Chapter 9: Cunning bandit, Part 1 of 5
The capital of the northwest border is indeed very far away from the imperial city; although the army rushed, it is still slow to catch up, it took eleven days’ time. For more than ten days, Gu Yun was indeed riding a horse in the same way as Su Ren and Han Shu. In the evening she slept in makeshift army tents, ate dry food to get by. From beginning to end, she has not complained even once, but appeared to be energetic as ever.
During these last ten days, she not only earned the respect of the entire army of soldiers, she also won Lou Mu Hai over. This woman is good! The Qing family in Hao Yue is also regarded as a rich family, but it did not raise its daughter pampered and under extravagant airs, no wonder Su Ling took fancy on her!
Since entering the northwest territory, the mountains are full of wild trees, valleys, streams, rivers are everywhere, the humidity in the air is significantly higher, especially now that it’s summer, the hot air is intolerable.
Dense thickets border on both sides of the main road, a quick glimpse of them, indeed one cannot see beyond the edges of the road. The sun has gradually set, in about an hour it will be completely dark.
Han Shu closed the topographic map, facing Su Ren he stated: “Another sixty miles distance to the city of Pei.” If they hurry, tonight they should be able to reach Pei city.
Su Ren suddenly stopped his horse and asked: “Senior General Lou, how is the terrain en route to Pei city like?”
Lou Mu Hai nodded and replied: “ah, there’s still a very long valley ahead, after passing through this valley, there’s only ten miles to go to Pei city.”
Su Ren knitted his brows pondering for a while, then he said: “it’s getting late, for now let’s pitch camp here first.”
“Yes.”
Han Shu wondered, at this rate they’re going, they would have reached Pei city in another four hours, why does Su Ren want to pitch camp here?! Although he has misgivings inside, but right now Su Ren is the commanding officer, a military order must be obeyed, if he says camp, then camp they will!
The camp was set up well, by now the sky has completely darkened, inside the main tent, Su Ren, Han Shu, and Lou Mu Hai were seated around a big table. Gu Yun holding a piece of plain white cloth was gently wiping the icy, snow white sword blade. Although her eyes were not looking at them, her ears were not idle, as they conversed she listened to every word they uttered.
“Senior General Lou, you have the longest time spent defending the northwest territory, you’ve dealt with the bandits for years, why don’t you first brief us a bit about Pei city and the bandits’ situation.”
“Alright.” Lou Mu Hai nodded and began to narrate earnestly: “in those days when the late emperor has not yet conquered this part of territory, Pei city and several neighboring towns were all just some wild lands. They had always been under the leadership of the Yong Mu tribe, the tribe’s chieftain was their leader. Later, the late emperor wanted this small region which is the common border between Qiong Yue and the neighboring country of Lin to be annexed to Qiong Yue. After a two-year war, most places surrendered, but the chieftain of the Yong Mu tribe led his tribesmen along with those other natives unwilling to surrender to escape and retreat into the west patch of the forest. The late emperor had already dispatched twenty thousand troops to exterminate them once and for all, but they failed in the end to do so; every now and then Yong Mu’s tribesmen come out and loot goods from the border posts, rebelling against the imperial court, for this reason, the imperial court set up a garrison west of Pei city and assigned a general on duty.”
Puzzled Han Shu asked: “Over these past years? You were not able to vanquish them?”
Lou Mu Hai’s face darkened, sighing he said: “No, I was not able to vanquish them, really I’m … powerless.”
Powerless? To his knowledge, the west garrison general commands thirty thousand soldiers, some remaining lawless bandits actually make him powerless, Su Ren doggedly asked: “why’s that?”
A look of frustration flitted over his face, Lou Mu Hai replied: “most of the time they hide inside the forest. I had already sent troops three times to lay siege to the forest. Not only did I fail to annihilate them, but my army casualties were disastrous. As a last resort, I can only station troops outside to surround three miles from the forest, if they come out in mass, then we can besiege them. But in the last two years, I noticed the number of times they plundered goods became fewer, and when they did, each time their weapons have become more and more sophisticated than those of our army, that was why I rushed to the capital to report.”
Nothing but a patch of forest! Han Shu begged to disagree and wryly countered: “They live inside the forest, so they always need to replenish their daily necessities, you could block all exits, surround them, they will all die inside.”
“I’ve already tried that a long time ago, but unfortunately the forest is very vast, simply to surround it didn’t work, I don’t even know where they come in and go out.” That patch of forest is unfathomable, incomprehensively boundless, how could complete enclosure be possible!
Silent the whole time Gu Yun suddenly asked: “Is there a terrain map of this forest?
He glanced at Gu Yun, meeting her cold, intent gaze, Lou Mu Hai finally replied: “No. I’m ashamed to admit this, but even the number of those bandits, I’ve no idea. They hide in the forest, never come out in force, as far as I know, their number is less than ten thousand.”
Lou Mu Hai is even unclear as to the number of bandits?! Originally he thought they are just some insignificant bandits, thirty thousand elite troops are more than enough, the situation now appears to be much more problematic.
Su Ren asked: “What’s the name of their leader?” This he’d know at least?
Speaking of this, Lou Mu Hai looked somewhat angry, lowered his voice, and replied: “Mu Cang. He’s the deceased patriarch’s heir, his strategy is even more fierce than his father’s, but unfortunately I’ve not had the chance to go head-to-head with him, his two right-hand men, Wu Ji and Yan Ge, have beaten me overwhelmingly.”
Even these men had beaten General Lou? Han Shu grunted, snickered and said: “Is it really this unbelievably dire?!”
Lou Mu Hai felt bitter, when he first was posted here, he also did not believe it, eventually he’s also at his wit’s end how to resolve the problem!
Han Shu gave off the appearance that he could not wait to break through the enemy lines immediately, Gu Yun laughed in spite of herself, said: “Han Shu, you did not quite understand the words of Senior General Lou. If in the Gobi desert, that vast streatch of flat land, I absolutely believe that, going by your military accomplishments and the fierceness of the Su family army, no enemy can escape your watchful eyes. But this time it is different. We have to confront the most dreadful enemy. Not the bandits, but rather that piece of unfathomable, broad and boundless rainforest!”
In fine weather conditions and favorable geographical locations, people can see the difference, this battle very likely is hard to fight!
Lou Mu Hai stared and watched Gu Yun in amazement. He just said only a few words, yet she had already identified their real enemy. That damn patch of rainforest! This is his profound analysis after two years of fighting the insurgency in the northwest. This young miss is pretty impressive ah!
Lou Mu Hai is staring at Gu Yun when suddenly the approaching footstep and low roar from far away are heard.
Su Ren feels something is off. Before he can ask a question, someone reports “Report! The army ration suddenly catches fire.”
The army ration has caught on fire?!
The four people inside the tent simultaneously stand-up. Two armies are getting ready for the war, without the ration, they will be defeated before the war starts.
The four people go outside, Su Ren urges “How is the situation of the ration now?”
“Now, we are trying to save it.”
Gu Yun squints her eyes, trying to see further. The fire is not big, she remembers that the army ration was carried by more than 30 horse carriages. Since the fire is small, the situation should not be really serious. However, how did it catch on fire for no reason? If it is an arson, the fire should not be this small, could it be…
Once an idea comes to her mind, Bing Lian is suddenly shaking. Yu Gun alertly looks up, only to find a silver arrow is targeting Su Ren’s chest. Yu Gun shouts, “Be careful!”.
Using Bing Liang, Gu Yun diverts the arrow. In one clash sound ‘Ding’, Gu Yun is able to stop three arrows in one go.
Sudden misfortune startles some people, at the same time, one black shadow inside the forest runs away.
“That side!” Han Shu discovers him and quickly pursues while shouting.
Gu Yun loudly says, “Don’t chase him!”
Don’t drive an enemy too far. Besides, that who knows whether there will be an ambush inside that forest.
Unfortunately, that shadow has entered the forest.
Clenching to Bing Lian, Gu Yun speaks to Su Ren, “You! Stay in the army centre, the ration is more important”, also goes into the forest.
“Qing Mo…”
Not far from there, Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun are standing outside the tent, looking at the nearby small fire as it gradually diminishes. They heard a familiar soft voice saying “Leng Xiao, Ge Jing Yun, follow me.”
They look at the voice source, it really is Gu Yun.
Her shadow disappears into the forest. Both of them look at each other, without too much thinking, following her.
Gu Yun runs at the front, followed by Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun at her back. As they get deeper into the forest, the land is more slippery and the surroundings are darker. Therefore, they can only see the silhouette really faintly. When all three of them do not know which way to go, they hear the sound of weapon fighting not far from there, pointing out the direction.
