A daily intelligence report; in chaotic times and famine years, grain is plentiful.

Xiao Yunling looked around, gazing at the stones and ashes, her gaze finally settling on the edge of the cliff.

She frowned and slowly walked over.

"General, be careful."

The lieutenant quickly stepped forward to follow.

Xiao Yunling ignored him, walked to the edge of the cliff, and looked down.

This bottomless abyss is so deep that even a martial arts master would surely die if he jumped in.

How exactly did Chen Mo and his group escape?

The siege lasted ten days, consuming the Yunzi Camp's time, manpower, and resources, yet now they can't even see a single person.

This is a complete humiliation of the government troops by Chen Mo!

At this moment, Xiao Yunling couldn't help but recall Chen Mo's mockery of her over the past few days.

This traitor, I, the general, am determined to kill him with my own hands!

"Search this entire area, including the area under the cliffs. Find any trace of the bandits!"

Xiao Yunling gave the order sternly.

The soldiers dared not delay and quickly dispersed to search.

Xiao Yunling turned around and walked to the pile of ashes.

She bent down and picked up a handful of charcoal.

The charcoal had long since cooled and was damp with morning dew, indicating that it had been extinguished for a long time.

"General, what's wrong?"

The lieutenant stepped forward and asked.

"Those bandits have been gone for at least two days."

Xiao Yunling deduced.

"But our patrol team has never stopped these past two days, how could they have left so quietly?"

The lieutenant was quite puzzled.

Xiao Yunling did not answer and fell into deep thought.

Recalling what had happened earlier, she felt increasingly uneasy.

Suddenly, she remembered something.

This was simply Chen Mo's scheme to lure the tiger away from the mountain!

This traitor deliberately harassed the government troops to make them nervous, luring them to concentrate their main force at Xiling Peak. Then, while the government troops' attention was focused there, other bandits might take the opportunity to escape from Black Wind Ridge.

Most of the other troops in Black Wind Ridge have been transferred to the Xiling Peak area by her.

How exactly did Chen Mo, that traitor, manage to leave this place?

Xiao Yunling's expression changed.

With the defenses of other parts of Black Wind Ridge now weak, Chen Mo and his men may have already quietly left the encirclement.

Thinking of this, her face darkened further, and she immediately turned and left Xiling Peak.

She ordered her men to summon the yamen officers and soldiers responsible for monitoring Black Wind Ridge and asked, "Have any reports come back from the various main roads leading out of Black Wind Ridge regarding bandits?"

The officer quickly bowed and replied, "General, all the key roads are guarded and tightly sealed off. There is no news of bandits coming down the mountain. However, someone reported from the direction of West Valley that a force that looks like bandits has actually gone up Black Wind Ridge."

"Are people still going up the mountain at this hour?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yunling's eyebrows remained furrowed.

How many people are there?

She asked.

"There were probably forty or so. We didn't pursue them; we just continued to hold the mountain path. We can be sure that no one came down the mountain."

The officers and soldiers replied.

Xiao Yunling's expression was solemn, and her doubts deepened.

Black Wind Ridge has a complex terrain, making it easy to hide. If we really stay in this mountain range, who knows what other tricks that traitor will pull.

Now, Xiao Yunling is actually hoping that Chen Mo will lead his men to escape from Black Wind Ridge.

Without the cover of mountains and forests, this rabble would be nothing more than lambs to the slaughter in front of the Zhenbei Army.

"By order of this general, withdraw the northern outposts, leaving only hidden sentries to keep watch. If any bandits are found, notify this general immediately."

Xiao Yunling gave the order sternly.

"clear!"

The officers and soldiers nodded quickly.

Looking at the forest before her, Xiao Yunling felt a surge of anger.

Recalling the scenes of being teased and humiliated by Chen Mo these past few days, Xiao Yunling felt a surge of murderous intent.

This Chen Mo, I will definitely kill him with my own hands!

……

Deep within Black Wind Ridge, in the dense forest.

Chen Mo was holding a bow and arrow, his eyes fixed on a wild boar not far ahead.

A moment later, he released the arrow and accurately struck the wild boar in a vital spot.

"Brother Chen, what excellent archery skills!"

Dong Shuo, who was standing to the side, cheered and strode forward, lifting the large wild boar up with one hand.

Looking at his prey, Chen Mo revealed a relaxed smile.

These past few days, there have been fewer patrols by government troops at Black Wind Ridge, giving them time to gather supplies and hunt more wild game to improve everyone's meals.

This group of people had been away from Xiling Peak for three days.

He deliberately walked into the trap to attract the attention of the government troops in order to lull Xiao Yunling into a false sense of security.

When he led his men to search for medicinal herbs, he had already noticed the secret passage on the cliff of Xiling Peak.

Back then, in order to collect herbs, there were many ropes hanging on the cliff face. In addition, Chen Mo's familiarity with the terrain was enough for them to take advantage of the cover of night and leave quietly.

Moreover, during this time, Sun Dazhu and his team had already prepared the potato fields and planted the first batch of potatoes.

The camp is consuming a lot of food every day, so we must prepare in advance to harvest more potatoes.

The group efficiently processed the wild boar and carried it back to the camp.

The mountains and forests were quiet, unlike they had been a few days ago.

But when they reached a valley, a flock of startled birds suddenly flew out from not far ahead.

"alert."

Chen Mo immediately bent down, signaling everyone to squat down, and at the same time drew the sword from his waist.

There were clearly people not far ahead.

At the same time, the strange cry was followed by a faint sound of footsteps.

Before Chen Mo and his group could react, dozens of figures suddenly rushed out and attacked them.

The two sides met like that, and the next moment, the sound of swords being drawn rang out.

"There are enemies!"

Dong Shuo shouted, then swung his weapon at the man in front of him.

The man who was leading the group also raised his knife to block.

Dong Shuo's fierce strike was actually neutralized by his opponent.

"Kill them!"

That person also shouted.

Upon seeing this, Chen Mo quickly drew his sword and stepped forward, ready to finish off his opponent with a single blow.

Battle is imminent.

But at that moment, a figure suddenly rushed out, wielding a knife to block everyone's attacks.

"Stop! We're on the same side!"

Liang Ming, who had been following behind, stepped forward and shouted.

Both sides stopped, puzzled.

A moment later, the man shouted again, "Second Brother, is that really you?"

The group of people in front of us were the Qingfeng Village brothers led by Cai Sheng.

At this moment, only twenty-three people remained behind Cai Sheng.

Chen Mo was slightly taken aback. Because he had been in a tense state, he hadn't recognized Cai Sheng.

When Qingfeng Village helped Lingtou Village out of its predicament, Chen Mo had only met Cai Sheng once.

Now that people from Qingfeng Mountain have suddenly appeared at Black Wind Ridge, Chen Mo can roughly guess the reason.

"Third brother, what are you doing here?"

Liang Ming asked, puzzled.

"Second brother, it's a long story..."

Cai Sheng sighed, his voice filled with anger.

"I was ostracized by that scoundrel Lin Lang, and I led my brothers away from Qingfeng Village to find my second brother. But we encountered government troops along the way. We barely managed to fight our way out, but then we got lost in Black Wind Ridge for several days, and most of my brothers were lost..."