Cao Wang was born into the Cao family and was one of the guards trained by Cao Ying, the head of the Cao family.
He was sent to Linchuan County for two reasons: first, to monitor and protect Cao Sen; and second, to keep an eye on Cao Qiang to prevent him from causing trouble.
But Cao Qiang never listened to him, which often made Cao Wang very frustrated.
Just like this time, Cao Qiang absolutely refused to let Cao Wang come along, saying that Cao Wang was his father's dog, so why should he be in charge of him?
Cao Wang had no choice but to stay in Linchuan County.
The scout replied that a fire had broken out at Luzhuangzi, where Cao Qiang had gone.
Cao Wang couldn't sit still any longer.
They immediately assembled their troops and led Cao Sen, the magistrate of Linchuan County, to Luzhuangzi.
Lu Zhuangzi and Linchuan County are not far apart, but crossing the mountains is very difficult, which is why Hu Axiong was delayed until he had already killed Cao Zheng and others and had taken a detour to the official road.
Cao Wang caught him red-handed.
Hu Axiong cursed his bad luck in secret, realizing that Cao Wang, with more than two hundred men, dared not confront them directly and was trying to bluff his way out.
Cao Sen had already believed it, but Cao Wang did not.
Cao Wang stared intently at Hu Axiong and asked, "Where is my young master?"
Hu Axiong nodded and bowed, smiling as he said, "We led Shenxi into the fire, but how could I dare let Young Master Cao take such a risk? That's why we put Young Master Cao in a safe place first."
"Really?" Cao Wang naturally didn't believe it.
“It’s true, Young Master Cao is perfectly safe.”
"Okay, then take us to him."
Cao Wang was naturally uneasy until he saw Cao Qiang, and he didn't believe what these bandits said.
"You people were all bandits together, yet not a single soldier from Linchuan County is among you. Did you all go and lead Chenxi into the fire?"
Hu Axiong greeted him with a smile, completely unconcerned about Cao Wang's dark expression: "Of course, we are just the vanguard, we dare not let the soldiers take risks casually. Besides, we are familiar with this area, so it is easier for us to escape."
"Enough with the nonsense, take us to see my young master."
Cao Wang stared at Hu Axiong and said viciously, "Don't try anything funny, just go."
Hu Axiong cursed Cao Wang a hundred times in his heart, but in this situation, he dared not act rashly.
The road was close to the main road and very open, but without horses, it was not conducive to their operations.
He winked at Hu Aguang, who immediately understood.
Hu Axiong's plan was to lure these people into the mountains and find a way to trap them so that his own people could escape.
This group of bandits knew this mountain forest best, and they led Cao Wang on a very long detour.
Seeing that the mountain path was difficult to traverse and seemed endless, and that the fire at the other end was burning ever brighter, Cao Wang finally could not bear it any longer: "Hu Axiong, where is the young master?"
"Almost there, but that forest is on fire. We have to go around it, or it'll burn us down."
"Avoid the fire, then cross this mountain ridge, and you'll reach the place where Young Master Cao is staying."
Despite Cao Wang's distrust of Hu Axiong, his eagerness to find the young master compelled him to continue following him.
Hu Axiong sneered inwardly. As he walked forward, he came to a canyon. He and a few of his brothers had lived in this canyon for several months at the beginning.
The terrain is extremely treacherous, with only one narrow passage.
But he knew there were other hidden paths he could take.
Cao Wang looked at the narrow passage, his brows furrowed deeply: "Hu Axiong, are you doing this on purpose? How are you going to make more than two hundred of us pass through here? How long will it take for each of us to get through one by one?"
Hu Axiong stopped laughing, his eyes turning cold and sharp: "Take it or leave it, there's only one way anyway."
Cao Wang was taken aback; why did Hu Axiong suddenly change his expression?
Hu Axiong sneered repeatedly: "Let me tell you, Cao Qiang has already perished in the fire. You won't be leaving either."
With that, Hu Axiong darted into the narrow passage, made several turns to the left and right, and then sped up the cliff face. In a few moments, he disappeared from sight.
Following Hu Axiong's actions, several of his confidants did the same.
The other bandits, though unaware of the situation, also wanted to enter, but it was too late.
Cao Wang could not allow the bandits to escape.
He had already led several guards in pursuit of Hu Axiong.
Hu Axiong and several of his men disappeared on the cliff face, leaving them very puzzled.
There are no passages on the cliff face.
Cao Wang tried to find the secret passage and mechanism, but just then, Hu Axiong's loud laughter came from above: "Cao Wang, Cao Sen, you can go underground to see Cao Qiang!"
As he spoke, Hu Axiong and his men threw torches into the canyon, instantly igniting the dry grass and withered trees.
The narrow canyon and the single, narrow path threw the soldiers into disarray.
Cao Wang shouted, "Don't panic, everyone get out of here one by one!"
If they retreat one by one, they might still have a chance to survive; the fire won't spread so quickly.
But the soldiers weren't so obedient; when they saw the fire, they all tried to run away.
Hu Axiong laughed loudly: "Didn't expect that, did you? I've lived here for several months, how could I let you catch me?"
"Haha, you guys keep playing with the fire, I'm leaving."
With that, Hu Axiong led a few trusted confidants away.
These trusted confidants were the brothers who lived here with him back then.
Unbeknownst to outsiders, that secret passage was a communication device he had created; it would automatically close once someone entered.
This mechanism would be impossible to find without careful searching.
Inside the structure is a secret passage that leads directly to the mountaintop.
Cao Wang saw that the steep cliff was naturally difficult to climb.
But the canyon was already in chaos, and the fire had started.
Trying to rescue these soldiers is harder than climbing to heaven.
Cao Wang gritted his teeth and cursed. Seeing that the fire was about to reach him, he didn't bother to look for the mechanism on the cliff. He took out the Hundred Chain Lock and swung it up with all his might.
Feeling the grappling hook grab onto the top, he stood up and climbed up the cliff face.
Although he knew there might be a lot of smoke up there, this was the only way he could possibly escape.
With his agile skills, Cao Wang threw the hundred-chain lock several times and finally climbed to the top of the cliff.
Dust and smoke were rising from the top of the cliff. He covered his mouth and nose and ran straight in the direction Hu Axiong had gone.
Cao Wang was accompanied by several guards.
They were all quite skilled, and they ran out of the canyon area with Cao Wang in one go.
However, they were completely unfamiliar with this place and did not realize that they were no longer on the same path as Hu Axiong.
Besides, when I was running around, I didn't pay attention to whether there was a road. When I stopped, all I could see were stones and sparse trees, and I had no idea where I was.
Thick smoke billowed from two places in the distance, and dust rose everywhere. Hu Axiong couldn't help but sigh. One fire almost burned him to death, but another fire allowed him to escape to safety.
Just then, a guard dressed in light armor rushed over.
The two looked at each other and were instantly taken aback.
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