Chapter 136: Crow Gorge (1)

The summer night in the rainforest was not peaceful. The sound of raindrops, the chirping of insects, and the howls of nocturnal animals foraging for food wove together into a strange nocturne. Being in such an environment, it felt as if countless gloomy eyes were staring tightly at you, or as if a cold, sinister snake was hanging above your head, ready to drop down at any moment. Every subtle sound was a form of psychological torture.

In a huge cave, several roaring bonfires were lit around, surrounded by firelight. In the center of the cave, a man as sturdy as a mountain lay on the ground, bound with thick hemp ropes, his eyes closed, unconscious.

A large bucket of cold water was poured over his head. Han Shu shivered and gradually opened his eyelids, which felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Through the haze, a young face came into view; fine strands of hair blocked his eyes, but the smile at the corner of his mouth revealed an evil aura, and his blue robe was incredibly striking. Han Shu's eyes widened suddenly, staring at the man who was squatting on the ground, resting his chin on his hands and smiling at him. The memory of being ambushed and drugged instantly flooded his mind. Han Shu cursed loudly, "You bunch of shameless bandits, actually playing dirty tricks! If you have the ability, let me go now and let's have a fair fight!"

The man was not annoyed, squinting at him and laughing, "We are shameless bandits, naturally insidious, cunning, and ruthless. I think it's better to dismantle one of your hands and one of your feet before we compete. What do you say?"

The clear voice carried a smile, but the whip in his hand lashed mercilessly onto Han Shu's leg.

Gritting his teeth secretly, enduring the pain, Han Shu refused to admit defeat and cursed, "Damn it, don't think I'm afraid of you. If you have the ability, come again!"

Standing up abruptly, the man pulled out a dagger from the waist of a tribesman behind him and returned to Han Shu. The sharp blade wandered over his arm. The man replied with a half-smile, "Good! I will fulfill your wish. Then let's take the right hand and right foot!"

The cold sharp weapon slid across his skin, and Han Shu raised his head, not showing the slightest bit of cowardice. The black eyes hidden under the man's hair flickered slightly, and the dagger in his hand pierced deeply into the solid arm. Crimson blood dripped along the blade.

"Ugh!" Han Shu let out a muffled grunt, his tiger eyes wide open, staring at the man, refusing to beg for mercy.

The man pulled out the dagger unhappily and was about to stab again when a faint man's voice behind him said neither lightly nor heavily, "Yan Ge, that's enough. The patriarch has his own arrangements."

Beside the bonfire, a man in cloth clothes was playing with a short arrow in his hand, his eyes seeming to only see the toy in his hand, and other things could not enter his eyes. Compared with the flamboyant blue-clad man, he was so low-key that he could not attract anyone's attention.

Yan Ge curled his lips, threw the dagger in his hand to the tribesman, sat down beside the cloth-clad man, and threw a section of broken whip aside unhappily.

A flash of surprise flashed in Wuji's indifferent eyes, "Your whip?" This whip was a gift from Yan Ge's master. He usually cherished it extremely, how could it be broken into two pieces?

Yan Ge replied fiercely, "It was cut off by a fierce shrew." It was best not to let him find a chance, otherwise he would definitely make that stinking woman look good!

"Who?" Wuji's hand playing with the short arrow paused. This whip was woven from gold thread and black iron, extremely tough. What weapon was so sharp?

Han Shu sat half-way on the ground and laughed loudly. That broken whip must have been cut off by Madam's Ice Refinement. It was truly refreshing!

The harsh laughter made Yan Ge even more furious. He stood up abruptly and was about to rush over to teach Han Shu a lesson, but after meeting Han Shu's indifferent eyes, Yan Ge suddenly stopped his steps, and a plan came to his mind. He put his hands around his chest, circled around Han Shu, and laughed vividly, "I think that woman should be a military prostitute in the Su Family Army. I say you guys are really living a carefree life. The Su Family Army is the Su Family Army, other armies really can't compare. Even the military prostitutes know martial arts. And, that appearance, that figure, that skin, that chest..."

Yan Ge's tone became more and more obscene. Han Shu was burning with anger. His feet were tied with ropes, but he still kicked his two feet toward Yan Ge and cursed, "Shut up! You are not allowed to insult Madam!"

"Madam? Whose Madam?" Yan Ge naturally knew that such a woman could not be a military prostitute, but Madam? Could it be...

Yan Ge shouted, "You said that woman is Su Ling's wife?!"

Han Shu didn't pay attention to him this time, but the pride on his face already explained everything.

Yan Ge's face darkened, and he muttered to himself, "This is trouble!" It was said that Su Ling was already very difficult to deal with, and his wife was probably also a difficult character.

A boy in his teens walked into the cave and said to Yan Ge, "The leader has an order to lock this person up first."

Yan Ge waved to the two men behind him, and the two immediately stepped forward and dragged Han Shu up from left to right. Yan Ge sneered, "Take him down, just trap him like this, and starve him for three days and three nights. Let's see if you can still be brave!"

"Yes." The two dragged Han Shu deeper into the cave. Han Shu secretly paid attention to the surrounding environment. In the passage, there was a guard every few feet, and there was a team patrolling. Seeing him being dragged in, those men actually looked straight ahead, full of pride. This really didn't look like ordinary bandits.

This opponent was really tricky. It turned out that they had underestimated the enemy.

After Han Shu was dragged away, the boy continued, "Left and Right Envoys, the leader invites you."

Yan Ge and Wuji looked at each other and followed the boy through a bush in the cave to the rock cave. In the night, a black shadow stood at the entrance of the cave. He stood in the dark, covered with a large robe, and could not see his appearance. The two were already used to it, and bowed respectfully, "Leader."

