Chapter 246

"Yes."

Li Rui nodded.

Since he wanted to help Dao Mo encircle and suppress the horse bandits, it was naturally unavoidable to enter the territory of the Wu Kingdom.

Wang Fu was somewhat worried and didn't avoid the subject: "Lord Li, the Wu Kingdom has not been peaceful recently."

He had also heard about the horse bandits attacking the caravan.

In his view.

It wasn't as simple as horse bandits.

Li Rui glanced at Dao Mo's somewhat embarrassed expression on the side and smiled slightly: "Thank you for the reminder, General Wang; it is my duty, and I should naturally defend against the enemy outside; personal matters are small, national matters are large."

Hearing this, Wang Fu's expression turned solemn instantly.

If this were heard by officials in the capital, they would only treat it as a joke.

But for a general like Wang Fu who guarded the border, the meaning was quite different.

Li Rui was truly risking his life to fulfill his promise.

Did he really think that, as the big officials in the capital imagined, it was still a gentle breeze and drizzle outside the Yu Kingdom?

Wrong.

It was a battlefield!

As long as it was a battlefield, people would die, and it was destined to be cruel.

"Captain Li is righteous."

Li Rui chuckled.

National righteousness? It didn't exist.

Just as he had said, it was merely his duty; since he had become the Trade Captain and received the benefits, there were naturally risks.

Counting the big shots in the imperial court, none of them were surnamed Li.

Which meant that he, coming from a humble background, had to rely on himself for everything.

Had he reached this point by playing both sides?

Actually, it was by doing things seriously.

This was the only way to last long; simple flattery was ultimately a castle in the air.

Appropriate worldliness was indispensable, but for someone from a humble background to climb up, first of all, they must have solid ability.

The Trade Captain's duty was to maintain trade stability.

Although the trouble was currently happening within the Wu Kingdom, it was hard to guarantee whether those horse bandits would cross the Ten Thousand Mountains and enter the Yu Kingdom to cause chaos.

Rather than waiting for trouble to happen and then solving it, it was better to strike first.

Trying to save trouble.

Would only blow things out of proportion, eventually reaching a point where it couldn't be cleaned up.

To do a good job as an official, one couldn't be lazy.

Sometimes, one couldn't even be afraid of death.

Being afraid of death actually made it easier to die.

The logic was simple, but out of instinctive resistance, many people would choose to be ostriches.

Dao Mo heard Li Rui's words and was overjoyed in his heart.

"Sure enough, I didn't misjudge Brother Li."

He coughed lightly: "General Wang can rest assured; within the territory of my Wu Kingdom, as long as I, Dao Mo, am not dead, I will not let Lord Li suffer any harm."

As soon as this was said.

Wang Fu's expression turned strange.

Why did this sound more and more wrong the more he listened?

Li Rui decided to end this conversation: "There is no time to lose, General Wang, we will talk another day."

Wang Fu nodded: "Take care, Lord Li."

After a moment.

The group crossed the Yu Kingdom checkpoint, passed through the Wu Kingdom checkpoint, and completely entered the territory of the Wu Kingdom.

Tan Hu and the others were coming to the Wu Kingdom for the first time.

They were inevitably curious.

Along the way, they looked left and right, looking like curious babies.

After walking about ten miles.

Dao Mo led Li Rui and the others to a depression in the Ten Thousand Mountains, where they could see a dozen tents from afar.

This was the Wu Kingdom camp for encircling and suppressing the horse bandits.

Dao Mo lifted the curtain of the largest tent in the middle; the furnishings inside were extremely simple, with only a table and two beds.

As a temporary military tent, it wasn't luxurious, but it was practical.

Dao Mo went straight to the point: "Brother Li, those horse bandits are very cunning; they run after killing people, sometimes not even taking the goods."

Speaking of horse bandits.

Dao Mo was full of anger.

Those horse bandits were like loaches, targeting them specifically and running after robbing them.

The enemy was in the dark, and they were in the light.

By the time they arrived, these horse bandits would have burrowed into the Ten Thousand Mountains, and there was no way to find them.

Li Rui pondered.

Actually, he and Dao Mo both knew clearly that they were no horse bandits; they were clearly soldiers of the chaotic army of the Wu Kingdom.

Their discipline was not something ordinary horse bandits could compare to, so they were naturally hard to deal with.

Li Rui revealed a mysterious smile.

If it were elsewhere, he would certainly be at his wit's end, but it was a pity that this was the Ten Thousand Mountains.

"I have my own methods."

A mountain depression in the Ten Thousand Mountains.

Deep night.

The chirping of unknown birds could be heard from time to time, and a loud, long howl of a wild wolf broke the tranquility.

A group of sturdy men wearing animal skins sat quietly around a campfire.

The campfire had only sparse sparks, no smoke, and almost no visible flame, yet it could maintain temperature.

