Daily life in the academy

"I don't mean to blame you." Bai Zhi waved her hand, turned her head to see that he was eating very quickly, and said, "Take your time to eat. I'm not in a hurry to leave."

An Qi paused for a moment, then chewed slowly as Bai Zhi instructed, but he found it very strenuous. He had been hiding in the dark for many years, and in order to fill his stomach, he had to eat his dry food in a few bites. Sometimes he couldn't eat for a whole day. He had become accustomed to this after years of training.

Bai Zhi didn't notice An Qi's discomfort and just kept walking forward without saying anything. After a while, when the pain in her waist and hips subsided, she got on the horse and said to An Qi, "I'm going to be on my way."

After An Qi bowed, he disappeared the next moment.

Bai Zhi sighed twice, thinking that the secret guards were truly magical.

After another day and a half of travel, they finally arrived at a village near Taiyue Mountain. Bai Zhi stayed at an aunt's house as a passing traveler and raised her six-year-old son alone.

The people in this village seemed very xenophobic. Bai Zhi asked around and found that only this aunt was kind-hearted. Seeing that the girl was young and was going north to find her relatives, they agreed to let her stay temporarily. During dinner, the two chatted for a long time. Bai Zhi learned that the aunt's husband was originally a hunter. Because his livelihood was cut off in Taiyue Mountain, he went to the north to join the army.

The six-year-old boy, nicknamed Little Wolf, saw his mother and older brother talking about his father. He puffed out his chest and said proudly, "Daddy is a great hero who defended our country. Little Wolf wants to be like him in the future."

Bai Zhi touched the little wolf's head and said with a smile, "Yes, your father is a great hero, but you have to eat your food well and grow tall so that you can become a great hero like your father. You won't grow tall if you don't eat cabbage."

"Little Wolf, eat the cabbage and grow taller than your father." The little wolf was so stimulated by Bai Zhi that he ate up all the remaining cabbage on the plate.

My aunt's eyes narrowed with laughter. Perhaps it had been a long time since the family had been so lively. Her eyes were slightly red. "I hope the child's father can come back safely."

After a bloody fight on the battlefield, Bai Zhi didn't know how to comfort him, so she just said dryly, "I will."

Bai Zhi asked a few more questions about the situation in Taiyue Mountain, but her aunt usually only worked on the one and a half acres of land in the village, and she had no idea about the situation in Taiyue Mountain since her husband left home.

However, this aunt told Baizhi that the people occupying Taiyue Mountain were not just bandits, but a well-organized and powerful group of people. Her husband was a hunter who knew some martial arts, but after this group of people occupied Taiyue Mountain that day, they beat her husband and other hunters who went up the mountain with him until they were black and blue and left at the foot of the mountain.

After listening to this, Bai Zhi became more and more certain that the group of people in the mountains were Prince Jing's private soldiers who were ambushing in various places. After she had a general understanding of the situation, she made an excuse that she had a big appetite and would get hungry easily at night. She poured the leftovers into a plate and put it back into the house she was staying in. While her mother and daughter were busy in the kitchen, she carried the plate of food out of the house.

He walked to a deserted place far from the village and summoned An Qi. While he was eating, he said, "Tomorrow I plan to go to the vicinity of Taiyue Mountain to take a look. If there is any danger, I will retreat first. Can you go up the mountain to explore?"

Without a second thought, An Qi refused directly, "The prince ordered that the first task is to protect Miss Mu's safety."

"If I don't go up the mountain, there will be no danger. I will stay in a safe place at the foot of the mountain and wait for you to come back."

An Qi hesitated and said, "But the prince..."

Bai Zhi interrupted him, "Since Brother Yan is not here, you have to listen to me. I am very afraid of death and will not joke with my own life. Besides, think about it carefully. Is it more dangerous for you to go up the mountain alone and quickly explore it, or is it more dangerous for me to go up the mountain and be discovered by them?"

An Qi was silent for a moment, then said, "Miss Mu, how about I go and investigate tonight? I'll give you a reply tomorrow morning, but you must stay in the village tonight and don't run around."

"Okay, let's do it." An Qi's solution was better, but Bai Zhi got herself into trouble.

The next day, Bai Zhi woke up early because she was worried about whether An Qi would return. She looked out the window and saw that it was just dawn. However, she was no longer sleepy. She put on her clothes and carefully left the house. Unexpectedly, as soon as she closed the gate, An Qi appeared in front of Bai Zhi.

Fortunately, Bai Zhi was already used to his sudden appearance, otherwise she would have been frightened to death.

The village was now completely silent, and there was no need to worry. Bai Zhi asked directly, "How is it?"

"I scouted the entire mountain last night and indeed discovered a group of people entrenched there, numbering at least a hundred. They were well-organized and seemed to be discussing something. I didn't dare get too close, but I vaguely heard them trying to set a trap."

"trap?"

"Yes, I heard it right."

"Okay, you should get some rest first. We'll keep a close eye on the Taiyue Mountain gang's movements over the next few days. If they really set a trap, we'll destroy it if they set one."

Taiyue Mountain is the only way to go north. It is not just a single mountain. It is connected to a mountain range running from west to east. Because Taiyue Mountain is the highest peak, it is named Taiyue. If you want to leave this mountain range, you must cross from the bottom of Taiyue Mountain from south to north. There are dense jungles on both sides. Even if an official road is built, it is still in the woods, so it is easy to set traps in the forest.

Three days later, the private soldiers on Taiyue Mountain came out in full force.

Baizhi and Anqi followed behind them, hiding in a thick tree with dense branches and leaves, closely watching the movements of the group. Although the two of them had secretly destroyed many traps in recent days, they could not do it too conspicuously. Moreover, the group had bows and arrows in their hands, and would immediately aim and shoot once they found the target approaching. Even if they were prepared, how could they be completely protected against arrows from all directions?

Around noon, Yan Qingchen led 3,000 cavalrymen to arrive at Taiyue Mountain first. He scanned the surroundings with sharp eyes and did not find anything unusual for the time being, so he let the cavalrymen continue to pass through the jungle.

"Here it comes." An Qi whispered in Bai Zhi's ear.

Bai Zhi nodded slightly. As the voice slowly approached, her heartbeat became faster and faster, until Yan Qingchen's figure appeared in her sight. The extremely nervous heartbeat sounded like a drum around their ears.

Suddenly, a flash of light dazzled Bai Zhi's eyes, and she screamed, "Brother Yan, be careful, there's an arrow stuck in there."