Chapter 23

While sitting at home, disaster came from out of the blue, and the three of them never dreamed they would be implicated in such a way.

A single word had them all cornered. If this couple insisted on doing things this way, the situation would change. If they refused, how could Lady Qixia let them off?

The three of them didn't even dare to silence the witnesses, unless they could guarantee absolute secrecy. Otherwise, their intentions would be condemned, and the matter would only get worse. Lady Qixia would be even less likely to let them off.

On one side was the formidable Sinan Prefecture, and on the other, Lady Qixia, who was equally formidable.

After much deliberation, offending the Sinan Prefecture was manageable; they could run away, and with Lady Qixia's protection, they could still stand a chance in the demon realm. If they offended Lady Qixia, the human world was not a place for demon cultivators to settle for long, and the demon realm would not easily tolerate them. The three of them could only choose the lesser of two evils.

Seeing that her husband had made the atmosphere heavy again, Bailan immediately smiled and said, "Alright, let's go and set up our ambush first." She pushed her husband, and the couple flew down from the mountain top.

Gaoyuan grunted, "If we succeed, the item doesn't necessarily have to be presented to the Lady by these scoundrels."

Old Rat cackled, "We can settle accounts with them later."

The remaining three exchanged glances, understanding each other, and then also jumped down from the mountain top...

What was to come eventually arrived. The five people standing on the cliff finally saw a large group of people approaching from the distant road.

Seeing dozens of cavalrymen galloping forward, He Yunxiao said in a low voice, "Have them spread out to the left and right, far enough to avoid being detected by scouts."

His subordinates immediately relayed the orders, and the five of them quickly withdrew into the deep mountains, hiding in the treetops to observe.

After observing for a while, He Yunxiao suddenly said, "Brother Jiangshan, it's about time to create the fog. When they reach the gorge, we'll make our move."

Jiangshan nodded and flashed down to the ground, disappearing into the mountains to set up the fog. Soon, the mountains echoed with the croaking of frogs.

Jiangshan's true form was a frog demon, specifically a type of frog called 'Fog Hidden.' This frog lived in the mountains and waters of ancient tombs and desolate lands, capable of swallowing and exhaling mist to conceal itself. One Fog Hidden frog could only create a small amount of mist, but Jiangshan had come prepared, summoning countless of his kind to lie in wait in the surrounding mountains and forests.

This was also why the Black and White couple had sought him out, as he could be of use.

Actually, the couple could have used the same method to gather more demon cultivators to help, but if too many came, they might be sidelined, or even face collective anger, as a group of demon cultivators could easily do without them and eliminate them at any time. Therefore, they carefully chose the three people they did, all of whom could be of practical use.

A light mist began to rise in the mountains, initially not very noticeable, but gradually becoming more visible as it drifted through the forest.

Yu Qing, who had been on high alert, suddenly turned around.

At first, he occasionally glanced out the window, but then he turned and leaned against it, the misty movement in the forest making him feel something was amiss.

From a distance, his ability to read the situation was not strong enough to discern the details, but he could see the general trend. Something seemed to be moving in the depths of the forest!

Indeed, and there were many things moving!

Yet, he couldn't see them clearly, as they were beyond his line of sight. This was clearly abnormal, leading to one conclusion: there was an ambush!

Yu Qing's heart tightened, and he looked at the driver and the guards outside, wanting to warn them but unable to speak.

"Brother Shiheng, what are you doing?"

A candidate sitting by the window, feeling uncomfortable from Yu Qing's posture, couldn't help but complain.

Yu Qing slowly sat down, then suddenly stood up again, smiling at a candidate by the door, "Brother Qian, I feel a bit chest tightness and shortness of breath, and I have a slight feeling of nausea. Could I sit by the door to get some fresh air?"

In front of everyone, scholars had to maintain their dignity, so Brother Qian naturally agreed to switch places with him.

Yu Qing thus sat by the door, ready to jump out at the first sign of trouble, his sword always at hand, frowning and considering whether to warn them...

In the lead carriage, the escort official Fu Zuoxuan sat alone, with the Great Archer Jiang Yiniang and the Sinan Prefecture official Jin Hua Hai on either side.

Jiang Yiniang's head, which had been staring out the window, seemed unable to turn back.

Jin Hua Hai, not finding anything interesting outside, noticed something amiss and asked, "What are you admiring, Elder Jiang?"

Jiang Yiniang turned back and said in a low voice, "The fog is rising!"

This tone made Fu Zuoxuan look up.

Jin Hua Hai asked curiously, "Is it abnormal for fog to rise in the mountains?"

Jiang Yiniang: "Rising fog is normal. However, it's around noon, the sky is overcast, and the temperature hasn't changed. There was no fog on the way here, so why would it suddenly rise now?"

The other two exchanged glances, and Fu Zuoxuan was a bit puzzled, "Elder Jiang, are you saying there's something wrong with the fog?"

Seeing their confusion, Jiang Yiniang slowly said, "Lord Fu, Brother Jin, don't forget who I am and my identity. I am a Great Archer! Archers are very sensitive to weather conditions that affect their shooting. I started practicing archery at eight, and I've seen all kinds of fog. This fog is not normal!"

After he said this, Fu Zuoxuan was still a bit confused, but Jin Hua Hai's expression became serious.

Jiang Yiniang didn't elaborate further. There was a small, movable table between him and Jin Hua Hai with a map. He pulled the map and turned it to face himself, pointing to the starting station and observing the terrain along the route. He suddenly turned his head and asked, "I remember there's a gorge ahead, right?"

This was not his first time on this route, but he hadn't paid much attention to some details, and the route was long, so he couldn't remember everything.

A young officer outside immediately replied, "Yes, about two miles ahead, after the next bend, you should see it."

Jiang Yiniang asked in a low voice, "How long, wide, and high is the gorge?"

The young officer replied, "It's about seven miles long, called Seven Mile Gorge. The widest part is about five zhang, and most of it is about three zhang wide. The height varies, but the average is about ten zhang."

Jiang Yiniang, with his gray hair, suddenly stood up, his beard bristling, and shouted, "Order the entire team to stop immediately!"

The young officer immediately pulled out a flag and signaled, shouting, "Stop the entire team!"

The carriage jolted to a stop, and Jin Hua Hai asked urgently, "Elder Jiang, are you sure there's a problem?"

Jiang Yiniang: "I can't be certain, but I've spent my life in the military. From a tactical standpoint, the Seven Mile Gorge ahead is perfect for an ambush. Combined with the abnormal fog, I can't afford to take the risk."

The escort official Fu Zuoxuan hesitated, "We have scouts ahead, wouldn't they have noticed any problems?"

"Scouts are just for the path. On a long journey, it's impossible to search both sides of the road thoroughly. They might not detect a hidden ambush," Jiang Yiniang said, gesturing with his hands. "The gorge is seven miles long. If I were to set up an ambush, I would wait for the convoy to enter and then roll boulders down from both sides of the gorge, burying the entire convoy. Only a few so-called experts might escape. How would we explain this to our superiors, Lord Fu? We should immediately send capable people to thoroughly investigate the area around the gorge."

Jin Hua Hai had already stepped out of the carriage, standing on the carriage shaft and waving his hand, "Send ten people on fast horses to the Seven Mile Gorge. Thoroughly inspect both sides of the gorge and report any abnormalities immediately!"

"Yes!" A Sinan Prefecture official took the order, gathered some people, and quickly rode off.

Jiang Yiniang also gave orders to the military personnel outside, "Send a team to search the forests on both sides of the road."

"Yes!"

The carriages suddenly stopped, and Yu Qing immediately came out, standing on the carriage shaft and looking ahead. Seeing two teams of people rush into the forests on both sides, he breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that something must have been discovered.

He was still considering whether to make up a lie, saying he saw a group of people running in the depths of the forest, to lure them into discovering something.

Now it seemed that the government forces were not as incompetent as he thought, at least not as he had imagined...

"Why did they stop?"

Black Yunxiao, hiding in the treetops, was stunned, and the others were also taken aback. They were about to enter the trap, so why did they suddenly stop?

Old Rat's shrill voice said, "Did they discover something? That shouldn't be the case, as all the people were withdrawn in advance."

"Bad, they must have noticed something," Gaoyuan said, lifting his chin to indicate. "Look, they've already sent two teams to search the mountains on both sides."

The commander, Black Yunxiao, immediately said, "Send a message to have the people on both sides withdraw another hundred zhang."

"Yes," his subordinate replied and went to relay the order.

The fog grew thicker, and the movements became less clear. The group strained to watch the movements of the government forces, seeing that the search teams were only searching along the road and not deeper into the forest, they all breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a figure flashed up, and the frog demon Jiangshan leaped up, grabbing a branch and asked, "What's going on? Why did the convoy stop?"

Black Yunxiao: "They've started searching the mountains on both sides of the road. They must have noticed something, but it shouldn't be a big problem. If they had really discovered something, the situation would be different. Brother Jiangshan, will they find your kind during the search?"

Jiangshan snorted, "All the frogs are hidden underground. Is it abnormal to have frogs in the forest? What could they find?"

At that moment, another figure flashed up, quickly climbing the tree and reporting, "Black Sir, the Seven Mile Gorge has been compromised. A group of Sinan Prefecture people went there and personally searched both sides of the gorge. They searched too thoroughly and have already discovered our preparations."

The group was shocked and immediately focused on the reaction of the government forces on the mountain road...