Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Along the 120-li Longxing Path, there were six passes in total. From north to south, they were named Jinwei Pass, Yingzhao Pass, Yuji Pass, Huxu Pass, Luzuo Pass, and Shikou Pass.

Among them, Jinwei Pass was located on a mountain ridge 20 li outside the eastern suburbs of Jin City. This mountain was Longxing Mountain. To the south, it stretched to Shikou Pass. To the north, the mountain range continued, passing the formidable mountain fortress that blocked the Right Route Army north of Jin City, and then winding all the way to Wei County, a thousand li away.

An army could not bypass the mountain passes by climbing over each peak, and even the hunters in the village would only hunt at the foot of the mountains. Venturing deeper could lead to getting lost, and climbing higher could result in falls. Therefore, the enemy would not consider taking the mountain paths, and the defending army had no fear of the enemy climbing these continuous, steep mountains.

The Longxing Path was only 120 li, but this was the distance measured along the mountain trails. If one had to bypass each pass by climbing up and down the mountains, it would be far more than a simple 120 li.

To avoid alerting the enemy prematurely, Tong Sui and Xiao Zhen decided to start their ambush from the second pass, Yingzhao Pass.

At the start, each person carried five days' worth of rations and water, a bow and a quiver of twenty arrows, along with hammers, nails, ropes, flint, and other items.

Due to the possibility of messengers passing between the passes, they could only travel within the mountains. The mountains here were so steep that they had to climb to a certain height to find a path.

Xiao Zhen tried several times to take some of Tong Sui's load, but she dodged him each time, looking at him seriously and saying, "You're already carrying over twenty jin more than I am. If you take more, what if it affects your movements and you fall?"

Xiao Zhen said, "I'll be careful."

Tong Sui replied, "It's still not necessary."

Tong Gui laughed and said, "Second Master can rest assured. Aman could carry twenty jin of game and walk mountain paths when you didn't even know her."

Xiao Zhen could not insist further, as Tong Sui had already walked far ahead.

At times, they needed to climb up, and the mountain walls were bare with no vines to cling to. In such cases, they would use a chisel to carve out a ladder to climb and step on. During these moments, Xiao Zhen would always let Tong Sui go ahead of him to prevent her from falling. However, Tong Sui climbed steadily, her speed not slower than his at all.

In early October, the daytime sun was so bright it made people feel warm, but as soon as the sun set, the mountains became cold.

They would find existing caves or suitable spots to dig caves on the leeward side of the mountain waist, lighting campfires at night to keep warm. Since they were far from the mountain top, the smoke would quickly dissipate once it left the cave, and with the night being pitch black, even if the wind carried the smoke to the mountain top, the guards at the distant passes would not notice. By dawn, they would eat dry rations and drink cold water without lighting any fires.

On the evening of the fourth day, after losing two men, Tong Sui climbed to the top of the mountain and looked down to finally see Yingzhao Pass.

Yingzhao Pass was a pass that could garrison 1,000 soldiers. To the left of the pass was the mountain ridge they were hiding on, and to the right was a deep abyss. The front and back of the pass were narrow paths that could only accommodate two people walking side by side at most, not even allowing a carriage to pass.

Almost the entire Longxing Path was like this treacherous route. Even with an army of 100,000, they could only advance in pairs, how could they be a match for the defending army?

Xiao Zhen also leaned over to look down from where Tong Sui was standing.

Tong Sui whispered, "Should we go down at the second watch? We can still get a good night's sleep in the room after the fight."

Xiao Zhen turned his head and saw Tong Sui's messy bangs blown by the mountain wind and her dark, bright eyes.

Last year, she was still afraid when he asked her to shoot bandits from a rooftop, and she would cry in his arms after the killing. But now, she was excited and thrilled for a night raid.

"Yes," Xiao Zhen replied.

