Bright Sword: Conquer the monk at the beginning and take down Zhou Weiguo

He suddenly pointed toward the drowsy forest below, his eyes filled with an indescribable coldness. "Do you think you can escape from here? This is a dead end, Qin Cang. Your only choice is to die here or somewhere further away." His voice was icy, with unquestionable determination.

Qin Cang's heart suddenly tightened, and he could barely breathe. He knew that this moment was no longer a simple reunion with an old friend, but a more complex struggle. Xiaohu was not just an enemy, he was not just a former comrade, but a threat fraught with uncertainty.

"Have you really decided?" Qin Cang looked at Xiao Hu, his eyes becoming more determined. "You know, if we continue down this path, there's no turning back."

Xiao Hu smiled, a smile that was profound. "There's no turning back? Qin Cang, there's no turning back. Each of you has long been manipulated by fate into a pawn."

The air on the mountaintop remained heavy, the winds swirling around him like a tangle of turmoil, carrying a sense of foreboding. Qin Cang stood there, his eyes calm, his expression seemingly unwavering. Yet, beneath this calm exterior, his heart was beating wildly, his inner doubts and anxieties weighing on him like an invisible weight, nearly suffocating him.

He stood there, gazing at Xiaohu before him, a complex tangle of indescribable emotions swirling within him. Once a friend, now an enemy, or perhaps, rather, someone who had transcended the definition of "enemy." Xiaohu stood there, his face still adorned with that undeniable sneer, but his eyes grew ever deeper, as if concealing some unspeakable secret.

"Xiao Hu, what do you want?" Qin Cang's voice was calm, but his heart was already in turmoil. At this moment, he felt as if he was trapped in an invisible net. Everything around him was no longer transparent, and every step seemed so heavy.

Xiaohu's smile remained. He shrugged, a hint of mockery in his tone: "What do you want? I've always wanted more than this. Do you think that by leaving the past behind, we can finally move on? Every choice we've made is like a sharp blade, deeply embedded in our bones. You never understood that I'm no longer the same Xiaohu."

Qin Cang's heart tightened. He knew Xiaohu was right. Every choice they had made in the past was deeply engraved in their hearts, impossible to erase or forget. The war had transformed them from ordinary people into cold-blooded warriors, and it had also made their relationships extremely complicated.

"Xiao Hu, we are no longer the same people we used to be." Qin Cang took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He looked at Xiao Hu, trying to regain the familiar feeling he once had, but he knew it was no longer possible. "If you have something to say, just say it."

Xiao Hu's eyes flickered slightly, as if he was thinking about something. After a moment, he smiled slightly, revealing a hint of sarcasm: "Speak frankly? Do you think it can really be as simple as it was back then? Back then, we still had dreams and a future in our hearts. What about now? Everyone's heart has long been filled with blood and death. You are the same, Qin Cang, don't deceive yourselves."

Qin Cang felt an inexplicable surge of anger, but he remained calm. He simply stared at Xiao Hu, his gaze growing ever deeper. He knew that Xiao Hu was no longer the partner he could easily persuade. Their shared past, after countless bloody battles, had long been buried deep within their hearts, a wound they could never touch.

At this moment, a slight sound suddenly came from my ears - it was a weak signal from the communicator, carrying a hint of a long-lost connection.

Qin Cang's heartbeat quickened, and he quickly lowered his head, took out his communicator, and flipped the switch. The communicator made a slight noise, followed by a muffled voice: "Qin Cang...it's me."

This voice made Qin Cang's heartbeat suddenly accelerate. Almost like a conditioned reflex, his eyes instantly became sharp and stared at the communicator.

"It's you?" Qin Cang's voice was low and suppressed, almost squeezed out from between his teeth, "Where are you?"

"We're in the woods to the southeast and have just passed the enemy patrol line." A familiar voice came from the other end of the communicator. It was Ma Yang, a veteran of the team. "We... need support. The situation is a bit complicated. How are you guys doing?"

Qin Cang frowned slightly, a flash of nervousness flashing through his heart. Ma Yang didn't say much, but from his tone, one could tell that their current situation was not optimistic. Qin Cang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "We are at the top of the mountain. Something is wrong here. There is an enemy ambush. Stay still for now and wait for us to come and rescue you."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the communicator, and then Ma Yang's somewhat low voice came: "Understood, we will wait for you. Be careful and don't get ambushed."

