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

He took a deep breath and patted Xiaohu's shoulder, "I don't plan to leave like this."

Xiaohu's eyes lit up slightly, but before he could say anything, Qin Cang added, "I will come back. I will find a way to circumvent the order and come back. But now, we must retreat as ordered, and retreat cleanly."

Xiaohu was silent for a while and finally nodded.

They began to pack up their belongings, gradually removing all traces. They tied their backpacks, covered the ground, extinguished the fire, and even covered the areas where they urinated with mud and ash. Qin Cang did all this with extreme care, knowing that the camp would likely be searched by the enemy soon. Any flaw would increase the risk of the next plan.

They retreated along the mountainside, avoiding the main village road and crossing the woods. After several hours, they finally reached their designated retreat point. It was an abandoned threshing ground, with several dilapidated wooden sheds propped up among piles of straw. The surrounding area was overgrown with weeds, appearing desolate and barren. However, this was the "Southern Forest Pass" marked on the map.

They waited here for a quarter of an hour before a muddy carriage wobbled up. It was Lao Lu, the escort. He looked nervous and glanced around before lowering his voice and saying, "You're the last group. Get on board quickly and don't delay."

Qin Cang got on the carriage and sat at the back. The wind blew in through the gaps in the tarpaulin, making his ears itch. He didn't blink, but stared at the end of the forest road, as if he wanted to engrave the village in his mind.

He knew this was not the end.

The retreat was temporary. He was already mentally deducing his next plan—reconnecting to the signal, contacting other outposts, discovering the true whereabouts of the blueprint, and even considering extracting some undisclosed inside information from Lao Lu. He wouldn't give up, and certainly wouldn't watch Liu San get stuck in the quagmire, isolated and helpless.

He was already imagining how he would sneak back into the village next time—not through the main gate, not along the mountain road, but around the river, crawling in through the drainage ditch behind the ruined temple. He knew the texture of every patch of grass and every inch of mud, as if that place had become his hunting ground, just waiting to return again.

The carriage swayed and rumbled as it passed through the wet woods. Xiaohu dozed off against the tarpaulin, a look of weariness still on his face. Qin Cang, however, remained tense.

He knew very well that the real battle had not yet begun.

The enemy was hiding too deeply, and what they had revealed was only the tip of the iceberg. What he had to do was to dive deeper - until he could grasp the vein and strangle the enemy's throat.

And all this must start with Liu San.

Suddenly, his gaze fell on the distant horizon outside the carriage window. Although the white mist had not yet completely dissipated, his keen intuition told him that something seemed amiss outside. Faintly, he could see several figures moving through the distant trees. They were moving at a fast pace, seemingly intentionally avoiding the carriage's sight as they headed deeper into the forest.

Qin Cang's heartbeat quickened slightly. He quietly moved away from Xiao Hu, his eyes fixed on the direction of those figures. After a while, those figures suddenly disappeared into the mist, as if a gust of wind had blown them away.

"What's going on?" Qin Cang asked himself, frowning. "Are they chasing us, or are they making some other arrangements?"

He unconsciously pressed the signal light in his backpack, his fingertips lightly grazing the metal, but there was no response. His intuition told him that the order to retreat couldn't be groundless. Perhaps it was a feint—the enemy hadn't let down their guard, but was deliberately luring him and Xiaohu off course.

"What should I do?" Qin Cang whispered to himself, his eyes flickering slightly. He looked through the gap in the car hood and once again looked at the dark shadow deep in the woods.

"We can't just let their plan go ahead like this." He began to ponder his next move. Even if it meant a temporary retreat, he couldn't let his guard down.

At this moment, Lao Lu, who was at the front of the carriage, turned around, his nervous expression becoming even more pronounced. "Brother Qin, we need to hurry. We've come a long way already, and the road ahead is going to be difficult. We need to be prepared."

"I understand." Qin Cang replied calmly, but with a hint of anxiety that he couldn't conceal. He knew that since he couldn't return to his original village, he had to make this retreat route more secure and ensure that every step was correct.

Just as he was lost in thought, suddenly, a burst of rapid horse hoofbeats came from behind, followed by a cloud of dust. Qin Cang subconsciously turned his head and looked through the window, gradually seeing a group of cavalry approaching quickly.

"Be careful, the enemy is coming." He whispered to Lao Lu, his voice filled with calmness and determination that could not be ignored.

Lao Lu's face turned pale instantly, and he quickly pulled up a corner of the hood to prevent the enemy from peeping in. He muttered softly, "What's going on? Why are there pursuers? Have they noticed something?"

Qin Cang didn't answer directly. He calmly observed the cavalry approaching from behind the carriage, but a deep sense of unease welled up in his heart. How could the enemy have caught up so quickly? If it were just an ordinary patrol, they wouldn't have been able to detect their movements in such a short time. It's even more impossible for them to catch up so quickly.

"This isn't right." Qin Cang felt a chilling intuition. He didn't think they were pursuers, but rather a deceptive illusion deliberately created by the enemy.

"Xiao Hu, stay calm." Qin Cang said softly to the boy beside him, his eyes fixed on the back. "They are not here to chase us, but to create a false alarm."

Xiaohu looked at him suspiciously, his eyes a little confused. "False alarm? What do you mean?"

"What they mean is that the enemy already knows we're retreating, but they don't intend to attack directly. Instead, they're trying to disrupt our judgment by staging a false pursuit, making us mistakenly believe we're being chased." Qin Cang's voice was low and clear. "Their real goal is to make us change direction and deviate from our original retreat route."

"Then what should we do?" Xiaohu asked nervously. He could feel the uneasiness and complex emotions in Qin Cang's tone.

Qin Cang sighed softly, his expression remaining calm. "Now we just need to make them think we're hiding. Maintain our original speed and don't react. Then, we'll find an opportunity to disappear at the right time."

"Xiao Hu, remember, don't be impatient. If you are impatient, you will fall into their trap."

Xiaohu didn't say anything else, just nodded, and his expression became serious.

Liu San nodded, his voice lowering. "I saw them send a few of our people in... They were tied up, their mouths gagged. I guess they were captured and held there. I heard some movement in there, it doesn't sound like they're just sentries."