Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Brother Jing, let's get a divorce.

Da Wu and Xiao Wu led their troops out of the city, and it took them most of the day to travel.

As the sun began to set, the Beggars' Sect's scouts hurriedly returned.

Two people returned this time, sweating profusely from running. One of them even lost a shoe while running and was now barefoot on the blue bricks of the Guo Mansion's front hall.

Huang Rong was sitting in a grand chair checking the city defense map when she heard the noise and looked up.

"What happened? Why are you running like this?"

The scout who hadn't lost his shoe fell to his knees with a thud, panting so hard he could barely speak.

"Boss... Boss! Those Mongol soldiers... they're all dead!"

The vermilion brush in Huang Rong's hand suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Guo Jing had just returned from the camp and was about to take off his outer robe when he heard this and paused in his actions.

"They're all dead? All three hundred people are dead?"

"They're all dead! Not a single one survived!" The scout swallowed hard. "When the brothers arrived, the ground was littered with corpses."

Huang Rong placed the vermilion brush on the table and leaned forward slightly.

"Judging by their pace, Da Wu and Xiao Wu shouldn't have arrived yet!"

"How exactly did they die? Whose ambush did they fall into?"

The scout quickly replied:

"The brothers carefully examined the bodies and found that the causes of death were all different. Some of them were clearly killed by the explosion, with burns all over their bodies, and some even had their arms and legs blown off. There were also several large craters on the ground next to the battlefield, obviously from the power of the gunpowder explosion."

"Gunpowder?" Guo Jing put his outer robe back on. "Could it be that the Mongols brought their own gunpowder and accidentally blew themselves up?"

Huang Rong didn't reply, but simply tapped her fingers lightly on the table twice.

"What about the other half?"

Another scout, having caught his breath, quickly chimed in:

"Boss, the deaths of the remaining men were incredibly bizarre. We've been on duty for so many years, and we've never seen such strange deaths before."

"What exactly was the manner of death?"

"It was slapped to death."

The lobby fell silent instantly.

Guo Jing frowned, puzzled, and asked, "Killed by slapping?"

"Yes, he was beaten to death alive!" The scout gestured as he spoke, his face filled with terror.

"Some had their chests completely collapsed, their ribs shattered into pieces; some had half their heads smashed flat; and some had their lower backs broken, their bodies folded over. The wounds were definitely not from knife cuts or gun stabs, but rather looked like they had been flattened by something wide and heavy."

Huang Rong stood up and quickly walked to the scout.

"Are you sure you saw it clearly? Are you sure it was swatted to death, and not trampled by a galloping warhorse?"

"Master, I saw it clearly." The scout's tone was very confident.

"The marks left by horseshoes are not like that. A horse's hoofprints would leave hoofprints and the bones would only be broken. But those corpses had large, collapsed sections, clearly caused by being smashed by some heavy, wide blunt object. The man's strength was simply terrifying."

Guo Jing also walked up to the scout and squatted down.

Are you really sure?

"Absolutely true!" The scout nodded repeatedly. "Several of my brothers have worked as coroners. They stared at those corpses for a long time, gasping in shock. They all said they had never seen such brutal injuries in their lives. To be able to beat a living person into that state, that weapon must weigh at least several dozen kilograms. And the person who used that weapon must have had superhuman strength."

Guo Jing stood up and turned to look at Huang Rong.

"Rong'er, this is absolutely not a method of killing enemies used in the military. Military battles rely on swords, spears, and bows and arrows; they would never use this method to kill people. This is clearly the way of people from the martial arts world."

Huang Rong nodded in agreement; she had been pondering this question in her mind as well.

"Brother Jing is absolutely right. To strike someone like that, the weapon must be extremely heavy; ordinary swords simply cannot do it. Moreover, this person's internal strength must be extremely profound. Those were three hundred elite Mongol soldiers. Even if half of them were killed by gunpowder, the remaining hundred or so were by no means easy opponents. To be able to strike more than a hundred people one by one in the midst of chaos, this person's endurance is simply astonishing."

Guo Jing put his hands behind his back and paced back and forth in the hall a few times.

"Who in the martial world wields such a heavy weapon?"

Huang Rong shook her head.

"I can't figure it out either. Among the Five Greats of today, my father uses a jade flute, Senior Hong uses the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, Ouyang Feng uses the Toad Stance, and Master Yideng is proficient in the One-Finger Divine Skill. Among the top masters of the world, there is simply no one who would use such a heavy and blunt weapon."

