Chapter 147: Tragic Elite (3)

Su Ren looked up and indeed saw Su Ling and Han Shu appearing in the tent, wrapped in bandages. Putting down his brush, Su Ren pulled over two chairs and said urgently, "Sit down quickly, why are you here?"

Su Ling didn't even look at the chairs, replying coldly, "I'm not that weak yet!" Walking around to the front of the desk, Su Ling carefully examined the completed water system map on the desk, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes, though he said nothing. Han Shu, however, asked curiously, "What is this?"

Putting away the ten small maps, Yu Shijun smiled, "It's the water system distribution map that the Madam had the soldiers draw while traveling upstream. With this, we can roughly find the location of the rebels' camp." The Madam was truly resourceful; after only ten days of being together, Yu Shijun was already completely convinced by the Madam, who was petite but outstanding in both strategy and martial arts.

Whether it was the look of admiration on Yu Shijun's face that annoyed the great General, or because Gu Yun hadn't returned yet and he was too worried, Su Ren keenly noticed that his eldest brother's face, which had been slightly pale, suddenly darkened. Su Ren smiled, "She said she would be back tonight. It's already past the You hour, she should be here soon."

"I—" Su Ling coughed awkwardly, just about to say "Who wants to know about her," when Su Ren smiled first, "I know, Big Brother, you don't want to know when she's coming back. I was just saying it casually; just pretend you didn't hear it."

His hawk-like eyes widened in anger, and for a moment, he didn't know how to vent the frustration in his heart. Su Ling glared at Su Ren with a frosty face. Han Shu and Yu Shijun's faces turned bright red from holding back, but they absolutely didn't dare to laugh out loud at this moment. Just kidding, unless they didn't want their lives!

The atmosphere in the tent could hardly be called harmonious. Fortunately, at this moment, a soldier outside the door said loudly, "Report, the Zhenxi General requests an audience."

Su Ren hurriedly replied, "Please, come in." He had only said it casually, but it seemed he had hit on what his Big Brother wanted to say. No wonder he was so embarrassed and angry.

Lou Muhai didn't know the prelude that had occurred in the room and didn't notice the strange atmosphere upon entering the tent, saying loudly to Su Ling, "General Su."

Su Ling resumed his usual cold arrogance, nodded slightly, and replied in a low voice, "Lou Lao Jiangjun."

Lou Muhai seemed to be in a great hurry this time. After a few pleasantries, he said with a grave face, "General Su, the Emperor has issued a decree to complete the suppression of the bandits and recover the gold within one month. Time is short. If we don't seize these few days to launch a surprise attack, I fear our army will find it difficult to launch one within half a month."

"Why?" Su Ling asked, puzzled.

"Why?" As the tent curtain fluttered, a clear, beautiful female voice also sounded simultaneously.

The person who entered was still dressed in black, but her sleeves and pant legs were soaked, and her hair was a bit messy. Fortunately, she seemed completely unconcerned, so she didn't look bedraggled.

Gu Yun entered the inner chamber and immediately saw Su Ling with his shoulder wrapped in layers of gauze. With such a serious injury, he actually wasn't resting properly! Secretly complaining in her heart, Gu Yun said nothing. She wasn't anyone to him; if he wanted to ruin himself, was it any of her business!

"Madam, you're back."

"Madam, you're finally back."

Looking at Gu Yun, Han Shu and Yu Shijun greeted her with smiles almost simultaneously. The urgency and reverence in their tone not only made Su Ling frown, but even Lou Muhai felt somewhat displeased. He had needed to be announced when he entered; why was it that when it came to Qing Mo, she could just barge in so easily?

"Ahem, Lou Lao Jiangjun, please continue." Su Ren found it secretly amusing, but at this moment, they should probably discuss more important matters!

Why compare himself with a young girl? Lou Muhai secretly scolded himself for getting more muddled with age, and continued the previous topic, "According to my observations over these years, the rainy season in that forest comes in waves. Every twelve or thirteen days, there will be a continuous rainfall lasting seven or eight days. This repeats until September, when the rainy season ends."

Yu Shijun exclaimed in surprise, "Do you mean to say that the time our army arrived just happened to coincide with a time of less rain?" That couldn't be. If it was like this when there was less rain, what would it be like when there was more rain?

Lou Muhai nodded firmly and replied, "Yes, in another three or four days, there will be a new round of rain. At that time, there will be rain for at least ten out of the twelve hours of the day."

At least? Yu Shijun was completely stunned.

Gu Yun's face didn't look too good either, sighing, "Fighting in the rainforest is already difficult enough, and if it's still raining... the soldiers' combat effectiveness and attack power will be reduced by at least half."

Su Ling's dark eyes had been staring at her coldly from the moment she entered. Gu Yun felt inexplicably annoyed by the stare and sneered, "Don't believe me? Great General Su should go out and see what your so-called elite of the elite have become after staying in the rainforest for just one day!"

Gu Yun thought he was going to lose his temper again, but unexpectedly, she discovered a flash of fleeting helplessness and concern in his slightly narrowed, cold eyes. She must have stayed in the rainforest too long and become a bit slow-witted. Just as Gu Yun wanted to confirm it again, Su Ling had already indifferently withdrawn his gaze and said to Su Ren, "Find the rebels' lair and settle this quickly."

