After hearing Quan Jinghuai say that there were traps and poisoned arrows ahead, even the soldier who had just called him a coward didn't question it anymore.
They are soldiers, but that doesn't mean they're brainless. They spoke with such certainty, even specifying exact locations and distances, so it's definitely not an excuse made up out of cowardice.
People in the martial arts world have their own methods for observing unusual phenomena.
"Then, Master Quan, what do you think we should do next?" Hu Ling asked.
The other soldiers also looked over; they couldn't just stand there and wait, could they?
"Tell them that if you walk a few hundred meters to the right, you will see a small path. If you take that path, you can avoid the traps and mechanisms. Also, there are two enemy soldiers hiding on that small hill to the left. They are probably responsible for monitoring the situation here."
"Before they report your situation, find a way to get around them and capture them, then take the side path." Xiao Duo's voice came to Quan Jinghuai's ears again from the sparrow's beak on his shoulder.
Without thinking, he did as Hong Xiaoduo instructed and spoke to Commandant Hu and the others.
Although Quan Jinghuai was shocked that Hong Xiaoduo could speak to him from such a distance through a sparrow and know the situation ahead so clearly, he had no doubt about Hong Xiaoduo.
He believed Hong Xiaoduo, and now Commandant Hu and the others believed him.
So, after whispering among themselves, they pretended to dismount and rest as a precaution, to observe what lay ahead.
They also arranged for a few skilled individuals to pretend to have an upset stomach, clutching their bellies and crawling into the bushes to relieve themselves, while in reality they sneaked behind the small hill to catch someone.
Soon after, the sound of birds chirping came from the bushes, a signal that the operation had succeeded.
"Master Quan, you keep an eye on things here for now. I'll go and interrogate them to see if I can find out the exact number of enemy soldiers ahead," said Commander Hu.
Indeed, the enemy soldiers were captured. Commander Hu was completely convinced and whispered.
“No need for further interrogation. There are still over 430 enemy soldiers in the ravine. Let’s leave one person here to prevent the general from sending more men and falling into a trap. Let’s go directly through the side path,” Quan Jinghuai said.
Xiao Duo just told us the enemy's number of men in a definite tone: 436. He slightly changed it to at least 6, but that shouldn't affect his prediction of the odds of victory in the battle.
Quan Jinghuai himself didn't know why he didn't tell the exact number of people Xiaoduo mentioned. It wasn't that he didn't believe her, but he probably subconsciously felt that it was too outrageous and too high-profile.
Hong Xiaoduo asked them to keep the enemy's traps and mechanisms for later, because they might be useful against the defeated enemy forces.
Even if the enemy knows there are traps and mechanisms they've set up here, what can they do? If they're in a rout and trying to escape, they can't take the main road and will have to flee through difficult routes on either side, which certainly won't be easy.
"Big brother, ask Tianquan if he has any paper and pen with him. If he does, you should come over," Hong Xiaoduo said again.
Upon hearing this, Quan Jinghuai immediately summoned Tianquan to his side, and the boy promptly took out paper and pen from the brocade pouch at his waist.
It actually exists? Quan Jinghuai was also surprised.
The pen was given to the children by Hong Xiaoduo. He had seen it before; it could write without ink and had a very fine tip.
Following Hong Xiaoduo's instructions, he wrote a few words, rolled up the paper, and handed it to his shoulder when Hu Duwei and the others weren't paying attention. Then he watched as the sparrow that had been on his shoulder grabbed the paper roll with its claws and flew away.
Having roamed the world for many years, I've seen people perform tricks, training birds, eagles, and pigeons to do things, and I've also seen parrots that can mimic speech.
But this is the first time I've seen someone who can control birds and relay messages for her from such a great distance, someone who understands human intentions and acts accordingly! Xiao Duo's identity is now even more unpredictable.
...
By this time, it was getting dark. On the other side of the mountain valley, Dou Suyi looked at the group of people in front of her and once again instructed them: "Remember my orders. Those of you who are escorting the grain should just protect the grain and not worry about anything else."
The reason for repeating this instruction was because they were worried that, because of her status as the general's wife, they might disregard supplies and rush to her rescue if she were in danger.
"Yes, Your subordinate obeys." The soldiers escorting the grain supplies replied with difficulty once again.
"All soldiers, mount your horses and prepare to fight the enemy!" Dou Suyi gave the order in a stern voice, then untied her long-handled sword and nimbly mounted her horse.
Just as she was ready to fight to the death and was about to urge her horse forward, a bird suddenly flew towards her and landed on the back of her hand that was holding the reins.
Dou Suyi thought it was a sparrow that had fallen because it was tired from flying. She smiled slightly and wanted to shoo it away, thinking it could rest anywhere it landed.
However, the sparrow on the back of her hand stretched out a claw towards her, and there was something in its claw. At this time, it was not completely dark yet, and she could still see clearly from this distance that what the sparrow was holding was a small roll of paper.
Dou Suyi was taken aback. She placed the longsword she was holding in her left hand horizontally on her body, and stretched out her hand towards the sparrow with her palm facing up. The next moment, the sparrow actually put the note it was holding into her palm. Then, instead of flying away immediately, it flew to her shoulder and landed.
At this moment, the soldiers closest to her were already prepared to fight to the death. Their resolute gazes were fixed on the mountain valley ahead, waiting for Vice General Dou's order to spur their horses and set off. Therefore, no one noticed the sparrow that had just flown past and landed on their Vice General Dou.
Having experienced numerous battles, large and small, Dou Suyi once again felt her heart pounding like a drum. She released her grip on the reins with her other hand, picked up the small scroll of paper in her palm, unfolded it with slight trembling, and stared intently at the contents. Her heart pounded even faster.
She wasn't surprised that soldiers from the camp would be sent to meet her; what surprised her was that the sparrow's owner was definitely not a member of the military.
This is because they have extraordinary abilities to help them.
"Soldiers, listen to my command! Hold your positions for now and wait for the opportune moment," Dou Suyi said.
Huh? Why did the lieutenant change his mind again?
Everyone was puzzled, but no one questioned it. Although Deputy General Dou was the general's wife, she had been with the army for many years and always led troops to fight the enemy in every battle. She never stayed in the military camp.
On the battlefield, she always charged into battle without ever retreating. So, her change of mind and decision to stay put is absolutely justified. It's not that she's afraid of death and hesitates to go forward.
Inside the military camp, Hong Xiaoduo looked at Dou Suyi's reaction on the screen and knew that she had believed the contents of the note. She breathed a sigh of relief and controlled the drone, which was in sparrow mode, to turn around and fly towards the mountain valley.
"Boss, what do we do? If they don't come over, our arrows won't have enough range. Are we just going to wait here like this?" On the mountain gully, the enemy commander's personal guard was getting anxious.
The longer the delay, the more likely they are to fail to return, even if they manage to destroy the enemy's supplies.
At this time, Quan Jinghuai and his group had arrived near the mountain pass.
Commandant Hu then looked at Quan Jinghuai, wanting to hear his next suggestion...
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