“It is weird, the weapon sound did not continue for long”, Gu Yun doubts. She has fought against Han Shu before, his martial art is not weak, but how come there is no more sound?
Although there is no more sound to guide them, luckily, they went to the right direction. Soon, there are a group of dark shadows, visible from afar. Seen from the stature, approximately, there are three to four people.
They are forcing something into a big bag, Gu Yun observes anxiously, Han Shu is actually captured. They either used some underhand methods or they have high martial arts.
After seeing two of the assailants motioning to leave along with the bag, Gu Yun roared, “Stop!”
The culprits were surprised. After looking around, they discovered there were three silhouettes in the forest, bolting towards them. They were not surprised that there were pursuers, but how come there was a woman in the Su army? That roaring sound before was definitely a female’s voice.
“Take him and go first, I will handle them.” Gu Yun heard the sound of a man in the darkness. The accent was a little bit weird. It did not sound like the accent of people who live in the mountains. With the surrounding darkness, it was hard to observe the opponent’s appearance. However, it sounded like the voice belonged to a young man.
Three people at his flank quickly lifted the bag and left. In this kind of surrounding, letting them go meant it would be impossible to find Han Shu again. This lad should be these people’s leader and his martial arts very skilful. Gu Yun secretly assessed the situation, and then ordered Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun, “Both of you, chase after them!”
“Yes.”
Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun chased them from the right and left sides.
The man’s eyes were coldly staring, a long whip was produced on his hand, even in the darkness of this forest, a strange golden strand on the whip could be seen.
Before he had time to whip, Gu Yun had already taken out the sword, a chilled fizz and swift cold air were sensed as Bing Lian appeared from its sheath.
Observing the white jade colour of the sword, the man was a little bit shocked. Bing Lian that could move by itself left his heart trembling. What a beautiful sword it was!
Just as the man was dazed, Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun passed him, pursuing the three people.
The man did not really care, as he was more interested in the sword before him and its owner.
As the woman came towards him, a kind of frostbite feeling neared. The man was amazed, what kind of woman was yielding this wonderful sword.
In a split second, a small-stature woman was in front of him. She was wearing a black clothes as dark as the night. Her features could not be seen clearly. He could only see her handgrip posture on the sword, indicating her expertise.
Holding his whip, the man was not reserved in using his full power to whip towards her. Gu Yun’s body quickly deflected the attack. The whip severely flogged the ground, leaving a 3-inch depth groove.
Gu Yun’s wrist reversed, using Bing Lian on her hand, charged towards the man. As the cold light flashed, the man leapt above the Gu Yun’s head level and then sprung back. The whip on his hand also seemed to have a spirit, rapidly wrapping around Gu Yun’s unarmed wrist from behind.
Gu Yun turned around only to find the distance between both of them was really close. Gu Yun took this opportunity to observe the man in front of her. He dressed in a blue long gown. His black hair was not knotted as the army leaders but braided to his back. His temple was covered by fine hair reaching his eyes, making people unable to see through to his eyes and reading his intentions. This was the first time she met a man who wore such a vibrant colour. In the darkness, he seemed so unique.
Gu Yun secretly sighed, as the lash around her left arm tightened, the pressure penetrated deep into her muscle. Gu Yun quietly snorted. Bing Lian on her hand could feel her pain and slightly tremored. A cold light radiated from the sword’s edge, Gu Yun could feel Bing Lian on her hand emitting enormous power; she almost could not control it.
No longer able to hold the pain, Gu Yun’s left hand grabbed the whip and forcefully pulled it while her right hand thrust Bing Lian into the man’s chest.
The sword attacks that brought coldness to the bone bewildered the man. He could only retreat the lash that wrapped around Gu Yun’s left hand. Just as the lash met the edge of the sword, the gold coloured whip, made of a mysterious iron, fractured. Fortunately, the whip blocked the attack, reducing the speed of the cold sword and gave the man an opportunity to escape the fighting ground.
He was startled, it could not be imagined that this small woman who appeared so weak could be this formidable. The sword on her hand was not just your usual weapon, it was extremely sharp and able to freeze people.
Although he was able to escape, he knew himself that he was not Gu Yun’s opponent, or should it be said he was not the sword’s opponent. He quickly took his whip back and fled to the deeper areas of the forest.
“You want to escape?! It’s not that easy!” Gu Yun rapidly chased from behind.
It was a pity. The man’s qing gong (轻功 is the practice of martial arts, whereby the practitioners can move swiftly in a superhuman speed. In the movie, usually, it appears as the defying gravity skill, source: Wikipedia) was superb. Although Gu Yun’s strength was very good and her movement was also fast, she was not a practitioner of qing gong. As a result, the distance between the two gradually widened. The man set his foot on the mountain slope and jumped down. Gu Yun also chased him down. Not realizing that the slope which appeared to be slightly inclined when it was actually quite steep, she almost sprained her ankle. It was also because of this matter that the man’s figure had already disappeared. From far away, he arrogantly said, “If you really want to save Han Shu, let Su Ling enter the forest by himself. If he is afraid, please go to Crow’s Valley to collect the corpse three days from now.”
She still wanted to pursue him, when a constrained and pained voice from the south was heard… that was Ge Jing Yun’s voice.
“Damn!” Yu Gun quietly cursed. The purpose of these bandits was to use Han Shu as a bait to lure Su Ling. His life should not have been endangered. Gu Yun turned around and ran towards the direction of the sound.
After the sound of Gu Yun’s footsteps had gradually faded out, the man who was hiding behind the rock mountain could only loudly sigh. He looked at the whip that he has been using for many years. Now, the whip had broken into two parts. The man’s eyes hardened. In the future, this woman would be the leader of the main opposition.
Gu Yun did not need to run far before she spotted Ge Jing Yun, who laid on the ground. A thick and heavy blood odour was smelt in the air. He was injured!
After taking several coarse breaths, Ge Jing Yun answered with difficulties, “I… I am alright.” Judging from his voice, he was still conscious. However, his constantly bleeding arm made Gu Yun worry.
The light was not bright enough. Gu Yun could not clearly see where the injury was. She orderly tore the clothes, in an attempt to make a wound dressing. Gu Yun asked, “Where are all the injuries?”
As the tearing sound pierced through the night, Ge Jing Yun’s heart felt a little bit warmer. He quietly replied, “Left shoulder.”
Gu Yun sighed grimly, luckily it is the shoulder. She grabbed his arm, helping him to apply a dressing on his wound. She accidentally touched some metal still embedded on his arm. What kind of weapon was this?
Gu Yun carelessly touched, making Ge Jing Yun more pained and produce a cold sweat. Gu Yun did not dare to touch anymore, only quickly bandaging the open wound.
Just as she finished bandaging Ge Jing Yun’s arm, Gu Yun sensed there was a shadow approaching them. She quickly grabbed Bing Lian and was on alert. As the man neared, the silhouette matched with Leng Xiao’s.
“Leng Xiao?” Gu Yun asked to confirm.
The person who was running towards her replied, “Boss, I let them escape as I was afraid if I pursued further, I would not be able to get Ge Jing Yun back.”
Gu Yun sighed and said, “You’ve made the right judgement, help me carry him. Let’s leave this place first!”
Both of them helped Ge Jing Yun to walk towards the forest exit. Although she applied a simple bandage, Ge Jing Yun’s blood was still continuously dripping. Gu Yun secretly speculated whether or not the opponent’s weapon was the arrow that she previously knocked down. In such a limited light source, the opponent could shoot accurately? That man’s skill had definitely reached a very high level.
After walking a bit, Gu Yun could see a search party that held torches, headed by Su Ren’s subordinate. She urgently spoke, “We’re here.”
Hearing some sounds, Yu Shi Jun quickly went there and was a little bit flustered upon seeing the other three people. Yu Shi Jun anxiously asked, “Madam, are you alright?
Gu Yun shook her head, “I am fine.”
As he only saw three of them, Yu Shi Jun asked, “How about Vanguard Han?”
Gu Yun did not answer the question and heavily said, “There is a casualty here. We can talk again once we have returned to the camp site.”
With a fire illuminating and the soldiers’ help, they quickly exited the forest. Seeing them from far away, Su Ren restlessly urged, “Big sister-in-law, are you okay?”
Gu Yun shook her head and answered, “Ge Jing Yun is injured, where is the military doctor?” Ge Jing Yun passed out due to blood loss. If not quickly treated, he would lose his life.
