Liu Rumei's expression was indeed resolute. She glanced at Xiao Qing.
"Do you remember?"
Xiao Qing nodded. "I remember."
Only then did Liu Rumei turn to face the young maid, waving towards Chu Han and the others. The group quickly vanished into the darkness.
These were all top-tier experts, and climbing up the canyon with a rope was no problem for them.
After regrouping and taking a headcount, Liu Rumei led the team forward.
Along the way, they didn't encounter a single checkpoint.
Perhaps Zhou believed that this place was a sheer cliff and no one could ascend it.
After walking for four or five li, they began to see lights and eventually encountered a guard post. However, there were only two guards, leaning against the leeward side, already drowsy.
After carefully observing and confirming there were no other hidden sentries, Liu Rumei waved her hand. Liu Ce and Liu Tie quietly emerged.
The two guards lost their lives in their sleep, bewildered. Liu Tie and Liu Ce donned the armor of the imperial army and stood guard with sabers and spears. At first glance, it looked like just two people on duty.
Liu Rumei continued to lead them forward. Another guard post appeared, this time with four men.
This time, it was the young maid's turn. They still dealt with them effortlessly.
Four men were left to stand guard.
They proceeded further. About a li ahead, the area was brightly lit by fire.
Many sacks were piled up in front, appearing to be grain.
There were also some tents, though their contents were unknown.
Soldiers were scattered around in small groups, clearly showing that the guards were very lax. This explained why there were only two guard posts and six men along the way.
Since the defenses were lax, it was an excellent opportunity to strike. Liu Rumei called the young maid and Chu Han over, assigning them specific tasks.
She instructed everyone to spread out as much as possible, cover a larger area, and cause maximum damage.
Liu Rumei herself approached two soldiers with a large hand grenade. Behind them lay a mountain of sacks, presumably containing grain.
Liu Rumei raised her hand. Two flashes of cold light streaked out, accurately piercing the throats of the two soldiers. Without a sound, their bodies slumped together.
Fortunately, they had been leaning against each other earlier, so no noise was made.
Immediately after, Liu Rumei leaped forward, over their heads, and reached the edge of the sack pile.
She then shoved the large hand grenade into the sack pile and pulled the fuse.
Following this, Liu Rumei returned the way she came and quickly hid behind a large rock.
After about a dozen breaths, a deafening explosion echoed.
Then, a rain of grain poured down.
Thick smoke billowed, and a fire erupted.
Zhu Meng was just about to go to sleep when he was jolted by a loud noise.
"What was that?"
A nearby attendant quickly rushed out of the tent and looked around.
Just then, boom, boom. The sounds came one after another.
A total of more than ten explosions.
Zhu Meng had a bad feeling and hurried out himself. He scrambled up a dogwood tree nearby, which gave him a better vantage point.
Zhu Meng saw thick smoke billowing in the distance, followed by the panicked shouts of soldiers, "Fire! Fire!"
Zhu Meng's heart sank. How could a fire suddenly break out?
This was bad. Someone must have come to cause destruction.
Zhu Meng immediately jumped down from the tree and called his guards to run towards the fire.
Meanwhile, Liu Rumei had already regrouped with Chu Han and the young maid, and they were quietly retreating.
Zhu Meng's residence was some distance from the grain storage area. By the time he arrived, the fire was already raging. In this place, water was precious, and no one would waste it on extinguishing a fire.
The wind on the mountain was strong, and the fire fed on it, growing fiercer. Large piles of grain and various military supplies were instantly reduced to ashes.
Looking at the sky ablaze, Zhu Meng stomped his foot.
"Quickly, find out who did this!"
His subordinates, as if awakening from a daze, dispersed to search.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei became anxious. Hearing the successive explosions from the mountain, he knew Liu Rumei had succeeded, but this was only half the victory. True success would only be achieved if they returned safely.
As he paced back and forth, Xiao Qing appeared much calmer.
"Chen Xiaobei, don't worry. My mistress will definitely return."
Chen Xiaobei nodded.
Although he didn't fully grasp the situation, from a logical perspective, if they could infiltrate smoothly and destroy Zhu Meng's grain, they should be able to return smoothly.
After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Liu Rumei and the others returned. Seeing dark figures descending from above, Chen Xiaobei was overjoyed and rushed forward.
The first to descend was Liu Rumei. Upon seeing Chen Xiaobei, she couldn't suppress her emotions and rushed into his arms.
"Brother Xiaobei, we're back."
Chen Xiaobei gently patted her shoulder. "Good, that's great. It's good you're back."
At this moment, Xiao Qing coughed softly.
"Mistress, we should withdraw soon."
Her cough reminded Liu Rumei that she was still in Chen Xiaobei's embrace.
Liu Rumei hastily pulled herself out of Chen Xiaobei's arms, her face feeling hot.
Meanwhile, Liu Tie's gaze towards Chen Xiaobei was now tinged with resentment.
After everyone had descended and their numbers were accounted for, the group quickly retreated.
At this time, Zhu Meng also received a report that all the guards at the two northern checkpoints had been killed.
Zhu Meng stamped his foot in anger.
"They must have come up through the canyon. Go after them quickly!"
"And, issue an order for all soldiers to converge on the canyon. We must catch these bastards."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Liao, standing nearby, cupped his fists. "Marshal, this is absolutely not advisable."
Zhu Meng was taken aback. "What's wrong with that?"
"Marshal, this great fire has destroyed more than half of our grain. If this news spreads, the morale of the army will surely be unstable."
"But… such a commotion, how can it be kept from people?"
Zhang Liao smiled faintly. "Marshal, the matter cannot be concealed, but we can downplay the losses."
"The Crown Prince sent people to burn our grain, all to disrupt our army's morale."
"Even if we capture these few petty thieves, what good will it do? We might as well do the opposite. Our entire army will descend the mountain, defeat Xiao Jingyun in one fell swoop, and capture him alive. That will resolve everything."
Upon hearing Zhang Liao's words, Zhu Meng pondered for a moment and nodded slightly. "Very well. Issue an order that everyone descends the mountain tonight, ready to capture Xiao Jingyun alive."
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei was clearly unaware that Zhang Liao's words had saved them. If everyone had converged on the canyon as Zhu Meng intended, he wouldn't have been able to escape even with wings.
Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, on Centipede Ridge, Cui Hongyu, sleepless all night, stared blankly at the oil lamp.