Qin Cang said nothing more and quickly hung up. His mind raced, and he made a split-second decision. The enemy had already set their sights on them, and the situation on his side was equally grim. Add to that Xiaohu's presence, and the situation became even more complicated.

"Xiao Hu." Qin Cang's gaze locked onto Xiao Hu again. His tone became calmer, even carrying a hint of command. "I don't have time to waste with you. The enemy is already approaching our team. If you have any vestiges of friendship, get out of my way now and go your own way."

Xiaohu's smile remained, his eyes filled with contempt and provocation. "Get out of the way? Qin Cang, do you think I'll let you go so easily? You guys have long been trapped by me."

Qin Cang's eyes flashed coldly. He knew that the situation was completely out of control and that a localized confrontation might be unavoidable. As Xiao Hu had said, past choices had already changed their fates. Now, each of them was walking their own path in this wilderness, with no chance of turning back.

"We'll go further." Qin Cang's voice was calm, yet filled with an unshakable determination. "If you're willing to go your own way, I'm willing to fight for my team."

Xiaohu smiled lightly, as if he didn't care about Qin Cang's determination: "Fight to the death? Okay, come on, Qin Cang. Anyway, everyone will know the final outcome."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaohu's figure instantly disappeared into the dense forest, as if he had never existed.

Qin Cang didn't pursue him. He knew that Xiao Hu's presence had become a variable in this complex situation, and what he needed to do was to reunite with Ma Yang and the others as soon as possible and get out of here. No matter how Xiao Hu provoked him or how he made the situation more chaotic, the most important thing was to survive and keep moving forward.

"Liu San, Li Tian, ​​prepare to go down the mountain." Qin Cang ordered in a low voice, and scanned the surroundings again. After confirming that there was no further ambush, he gently raised his steps and began to walk down the mountain.

Liu San and Li Tian followed closely behind. Without wasting any more time, the three of them quickly went down the mountain and headed southeast.

Qin Cang's mind was still filled with countless questions, but at this moment, he knew that he had no more time to dwell on them. The team's life and death, their future, and the "battle" before them all needed him to decide.

The mountain wind grew stronger, whistling harshly through the forest. Qin Cang felt as if the air around him was being shattered into pieces. With every deep breath, the air was filled with a tense atmosphere that almost suffocated him. With every step forward, he seemed to fall into endless darkness, and the vague fear in his heart became heavier.

He walked at the front of the group, his steps steady and swift. Li Tian and Liu San followed closely behind. The three of them said nothing, their tacit understanding making the entire group unusually silent. An oppressive atmosphere filled the air, seemingly unbreakable. But Qin Cang knew that beneath the silence lay a danger far more dangerous than words.

In his mind, the sudden message kept echoing - he had to reunite with the team as soon as possible and lead them out of this wilderness. Every second of delay could put them in a more deadly situation.

Yet, at this moment, Qin Cang's thoughts drifted back to a time long past. Back then, he was just a young man, naive and inexperienced. When his father handed him the tattered map, he hadn't grasped its significance. The map was tightly folded, and every time Qin Cang looked at it, he felt as if it held some secret his father didn't want to reveal.

"What I left for you is meaningful." My father said in a low voice, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity. "This map will guide you at the critical moment."

At the time, Qin Cang had accepted the map after countless trials and doubts. Young, he didn't grasp the deeper meaning of his father's words. It wasn't until his father disappeared in the chaos of battle that Qin Cang gradually realized the map held far more significance than he'd imagined. It was more than just a map—it contained his father's lifelong experiences, even secrets he'd been reluctant to share.

Qin Cang's hand quietly touched his backpack, feeling the presence of the map. It was still tightly clamped inside the backpack, as smooth as ever, but the scent of his father became increasingly difficult for Qin Cang to ignore.

"Father..." Qin Cang murmured, a faint pain in his heart. Whenever he thought of his father, he would always feel endless regret and guilt. Although he had long learned to calmly deal with the pressure of each battle, he still couldn't let go of his father's departure.

He remembered that dark night when his father turned his back to him for the last time and left with only one sentence: "Go your own way and find your own direction." Then he disappeared into the darkness and never came back.