Guo Jing suddenly stopped in his tracks: "Could it be the Golden Wheel Monk?"

Huang Rong rolled her eyes helplessly: "The Golden Wheel Monk is the Mongolian National Preceptor, why would he kill his own Mongolian soldiers for no reason?"

Guo Jing scratched his head sheepishly, then slapped his thigh.

"Who cares who he is! This man single-handedly slaughtered three hundred elite Mongol soldiers and even destroyed their gunpowder—he's done Xiangyang a huge favor! I must get to know such a chivalrous man someday. If we can persuade him to stay in Xiangyang and defend the city together, how can we not worry about the Mongol army retreating?"

Guo Jing became more and more excited as he spoke.

"Rong'er, wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find this hero, invite him to the Guo residence, and then we could sleep together, drink and chat for three days and three nights?"

Huang Rong rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "Sharing a bed? What kind of bed would you share with a grown man?"

Guo Jing chuckled, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Isn't this the rule of the martial arts world? Heroes cherish heroes, and it's common for them to sleep side by side."

Huang Rong was too lazy to argue with him about this topic, and her mind was already starting to plan other things.

The incident occurred in a wild forest thirty miles outside Black Wind Valley.

Huang Rong knew that location very well; it wasn't far from the sword tomb Yang had gone to find.

Yang Guo.

The thought of that name made Huang Rong's heart skip a beat.

She was fully aware of Yang's past visits to the Sword Tomb.

The Sword Tomb is located near Zhongnan Mountain, and it is indeed not far from Black Wind Valley.

If Yang Guo happened to run into this group of Mongol soldiers on his way back...

But as soon as the thought popped into her head, Huang Rong quickly dismissed it.

She knew Yang Guo's abilities all too well.

The Five-Rank One-Finger Divine Skill, the Quanzhen Swordplay, plus the martial arts from the Nine Yin Manual and the Qiankun Technique.

While his skills were undoubtedly outstanding among the younger generation, Yang Guo certainly did not have the ability to single-handedly kill more than a hundred elite Mongol soldiers.

Moreover, Yang Guo did not have such a heavy weapon.

He practices a light and graceful swordsmanship, not some blunt weapon used to strike people.

"It shouldn't be him," Huang Rong murmured softly.

Guo Jing didn't hear her whisper clearly; he was still muttering about how he would befriend that unparalleled hero in the future.

Huang Rong snapped out of her thoughts and turned to ask the scout, "Besides the body, were there any footprints or other clues left at the scene?"

The scout thought carefully for a moment and quickly replied:

"Yes! The brothers found a set of footprints at the scene. The footprints were larger than normal and very deep. The strangest thing is that there was a deep drag mark next to the footprints, as if it was left by something extremely heavy dragging across the ground."

"Drag marks?" Huang Rong frowned slightly.

"That's right. The drag mark stretched from the center of the battlefield all the way into the depths of the forest, and then disappeared into thin air. In my opinion, when that person left, he dragged that heavy weapon directly on the ground."

Huang Rong fell silent immediately.

This person dragged a blunt weapon weighing dozens of kilograms along the way. He not only had amazing strength, but also consumed very little energy, making the journey easy.

Guo Jing, who was standing to the side, nodded repeatedly in agreement, praising it highly.

"What a fine man! What incredible strength! If such an extraordinary person could help me defend the city, Xiangyang would surely be as secure as Mount Tai!"

Huang Rong remained silent, a vague unease rising within her, though she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was.

"Alright, you can all go and rest now. Remember, this matter must not be spread. Not a single word of the news of the complete annihilation of the Mongol army can be leaked," Huang Rong instructed in a deep voice.

The two spies bowed and accepted the order, then withdrew from the front hall.

At this moment, only Guo Jing and Huang Rong remained in the empty hall.

Guo Jing suddenly slapped his forehead and exclaimed in surprise:

"Oh dear! Dunru and Xiuwen just led their troops out of the city! Now that all the Mongol soldiers are dead, wasn't their trip a waste? I must send someone to recall them immediately."

As he spoke, Guo Jing hurriedly prepared to leave.

Seeing this, Huang Rong quickly reached out to stop him.

"Brother Jing, wait a minute."

Guo Jing stopped and looked at her with some confusion: "What's wrong?"

Huang Rong slowly sat back down in her chair, picked up the teacup beside her, and took a small sip.

