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

Qin Cang did not answer. He simply stared at him, his gaze like a blade slicing across Zhao Gen's face.

Zhao Gen finally couldn't hold on any longer. He lowered his head and muttered, "Brother, I really didn't mean anything by it. I'm just a woodcutter, penniless. If you doubt me, I'll take off my clothes and show you, see if I have any weapons on me!"

He started to take off his clothes as he spoke, his movements somewhat hurried.

Qin Cang pressed him down, "No need." He had already determined that this person was not an enemy. To test someone, you don't just look at their words, but at the sincerity in their eyes, the hardness of their bones, and the fear that they themselves are unaware of. He wasn't afraid that this person was deceiving him; he was afraid that this person might be being used by someone else.

"Has anyone been to that village up ahead recently?" Qin Cang suddenly asked.

Zhao Gen was taken aback. "You mean outsiders? Yes, there were some. Last night, it seemed like a few horses came. I heard the sound of their hooves very clearly. But this morning, Old Huang at the village entrance said that the horses didn't enter the village. They just circled around the edge of the woods a few times and then disappeared. We don't dare to go out and look."

Qin Cang's heart tightened. Those horses were most likely scouts.

Did they speak?

"No, I only heard the sound of metal scraping together, and... a woman laughing. The laughter was so cold that it gave me goosebumps."

As Qin Cang stood up, a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes as he turned his back to Zhao Gen. He thought of someone, someone who should never appear in this world again.

"Can you leave?"

"I...I can try." Zhao Gen tried to stand up, wincing in pain, but with Qin Cang's help, he finally managed to stand. "Thanks, brother. You're a good person."

Qin Cang didn't speak, but simply supported him with one hand while looking into the misty depths of the forest path.

"After you return to the village, tell your village chief not to act rashly. Have the women and children take refuge in the western mountain valley for a few days. Don't ask why, just do as instructed."

A look of shock flashed in Zhao Gen's eyes. "You mean... someone is coming?"

"We didn't come here," Qin Cang said in a low voice, "we came to kill."

Zhao Gen was so frightened that his face turned pale. He forgot his pain for a moment and nodded repeatedly, "I, I'll go back right away."

Qin Cang watched him struggle away down the muddy road, his small, unsteady figure appearing heavy in the morning mist. He knew that his warning might have saved a village; he also knew that Zhao Gen's words about "a woman's laughter" were like a dull knife, reopening the long-dormant scab in his heart.

She has come back.

That woman, once his rival and fellow disciple, ultimately became a traitor. Her sword strikes were swift, her smile subtle, yet each blow was exceptionally ruthless. She never left anyone alive, for she said, "Only the dead keep secrets."

Qin Cang suddenly felt a dull ache in his abdomen again, as if his body knew of her return and was becoming uneasy. He looked up at the mist in the forest, and it seemed as if the woman's last words echoed in his ears again:

"See you next time, and I'll make you wish you were never born."

He lowered his head, remaining silent, his boots leaving deep furrows in the muddy water beneath his feet. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, which, in the morning light, gleamed with a cold, eerie light.

Qin Cang walked for a long time, his steps slow but steady. His breathing was steady, and although his abdomen still ached occasionally, his eyes remained clear, like a cold glint beneath still water. His fingertips often gently stroked the hilt of his sword, the movements slow but carrying an unyielding alertness.

At a bend in the forest path, he finally saw that familiar figure—Little Tiger.

Xiao Hu was about fourteen years old, his frame not yet fully developed, but his eyes shone with a sharp light. He was an orphan from a village at the foot of the mountain, struggling in the chaos of war since childhood. Qin Cang had saved him once when he passed through the village, and Xiao Hu had been pestering him to learn martial arts. Although he was far from being a disciple, Qin Cang was quite patient with him.

"Little Tiger." Qin Cang's voice came from the forest mist, slightly hoarse.

Hearing the voice, Xiao Hu turned around abruptly, a look of surprise flashing across his face. "Master... Master! You're finally back! I... I've found traces of those people!"

Qin Cang took two steps closer, his gaze fixed on his face, but his brows remained furrowed.

"You found their trail?" He asked in a very soft tone, but it made Xiao Hu instinctively shrink back.

“Yes, yes!” Xiao Hu nodded vigorously. “I followed your instructions and kept watch in the southwest corner all night. Just at dawn, I saw three figures sneak into the village from the edge of the forest. They weren’t dressed like locals; they were all wrapped up tightly, and one of them was carrying a long object—it looked like a knife.”

Qin Cang remained silent, but his expression grew increasingly serious. He slowly crouched down, picked up a footprint left in the damp mud by the roadside, and lightly traced the fine lines with his fingertips before looking at Xiao Hu: "How did you know they entered the village in the early morning?"

"I..." Xiao Hu paused, his gaze flickering for a moment, "I heard Old Liu at the village entrance say that he heard dogs barking before dawn. Dogs don't bark randomly. So I followed the direction and went to that grove of trees, and I actually found footprints."

Qin Cang neither nodded nor questioned him. He simply stared at him for a long time before suddenly saying, "You lied."

Xiao Hu's face stiffened, and he opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.

Qin Cang stood up, his expression turning cold and stern. "You didn't go this morning, you went last night, and... you didn't see anyone."

Xiao Hu's lips moved, as if he was trying hard to think of a rebuttal, but in the end he just lowered his head and murmured, "I...I just...wanted to help."

"You followed them, didn't you?" Qin Cang's tone wasn't harsh; instead, it carried an unsettling calmness. "You thought they hadn't noticed you, but as soon as you returned to the village, they sneaked in. It wasn't that they didn't notice you; they deliberately let you 'discover' them."

Xiao Hu's face turned pale instantly.

Qin Cang approached him, his eyes sharp as blades. "There's a trap."

The moment those two words left his lips, Xiao Hu's shoulders trembled, as if the blood in his body had instantly frozen. He looked up at Qin Cang's eyes, his eyes filled with panic, shame, and above all, a tremor of realizing the truth for the first time.

"They... used me as bait?" Xiao Hu's voice was strained.

“That’s right.” Qin Cang said in a deep voice, “They know you’re in contact with me. You haven’t learned how to hide your tracks and cut off your communication yet, and you’ve easily exposed your whereabouts. They let you come back so that I can follow your ‘intelligence’ to investigate and then surround and kill me.”

Xiao Hu's lips trembled, and he suddenly knelt down with a thud. "Master, I was wrong... I just... I just wanted to help you... You always say I'm not careful enough, and I wanted to prove that I can..."

Qin Cang did not pull him up, but simply stood in front of him, his expression as calm and unmoving as a mountain rock.