“Your subject is here.”
A 40-year-old man came forward, inspecting the wound on Ge Jing Yun’s arm. His face instantly sank and he quickly ordered, “Help him to get into the tent!”
Seeing Ge Jing Yun was sent inside the tent lessened Gu Yun’s worries. Only then, she could feel a burning pain on her left hand. Stroking her arm, Gu Yun frowned, she originally assumed at most, it would be bruised, but she did not expect it to bleed!
Su Ren sharply noticed her bleeding left arm, “Big sister-in-law, you are also injured?”
Gu Yun lightly nodded, “My injury is not life-threatening. Let’s go in before we talk.”
Entering the main camp, an older military doctor stopped by Gu Yun’s side, holding his medicine box. He used a scissor to carefully cut her sleeve. When the slender arm was exposed, three swollen red wounds were bleeding non-stop. This made some of the men in the tent frown. However, as it was impolite to stare at a woman’s arm, Su Ren and Lou Mu Hai looked down while Yu Shi Jun quickly turned his back.
This kind of wound, even though was not severe, but it was still very painful. The old military doctor took a medicine and carefully said, “Mistress, now I will apply the medicine and the dressing. Please endure the pain.”
Gu Yun gently smiled, nodding her head, “It is okay, just treat it.”
As he gently sprinkled the medicine onto the wound, a sharp pain radiated from her arm. Gu Yun could no longer endure the pain, “En…..”
The old doctor’s hand paused in the air; he did not dare to move. Although the medicine was very good, it was also… very painful. Gu Yun took a couple of deep breaths and weakly said to the doctor, “I am okay, please proceed.”
Her forehead was been covered by cold sweat, but she did not say anymore. The old doctor very carefully wrapped the wound and softly spoke, “Mistress, the medicine needs to be applied every day onto the wound. After half a month, it will go back to normal. I will try to find a way so that it won’t leave a scar.”
Gu Yun smiled, “Thank you, as long as it is cured, it is okay.”
She really did not care whether the wound would leave a scar or not. The old doctor secretly relieved. For such a good young woman, he would find a way to prevent the wound from scarring.
Although Gu Yun did not know his intention, she slowly took out her arm, stated seriously, “Han Shu is kidnapped by the rebels, they want Su Ling to come into the forest alone in three days. If within three days they do not see Su Ling, they will throw Han Shu’s corpse in Crow’s Valley.”
Hearing her words, Lou Mu Hai said anxiously, “This won’t do! General Su Ling has not yet arrived, even if he has arrived, we cannot let him take the risk. They know that particular forest very well, hence, it is beneficial for them. It will be a disaster to the general if he enters the forest.”
Su Ren’s palm tightened. It looked like he had been underestimating those bandits. Before he managed to enter the city’s territory, the other party had already taken an action. The enemy at this time was truly not an ordinary thief.
Yu Shi Jun still did not dare to turn, and so with his back facing Gu Yun and Su Ren, he said, “Commander, in this subject’s opinion, even though they shot an arrow at you, they do not know who is the real General Su (referring to Su Ling). According to this logic, I can just wear general’s clothes, lead 5000 elite forces to enter the forest and observe the situation.”
Su Ren was still considering the idea when Gu Yun coldly said, “I advise you to not make any hasty actions. Today, when I went to chase Han Shu, I encountered a highly skilled martial artist who uses a long whip. Judging from Ge Jing Yun’s injury, it is definitely an arrow. If I guess it correctly, they are most likely Wu Ji and Yan Ge who were previously mentioned by Old General Lou. Those two people possess inarguably high martial arts skills. They also are familiar with jungle topology, as well as night operations. If they are only the subordinates, we will have a big problem.”
The inside of the room was really quiet when a white fingered hand separated the tent drapery (since it is a tent, it is not really a door). A male voice with a hint of amusement was heard, “Who has a big problem?”
The person who came in was a handsome man, wearing a long red robe. Gu Yun was secretly amused, what was happening this night? She originally thought the man in the forest who wore a blue attire was flirtatious enough, but did not think there was still a sky above the sky. The male in front of her was really enchanting. Fortunately, even though he wore a red robe, it did not make him appear feminine. In contrast, it gave him a rebellious effect.
What an interesting man. Gu Yun raised her lips slightly when she saw the man come in with such a cold arrogant aura, decreasing the temperature down to a freezing point.
“General Su!”
“Big Brother!”
The man who just came in was really Su Ling.
Lou Mu Hai quickly greeted him, smilingly said, “General Su has arrived, what a wonderful news!”
After leading the troops to many battlegrounds for years, Su Ling was very knowledgeable about battlefields. He was also an expert in predicting schemes. Just his presence could at least scare those bandits.
Su Ling greeted back, “Old General Lou.”
Mu Yi quickly glanced over them who were paying respect to each other. Mu Yi was not interested in watching them, quickly changed his eye direction. He stumbled upon a female in the tent. Although he could only see one side of her face, he knew that she was a beautiful woman.
He had seen countless beautiful women, but even the most beautiful ones could not interest him. However, this woman had triggered his curiosity. Mu Yi approached her, smilingly clicked his tongue, “It is unthinkable we can see a beautiful woman in the military army. Ling, you are really fortunate!”
This pale man clothed with a red robe was a son of the devil. Gu Yun rolled her eyes. She was not interested in putting up with this person’s dry humour. She quickly raised up, moving to the inner chamber and randomly sat on a chair, not realising… the chair is meant for the camp leader.
Hearing Mu Yi’s words, Su Ling just realised that Gu Yun was in the tent. He frowned, coldly asked, “How come you’re here?”
Gu Yun felt there was no need to answer such a question. Facing Lou Mu Hai, Gu Yun asked, “Old General Lou, what kind of place is Crow’s Valley?” That man said to collect the corpse at the valley, meaning most likely he would like to meet there.
Lou Mu Hai quickly re-focused and went towards her, “It is a canyon, located near the forest’s right periphery. Every rainy season, there will be rainwater overflowing there, transforming the gorge into a river. When the dry season comes and reduces the water, it will return to its canyon form. Because the terrain is very steep, only birds can fly out from there. The thick forest surrounds the area. It’s gloomy and damp, and therefore, named Crow’s valley.”
Gu Yun pondered for a bit before said, “They chose the Crow’s valley. In my opinion, there are two reasons to do so. First, their lair is located near the place. The second reason, which I think is more probable, the valley’s terrain has some benefits for them. My guess is when the time comes, they will take advantage of the terrain’s topography, cut us off on the both sides of the canyon, leaving Su Ling to come forward alone.”
Hearing her analysis, Su Ren and Yu Shi Jun approached her. The four people sat down together. Yu Shi Jun proposed, “This subject remembers mistress had trained and recruited the newbie soldiers with the superb climbing skills. Can our army climb up from the bottom of the gorge, giving a surprise attack?” (攻其不备, Chinese idiom. It means to strike when/where the enemy is unprepared)
Gu Yun shook her head, “Now is the summer season when the rainfall is mostly abundant. We cannot pass through there”
Lou Mu Hai agreed, “What mistress said is not wrong. Currently, there has been water building up there, flooding into the Crow’s Valley. It is impossible to pass through the valley.” This woman has never been inside the forest, yet she is familiar with the forest’s rainy season. She really is the wife of General Su. Sure enough, she cannot be compared with the ordinary women.
Su Ren quietly spoke, “Then, in your opinion, how should we strike?”
Gu Yun did not reply immediately. After a while, she finally cautiously replied, “From what I see, we should go and survey the actual terrain’s topography. After that, we can discuss the method on how to engage the enemy. After all, there are still three more days to go!”
In the main tent, Gu Yun rose from the seat, the three people surrounding her, appeared to be at Gu Yun’s every beck and call. In contrast, Su Ling and Mu Yi both were neglected on the side. Mu Yi smiled, “I say, Ling, even if you are not here, there won’t be a problem. Did I go to the wrong place? Is this the Su army’s camp? Who is actually this family’s leader?”
Those rhetorical questions sounded like Mu Yi wanted to help Su Ling set the record straight. However, when it was examined more carefully, Mu Yi was definitely happy to see Su Ling suffering.
Turning around and facing Su Ling’s deep eyes, Su Ren just realised his almighty big brother was still standing behind him. He embarrassingly grinned and hurriedly explained, “Uh… Big Brother. Tonight those rebels raided the food ration. After discovering this, Han Shu chased them into the forest. He somehow got ambushed inside the forest and is now held as a hostage. They want Big Brother to go to the Crow’s Valley within three days, or else, they will kill Han Shu. Big sister-in-law also entered the woods, confronted and fought with the rebels. We are now discussing the best way to rescue Han Shu.”
