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

Outside Blackwind Valley.

The night wind whistled through the bare tree branches.

Yang Guo pulled on the reins and dismounted.

Lu Wushuang followed closely behind and also jumped off the horse.

Cheng Ying walked at the back, silently tying the horse to the tree trunk.

Yang Guo crouched down and, by the faint moonlight, carefully examined the cart tracks and footprints on the ground.

"We're too late," Yang Guo said in a deep voice.

Lu Wushuang leaned closer for a look and asked curiously, "Husband, how did you tell whose footprints these are?"

Yang Guo pointed to the hoof prints on the ground and explained, "Look at these hoof prints. The prints are of varying depths and the edges are somewhat blurry, which means that the horseshoes were covered with cloth."

Cheng Ying stepped forward, examined the horse for a while, and then said, "When the Xiangyang garrison marches at night, they wrap rags around their horses' hooves to guard against Mongol attacks. This is indeed a rule set by Master Guo."

Yang Guo nodded.

"It's not just that it's covered in cloth; look at the number of footprints—there are only about a few dozen horses."

"When Guo Jing went out of the city to inspect the camp, he brought about this number of personal guards. In addition, there were broken Song army spears on the ground. It was obvious that someone had set a trap and deliberately tricked Guo Jing into it."

Yang Guo stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

Lu Wushuang tugged at Yang Guo's sleeve and asked softly, "Husband, what should we do now? Should we go in and save him?"

Yang Guo remained silent, feeling somewhat hesitant.

Save Guo Jing?

He was actually a hundred times unwilling.

Guo Jing is a stubborn man. He insisted on marrying Guo Fu to him, and Yang Guo almost killed him during their fight at the Xiangyang Marshal's Mansion.

But if we ignore him and let the Mongols kill him...

Yang Guo looked up at the dark night sky.

"We can't let him die," Yang Guo finally said.

Lu Wushuang was somewhat puzzled: "Husband, haven't you always disliked him? If he were dead, we wouldn't have so much trouble in Xiangyang."

Yang Guo looked at her, his expression becoming more serious.

"Guo Jing is indeed an annoying person. He's single-minded and his words are hard to hear."

"But he is now the pillar of Xiangyang. As long as Xiangyang stands, half of the Southern Song Dynasty will remain."

"If Xiangyang falls, the Mongol army will march south, and we Han people will be reduced to the lowest class. We won't even have enough to eat, and we'll have to be treated like cattle and horses by the Mongol Tartars."

Yang Guo's words were extremely insightful.

Cheng Ying stood aside and said with deep agreement, "Master is right. If Hero Guo dies, Xiangyang will be leaderless. Once the Mongols invade, the hundreds of thousands of people in the city will be doomed."

Yang Guo glanced at her and teased, "Steward Cheng, don't flatter me. I'm not that great. I just don't want to have to give way to Mongol barbarians when I walk down the street in the future."

Cheng Ying lowered her head slightly and remained silent, pursing her lips.

Yang Guo gripped the heavy black iron sword on his back with his other hand.

"Let's go in and take a look."

"If this old fogey really dies in there, Huang Rong will go crazy. Let's go and get him out."

Yang Guo strode towards the valley entrance.

Lu Wushuang drew her willow-leaf dagger and followed closely beside him.

Cheng Ying also gripped the copper coin hidden weapon in her hand, remaining on guard on the other side.

Following the tracks on the ground, the three of them quickly walked deeper into Black Wind Valley.

Black Wind Valley was deathly silent, without a single breath of wind.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; not even the chirping of insects could be heard.

Yang Guo walked at the front, relying on his profound internal strength to see normally in the dark.

Occasionally, scattered bloodstains can be found on the ground.

Yang Guo squatted down, reached out and touched it, and said, "The blood has dried."

Cheng Ying looked around warily.

"Master, the terrain here is getting narrower and narrower, with steep cliffs on both sides. There is only one road leading to the bottom of the valley. This is a dead end that is a major taboo in military strategy. Master Guo has led troops for many years. Logically speaking, he should not have made such a mistake."

Yang Guo gave a cold laugh.

"He's just worried sick."

"The person behind the scenes was clearly using the lives of the Xiangyang garrison as bait to deliberately lure him in. Once this old-fashioned man heard that his own brother was in trouble, he no longer cared about military strategy."

Yang Guo stood up and continued walking forward.

Lu Wushuang walked a little slower. Although her left leg had fully recovered, she was still not used to walking on such a rugged night road.

Yang Guo deliberately slowed down his pace, waiting for her to catch up.

"Wushuang, stay close to me, don't get lost," Yang Guo instructed.

"Mmm." Lu Wushuang responded sweetly and reached out to tug at Yang Guo's sleeve.

After walking for about half an hour, the road ahead was blocked by a pile of collapsed rocks.

Several corpses lay scattered among the pile of rubble.

Yang Guo stepped forward and examined the corpse.

These corpses were all wearing Mongol soldiers' leather armor, but the wounds on their bodies were very strange.

"Husband, how did these people die?" Lu Wushuang asked, leaning closer.

Yang Guo pointed to the wound on the corpse's neck and analyzed, "A single, clean cut, a swift and decisive strike. It was not left during a chaotic battle; it's as if the throat was slit without warning."

