FVN 113. Clash
113. Clash
Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat; Zhao Wuji's appearance was completely unexpected. This enemy from his past life, who had caused the destruction of his family, was now on the side of the Heavenly Demons and had even taken control of the Prince of Zhenbei. The situation was critical, and there was no time to think.
"Go!" Lin Mo shouted, slamming his palm against the stone wall beside the altar. Shards of stone flew everywhere, temporarily blocking Zhao Wuji's view. He pulled Chen Yuan and quickly retreated into another secret passage.
Zhao Wuji sneered and chased after them like a ghost: "Since you're here, why the rush to leave?"
The passageway was dimly lit, and Lin Mo could feel the growing killing intent behind him. He suddenly turned around, unleashing both palms to clash head-on with Zhao Wuji, who was pursuing him.
"Boom!" The two internal forces collided, causing the entire secret passage to vibrate. Lin Mo used the force to drift backward, secretly surprised: Zhao Wuji's martial arts were much stronger than in his previous life. It seemed that he had gained a considerable improvement after joining the Heavenly Demon.
"Master, this way!" Chen Yuan pushed open a hidden door in front of them. The two slipped inside and quickly closed the door. It was a storage room, filled with grain and weapons.
"We must leave the Prince's residence as soon as possible," Lin Mo said in a deep voice. "Now that Zhao Wuji has discovered us, he will definitely mobilize all his forces to encircle and annihilate us."
The words had barely left his mouth when a flurry of footsteps sounded outside the door. Chen Yuan's expression changed: "They're here too fast!"
Lin Mo looked around, his gaze settling on a few wooden crates in the corner: "Pile these crates behind the door; it'll hold them off for a while."
The two had just finished stacking the boxes when a banging sound came from outside the door. The wooden door shook violently, clearly not going to hold up for long.
"Go through the window." Lin Mo pushed open the storage room window, outside which was the back garden of the Prince's mansion. In the darkness, faint lights could be seen approaching in the distance, clearly indicating that the Prince's guards were searching for them.
"Follow me." Chen Yuan was familiar with the layout of the Prince's mansion. He led Lin Mo through the garden and hid behind a rockery.
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves grew louder as a troop of cavalry carrying torches rushed into the garden. Leading them was a man dressed in grassland attire, with a curved sword at his waist.
"Search thoroughly! His Highness has ordered a hefty reward for capturing the assassin!"
Lin Mo noticed that several steppe warriors were mixed in with the cavalry; their attire was completely different from that of the Central Plains soldiers. It seemed that Zhao Wuji had already mobilized the forces of the steppes.
"Master, it seems we've stirred up a hornet's nest," Chen Yuan said with a wry smile.
Lin Mo's gaze sharpened: "Perfect, let's take this opportunity to find out their background."
Using the artificial hill and trees as cover, the two quietly moved towards the outskirts of the palace. Along the way, Lin Mo noticed a group of grassland warriors hurrying towards a courtyard on the west side of the palace, their expressions tense, as if there was something important there.
"Follow them," Lin Mo whispered.
After the group of steppe warriors entered the courtyard, they immediately closed the gate. Lin Mo and Chen Yuan circled around to the back of the courtyard, leaped onto the roof, and quietly lifted a tile to look down.
Inside the courtyard, several steppe warriors were burning documents. In the firelight, maps and troop deployments could be seen on the documents.
"They're destroying evidence," Chen Yuan whispered.
Lin Mo observed carefully and found that one of the maps was marked with important border towns such as "Shuofang" and "Yunzhong", and the date of the attack was written in grassland script next to it.
"Three days later..." Lin Mo pointed to the date markings in the grassland script, "They plan to launch their attack in three days."
Just then, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and Zhao Wuji walked in. He glanced at the burning documents and said coldly, "Speed up the process; there are spies infiltrated into the Prince's residence."
A steppe warrior bowed and said, "Rest assured, sir, the important military intelligence has been transferred. These are just copies."
Zhao Wuji nodded: "Very good. The Khan's army has been assembled and is awaiting the signal to march south. With coordinated attacks from within and without, we will surely breach the border in one fell swoop."
Lin Mo and Chen Yuan exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes. It turned out the grassland tribes weren't simply harassing them, but were planning a full-scale invasion.
"We must get their attack plan," Lin Mo whispered.
After Zhao Wuji left, only four grassland warriors remained in the courtyard, continuing to burn the documents. Lin Mo assessed their strength and made a gesture to Chen Yuan.
The two men leaped from the rooftop like cheetahs, charging straight at the four warriors. Lin Mo moved with lightning speed, instantly subduing the pressure points of the two men. Chen Yuan was not to be outdone, engaging the other two warriors in fierce combat.
"Leave them alive!" Lin Mo shouted, knocking out one of the warriors fighting Chen Yuan with a single palm strike. Another warrior, seeing the situation was dire, tried to shout, but Lin Mo silenced him with a single finger.
"Search them," Lin Mo ordered.
Chen Yuan carefully searched the bodies of the warriors and finally found a small piece of parchment folded inside one of their boots.
"Master, we've found it!"
Lin Mo took the parchment and unfolded it. The invasion plan was detailed in the steppe script: the steppe allied forces would attack in three routes, with the main force in the center being led by the Prince of Zhenbei to flood through Yanmen Pass, while the eastern and western routes would respectively contain the border troops. Even more alarming was the plan's specific method of coordinated attack from within and without: the Prince of Zhenbei would open the gates at the agreed time, allowing the steppe army to enter the pass.
"What a traitorous act of collusion with the enemy!" Lin Mo roared in fury. "If their plan succeeds, the people of the Central Plains will suffer terribly!"
Just then, a commotion arose outside the courtyard, clearly indicating that something was amiss. Lin Mo tucked the parchment into his robes and, together with Chen Yuan, quickly scaled the wall and escaped.
"Chase! The assassin ran that way!" came the shouts of the pursuers from behind.
Lin Mo and Chen Yuan raced through the night, their pursuers closing in. The sound of arrows whistling through the air filled the air, forcing them to dodge left and right.
"Let's split up!" Lin Mo decided decisively. "You take the intelligence back to the manor, I'll draw the pursuers away."
Chen Yuan exclaimed urgently, "Master, you mustn't! It's too dangerous!"
"This is an order!" Lin Mo's tone was resolute. "The intelligence must be sent out, or the border will be in grave danger!"
Chen Yuan gritted his teeth, knowing the matter was of utmost importance, and could only nod: "Take care, Master!"
The two parted ways in the alleyway. Lin Mo deliberately made a loud noise to draw most of the pursuers to his side. He moved like lightning, weaving through the streets and alleys of Yanmen Pass, with the pursuers close behind.
Turning a corner, Lin Mo suddenly stopped. Ahead, Zhao Wuji stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly having been waiting for him all along.
"Lin Mo, let's see where you run this time." Zhao Wuji smiled coldly. "Hand over the information, and perhaps I can give you a quick death."
Lin Mo took a deep breath, knowing that a battle was inevitable today. He slowly drew his longsword from his waist, the tip pointing directly at Zhao Wuji: "If you want information, ask my sword first!"
In the darkness of night, two figures suddenly clashed, sword light and palm wind intertwined, opening the prelude to this espionage war.