Border Soldiers: My granaries are full of grain and meat, and I guard this region.

A short whistle sounded in the night sky; it was Qi Xiaoliu's retreat signal from the woods to the east.

Qi Feng led his men across the slope, hung the saber on the packhorse, mounted the prepared warhorse, and retreated eastward towards Qi Family Village without looking back.

The group followed closely behind. It was only fifteen li away from Qijia Village, a distance that would be enough for them to reach Qijia Village before the group of Rong cavalry could react.

Behind them, the increasingly urgent shouts of the Rong people and the chaotic sound of horses' hooves echoed from the official road, but no one came after them.

The Rong cavalry couldn't determine their numbers, so they naturally wouldn't pursue them immediately in the face of a sudden attack.

Before dawn, Qi Feng and his men had already retreated back to Qi Family Village.

Qijia Village was reinforced by the garrison of Duma Village for more than half a month. The barricades at the village entrance were raised by another foot, and three layers of sharp wooden stakes were re-nailed on the outside of the wall. Several shallow trenches were also dug inside the village, which were covered with wooden planks at night and uncovered during the day to prevent horses from rushing in.

Qi Feng arranged for Qi Xiaoliu to lead two people to stand guard at the village entrance, while the rest of the people went into the village to rest.

Qi Shitou then rode a fast horse back to Fuxing County to report the news.

Qi Feng squatted under the old tree at the village entrance, wiping the bloodstains on his saber with a strip of cloth.

The horse blood on the knife had dried, leaving dark brown marks. It needed to be soaked in clean water and scrubbed to be completely clean.

The four commanders who remained in Qijia Village also came out. After listening to Qi Feng's account of the events, each of them showed a look of shock.

"You mean you fifty men cut down the vanguard of the Great Rong cavalry and returned unscathed?"

Qi Feng nodded slightly, without responding, and simply ate his dry rations and drank hot water.

Qi Daniu squatted not far away, also eating a pancake, his cheeks bulging, and asked indistinctly while chewing:

"Brother Feng, shall we fight back tonight?"

Qi Feng shook his head:

"Let's stop fighting. We can't use that spot twice. They'll definitely set up defenses in that area after suffering losses. We can only stay in Qijia Village now."

Qi Feng sheathed his sword, stood up, and looked westward.

The sun was gradually rising, dispelling the darkness, and the air above the official road was clear; for the time being, no pursuers were in sight.

However, Qi Feng knew perfectly well that the Great Rong Vanguard had suffered this loss in silence, and now they only had two choices: either stay put and wait for the main force to regroup before advancing.

Alternatively, you can bypass the front of Qijia Village and take the mountain road to the south at the foot of Liupanling Mountain.

Although that road was difficult to travel, it allowed them to bypass Qijia Village's main defensive line.

However, not many people know about the path there.

The four commanders gathered together and discussed for a while. Soon after, a middle-aged man came over and respectfully bowed to Qi Feng.

"My name is Zhang Yuan, and I am Inspector Qi. May I ask how your battle went?"

Qi Feng glanced at Zhang Yuan and said indifferently:

"I brought everyone back unharmed. I estimate that there were about four hundred cavalrymen, with the vanguard of more than thirty men at the front. I killed about ten of them, and also killed more than a dozen of their horses."

Upon hearing Qi Feng's words, Zhang Yuan was first taken aback, then gasped in shock.

He had previously heard that Qi Feng had annihilated twelve of the Great Rong's cavalrymen with only thirty county soldiers and villagers from Xujia Village.

He was initially skeptical, thinking that Qi Feng had exaggerated his achievements. After all, the cavalry had been able to easily defeat a hundred of their garrison soldiers, but Qi Feng had done so so easily. Anyone would think that Qi Feng was just bragging. But now it seems that this is not the case.

Just then, Qi Daniu scratched the back of his head, as if he remembered something, and pulled out a bulging leather bag from his pocket.

"Brother Feng, I picked this up when I was killing someone. I don't know who threw it there. There seems to be something inside."

Upon hearing this, Qi Feng narrowed his eyes, took the leather bag, opened it, and looked inside. There was a letter inside.

Although the edges of the letter were soaked with sweat, the handwriting was still legible.

Qi Feng pulled out the letter and unfolded it. His brows furrowed as soon as he glanced at the first line.

The letter read:

"The western defenses of Fuxing County are weak, so we can send cavalry to launch a surprise attack. The outpost of Qijia Village is guarded by the newly promoted patrol inspector Qi Feng. He is well-trained in military affairs, and if he is not eliminated, he will become a major threat in the future. At present, Fuxing County has less than 200 defenders. We can take it down in one fell swoop before their reinforcements arrive."

The handwriting on the letter was messy, but the strokes were clearly defined, indicating that it was not written by someone who was unfamiliar with the writing.

Qi Feng turned the letter over and looked at the back. There was no signature or mark, but the details of the troop deployment in Fuxing County were indeed specific, and even the training progress of the garrison troops in Duma Village was accurately stated. This kind of information was definitely not something that outsiders could easily find out.

Qi Feng folded the letter and stuffed it into his pocket. After a moment's thought, he realized that the person who wrote the letter was inside Fuxing County.

It seems there's already a mole within Fuxing County.

After all, rumors of the Rong army's attack on Fuxing County had been circulating since last year, so it wasn't surprising that a few traitors would appear at this time.

Qi Feng called Qi Xiaoliu over and handed him the letter.

"Ride back to Fuxing County now and personally deliver this letter to Young Master Zhong. Also, tell him that the letter was intercepted by the Rong cavalry. The writer is in the city. Ask him to investigate secretly and not to alert the enemy."

Qi Xiaoliu nodded, tucked the letter away, mounted his horse, and galloped off towards Fuxing County.

Qi Feng stood at the village entrance, watching his figure disappear at the end of the official road, then turned and looked westward.

There's no movement from the west yet, but those four hundred cavalrymen will arrive sooner or later.

From Qing Shi Ao to Qi Jia Village, the cavalry could reach the village in less than two hours by marching at full speed.

The reason the enemy hasn't come over yet is because their rhythm has been disrupted by the ambush, but they can't possibly retreat now.

During this time, Qi Feng let his men rest. They had just experienced an ambush and now was the time to catch their breath. Then, Qi Feng gave Zhang Yuan some instructions, telling him to keep a close eye on the west and call him immediately if there was any movement.

Qi Shitou and Qi Xiaoliu arrived at the Fuxing County government office almost one after the other.

Zhong Shao had just received news from Qi Shitou that Qi Feng had inflicted a major defeat on the Rong cavalry at the ambush site and returned to Qi Family Village unscathed. Before he could even rejoice, he saw Qi Xiaoliu following closely behind.

Qi Xiaoliu handed him the item in his arms.

"Lord Zhong, this is what Brother Feng asked me to give you. He also told me to tell you that the letter was intercepted by the Da Rong cavalry. He said the writer is in the city, so please investigate secretly and don't alert them."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Shao narrowed his eyes, the smile on his face vanished, and he took the item, opened it, and took out the letter inside.

After reading the above content, Zhong Shao's face darkened, and his fingers trembled uncontrollably.

After a while, Zhong Shao took a deep breath and said to Qi Xiaoliu:

"I understand about this. I will write a letter later, and you can take it to Qi Feng."

"Yes."