A sickly fellow ridiculed by the entire army? I'll be the most beautiful woman in the barracks!

Inside the tent, Leng Wuye watched Chu Hanchuan's disappearing figure and kicked over the table in anger.

He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment: "That coward Chu Hanchuan! If you won't go, I'll go myself! The gold mine is right in front of me, I absolutely cannot give it up!"

He turned to Wang Liefeng beside him and ordered, "Pass down the order: the original plan remains unchanged! We'll depart tonight! Chu Hanchuan dares not go; I'll take the gold myself!"

Wang Liefeng secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that Leng Wuye would back down because he had heard that Chu Hanchuan had given up on seizing the mine.

Wang Liefeng's purpose in coming to the Black Mountain Pass this time was to seize an opportunity from Leng Wuye. Even if he couldn't regain his original official position, he could at least get a large share of gold.

"promise!"

Wang Liefeng nodded, accepted the order, and left.

……

It wasn't until late afternoon, when the sun was gradually setting in the west, that the procession escorting the kidnappers finally made it out of the Black Mountain Pass.

Along the way, the escorting team moved very slowly, and the soldiers' seemingly loose arrangement was actually quite organized.

Everyone was on high alert. Even without Zhao Daxuan's secret instructions, they all knew the target of this operation: they were the bait.

If Chu Hanchuan is ruthless and eager to silence them, he might not wait until they reach Broken Soul Valley before ambushing them in broad daylight.

Therefore, all the soldiers appeared to be relaxed, but in reality, their hands were tightly gripping the hilts of their swords at their waists, and their eyes were constantly scanning the surroundings.

Even when they stopped to drink water and rest, there were people secretly on guard, and they dared not be careless in the slightest.

Triangular Eyes and the other four cripples had their arms bound with thick hemp ropes and their mouths stuffed with rags, so they could only make muffled whimpering sounds.

These men were tortured by Zhao Daxuan's men for several days, whipped, doused with cold water, and subjected to every method imaginable. Their once robust bodies had been worn down and deformed.

They were all pale and weak, and the soldiers dragged them along as if they were walking on cotton.

With triangular eyes, he lowered his head, his hair matted into clumps, sticking messily to his face and obscuring half of it.

Only his signature triangular eyes were visible, with a hint of resentment flashing in them from time to time as he scanned his surroundings, searching for a last chance of survival.

But when he glanced at the soldiers escorting him, a chill ran through him.

The two hundred soldiers around him were all burly and had sharp eyes; they were clearly elite soldiers of the Wangbei Camp.

The man with the triangular eyes knew perfectly well that their hands were stained with the blood and tears of children, and now that they had fallen into the hands of the authorities, they were doomed to die.

The other companions of the triangular-eyed man were all dejected, their eyes vacant, and they had lost even the strength to struggle.

Just as the group reached a stream and the soldiers stopped to rest, the man with the triangular eyes glanced at the crowd and his pupils suddenly contracted.

Not far away, a soldier wearing ordinary leather armor, with some dust on his face, was squatting by the stream washing his hands.

His tall, upright figure and sharp eyes, even when wearing the most inconspicuous leather armor, could not conceal his brilliance.

The man with the triangular eyes felt a sudden jolt. He squinted and scrutinized the man's features closely, finding his eyebrows, eyes, and tall, upright figure increasingly familiar.

Isn't this the same person who personally led the team to ambush him by the river a few nights ago?

On the way to the Black Mountain Pass, he heard the surrounding soldiers talking and realized that the man was Zhao Daxuan, the commander of the Wangbei Camp!

The man with the triangular eyes twitched violently, his heart tightened, and he bit the rag in his mouth until it was deformed.

Who is Zhao Daxuan?

That was a ruthless man who, single-handedly, led a fledgling army and drove away tens of thousands of Tartars, ambushed the retreating Tartar army, and seized the Black Mountain Pass.

It's definitely unusual that the other side is now disguised as ordinary soldiers and mixed in with the escort team!

A terrible thought instantly arose in his mind.

Zhao Daxuan is using them as bait!

Suppressing his panic, the man with triangular eyes stopped looking for opportunities to escape and instead began to observe the formation of the escort team.

Only then did they realize that the soldiers were walking and stopping, deliberately slowing down their pace and dawdling even though the road was smooth, and even deliberately prolonging their rest time.

This confirmed his suspicions even more: Zhao Daxuan was deliberately slowing down to buy time, waiting for his target to take the bait.

The only fish they could catch as bait was the captain behind him.

It seems that the captain behind them has arrived near the Black Mountain Pass, which is why Zhao Daxuan deliberately made a big fuss about escorting them to Zhenbei City today!

He then disguised himself and hid in the ranks, deliberately luring the captain behind him to ambush and kill them.

Because as soon as that captain makes a move, even if Zhao Daxuan's original evidence was insufficient to capture him, the moment the captain makes a move, it's as if he's walking into a trap and falling into Zhao Daxuan's hands.

The man with the triangular eyes was anxious and confused, and his palms were covered in cold sweat.

If Zhao Daxuan really captures that captain, then all of them will be completely useless, and the only path awaiting them will be death by a thousand cuts.

However, if the captain can see through the trap or successfully kill Zhao Daxuan, he might still have a chance of survival.

The man with the triangular eyes began to look around, his gaze sweeping across the hillsides on both sides and the distant woods, hoping to catch any clues about the ambush and give them a hint.

However, apart from the howling cold wind and the occasional passing merchant, there was nothing unusual along the way.

He desperately wanted to shout a warning that this was Zhao Daxuan's trap.

But with his mouth tightly stuffed with rags, he could only make muffled whimpering sounds, which was of no use at all.

After dawdling along for more than two hours, the sky gradually darkened, and the escorting team only arrived at Broken Soul Valley before the last ray of sunlight was swallowed up.

The soldiers in the group breathed a long sigh of relief, a barely perceptible look of relaxation on their faces.

Once they reach the Valley of Broken Souls, even if Chu Hanchuan dares to make a move, they only need to hold out for a short while before the reinforcements lying in ambush outside the valley arrive immediately, at which point they will be able to capture Chu Hanchuan.

At this moment, on the mountainside on the east side of Broken Soul Valley, Chu Hanchuan was staring intently at the team at the bottom of the valley, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

Beside him lay five hundred elite soldiers dressed in black and wearing masks, all carrying bows and long swords, exuding a murderous aura.

On the other side of the mountainside, another five hundred soldiers had already laid an ambush, waiting for Chu Hanchuan's side to begin their operation before cooperating.

Just as Chu Hanchuan was quietly observing, a scout crept up behind him.

"My lord, we have searched the area around the valley and found no signs of an ambush, not even a scout."

Chu Hanchuan nodded slowly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

He originally thought this was a scheme set up by Zhao Daxuan, who deliberately used the silver as bait to lure him to ambush and kill him, and then ambushed him with heavy troops.

However, after they set up the ambush and searched the area for an entire afternoon, they found nothing unusual.

Did Zhao Daxuan really only send two hundred men to escort him?

Thinking of this, Chu Hanchuan revealed a cold smile.

He thought to himself, "Zhao Daxuan, it seems your recent victories have made you lose your head and become too confident. You didn't even set up an ambush!"