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

Liu San nodded, understanding. He wasn't stupid, and while he wasn't good at thinking things through, he was always very sensitive to danger. He tilted his neck, "So what are you going to do?"

Qin Cang was silent for a moment before he said, "I want you to knock on their door."

Liu San frowned: "Go knock on the door?"

"Well." Qin Cang lowered his voice, "Just pretend to be a lost stranger, say you're on the road at night and have nowhere to stay, and want to ask for a drink. Ask if you can stay for the night. I'll watch from a distance and see their reaction."

"Will they just shoot?" Liu San grinned.

"If you walk steadily and speak the truth, you won't." Qin Cang stared at him, "Those people are very cautious. They don't seem like desperate criminals. They are afraid of being exposed and won't kill people casually, especially an unarmed foreigner."

Liu San sucked in a breath of cold air, "You are so brave... Tsk, I have been with you for a long time, and I dare to take risks under your guidance."

"Are you afraid?" Qin Cang asked.

"Afraid?" Liu San chuckled, then scolded with a smile, "If I were afraid, would I have followed you here? Okay, leave it to me."

Qin Cang nodded, took out a small piece of dried meat and a few grains of coarse salt from his pocket, wrapped it in a rag, and handed it to him: "Pack your luggage so that you look more like you're on the road. Hide a knife in your clothes, but don't show it. If you don't really intend to go in, just test the door for five or six minutes and try to get them to say a few more words."

Liu San took the package, a hint of excitement on his face. Sometimes he was like a horse with its reins loosened, but once he was out running, he was more stable than anyone else. He put the cloth bag on his waist and patted Qin Cang's shoulder: "Just watch me perform."

"Don't use too much force." Qin Cang reminded, "The priority is to save your life."

"I understand." Liu San said, turned around and disappeared into the shadow of the mountain.

Qin Cang stood there, watching his retreating figure, his heart taut as a string, not daring to relax for a moment. He knew this was an extremely risky move, but it was also necessary. To force the enemy out of the shadows, they couldn't always hide in the darkness. They had to find the game outside the game, using truth and falsehood to confuse the enemy's judgment.

He returned to the most advantageous observation point on the hillside, lay down behind a high rock, and stared at the house through a telescope.

Time flowed slowly, and every breath felt like a knife cutting through his heart. He saw Liu San approaching the village step by step. He looked around in front of the house with a look of confusion and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, the door was opened and a tall, thin figure appeared at the door.

Qin Cang gripped the telescope tightly, his heart almost in his throat.

Liu San put on a sleepy expression and said something with an extremely sincere attitude. The other party did not immediately send him away, but paused for a moment. Those few short seconds seemed as long as the entire night to Qin Cang.

Then, miraculously, the other party opened the door and Liu San was allowed to step over!

Qin Cang's pupils suddenly contracted as he realized that this was no longer a simple scouting exercise, but had brought the flames of war to the enemy's feet. If Liu San opened his mouth, made a wrong move, or even gave him a wrong look, the three people in the room would immediately turn hostile.

He knew Liu San had gone in. At that moment, he expected something unexpected to happen, roars, gunshots, a fight. But after the door opened, silence remained, as if the knock had been nothing more than a dreamlike whisper in the night. The silence in the room meant that perhaps they truly believed Liu San's identity. Perhaps.

Qin Cang didn't dare hold out too much hope. In his eyes, if the enemy were truly experienced, they wouldn't completely drop their guard just because of a few pitiful words. They were willing to let Liu San in because they either wanted to use him to test their strength or they were absolutely confident in their own arrangements.

And at this moment, he suddenly noticed something strange.

A dog.

It was a small, black-and-white dog with ears that stood upright. It was darting out from the other side of the village. It wasn't strolling around, nor was it looking for food. Instead, it was fleeing in panic, its body pressed against the ground, running all the way to the shady slope of the mountain.

Qin Cang's eyes suddenly grew fierce. He had seen this happen before—dogs were the first animals to sense smells, and would detect unusual sounds or smells before humans. This dog's flight didn't seem to be caused by a whip or a chase, but rather a flight from some intense unease.

"It smells something." Qin Cang had an ominous premonition in his heart.

The dog was running in the direction of the path behind the mountain, the only unnoticed exit from the village. He immediately realized that someone might be bypassing the main road from there, preparing to approach or evacuate.

His eyes tightened, and he quickly put away his binoculars, hiding himself deeper among the rocks and grass, while keeping his ear close to the ground. He was familiar with the way the ground transmitted vibrations, an ancient and practical method that had saved his life many times while surviving in the wild.

After a few breaths, he indeed felt a slight tremor, as if footsteps were approaching along the mountain path.

Not many people, but not just one either. He counted the pace and deduced that there were at least three or four people, and they walked with extreme caution, barely making the sound of rolling sand and gravel. With such footwork, it couldn't be a villager. They must have been trained.

The already tense string in his heart suddenly tugged. He knew that if he didn't figure out the identities of these people now, he might never have another chance. He hesitated for a moment—should he stay where he was and stare into the house, or risk a detour to intercept these people?

The dog was still running, having run halfway up the mountain, as if fleeing some deeper fear.

Qin Cang gritted his teeth, finally making up his mind. He couldn't put all his eggs in one basket on Liu San's acting skills. If these people who suddenly appeared were indeed accomplices of the three people in the house, they would sooner or later return to their base or reveal more secrets. If not, then it was even more worth investigating. Even if it took some risks, he had to get to the bottom of it all.

He quietly left the observation point, drew the dagger hidden at his waist from behind, and sneaked along the hillside in the opposite direction of the trail.

The mountain path was rugged and covered with thorns, but he moved with great skill, like a shadow in the forest, sliding silently into the night. After walking about two or three hundred steps, he finally heard the sound of a faint conversation.

It was a man's voice, very low.

"This village is still unstable. Wait for more news. Don't move until there's a signal."

"Didn't you say we'd retreat tonight?"

"The blueprints haven't been taken away yet, and they haven't sent anyone over yet."

"Then why did we come here? It's not worth the risk."

"An order is an order, and it must come. We can't lose the map, it's the key to the next step."