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

Xiao Hu's heart suddenly tightened, and his fingertips felt a little cold. He was not unaware of his situation, but being pointed out so bluntly by Qin Cang still made him feel an invisible pressure.

"Then...what should I do?" he asked in a low voice, with a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

Qin Cang's eyes became sharp, and he said slowly: "Evacuate immediately, find a place to hide, and don't show up again."

Xiaohu's breathing hitched slightly, and his first reaction was to resist: "But Captain Qin, I can't abandon you!"

Qin Cang's eyes suddenly turned cold: "This is not abandonment, it is hiding."

He looked directly into Xiaohu's eyes, his voice as steady as a rock: "If the enemy has discovered us, they will immediately look for a breakthrough. If you continue to follow us, you will be exposing your target directly to the enemy."

Xiaohu clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, "But I..."

Qin Cang interrupted him, his voice low and powerful: "If you want to help us, you should completely disappear so that the enemy can't find you."

Xiaohu's body trembled slightly. His reason told him that Qin Cang was right, but emotionally, he found it difficult to accept this decision.

Liu San sneered, his tone tinged with sarcasm: "Isn't this exactly what you want? If Xiao Hu leaves, at least you don't have to worry about him exposing us again."

Qin Cang glanced at Liu San, ignoring his cold words. Instead, he continued to look at Xiao Hu and said in a deep voice, "Xiao Hu, this is an order."

Xiaohu bit his lower lip so hard that his nails almost dug into his palms, but he knew that he had no room for rebuttal.

Finally, he took a deep breath, suppressed the resentment in his heart, and whispered: "...I understand."

Qin Cang's expression didn't change at all. He just nodded and whispered, "Wait a moment, I'll make some noise, and you'll take the opportunity to retreat. Remember—don't leave any traces."

Xiaohu nodded vigorously, with a hint of determination in his eyes.

Qin Cang looked at Liu San and said in a deep voice, "For the rest, we will continue to explore."

Liu San narrowed his eyes, his tone still filled with dissatisfaction, but this time, he did not object, but snorted coldly: "It's better not to waste time."

Qin Cang didn't say anything else. He just took a deep breath, his eyes swept sharply through the darkness around him, his body sank slightly, and his breath became more restrained.

The night was still quiet, but the dangerous atmosphere in the air became stronger and stronger.

Qin Cang leaned over, picked up a few dry branches from the ground, and broke off a few low-hanging branches, trying not to make too much noise. His movements were swift and precise, each one carefully calculated, for fear of alerting the enemy lurking in the shadows.

Liu San stood aside, frowning at him: "What are you doing?"

Qin Cang didn't even raise his head, continuing what he was doing, and whispered, "Create an illusion."

Liu San's brows furrowed even more tightly, a hint of impatience flashing in his eyes: "Impersonation? If you have time to mess around with branches here, you might as well just leave."

Qin Cang glanced at him coldly, his tone expressionless: "Do you think the enemy is stupid? If we retreat directly, they will immediately notice something is wrong and follow the clues to catch up. But if they see any movement and mistakenly think we are still in the same place, they will temporarily let down their guard."

Liu San's mouth twitched, clearly not interested in this "circumvention tactic." He had always believed in direct confrontation; no matter who the enemy was, he would kill them. But Qin Cang's calmness made it impossible for him to refute him. He frowned and muttered, "Whatever you say."

Xiao Hu understood Qin Cang's intention and quickly asked in a low voice: "Captain Qin, can I help you?"

Qin Cang didn't look up, but said calmly: "No, stand by and wait for my signal."

Xiaohu gritted his teeth. Although he felt a little unwilling, he nodded and stood quietly to the side, trying to reduce his presence. He knew that he had been exposed once, and any unnecessary action would likely make the situation more complicated.

Qin Cang kept working. He placed the branches in several key locations. Some were piled on the ground, looking like traces of human activity, and some were inserted among the bushes, creating the illusion that someone had just hidden there.

He even deliberately left several camouflaged footprints in the soft mud, deliberately extending them to the trail on the other side, so that if the enemy did come to scout, they would be misled into thinking that the target had retreated in another direction.

Everything was arranged perfectly, and Qin Cang's experience and keen insight were fully demonstrated at this moment.

Liu San watched from the side, and although there was still a bit of disdain in his eyes, he had to admit that Qin Cang's mind was much more meticulous than his. This guy was not the impulsive and reckless type. Every decision he made had a clear purpose and precise calculation.

"It's done." Qin Cang said in a low voice, stood up, patted the dirt on his hands, and a trace of deep thought appeared in his eyes. "Next, we need to make the enemy notice these 'traces'."

Liu San sneered, "That's easy. Just make some noise and let them think we're still hanging around here."

Qin Cang didn't answer directly, but instead looked around solemnly, mentally calculating the best plan. Too much noise would alert the enemy, but too little noise might not be effective. He had to strike the right balance.

He suddenly walked to a tree, reached out to break off a branch, and flicked it gently. The branch fell to the ground with a "snap" sound, making a very slight noise.

Although the sound was not too loud in the silent night, it was extremely deceptive - like someone moving cautiously, trying not to be seen.

Qin Cang listened quietly for a while, and sure enough, in the darkness in the distance, there seemed to be a slight movement coming from it - the enemy had indeed noticed it.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

"Let's go." He whispered, and with a flash of his body, he quickly moved towards the designated evacuation route.

Liu San and Xiaohu looked at each other and immediately followed.

Their movements were extremely covert, avoiding all dead leaves and branches that could easily make noise, and trying to minimize their presence.

Soon after, the three of them finally hid in a safer location farther away. Qin Cang squatted behind a large tree and observed the area covered with camouflage traces from a distance through the dense leaves.

"It depends on whether they will take the bait." Liu San whispered with a hint of anticipation in his tone.

Qin Cang didn't say anything. His eyes were always fixed on the darkness in the distance. His fingers rested silently on his weapon, and his body was like a cheetah ready to pounce.