Experienced mountain folk could see at a glance.

This campfire had been lit during the day, and then pine wood was added in small amounts many times to achieve this effect.

In short.

Everything was clearly premeditated.

These sturdy men didn't say a word, silent to a terrifying degree; this was not the style of horse bandits at all.

At this time.

A slight sound of footsteps crushing withered leaves rang out in the forest.

An old man slowly stood up and looked in the direction of the footsteps.

"Yuan Gao."

A figure walked out of the darkness, revealing his true face; Yuan Gao's mouth lifted slightly: "Qi Rui."

This group of "horse bandits" was naturally disguised as the army of the Qi clan of the Southern Border.

In order to disrupt the mutual market between the two countries, they even had the Fifth-Rank expert Qi Rui lead the team personally.

Such a lineup was naturally not something a caravan could deal with.

It was no wonder Dao Mo had been unable to succeed.

Qi Rui said expressionlessly: "So, what is the matter for which you seek me?"

Yuan Gao: "Capture someone."

"Capture whom?"

"Jiang Linxian."

"..."

Qi Rui's veins bulged; he felt Yuan Gao was deliberately teasing him.

Jiang Linxian, and to capture him alive, at least a Fourth-Rank would have to take action.

Even if Yuan Gao were added, the possibility was not great.

People must have self-knowledge.

Both were Fifth-Ranks, but the gap in combat power was not small.

Yuan Gao chuckled: "Rest assured, the Xueying Laozu has already discussed this with your clan uncle, and they will soon send experts to help; I am just informing you in advance."

Qi Rui nodded: "Good."

At this time, Yuan Gao suddenly remembered something: "By the way, I heard that a Yu Kingdom official named Li Rui has come to the Wu Kingdom; if you encounter him, capture him alive as well; the Xueying Laozu has use for him."

"Li Rui?"

Qi Rui frowned slightly.

He didn't understand what use Yuan Gao had for capturing that official named Li Rui alive.

Qi Rui: "What rank?"

"Sixth-Rank."

"Good."

Hearing that he was only a Sixth-Rank, Qi Rui didn't care much; could a Sixth-Rank martial artist turn the world upside down?

It was just a matter of convenience.

"Brother Rui, then farewell."

After saying this, Yuan Gao disappeared into the darkness again, as if he had never appeared.

Two days later.

"Old Rui, Dao Mo still hasn't given up; it seems he even brought an official named Li Rui from the Yu Kingdom."

A member of the Qi clan said.

"Li Rui..."

Qi Rui narrowed his eyes slightly. A familiar name.

Right, wasn't that the person Yuan Gao wanted to capture alive two days ago?

He really had come to the Wu Kingdom.

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He and Dao Mo could be said to be old rivals; one wanted to protect the trade route, the other wanted to destroy it—natural opposites, except that Qi Rui relied on the advantage of being in the dark to succeed repeatedly.

Moreover, the Qi clan had also planted moles in Dao Mo's army.

Otherwise, how could they withdraw precisely before Dao Mo arrived every time?

Qi Rui had a clear grasp of the situation in the Wu Kingdom's army.

"I know."

Qi Rui waved his hand, lost in thought.

Two figures walked between the mountain forests of the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The Ten Thousand Mountains, truly mountain after mountain.

!.

A forest that couldn't be seen to the end.

Who knew how many refugees from the Wu and Yu Kingdoms, as well as countless spirit beasts, lived here.

"Brother Li, can we really find them?"

Dao Mo looked at the increasingly dense thorns, asking suspiciously while swinging his blade to cut them down.

These past few days.

Li Rui had been bringing him to wander around the Ten Thousand Mountains every day.

Saying they were looking for clues.

Was this how one looked for clues?

The reason the Ten Thousand Mountains were called the Ten Thousand Mountains was because there were truly many mountains, and they were truly large; a person walking into the Ten Thousand Mountains was no different from an ant.

Wandering around like a headless fly like this, there was fundamentally no possibility of finding them.

If they could be found, wouldn't he have found them long ago when he led his troops?

A hundred people couldn't find them, so now with just Li Rui and him, it was even more impossible.

Unless they hit the jackpot.

Li Rui smiled slightly: "Maybe we will find them."

"I believe you."

Dao Mo continued to bury his head in cutting thorns.

Li Rui stopped talking, just walking quietly; to be more precise, he was listening.

"Look, look, there are two humans!"

"That person looks so fierce."

"Indeed, indeed."

The sound of chattering could be heard by his ears.

Li Rui's mouth lifted slightly.

His peripheral vision looked at the few birds standing on a tree branch nearby; they were chatting happily.

They didn't notice Li Rui, the eavesdropper, at all.

Li Rui kept receiving the "voices" coming from all directions in the mountain forest.

If one were to ask who the true master of the Ten Thousand Mountains was.

