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

The scar on the old man's face twitched a few times.

"Has Guo Jing treated me well?"

"He was incredibly popular on the city wall, and the entire city called him 'Hero Guo'."

"And me?"

"My leg was broken by a Mongol horse when I was defending the city! This scar was inflicted by the Tartars!"

"I'm crippled and can only manage messy accounts in logistics, while Guo Jing is high and mighty and doesn't even give me a second glance."

The old man grew angrier as he spoke, spitting saliva onto the table.

He paused to catch his breath, then continued.

"That bitch Huang Rong is even more ruthless. Last month, when she checked the accounts, she found that I had embezzled five thousand taels of silver."

"She had me beaten with thirty strokes of the military rod and wanted to drive me out of Xiangyang."

"I've spent half my life working in this city, and this is how I end up."

"If I don't sell to Guo Jing, who will I sell to?"

The Dharma King burst into laughter, the sound of which shook the top of the tent.

"good!"

"This is how the Southern Song court treats meritorious officials like you."

"Friend, if you succeed in this matter, I guarantee you will be promoted and ennobled before the Great Khan, and you can choose any gold and silver you want."

The old man stood up and picked up his bamboo cane.

"Don't try to fool me with those empty words."

"What I want is real silver, 100,000 taels of silver, not a penny less."

"After you succeed, you can take over Xiangyang City, but don't touch my house in the south of the city."

It's a deal.

The Dharma King readily agreed.

The old man put his hood back on and walked outside, leaning on his cane.

He stopped and turned around when he reached the tent entrance.

"Will the poison array in Black Wind Valley work?"

"Guo Jing's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms are no joke. Don't end up losing more than you gain by trying to steal a chicken."

The Dharma King stood up and put his hands together in prayer position.

"Don't worry, my friend."

"Even I dare not easily step into the Ten Thousand Poisons Formation."

"If Guo Jing inhales even a single breath, not even a celestial being could save him."

"Just go back and wait for news."

The old man didn't answer again, but lifted the curtain and walked into the night.

The Dharma King turned to look at Hordu and Darba.

"Pass down the order: break camp!"

"Tonight, the entire army will move towards Black Wind Valley. Call Thousand-Handed Butcher and Shen Buyan along."

Huo Du asked, "Master, should we send more troops? Guo Jing is not easy to deal with."

The Dharma King shook his head.

"The quality of an army is more important than its quantity; bringing too many soldiers will only make them easier to expose."

"This time we're going to ambush them, not attack the city."

"Thirty people, not a single one can escape."

The Dharma King turned and walked to the weapon rack, picking up his five wheels.

The five wheels, made of gold, silver, copper, iron, and lead, clanged together.

"With Guo Jing's death, Xiangyang City fell without a fight in the Central Plains martial arts world."

"The remaining Huang Rong can't cause any big trouble."

The Dharma King touched the patterns on the golden wheel and said coldly.

Darba scratched his bald head.

"Master, are we just going to leave that monster who's throwing black swords at people behind?"

The Dharma King snorted coldly.

"Kill Guo Jing first."

"Once we take Xiangyang, I'll personally go and meet that guy with the heavy sword."

"I'll see if his sword is heavier, or if my Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill is more powerful!"

The night wind blew into the tent, making the oil lamp flicker.

……

On the other side, on the official road.

Guo Jing rode his little red horse at the very front of the procession.

Thirty bodyguards followed behind on horseback.

The horses' hooves were wrapped in rags, so they didn't make much noise walking on the dirt road.

It was completely dark, and the shadows of the trees on both sides of the road stretched out in one continuous line.

Li Erniu, a subordinate general, rode forward on horseback and walked alongside Guo Jing.

"Master Guo, we're at Sandaogou just ahead. Shall we camp there tonight, or head straight to Fancheng?" Li Erniu asked.

Guo Jing looked at the sky.

"There are 500 brothers stationed at the camp in Sandaogou. Let's stop there for a rest and check if they have enough food."

"We'll continue our journey early tomorrow morning."

Li Erniu agreed and returned to the group.

As Guo Jing rode on his horse, his mind was filled with the events that had occurred in the mansion.

The smug faces of Da Wu and Xiao Wu, the pile of smashed heads on the ground, and Huang Rong's words about the big picture.

These things were all intertwined, making it impossible for him to make sense of them.

He grew up in the Mongolian desert and learned from his masters to be straightforward.

If you know it, you know it; if you don't, you don't.

If you win, you drink and eat meat; if you lose, you admit defeat.

What he hates most in his life is deception.

But now, it is his own apprentice who is committing fraud, and it is his wife who is protecting him.

Guo Jing sighed.

"Being a chivalrous hero isn't easy."

He muttered something under his breath.

The horses were not moving fast.

A bright light appeared ahead, and the camp gate of Sandaogou Camp was right in front of us.

The two soldiers on guard saw the approaching cavalry and immediately raised their spears, shouting, "Who goes there!"