The black shadow raised his hand, and Yan Ge said urgently like a treasure, "The person I caught should not be of low rank, otherwise Su Ling's wife would not have rushed into the forest to save him. If Su Ling does not want to be accused of being greedy for life and afraid of death, and abandoning his subordinates, he will definitely come in three days."

In the darkness, a low groan that sounded a bit hoarse came, "The military strategist's biggest taboo is impatience. Su Ling has been on the battlefield for many years, and he still has this concentration. He should not be a person who seeks fame and reputation. Three days are enough for him to come up with a countermeasure."

Yan Ge's brows were wrinkled together, and he wondered, "I just don't understand why the leader wants to force that Su Ling to come. If you want to take the opportunity to capture him, why give him three days to think of a countermeasure?"

The hoarse voice did not answer again, and Wuji's indifferent voice replied, "The leader wants to test Su Ling's ability."

Yan Ge scoffed and laughed, "I don't think he has any ability. Wasn't he ambushed by us this time!" Actually letting a woman chase in, and hiding outside himself, such a man is limited no matter how powerful he is!

The black shadow turned and entered the rock cave, leaving only a slightly severe warning, "Su Ling has been powerful in the Six Kingdoms for many years, so don't underestimate the enemy."

The two did not dare to be presumptuous and hurriedly lowered their heads and replied, "Yes."

Regarding that legendary great general, Yan Ge didn't care, while Wuji was always silent.

Stuffy, this was everyone's common feeling. Most of them had experienced the most severe wars, and had seen Gobi, deserts, and wilderness. In their minds, the sun could not be reached in the rainforest, and there were green trees everywhere, so the environment should not be too bad. But when they really entered, they knew that it was no better than the desert.

The air around them was damp and stuffy, they were sweating constantly, their clothes were always wet, the ground under their feet was muddy and slippery, their feet were almost soaked in thin mud, becoming heavier and heavier, and their breathing began to become uncomfortable.

After walking for about half an hour, they finally heard the sound of rushing water, and the water mist became thicker and thicker. Just like this, they walked for another incense stick of time before entering their destination—Crow Valley.

The group was already in a mess. Finally arrived, this was the heart of all the soldiers.

Of course, there were three exceptions. One was Mu Yi in red. His feet almost didn't touch the ground along the way, so when everyone was full of mud, apart from his clothes being a little wet, he was still refreshed; another was Su Ling with a cold face. Although his feet were still stained with some mud, the domineering spirit that didn't care about anything and looked down on everything made people unable to associate the word "messy" with him.

And the other person was Gu Yun, who was leaning on a century-old tree beside the canyon, throwing away the banana leaves wrapped around her feet gracefully.

Leng Xiao and Liu Xing secretly wailed. When they came in, they saw the Chief peeling banana leaves. Why didn't they know to follow suit at that time?! In the future, no matter what she does, they must follow suit, otherwise they will suffer this kind of crime!

Yu Shijun walked to the rock wall of Crow Valley and looked down. The rushing water below was more rapid than he imagined, and the water mist stirred up had already made his head full of water vapor. Taking a few steps back, Yu Shijun reported to Su Ling, "General, it is indeed as Madam said, the river water has filled the canyon, and the water flow is rapid. It is impossible to dive into the river and swim over." His admiration was hard to hide in his words.

Before Su Ling could speak, Gu Yun took the lead and replied, "I said, don't call me Madam again." She had been unhappy since the first time they called her that. They still followed suit after she said it. Now that the main owner was back, she didn't want people to misunderstand that she cared about his position as the General's wife. She avoided it too late!

"This..." Yu Shijun peeked at Su Ling with difficulty. The General's face was getting darker and darker, but was this telling him not to call Madam as Madam, or to continue calling Madam as Madam?! He was so confused?!

"I didn't expect the scenery here to be so handsome. It would be nice to drink and enjoy the moon here." Everything in sight was green, and the rushing water vapor was hazy and misty, adding a touch of vitality to the quiet valley. This place is not bad, and it can be visited often in the future.

Mu Yi was dressed in red, standing on the edge of the cliff, matched with the dreamlike scenery. He might not know it himself. With him, this full of green had a different style. It's just that Gu Yun was not here for an outing like him, she had more important things to do.

Gu Yun looked up at the towering trees and said to Leng Xiao and Liu Xing, "Leng Xiao, Liu Xing, you go left and right, climb up and look down at the surroundings from a high place, and draw what you see one by one. Pay attention to the proportion."

"Yes." The two chose a big tree without a word and climbed up with their heads down. After a while, both of them reached the branches and sat on the branches. The two took out the charcoal and white paper that Gu Yun told them to put away in the morning and drew seriously.

I didn't expect charcoal to be so easy to use. I don't need pen and ink in the future.

Su Ling stared thoughtfully at the two young men who were agile but obeyed Gu Yun's words, and remained silent. Yu Shijun walked to Gu Yun automatically and asked, "Ma... Miss Qing, is there anything this subordinate needs to do?" Under Gu Yun's cold stare, Yu Shijun changed his address without any promise.

Gu Yun glanced at Su Ling and laughed coldly, "You just listen to General Su's orders. I don't dare to order General Su's capable warriors at will."

Yu Shijun was stunned and stood there awkwardly, but didn't dare to look back at Su Ling, because he had already felt the cold air like an ice knife shooting towards this side.

Last night, Su Ren spent an hour telling him how Qing Mo defeated Yu, how she conquered the hearts of those new recruits, how smart she was, and how brave and resourceful she was. It was the first time he heard Ren praise a person like this. Even so, he still insisted that a woman from a wealthy family might know a little about military strategy, might be knowledgeable, might have martial arts, but she could never endure hardship!

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 137 =====