386: The Wolf is Coming (asking for monthly ticket)

It was the middle of the night.

On Yunding Mountain, the cold wind was bone-chilling.

On the wide mountain path below Ninth Mountain, a "shush-shush-shush" sound of footsteps crunching on snow echoed.

A dark figure stumbled through the snow, heading towards the firelight not far away.

"Who's there?"

"Military order!"

Just then, someone shouted from the forest about a li away.

Seeing the dark figure continue to run, an armored soldier in the forest flew to the top of a tree, then drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

"Whoosh!"

Like a clap of thunder.

An arrow of light pierced the air, its tip rubbing against the air, creating flames as it shot towards the dark figure.

It was accompanied by another sharp shout.

"Military order!"

The flaming arrow pierced through the wind and snow that obscured vision, flashing past a meter in front of the dark figure with a whoosh, then embedding itself with a thud into a tree not far away.

At that instant, the flames swirling around the arrow body illuminated a figure with a face full of blood and disheveled hair.

And that broken green armor!

"Pfft!"

The figure in green armor stumbled for another dozen meters, then finally, with a soft thud, fell headfirst into the snow.

A few breaths later, the urgent crunching of snow came from the side of the forest, and a black armored soldier quickly arrived, then knelt on one knee, one hand on his waist-saber, the other turning over the fallen figure, then quickly brushing away the snow and blood from the person's face.

"Commandant Tong?"

The armored soldier recognized the person's face, let out a low cry, then quickly checked for a breath.

He was an outer camp hidden post, and also an old soldier of Ninth Mountain.

Commandant Tong was covered in blood, his broken armor bore several palm prints, his eyes were closed, and he was unconscious, his breath between his mouth and nose as faint as a wisp of smoke.

The armored soldier quickly hooked Commandant Tong's arm over his shoulder, hoisted him up, and sprinted towards the camp.

This commotion also alarmed the other hidden posts, and whistles echoed through the mountains.

Soon, at the Ninth Mountain military camp,

"Thump, thump, thump."

Footsteps sounded on the Commanding Platform, and then someone pushed open the large door of the sparsely lit tower.

Soon after, three red-armored figures pushed open the door and emerged. Cloud Skyborn, at the head, had a somber expression as he strode out, then looked up at the military camp's large gate, which was opening with a creak in the distant cold night, and the firelight rushing in.

Then, his figure flickered a few times, appearing before the open military camp gate.

"Cavalry General Yun!"

The several armored soldiers who rushed in shouted urgently.

Cloud Skyborn's gaze fell on the person in the middle, and a fierce light flashed in his eyes.

This person was carrying the unconscious Commandant Tong on his back!

This was his Guard Commandant, and he had been sent to Sichuan Pass to deliver a message more than two hours ago, yet now he was here, unconscious.

With a single hand gesture, he drew Commandant Tong's body in front of him, then formed a sword-finger with one hand and tapped Commandant Tong's Acupoints, channeling True Qi to stabilize his heart and check his injuries.

Commandant Tong's entire body had been penetrated by powerful True Qi, and his meridians were in disarray. The culprit was the several palm prints on his chest, which caused his Qi to be very weak.

His last finger tapped Commandant Tong's glabella, intending to wake him, but it had no effect.

The other party's injuries were too severe!

Oh, and the secret letter. His fingers had moved just now, but he hadn't detected the presence of a secret letter.

Cloud Skyborn's pupils constricted.

"Send the person to Dr. Zhu You!"

"Also, where did you find him?"

"Reporting, Cavalry General Yun, he was found at the first outpost down the mountain! Commandant Tong was stumbling towards the military camp at the time, and your subordinate..."

The armored soldier who had carried the person earlier recounted what had just happened.

A ruthless look appeared in Cloud Skyborn's eyes, and he immediately ordered, "Men, order the Third Camp to search along the tracks from the first outpost down the mountain to see if they can find any clues. If you encounter anyone suspicious, seize them immediately!"

As he spoke, he frowned and said in a deep voice:

"Also, regarding Commandant Tong's matter, go and invite South City Guard General Mo over!"

According to normal logic, Commandant Tong had been dispatched with the letter for such a long time, he should have encountered trouble outside the city. After all, making a move in Jinguancheng, where there are so many people and eyes, would definitely alert them.

