Chapter 71: Hidden Sentry

Hong Da'e clutched a kitchen knife in her hand, trailing behind the crowd. She stared at Zhao the One-Eyed like a starving wolf, as if she wanted to rush up and hack him to death on the spot; this Zhao the One-Eyed had taken his turn riding her more than once.

Li Xiujuan, standing beside her, grabbed her and pulled her away, whispering, "Don't cause trouble for Master. Sooner or later, Master will lead us to take our revenge!"

Hong Da'e sniffled, followed the group, and murmured softly, "The day I was abducted in Lueyang, Tian Si killed my mother outside the city... This Zhao the One-Eyed killed my father. Poor things, their stomachs were full of nothing but dried grass when they died... That Tian Si has already been killed by Master, but this Zhao the One-Eyed is still alive. I hate that I can't kill him right now..."

Huang Yanzi gripped the sickle in her hand, wiped away her tears, and said, "It was Master who saved us. If we act on our own now, we will surely ruin Master's great plans... Sister E, endure it. Master will definitely lead us to take our revenge!"

At the front of the group, Gao Conglong reached the main road, took a look, swallowed, and his face turned dark.

A road like this could accommodate at least six horses abreast. If they ran into horse bandits head-on, one charge from the enemy would leave them all dead, no matter how good their swords were, since they lacked heavy armor!

If it were up to him, he would certainly have taken a detour and snuck up the mountain via a small path, which would be the safest.

But since Li You had already given the order, he could only lead the way, winding and turning until they finally reached the slope on the mountainside safely.

Li You had been reminiscing about the things Song Shenxian had taught him regarding marching, fighting, and setting up camp, when suddenly Gao Conglong waved his hand, and the group immediately stopped and crouched down.

"How come I hear someone snoring?" Yu Zhengchun whispered.

"In the tree! It's a sentry!"

Gao Conglong pointed, and the group indeed vaguely saw a human shadow on a camphor tree as thick as a millstone, motionless. It was indeed dozing off, and only then did everyone breathe a sigh of relief!

They could faintly see the sentry's short blade and bow and arrows hanging on a nearby branch. He seemed to be draped in some kind of fur blanket, but it was impossible to see if he was armored or wearing a uniform!

This tree was located at the intersection of two mountain ridges, and from above, one could overlook three sides.

"Ha, he's asleep. I'll go take him out!"

After Li You spoke, he quickly unslung his twin daggers and Miao saber, not giving anyone a chance to compete. His body, like a nimble cat, moved quickly toward the tree. Once at the base, he drew his curved blade from his boot, held it in his mouth,

Li You climbed the tree lightly. Although his speed was slow, he did not make a single sound. This sentry might not be a master of martial arts, but they all carried signal whistles or whistling arrows; if he were startled, he would certainly sound the alarm immediately.

Li Qin and the others held their breath, watching from afar as Li You crawled toward the branches like a caterpillar. Gao Conglong watched the surroundings with extreme vigilance, wanting to see if there were any other hidden sentries.

The more critical the moment, the calmer Li You became. It turned out the fellow was draped in a cowhide, with a row of wooden sticks propped up on the branch beneath his buttocks, and he was currently sleeping comfortably against the main trunk, snoring.

He hooked his feet onto the tree, took the curved blade from his mouth with his right hand, and reached out to first pluck the bow, arrows, and waist saber hanging on the branch.

Then, he held the curved blade against the sentry's neck and pressed his left hand tightly over the man's mouth: "Shut up. If you make a sound, you die!"

At this moment, the sentry sleeping in the tree woke up in terror. Seeing the dark shadow before him, he instinctively wanted to scream, but Li You covered his mouth too tightly. As he moved, he felt a chill on his neck, and warm blood began to trickle out. Terrified out of his wits, he blinked frantically.

Li You did not dare to let go. Staring into the man's bloodshot eyes, he continued, "How many sentries? Nod for one, shake your head for two."

The sentry nodded slightly, as Li You's blade was simply too sharp.

Only then did Li You heave a sigh of relief, glaring at him, "I'm letting go. If you make a sound... you die!"

Li You released his hand and beckoned toward the place where Gao Conglong was hiding.

Gao Conglong understood immediately, moved quickly, and stood guard at the base of the tree.

"Get down the tree!"

Seeing someone guarding the base of the tree and having people both above and below, the sentry felt despair. He obediently climbed down. As soon as he landed, Gao Conglong's blade was pressed against his neck. Li You pulled the cowhide blanket down, took a piece of grass rope from Gao Conglong, and tied the man's hands behind his back. Both of them stood behind him.

"What's your name? Whose soldier are you? How long have you been here? How many men do you have?" Gao Conglong stared at his red uniform, which had a sleeveless vest worn over it. He didn't look very old, at most two or three years older than Gao Conghu.

The vest was anciently called a *liangdang*, but as a soldier's uniform, the *liangdang* was longer and had characters on the chest and back.

This soldier, who was left to stand guard in the tree all night, was naturally no elite soldier. He spoke in a dialect from the Shangluo area of southern Shaanxi: "My name is Jiang Cai, and I'm an infantryman under the Squad Leader of the Poison Dragon Leopard, Liu Gui's subordinate!"

"How did you end up here?"

"About a month ago, we were routed by the Western King at Zitong. The Squad Leader led us to flee north, and we crossed the mountains from Qipan Pass. Later, we just ended up here... We've been here for almost a month. Counting me, there are thirty-nine of us in total!"

"Who is the leader?"

"Poison Dragon Leopard... oh, no, it's General Leopard!"

"Damn it, still not being honest!" Gao Conglong struck the sentry's forehead with the hilt of his blade. Startled and in pain, the sentry said, "My lords! He used to be a fierce bandit in the Shangluo Mountains, and his nickname was Poison Dragon Leopard. He was almost wiped out by General Han during a campaign, so he surrendered and was granted amnesty. He joined Liu Gui's ranks as a Squad Leader. After the rout at Zitong, I ran away with the Corporal, and later we were rounded up by him. We followed him north all the way... Now everyone calls him General Leopard! If I'm lying to you, may I be struck by lightning, and may my whole family..."

Gao Conglong looked at Li You with an inquiring gaze. Li You asked, "Do your thirty-nine men have bows? Swords? And armor?"

"Yes, yes, we do, we all do! Some even have several sets of armor! And there are over a dozen hand cannons and three-eyed guns!"

Gao Conglong and Li You looked at each other, unable to hide their shock. What was the point of fighting now!