"Brother Jing, don't rush to call them back."

"Why is that? Since all the enemies are dead, what can they do there?" Guo Jing asked, puzzled.

"These two brothers usually idle around the city and have never had any experience leading troops on their own. It's rare that they volunteered this time. If we let them come back empty-handed, they'll probably have even less opportunity to gain experience in the future."

Guo Jing frowned: "But now that the Mongol soldiers are dead, they won't encounter any enemies on their way."

"If we don't encounter the enemy, we can take this opportunity to practice marching. Let's send out a whole thousand men to train them. Let them learn how to set up camp and how to send out scouts to gather information. It's better than them following Fu'er around all day doing nothing."

Guo Jing pondered for a moment and felt that his wife's words made a lot of sense, so he nodded in agreement.

"What you say makes sense. Let them go then. However, we should send someone to catch up and inform them that the Mongol army has been wiped out, so that they don't panic."

"There's no need to tell them," Huang Rong said calmly.

Guo Jing was slightly taken aback: "Not tell them? But what if they don't know the situation and something unexpected happens..."

"Brother Jing, think about it. Although we know the Mongol army was wiped out, we don't know who the mastermind behind it all is. What if that person is still nearby? If your messenger runs into him, wouldn't he be courting death? Besides, Da Wu and Xiao Wu have brought a full thousand elite soldiers. Even if they don't encounter the enemy, they will be in no danger. Let them find their way to the battlefield and see the tragic scene for themselves. It will broaden their horizons."

Guo Jing was completely convinced and sighed, "Alright, then so be it. Let them go and try it out for themselves."

Huang Rong didn't say anything more, but just leaned back in her chair quietly, tapping the armrest with her fingers.

Seeing that she seemed a little absent-minded, Guo Jing leaned closer and asked with concern, "Rong'er, is something on your mind?"

Huang Rong came to her senses and gently shook her head.

"It's nothing. I was just planning the defenses of the western camp tomorrow. You go and rest first. I'll stay here and sort out my thoughts."

Guo Jing always trusted his wife, so upon hearing this, he didn't ask any more questions and turned to walk towards the back hall.

He had only walked a few steps when he couldn't help but stop and look back at Huang Rong.

"Rong'er, do you think that expert who wiped out the Mongol army might be a Taoist priest from the Quanzhen Sect?"

Huang Rong's heart skipped a beat, but her face remained calm.

"Throughout the Quanzhen Sect, who uses such a heavy and blunt weapon?"

Guo Jing scratched his head and muttered to himself, "That's true. Uncle-Master Qiu and the others usually use longswords, Master Wang's sword is also a longsword, and Uncle-Master Hao Datong uses a single-edged sword. Indeed, I've never heard of anyone in the Quanzhen Sect who is skilled in using such heavy weapons."

"Alright, it's late, you should go and rest. Don't let your mind wander here," Huang Rong urged gently.

After Guo Jing's figure disappeared into the back hall, Huang Rong sat alone in the empty front hall.

She meticulously reviewed the intelligence brought back by her spies in her mind, going over it again and again.

A blunt instrument weighing several tens of kilograms.

A method of killing enemies that primarily involves smashing and striking.

Incredibly strong, and with an incredibly long-lasting aftereffect.

Most importantly, the incident happened right near the Sword Tomb.

Huang Rong subconsciously bit her lips.

Yang Guo.

The name resurfaced in her mind.

But upon closer reflection, she felt that it didn't quite make sense.

Yang Guo did not possess such a heavy weapon, nor was his strength sufficient to kill a hundred men.

However, Yang Guo has never played by the rules.

Which of the commotions he caused on Zhongnan Mountain could have been predicted by ordinary people?

Huang Rong slowly stood up, walked to the door, and looked at the dark sky outside.

"What the hell are you doing, you little rascal?"

She muttered a curse under her breath, the faint sound disappearing in the silent night.

At this moment, the faint sound of a night watchman striking a wooden clapper could be heard coming from the direction of the city wall.

Huang Rong withdrew her gaze, turned around and walked back to the table, gently blowing out the candle on the table.

Never mind who that mysterious expert was who wiped out the Mongol army; his actions not only destroyed the Mongols' gunpowder but also greatly dampened the morale of the Mongol army.

Ultimately, this is a great thing for Xiangyang.

As for Yang Guo...

It's not too late to ask him directly after he returns to the city.