Chapter 215 Using Myself as Bait
At dawn the next day, Xiao Wu led the group out of the cave and continued northwest. Due to the disparity in power, and in order to avoid Ah San and Shangguan Hong's men, they had no choice but to abandon the more accessible main road and instead travel through the hidden mountains and forests.
Despite this, the relentless pursuers didn't slow down their pace, and they were nearly caught up several times. Fortunately, Xiao Wu had been prepared from the beginning, finding someone to distract the pursuers, thus avoiding a series of head-on confrontations. Now without Qin Ke, those people had become reckless, and with the loss of their brothers earlier, they couldn't even resist the pursuit of two groups, let alone a single group.
The same was true for the next few days. Fortunately, although it was very difficult and the speed was not fast, they still advanced a lot towards the northwest. Especially after Zhong Min made some adjustments to the few people, their situation became much more concealed than before.
At this moment, Xiaowu and Xiaoliu remembered Zhong Min's past experience, so they naturally asked for her advice and followed her instructions. In Zhong Min's opinion, although their small number was a disadvantage in the confrontation, it was also advantageous in some ways. After all, their current focus was on escape, not confrontation. Therefore, a small group of people moving through the mountains and forests was often less noticeable, which was why they were able to remain intact despite the constant pursuit.
However, they cannot always move through the mountains and forests along the way. Just like now, they have to go down the mountain and pass through the village in front.
But Zhong Min knew that someone must have been waiting for them there in advance, because they had hardly seen the pursuers in the past day. However, such calmness was not necessarily a good thing, as the saying goes, "The tree wants to be still, but the wind does not stop."
"What should we do?" Xi'er said to Zhong Min worriedly, "From what you said, even I think there must be an ambush in that village."
Seeing this, Xiao Wu immediately said, "Miss, how about I go down and explore the way first?"
"It's useless. They only saw you. Even if there was an ambush, they wouldn't move." Xi'er reacted so quickly and immediately rejected Xiaowu's plan. Those people were not fools, so they wouldn't alert the enemy so easily.
Hearing Xier's words, Xiaowu had no choice but to shut up and turn to look at Zhong Min, with an expression that said she was the one who made the decision. The situation was really not good at the moment. He was caught in a dilemma. Staying where he was was not an option. He would be discovered sooner or later.
"There's no other way. A blessing in disguise, a curse. A curse inescapable." Zhong Min didn't dwell on it too much. This path was a necessary one, leaving no room for choice. He'd considered everything he could, but reality was always like this; it wasn't something he could completely control.
"But even so, we can't just run down and walk into their ambush like this, right?" Xiao Liu took over and said, "At least we should talk it over. Maybe we can come up with a better solution."
"Then tell me if there is any better way?" Xier rolled her eyes at Xiaoliu, as if to say, "You are the best." She had heard Xiaoliu say this many times along the way, and apart from saying this, she had never seen him come up with any decent ideas.
Xiaoliu wanted to refute, but he held back the words. Xier was right, he really didn't have any good solution.
"Okay, stop arguing. Actually, we're not completely hopeless," Zhong Min said. "There might be one thing we can exploit. No matter who's ambushing us in the village below, there are still two other groups willing to attack: Ah San and his men, and Shangguan Hong's men. Neither of them is likely to just sit there and watch the other side succeed. So we can find a way to get them fighting, then we can take advantage and maybe even escape."
"That's great!" Xiao Liu agreed immediately, "In this case, we can have some of the brothers wait in secret for the right opportunity, and I can take Xiao Wu, Xiao Jiu, and Shi Er out first."
"It's not you guys. The most important thing is that I have to go out, otherwise it will be ineffective." Zhong Min agreed with Xiaoliu's words, and he had to use himself as bait. This way, it would be the only chance.
Upon hearing this idea, Xiao Wu initially disagreed. After all, it would be extremely difficult to guarantee Zhong Min's safety. However, at this moment, there was really no better way. Even if they did not retreat or advance, it would be impossible for them to stay safely in this place for long.
Zhong Min had always been a man of action, and once she had an idea, she immediately took action. She simply divided the work, taking only Xiaoliu and four other secret guards with her, while the others followed secretly under the leadership of Xiaowu. Xier wanted to follow Zhong Min at first, but Zhong Min forced her back and let Xiaowu carry her. After all, they had gone separately last time, so this way would not arouse suspicion.
Of course, even if those people knew, it would be useless. Unless they had resolved their internal conflicts and joined forces, it would be impossible for them to live in peace no matter what.
