With the Yucheng Army vanished and Nanyi mysteriously sending him a piece of clothing, Song Muchuan intuitively sensed a connection between these events.

Recently, Nanyi had been entangled in every strange occurrence. Perhaps she was that important clue? If she had learned some information and passed it to the Yucheng Army to make them withdraw, then everything would make sense. When she was being pursued by Guilaitang people in Hukui Mountain, it probably wasn’t accidental either.

She had long been drawn into the Yucheng Army’s affairs, but he had no time now to ponder the finer details of how it all connected.

Seeing Song Muchuan stare at the garment for so long, the hunter asked suspiciously, “Sir, is there something peculiar about this clothing?”

Song Muchuan calculated slowly: “This garment was delivered to me at the fourth quarter of the Hour of the Monkey. Working backwards, the boatman should have received it from her around mid-Hour of the Goat, departing from Hukui Mountain’s ferry. After she finished arranging the clothing matter, she would waste no time going to find the Yucheng Army to persuade them to withdraw. Until the Yucheng Army left, it shouldn’t have exceeded the third or fourth quarter of the Hour of the Monkey. During this time, Qi troops also reached Hukui Mountain. Even if they didn’t collide head-on, the Yucheng Army wouldn’t have gone too far—they should still be near their original camp.”

The hunter was stunned, then came to his senses. His gaze turned to the terrain model, and he traced a rough circle with his finger: “A force of about a hundred men, in this amount of time, wouldn’t leave this range.”

“The Qi soldiers are now searching the mountains like headless flies. If we could learn the Yucheng Army’s location, we’d have a slight advantage over them. In your opinion, where might the Yucheng Army be hiding?”

After pondering for a long while, the hunter said: “If the Qi people can’t find the Yucheng Army on the surface, they’re very likely underground…”

He pointed to a location: “There’s a dried underground river passage here that could accommodate so many people. This place is hidden—not many people know about it.”

“But with the Qi people beginning their mountain search, the Yucheng Army won’t be able to hold out long. The eating, drinking, and bodily needs of so many people are all problems. When marching, they’ll also leave traces and will be exposed sooner or later. Once they engage, it will be a fierce battle.” Song Muchuan furrowed his brows tightly. “If we want to preserve the Yucheng Army without losing a single soldier, we’ll need to use some deceptive methods…”

A plan was gradually forming in his mind… but there was still one link he couldn’t connect.

Song Muchuan closed his eyes. Perhaps he could risk activating that chess piece…

Wild Goose.

Nanyi had indeed gone to the ferry first, entrusting the boatman to deliver a garment to Master Song at the Bureau of Waterways. She concocted a story, having the boatman say it was something he had left at the workshop. As long as he handled this matter for her, the reward would be a silver note. The boatman had never seen so much money before and immediately agreed, promising to keep his mouth sealed.

Nanyi didn’t dare pass too much information, fearing it might leak somehow. Though a single garment was cryptic, Song Muchuan would certainly find it suspicious. As long as he sent someone to investigate slightly, he could learn the boatman came from Hukui Mountain, thus guessing she was in Hukui Mountain.

Though she didn’t know what use it would serve, Nanyi felt that letting him know was the right thing to do. Since he was from Bingzhu Division, surely Bingzhu Division would have ways to save the Yucheng Army?

Holding onto such a hopeful thought, Nanyi dozed drowsily in the stuffy cave.

She hoped Heaven would stand on her side, but if Heaven didn’t come, there was nothing she could do. Countless matters flashed through her mind, and she couldn’t reach any conclusion for the time being. As she pondered, Nanyi actually fell asleep from exhaustion, even making steady breathing sounds.

Meanwhile, the Yucheng Army soldiers remained in extreme tension, anxious and uneasy. Most only closed their eyes to rest—few could truly fall asleep.

Ying Huai looked at the soundly sleeping Nanyi and thought to himself that she was truly an extraordinary person, able to sleep under these circumstances. Unperturbed by events… the women of the Xie family were indeed no ordinary individuals.

As night fell, an occasional hawk swept across the sky above Li Du Mansion, and the streets gradually grew quiet.

A sedan chair passed by. Xu Kouyue lifted the curtain and looked out, seeing an inconspicuous yellow lantern hanging on the ward gate.

“Stop for a moment.”

Though the bearers stopped, the accompanying Qi soldiers said hesitantly, “Lord Wanyan instructed us to escort you directly back to the mansion.”

“Lord Wanyan’s affairs didn’t go smoothly today. There’s an earth god statue over there—I want to pay my respects. There’s hardly anyone around anyway. What’s there to worry about?”

The Qi soldier thought for a moment, then nodded. The bearers set down the sedan chair.

Xu Kouyue walked to the earth god statue, took incense left by previous worshippers, lit it, and bowed devoutly before stepping forward to place it in the incense burner.

The night was rather deep, and with Xu Kouyue’s back to everyone, no one saw that while inserting the incense, she reached into the ash and felt around, finding a small, thin bamboo segment.

Xu Kouyue hid the bamboo segment in her sleeve and turned around nonchalantly, returning to the sedan chair.

Once the curtain closed, Xu Kouyue nervously exhaled, her heart beating like a drum.

This was something Xie Queshan had asked her to do. When returning in the evening, if she saw a yellow lantern hanging on the ward gate, she should go to the incense burner before the earth god statue and look for a bamboo segment hidden inside, which she should bring back to him.