Han Shu fell into those rebels’ hand?! Hearing this news, Su Ling’s eyes were becoming colder. What a good rebel, actually dared to capture his subordinate to get him.
Mu Yi did not concern about who got captured, but that “big sister-in-law”… His eyes looked like he was about to ridicule Su Ling. Facing Su Ling, Mu Yi grinned, “I was not aware that you were married. Ckckck (the sound of one’s clicking one’s tongue)… You are really great at keeping secrets.” Su Ling’s face instantly got colder to the point he could freeze people to death, but Mu Yi ignored him. Gracefully, Mu Yi turned to face Gu Yun and smilingly said, “Big Sister-in-law (in a very polite way, he used 夫人 as a suffix, which means mistress), you were being rude before!”
Mu Yi’s acting made both parties simultaneously enraged, “Shut up!”
Mu Yi raised his eyebrows. His face was full of surprise and said, “Whoa, you two definitely are a pair of husband and wife. Both of you are one-hundred percent villains.”
Gu Yun stared coldly at Mu Yi and without holding back, she said, “Enchantress*, if you really want to look for drama, just honestly stand aside and see. Manage your mouth, do not mess around with me.”
Mu Yi narrowed his eyes, “What did you call me?”
Gu Yun’s icy eyes scanned him several times, from head to toe and back again, then met his eyes. She did not consider it as a taboo, so she reprised, “For such a man who is wearing such a flashy style; if I do not call you enchantress*, I won’t do your outfit a justice!”
Su Ling who had constantly maintained his icy face secretly twitched his mouth. Enchantress*! This title really suited Mu Yi. However, this woman was looking for trouble. The last person who called Mu Yi enchantress had buried in a grave. The grass on his tomb was even taller than her.
Mu Yi squinted his eyes, making him look like a sly and treacherous fox. All the spectators shuddered. Only Gu Yun remained unaffected and kept looking into his eyes. Want to refute? Angry? Don’t joke around?! If he dares to wear that kind of clothes, he has to be prepared to let people talk!
She unexpectedly did not get intimidated by him. Interesting! The coldness of his eyes was replaced by interest. This actually made Gu Yun’s hair stand up. This man was really troublesome. Gu Yun was too lazy to look at him anymore and quickly said to Su Ren, “Su Ren, tomorrow, once the sun comes out, go to the Crow’s Valley to explore the terrain.”
Gu Yun was just about to leave, when Su Ling’s arrogant voice which contained cold fury was heard, “In here, it’s not your place to give an order. Now, return to the General house!” She was seriously undisciplined and out of control. She went as far as following the army to the city of Pei, what exactly did she want to do?
Gu Yun’s footsteps stopped, slowly turning around. Her face carried a saccharine sweet fake smile, she answered, “General Su, I think you’ve misunderstood this problem. I did not have the interest to order your army. Also, you do not need to look after my problems.”
After saying this, Gu Yun took Bing Lian and strode away.
“Bing Lian?” With surprised eyes, Mu Yi faced Su Ling. He unexpectedly gave Bing Lian to this girl, don’t tell me…
“Who permitted you to touch that sword!” Su Ling roared, as Mu Yi expected. With both of his arms crossed in front of his chest, Mu Yi observed the situation; he was now seriously interested with this woman.
With her hand clutching the curtain and without turning her head, she was waving Bing Lian when she arrogantly replied, “Now, it is mine, if you have the capabilities, take it from me! I will wait for you.” From the moment she decided to take Bing Lian, she had decided to not let it go easily.
As the dark shadow disappeared before the tent, the remaining people were left with the man who was about to explode. Luo Mu Hai quietly said, “The night is not young anymore, this old subject will retire first.”
He did not understand the act in front of him, but being an honest official was also a hard task. He was better off not dipping his feet into this muddy water.
Lou Mu Hai had successfully escaped, Su Ren also hurriedly smiled, “True, true, true, it is really late. Big Brother, I won’t disturb your resting time anymore!”
Dear heaven. He knew that Qing Mo was strong. However, he never noticed her ability to speak could drive people crazy?! Or, was it she was only exceptionally prickly when she was confronted by big brother?
During this time, he was also better off quickly disappearing.
“This subject… This subject will also retreat!”
Just as Su Ren dashed out of the tent, Yu Shi Jun recovered his mind, also quickly asking to retreat.
Inside the big tent, just after Qing Mo left, everyone slipped off, leaving the room completely cleared. Mu Yi took out a jade flute, playing it with his fingers. At this time, only he would dare to poke an angry tiger. Unafraid of death, he smiled and ridiculed, “Why do I feel like someone is jealous?” The former power and prestige of the general no longer existed.
“Get the hell out of here!”
From the main tent, a lion roar was heard. The soldiers who were standing outside were so startled that it numbed their shoulders. Gu Yun rolled her eyes again, pretending as she did not hear anything and went into Ge Jing Yun’s tent.
Opening the curtain, there were more than 20 soldiers inside the tent. Upon recognising the person who was coming, everyone quickly rose from their beds and lined up nicely. Their faces showed happy smiles and shouted in unison, “Boss!” Finally, they could see her again. Truthfully, during her devilish boot camp, they hated her so much. However, after the camp was over, they often remembered and missed her.
Gu Yun softly smiled, nodding her head, “It’s okay, just rest!”
Once she arrived at the last bed, Ge Jing Yun had been supported by Leng Xiao, struggling to sit down, “Boss.”
Gu Yun frowned, gently spoke, “It’s okay, just lay on your bed.”
Leng Xiao’s eyes stumbled upon the bandage on her left arm, his indifferent face changed, urgently asking, “You’ve been hurt?”
Gu Yun indifferently shook her head and smiled, “Just a small injury. There won’t be a problem, don’t worry.” Leng Xiao no longer pressed, only his cold face became colder.
After Ge Jing Yun’s wound was treated, a thick bandage was wrapped tightly around his wound. Excluding his pale complexion, he looked okay.
A small silvery thing was placed beside his pillow. Gu Yun squinted her eyes to focus. Leng Xiao quickly took it and gave it to her.
That was the 5-inches-length arrow, which was quite different from the normal ordinary arrow; as not only the head was made of iron, even its tail was made out of the same material. What made most people tremble with fear was the hook that was embedded on the arrow’s tail. No wonder Ge Jing Yun’s bleeding was really hard to stop. This kind of wounding made it hard to pull the arrow out.
What a malicious weapon. Gu Yun asked softly, “Did you meet the person who shot the arrow?”
Leng Xiao looked at Ge Jing Yun, shaking his head and replied “That person was about as tall as Ge Jing Yun and was skinnier than me. However, it was too dark. The appearance couldn’t clearly be seen. He was also very skilful. We could not get closer to him. Furthermore, in such dim light, he still accurately shot an arrow at us, while running!”
It was really true, this kind of skill could not be performed by most people. Not only it required good vision, it also required a good set of other senses. She was once also trained to shoot blindfolded. She needed three years to achieve a 98% accuracy!
The arrow was placed beside Ge Jing Yun’s pillow. When Gu Yun rose up, all the soldiers once again stood up straight. Gu Yun laughed and said: “Now it isn’t training time. I am not your boss, so after this, do not be so afraid and alarmed. Don’t worry! Just get an early rest. ”
Gu Yun walked to the door’s side. All the soldiers still neatly stood at their position, glancing at her. She suspiciously asked, “What happened?”
“Boss…” Leng Xiao opened his mouth, but suddenly paused.
All the soldiers were squinting at him, Gu Yun felt weird and laughing said, “What is the problem? Just get to the point!”
Taking a deep breath, Leng Xiao faced Gu Yun and loudly answered, “Can we fight with you in the battle?”
Gu Yun was dazed a bit. Before her, she saw desire and eagerness, reflecting on their eyes. Unexpectedly, her heart ached. She looked down to stabilise her emotions. After a while, she then looked up, coldly smiling, “Exercise your bodies well before we talk again. My subordinate cannot have weak bodies.“
“Yes.”
Once Gu Yun exited the tent, immediately, chaotic happy shouts originated from the tent’s inside were heard. Gu Yun shook her head, as expected from a bunch of boys under 20.
Carrying a warm smile on her face, she left the tent, not paying attention to another pair of cold eyes deeply staring at her back.
Qing Mo, what kind of charm do you possess?
What has she done during the time he was not around?!