Li Erniu stepped forward and replied, "Are you all blind?! Master Guo is here on patrol! Open the gate immediately!"

Upon hearing that it was Guo Jing, the soldiers quickly moved the barricades aside.

Guo Jing dismounted and entered the camp.

The camp was quiet; most of the soldiers were asleep, with only a few cooks adding firewood to the stove.

The camp's commanders rushed over to greet them, not even properly dressed.

"Master Guo, why have you come in the middle of the night? You didn't even send someone to let me know beforehand so I could prepare food and wine," the commander said, bowing and scraping.

Guo Jing waved his hand.

"I don't drink alcohol. Go and get the account books. I'm going to check the granary."

The head of the household hurriedly ran to get the account book.

Guo Jing led his men to the front of the granary, where the door was wide open.

He went inside and squeezed the rice in the sack with his hands.

The rice contained a lot of sand and old rice.

Guo Jing frowned.

"What's wrong with this rice?" Guo Jing asked the commander who had followed him in.

Qianhu wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Reporting to Master Guo, this is all the supplies allocated by the city last month. We had no choice but to mix them with wild vegetables to make do."

Guo Jing felt even more upset.

While the soldiers on the front lines were eating stale rice mixed with sand, Da Wu and Xiao Wu were living a life of luxury in their mansions, receiving a reward of five hundred taels of silver.

"Tomorrow I'll write a letter for Erniu to take back to the city to Chief Huang, requesting that 500 shi of new rice be transferred from the large warehouse in the south of the city," Guo Jing said in a deep voice.

Qianhu knelt down with a thud.

"Thank you so much for your consideration, Master Guo!"

Guo Jing walked out of the granary and looked at the starry sky.

"Let's go to the next camp."

"I'm not sleeping tonight!"

Guo Jing mounted his horse.

Li Erniu and his thirty personal guards immediately mounted their horses and followed.

The group exited the three gullies and continued along the path.

They had walked less than ten miles when suddenly flames shot into the sky ahead.

Guo Jing suddenly pulled on the horse's reins.

"What happened?"

Li Erniu stood on the horse's back and looked ahead.

"Master Guo, the woods ahead are on fire!"

"The fire is huge and it's blocking the road!"

Guo Jing frowned.

"It rained in this forest a few days ago, how could it suddenly catch fire?"

"Erniu, take two men to check ahead."

Li Erniu led his men over there, and returned in no time.

"Master Guo, the road is completely blocked!"

"The fallen trees have landed on the road, making it impossible for horses to pass!"

Guo Jing surveyed the surrounding terrain.

"This fire is suspicious; let's take a detour."

Guo Jing turned his horse around.

I had only taken two steps when someone suddenly pounced out of the bushes beside me.

The man was wearing a Southern Song Dynasty military uniform, with several knife wounds on his body and covered in blood.

He fell to the ground in front of Guo Jing's horse, holding up an iron plaque.

"Help! Master Guo, help me!"

Guo Jing immediately jumped off his horse and helped the man up.

"Which battalion are you from? Tell me slowly."

The man, panting heavily, answered haltingly, "I am a soldier guarding the north gate. We were escorting provisions when we were ambushed by Mongol troops ahead!"

"More than a hundred brothers are dying! Hero Guo, hurry and save them!"

Guo Jing took the iron token and saw that it was indeed the token of the Xiangyang Army.

He shoved the token back into the man's arms.

"Where are the Mongol soldiers?" Guo Jing asked urgently.

"In the direction of Black Wind Valley! They're driving their brothers into the valley!" the man pointed southeast.

Guo Jing drew his longsword.

"Erniu, leave two people to take care of him!"

"The rest of you, follow me! Kill the Tartars and save the people!"

Guo Jing mounted his horse and charged ahead.

Thirty bodyguards drew their swords and followed closely behind.

The sound of horses' hooves carried far into the night.

The wounded soldier who brought the news lay on the ground, watching Guo Jing and his group walk away.

While the two guards left behind went to get the water pouches, the wounded soldier pulled a short knife from his boot and silently slit the throats of the two guards.

He stood up and wiped the blood off the knife.

Then, he took off his Southern Song military uniform and threw it into the grass, revealing the Mongolian leather armor he was wearing underneath.

"The big fish has been caught in the net."

The man sneered, then turned and disappeared into the night.

Black Wind Valley entrance.

When Guo Jing arrived with his men, there was no one at the entrance of the valley.

Several broken wooden carts and several broken Song army spears were scattered on the ground.

Guo Jing dismounted to examine the marks on the ground.

The tire tracks and messy footprints stretched deep into the valley.

"Master Guo, it's dark inside, and we're not familiar with the terrain. Why don't we go in when it's light?" Li Erniu advised from the side.

Guo Jing pointed to the bloodstains on the ground.

"The blood is still warm."

"My brothers are inside waiting for us to save them, how can I, Guo Jing, stand by and watch them die!"

"Light the torches and come inside with me!"

Guo Jing led his horse and stepped into Black Wind Valley.