It was neither the people of the Wu Kingdom nor the people of the Yu Kingdom; the infinite birds and beasts were the true masters here.

After opening the West Heaven Gate.

Li Rui had the ability to hear the language of beasts.

In Qinghe, at most, he would just eavesdrop on some interesting gossip when bored, which was of no great use.

But coming to the Ten Thousand Mountains, this skill became extraordinary.

That group of mountain bandits could deceive Dao Mo, but they could never deceive the birds and beasts all over the mountains and plains.

Now.

All the birds and beasts in the Ten Thousand Mountains were Li Rui's eyes and ears.

This was the reliance Li Rui had for daring to go out of the checkpoint.

Otherwise, with his cautious nature, how could he take risks casually? In fact, as early as when Dao Mo came to him in Qinghe to explain the situation, he had already thought of a countermeasure.

"Brother Dao, it seems it hasn't been very peaceful lately."

Li Rui glanced at a spot in the mountain forest out of the corner of his eye.

Dao Mo looked in the direction of Li Rui's gaze.

He saw an old woman bringing a seven or eight-year-old child to dig for vegetable roots.

The distance was very far.

The two were martial artists with superior senses, which was why they could see them; the old woman and the child hadn't discovered them.

Dao Mo sighed lightly.

Just looking at their attire, he knew they were refugees from the Wu Kingdom who had fled into the Ten Thousand Mountains.

The Wu Kingdom had just been stabilized, and the new emperor had ascended the throne.

But the war within the territory had not ended because of this.

The evil concubine of the Qi clan claimed that the late emperor had left a deathbed edict to establish the Seventh Prince as emperor, who was her son, so the current new emperor's legitimacy was flawed.

The two sides were fighting fiercely over this.

When gods fight, mortals suffer.

Some people, in order to avoid the war, had to burrow into the mountains to barely survive, becoming refugees.

If they could survive, who would be willing to stay in the Ten Thousand Mountains surrounded by spirit beasts?

It was just that the people outside were more dangerous than the spirit beasts.

Dao Mo squeezed out a smile: "I've let Brother Li see something embarrassing."

Regarding this, he was naturally powerless.

Those like Dao Mo who pretended not to see were already very good; most Wu Kingdom officials, upon seeing these refugees, would either execute them or take them back for forced labor.

The two were talking.

A cry of surprise suddenly rang out in the forest.

Li Rui and Dao Mo turned their heads together.

They saw a large insect half a person tall opening its bloody mouth, forcing the old woman and the child to retreat repeatedly, with the possibility of losing their lives at any moment.

Dao Mo frowned slightly.

He was considering whether to save that pair of grandmother and grandson.

Then he heard a "whoosh."

A small stone was shot from his side like a sharp arrow, piercing a hole in the large insect's bulging belly with a "puchi" sound, blood pouring out.

"What a handsome skill."

Dao Mo's eyes lit up, looking at Li Rui's finger that hadn't yet been retracted, knowing that the stone just now was Li Rui's doing.

Flicking a finger like an arrow.

It was novel to see.

The large insect felt the pain, roared, turned its head, and burrowed into the mountain forest.

Li Rui's expression stirred: "Lord Dao, I will go and chase that large insect; you wait for me here for a moment."

After saying this.

His figure was like a harrier, leaping into the mountain forest in one bound and disappearing from Dao Mo's line of sight.

After a moment.

The large insect's path was blocked by Li Rui.

The injured large insect saw Li Rui and instinctively felt fear.

It saw the human before it speak slowly: "Who was the person who injured you before, and where are they?"

Instantly.

An expression of human-like terror appeared on the large insect's face.

It had seen a monster.

It had lived for more than ten years, and this was the first time it understood human speech.

"You, you, don't come over!"

The large insect retreated repeatedly, unable to even care about the severe pain coming from its belly, until it hit a large tree and stopped.

Li Rui's expression turned cold:

The reason he chased this large insect was because it had just said, "hit by someone again."

In these Ten Thousand Mountains.

There were not many people who could beat the large insect; it was likely the people from that group of horse bandits.

"Speak!"

"If you don't speak, I will kill you now and mince you into meat to feed the mother tiger."

Facing Li Rui's threat, the large insect was even more terrified.

"You ask, I will tell you everything."

Dao Mo had nothing to do, and upon asking, found that the old woman lived not far away, so he simply sent the old and the young back.

Unlike some officials of the Wu Kingdom.

He had been used to hardship in his early years and could better understand these poor people.

When he returned to the original spot.

Li Rui also happened to walk back.

Dao Mo asked: "Did that large insect die?"

He hadn't expected Li Rui to be a warm-hearted person who saved people and also removed the scourge.

Li Rui didn't answer, but spoke slowly:

"Brother Dao, there is a mole."

(End of chapter)