Chapter 9: Cunning bandit, Part 1 of 5
The capital of the northwest border is indeed very far away from the imperial city; although the army rushed, it is still slow to catch up, it took eleven days’ time. For more than ten days, Gu Yun was indeed riding a horse in the same way as Su Ren and Han Shu. In the evening she slept in makeshift army tents, ate dry food to get by. From beginning to end, she has not complained even once, but appeared to be energetic as ever.
During these last ten days, she not only earned the respect of the entire army of soldiers, she also won Lou Mu Hai over. This woman is good! The Qing family in Hao Yue is also regarded as a rich family, but it did not raise its daughter pampered and under extravagant airs, no wonder Su Ling took fancy on her!
Since entering the northwest territory, the mountains are full of wild trees, valleys, streams, rivers are everywhere, the humidity in the air is significantly higher, especially now that it’s summer, the hot air is intolerable.
Dense thickets border on both sides of the main road, a quick glimpse of them, indeed one cannot see beyond the edges of the road. The sun has gradually set, in about an hour it will be completely dark.
Han Shu closed the topographic map, facing Su Ren he stated: “Another sixty miles distance to the city of Pei.” If they hurry, tonight they should be able to reach Pei city.
Su Ren suddenly stopped his horse and asked: “Senior General Lou, how is the terrain en route to Pei city like?”
Lou Mu Hai nodded and replied: “ah, there’s still a very long valley ahead, after passing through this valley, there’s only ten miles to go to Pei city.”
Su Ren knitted his brows pondering for a while, then he said: “it’s getting late, for now let’s pitch camp here first.”
“Yes.”
Han Shu wondered, at this rate they’re going, they would have reached Pei city in another four hours, why does Su Ren want to pitch camp here?! Although he has misgivings inside, but right now Su Ren is the commanding officer, a military order must be obeyed, if he says camp, then camp they will!
The camp was set up well, by now the sky has completely darkened, inside the main tent, Su Ren, Han Shu, and Lou Mu Hai were seated around a big table. Gu Yun holding a piece of plain white cloth was gently wiping the icy, snow white sword blade. Although her eyes were not looking at them, her ears were not idle, as they conversed she listened to every word they uttered.
“Senior General Lou, you have the longest time spent defending the northwest territory, you’ve dealt with the bandits for years, why don’t you first brief us a bit about Pei city and the bandits’ situation.”
“Alright.” Lou Mu Hai nodded and began to narrate earnestly: “in those days when the late emperor has not yet conquered this part of territory, Pei city and several neighboring towns were all just some wild lands. They had always been under the leadership of the Yong Mu tribe, the tribe’s chieftain was their leader. Later, the late emperor wanted this small region which is the common border between Qiong Yue and the neighboring country of Lin to be annexed to Qiong Yue. After a two-year war, most places surrendered, but the chieftain of the Yong Mu tribe led his tribesmen along with those other natives unwilling to surrender to escape and retreat into the west patch of the forest. The late emperor had already dispatched twenty thousand troops to exterminate them once and for all, but they failed in the end to do so; every now and then Yong Mu’s tribesmen come out and loot goods from the border posts, rebelling against the imperial court, for this reason, the imperial court set up a garrison west of Pei city and assigned a general on duty.”
Puzzled Han Shu asked: “Over these past years? You were not able to vanquish them?”
Lou Mu Hai’s face darkened, sighing he said: “No, I was not able to vanquish them, really I’m … powerless.”
Powerless? To his knowledge, the west garrison general commands thirty thousand soldiers, some remaining lawless bandits actually make him powerless, Su Ren doggedly asked: “why’s that?”
A look of frustration flitted over his face, Lou Mu Hai replied: “most of the time they hide inside the forest. I had already sent troops three times to lay siege to the forest. Not only did I fail to annihilate them, but my army casualties were disastrous. As a last resort, I can only station troops outside to surround three miles from the forest, if they come out in mass, then we can besiege them. But in the last two years, I noticed the number of times they plundered goods became fewer, and when they did, each time their weapons have become more and more sophisticated than those of our army, that was why I rushed to the capital to report.”
Nothing but a patch of forest! Han Shu begged to disagree and wryly countered: “They live inside the forest, so they always need to replenish their daily necessities, you could block all exits, surround them, they will all die inside.”
“I’ve already tried that a long time ago, but unfortunately the forest is very vast, simply to surround it didn’t work, I don’t even know where they come in and go out.” That patch of forest is unfathomable, incomprehensively boundless, how could complete enclosure be possible!
Silent the whole time Gu Yun suddenly asked: “Is there a terrain map of this forest?
He glanced at Gu Yun, meeting her cold, intent gaze, Lou Mu Hai finally replied: “No. I’m ashamed to admit this, but even the number of those bandits, I’ve no idea. They hide in the forest, never come out in force, as far as I know, their number is less than ten thousand.”
Lou Mu Hai is even unclear as to the number of bandits?! Originally he thought they are just some insignificant bandits, thirty thousand elite troops are more than enough, the situation now appears to be much more problematic.
Su Ren asked: “What’s the name of their leader?” This he’d know at least?
Speaking of this, Lou Mu Hai looked somewhat angry, lowered his voice, and replied: “Mu Cang. He’s the deceased patriarch’s heir, his strategy is even more fierce than his father’s, but unfortunately I’ve not had the chance to go head-to-head with him, his two right-hand men, Wu Ji and Yan Ge, have beaten me overwhelmingly.”
Even these men had beaten General Lou? Han Shu grunted, snickered and said: “Is it really this unbelievably dire?!”
Lou Mu Hai felt bitter, when he first was posted here, he also did not believe it, eventually he’s also at his wit’s end how to resolve the problem!
Han Shu gave off the appearance that he could not wait to break through the enemy lines immediately, Gu Yun laughed in spite of herself, said: “Han Shu, you did not quite understand the words of Senior General Lou. If in the Gobi desert, that vast streatch of flat land, I absolutely believe that, going by your military accomplishments and the fierceness of the Su family army, no enemy can escape your watchful eyes. But this time it is different. We have to confront the most dreadful enemy. Not the bandits, but rather that piece of unfathomable, broad and boundless rainforest!”
In fine weather conditions and favorable geographical locations, people can see the difference, this battle very likely is hard to fight!
Lou Mu Hai stared and watched Gu Yun in amazement. He just said only a few words, yet she had already identified their real enemy. That damn patch of rainforest! This is his profound analysis after two years of fighting the insurgency in the northwest. This young miss is pretty impressive ah!
Lou Mu Hai is staring at Gu Yun when suddenly the approaching footstep and low roar from far away are heard.
Su Ren feels something is off. Before he can ask a question, someone reports “Report! The army ration suddenly catches fire.”
The army ration has caught on fire?!
The four people inside the tent simultaneously stand-up. Two armies are getting ready for the war, without the ration, they will be defeated before the war starts.
The four people go outside, Su Ren urges “How is the situation of the ration now?”
“Now, we are trying to save it.”
Gu Yun squints her eyes, trying to see further. The fire is not big, she remembers that the army ration was carried by more than 30 horse carriages. Since the fire is small, the situation should not be really serious. However, how did it catch on fire for no reason? If it is an arson, the fire should not be this small, could it be…
Once an idea comes to her mind, Bing Lian is suddenly shaking. Yu Gun alertly looks up, only to find a silver arrow is targeting Su Ren’s chest. Yu Gun shouts, “Be careful!”.
Using Bing Liang, Gu Yun diverts the arrow. In one clash sound ‘Ding’, Gu Yun is able to stop three arrows in one go.
Sudden misfortune startles some people, at the same time, one black shadow inside the forest runs away.
“That side!” Han Shu discovers him and quickly pursues while shouting.
Gu Yun loudly says, “Don’t chase him!”
Don’t drive an enemy too far. Besides, that who knows whether there will be an ambush inside that forest.
Unfortunately, that shadow has entered the forest.
Clenching to Bing Lian, Gu Yun speaks to Su Ren, “You! Stay in the army centre, the ration is more important”, also goes into the forest.
“Qing Mo…”
Not far from there, Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun are standing outside the tent, looking at the nearby small fire as it gradually diminishes. They heard a familiar soft voice saying “Leng Xiao, Ge Jing Yun, follow me.”
They look at the voice source, it really is Gu Yun.
Her shadow disappears into the forest. Both of them look at each other, without too much thinking, following her.
Gu Yun runs at the front, followed by Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun at her back. As they get deeper into the forest, the land is more slippery and the surroundings are darker. Therefore, they can only see the silhouette really faintly. When all three of them do not know which way to go, they hear the sound of weapon fighting not far from there, pointing out the direction.
