GHLCS Chapter49

Jiuhuang Mountain outside Hezhou City has always been a sparsely populated area where bandits are stationed.

 

The climb from Hezhou City to Jiuhuang Mountain is quite rugged and requires at least one night of non-stop walking. Therefore, there is an abandoned hunter’s thatched hut halfway up the mountain, which serves as a resting place for travelers.

 

When Xu Hang woke up, he was lying on a dusty earthen bed. The water from the roof dripped onto him, feeling cold. He remembered that he was tied up by a group of bandits before he fainted. Now his hands were tied, and he could hear the bandits talking by the fire outside the door.

 

“You are up?”

 

Another voice sounded in the thatched house. Xu Hang squinted his eyes and saw that the man was squatting in the corner. There was no light in the room, so he didn’t notice him for a while. He walked forward a few steps and revealed his true face.

 

“Young Master Xu, I told you that you will regret this.”

 

Cong Lin, dressed like a bandit, sat down opposite him with a wicked smile.

 

Xu Hang suddenly understood several things in his mind: “Did you do this?”

 

Cong Lin spread his hands and said, “I just wrote to the Military Control Commissioner to tell him what Commander Duan’s weakness is and to give these bandits some advice. I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly.”

 

A 17-year-old boy having such a dark side—Xu Hang felt a chill run down his spine. He now truly believed this boy was capable of killing his own sister with his bare hands. “Are the Military Control Commissioner and the Chief of Staff aligned with the same faction?” Xu Hang reached this conclusion.

 

“Smart.” Cong Lin responded.

 

In truth, it wasn’t hard to figure out—there was already tension between the Military Control Commissioner and Duan Yelin, creating a perfect opportunity for Cong Lin to stir the pot and take advantage of the unstable balance between the two sides. Xu Hang simply hadn’t expected Cong Lin to be daring enough to make use of the Military Control Commissioner so soon.

 

“Let me reintroduce myself,” Cong Lin straightened up and sat upright. “I belong to an underground assassin organization codenamed ‘Blood Vermillion Bird’ headed by the Chief of Staff, and I’m the No. 7 assassin. By the way, my sister Cong Wei is the No. 6 assassin. My only purpose in coming to Hezhou City is to kill Duan Yelin at all costs.”

 

The mountain breeze in the middle of the night seemed very eerie and terrifying. The scar on Cong Lin’s face trembled. His eyes looked so innocent, but the murderous intent was as strong as ever when he looked at people.

 

Xu Hang shifted his tightly bound wrist, which had gone a bit numb. “You waited quite a while before making your move—looks like the assassination order was only given recently.”

 

“Yes, if Commander Duan could understand the current situation and stand on the same front with the Chief of Staff, then I wouldn’t have to go through so much trouble either.”

 

“Heh… I wonder how Duan Zhanzhou would feel if he knew that you deliberately planned to kill his brother?” Xu Hang asked tentatively.

 

Cong Lin’s childish face assumed a mature expression, and he made a gesture of wiping his neck: “If you die, he won’t know about it anymore.”

 

Xu Hang showed no fear at all and clearly stated Cong Lin’s plan: “When I enter the mountain stronghold, you’ll have me write a plea for help. The bandits will deliver it to Duan Yelin, prompting him to take action. Once he comes up the mountain, you and the Military Control Commissioner will join forces to ensure he doesn’t come back alive—am I right?”

 

‘Pah, pah, pah,’ Cong Lin clapped his hands. “Sure enough, it didn’t escape your eyes, but you realized it a little late. If you have any last words, you can tell me, and I will pass them to Duan Yelin for you as a reward for the bottle of ointment you gave me.”

 

Xu Hang looked at him for a while and laughed contemptuously: “Do you really think you can send me into the village so smoothly?”

 

Cong Lin crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly, looking smug, as if everything was under control. “Unless you can pull off an out-of-body escape, you’ve got no chance of getting away. While you were unconscious, I searched you from head to toe—every strand of hair down to the soles of your shoes. I even got rid of your sachet. You pose no threat at all now.”

 

“You threw away that sachet?” Xu Hang’s eyes changed.

 

Cong Lin didn’t answer, which meant he agreed.

 

The room was silent for a long time, and Xu Hang finally had a sly look in his eyes: “Cong Lin, you are very smart, but have you ever heard of someone being too smart for his own good?”

 

When two foxes are fighting each other, they won’t talk nonsense. Cong Lin frowned and waited for Xu Hang’s next words.

 

Xu Hang even leaned forward: “You forgot, I’m a physician. Physicians are good at using medicine and poison. You’ve touched the things on my body, don’t you feel anything is wrong?”

 

What a disturbing comment! Cong Lin’s eyes widened in alarm. He abruptly stood up and took a step back, then rolled up his sleeves to inspect his hands, as if something had just occurred to him. Out of nowhere, red rashes of different sizes began to appear on his skin. Whether it was Xu Hang’s words that triggered it or not, the itching suddenly kicked in—for real!

 

Poison!

 

He never expected that Xu Hang could poison him at such a critical moment!

 

“You… impossible! If you had been prepared and poisoned in advance, how could you be so stupid as to let me kidnap you!”

 

Xu Hang stood up as well. “Thanks to where you placed the nail board—there were poisonous weeds growing in the bushes on both sides. Before you found me, I coated the sachet with their juice. Don’t say I didn’t warn you—the symptoms have already started. If you don’t get treatment soon, you’ll be dead long before I am.”

 

The veins on Cong Lin’s forehead kept throbbing. He didn’t expect such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill two birds with one stone to go wrong. He felt very unwilling.

 

“Aren’t they just some poisonous weeds? You’re not the only physician in the city!”

 

Xu Hang sneered, “At this point, it’ll take you at least half a day to get down the mountain and reach the city. By then, the poison will have already taken hold—you’ll barely have enough time to pick out a coffin for yourself.”

 

Cong Lin instinctively took a step back. Xu Hang’s unwavering confidence left him no choice but to believe it.

 

He couldn’t die—not like this. Xu Hang was still alive, and Duan Yelin hadn’t launched the attack on the mountain yet. If he wanted to shape the future, he had to survive first. Only then could he scheme his next move.

 

It would have been fine if Xu Hang were a little foolish, but he was too smart for that. If he let him go now, he will never be able to hide from Duan Zhanzhou again.

 

Neither of the two options was good. Cong Lin tightened his jaw, feeling very embarrassed. Now it was Xu Hang’s turn to be confident. He sat down again and said slowly, “Duan Yelin must have known that I was kidnapped. He is either on the way up the mountain or preparing to go up the mountain. You are not without a chance of winning. How about we each take a step back? There is no hatred between you and me. We just want a way to survive. If you really think it is worth losing your life here, I have nothing to say either.”

 

The situation now is like a game. Xu Hang has defeated him. It depends on whether he will sacrifice his chariot to save his pawns or burn his boats.

 

“You win again…” Cong Lin was the younger one after all, so he gritted his teeth and said, “Tell me, what do you want?”

 

“Give me a horse to cover my escape, and I will tell you how to detoxify.” It was a simple and direct condition.

 

“There are dozens of bandits outside, and you want me to protect you? Don’t dream.”

 

“You will always find a way.” Xu Hang was much calmer than him. “I believe you.”

 

Given Cong Lin’s scheming, it was impossible for him to have no backup plan and fully trust this group of brainless bandits.

 

Sure enough, Cong Lin gave him a sinister look, gritted his teeth, and went out.

 

Xu Hang breathed a sigh of relief. He won this round.