And outside the city, the South City Guard should have a record of him leaving the city, but why did Commandant Tong return alone and severely injured? Logically, the South City Guard would have discovered the severely injured Commandant Tong and reported it to Ninth Mountain.

In short, there were layers of doubts, so he invited the South City Guard General to come and ask before making a judgment.

"Understood!"

...

Half an incense stick later,

Next to a brightly lit room, another room was connected, with a large transparent glazed window in between.

At this moment, Cloud Skyborn and the other two were looking at the scene in the other room through the window, their eyes flickering.

In the other room, several doctors from Dr. Zhu You were taking turns casting spells to treat the unconscious Commandant Tong lying on a stretcher, constantly drawing talismans and chanting incantations, trying to wake the Guard Commandant, but there was no effect.

After a while, a doctor pushed open the door to the adjacent room and saluted the three Piaoji Generals whose gazes had turned towards him,

"Please forgive our incompetence, General. Even if we use all our methods, we cannot wake this Commandant Tong. This old man suspects that the severe injury caused his Divine Soul to fall into a deep sleep."

"Moreover, when we just removed Commandant Tong's clothing, we did not find the secret letter you were looking for, General."

The doctor shook his head and sighed, stroking his beard, feeling somewhat ashamed.

Cloud Skyborn and the other two's expressions all darkened upon hearing this result.

"Is there really no way?"

The physician shook his head and sighed, "Our attainments are still too shallow. Unless there is someone proficient in a great Divine Ability of Dr. Zhu You, or a Divine Ability that can cause a strong stimulus to the Divine Soul, perhaps it might work."

"Lastly, we can only wait, wait for Commandant Tong to pull through and wake up on his own!"

Upon hearing this, Cloud Skyborn raised and then lowered his eyebrows, finally flicking his sleeves.

"You may withdraw for now!"

"Yes."

Soon, the doctors from Dr. Zhu You withdrew, extinguishing most of the lights, leaving the still unconscious Commandant Tong lying on the sickbed after treatment.

Only Cloud Skyborn and the other two remained in the adjacent room.

"Tiansheng, what do you think? We just sent the message, and the person was intercepted. Isn't this too coincidental?"

Lu Ming spoke in a muffled voice, voicing his doubts.

"You mean there's someone among us who doesn't want us to find Zhonglang? But only a few of us know this news!"

Liu Qing frowned.

"No, that Captain Lian from Qingshan County brought a group of mansion soldiers. Those people are unsupervised. Although these troops are required to stay in a separate camp and cannot leave the military camp, with so many people, who knows where the problem might arise!" It was normal for Lu Ming to have such concerns.

"No!" At this moment, Cloud Skyborn turned around, his eyes flashing with captivating brilliance.

"If someone truly knew the information, they would know that our General is only out of contact, and his life is not in danger. The General's prestige from the battle of Tianxiong Pass is still strong, so anyone with a bit of sense, even if they knew the news, would not rush to jump out at this time!"

"Unless this person has a deep grudge against my Ninth Mountain and is watching every move of my Ninth Mountain."

"The three of us should find this person now!"

"Make a list of suspects and send people to investigate them one by one in the city!"

Liu Qing and Lu Ming listened, found it reasonable, and nodded.

"I remember that young master from the Jin Family living in the North City doesn't get along with our General!"

As the three of them were talking, footsteps came from outside.

Then, a voice sounded.

"Piaoji General, South City Guard General Mo has already arrived outside the camp!"

Cloud Skyborn and Liu Qing exchanged glances.

"The three of us should go out and greet him!"

"I remember that the four Guard Generals in the city were generously bestowed with the General's Eye Divine Ability after the Five Treasures Mountain battle, after extensively searching for remnants. Perhaps they can try to awaken Commandant Tong!"

"As long as he wakes up, things will be much easier to resolve."

With that, Cloud Skyborn led the way out, instructing the people outside to take good care of Commandant Tong.

And as soon as Cloud Skyborn and the two Piaoji left, in the adjacent room, under the flickering yellow candlelight, a pair of eyes suddenly opened on the bed!

A sinister cold smile flickered within them! (End of chapter)