The group temporarily hid behind the mountain ridge where the pass was located, finding a sheltered spot. They didn't dig a cave this time but silently ate their rations and huddled together for warmth and rest. Tong Sui was in front of Second Master Tong Gui and behind Xiao Zhen.

Xiao Zhen lay on his side, his arm completely encircling Tong Sui. Tong Gui, half asleep, leaned back and also pressed against Xiao Zhen's arm.

During these moments, Tong Sui had no romantic thoughts. Xiao Zhen occasionally did, but in the end, they all had to sleep obediently.

After resting for about two hours, they woke up one by one.

It was already the eighth day of the month. There was some moonlight in the sky, and even without it, the starlight was enough to see their feet.

Both Tong Sui and Xiao Zhen had excellent eyesight. They walked at the front, and the others followed in pairs, making sure no one fell.

It took the group nearly two quarters of an hour to traverse a short slope.

Finally, Tong Sui was the first to step onto the stone roof of the pass.

This pass resembled a birdcage, with three layers of barracks built inside. In peacetime, only fifty soldiers were stationed here, but in times of war, the number swelled to 1,000.

There was a watchtower built on both the north and south sides of the pass, each manned by two soldiers on night duty.

While the others held their positions, Tong Sui and Xiao Zhen quietly approached the north watchtower, while Tong Gui and Qi Yun went to the south watchtower.

Tong Sui found a position to shoot from, and just as Xiao Zhen ghost-like jumped behind a soldier and slit his throat, the other soldier turned his head at the sound. As his eyes widened in surprise, Tong Sui's arrow pierced his neck, and Xiao Zhen caught him before he hit the ground to prevent alerting the soldiers sleeping soundly inside the barracks.

After successfully taking out the four sentinels, 800 elite soldiers of the Right Route Army descended one after another from the roof, each taking a position at the door of a barrack room, holding daggers. At the sound of Xiao Zhen's whistle, they kicked the doors open simultaneously and rushed in. Two held lamps to guard the entrance, while the others charged in, slaughtering the sleeping soldiers in their beds.

In just half an hour, the ambush was over. Except for two soldiers deliberately left alive for questioning, none of the garrison escaped.

The 1,000 bodies were thrown directly off the cliff, and the blood-stained bedding was cut to remove the soiled parts and could still be used.

Xiao Zhen went to interrogate the survivors, and Tong Sui, having pushed open the commanding officer's barracks specially left for the couple, found a relatively clean quilt to lay out and scooped a pot of water to boil on the stove.

Just as she had finished wiping her face with warm water, Xiao Zhen returned.

Tong Sui asked, "How did it go?"

Xiao Zhen replied, "Unless there is an emergency or new military orders, there is basically no communication between these passes."

Tong Sui said, "Then tomorrow, we'll travel by the lower path. If we encounter any messengers on the way, we'll kill them and adapt when we reach the next pass."

With cliffs on both sides of the pass, they could only take advantage of the night to shoot the sentinels and use ropes to climb the walls. If the mountain ridges on both sides of the pass were climbable, they would infiltrate the pass from the mountain, just as they had done tonight.

Xiao Zhen said, "Leave fifty men to hold the pass. If any messengers from Jinwei Pass come, let them in first before killing them."

After a good night's sleep, on the morning of the ninth day, Tong Sui's group set out again, leaving behind fifty soldiers and a few wounded soldiers who had caught a cold or sprained their legs.

Having experienced the previous days of mountain climbing, even the narrower and steeper paths below felt easier. An hour and a half later, Yuji Pass came into view.

Tong Sui, following behind Xiao Zhen, caught a distant glimpse and felt her heart sink to the bottom.

The Fish Ridge Pass stood before them with a flat road ahead, no cliffs in sight. Yet, the pass was built between two towering cliffs that rose abruptly from the ground, its walls as high as those of Tai Yuan. No matter how skilled Xiao Zhen was with a grappling hook, it would be impossible for him to throw it high enough to reach the top of the wall.