“It is weird, the weapon sound did not continue for long”, Gu Yun doubts. She has fought against Han Shu before, his martial art is not weak, but how come there is no more sound?
Although there is no more sound to guide them, luckily, they went to the right direction. Soon, there are a group of dark shadows, visible from afar. Seen from the stature, approximately, there are three to four people.
They are forcing something into a big bag, Gu Yun observes anxiously, Han Shu is actually captured. They either used some underhand methods or they have high martial arts.
After seeing two of the assailants motioning to leave along with the bag, Gu Yun roared, “Stop!”
The culprits were surprised. After looking around, they discovered there were three silhouettes in the forest, bolting towards them. They were not surprised that there were pursuers, but how come there was a woman in the Su army? That roaring sound before was definitely a female’s voice.
“Take him and go first, I will handle them.” Gu Yun heard the sound of a man in the darkness. The accent was a little bit weird. It did not sound like the accent of people who live in the mountains. With the surrounding darkness, it was hard to observe the opponent’s appearance. However, it sounded like the voice belonged to a young man.
Three people at his flank quickly lifted the bag and left. In this kind of surrounding, letting them go meant it would be impossible to find Han Shu again. This lad should be these people’s leader and his martial arts very skilful. Gu Yun secretly assessed the situation, and then ordered Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun, “Both of you, chase after them!”
“Yes.”
Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun chased them from the right and left sides.
The man’s eyes were coldly staring, a long whip was produced on his hand, even in the darkness of this forest, a strange golden strand on the whip could be seen.
Before he had time to whip, Gu Yun had already taken out the sword, a chilled fizz and swift cold air were sensed as Bing Lian appeared from its sheath.
Observing the white jade colour of the sword, the man was a little bit shocked. Bing Lian that could move by itself left his heart trembling. What a beautiful sword it was!
Just as the man was dazed, Leng Xiao and Ge Jing Yun passed him, pursuing the three people.
The man did not really care, as he was more interested in the sword before him and its owner.
As the woman came towards him, a kind of frostbite feeling neared. The man was amazed, what kind of woman was yielding this wonderful sword.
In a split second, a small-stature woman was in front of him. She was wearing a black clothes as dark as the night. Her features could not be seen clearly. He could only see her handgrip posture on the sword, indicating her expertise.
Holding his whip, the man was not reserved in using his full power to whip towards her. Gu Yun’s body quickly deflected the attack. The whip severely flogged the ground, leaving a 3-inch depth groove.
Gu Yun’s wrist reversed, using Bing Lian on her hand, charged towards the man. As the cold light flashed, the man leapt above the Gu Yun’s head level and then sprung back. The whip on his hand also seemed to have a spirit, rapidly wrapping around Gu Yun’s unarmed wrist from behind.
Gu Yun turned around only to find the distance between both of them was really close. Gu Yun took this opportunity to observe the man in front of her. He dressed in a blue long gown. His black hair was not knotted as the army leaders but braided to his back. His temple was covered by fine hair reaching his eyes, making people unable to see through to his eyes and reading his intentions. This was the first time she met a man who wore such a vibrant colour. In the darkness, he seemed so unique.
Gu Yun secretly sighed, as the lash around her left arm tightened, the pressure penetrated deep into her muscle. Gu Yun quietly snorted. Bing Lian on her hand could feel her pain and slightly tremored. A cold light radiated from the sword’s edge, Gu Yun could feel Bing Lian on her hand emitting enormous power; she almost could not control it.
No longer able to hold the pain, Gu Yun’s left hand grabbed the whip and forcefully pulled it while her right hand thrust Bing Lian into the man’s chest.
The sword attacks that brought coldness to the bone bewildered the man. He could only retreat the lash that wrapped around Gu Yun’s left hand. Just as the lash met the edge of the sword, the gold coloured whip, made of a mysterious iron, fractured. Fortunately, the whip blocked the attack, reducing the speed of the cold sword and gave the man an opportunity to escape the fighting ground.
He was startled, it could not be imagined that this small woman who appeared so weak could be this formidable. The sword on her hand was not just your usual weapon, it was extremely sharp and able to freeze people.
Although he was able to escape, he knew himself that he was not Gu Yun’s opponent, or should it be said he was not the sword’s opponent. He quickly took his whip back and fled to the deeper areas of the forest.
“You want to escape?! It’s not that easy!” Gu Yun rapidly chased from behind.
It was a pity. The man’s qing gong (轻功 is the practice of martial arts, whereby the practitioners can move swiftly in a superhuman speed. In the movie, usually, it appears as the defying gravity skill, source: Wikipedia) was superb. Although Gu Yun’s strength was very good and her movement was also fast, she was not a practitioner of qing gong. As a result, the distance between the two gradually widened. The man set his foot on the mountain slope and jumped down. Gu Yun also chased him down. Not realizing that the slope which appeared to be slightly inclined when it was actually quite steep, she almost sprained her ankle. It was also because of this matter that the man’s figure had already disappeared. From far away, he arrogantly said, “If you really want to save Han Shu, let Su Ling enter the forest by himself. If he is afraid, please go to Crow’s Valley to collect the corpse three days from now.”
She still wanted to pursue him, when a constrained and pained voice from the south was heard… that was Ge Jing Yun’s voice.
“Damn!” Yu Gun quietly cursed. The purpose of these bandits was to use Han Shu as a bait to lure Su Ling. His life should not have been endangered. Gu Yun turned around and ran towards the direction of the sound.
After the sound of Gu Yun’s footsteps had gradually faded out, the man who was hiding behind the rock mountain could only loudly sigh. He looked at the whip that he has been using for many years. Now, the whip had broken into two parts. The man’s eyes hardened. In the future, this woman would be the leader of the main opposition.
Gu Yun did not need to run far before she spotted Ge Jing Yun, who laid on the ground. A thick and heavy blood odour was smelt in the air. He was injured!
After taking several coarse breaths, Ge Jing Yun answered with difficulties, “I… I am alright.” Judging from his voice, he was still conscious. However, his constantly bleeding arm made Gu Yun worry.
The light was not bright enough. Gu Yun could not clearly see where the injury was. She orderly tore the clothes, in an attempt to make a wound dressing. Gu Yun asked, “Where are all the injuries?”
As the tearing sound pierced through the night, Ge Jing Yun’s heart felt a little bit warmer. He quietly replied, “Left shoulder.”
Gu Yun sighed grimly, luckily it is the shoulder. She grabbed his arm, helping him to apply a dressing on his wound. She accidentally touched some metal still embedded on his arm. What kind of weapon was this?
Gu Yun carelessly touched, making Ge Jing Yun more pained and produce a cold sweat. Gu Yun did not dare to touch anymore, only quickly bandaging the open wound.
Just as she finished bandaging Ge Jing Yun’s arm, Gu Yun sensed there was a shadow approaching them. She quickly grabbed Bing Lian and was on alert. As the man neared, the silhouette matched with Leng Xiao’s.
“Leng Xiao?” Gu Yun asked to confirm.
The person who was running towards her replied, “Boss, I let them escape as I was afraid if I pursued further, I would not be able to get Ge Jing Yun back.”
Gu Yun sighed and said, “You’ve made the right judgement, help me carry him. Let’s leave this place first!”
Both of them helped Ge Jing Yun to walk towards the forest exit. Although she applied a simple bandage, Ge Jing Yun’s blood was still continuously dripping. Gu Yun secretly speculated whether or not the opponent’s weapon was the arrow that she previously knocked down. In such a limited light source, the opponent could shoot accurately? That man’s skill had definitely reached a very high level.
After walking a bit, Gu Yun could see a search party that held torches, headed by Su Ren’s subordinate. She urgently spoke, “We’re here.”
Hearing some sounds, Yu Shi Jun quickly went there and was a little bit flustered upon seeing the other three people. Yu Shi Jun anxiously asked, “Madam, are you alright?
Gu Yun shook her head, “I am fine.”
As he only saw three of them, Yu Shi Jun asked, “How about Vanguard Han?”
Gu Yun did not answer the question and heavily said, “There is a casualty here. We can talk again once we have returned to the camp site.”
With a fire illuminating and the soldiers’ help, they quickly exited the forest. Seeing them from far away, Su Ren restlessly urged, “Big sister-in-law, are you okay?”
Gu Yun shook her head and answered, “Ge Jing Yun is injured, where is the military doctor?” Ge Jing Yun passed out due to blood loss. If not quickly treated, he would lose his life.
“Your subject is here.”
A 40-year-old man came forward, inspecting the wound on Ge Jing Yun’s arm. His face instantly sank and he quickly ordered, “Help him to get into the tent!”
Seeing Ge Jing Yun was sent inside the tent lessened Gu Yun’s worries. Only then, she could feel a burning pain on her left hand. Stroking her arm, Gu Yun frowned, she originally assumed at most, it would be bruised, but she did not expect it to bleed!
Su Ren sharply noticed her bleeding left arm, “Big sister-in-law, you are also injured?”
Gu Yun lightly nodded, “My injury is not life-threatening. Let’s go in before we talk.”
Entering the main camp, an older military doctor stopped by Gu Yun’s side, holding his medicine box. He used a scissor to carefully cut her sleeve. When the slender arm was exposed, three swollen red wounds were bleeding non-stop. This made some of the men in the tent frown. However, as it was impolite to stare at a woman’s arm, Su Ren and Lou Mu Hai looked down while Yu Shi Jun quickly turned his back.
This kind of wound, even though was not severe, but it was still very painful. The old military doctor took a medicine and carefully said, “Mistress, now I will apply the medicine and the dressing. Please endure the pain.”
Gu Yun gently smiled, nodding her head, “It is okay, just treat it.”
As he gently sprinkled the medicine onto the wound, a sharp pain radiated from her arm. Gu Yun could no longer endure the pain, “En…..”
The old doctor’s hand paused in the air; he did not dare to move. Although the medicine was very good, it was also… very painful. Gu Yun took a couple of deep breaths and weakly said to the doctor, “I am okay, please proceed.”
Her forehead was been covered by cold sweat, but she did not say anymore. The old doctor very carefully wrapped the wound and softly spoke, “Mistress, the medicine needs to be applied every day onto the wound. After half a month, it will go back to normal. I will try to find a way so that it won’t leave a scar.”
Gu Yun smiled, “Thank you, as long as it is cured, it is okay.”
She really did not care whether the wound would leave a scar or not. The old doctor secretly relieved. For such a good young woman, he would find a way to prevent the wound from scarring.
Although Gu Yun did not know his intention, she slowly took out her arm, stated seriously, “Han Shu is kidnapped by the rebels, they want Su Ling to come into the forest alone in three days. If within three days they do not see Su Ling, they will throw Han Shu’s corpse in Crow’s Valley.”
Hearing her words, Lou Mu Hai said anxiously, “This won’t do! General Su Ling has not yet arrived, even if he has arrived, we cannot let him take the risk. They know that particular forest very well, hence, it is beneficial for them. It will be a disaster to the general if he enters the forest.”
Su Ren’s palm tightened. It looked like he had been underestimating those bandits. Before he managed to enter the city’s territory, the other party had already taken an action. The enemy at this time was truly not an ordinary thief.
Yu Shi Jun still did not dare to turn, and so with his back facing Gu Yun and Su Ren, he said, “Commander, in this subject’s opinion, even though they shot an arrow at you, they do not know who is the real General Su (referring to Su Ling). According to this logic, I can just wear general’s clothes, lead 5000 elite forces to enter the forest and observe the situation.”
Su Ren was still considering the idea when Gu Yun coldly said, “I advise you to not make any hasty actions. Today, when I went to chase Han Shu, I encountered a highly skilled martial artist who uses a long whip. Judging from Ge Jing Yun’s injury, it is definitely an arrow. If I guess it correctly, they are most likely Wu Ji and Yan Ge who were previously mentioned by Old General Lou. Those two people possess inarguably high martial arts skills. They also are familiar with jungle topology, as well as night operations. If they are only the subordinates, we will have a big problem.”
The inside of the room was really quiet when a white fingered hand separated the tent drapery (since it is a tent, it is not really a door). A male voice with a hint of amusement was heard, “Who has a big problem?”
The person who came in was a handsome man, wearing a long red robe. Gu Yun was secretly amused, what was happening this night? She originally thought the man in the forest who wore a blue attire was flirtatious enough, but did not think there was still a sky above the sky. The male in front of her was really enchanting. Fortunately, even though he wore a red robe, it did not make him appear feminine. In contrast, it gave him a rebellious effect.
What an interesting man. Gu Yun raised her lips slightly when she saw the man come in with such a cold arrogant aura, decreasing the temperature down to a freezing point.
“General Su!”
“Big Brother!”
The man who just came in was really Su Ling.
Lou Mu Hai quickly greeted him, smilingly said, “General Su has arrived, what a wonderful news!”
After leading the troops to many battlegrounds for years, Su Ling was very knowledgeable about battlefields. He was also an expert in predicting schemes. Just his presence could at least scare those bandits.
Su Ling greeted back, “Old General Lou.”
Mu Yi quickly glanced over them who were paying respect to each other. Mu Yi was not interested in watching them, quickly changed his eye direction. He stumbled upon a female in the tent. Although he could only see one side of her face, he knew that she was a beautiful woman.
He had seen countless beautiful women, but even the most beautiful ones could not interest him. However, this woman had triggered his curiosity. Mu Yi approached her, smilingly clicked his tongue, “It is unthinkable we can see a beautiful woman in the military army. Ling, you are really fortunate!”
This pale man clothed with a red robe was a son of the devil. Gu Yun rolled her eyes. She was not interested in putting up with this person’s dry humour. She quickly raised up, moving to the inner chamber and randomly sat on a chair, not realising… the chair is meant for the camp leader.
Hearing Mu Yi’s words, Su Ling just realised that Gu Yun was in the tent. He frowned, coldly asked, “How come you’re here?”
Gu Yun felt there was no need to answer such a question. Facing Lou Mu Hai, Gu Yun asked, “Old General Lou, what kind of place is Crow’s Valley?” That man said to collect the corpse at the valley, meaning most likely he would like to meet there.
Lou Mu Hai quickly re-focused and went towards her, “It is a canyon, located near the forest’s right periphery. Every rainy season, there will be rainwater overflowing there, transforming the gorge into a river. When the dry season comes and reduces the water, it will return to its canyon form. Because the terrain is very steep, only birds can fly out from there. The thick forest surrounds the area. It’s gloomy and damp, and therefore, named Crow’s valley.”
Gu Yun pondered for a bit before said, “They chose the Crow’s valley. In my opinion, there are two reasons to do so. First, their lair is located near the place. The second reason, which I think is more probable, the valley’s terrain has some benefits for them. My guess is when the time comes, they will take advantage of the terrain’s topography, cut us off on the both sides of the canyon, leaving Su Ling to come forward alone.”
Hearing her analysis, Su Ren and Yu Shi Jun approached her. The four people sat down together. Yu Shi Jun proposed, “This subject remembers mistress had trained and recruited the newbie soldiers with the superb climbing skills. Can our army climb up from the bottom of the gorge, giving a surprise attack?” (攻其不备, Chinese idiom. It means to strike when/where the enemy is unprepared)
Gu Yun shook her head, “Now is the summer season when the rainfall is mostly abundant. We cannot pass through there”
Lou Mu Hai agreed, “What mistress said is not wrong. Currently, there has been water building up there, flooding into the Crow’s Valley. It is impossible to pass through the valley.” This woman has never been inside the forest, yet she is familiar with the forest’s rainy season. She really is the wife of General Su. Sure enough, she cannot be compared with the ordinary women.
Su Ren quietly spoke, “Then, in your opinion, how should we strike?”
Gu Yun did not reply immediately. After a while, she finally cautiously replied, “From what I see, we should go and survey the actual terrain’s topography. After that, we can discuss the method on how to engage the enemy. After all, there are still three more days to go!”
In the main tent, Gu Yun rose from the seat, the three people surrounding her, appeared to be at Gu Yun’s every beck and call. In contrast, Su Ling and Mu Yi both were neglected on the side. Mu Yi smiled, “I say, Ling, even if you are not here, there won’t be a problem. Did I go to the wrong place? Is this the Su army’s camp? Who is actually this family’s leader?”
Those rhetorical questions sounded like Mu Yi wanted to help Su Ling set the record straight. However, when it was examined more carefully, Mu Yi was definitely happy to see Su Ling suffering.
Turning around and facing Su Ling’s deep eyes, Su Ren just realised his almighty big brother was still standing behind him. He embarrassingly grinned and hurriedly explained, “Uh… Big Brother. Tonight those rebels raided the food ration. After discovering this, Han Shu chased them into the forest. He somehow got ambushed inside the forest and is now held as a hostage. They want Big Brother to go to the Crow’s Valley within three days, or else, they will kill Han Shu. Big sister-in-law also entered the woods, confronted and fought with the rebels. We are now discussing the best way to rescue Han Shu.”
