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

He led Xiao Hu to a spot behind some rocks and crouched down, pushing aside a moss-covered camouflage rock. Beneath it lay a narrow crevice, just large enough for one person to squeeze through sideways. A faint light shone from the end of the crevice—the very hidden outpost Qin Cang had secretly set up. No outsider could ever know this location.

"Go in," Qin Cang ordered.

Xiao Hu hesitated for a moment, but ultimately said nothing and crawled in first. The space between the rock walls was extremely narrow; a slight misstep would result in scrapes and abrasions. But he gritted his teeth and persevered, inching closer to the light. After crawling for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the view suddenly opened up. Before him was a natural cave, with a simple wooden frame inside, on which sat an oil lamp, dry rations, and a carefully wiped-clean map.

Qin Cang followed closely behind, and after entering the cave, he casually sealed the entrance. Under the dim light, he finally sat down, placed the codebook next to the map, and frowned.

"What are your plans next?" Xiao Hu couldn't help but ask.

"Wait," Qin Cang uttered a single word.

"Who are you waiting for?"

Qin Cang lowered his gaze slightly, his voice as deep as the night: "Provide support."

Xiao Hu was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly: "You still believe that someone will come? Everyone in the bureau knows that someone wants us dead."

“That’s why we have to take this gamble.” Qin Cang stared at the map, his fingertips lightly tapping on a hidden mark. “The signals I send out are incomprehensible to them, but my man understands them. If he’s not dead, he will definitely come.”

Xiao Hu's heart skipped a beat. That person… he knew who it was, of course. It was Qin Cang's brother, someone Qin had saved his life for, someone with whom he had shared life and death, who had been hiding somewhere, acting as a backup. His trust in Qin Cang had always been extraordinary. If anyone could truly save them, it could only be this person.

"What if he dies?" Xiao Hu's voice was slightly hoarse.

Qin Cang smiled faintly, a smile that concealed a hint of coldness and mockery: "Then we are dead."

Xiao Hu fell silent. He knew Qin Cang wasn't one to speak without reason. If he said someone had come, then there was still a glimmer of hope. But that glimmer was ultimately too thin and too weak, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

Time passed slowly, and the cave was utterly silent. Xiao Hu leaned against the stone wall, his eyes closed, but he couldn't fall asleep. His mind raced with everything that had happened in the past few days: the chases, the traps, the betrayals, and the bloodshed. Each scene felt like a knife etched into his heart, making it hard for him to breathe.

"Why?" he suddenly asked in a low voice, his tone tinged with confusion and pain. "Why do we keep going even after we've come this far?"

Qin Cang didn't look up, but coldly replied, "Because we chose this path ourselves."

"Once you've made a choice, there's no turning back?" Xiao Hu's voice was even lower.

"Turn back?" Qin Cang finally glanced at him, his eyes filled with a hint of coldness. "Turn back and you'll either die or rot like them."

Xiao Hu smiled bitterly. Yes, it's either death or rotting. There's no third option.

Suddenly, a very faint sound came from the other end of the cave. If Qin Cang hadn't had such sharp ears, he probably wouldn't have heard it. The next moment, he had silently drawn his pistol, his body tense like a cheetah. Xiao Hu immediately held his breath, shrinking further into the shadows, a hint of seriousness in his eyes.

A dark figure slowly slipped in, moving with extremely small and slow movements, clearly an expert. Qin Cang's gaze was cold and sharp, his finger already on the trigger, but he loosened his grip slightly when the dark figure raised his hand and made a very subtle gesture.

“We’re on the same side,” the shadowy figure said in a low, hoarse voice. “I saw the signal you sent.”

Qin Cang then slowly put the gun away: "You arrived quite quickly."

The shadowy figure chuckled: "You've been waiting for me for a while, haven't you?"

Xiao Hu finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then asked in confusion, "How come you've been targeted too?"

The shadowy figure sighed, pulled a sealed document from his pocket, and handed it to Qin Cang: "They're not targeting me, they're targeting your people, they've got their eyes on the whole organization."

Qin Cang took it, glanced at it, and his expression grew increasingly grim. The names and action plans listed on it were even more ruthless and thorough than he had anticipated.

"These beasts are planning to uproot us all overnight," the shadowy figure muttered under his breath.

Qin Cang's eyes were as cold and deep as a still pool: "Then we can't let them succeed."

The shadowy figure said in a deep voice, "I can take you out of here. But once you're out... where you go and how you survive is up to you."

"Living." Qin Cang smiled coldly, his eyes sharp as blades. "As long as you're alive, you have a chance to turn the tables."

Xiao Hu laughed along, a bitter laugh, but one that finally gave him some strength: "In that case, let's go. We have no other choice anyway."

They had been walking for a long time. After leaving their hidden hideout, the shadowy figure led them into a secret passage in the forest, known to very few. This passage traversed several mountain ranges and was originally dug years ago during a period of turmoil in the war, intended for emergency evacuation. Not a single word about it was left on any map. Qin Cang knew of this path, but he had never traveled it before, because he knew that such a route should never be attempted unless absolutely necessary.

Narrow, cold, and damp, with pebbles constantly falling from above and loose soil and rocks underfoot. A dark figure led the way, Xiao Hu in the middle, and Qin Cang brought up the rear. They didn't utter a single word, but the doubts in each of their hearts churned and grew thicker.

Qin Cang sneered inwardly. From the moment the shadowy figure appeared, he sensed something was amiss. This person had arrived far too quickly, almost an incense stick's time earlier than he had anticipated. And the secret letter that had been handed over, while seemingly detailed, was riddled with flaws. Although the handwriting was imitated and the sentence order was correct, the writing style subtly carried a habitual touch not belonging to that old acquaintance.

fake.

At the very least, that letter was by no means entirely true.

But Qin Cang didn't point it out. He knew very well that tearing off the mask before this situation was fully resolved would only push the other side to their wits' end. Right now, they still needed to use this route to get out. And once they were out, this score would naturally have to be settled in detail.

Ahead, the dark figure suddenly stopped, turned around and whispered, "Walk another half mile and you'll reach the exit. The reinforcements there are ready. You just need to change your clothes and you can retreat directly out of the mountain pass."

"Manpower?" Qin Cang raised an eyebrow casually. "How many?"

The shadowy figure seemed oblivious to anything amiss and answered frankly, "Eight people, all assassins, fully equipped."

"It's quite complete." Qin Cang sneered, but the smile was so well hidden that it was almost impossible to tell in the darkness.

The shadowy figure continued, "Once we're out of the secret passage, we won't travel together anymore. I'll show you the direction; you can go your own way."

"Aren't you afraid that if we get out of here alive, we'll sell you off?" Xiao Hu suddenly blurted out, his tone laced with sarcasm.

The figure in black paused, then chuckled: "Sell? These days, survival is hard enough, who cares about a debt beyond a breath?"

"Easy for you to say," Xiao Hu said with a half-smile. "But some debts can't be evaded just because you want to."