The reason he was so respectful to this eunuch was that the visitor’s identity was extraordinary. He was the second in command among the palace attendants, named Mi Yunzhong, and he controlled a network of spies independent of the imperial court and directly subordinate to the emperor, known as the Outer Watchers.
To many civil and military officials, this was a bloody and terrifying existence.
Where there were Outer Watchers, there were Inner Watchers, collectively known as the Inner and Outer Watchers. The Inner Watchers ranked ahead of the Outer Watchers and were controlled by the chief eunuch in the Yin Country palace, known as the Chief Supervisor of the Inner Watchers, who constantly accompanied the emperor.
Mi Yunzhong was the Commander of the Outer Watchers, commonly addressed as the Supervisor, and to a certain extent, he was subject to the control of the Chief Supervisor of the Inner Watchers.
With such a figure visiting this place in person, how could this military commander not be respectful.
After resting his hand back on the teacup, Mi Yunzhong asked, “What is the current situation in your sector?”
The commander reported, “Temporarily, we have captured over a dozen suspicious individuals attempting to sneak into the Morning Sun Assembly.”
Mi Yunzhong asked, “Who are they?”
The commander replied, “From a preliminary understanding, they are a motley crew. Their identities are not yet fully confirmed, and the results extracted through severe torture still need verification. However, this humble subordinate believes it is better to arrest the wrong person than to let one go. Anyone attempting to sneak into the Morning Sun Assembly through irregular channels is suspicious. Regardless of their identity or background, they should all be arrested first.”
This approach was somewhat unreasonable, but Mi Yunzhong nodded with gratification and gave his approval, “Very good.”
Because they had paid thirty thousand taels of silver in advance, the three martial brothers, including Yu Qing, could not remain at ease. Instead of meeting at the southern entrance of the town at dusk as Cao Wei had suggested, they stayed outside the military camp, watching the entrance and waiting for Cao Wei.
After Cao Wei emerged from the camp, the three of them shrank back, avoiding detection. They only followed him quietly, partly out of fear that he might run away, and partly to see what he would do. As a result, they discovered that this fellow was just wandering around, bragging and chatting, and even went to a brothel to enjoy himself.
The three followed him to the door of the brothel. Even without much understanding of the trade, they could tell this brothel was newly opened. The town was too small and originally had no brothels. It was only after the area became lively and a market appeared that it was set up temporarily.
Facing the solicitation of the fluttering women, unlike Yu Qing who was a bit embarrassed, and unlike Mu Aotie who was aloof and proud, Nan Zhu’s eyes actually gleamed with interest. He nudged Yu Qing’s arm, signalling him to take out the banknote, and said, “I will go in and keep an eye on things for you.”
Yu Qing said with disdain, “You go and keep your eye on things, why do you need money?” With that, he turned his head and walked away.
Mu Aotie also scoffed at Nan Zhu and turned to leave.
Nan Zhu followed them, but muttered under his breath, “Do not blame me later when those thirty thousand taels are gone.”
The three did not go too far. They sat down at a stall diagonally opposite the brothel and continued to drink tea.
They drank a pot of tea, refilled it with water several times, and chewed on some snacks. It was almost dusk when Cao Wei finally emerged from the brothel.
The three immediately threw down their money, left, and followed him again.
At the southern entrance of the town, Cao Wei looked around after arriving. Not finding the person he was supposed to meet, he was just wondering when the three martial brothers, led by Yu Qing, suddenly popped out to greet him.
Cao Wei did not stand on ceremony with them and asked, “Are the banknotes ready?”
Yu Qing said, “Rest assured, you will not be short of money once the matter is settled.”
Cao Wei waved his hand, “Let us go.”
The three martial brothers found that this man was quite trustworthy and did not say much more. They followed him towards the distant, vast mountainous area.
All three knew that once they entered the mountains ahead, they would be in the territory of Kunling Mountain. The main road into the mountains had checkpoints set up by imperial troops. Only by passing through the checkpoints and taking the main road could they ensure their safety. Attempting to sneak into the forest secretly was not impossible, but no one knew how many hidden sentries were set up in the mountains, not to mention Kunling Mountain’s own mountain guarding methods. One had to have the skill to sneak in.
The problem was that sneaking in secretly was useless. Without a proper identity, it would be difficult to move around once inside. It was impossible for a person to run around freely within Kunling Mountain without any credentials.
If this were not the case, the three martial brothers would not have been so hesitant.
Looking at the mountain runs a horse to death, meaning the distance between the town and the mountains was indeed not short.
Far away from the town, especially after deviating from the official road, the number of people coming and going gradually thinned, and the sky grew dim.
Just when there were no signs of people ahead or behind on the road, and only the sound of their footsteps remained, a sudden whooshing sound of breaking wind came.
The few of them were slightly startled and reacted urgently. The three martial brothers quickly drew their swords in a defensive posture.
Only then did they hear the thunderous crack of a bowstring, followed by a muffled groan of “Hmm” from beside them.
The three looked back and saw Cao Wei, who had already drawn his sword, propping himself up with it on the ground. His body was swaying, his legs tense, unable to move a single step.
An arrow had pierced Cao Wei’s thigh. In fact, it had pierced both thighs, pinning his two legs together and making it difficult for him to move.
“Who is there?”
Cao Wei shouted angrily, glaring around. His appearance as a useless person vanished, replaced by a valiant aura. He actually grabbed the arrowhead on one side of his thigh with one hand and forcefully pulled the arrow out of both thighs, blood dripping.
Whoosh! Another arrow shot towards him, hitting Cao Wei’s wrist exactly where he was propping himself up with the sword.
