GHLCS Chapter53

Kuromiya Keiko’s methods are just like her—swift and decisive.

 

Xu Hang didn’t have time to study how she did it. In short, she finally sent a message saying that she could only help Xu Hang buy time for three days.

 

Three days: it’s enough, but also not.

 

Qiao Song had already led his troops into the mountains, and Xu Hang went to find Duan Zhanzhou in person.

 

“What? I’ll go?” Duan Zhanzhou was incredulous after hearing Xu Hang’s plan. “You’re not crazy, right? They’re just a bunch of bandits. My brother has already brought several platoons of people over there. Don’t underestimate him!”

 

Xu Hang was not in the mood to joke at all: “If the suspension bridge down the mountain had not been cut down by someone, your brother would have already returned to the city with me by now. Do you still think this is just an ordinary bandit suppression?”

 

Duan Zhanzhou’s mind was filled with questions, and his military instincts sharpened as he noticed something strange. Bandits usually rob for financial gain, never seeking to provoke officers and soldiers. This behavior felt like they were deliberately keeping Duan Yelin on the mountain.

 

“Speak in detail!”

 

“I don’t have time to explain it to you in detail. Anyway, it’s a trap. I have already stopped the resistance at the foot of the mountain. All I need is for you to go to the mountain for support.”

 

Duan Zhanzhou pondered and said, “But all the soldiers in Hezhou City have been taken away by Qiao Song. The few remaining people can only cheer him up at most, they can’t do much. I will have to go to the city to mobilize troops.”

 

“It’s too late, and there’s no need either. Duan Zhanzhou, I just want you to show up in front of the bandits and let everyone know that you’ve also gone up the mountain. That’s enough.”

 

“What’s your reasoning?”

 

Xu Hang took a long breath and said, “Because there is an old acquaintance of yours on the mountain.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Cong Lin.”

 

There was a loud crash of debris falling from the table to the ground. Duan Zhanzhou stood up too hastily, and his knees hit the low table. Doubt, confusion, and anger rose in his eyes, so much so that he could not feel the pain.

 

He knew that the guy had disappeared for a few days and assumed that Cong Lin had finally had enough of the torture and slipped away. Of course, he wouldn’t go looking for him—the guy was disgusting, vicious, and outrageous.

 

But there is always a feeling of emptiness, as if there is a corner missing in his heart, and it feels uncomfortable, as if there is a wind leaking out.

 

Now he finally knows his whereabouts, but Xu Hang actually said… that he is on the mountains? Is he going to hurt the people around him again?

 

Duan Zhanzhou gritted his teeth: “Why is he on the mountain?”

 

Xu Hang shook his head. “Some things, you’ll have to ask him directly when you see him. My job is just to tell you the priorities. You don’t need to bring anyone with you. It’ll be much quicker to ride a horse up the mountain alone.”

 

“I understand.”

 

After leaving Xiaotong Guan, Xu Hang closed his eyes, and his heart sank.

 

Duan Zhanzhou will definitely go up the mountain. As long as Cong Lin sees him, he is doomed to fail. Even if he has a great conspiracy, even if he has extraordinary wisdom and calculations, even if there is an inescapable net, Duan Zhanzhou is a sharp spear that can break him.

 

Just because he dared not hurt Duan Zhanzhou. Love is the most murderous word.

 

“Duan Yelin…” Xu Hang muttered to himself, “…I can only help you up to this point.”

 

On Jiuhuang Mountain, the bandit stronghold had been destroyed, leaving only ruins.

 

Cong Lin and a group of bandits hid in a hidden valley, with wounds of varying sizes all over their bodies, and everyone looked embarrassed and tired.

 

Their arrogance from the previous few days had disappeared, and every bandit had a look of defeat on their faces. They had never expected that the famous Commander Duan was really as good as his reputation, he beat them back step by step, and they even handed over their old nest to them.

 

The Military Control Commissioner said that reinforcements would come to support them, but they have been waiting for a long time already… where are the reinforcements?

 

If this continues, it will only be a matter of time before they are caught in one fell swoop.

 

The bandit leader was a bearded man. He shouted to the gloomy Cong Lin, who was biting his finger beside him, “Hey, you! What should we do now? When will the Military Control Commissioner come? Laozi was almost beaten to death by Duan Yelin already, and there was still no trace of him!”

 

Cong Lin was also holding his breath, but he was young, and it was not obvious: “No need to wait anymore, if he was going to come, he would have come since earlier, he must have been tripped.”

 

“What?! Not coming?”

 

“The Military Control Commissioner wants to kill Duan Yelin more than you do. This opportunity is rare. If he didn’t go up the mountain now, he must definitely be outmaneuvered. I’m afraid we can’t count on him. We’d better find another way out.”

 

“Damn it! I shouldn’t have trusted these soldiers! What should I do now? Wait for death?!” The bearded man cursed.

 

Cong Lin bit his lip and stood up: “Don’t worry, as long as we are still alive, we are not at the end of the road.” He looked at the sky: “Duan Yelin will find this valley tonight.”

 

The bearded man sat down in frustration: “That’s right! Damn it, if he comes in, my brothers and I will all die!”

 

“That’s only if he can come in.” Cong Lin smiled coldly.

 

The bearded man was afraid of Cong Lin from the beginning. It was embarrassing to say this, but it was true. He was bitten by a wolf when he was a child, but Cong Lin’s eyes were even scarier than those of a hungry wolf.

 

Cong Lin can only be his son with his age, but the words he says are always more poisonous than arsenic.

 

“You… do you have any ideas?”

 

Cong Lin picked up a branch and drew on the ground: “Don’t you remember that I asked your men to go to the mountains to catch poisonous snakes and scorpions a few days ago? Now is the time to put them to use.”

 

He pointed to a location on the sketch he had drawn, and the bearded man saw that it was the only way to enter the valley. He suddenly had an idea. Previously, Cong Lin had made them dig a large pit here and carefully cover it with leaves and sand.

 

Snake pot.

 

During the reign of King Zhou of Shang, such a torture device was set up for the evil Concubine Daji. The bearded man thought it was just a joke in a book, but he never expected to see the real thing one day.

 

Although he had killed people before, but he had always done it in a hurry, for the sake of money, and had never thought of tricking people into a snake pit to be bitten to death by thousands of snakes and scorpions! Thinking of this, the bearded man looked towards Cong Lin and suddenly felt a chill on his back.

 

What kind of devil is this?

 

At this time, a young bandit who was watching outside ran in while sweating and shouted, “Big Brother, Big Brother! It’s, it’s, it’s not good!”

 

“If there’s anything, spit it out!”

 

“That surname Duan has got more helpers!”

 

Cong Lin heard this and quickly turned his head: “Helpers? Who?”

 

“I, I don’t know him. He looks very close to Commander Duan. Oh, he looks quite similar.”

 

In an instant, the blood color faded from Cong Lin’s face, and the thing he had been worried about finally happened.

 

Xu Hang… it must be Xu Hang! He really is a dagger, stabbing people in the softest places!

 

Cong Lin grabbed the bandit by the collar and asked fiercely, “Where are they? Have they entered the valley? Tell me quickly!”

 

The little bandit was strangled by him and felt uncomfortable: “Cough, cough… not yet… they’re almost in…”

 

Like a flash of lightning, Cong Lin left his men behind and ran towards the valley entrance, not even turning back even though the bearded man was jumping up and down and cursing behind him in confusion.