Cheng Ying walked over and squatted down.

"Master, look at their leather armor; underneath, they're actually wearing Song army uniforms," ​​Cheng Ying said, pointing to one of the corpses.

Yang Guo reached out and tore open the leather armor of the corpse, revealing the inner lining of the Song army soldiers.

"It seems these people were imposters. The person who set this up was very meticulous. They first lured Guo Jing in with fake Song soldiers, and then silenced these people who knew the truth. Their methods were indeed ruthless."

Yang Guo stood up.

"Where is Master Guo?" Cheng Ying pressed.

"It must still be inside. Let's speed things up."

Meanwhile, deep within Blackwind Valley.

Guo Jing, holding a torch, rode on his little red horse with a solemn expression.

Thirty bodyguards followed closely behind.

Li Erniu spurred his horse forward and whispered, "Master Guo, something's not right."

Guo Jing reined in the horses, turned around, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Li Erniu pointed ahead, his face full of worry: "The messenger said that more than a hundred brothers were being chased by Mongol soldiers, but we have been chasing for so long and haven't seen a single ghost. Moreover, the bloodstains and hoofprints on the ground all stop here."

Guo Jing raised the torch high and looked ahead.

Ahead lay only a vast, empty plain, ending at a towering, massive stone wall that seemed to reach into the clouds; the path ahead was long gone.

Although Guo Jing was simple-minded, he realized what was going on at this moment.

"We've fallen into their trap!" Guo Jing exclaimed in a deep voice.

Li Erniu immediately drew his sword and shouted, "Hero Guo, let's get out of here quickly!"

Guo Jing decisively turned his horse around and ordered, "The rear guard becomes the front guard, retreat!"

The thirty guards immediately turned their horses around and prepared to return the way they came.

However, at that moment, fog suddenly rolled in.

The fog was not the usual white, but rather had an eerie pale green hue.

Green mist continuously emerged from the cracks in the ground, instantly enveloping the entire open space.

"Master Guo, this fog is strange, it smells awful!" Li Erniu hurriedly covered his mouth and nose.

Guo Jing accidentally inhaled a wisp of mist and immediately felt a tightness in his chest.

He possessed decades of refined Quanzhen internal energy and the divine skill of the Nine Yin Manual, making his internal strength incomparably powerful, and ordinary poisons could not harm him at all.

However, this strange green mist actually slowed down the circulation of his true energy.

"Everyone hold your breath! This is highly poisonous miasma! Quickly cover your mouths and noses with cloth strips!" Guo Jing shouted a warning.

The guards hurriedly tore off the hems of their clothes and covered their mouths and noses tightly.

Guo Jing spurred his horse forward, leading the charge back the way he had come.

However, they hadn't gone far when a chilling rustling sound came from the darkness ahead.

The torchlight shone on the ground ahead, revealing it to be covered with countless venomous snakes.

These venomous snakes all had triangular heads and brightly colored markings. They were constantly flicking their tongues, completely blocking any escape route.

Li Erniu swung his knife, cutting down several venomous snakes that were slithering towards him, and shouted anxiously, "Hero Guo, the snakes have blocked the road!"

Guo Jing's expression was solemn. He held the reins with one hand and drew a circle in front of his chest with the other.

The Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!

"The dragon that soars too high will regret it!"

He let out a deep shout and suddenly struck out with his palm.

A violent palm wind howled out, sweeping out like a tidal wave.

The leading swarm of snakes was instantly blasted into a bloody pulp by the powerful palm strike, and a passage was forcibly blasted through the dense snake tide.

"Charge!" Guo Jing shouted.

The little red horse reared up and galloped away along the passage, with the guards gritting their teeth and following closely behind.

Just as they broke free from the swarm of snakes, a dozen large nets suddenly appeared on the towering stone walls on both sides, covering their heads.

These large nets are woven from a mixture of tough cow tendons and fine iron wires, and are covered with a dense array of sharp barbs.

Guo Jing reacted extremely quickly, instantly drawing his long sword from his waist and sweeping it horizontally.

The sword blade clashed violently with the barbed wire, producing a piercing scraping sound and sparks.

The net was torn open by the sharp sword energy, and Guo Jing spurred his horse, managing to squeeze through the hole along with his horse.

However, the guards following behind did not possess such skill.

A dozen barbed wire nets were suddenly laid down, trapping the thirty guards and their horses inside.

The barbs pierced the horse's flesh instantly, and the horse struggled wildly in pain, which only made the iron net tighten even more.

Li Erniu frantically swung his knife at the iron net, but when the blade struck the wire, there was only a metallic clang, and the blade instantly chipped.

"Master Guo, don't worry about us! You should leave quickly!" Li Erniu shouted anxiously.

Guo Jing abruptly reined in the little red horse and turned around.

Seeing his personal guards trapped in the net, covered in blood, Guo Jing's eyes were bloodshot with rage.

He grew up in the Mongolian desert and was taught by the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan. He valued loyalty above all else, so how could he abandon his brothers and run away alone?

"Hiss!"

Guo Jing dismounted, picked up his long sword, and strode back to the net.

"Brothers, don't panic, I'm coming to save you!"