On the other side, a small squad of Quzhao soldiers was walking hunched over in a narrow passage.
They had no idea why the passage here had become so low, barely half the height of a man. Walking bowed down like this was exhausting, and even their minds felt a bit sluggish.
"I wonder if the passages the others took are any easier to walk through?"
After their squad entered, they found many branching paths. After taking several turns, they realized they were lost.
They wandered around in circles, getting more confused the further they went. Paths they thought they had just walked down suddenly seemed to lead to dead ends.
Left with no choice, they split into several groups to search separately, hoping to find an exit as quickly as possible.
"I don't know," a Quzhao soldier panted heavily. He barely had the strength to speak.
"Damn it, I have a feeling we might not make it out of here," another Quzhao soldier couldn't help but curse.
Being in the dark or dimly lit environment for so long without finding a way out, and not even seeing a single enemy, took its toll.
The surroundings were eerily quiet. Aside from the sounds of their own footsteps and breathing, there was nothing else. It felt as if they had entered a corridor of death, and their sanity was on the verge of collapse.
The soldier who had spoken first spat on the ground. "Don't talk nonsense, we'll definitely get out..."
"Ah!" Before he could finish his sentence, his words turned into a shrill, agonizing scream.
The other soldiers jumped in fright and quickly looked at him.
In the dim light, they saw a blade thrust down from the ceiling of the tunnel, plunging into the soldier's back and piercing straight through his chest.
Blood dripped from the tip of the blade onto the ground, making a pitter-patter sound, though it was drowned out by the soldier's miserable wails.
The soldiers immediately drew their swords and slashed at the tunnel ceiling. "Who is it? Come out! I see you, stop hiding!"
Thumping and clashing sounds echoed through the passage, but aside from the falling rubble and dirt they knocked loose, they found nothing else.
One of the Quzhao soldiers broke down and cursed loudly, "Is this all the courage you Han people have? Get out here and die! Sneaking around is not the way of a true man!"
The response he received was a sharp weapon piercing down from the ceiling, plunging into his left shoulder. Blood splattered against the tunnel walls...
Hearing his scream, the remaining Quzhao soldiers froze in terror, looking around in doubt and panic.
Swish. A faint sound of tearing flesh rang out as the sharp weapons were suddenly pulled back, sending a shower of blood flying.
"Ah..." The two struck soldiers let out another cry of agony as the weapons were withdrawn, collapsing to the ground and twitching uncontrollably.
The remaining soldiers took two steps back, not daring to move forward at all. They felt as though the sharp weapons above their heads could fall at any moment. Just as they thought this, several more blades thrust down from the ceiling, plunging into their bodies...
In the concealed layer above the passage, with a swift swish, Shuangjiang withdrew her saber from a slender hole.
These holes had been dug specifically to accommodate various weapons and required precise alignment to insert a blade. The Quzhao soldiers slashing blindly from below naturally achieved nothing.
She truly admired her Lord. She had no idea how her Lord had managed it, but there was actually faint light refracting down into such a narrow passage.
The surviving Quzhao soldiers watched as over a dozen of their comrades were impaled in an instant, and they scrambled backward in terror.
As a result, they stepped on empty air and tumbled down to the next level with a series of thuds.
Accompanying their terrified screams was the sound of tearing flesh. A few lucky ones scrambled to their feet and ran for their lives, practically pissing their pants.
They completely ignored their comrades who had fallen with them and had been pierced straight through by sharp traps.
Listening to the sounds of the Quzhao soldiers fleeing in panic below, Shuangjiang gave a low-voiced order, "Groups of three, find your targets. Disperse!"
Pfft.
Xia Chanyi pulled her dagger back from a Quzhao soldier's heart.
Delivering the finishing blow was a fine tradition of the Jinyang Army.
She stood up, looking at the corpses littering the ground, and broke into a grin. Paired with the few drops of blood splattered across her face, it looked indescribably eerie.
She waved her hand. "Let's go. Into the tunnels to kill the enemy with our Lord."
"What was that sound?" Wu Yihan halted his steps; he thought he had just heard a scream.
The soldier following him shook his head. "General, I didn't hear anything. It's just the sound of our footsteps."
Wu Yihan couldn't help but look back. The passage was pitch black like a wild beast, and he couldn't see a thing.
Reaching this point, he actually somewhat regretted coming in. This passage seemed endless, and he had no idea where it led.
But he was unwilling to turn back. He hadn't even seen a single shadow of an enemy yet. How could he explain himself if he went back like this?
He could only brace himself and keep going. At the very least, he had to figure out if this group was the Jinyang Army.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard the soldier in front shout excitedly, "General, there's light ahead!"
He looked up and sure enough, he saw a bright light ahead. Overjoyed, he said, "Let's go take a look."
Seeing hope, Wu Yihan and the Quzhao soldiers quickened their pace considerably.
As they drew closer, the light grew brighter, until they finally stepped out of the tunnel opening.
The dazzling light stung his eyes, making it hard to keep them open. He raised a hand to shield his forehead and squinted as he looked around.
They were standing in a circular pit, surrounded by brick walls several meters high.
A pit?!
No, not a pit.
Behind them was the passage, on both sides were brick walls, and in front was a slope leading up, though the slope was a bit steep.
Suddenly, his pupils shrank. He saw that the brick walls were lined with people holding crossbows.
Jiang Jin looked at him, the corners of her lips curling up slightly. "Welcome to Gefeng!"
Clang!
Before Wu Yihan could understand the meaning behind her words, a dull, heavy crash rang out behind him.
He turned to look and saw that a heavy gate had slammed down over the passage they had just come from.
Their retreat was cut off!
Wu Yihan abruptly looked back up at Jiang Jin, instantly understanding her words. "This is Gefeng!"
"Impossible! How could this be Gefeng?" he muttered to himself.
Although he had guessed that the people in the Gesi Mountains might be the Jinyang Army, he never imagined that there would be a tunnel connecting Gefeng City and the Gesi Mountains!
Then what was the point of the Quzhao army laying siege to the city?
Wait, if the Jinyang Army could come and go as they pleased, could they also be the ones who stole the grain?
Wu Yihan looked up at Jiang Jin. "You... you were the ones who stole the grain too? When were the Gefeng tunnels dug?"
Gefeng had only been taken back by the Han people in September of last year. Up to now, it had been at most seven months.
No, that timeframe also included nearly five months of freezing winter. How on earth did Gefeng manage to dig these tunnels in such a short amount of time?
Before Jiang Jin could speak, Yun Chengxuan couldn't help but retort, "What does it matter to you when they were dug? Stop babbling, watch me hack the crap out of you."
He was about to charge down after saying this, but Jiang Jin hurriedly pulled him back. "...Let's just use the crossbows."
As soon as she spoke, the Dragon Shadow Guards pulled their triggers, firing at Wu Yihan and the Quzhao soldiers.
They were afraid that if they were too slow, Yun Chengxuan really would go down and hack the crap out of them. After all, they still had to dispose of the corpses; whether there was crap or not was one thing, but it was a hassle to pick up scattered, mangled pieces.
Qu Bai sat in his tent, his heart skipping a beat. He felt as though something terrible had happened, and an inexplicable sense of unease washed over him. "What time is it?"
Qu Cong replied, "It's the end of the Shen hour."
"Is there still no movement from the Gesi Mountains?"
Qu Cong looked worried. "None."
Qu Bai looked at the map with a heavy expression, unable to understand what on earth had happened in the Gesi Mountains.
Recalling something, he asked, "The day after we arrived, didn't we send men to Mount Goss to dig up their water source?"