The few of them quickly headed straight for the village at the foot of the mountain as planned. The village was not big but not small either. Looking around, they estimated that there were at least twenty or thirty families sparsely located on both sides of the path. It was surprisingly quiet here, as if there was no one there in broad daylight. They didn't see any activities of any kind, let alone anyone coming and going.
Zhong Min knew that the more this happened, the more it showed that there was an ambush. She looked casually at the window of one of the rooms, and found that there was indeed a pair of shining little eyes hiding there and secretly looking at them. Soon, the adults in the room seemed to notice that Zhong Min was looking at them, and hurriedly pulled the little owner of the eyes away, and they were no longer seen.
Suddenly, he felt more confident. After walking a little further, Zhong Min stopped in a relatively open area. Without choosing a direction, he said, "Come out, everyone! We've been lying in ambush for so long, we're exhausted. There's no point in hiding any longer."
As soon as he finished speaking, a number of men in black appeared from all directions. A rough count of about twenty or thirty people appeared. This time, they were not wearing masks. They knew each other well, so there was no need for them. Ah San was still leading the group, but apart from them, Shangguan Hong's men were nowhere to be seen.
However, Zhong Min knew that Shangguan Hong's men must be watching them not far away. They had occasionally met each other over the past few days, but luckily they were able to avoid each other time and time again.
Asan and the others were able to think of intercepting them at this must-pass place, and Shangguan Hong naturally did the same.
"Asan, you guys are really patient. You're so persistent and spend so much effort just to catch me. Is it worth it?" Zhong Min asked Asan with a frown. He felt indescribable helplessness and irritation in his heart. Whether he caught her or killed her, he had to let her know clearly, right?
She'd been chasing and escaping for so long, even risking the lives of Qin Ke and several of her secret guards, yet she still couldn't figure out the basic reason. They say you can avoid provoking someone, but now she hadn't provoked anyone and yet she still couldn't avoid them. What was going on? What was going on?
Ah San saw that Zhong Min looked a little off, but he knew what was going on, so he immediately replied, "Please forgive me, young lady. I'm just following orders. Whether it's worth it or not is not up to us to decide. There's no way for you to escape now. If you don't want to implicate others, please follow me!"
"You're right. There's no way they can stand up to so many of you!" Zhong Min said with a half-smile, "Okay, I'll go with you, but before I go, I have a few questions I want to clarify."
"Please speak up, young lady. Asan will answer them one by one." Regardless of whether what Zhong Min said was true or false, it was not too difficult for Asan.
"Miss Min'er, you can't go with them!" Xiaoliu immediately jumped out to object, with the sword in his hand already drawn, looking as if he was determined to protect them to the death.
"Xiao Liu, forget it!" Zhong Min pressed Xiao Liu's hand. "You've done enough for me. I don't want to see you bleed in vain anymore."
Xiaoliu wanted to say something, but Zhong Min had already asked Asan a question.
"Okay, then let me ask you, was Nian Buyue brought here by you?" Zhong Min asked, looking at Asan with a cold and firm gaze.
"Yes!" Asan did not hide it. It was a pity that this time he lost a top master like Nian Buyue in vain. He did not expect that Qin Ke had such great ability that he could even get rid of Nian Buyue.
"Very good!" Zhong Min affirmed Ah San's frankness and continued, "Let me ask you again, where did you take Qin Ke's body?"
Now that they were face to face, she might as well take this opportunity to ask clearly. Qin Ke had nothing to do with Asan and the others, not only when he was alive, but even more so after his death. She thought there was no need for them to hide the truth from her or lie to her.
After hearing Zhong Min mention Qin Ke, Ah San thought for a moment and said, "Since you asked, I'll tell you the truth. When we arrived that day, we did see Qin Ke and Nian Buyue. However, just as we were about to get closer to investigate, an old man with a white beard suddenly appeared from nowhere. He was extremely fast, like a gust of wind, and in the blink of an eye, he took both Nian Buyue and Qin Ke away."
Ah San's words surprised Zhong Min and the others. It didn't look like Ah San was lying, but who was that old man with a white beard who suddenly appeared? Why did he take away the bodies of Qin Ke and Nian Buyue?
"Are you serious?" Zhong Min asked again. If what Asan said was true, then according to her speculation, this old man with white beard was most likely someone related to both Nian Buyue and Qin Ke. After thinking about it, there was only one person who was the closest.
PS: I saw someone suggested changing the title of the book. This is quite complicated. It is very troublesome to change it. Besides, the book has so many words. I guess the editor is unlikely to agree to change it. Thank you for your support. I have been a little stuck in the past two days, so there will not be many updates. I will burst out next week after sorting it out. Please subscribe, reward, and support me, haha:)
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