Clouds and Moon Shadow

Mu Jinyan and Gu Qingyue lowered their bodies and looked at Gu Yuanen, who had already drawn his bow. They had really underestimated this kid before, thinking he was just good at talking and arguing. His archery skills were actually quite good!

Recalling those three arrows in the dense forest, Gu Qingyue felt that he was even more amazing. After all, at such a young age, to be able to master such a divine skill must have required unimaginable effort from ordinary people.

This person must be a person of strong character.

Worthy of being friends.

Looking at the boy's hands, which were drawn taut yet remained as steady as a rock, and his sharp, icy gaze as he was about to release the arrow, Gu Qingyue suddenly realized that the people around her, even though they were young, were not simple characters. And the person in front of her was the younger brother of General Gu, whom she looked up to. This boy had a promising future.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—the sound of arrows rang out, and the three guards on the other side were instantly killed, every shot hitting its mark!

Upon seeing this, the remaining guards, like frightened birds, immediately scattered and prepared to retreat.

Gu Qingyue and Mu Jinyan flew together and charged into the crowd.

There are many people here now; if we don't capture this group, they will surely cause trouble later.

Since they were the men of the third prince of Nanzhao, we could just go ahead and kill them. In an instant, screams filled the air.

Half an hour later, all the Tiger Guards collapsed to the ground, dying with their eyes wide open in disbelief.

Everyone immediately scattered to search for any survivors.

After searching and confirming that there were no more enemies around, the group gathered together.

"Go find the master quickly! He's seriously injured. Mu Dong is bringing him down the mountain," Mu Xi said urgently as soon as he saw Mu Nan, grabbing the latter's sleeve.

Gu Qingyue and the others already knew from Mu Nan that Mu Yun Chu had led 500 men to carry out a surprise attack on Green Bamboo Town three days ago, but they were ambushed at Plum Valley Pass.

They had already driven off the enemy and rushed out of the mountain pass, but unexpectedly, they were ambushed from behind by two scouts from their own ranks and were pursued by the Tiger Guards. That's how they managed to escape to the mountain. Meanwhile, Mu Nan was ordered to return to the Lizhou camp to call for reinforcements.

Upon hearing that Mu Yun Chu was seriously injured, Gu Qing Yue's heart suddenly jumped, pounding uncontrollably.

Mu Nan didn't even mention that Mu Yun Chu was seriously injured! That kid deserves a beating!

In fact, the situation was urgent at the time. Mu Yun Chu was stabbed in the back, and he issued several orders, including an order for Mu Nan to return to camp for help. Mu Nan had no idea that he was so badly injured.

Gu Qingyue felt she should find him and cure him as soon as possible; her mind was in turmoil.

She unconsciously tightened her grip on the first-aid kit.

"Go up the mountain, and let the others follow!" Mu Nan shouted anxiously. A guard in black turned and ran towards where the soldiers were waiting.

The group then split into three groups, each advancing towards the summit.

At this moment, Mu Nan led his soldiers, Mu Xi protected Mu Jinyan, while Gu Qingyue and Gu Yuanen led some soldiers and several black-clad guards towards the left side of the mountaintop.

"Your archery skills are amazing. You almost never miss a shot. How did you learn that?" Gu Qingyue was very interested when she thought of the boy's archery skills.

“I started learning when I was five years old, as soon as I could hold an arrow and a bow,” Gu Yuanen recalled the pressure he suffered as a child. Although many years have passed, he still feels lingering fear when he thinks about the years when he started learning martial arts.

"So early? You're still very young. Are your parents willing to let you go?"

“I’m willing to give it up. All the men in our family have to learn martial arts. They start practicing basic skills around the age of three,” Gu Yuanen said dismissively.

"Three years old? So young? How pitiful!" Gu Qingyue exclaimed.

In the future, a three-year-old child would only be starting kindergarten and still be a baby nestled in their mother's arms. But in this world, the children of truly noble families don't just eat, drink, and play as people imagine. Of course, there are spoiled brats, but the upbringing of true century-old families is extremely strict and ruthless. After all, for a family to continue for centuries, it must have heirs who can live up to its reputation.

