Chapter 364: She looks pretty good. Take her away and wash her clean.
"Is there anything special about the mountain?" he continued to ask.
"This..." The old man hesitated for a moment, "There is an abandoned hunting ground on the mountainside. Rumor has it that the group is stationed there."
"But sir, I advise you to leave quickly. Those people are extremely wary of strangers and will kill anyone they see!"
Gu Cheng'an nodded, put down a few silver coins, turned around and left the grocery store.
"How is it?" The soldiers gathered around and asked in a low voice.
"The situation is more complicated than we imagined." Gu Cheng'an said solemnly, "According to what the old man said, this group of bandits may have other origins."
"We need to split into two groups. One team will follow me to the mountainside to investigate, and the other team will stay at the foot of the mountain to provide support."
Everyone took orders and made preparations.
The mountain road is rugged, and the trees become denser as you go higher.
Gu Cheng'an led ten soldiers and moved forward cautiously, taking every step with extreme caution.
"Deputy General, there is movement ahead." A soldier reminded in a low voice.
Gu Cheng'an raised his hand to signal to stop, holding his breath and concentrating, and sure enough, he heard bursts of talking coming from not far away.
He made a gesture, and everyone immediately hid behind the trees and approached quietly.
Through the dense bushes, Gu Cheng'an saw an open space where about twenty burly men were practicing with weapons.
They were wearing uniform leather armor, holding shiny swords, and their movements were in unison. How could they be any less casual than bandits?
Even more striking was the presence of a flag in the middle of the clearing, embroidered with an unfamiliar emblem.
Gu Chengan felt that the person looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he was for a moment, so he could only write him down secretly.
This group of bandits were well-trained, no wonder the county constables were wiped out!
Just as Gu Cheng'an was about to retreat and let the soldiers evacuate quietly, a slight noise suddenly came from behind him.
"Who is it!" a loud shout rang out.
Gu Cheng'an turned around and saw that two knife-wielding "bandits" had discovered them and were approaching.
"Go!" he growled, drawing his sword and rushing forward.
Fighting one against two, Gu Cheng'an moved as fast as lightning. With a swing of his sword, he repelled one enemy, while the other was entangled by the soldiers who followed.
"Pass the order, retreat quickly!" Gu Cheng'an ordered while fighting, "Be sure to bring the news back!"
This battle immediately alarmed the enemy in the open space.
Shouts rang out one after another, and more "bandits" rushed over with weapons.
Gu Chengan knew that something was wrong. This investigation had been exposed, and the most urgent task was to ensure that the intelligence was transmitted back.
"You go first, I'll cover your retreat!" He chopped off another enemy with his sword and shouted to the soldiers behind him.
"Deputy General, we can't leave you behind!" The soldiers refused to retreat.
"This is an order!" Gu Cheng'an shouted sternly, "Someone must bring the news back!"
The soldiers gritted their teeth and finally found the right moment to break out from the enemy's encirclement.
Gu Chengan faced the incoming enemies alone.
But he was outnumbered and soon his arm was scratched.
"Catch him alive! Don't kill him!" someone shouted.
Gu Cheng'an gritted his teeth and continued to swing his sword, but there were too many enemies. Finally, after a fierce battle, he was knocked down by five or six people, his sword was taken away, and his hands were handcuffed behind his back.
"Humph, he's just a businessman, but he's quite courageous."
A charming woman walked forward, sizing up the subdued Gu Chengan with her narrow eyes. "Hey, you look pretty good. Take him away and wash him clean."
Gu Cheng'an's heart trembled, and he looked at the woman coldly.
She was wearing a dark red tights, with a carved dagger hanging from her waist, and a fierce look between her eyebrows.
"I obey your command!" Two strong men roughly grabbed Gu Cheng'an and dragged him deep into the camp.
"Wait," the woman suddenly spoke again. She walked slowly closer, reached out and lifted Gu Cheng'an's chin, looked at his face carefully, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
"These eyes..."
Gu Chengan broke free from her hand and said coldly, "Have you seen enough?"
"Ha, you're quite tough." The woman sneered, "I want to see how long you can be tough. Come, search him!"
Several men immediately stepped forward and roughly searched Gu Cheng'an's body.
Soon, a token was found in his boots.
"Sir, this is the military token!" A bandit handed the token to the woman.
The woman took the token and sneered even more: "So he's a spy, no wonder he's so skilled."
She played with the token in her hand for a few times, and suddenly came close to Gu Chengan, "What are you here to investigate?"
"Just passing by." Gu Cheng'an remained calm.
"Pah!" The woman slapped him in the face. "Just passing by? Bringing so many people to a bandit's den? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child?"
There was a red mark on the side of Gu Cheng'an's face, but he still had a cold face and said nothing.
"Take him away for interrogation. If you can't pry him open, don't blame me for being rude!" The woman waved her hand and turned to leave.
Gu Chengan heaved a sigh of relief. It seemed that this woman didn't want to kill him...
He thought to himself that if his men could escape successfully, they would soon pass the news back to the barracks.
By then, Big Brother would surely send troops to rescue him. As long as he could delay, there would be hope of survival.
On the other side, a banquet was held in the palace.
Just as Gu Junze and Chu Ruohan were about to set off, they received a message hurriedly delivered by a soldier.
"General! General Shi requests an urgent audience!"
Gu Junze frowned and turned to Chu Ruohan and said, "Take Yun Ge'er to the palace first, I'll be there soon."
Chu Ruohan's heart tightened. Although she had doubts, she also understood that something must have happened to make Gu Junze so hurried.
She nodded: "Be careful."
"Mom, why doesn't Dad go with us?" Yun Ge'er stood beside Chu Ruohan, looking up and asked curiously.
Gu Junze squatted down and gently rubbed his son's head.
"Dad has some military matters to attend to. I'll come find you later."
Yuner nodded, not quite understanding: "Then Daddy, please come quickly, otherwise Yuner will miss you."
Gu Junze raised the corners of his mouth slightly and kissed his son on the forehead: "Yes, of course."
Chu Ruohan took Yun Ge'er into the carriage, but she felt a little uneasy in her heart.
Gu Junze hurried away, and I was afraid something might have happened again...
The carriage slowly drove towards the palace. Chu Ruohan sat in the carriage, looking absentmindedly at the scenery outside the window.
"Mom, what's wrong with you?" Yunger keenly noticed something was wrong with his mother, crawled to her side, and gently pulled her sleeve with his little hand.
Chu Ruohan came back to her senses and forced a smile: "It's okay, Mom was just thinking about something."
"Is mother worried about father?"
Yun Ge'er showed an expression like a little adult on his face, "Don't worry, Mom, Dad is very powerful, nothing will happen to him."
Chu Ruohan was amused by the little guy's childish but earnest comfort, and the haze in her heart dissipated a little.
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