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

His voice was hoarse, tinged with an barely suppressed sneer, “They want to use the brotherhood I value most as bait, to make me strike first, and then use my mistakes as an excuse to drag me down completely.”

He clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms, the pain like an invisible knife cutting into the last soft spot in his heart.

“But I won’t let them have their way.” He looked up at the sky, where the stars were so sparse they were almost swallowed by the dark clouds. “They think I will be held hostage by fear and doubt, and fall into the abyss of self-doubt, but I know my bottom line, and I know the cage beneath that bottom line.”

Behind him, Xiao Hu followed closely, his gaze complex, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he only asked softly, "Brother Qin, are you really ready?"

Qin Cang's gaze was like a sharp blade, piercing into the depths of the night: "I'll only go this way if I'm prepared. If I'm not prepared, I won't blindly rush in to my death."

The two walked slowly along a path covered with tree roots and pebbles. The shadows of the trees swayed like ghosts, and occasionally a night bird would take flight, its sharp cry piercing the silence. Qin Cang's heartbeat was exceptionally clear in the stillness; he knew that danger did not only come from the outside, but also lurked deep within people's hearts.

“Those who are watching me,” Qin Cang continued in a low voice, “are not just chess players, but more like directors. They direct every move I make, arrange the roles around me, and repeatedly use familiar faces to play roles that are sometimes friend and sometimes foe.”

Xiao Hu nodded: "They're not just observing, they're constantly testing you, trying to drag you into a quagmire from which you can't extricate yourself."

Qin Cang narrowed his eyes, recalling all those seemingly accidental frictions from before—that invisible force, like an invisible hand in the shadows, guiding his every step forward.

"So tell me, what should we do?" Xiao Hu asked. "Should we continue along their predetermined route, or launch a full-scale counterattack?"

"Neither." Qin Cang chuckled, his laughter cold and stern. "I need to make them see clearly that the real Qin Cang is neither a pawn that has been arranged nor a blind pawn."

"So what do you want to do?"

Qin Cang lowered his voice even further: "I want them to realize that they shouldn't think that the net you've set up can cover me. A net is woven, and there will always be loopholes."

He took out the route map from his pocket, and slowly traced his fingertips across the map, stopping at several key points.

“Look here, these markings are the routes they imposed on me. But I discovered that they missed a few side routes—these side routes were so well hidden that almost no one paid attention to them, but I walked through them and no one chased after me.”

Xiao Hu leaned closer, his brow furrowed: "You mean, we can take these side routes and avoid the traps they've set?"

“Exactly.” A resolute light flashed in Qin Cang’s eyes. “They are too confident, assuming that everyone will only take the main roads. In fact, those side roads are the best choice for hiding and counterattacking.”

A chilling atmosphere seemed to permeate the air. Qin Cang's expression grew increasingly cold and stern. A strong sense of mission surged within him, and he refused to allow himself to fail or become a puppet in their hands.

“Those ambushes, those signals, and those hidden watchers—we will expose them one by one and defeat them one by one.”

Xiao Hu was silent for a moment, then suddenly revealed a rare smile: "Brother Qin, I have faith in you."

Qin Cang didn't answer, but continued walking along the edge of the forest, his steps steady, his eyes filled with calculation and unyielding spirit. He knew that what awaited him ahead was not only an enemy trap, but also the secrets hidden by his former comrades.

"This time, I will not be kept in the dark again," he thought to himself. "No matter what means they use, I will become the master of my own destiny."

The wind ruffled his clothes, bringing a chill, but it also seemed to ignite the flames within him even brighter. Countless eyes watched them from the depths of the night, but Qin Cang's steps did not falter for a moment.

The fallen leaves crunched under his feet, making a faint sound, but the surroundings were deathly silent. Every time he reached out to push aside the branches that obstructed his view, a sense of tension would well up inside him—a feeling that made even the air seem suffocating. He knew that danger was never a distant thunderclap, but rather an invisible blade lurking beneath his feet, in the very breath he took.

"Brother Qin, why do you look a little nervous?" Xiao Hu's voice was deep, with a hint of teasing, but more so with concern.

Qin Cang's lips curled slightly, but he didn't answer. He turned to look at Xiao Hu, his eyes filled with complex emotions: "Nervousness doesn't mean fear; it's respect for the unknown. The more familiar a place is, the easier it is to let your guard down. This is precisely the corner they most want me to overlook."

“But do you know what?” Xiao Hu lowered his voice, “I’ve always felt that they’ve laid a trap long ago, and no matter which path we take, it’s like we’re being led by the nose.”

"That's why I'm taking these unnoticed paths," Qin Cang said resolutely. "Let me see if it's truly flawless."

Before he could finish speaking, Qin Cang suddenly stopped, his brows furrowed. His senses seemed to be awakened by some instinct, scanning his surroundings warily. There seemed to be something unusual in the air, like still water slightly disturbed, with invisible ripples.

"Don't you guys feel like something's not right?" he suddenly asked, his voice very low.

Xiao Hu also became serious, then looked around: "Apart from this damn silence, I don't feel anything else. What do you think?"

Qin Cang nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on a depression hidden by thick branches. He suddenly squatted down, his fingertips lightly touching the soil, feeling the subtle vibrations in the ground.

“Someone… has laid an ambush,” he said in a low voice.

Xiao Hu frowned deeply, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of the knife at his waist: "Are you sure?"

Qin Cang's eyes were as cold as ice: "Absolutely. The soil beneath our feet has been trampled on many times, but the direction is extremely well hidden, clearly it was set up specifically for an ambush."

At that moment, the air seemed to freeze, the darkness deepened, and a sense of oppression surged from all directions. Qin Cang's heart tightened suddenly, as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, making it difficult to breathe.

"We need to change course immediately," Qin Cang commanded in a low voice. "We can't let them control our pace."

Xiao Hu nodded, quickly pulled a dagger from his backpack, and scanned his surroundings warily. "Let's bypass this terrain and find a more secluded route."

However, just as they were about to turn and leave, a dark shadow silently leaped out of the bushes, moving with breathtaking speed, and pounced straight at Qin Cang.