“Well, how could the children of the Duke of Zhenguo’s mansion be pitiful? They all have their own responsibilities.” Gu Yuan’en said this, then stopped and walked away.

The Duke of Zhenguo? Gu Qingyue had indeed heard of him.

While in the military camp, I overheard Zhao Lansheng and the others talking about how the Duke of Zhenguo's family once commanded 100,000 troops in the Northwest, serving as the gateway and backbone of the Northwest.

The Duke of Zhenguo spent his entire life on the battlefield, risking his life for the Great Chu. However, due to unfounded suspicion and suppression from above, he relinquished the military power of the Gu Family Army ten years ago and retired to the capital.

Now, some of his sons and grandsons have become civil officials, while the remaining military officials hold low-ranking positions, greatly diminishing their influence in the capital.

However, due to his established base in the military, Duke Gu Jinshan's prestige in the army remained unshakable, and he was known as a pillar protecting the country.

Gu Jinshan had three sons. His second son, Gu Changling, was a military officer, while the others were civil officials. Gu Yuanming was Gu Changling's third son. Gu Yuanming had four brothers. Apart from his youngest brother who was still studying, his two older brothers were military officers, but they were relegated to minor positions and did not join the army.

However, even though the Zhenguo Duke's mansion has greatly diminished in military power, it is still a behemoth with numerous children and grandchildren.

Therefore, Gu Qingyue understood that there must be fierce competition among the various branches of the Zhenguo Duke's Mansion. So it was not surprising that people from military families would practice martial arts from a young age.

He walked and pondered until dawn broke.

"Look, there's someone!" a guard's voice suddenly rang out from ahead.

Gu Qingyue and Gu Yuanen stopped in their tracks and immediately hid behind a large tree.

It was a group of Nanzhao soldiers, which should be the army that Mu Nan mentioned had intercepted and ambushed Mu Yun Chu.

Gu Yuanen turned around and lowered his voice: "Fight? Or go around?"

Gu Qingyue released her mental energy to survey the area within a radius of about 60 to 70 meters. The other side should be a small team of about 30 people, while they themselves had 16 people. However, the combat strength of the other side was definitely higher. Let's fight!

Otherwise, what if they run into Mu Yun Chu if we let them pass by? Wouldn't that be dangerous?

Gu Qingyue made a hand gesture, and the guards in front understood and drew their longswords in unison.

The battle lasted less than fifteen minutes, and all thirty-odd people were left behind.

They set off again.

Before half an hour had passed, it was already broad daylight.

"Look, it's Master and the others," a guard walking beside Gu Qingyue suddenly exclaimed.

Gu Qingyue's spirits lifted, and she looked up to see Mu Yun Chu leaning against a large tree in the dense forest, her eyes closed, while Mu Dong knelt beside her, feeding her water.

Gu Qingyue rushed over at an unprecedented speed.

"Mu Yun Chu!"

The closer Gu Qingyue got, the more timid she became. She immediately saw Mu Yun Chu's bloodless face, which exuded a deathly stillness and whose breath was extremely weak.

Gu Qingyue's heart sank.

But she remained calm; she couldn't panic!

He put down the medical kit, knelt down next to Mu Yun Chu, and immediately placed his hand on Mu Yun Chu's wrist pulse.

"Lay him flat on the ground," Gu Qingyue could see that the clothes on his back had turned dark red, indicating that the wound must be on his back.

He suffered severe blood loss and was barely clinging to life.

Mu Dong immediately placed Mu Yun Chu on a pile of hay that had just been prepared.

Gu Qingyue took a deep breath and decided to treat the wound first. If it continued to bleed, all other treatments would be in vain.

Mu Dong and Gu Yuanen squatted down beside her, watching Gu Qingyue's fingers fly as she cleaned, stitched, and bandaged the wounds. They were dazzled by the sight, but their hearts gradually calmed down.

Thankfully, Gu Qingyue ran into Mu Yun Chu and the others; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable…