There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 406 Exposing Solitary Living

She suddenly looked up at the one-armed soldier.

"You knew all along that these things were hidden here, didn't you? You wanted to lead us this way, and then..."

"Then they used these powders to render us incapable of resisting."

Ye Bingli stood up from the ground, brushed the dust off her clothes, and showed no trace of her previous panic.

"I noticed something was off about you a long time ago. You grind medicine day and night without rest, and your technique is so skilled, unlike that of an ordinary guard."

The one-armed soldier took a step back, his single arm reaching for his waist.

Zizhu's dagger was already pressed against his back: "Don't move."

"Whose man are you?" Liang Yuying asked coldly. "The magistrate of Yifeng County? Or a bandit from the mountains?"

The one-armed soldier remained silent for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "You are smarter than I thought, especially this Miss Ye. However, it's too late."

"Thud," was the sound of a short knife piercing the abdomen.

"Swoosh," was the sound of a short sword being drawn from the abdomen.

"What's so late?" Li Shuchen calmly raised the blood-stained dagger and thrust it towards his heart again, this time leaving the dagger unpulled, speaking coldly.

"Did you poison Cheng Zhi'an? Did you inflict the injuries on his body?"

The one-armed guard suddenly smiled.

"So what if it's me? He's still alive after being poisoned by my 'Red Realgar,' what a waste of all my effort. But even if he's not dead, he won't live much longer, hahahahahaha."

With a "swoosh," the dagger was drawn, and blood splattered everywhere.

It splashed onto Li Shuchen's face

He will live a good life, while you are about to die.

"Me die? You'll all die first."

He had barely finished speaking when a rumbling sound came from below.

It was a mudslide, and judging from the sound, it was rushing towards them.

"You deliberately lured us here!" Li Shuchen roared. "This place is low-lying; if a mudslide comes,..."

“It’s a Jedi,” the one-armed soldier replied, a sinister smile on his face. “Too bad, you discovered my plan, but you still have to die here.”

Liang Yuying made a quick decision: "Zizhu, keep an eye on him! Everyone else, get into the crevice!"

The group rushed into the narrow crevice, and the one-armed soldier was also dragged inside.

Shortly after they entered, a mudslide surged forth, instantly engulfing the platform where they had just been standing.

The crevice was completely dark, allowing only one person to pass sideways.

To make matters worse, a mudslide blocked the entrance, trapping them.

"What do we do now?" Princess Changning's voice rang out in the darkness, tinged with panic.

Ye Bingli remained unusually calm: "Since he was able to lure us here, it means there must be a way out; otherwise, he would have been trapped to death himself."

“Bingli is right,” Liang Yuying lit a tinderbox, the faint light reflecting the tense faces of the crowd. “Tell me, where is the way out?”

The one-armed soldier leaned against the rock wall, remaining silent.

Li Shuchen suddenly remembered something and began to grope the soldier. The one-armed soldier struggled, but was restrained by Zizhu.

"Found it," Li Shuchen said, taking a map made of animal hide from his pocket and unfolding it by the firelight.

The map clearly marked the path to Misty Mountain, but their current location was marked by an inconspicuous marker.

“Here,” Ye Bingli pointed to the mark, “it looks like there’s an upward arrow drawn on it?”

Everyone looked up, and the firelight illuminated the top of the crevice—there was indeed an unnatural crack there, seemingly climbable.

"I'll go first," Liang Yuying handed the tinder to Gu Ziying and began climbing.

The rock face was slippery, but she was agile and quickly climbed to the crevice. With a push, a slab of stone was moved aside, and sunlight streamed in.

There is a way out.

The group perked up and climbed up the crevice one after another.

The one-armed soldier was also taken up.

After climbing out of the crevice, the group found themselves on a higher ridge, overlooking the valley below.

In the valley, a hidden campsite was clearly visible, with wisps of smoke rising from its chimney.

It was the stronghold of those bandits.

"I see," Liang Yuying said, suddenly realizing, "You wanted to trap us down there to die, or force us into the valley and walk right into your trap."

The one-armed soldier finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "Mission failed. Kill me or torture me, it's up to you."

"Who sent you?" Princess Changning asked. "What benefits did the magistrate of Yifeng County give you?"

The one-armed soldier sneered, "A mere Yifeng County magistrate dares to ask me to risk my life for him?"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly groaned, a trickle of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and his body slumped to the ground.

Zizhu knelt down to examine him: "He took poison; there's a poison sac hidden between his teeth."

Everyone fell silent; this was a suicide squad member.

"Now is not the time to investigate."

Liang Yuying looked towards the bandit camp in the valley. "Our location has been exposed. They'll be searching the mountain soon. We must leave immediately."

“But the mudslide blocked our way, and ahead lies the bandits’ lair,” Gu Ziying frowned.

Ye Bingli looked at the map again, her finger sliding along a line: "Here, there's a hunter's trail that goes around the valley and straight up the ridge. It's dangerous, but it might be the only way."

Li Shuchen leaned closer to look: "Bingli, how come you are so familiar with the map?"

Ye Bingli smiled bitterly, "It was Yuhe who taught me a lot about topographic maps and sand tables, probably more than you've ever seen in books. Let's hurry, there's no time to lose."

At this moment, a different light shone in the eyes of this woman who had always been regarded as delicate by everyone.

Liang Yuying gave her a deep look and nodded: "Okay, let's take this route."

Just as everyone was preparing to set off, a horn suddenly sounded from the valley below.

The bandits discovered them

"Come on!"

The group rushed into the dense forest, running wildly along the route pointed out by Ye Bingli.

Behind them, the sounds of pursuers and bugle calls grew closer and closer.

"They've caught up."

Gu Ziying glanced back; the flickering torchlight was already visible through the mist.

Li Shuchen, panting as he ran, said, "Chasing them like this isn't going to work; we can't outlast them."

Just as Liang Yuying was about to speak, a cliff suddenly appeared in front of her.

The path abruptly ends here, below which lies a bottomless canyon. The only way to cross is a precarious rope bridge strung between the cliffs.

"This is it," Ruan Jingshang said, his face turning pale.

Gu Ziying's eyes lit up: "No, this is an opportunity!"

She walked quickly to the edge of the cliff and carefully examined the rope bridge.

The bridge deck is made of vines and planks and looks dilapidated, but the main load-bearing structure is supported by three thick vines.

"Bing Li"

Gu Ziying turned to Ye Bingli, "You can play the piano and have exquisite hand skills. Can you make it look like it's about to break without actually breaking the vine?"

Ye Bingli was taken aback, then understood her meaning and nodded: "Okay."

She drew a dagger from her waist for self-defense; the hilt of the dagger was engraved with a string pattern.

Upon reaching the end of the rope bridge, they began to use extremely skillful techniques to cut the outer fibers of the ropes.

The outer layer of the vines was gradually breaking, but the core inside remained intact. From the other side, the bridge looked like it would collapse at the slightest step.

"Shu Chen," Gu Ziying said, turning to Li Shu Chen, "your turn is up. Leave some marks at the bridgehead, make it look like a lot of people just rushed across."