Tang Dynasty: To win Yang Guifei, they asked Emperor Xuanzong to die.

Along the way, the one-eyed man threatened, "Young man, you begged me to take you under my wing. If you try anything funny, don't blame me for being ruthless. I blinded myself. You should know who I am. If you offend me, you know the consequences!"

This person doesn't look entirely like a Han Chinese; he must be a bandit who fled here from Kunlun.

I heard they also have a mountain stronghold; they've probably been bandits for a long time and have now become quite powerful. I wonder how Li Longji and the others are doing. Li Mao has a premonition that the disappearance of Li Longji and the others is related to these bandits.

Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, the one-eyed leader gave the order.

Several men immediately stepped forward and quickly blindfolded the caravan members with strips of cloth, lest they see the route up the mountain. The bandits also confiscated all the weapons carried by the caravan members, leaving Li Mao and his men unarmed and easy to subdue.

The sound of horses' hooves rang out, and the column began to move again.

The mountain road was rugged, but the horses moved steadily forward under the guidance of the horse trainers.

Despite being blindfolded, Li Mao could still hear the bandits' whispers and rude laughter, as well as the echoes of birdsong and wind in the mountains and forests.

He moved closer to Guo Ziyi, who seemed to sense it and leaned in as well, asking in a low voice, "What are Your Highness's plans? Do you intend to take this opportunity to wipe out these bandits?"

Suppressing bandits was their army's primary duty.

But they still have an important mission, and the Emperor is nowhere to be found.

What would the Emperor and his entourage do if they went off to suppress bandits halfway through their journey?

Although Guo Ziyi obeyed Li Mao's every command, he harbored many doubts and couldn't help but ask questions.

Li Mao responded in a low voice: "These people seem to have been committing crimes in this area for a long time, and they keep a close eye on large groups like ours. If His Majesty and his entourage pass through here, they might very well be targeted by these people."

Guo Ziyi agreed with this and remained silent for a moment.

Suddenly, he exclaimed in terror, "Your Highness, our men are all elite troops, we are not afraid of these people. But His Majesty and the others..."

The people Li Longji brought with him were only some Imperial Guards. The rest were civil officials, eunuchs, and concubines, mostly the old, weak, sick, and disabled. Wouldn't they be in grave danger if they encountered such vicious villains?

“Ziyi, please calm down,” Li Mao said. “The Emperor and the others are blessed with good fortune and will most likely be fine.”

Everything will have to wait until they enter the mountains to be discovered.

The two spoke in very low voices, so that only the other person could hear them.

However, some bandits boarded the carriage to investigate. Upon seeing the two whispering to each other, they immediately shouted angrily, "You two, what are you whispering about? If you don't behave, don't blame us for turning ruthless and throwing you into the mountains to feed the wolves!"

Li Mao and Guo Ziyi immediately fell silent.

Both of them were great men, capable of both yielding and standing firm.

Before we even get into the mountains, let's let this group be arrogant for a while.

Once they've confirmed that the Emperor and his entourage aren't in their hands... humph, they'll be crying then!

Deep in the mountains and forests, the atmosphere around them suddenly changed.

The trees were dense, blocking out the sunlight, leaving only a few sparse rays filtering through the leaves. The mountain path became increasingly difficult to traverse, the loose stones under the horse's hooves making a constant, crisp sound, as if they might plunge into the abyss at any moment.

Only the robbers walked with ease and looked smug.

If these horses could be put to their use in the future, this robbery would not only have brought them wealth but also a batch of fine steeds—a win-win situation. These cowardly merchants are easy targets, easy to manipulate at will.

Thinking that there were still a few "easy targets" in the village, One-Eyed was in a great mood and sang and talked all the way, having a great time.

After more than an hour of trekking, we finally arrived at an open area.

The one-eyed bandit ordered a halt and untied Li Mao and the others from their bonds and blindfolds.

However, before Li Mao could even get a good look at the layout of the stronghold, he was escorted to the entrance of a makeshift prison.

The iron door to the cell was flung open with a crash. The thugs roughly shoved Li Mao and the others inside one by one, then slammed the door shut. The cramped, dark space was filled with a musty and foul stench, making it almost impossible to breathe.

The prison was divided into five or six compartments. Perhaps because they were worried that the bandits would conspire to "rebel," they did not lock Li Mao and Guo Ziyi and others together. The dozen or so people were separated into individuals or pairs and were not in the same prison.

As for the soldiers who were skilled in horse training, they were naturally taken away by the bandits.

Under the guise of taking care of the horses, their real purpose was to teach bandits how to ride them.

Li Mao fell into the prison, and even as he was dizzy and disoriented, he still looked around.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up and a smile curved his lips.

One of the bandits glanced over coldly, originally intending to see Li Mao and his men's disheveled appearance, but instead saw a strange smile on Li Mao's lips. He spat and mocked, "Still smiling? Are you out of your mind, or scared out of your wits?"

The other companions also burst into laughter.

Li Mao ignored them.

After a while, they realized they were getting bored and left.

After the bandits left, Li Mao stopped smiling and immediately went to a disheveled man lying on the ground in the corner, and gently nudged him.

"Eunuch Gao, Eunuch Gao, it's me!"

Indeed, Li Mao recognized at a glance that the disheveled man lying in the corner of the cell was none other than Gao Chen, the eunuch who served Li Longji.

"Who?!" Gao Chen's eyes snapped open, his gaze darting around in terror. Recognizing Li Mao, he immediately turned around, a flicker of shame and embarrassment crossing his face: "Your Highness..."

Gao Chen and Li Mao were once irreconcilable enemies.

When Li Mao first transmigrated, he gave Gao Chen a severe slap in the face.

After that, Gao Chen tried every means to frame Li Mao, but he failed every time.

Now that Gao Chen has fallen into such a wretched state, although he desperately hopes someone can come to his rescue from Chang'an, he doesn't want that person to be Li Mao. At this moment, Li Mao is the last person Gao Chen wants to see.

“Eunuch Gao, no need for such formalities.” Li Mao, seemingly disregarding past grievances, asked in a low voice, “Why are you here alone? Where are the others? Where is His Majesty?”

Gao Chen knew that the situation was special and he could no longer hold a grudge against Li Mao.

He gritted his teeth, a hint of pain flashing in his eyes: "The day after His Majesty and the others were captured by these bastards, they were transferred to another place, and I don't know exactly where they are. Our group was divided into several batches and imprisoned separately."

Li Longji, along with his two beautiful concubines, was sure to become a piece of easy prey in the eyes of bandits!

Li Mao thought to himself, his expression grim.

Fortunately, he has found Gao Chen and confirmed that Li Longji and the others were indeed kidnapped by this group.

Just then, Guo Ziyi's voice came from next door: "Your Highness, Your Highness, how are you? Are you alright?"