Clouds and Moon Shadow

Turning around, I met a pair of bright eyes—it was the young bandit from earlier that day!

Gu Qingyue lowered her fist, suppressed her emotions, and looked at him questioningly. The man extended an index finger, making a shushing gesture.

Gu Qingyue nodded, indicating that she understood.

The two then went to a secluded corner.

"You want to save your companion?" the man asked.

"Do you know where he is?" Gu Qingyue pressed.

"He's being held in the prison cliff up ahead, but there are many guards inside, so you probably can't manage alone," the man said, pointing to the prison cliff not far away.

Gu Qingyue turned around and observed carefully. Looking at the bandits patrolling in groups of four, an idea suddenly popped into her mind.

"May I ask you for a favor?" Gu Qingyue asked, then, remembering that he was also a bandit, she added, "But don't worry, I won't implicate you."

After saying that, she looked at the man in front of her with bright eyes. He had gone easy on her today and had also saved them all once. She bet that he must have some compassion.

Looking at the thin boy in front of him, Gu Chao felt a strange sensation. Although the boy was thin, he had a fearless and heroic spirit. He had witnessed the boy's skills in the forest today, and he was definitely not weak. His phoenix eyes shone brightly, and he looked at people with sincerity and frankness, making it hard for people to refuse him.

"You say it," Gu Chao paused for a moment before speaking.

Gu Qingyue looked at the young man in front of her and said, "Can you set a fire in a very important place in your village? After you set it, you run away immediately, and I'll take care of the rest."

Gu Chao was stunned for a second, then swallowed hard. It was indeed presumptuous of him. Could he refuse? Although it would be completely effortless for him.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Chao said, "If you want to save your companion, find a place to hide first. Wait until there is a commotion in the village and you hear chaos outside before you go."

Gu Qingyue raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking at the man's confident tone. It seemed that something would happen that night, and he knew the village would be in chaos.

Gu Qingyue touched her chin, secretly pleased. Wasn't this the perfect opportunity for her to fish in troubled waters?

After saying that, the man stood up and prepared to leave.

"You?" Gu Qingyue asked, but after thinking for a moment, she swallowed her words. There was no need to ask about his background; it was enough to help him save people. Knowing more wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Who exactly is he? Is he a real bandit? A spy? Oh, they call him a spy here, but that's none of her business.

At the critical moment, Gu Qingyue remained clear-headed.

"I'm leaving," Gu Chao said, then disappeared into the shadows.

Gu Qingyue thought about it and decided that she would wait.

One hour later, at midnight.

"Old sir, young master," Gu Chao jumped into the room through the back window.

Seeing the two leisurely figures, Gu Chao lowered his head and raised his hand in greeting.

"How is it? Any news?" Gu Yuanen interrupted his bowing and asked anxiously.

"We will act in half an hour. Please, sir and young master, leave with me."

Gu Chao had been lurking outside the courtyard for two hours and happened to see Gu Qingyue's fleeting figure as she came out of the courtyard. In order not to let Gu Qingyue disrupt their plans, he persuaded her to stay and hoped that the Third Young Master's operation would go smoothly, and that tonight would be the time for the annihilation of this bandit stronghold.

In fact, he had infiltrated Tiger Peak Village five days earlier, killed a minor leader and disguised himself as him. In order to find out the whereabouts of the old man and the young master, he also went out to rob twice with this group of bandits.

Remembering what the Third Young Master said about how this group of people had kidnapped hundreds of children and sold them to the Nanzhao Kingdom over the years, and how the government of the Great Chu had tried to raid them several times but failed to find their hideout, he recalled how, by a twist of fate, the old man and the Fourth Young Master were captured, and he followed them all the way here.

Hopefully, this coordinated attack from within and without will wipe out this band of mountain bandits!

Gu Qingyue remained hidden in the darkness. There was no other way; she was outnumbered and needed to wait for the right opportunity to save people.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Suddenly, from the direction of the village gate not far away, came the sound of banging on the gate. Along with the banging, there was a great commotion of voices, and at the same time, the sounds of fighting could be heard from all over the village.

You could tell from the sound that there were at least hundreds or even thousands of people outside.

Looking at the panicked guards at the cliff not far away, Gu Qingyue knew that her chance had come!

Once someone came to fetch help and left with a large number of guards, Gu Qingyue leaped up and rushed towards the prison cliff!

Call her the opportunist! She always seems to run into unexpected helpers when she saves people; is it because she's just too kind?

Taking out Liu Feng's sword, Gu Qingyue rushed close, moving as if she were in an empty place.

Upon seeing this, the bandits scattered and fled.

Fifteen minutes later, after dealing with the remaining guards at the entrance of the prison cliff, Gu Qingyue rushed in.

The prison cliff was pitch black. It seemed that the bandits guarding it had all fled. This group of bandits had gathered for profit, and with a formidable enemy at hand, survival was naturally their top priority.

As soon as she stepped through the gates of the prison, Gu Qingyue instantly released her spiritual power and began to explore each cell.

It's okay if you don't watch it, but once you do, all that's left is heartache.

There are at least a hundred cells inside the cave, almost all of which are used to imprison people.

There were men, women, and children, but most of them were young adults, all of them thin and bony, dressed in rags, with numb expressions, and there were over a hundred of them.

In one of the cells near the back row, at least seven or eight teenagers were imprisoned, all of them beaten so badly their skin was torn and their flesh was ripped open.

As for the cell that held young women, they were all emaciated, with blank expressions and lifeless eyes, like corpses.

Is this a den of demons?

Gu Qingyue only regretted that she was not strong enough and did not have three heads and six arms, otherwise she would definitely have killed the leader of the bandits first!

But time was of the essence, and she needed to find Liu Feng first.

It wasn't until she reached the depths of the prison that Gu Qingyue saw Liu Feng, hanging on the stone wall, barely alive.

His hands were tied to an iron chain above his head, his body was covered in cuts and bruises, showing that he had been whipped many times. His clothes were tattered, and blood was still dripping from his wounds. He lowered his head, as if he had no breath left.

Gu Qingyue's heart sank. She rushed forward, swung her sword, and the iron chains of the prison door fell to the ground. She placed her hand under Liu Feng's nose to check his breath; it was faint.

Fortunately, Gu Qingyue quickly used her right hand to stroke Liu Feng's wound, using healing energy to sweep over Liu Feng's body again and again until the bleeding gradually stopped. Only then did Gu Qingyue gently exhale a breath of stale air and shake her head. She started to feel dizzy again; her mental energy was still insufficient.

Looking at the unconscious Liu Feng, Gu Qingyue felt as if a fire was burning in her heart, an uncontrollable rage. How could he have injured her senior brother like this? Very well, just wait!

But right now, we need to find a quiet place for him to heal as soon as possible.

Gu Qingyue cut the iron chain that was hanging Liu Feng, put him on her back, and as soon as she turned around, she heard the sound of bandits shouting outside the prison cliff.

"Quick! Drive these miners into the secret passage to the east, quick!" The bandit's voice came from inside. Gu Qingyue stopped and paused for a moment before carrying Liu Feng out of the prison gate and running towards the depths of the prison cliff.

"Manager Qiu, someone came by. All my brothers are dead!"

"What? Quick, quick, let's go in and see!"

Hearing a group of people rushing towards the prison cliff, Gu Qingyue quickened her pace.

As she ran, she released her spiritual energy. The prison cliff was very deep, with three passages, and she didn't know where they all led. But the situation was critical, so she could only choose one passage at random and run forward.