Chapter 3: The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind

At the border, the common folk fear nothing more than being caught in a place where others are slaughtering each other. Whenever such a thing happens, nine times out of ten, they end up as cannon fodder for the warring parties.

Watching those two groups head straight for the post station, Li Wuya’s heart sank. She grabbed Li Qilang and ran swiftly into the backyard, heading straight for the kitchen.

There was a secret passage built beneath the post station. The very first day her mother started working here, she had used her psychic powers to carefully scan the entire building and had immediately discovered its existence.

The passage had two exits: one in the postmaster’s room and one behind an unused stove in the kitchen.

Given the current situation, hiding in the secret passage was the safest option.

Just as Li Wuya was pulling Li Qilang toward the kitchen, a dozen burly men with their faces covered in scarves rode their horses straight into the post station.

"Close the gates!"

As soon as they entered, they immediately slammed the main gate shut.

"Who are you people?"

A postman stepped forward to ask, only to be struck down by a burly man’s blade.

The intruders were aggressive and ruthless, their violence instantly cowing everyone else in the station.

Seeing the scarlet blood on the ground, the others didn't say a word; they turned and ran for their lives.

In an instant, the post station descended into chaos.

"Don't let them escape! Quickly, drive everyone into the main hall!"

At the leader’s command, the other men dismounted and began herding the people of the station. Anyone who resisted or failed to comply was immediately cut down.

On the other side, Li Wuya had already led Li Qilang into the kitchen.

It wasn't mealtime, so the kitchen was empty. Li Wuya ran to the unused stove, pushed aside the firewood piled behind it, crouched down, and reached into the firebox. When she felt a protrusion, she pressed it immediately.

With a soft click, a dark opening appeared behind the stove.

"Qilang, hurry! Bad people have come to the station. Let’s hide in the secret passage."

Seeing the entrance, Li Qilang wasn't surprised; he obediently crawled inside with quick, agile movements.

Yes, before this, Li Wuya had already brought him into the passage when no one was around, so Li Qilang was no stranger to it.

As soon as Li Qilang was inside, Li Wuya followed.

Once inside the passage, Li Wuya finally let out a small sigh of relief. She pulled Li Qilang close, crouched on the ground, and projected her psychic powers to carefully "watch" the situation outside.

The post station only had two courtyards and wasn't very large; by projecting her powers, she could just barely "see" the entire premises.

"Watching" the postmaster and the others being coerced by the men into the main hall, Li Wuya’s heart sank.

The post station had been hijacked.

What was worse, the cavalry that had been pursuing this group had now surrounded the station.

Inside, a dozen burly men held the crowd hostage with long blades.

Outside, dozens of cavalrymen in Great Chu military uniforms held longbows, arrows aimed at the station, ready to strike.

"Watching" this scene, Li Wuya cursed their bad luck.

They were innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire!

If these two groups started fighting, it was unlikely anyone inside the station would survive.

Li Wuya secretly felt a glimmer of relief that her mother, brother, and sister weren't at the station today, avoiding this disaster.

As for her and Qilang...

With her here, she would always be able to keep him safe.

There were several forks in the secret passage, making it easy to hide. Even if others entered, with the help of her psychic powers, avoiding them wouldn't be difficult.

Thinking this, Li Wuya finally relaxed.

Meanwhile, the tension between the two groups inside and outside the station was reaching a breaking point.

The cavalry outside began to close in, but just as they moved, one of the men in the main hall shouted fiercely: "Zhuang Yutang, tell your men to back off! If I see anyone approaching, I’ll kill the people in this station."

With that, a burly man walked to the corner of the hall, grabbed a person, and dragged them toward the door.

"Don't kill me! Please, I beg you, don't kill me!"

"I have a wife, children, and an elderly mother. I can't die yet!"

The two people being dragged away seemed to know their fate; they struggled and pleaded desperately.

Unfortunately, their strength was no match for the burly man, and they were thrown out of the hall.

The two men had just scrambled to their feet to flee when, before they could even move, cold, gleaming blades descended upon them from behind.

*Thud!*

Heads were severed, and blood splattered the ground.

"Ah!"

The gruesome scene terrified everyone in the station.

Outside, Zhuang Yutang, the assistant general of Dieling Pass, furrowed his brows into a knot. After a moment of silence, he raised his hand to signal his men not to approach any further.

His deputy, Xu Chenkun, looked disapproving: "General, we need to return to Dieling Pass. We can't stay in a stalemate with them forever. Why don't we just charge in?"

