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

The three of them quickly packed up and traveled light, each carrying only dry food, a water bag, a short blade, and a signal graphite. They chose a slope near the bushes to avoid the main mountain road and quietly ascended along a diagonal path.

The night was deep, the chirping of insects in the forest had long since ceased, and the wind had strangely stopped, leaving only the occasional faint sound of dead branches being broken by being stepped on.

Xiaohu bent his waist and asked in a low voice: "Captain, there is such a big forest. Where did the dog run off to?"

"Look at the grass." Qin Cang pointed to a patch of fine grass in front of him, "Look at the direction where the grass is bent."

The three of them followed the very shallow traces, pausing from time to time, and sometimes crouching down to listen for any movement.

"There." Liu San suddenly said in a low voice, raising his hand and pointing to a huge rock in the forest in the distance. Faintly, there was a glimmer of light.

Qin Cang immediately made a stop gesture and everyone lay down.

After a few breaths, he quietly crawled forward until he was close to the boulder and peered around the other side of the stone.

In a low-lying area, a dim lamp covered with oil-paper was lit. Beneath the lamp, three figures could be seen: one squatting, one standing, and the third leaning against a tree trunk, seemingly eavesdropping.

They were wrapped tightly, their faces covered with gauze, and their chests were taped with a black cloth label without any other identification. Their techniques were extremely skillful, and there was no hesitation in their movements.

At the man's feet, there was a yellow thing curled up - it was the dog. At this moment, it lowered its head, and its limbs were trembling, as if it had been trained very obediently.

"Damn it." Qin Cang's heart sank, and he cursed softly, "They use dogs for reconnaissance!"

Liu San whispered behind him, "This is an intelligence dog... I've encountered one like this before in the mountains. It's trained not to bark or bite, and only obeys orders."

"No wonder that dog has been guarding the village entrance." Xiaohu gritted his teeth, "It's a spy."

"Don't move, keep watching." Qin Cang held them down, his eyes never leaving the three people.

They were repeatedly examining a piece of black cloth, as if confirming a map, or perhaps waiting for some signal. Qin Cang narrowed his eyes. The black cloth reflected something strange—not ordinary cloth, but more like some kind of tactical information film that could only be read under specific lighting conditions.

At this moment, the man standing there suddenly raised his wrist and gestured towards the forest above.

The three of them fell silent for a moment, squatting down together and entering a hidden posture.

At the same time, there was a faint sound of rustling footsteps coming from the distant forest - not one person, but a group of people!

Qin Cang suddenly felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

"Their troops have arrived," he murmured softly, "This is the real mobilization. We have arrived at the right time."

"Captain, do you want to do it?" Killing intent was already burning in Xiaohu's eyes.

Qin Cang did not answer immediately, but stared at the team's rendezvous point below. In his eyes, shadows gathered inch by inch. After a long while, he whispered:

"Captain..." Liu San whispered softly into his ear, his voice as low as falling leaves, "Are we going to stay here all night?"

Qin Cang didn't answer immediately. His mind was rapidly weighing the pros and cons—retreating now would allow them to rest and recuperate, but once these people left, they would never again have the chance to approach the black cloth and determine their true movements. However, stubbornly holding out in the forest would gradually drain their physical and mental strength, especially Xiaohu. While he was young and energetic, he wasn't stable enough. If a fight broke out, he might not be able to escape unscathed.

He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, there was a resolute cold light in his eyes.

"Let's go back first," he whispered, "but we won't give up yet. Let's go back to our base to regroup overnight and come back before sunrise tomorrow. Remember their movements tonight: the route, the junction, the positions of those three men, the terrain. Don't miss a single one."

"But..." Xiaohu hesitated, "Won't they move?"

"No." Qin Cang shook his head, his tone firm, "This is not a temporary rendezvous point. The dog has been watching the village entrance for several days, which shows that they are very well prepared. Now it's just the final deployment. The real 'action' has not yet begun."

As he spoke, he stood up and led the way down the mountain, his steps extremely light, each step following the footprints of those before him to avoid making any unnecessary noise. Liu San and Xiao Hu followed closely behind him, the three of them moving through the forest like ghosts.

The descent was far more arduous than the ascent. The night deepened, and a mist gradually rose from the forest, as if countless delicate hands were stirring at one's mind. Occasionally, the cry of a wild animal could be heard from afar, only to be blown away by the wind. Qin Cang walked in front, his mind constantly wary of the scene that had just occurred on the mountain.

The dog, the black cloth intelligence, and the reinforcements that hadn't yet appeared... all the clues were like spider webs hanging in the air. If he touched even a little, the whole situation would collapse. He knew they had been involved in a covert operation that was much more complicated than he had imagined, and the most important thing now was to stay intact and conscious.

It was still dark when the three of them arrived at the base. The fire in the cabin had gone out, and the room was cold and silent. Xiaohu sneezed violently as he entered the room. He slumped against the wall like a deflated ball, sliding down with his bag.

"Don't fall asleep yet." Qin Cang whispered, "Write down what you remember, either by drawing or writing. We'll check the details later."

Liu San said nothing, silently pulling a piece of cardboard and a charcoal pencil from his backpack, then squatted in the corner to sketch the terrain. Xiao Hu rubbed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and sat up, imitating Qin Cang's usual method, meticulously sketching the enemy's posture and the angle of light reflection he observed.

Qin Cang sat beside the fire, gathering the scattered branches and lighting a bunch of dry grass leaves to make the flames dance again. His eyes were fixed on the dancing flames, and the firelight reflected on his face, making his angular features look even colder.

"Captain." Liu San raised his head after finishing writing. "Who do you think they are waiting for?"

Qin Cang didn't answer immediately. He picked up a twig from the charcoal fire, stirred the flames, and then said slowly, "I don't know. But it wasn't just a regular supply run, nor was it a simple shift change. They were carrying equipment and intelligence devices, and they were carrying some kind of decision-making deployment."

He paused and added, "Perhaps, it's for a commander who hasn't shown up yet."

As soon as these words were spoken, the room fell silent. Xiao Hu was stunned for a moment before he whispered, "So, are we still going tomorrow?"

Qin Cang glanced at him calmly and said, "No, now that you let them go, do you regret it?"

Xiaohu gritted his teeth and nodded heavily: "Go!"

"Then eat something and sleep for two hours." Qin Cang raised his hand and glanced at the old pocket watch hanging on the wooden wall. "We will set off at three o'clock sharp and must ambush on the mountainside before five o'clock. We might have to take action by then, so bring some good things with you."