She couldn’t help but ask him: “What exactly are you?”

He only replied: “Princess, I once saved your life. Consider this repaying that favor.”

She asked no more. She kept this matter firmly in mind, and indeed, a yellow lantern hung beneath the ward gate.

That night, when Xie Queshan was taking his medicine, he felt the bamboo segment stuck to the bottom of his bowl.

After the room was empty, Xie Queshan extracted the hidden paper slip from the bamboo segment.

Inside was intelligence from Bingzhu Division contacting him. He hadn’t miscalculated—Song Muchuan had indeed contacted him.

This night was torturous for everyone. But the most anxious were those who didn’t even qualify to enter the game.

Taking advantage of Wanyan Jun still being at the military camp, Gusha slunk over to “visit” Xie Queshan, actually wanting to inquire about the Yucheng Army matter.

For this operation, Wanyan Jun had kept everything tightly sealed, not notifying Gusha at all. The military forces were also split into two factions: one brought by Gusha, who had traveled south searching for Prince Ling’an and finally stationed at Li Du Mansion, loyal to Gusha. The other faction was troops that came directly from Great Qi with Wanyan Jun—the latter outnumbered the former.

Usually, Gusha commanded all forces, but once Wanyan Jun intervened, he became a mere figurehead, able to deploy only his own personal guards.

Originally, Wanyan Jun had used swift decisive tactics, leaving Gusha no opportunity to exert any effort. But hearing that the Yucheng Army had vanished without a trace, Gusha rushed to compete for merit.

“If we let the Yucheng Army escape, staying in Li Du Mansion would be like having a sword hanging over our heads—we wouldn’t sleep peacefully. I also want to contribute. Does Young Master have any good suggestions?”

Xie Queshan showed a surprised expression. Just as he was about to speak, he began coughing violently again, the very picture of someone just recovering from serious illness.

“Escaped? How could that be?”

“Wanyan Jun must have been too hasty and alerted them. Now look what’s happened—we’ve lost the initiative. With darkness falling and treacherous mountain paths, we’re forced to stop and rest, waiting for dawn to act again. A whole night allows for many variables. I’m truly anxious.”

“If even Lord Wanyan has no solution, look at my current state, General—how could I have any suggestions?”

“Young Master Queshan has always been brilliant with strategies. Yet Wanyan Jun doesn’t consult with you and uses the pretense of your recovery to confine you to the mansion. I think this clearly shows he doesn’t trust you.”

With this flattery mixed with disparagement, Xie Queshan appeared pleased on the surface while remaining crystal clear in his heart. Gusha was willing to lower himself like this purely because he wanted to pull Xie Queshan into his camp to learn useful information.

Gusha’s misguided cleverness played right into Xie Queshan’s scheme. Though the Qi army appeared united as iron, undercurrents surged beneath, each harboring ulterior motives.

Xie Queshan went along with his meaning and sighed: “After all, the Yucheng Army has countless connections to my second sister. It’s reasonable that Lord Wanyan doesn’t trust me.”

Gusha slapped his thigh, showing great indignation: “Wanyan Jun really underestimates people! Young Master Queshan, what kind of person are you? With great enemies before us, naturally the court’s interests come first. Think about how you and I worked so hard searching for Prince Ling’an in Hukui Mountain and controlling Li Du Mansion. Then Wanyan Jun arrives and doesn’t consult us about anything, instead riding over our heads to steal the credit. How can this be tolerated?”

Xie Queshan looked dejected on his face but truly wanted to laugh in his heart. It was hard on Gusha, having to speak such words against his conscience. He would just watch him perform.

Gusha lowered his voice and leaned closer: “However, I know that Young Master Queshan can’t let go of family either. It’s human nature—understandable. How about this—you and I join forces to find where the Yucheng Army is hiding. The first credit will be yours, and I’ll protect Madam Gantang for you. How about it?”

Xie Queshan put on an act: “But General Gusha might have had some misunderstandings about me before. My deductions might not be believed by the General.”

“Ah, that was my petty mind at work. Young Master nearly lost half your life for intelligence on the Yucheng Army—how could I not believe you!”

Xie Queshan pondered for a long while before saying quietly: “The Yucheng Army was originally stationed in an abandoned Taoist temple in a mountain valley. In my memory… near that temple, there is an underground river.”

Gusha suddenly understood, remembering something: “That’s where Pang Yu was hiding—”

Xie Queshan’s eyes were pitch black, but his facial expression showed no abnormality as he said: “Precisely.”

Having obtained this crucial clue, Gusha immediately returned to prepare. He secretly withdrew his personal guards from camp and sent them for a night assault on Hukui Mountain.

The inn where the well had been located—all its workers had been killed, and the inn was abandoned. Gusha’s scouts first entered through the well opening to investigate. Inside they could indeed see human figures and hear the noise of many people. Overjoyed, they were certain the Yucheng Army was within and immediately returned to report.

However, all these movements were relayed to Wanyan Jun.

Wanyan Jun, who had been waiting behind to reap the benefits, harbored other thoughts.

A capable and ambitious subordinate was less useful to him than a mediocre but obedient one. Gusha’s rashness and love of glory made him extremely displeased.

Why not take advantage of tonight… to kill two birds with one stone.