Actually, two arrows were shot at the same time, but one was urgently deflected by Yu Qing as he swung his sword sideways.
With his supporting hand injured, Cao Wei’s two injured legs immediately went weak. He fell to his knees with a thud, almost collapsing. He urgently switched hands to grab the sword hilt and prop himself up to avoid falling. His bearded face tightened with fierce muscles, revealing a fierce appearance.
The eyes of the three, led by Yu Qing, urgently locked onto the place where the bowstring had cracked. After three arrows, the archer’s hiding place had been locked onto by them.
The three martial brothers were highly alert. It was obvious that this was no ordinary archer. To pin both legs of a living person with a single arrow was something an ordinary archer could not do. The control over the shooting force was extraordinary, as was the shooting accuracy in such lighting conditions.
The shooter clearly did not want to kill Cao Wei directly and had obviously shown mercy. Otherwise, Cao Wei would likely have died on the spot.
The same thought flashed through the minds of the three, a Grand Archer!
Once this thought arose, the three felt their scalps go numb. They knew deeply that archers who could reach the rank of Grand Archer were true killers. They had no experience fighting such people. Once the opponent decided to attack them, they might not be able to escape.
The three held their swords in their hands, highly guarding the target’s hiding place.
In the dim, yellowish light, a figure suddenly darted out from a patch of reeds swaying in the wind. Riding the wind and stepping on the grass, the figure floated over like a wisp of green smoke and landed in front of the three martial brothers who were blocking the way.
It was a black clothed, masked person carrying a quiver on their back. The figure was slightly small, but it was hard to conceal a valiant and heroic posture. At a glance, the physique was clearly that of a woman, which somewhat stunned the three martial brothers.
However, their gazes quickly concentrated on the bow held in the other person’s hand. The twisted bow body was charred black, scattered with many circular silver spots, resembling many eyes. It was unmistakably the Qiu Long Bow.
The eyes of the three sharpened, a Xuan level Grand Archer!
Cao Wei, who was kneeling behind them, switched hands to hold his sword, pointing the blade at the masked person, and shouted, “Who goes there?”
The masked person ignored him but spoke to the three, led by Yu Qing, “Are you going to stop me?”
It was a woman’s voice, with a clear and refreshing tone.
The three, holding their swords in defence, looked at each other. The other person’s words left them somewhat unsure of how to answer.
Stop her? They certainly did not want to stop her. No one liked to provoke this kind of assassin capable of long distance assassination.
If they did not stop her, they were still counting on Cao Wei to help them sneak into Kunling Mountain. Besides, the deposit had already been given to him.
Yu Qing could not help but glance around, wondering if this female archer had come alone or if she had accomplices. It was said that Grand Archers were basically the henchmen of the imperial military.
Hearing the masked person speak and confirming she was not on the same side as the people around her, Cao Wei immediately said, “If the three of you can help me defend against the enemy, I, Cao, will definitely reward you heavily. Your matter is on me!”
The masked woman sneered upon hearing this, “Could it be that the three of you also believed his nonsense and think he can help you sneak into the Morning Sun Assembly?”
The three martial brothers glanced at each other. Nan Zhu could not help but ask, “Heroine, why do you say that?”
Heroine? This address left Yu Qing and Mu Aotie speechless, and they both could not help but glance at him.
“If you are not on his side, then step aside!” The masked woman gave a disdainful snort and stared at the person kneeling behind them again. “Cao Wei, where did you take my two martial brothers?”
Cao Wei was actually stunned by her words, “Your martial brothers? What kind of rubbish martial brothers? I do not even know who you are. Who are you, and who are your martial brothers?”
The masked woman raised the bow in her hand, “Why play dumb? Five days ago, two people carrying bows were tricked into the mountain by you and never came out. Do not tell me you have not seen them.”
Cao Wei was indeed a bit confused. Had he tricked anyone into the mountain five days ago? And carrying bows? With such obvious characteristics, it was impossible for him to have no impression.
He suddenly felt something was wrong and immediately cursed, “Are you mad? Did you mistake me for someone else? Open your eyes and look clearly. Are you sure the person you are looking for is me?”
He already felt that he might have been wrongly accused. Thinking of his arrow wound, it was incredibly frustrating.
The three martial brothers had already turned sideways, constantly looking left and right, occasionally looking at this one, and occasionally looking at that one. They felt that Cao Wei did not look like he was acting. If he were really acting, his acting skills would be a bit too good.
The masked woman responded loudly, “Cao Wei, a local, joined the army twenty years ago, currently a deputy general of the South Ridge Right Route Army. Three months ago, he returned to his hometown with the army to be stationed, later concealed his identity, and cooperated with the South Ridge Right Route Army to clear the outskirts of Kunling Mountain. You used your identity as a local as a cover, falsely claimed to be the nephew of the sect leader of the Zhengyang Sect, spread rumours, and lied that you could help people sneak into the Morning Sun Assembly. In reality, this was a purge operation coordinated with the garrison troops. You specialise in luring people into the trap, and the garrison troops open the net waiting for you to bring the people over. Have I said anything wrong?”
Upon hearing these words, the faces of the three martial brothers almost turned green. They turned around in unison, gritting their teeth and staring intently at Cao Wei.
Cao Wei’s face changed drastically, and he finally waved his sword, pointing it at the masked person, and shouted angrily, “Who exactly are you?”
These words were tantamount to an admission. He could not deny it even if he wanted to, as the other party had investigated his background thoroughly, making it clear that it could not be hidden.
And this was also what he could not figure out. How did the other party know these details?
The masked woman pressed again, “Where have you taken my two martial brothers?”