Zhuang Yutang shot him a sharp look: "There are still many people in the station. As a border general, I cannot stand by and watch them be slaughtered."

Xu Chenkun said impatiently: "But even if we don't attack, their chances of survival are slim. Huyan He and his group certainly won't let them go."

Zhuang Yutang frowned: "Wait a little longer. It will be dark soon. Once it's dark, I will personally lead men to sneak into the station. I'll save as many as I can."

Xu Chenkun disagreed even more: "General, Huyan He is an eighth-rank expert from Northern Yan, and the others are all above the sixth rank. Why must you risk yourself?"

Zhuang Yutang glanced at him sideways: "Are you saying I can't beat Huyan He?"

Xu Chenkun looked helpless: "General, that’s not what I meant. You bear the heavy responsibility of guarding Dieling Pass; there is no need to do everything yourself..."

Zhuang Yutang interrupted him: "Say no more. My mind is made up. We act when it gets dark."

Xu Chenkun pursed his lips in frustration and fell silent.

Zhuang Yutang stared intently at the station: "Since we have them blocked in, they won't be able to escape."

In the main hall, the burly men breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zhuang Yutang and his men stop advancing.

In the secret passage, Li Wuya also relaxed. As long as they didn't start fighting immediately, the others still had a chance to live.

Suddenly, Li Wuya’s expression turned vigilant. She "saw" a burly man pull the postmaster into a corner and force a pill into his mouth.

Immediately after, the postmaster’s face turned red, his neck veins bulged, and he curled up, rolling on the ground in agony.

The man watched until the postmaster’s eyes grew unfocused from the pain before feeding him another pill.

The effect was swift. Within moments, the postmaster stopped rolling; though he was still gasping for air, his expression was no longer so tortured.

Without giving him a chance to catch his breath, the man hauled him up and dragged him before the leader.

Huyan He’s hawk-like gaze fell upon the postmaster. He patted the man’s cheek and whispered: "Where is the entrance to the secret passage?"

The postmaster shook his head weakly: "There is no secret passage."

Huyan He sneered. The reason he had come to this station while being pursued by Zhuang Yutang was precisely because he knew it had a secret passage leading out of the pass.

"In that case, you have no value left alive."

As soon as he finished speaking, the man holding the postmaster took out another pill, preparing to force it into his mouth.

Seeing this, the postmaster’s face turned pale with terror. At the thought of the excruciating pain he had just endured, his whole body trembled.

Thinking of his elderly wife and children at home, and his newborn grandson, the postmaster lowered his head before the pill touched his lips. With a trembling hand, he pointed toward his own room.

"It’s in my room."

Hearing this, Huyan He and the burly men looked pleasantly surprised.

The postmaster led two men into the room, opened the wardrobe, and pressed a switch. Instantly, the entrance to the secret passage was revealed.

Huyan He was delighted, then asked: "Who else knows about this passage?"

The postmaster shook his head quickly: "No one. I am the only one in the entire station who knows."

The burly man laughed: "Zhuang Yutang definitely doesn't know about the passage in the station. This is our chance to escape. Boss, let's go!"

Huyan He shook his head: "No. Zhuang Yutang is shrewd. Don't be fooled by him staying outside; it won't be long before he sends someone to test our reaction. Once he realizes we're gone, he'll charge into the station immediately."

"This passage isn't hard to find. If they find it and pursue us, we still won't be able to escape."

The man frowned: "Then what should we do?"

Huyan He thought for a moment: "Go, call Huyan Ji here."

In the secret passage, Li Wuya was "watching" everything in the postmaster’s room with intense focus.

After the men dragged the postmaster out, Huyan He took the bundle off his back, placed it on the table, and opened it to inspect the contents.

"Seeing" that the bundle contained medicinal herbs, Li Wuya’s eyes lit up instantly.

Just then, a burly man entered the room.

Huyan He looked at him and solemnly handed him a secret letter: "Aji, this is the military strategy map we stole from Great Chu. The passage below leads outside the pass. You must leave through it now."

"We will hold off Zhuang Yutang and his men here to buy you more time. You must deliver this intelligence to the Northern Yan camp."

As he spoke, he handed him the bundle from the table.

"These are the blood ginseng and blood ganoderma I worked so hard to collect while hiding in Great Chu. General Tuoba’s injury from last time never fully healed; these herbs must be delivered to him."

In the secret passage, Li Wuya was eager to act. For years, she had been trying to find ways to improve her healing ability, but she couldn't get her hands on medicinal herbs.

Now, the herbs were being delivered right to her doorstep!

Should she do it?

Of course she should!