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

This round wasn't about letting him escape; it was about forcing him to choose. And Xiao Hu had already been pushed into the game.

A strange feeling arose in his heart, not anger, nor sorrow, but a sense of resentment.

He looked down at the letters and badges, the papers seeming to be imprinted with countless gazes, silently watching him, assessing him, and waiting for him.

Qin Cang spoke softly, his tone carrying an undisguised sharpness:

"Tell them, I'm not going to be a pawn."

This is no ordinary map; it doesn't even qualify as a standard military deployment map. It's more like a personal record, a "mental trajectory" meticulously drawn by a thoughtful person rather than a roadmap.

The map clearly marks his movements over the past few years, including not only the supply points and ambush sites he had stopped at, but even the small side road he chose for temporary refuge during a breakout. Those tiny, almost impossible-to-remember details, those accidental decisions he thought only he remembered, were all meticulously recorded on this map.

What's even more chilling is that those routes aren't fixed paths, but rather seem like pre-programmed behavioral predictions. The way the routes connect seems to tell him: no matter what he chooses or changes, someone has already walked every step for him in advance.

"Do you still consider yourself free?" Xiao Hu's voice was very soft, as if afraid of disturbing some sleeping monster.

Qin Cang remained silent, his gaze fixed on a red dot in the lower left corner of the map. It was a temporary hiding place he had never revealed to anyone, a cave he had accidentally dug during a flash flood. He hadn't even made any marks inside—he simply recalled the angle and location from memory. It was his "lifeline," known only to him.

But it is clearly visible on the map.

In an instant, it felt as if a fuse had been lit in his mind, shooting straight from the back of his neck to his heart.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the night, and looked at Xiao Hu: "When did you find out?"

Xiao Hu didn't avoid the question, meeting his gaze frankly: "I didn't draw it. But I know it exists... About half a year ago, they showed me this picture and asked me what I would choose. They said I would see these things sooner or later."

"So you deliberately sent out that signal?" Qin Cang's voice was not angry, but cold.

“I can’t let you get involved without knowing anything.” Xiao Hu smiled wryly. “You’re too vigilant. If I hadn’t shown you this picture, you would never have taken that step. But if you don’t take that step, they will start another game and drag you in, without asking whether you want to or not.”

Qin Cang's lips were pressed tightly together, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. He recalled the scene of him sneaking around Lin Nan alone that night, and the series of seemingly accidental frictions and collisions during that period—it turned out that those were not accidental at all.

Everything was planned in advance.

His anger didn't stem from betrayal, but from this complete feeling of being "programmed." It was the sensation that every breath he took was being monitored, like hundreds of invisible eyes lurking in every corner of his life.

He looked down at the blueprint again, his gaze finally settling on the silver-white marker in the center of the map.

"Where is this?" he asked.

“A place they assumed you would definitely go,” Xiao Hu replied slowly. “That was the mountain pass where you and Yun Chuan first ambushed each other. You said that the forest gave you the experience of surviving on the edge of a knife.”

Qin Cang was taken aback, his gaze suddenly changing. He had long since sealed that memory deep in his heart, never mentioning it again. But someone remembered it, someone used it to predict his possible next move—this kind of spying felt like cold, icy fingers probing into his body, sending chills down his spine.

"How dare they?" he asked through gritted teeth in a low voice.

“They’ve been gambling all along.” Xiao Hu’s expression was visibly weary. “The more you stay still, the more they’ll bet on you. They think you’ll have to face choices sooner or later, so they might as well let you see the right things at the right time.”

Qin Cang turned his head, staring intently at him, his voice low and deep: "So you're admitting it?"

“I didn’t admit it.” Xiao Hu shook his head. “I just didn’t want you to walk this path alone. Even if it’s the wrong path, I’ll walk it with you.”

These words left Qin Cang speechless for a moment.

The night wind blew, and the branches and leaves of the forest swayed like waves. He slowly reached out and refolded the map, his fingertips gripping the paper so tightly they almost crushed the fibers. He didn't tear it—because he knew it was sharper than any knife and more terrifying than any weapon.

He turned his back and looked towards the direction of the deep forest, towards the location marked with silver.

“They want me to go, but I won’t.” Qin Cang’s words were sharp and cold. “I will cut the lines they’ve drawn, one by one.”

"So what are you planning to do?" Xiao Hu pressed.

Qin Cang was silent for a moment, then suddenly chuckled softly, his voice extremely low but chilling as if squeezed from the very marrow of his bones: "Since they're going to gamble, let's gamble big. I want to see what kind of person is sitting in the back watching the show."

Xiao Hu frowned, seemingly realizing what he meant: "You want to go in the opposite direction?"

“Yes.” Qin Cang turned his head. “I want to follow the path they didn’t predict and return to the starting point—not the ‘inevitable point’ they drew, but the first step that truly belongs to me.”

"You're going back to the village entrance?" Xiao Hu asked in surprise.

Qin Cang nodded.

The village entrance was where it all began. It was the place where he first swore never to betray his brothers, first led his men to safety from the front lines, and first gambled his life on the line.

"That place is probably under their surveillance by now."

“Perfect,” Qin Cang said softly. “I also want to know if those who are looking at me can see their own reflection in the mirror.”

He took a few steps, then suddenly stopped and looked back at Xiao Hu.

Are you going to join or not?

Xiao Hu gave a wry smile: "Wherever you go, I'll follow."

Qin Cang nodded, as if confirming a certain belief in his heart. In his eyes, there was no longer just anger and doubt, but a long-lost sharpness—not passive resistance, but active hunting.

This time, it's not about being observed.

Instead, he wanted to observe.

He now understood their scheme completely.

This is an intricately woven network, a trap laid out densely using his trust and principles as clues. Every path, every detail, is a pawn they've calculated beforehand, designed to force him into a pre-set trap or to throw him into disarray amidst the chaos.

He suddenly stopped, squatted down, placed his hands on his knees, and took a deep breath of cold air, letting the chill in his lungs dispel some of the confusion.

"They want me to walk into the theater they designed, step by step, with every movement under their watchful eyes," Qin Cang muttered to himself.