Han Shu fell into those rebels’ hand?! Hearing this news, Su Ling’s eyes were becoming colder. What a good rebel, actually dared to capture his subordinate to get him.
Mu Yi did not concern about who got captured, but that “big sister-in-law”… His eyes looked like he was about to ridicule Su Ling. Facing Su Ling, Mu Yi grinned, “I was not aware that you were married. Ckckck (the sound of one’s clicking one’s tongue)… You are really great at keeping secrets.” Su Ling’s face instantly got colder to the point he could freeze people to death, but Mu Yi ignored him. Gracefully, Mu Yi turned to face Gu Yun and smilingly said, “Big Sister-in-law (in a very polite way, he used 夫人 as a suffix, which means mistress), you were being rude before!”
Mu Yi’s acting made both parties simultaneously enraged, “Shut up!”
Mu Yi raised his eyebrows. His face was full of surprise and said, “Whoa, you two definitely are a pair of husband and wife. Both of you are one-hundred percent villains.”
Gu Yun stared coldly at Mu Yi and without holding back, she said, “Enchantress*, if you really want to look for drama, just honestly stand aside and see. Manage your mouth, do not mess around with me.”
Mu Yi narrowed his eyes, “What did you call me?”
Gu Yun’s icy eyes scanned him several times, from head to toe and back again, then met his eyes. She did not consider it as a taboo, so she reprised, “For such a man who is wearing such a flashy style; if I do not call you enchantress*, I won’t do your outfit a justice!”
Su Ling who had constantly maintained his icy face secretly twitched his mouth. Enchantress*! This title really suited Mu Yi. However, this woman was looking for trouble. The last person who called Mu Yi enchantress had buried in a grave. The grass on his tomb was even taller than her.
Mu Yi squinted his eyes, making him look like a sly and treacherous fox. All the spectators shuddered. Only Gu Yun remained unaffected and kept looking into his eyes. Want to refute? Angry? Don’t joke around?! If he dares to wear that kind of clothes, he has to be prepared to let people talk!
She unexpectedly did not get intimidated by him. Interesting! The coldness of his eyes was replaced by interest. This actually made Gu Yun’s hair stand up. This man was really troublesome. Gu Yun was too lazy to look at him anymore and quickly said to Su Ren, “Su Ren, tomorrow, once the sun comes out, go to the Crow’s Valley to explore the terrain.”
Gu Yun was just about to leave, when Su Ling’s arrogant voice which contained cold fury was heard, “In here, it’s not your place to give an order. Now, return to the General house!” She was seriously undisciplined and out of control. She went as far as following the army to the city of Pei, what exactly did she want to do?
Gu Yun’s footsteps stopped, slowly turning around. Her face carried a saccharine sweet fake smile, she answered, “General Su, I think you’ve misunderstood this problem. I did not have the interest to order your army. Also, you do not need to look after my problems.”
After saying this, Gu Yun took Bing Lian and strode away.
“Bing Lian?” With surprised eyes, Mu Yi faced Su Ling. He unexpectedly gave Bing Lian to this girl, don’t tell me…
“Who permitted you to touch that sword!” Su Ling roared, as Mu Yi expected. With both of his arms crossed in front of his chest, Mu Yi observed the situation; he was now seriously interested with this woman.
With her hand clutching the curtain and without turning her head, she was waving Bing Lian when she arrogantly replied, “Now, it is mine, if you have the capabilities, take it from me! I will wait for you.” From the moment she decided to take Bing Lian, she had decided to not let it go easily.
As the dark shadow disappeared before the tent, the remaining people were left with the man who was about to explode. Luo Mu Hai quietly said, “The night is not young anymore, this old subject will retire first.”
He did not understand the act in front of him, but being an honest official was also a hard task. He was better off not dipping his feet into this muddy water.
Lou Mu Hai had successfully escaped, Su Ren also hurriedly smiled, “True, true, true, it is really late. Big Brother, I won’t disturb your resting time anymore!”
Dear heaven. He knew that Qing Mo was strong. However, he never noticed her ability to speak could drive people crazy?! Or, was it she was only exceptionally prickly when she was confronted by big brother?
During this time, he was also better off quickly disappearing.
“This subject… This subject will also retreat!”
Just as Su Ren dashed out of the tent, Yu Shi Jun recovered his mind, also quickly asking to retreat.
Inside the big tent, just after Qing Mo left, everyone slipped off, leaving the room completely cleared. Mu Yi took out a jade flute, playing it with his fingers. At this time, only he would dare to poke an angry tiger. Unafraid of death, he smiled and ridiculed, “Why do I feel like someone is jealous?” The former power and prestige of the general no longer existed.
“Get the hell out of here!”
From the main tent, a lion roar was heard. The soldiers who were standing outside were so startled that it numbed their shoulders. Gu Yun rolled her eyes again, pretending as she did not hear anything and went into Ge Jing Yun’s tent.
Opening the curtain, there were more than 20 soldiers inside the tent. Upon recognising the person who was coming, everyone quickly rose from their beds and lined up nicely. Their faces showed happy smiles and shouted in unison, “Boss!” Finally, they could see her again. Truthfully, during her devilish boot camp, they hated her so much. However, after the camp was over, they often remembered and missed her.
Gu Yun softly smiled, nodding her head, “It’s okay, just rest!”
Once she arrived at the last bed, Ge Jing Yun had been supported by Leng Xiao, struggling to sit down, “Boss.”
Gu Yun frowned, gently spoke, “It’s okay, just lay on your bed.”
Leng Xiao’s eyes stumbled upon the bandage on her left arm, his indifferent face changed, urgently asking, “You’ve been hurt?”
Gu Yun indifferently shook her head and smiled, “Just a small injury. There won’t be a problem, don’t worry.” Leng Xiao no longer pressed, only his cold face became colder.
After Ge Jing Yun’s wound was treated, a thick bandage was wrapped tightly around his wound. Excluding his pale complexion, he looked okay.
A small silvery thing was placed beside his pillow. Gu Yun squinted her eyes to focus. Leng Xiao quickly took it and gave it to her.
That was the 5-inches-length arrow, which was quite different from the normal ordinary arrow; as not only the head was made of iron, even its tail was made out of the same material. What made most people tremble with fear was the hook that was embedded on the arrow’s tail. No wonder Ge Jing Yun’s bleeding was really hard to stop. This kind of wounding made it hard to pull the arrow out.
What a malicious weapon. Gu Yun asked softly, “Did you meet the person who shot the arrow?”
Leng Xiao looked at Ge Jing Yun, shaking his head and replied “That person was about as tall as Ge Jing Yun and was skinnier than me. However, it was too dark. The appearance couldn’t clearly be seen. He was also very skilful. We could not get closer to him. Furthermore, in such dim light, he still accurately shot an arrow at us, while running!”
It was really true, this kind of skill could not be performed by most people. Not only it required good vision, it also required a good set of other senses. She was once also trained to shoot blindfolded. She needed three years to achieve a 98% accuracy!
The arrow was placed beside Ge Jing Yun’s pillow. When Gu Yun rose up, all the soldiers once again stood up straight. Gu Yun laughed and said: “Now it isn’t training time. I am not your boss, so after this, do not be so afraid and alarmed. Don’t worry! Just get an early rest. ”
Gu Yun walked to the door’s side. All the soldiers still neatly stood at their position, glancing at her. She suspiciously asked, “What happened?”
“Boss…” Leng Xiao opened his mouth, but suddenly paused.
All the soldiers were squinting at him, Gu Yun felt weird and laughing said, “What is the problem? Just get to the point!”
Taking a deep breath, Leng Xiao faced Gu Yun and loudly answered, “Can we fight with you in the battle?”
Gu Yun was dazed a bit. Before her, she saw desire and eagerness, reflecting on their eyes. Unexpectedly, her heart ached. She looked down to stabilise her emotions. After a while, she then looked up, coldly smiling, “Exercise your bodies well before we talk again. My subordinate cannot have weak bodies.“
“Yes.”
Once Gu Yun exited the tent, immediately, chaotic happy shouts originated from the tent’s inside were heard. Gu Yun shook her head, as expected from a bunch of boys under 20.
Carrying a warm smile on her face, she left the tent, not paying attention to another pair of cold eyes deeply staring at her back.
Qing Mo, what kind of charm do you possess?
What has she done during the time he was not around?!
