in that direction and, sure enough, all that remained under the large tree where they had been hanging was the rope lying on the ground; the two men had vanished.
Fourth Master strode over and saw Alhatu standing under the tree examining the ropes. As Fourth Master approached him, he heard Alhatu say, "Judging from these ropes, they weren't cut with a knife; someone untied them."
Fourth Master remained silent, simply staring at the ropes.
Al-Hatu asked, "Why haven't you gotten up yet, Thirteenth Master, and your two henchmen?"
Fourth Master said to Alhatu, "Hurry up and count the number of people, we're leaving immediately." After saying that, a smile appeared on his lips.
"What do you mean? Now that everyone's gone, where are we going?" Alhatu asked, not understanding the hint of a smile on Fourth Master's face.
"I let them go on purpose. Last night, I had Thirteen and the others asleep, and I deliberately tied the knot in the rope so that it was loose. As long as those two were skilled in martial arts, they would have a way to escape. Sure enough, they escaped," Fourth Master said.
Alhatu looked at Fourth Master in surprise, then at Thirteen's tent and Cui Da and Cui Er's tents, which remained completely still. He subconsciously said, "Thirteenth Master and Cui Da and Cui Er went to follow them?"
Fourth Master nodded, "They will leave marks along the way, we just need to follow those marks."
Alhatu understood and smiled slightly, saying, "I didn't expect that Fourth Prince would come up with such a method."
Fourth Master smiled slightly and said, "Those two were clearly deliberately leading us in circles yesterday. They seemed to be stalling for something. Otherwise, why would they suddenly appear in front of us? Actually, we caught them out of nowhere. So I suspect they deliberately let us catch them. Therefore, they must have some kind of purpose."
Al-Hatu said, "Let's go, hurry and follow them. How long have they been gone?"
Fourth Master said, "I estimate it will take about an hour. Let's go, we can talk as we walk."
Al-Hatu immediately mobilized his troops and set off, following the marks left by Thirteen and Cui Da and Cui Er.
Meanwhile, Thirteen and Cui Da and Cui Er followed the two men in black, cutting through the thorns and brambles in the mountains. They couldn't get too close or too far away, or they would easily lose them.
Those two were indeed no ordinary martial arts practitioners. Despite not having moved an inch the previous day and being hung up all night, they managed to untie the ropes with ease, even though Thirteen had secretly loosened the knots binding the tree trunk into slipknots. They ran swiftly through the forest, their pace belying the speed of someone who had been injured.
"Thirteenth Prince, these two fellows are truly extraordinary. We were almost fooled by their sweet talk. Fourth Prince is much better at judging people," Cui Da said to the thirteenth prince.
“Keep your voice down, they might have excellent hearing too. Don’t say anything now, just follow them. You’ve already marked Cui Er, haven’t you?” Thirteen said.
"Yeah, don't worry. I specifically had him follow behind us and mark the way." Cui Da turned around and saw Cui Er marking a tree.
"Come on, hurry up. They seem to be walking faster and faster," Thirteen said.
The two men in black ahead walked quickly. They were not Su Fusheng's guards, but two of the men in black who had visited Lord Su.
After a day of delay, Su Fusheng had ample time to transfer some very important things and make some necessary preparations.
Their immediate priority is to get there and meet up with the others, then make the entrance even more concealed.
"We're almost there, aren't we? I wonder how Su Fusheng is doing? We've bought him a whole day," said the younger of the men in black.
“If he still hasn’t done it properly, we’ll kill him and then pin everything on him. That’s what the lord wants,” the older one said.
“Look, that stone, we’ve arrived.” The younger one saw the mark they had left when they left.
Thirteen, along with Cui Da and Cui Er, followed until they saw the two men in black suddenly stop beside a protruding rock on the back of a mountain.
They pushed the stone together, and it slowly moved.
Thirteen and Cui Da and Cui Er, hiding in the bushes, stared in disbelief. It turned out that the stone was a stone gate.
After the two men in black slipped inside, the stone closed again.
"What should we do? Thirteenth Master, shall we go in?" Cui Da asked in a low voice.
“I’ve decided to leave someone here to meet up with Fourth Brother and the others. Let’s go in and take a look,” Thirteen said.
“No, you are the master’s younger brother, I can’t let you take the risk. You should wait here for the master and the others, and Cui Er and I will go in.” Cui Da said.
Thirteen patted Cui Da on the shoulder and said, "Let Cui Er stay. I am a prince after all. Even if they find me, they won't dare to kill me easily. If you two go in and are discovered by them, they might immediately silence you."
Upon hearing this, Cui Er said to Cui Da, "Brother, I think what Thirteenth Master said makes sense."
Cui Da still disagreed, but then he heard Thirteen say, "Don't worry, if we're careful, it won't be that easy for them to find us."
Over there, Fourth Master and his men had found the marks left by Cui Er and were pursuing him. They rode on horseback, while the soldiers behind them trotted along.
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