Qi Yun and the others had all hidden behind a bend in the mountain road to take a "reverent look."

Tong Gui: "This mountain is quite the obstacle, isn't it? It's like it grew this way just to block people."

Qi Yun: "There are many places that claim to be easy to defend and hard to attack, but this is one place where I have to agree."

Tong Gui: "Can you climb up?"

Qi Yun: "With a ladder, maybe."

Tong Gui: "..."

Tong Sui looked up at the cliff, but before she could see the top, Xiao Zhen reached out and gently pushed her head back. "Don't even think about it."

Tong Gui: "Seems like we'll have to rely on strategy."

He looked hopefully at their wise and valiant Second Master.

Xiao Zhen pursed his lips.

Qi Yun: "How about we go back and put on the armor left behind by the Eagle Claw Pass garrison, pretend to be defeated imperial troops?"

Xiao Zhen: "We've already used that trick in Shizhou. The imperial court will be on guard now. Besides, even if Eagle Claw Pass fell, they should have sent someone to report it. It's unlikely they'd just have defeated troops fleeing over here."

Tong Sui took out a map from her clothes and found that a nearby section of the mountain range was home to a village called Yang Village, a remote mountain settlement even more secluded than Taohuagou.

She said, "Maybe we could pretend to be hunters from Yang Village, who got lost and came around through the lower hills."

For the sake of moving easily through the mountains, none of them wore armor, all dressed in short shirts and long pants made of coarse cloth, covered in dust from the journey.

Tong Gui: "Alright, I actually am a real hunter."

Tong Sui glanced at Xiao Zhen and said, "I'll go with you."

If it were just Second Brother, the garrison might become suspicious. Men, especially soldiers, tended to underestimate women.

Xiao Zhen: "Ah Gui stays. I'll go with you."

Tong Sui: "You don't look like a hunter."

Her second brother had a handsome appearance, the kind of handsomeness that came from growing up in the mountains, which some might call rustic. But even though Xiao Zhen had actually hunted before, his presence was too strong; he gave off a threatening aura no matter what he pretended to be.

Qi Yun subconsciously nodded.

Xiao Zhen smiled, broke off a sharp piece of rock from the nearby cliff, and drew it across his face. Bright red blood immediately welled up.

Before the others could react, Xiao Zhen grabbed a handful of dirt and smeared it on his face, then looked at Tong Sui. "Like this, does it look like I'm a hunter who tumbled down the slope?"

Tong Sui's face turned pale.

Xiao Zhen motioned for everyone to hide and took the golden bow off the couple's shoulders, handing it to Tong Gui. He then found the oldest, most ordinary-looking bow and quiver from someone else and set them aside. Pulling Tong Sui down to sit, he said, "Rest for a while. We'll set off again once the bleeding stops."

Tong Sui wanted to clean his wound, but Xiao Zhen grabbed her wrist and said, "This is what makes it believable. You should get a little dirty too."

Tong Sui just stared at his bloody, mangled wound.

Xiao Zhen: "It's not too deep. It shouldn't leave a scar."

Tong Sui: "Is it about the scar? What difference does it make if you go with Second Brother? There won't be a chance to use a gun, and Second Brother's hand skills are no worse than yours."

Xiao Zhen glanced at the others keeping their distance and then looked at her, lowering his voice: "With me here, there's no need for you to use your charm."

He knew everything. Tong Sui was silent for a moment before saying, "I definitely won't let the defending general succeed. I'll let him take a little advantage before killing him, and then seize the opportunity to bring you all in. What's wrong with that?"

Xiao Zhen: "I don't want the defending general to take advantage of you, and I don't want our people to start having those kinds of suspicions. Only if it's you and me going will they not think in that direction."

Tong Sui: "Then what's your plan?"

Xiao Zhen: "As long as the defending general is willing to let us into the city, as long as he's within three steps of me, I can take him hostage."

Tong Sui: "..."