His entire family perished in battle; he rose from the ashes to conquer the world.

Lin Xueshang didn't speak, but hugged Mu Yuan tightly, pressed her head against his chest, and closed her eyes to listen to Mu Yuan's heartbeat.

This journey was perilous, and without reinforcements, it was likely a one-way trip. Even so, Mu Yuan did not back down, and this action completely melted Lin Xueshang's frozen heart.

If she remains reserved and doesn't express her feelings now, she'll never have another chance.

Just then.

Footsteps could be heard outside.

The noise startled Mu Yuan and Lin Xueshang inside the house.

Before they could even separate.

Qin Hongxiu had already appeared at the door. When she saw Mu Yuan and Lin Xueshang hugging each other, she froze on the spot like a statue.

But she quickly realized what was happening.

Realizing that he had arrived at the wrong time.

Qin Hongxiu blushed and said, "I'll come back later."

She originally came to wake Mu Yuan up, but when she arrived, she found that Mu Yuan's room door was open.

When we got to the door...

Then I saw Mu Yuan and Lin Xueshang hugging each other.

While Qin Hongxiu was surprised, a bitter feeling inexplicably rose in her heart.

"Wait!"

Seeing Qin Hongxiu turn to leave, Mu Yuan quickly called her back and told her to come inside.

"Who were you just now...?" As soon as Qin Hongxiu entered the room, she looked at Mu Yuan and Lin Xueshang with a strange gaze, and couldn't help but feel a strong curiosity about the relationship between the two.

"Don't get me wrong, we were just hugging."

Mu Yuan offered an extremely lame excuse to clarify, then quickly changed the subject: "Has there been any news from Jin Kui?"

When the matter was brought up, Qin Hongxiu stopped dwelling on what had just happened and shook her head in reply:

"We still haven't heard from him."

She paused, then said:

"Although Black Cloud Stronghold is mysterious, the enemy definitely outnumbers us. Reinforcements haven't arrived yet, and if we rush there rashly, we're likely to meet with a terrible outcome."

Qin Hongxiu's words were not out of fear of losing her life.

Rather, they felt that going without reinforcements would be acting impulsively.

"If we miss this opportunity, do you think Wang Mazi will still be willing to take us again? Won't he become suspicious?"

Mu Yuan countered with a question.

He was well aware of the stakes involved, but there was no room for error. The opportunity was fleeting, and once it was missed, it would be impossible to find someone to take him to Black Cloud Village again!

Black Cloud Stronghold was able to evade the Western Army's annihilation.

It is precisely because of its mystery that it has an extremely strict set of rules.

Lin Xueshang, burdened with a deep-seated blood feud, spent several years barely managing to obtain information about Black Cloud Stronghold. Even so, she still couldn't find out the exact location of Black Cloud Stronghold.

Qin Hongxiu understood from Mu Yuan's words that he had made up his mind, so she stopped trying to persuade him and instead supported his decision:

No matter what the future holds, I'm willing to walk this path with you!

I've had breakfast.

Mu Yuan and his group rode their horses away from the inn and set off to find Wang Mazi.

Before setting off, just in case, Mu Yuan deliberately left two members of the Shadow Squad at the inn to meet Jin Kui and the reinforcements.

Of course, Mu Yuan would leave special marks along the way.

As soon as Jin Kui arrives with reinforcements.

They were able to follow the markers along the way to find the Black Cloud Village's lair.

"Can the six of us really get this done?"

Qin Hongxiu was somewhat worried.

There were only nine people in total who came to Diancheng. Jin Kui rushed back three days ago to call for reinforcements, and today he left two more people at the inn to provide support, leaving only six people.

Six people fighting against Black Cloud Stronghold is like throwing an egg against a rock.

"Are you scared?" Mu Yuan looked at the three Shadow Squad members who were traveling with him.

The three men, their eyes resolute, spoke in unison:

"I would follow the Commander-in-Chief even unto death!"

Mu Yuan nodded in satisfaction, then turned his attention to Qin Hongxiu and said with a smile:

"I'm not stupid. I can't just attack as soon as we get to Black Cloud Stronghold, can I? Let's feign an attack on those people at Black Cloud Stronghold and buy some time. If we can hold them off until reinforcements arrive, won't we have a better chance of winning?"

Qin Hongxiu moved her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't say anything.

Mu Yuan said these words simply to present an optimistic picture and boost morale. What if reinforcements are delayed?

Considering Mu Yuan's good intentions, Qin Hongxiu did not dismantle it.

Soon, the group of six arrived at Shilipu.

Wang Mazi, leading a herd of brown horses, stood at the shop entrance, having been waiting for Mu Yuan for quite some time.

Upon seeing Mu Yuan and his group of six, Wang Mazi's smile vanished instantly, replaced by wariness: "Why did you bring so many people?"

Although Mu Yuan only had six people, in Wang Mazi's eyes, it seemed a bit too many.

The more people there are, the easier it is for information to leak.

For so many years, Black Cloud Village has remained undiscovered because of its strict set of rules.

If this leads to the disclosure of Black Cloud Village's address...

Wang Mazi couldn't even imagine how terrible his fate would be.

Mu Yuan smiled and said:

"They're all on our side, there's nothing to worry about."

At this point, the smile on his face vanished completely, replaced by a cold expression:

"What? Is Manager Wang afraid we'll reveal the route to Black Cloud Stronghold? If so, then we won't go!"

Mu Yuan's attitude was firm, firstly to force Wang Mazi to agree, and secondly, in case Wang Mazi really disagreed, Mu Yuan could use this as an excuse to leave and go back another day.

Take advantage of this lull to wait for reinforcements to arrive.

With reinforcements, he can take Lin Xueshang and Qin Hongxiu with him, and Wang Mazi will lead the way to Black Cloud Village.

"I was just saying it casually, why get angry?"

Wang Mazi said with a forced smile.

He had something on Mu Yuan, and he was afraid that Mu Yuan would spread the news. He could only suffer in silence because Mu Yuan had brought outsiders with him.

"Let's go, let's set off now. Three days ago, I wrote a letter to Black Cloud Village. The chief is very interested in the stunning beauty in your hands. If the chief takes a liking to her, he is willing to pay a high price to buy her."

When Wang Mazi said this, he glanced at Qin Hongxiu next to Mu Yuan.

"It's good that the boss is interested." Mu Yuan feigned happiness, raising his hand to pat Wang Mazi on the shoulder: "Don't worry, you'll get your share of the benefits afterward!"

"Then I'll thank you in advance."

Wang Mazi was overjoyed and clasped his hands in thanks to Chao Muyuan.

The group, led by Wang Mazi, rode their horses toward Black Cloud Village.

They left Diancheng.

We did not go into the mountains at all.

Instead, they continued walking on the ancient road on flat ground. Mu Yuan frowned. According to intelligence, Black Cloud Village should be deep in the mountains. Why hadn't they gone into the mountains yet?

"Manager Wang, Black Cloud Village isn't deep in the mountains, so why didn't you lead us into the mountains? Why did you keep taking us along the ancient path?"

Mu Yuan questioned Wang Mazi with a displeased expression.

Unexpectedly, Wang Mazi burst into laughter upon hearing this:

Have you ever heard the saying, "The most dangerous place is the safest place"?

Upon hearing this, Mu Yuan's heart skipped a beat.