She had indeed seen it wrong.

"I have already drawn the water system map. With this, we should be able to quickly find the approximate location of the rebels' camp. Our army has thirty thousand men; as long as we find their lair, it will be much easier to wipe out the thieves' den in one fell swoop." Looking at Han Shu, Su Ren asked, "You also stayed in the rebels' den for three days; did you discover anything? What is the surrounding environment like?"

"Damn it, I was unconscious when I was abducted. Later, I was locked in a cave for three days, with no light of day. Those rebels also had strict discipline. I tried to pry information out of them, but they didn't even pay attention to me. When I went to Crow Valley, my eyes were covered. It was pitch black when we set off, and I felt like we circled for five or six hours before arriving." Han Shu got angry just talking about it. He was already loud, and now that he was shouting, the sound was simply deafening.

"Five or six hours?" Gu Yun scratched her ear, seeing him so full of energy, she figured his injuries weren't serious. Gu Yun smiled faintly and said, "According to this water system map, their lair shouldn't be that far. It seems they took you on a long detour to guard against you."

Hearing Gu Yun's words, Han Shu was even more annoyed, his fists clenched tightly, looking as if he wanted to skin and bone the rebel leader. He said urgently, "Then according to your analysis, where would the rebels' lair be?"

Walking to the large map, Gu Yun pointed to two adjacent places and said, "Here and here. This area on the right is very close to the confluence of the three tributaries. Even if it's not the rainy season, there's no need to worry about water shortages. Moreover, Leng Xiao and the others clashed with the rebels at the deep pool, which shows that their lair is very likely here. And this place on the left..." Gu Yun paused for a moment and smiled, "I guess it's where the gold is hidden."

At the mention of gold, everyone's eyes lit up. Su Ren asked with a light laugh, "What makes you say that?"

Gu Yun smiled confidently, just about to explain, when Su Ling's cold voice said lowly, "It's not far from the lair she just mentioned, and the terrain is the most complex, with many branch roads, allowing them to quickly transfer the gold from various directions."

Gu Yun shrugged; since someone had already said it, she didn't need to say more.

Han Shu was overjoyed and laughed heartily, "Great! Now that we know their lair and where the gold is, we can launch a surprise attack tomorrow and definitely catch them off guard!"

Compared to Han Shu's excitement, Yu Shijun was much calmer, saying, "The terrain here is truly complex; how to deploy troops and set up formations still needs deliberation."

"Fire attack."

"Use fire attack."

It was another simultaneous utterance. Gu Yun raised her eyebrows slightly, feeling a bit helpless. Su Ling, on the other hand, had a dark face, not knowing what to think. Today, it seemed there was always something wrong; when did they become so tacitly understanding?

Under the inquisitive gazes of the crowd, Gu Yun continued to study the map as if it were none of her business. Su Ling swept his hawk-like eyes, and immediately no one dared to look at them again.

Stared at by Su Ling, several people pretended they knew nothing and began to discuss busily—

"Yes, yes! Fire attack is truly great!"

"Hmm! The unpredictable terrain in the rainforest is their greatest advantage. If we burn the mountains and forests near the lair, they will have nowhere to hide."

"Makes sense, makes sense!"

The three of them echoed each other. Lou Muhai, however, didn't join in their nonsense and said seriously, "According to the terrain on the map, this place is accessible from all directions. I fear that even without the cover of grass and trees, it will be difficult to catch them all in one net."

Su Ren, who had just been echoing Han Shu and Yu Shijun, turned back, having regained his serious expression, and replied, "The focus of this mission is the gold. The existence of the rebels is not a matter of a day or two. Even if we can't catch them all, we have already dealt them a heavy blow, and it won't be easy for them to reorganize."

Han Shu also nodded and said in a deep voice, "Fire attack is good, but the humidity in the rainforest is so high—"

"Use fire oil and sulfur to ignite it. As long as it doesn't rain, burning this small area is doable!" Their face-changing skills were too fast, weren't they? Su Ling was unfazed and continued the discussion calmly, but Gu Yun couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Alright, this old official will return to Pei City to prepare. Before noon tomorrow, I will definitely have everything ready." Since Su Ling, as the Commander, had spoken, he could only cooperate fully!

"Then I will trouble Lou Lao Jiangjun. We will rendezvous at noon tomorrow."

"Good!" Agreeing readily, Lou Muhai strode out of the tent. Su Ling returned to the desk and immediately summoned them to continue discussing strategies against the enemy, "Ren, Han Shu, Deputy General Yu, for tomorrow's surprise attack, tell me your thoughts on troop distribution and attack strategy."

"Yes." The three of them gathered around as instructed.

Gu Yun stretched, they were discussing military affairs, and it was none of her business, so it was better to leave tactfully. Walking around the desk, Gu Yun gently lifted the tent curtain, when the voice behind her, like an ice block and almost devoid of emotion, suddenly sounded, "Stop."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 148 =====