Isolated town in northern border region

That afternoon, Xiao Lie, carrying a medicine box and a small flag, walked into the busiest street in Bingzhou City, chose a teahouse facing the street, and sat down by the window on the first floor.

He placed the medicine box on the windowsill and inserted the small flag into the box opening.

The flag swayed gently in the afternoon breeze, like a silent code.

He ordered a pot of tea and sipped it slowly.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, a dark-faced man appeared outside the window, with a short knife at his waist and a string of copper coins in his hand, as if he were picking something out.

His gaze lingered on the apricot-yellow flag for a moment, then he quietly walked around to the teahouse entrance, entered, and sat down opposite Xiao Lie.

"You are not Dr. Xu."

His voice was low, carrying a cautiousness born of experience.

"This flag belongs to Doctor Xu, how did it end up in your hands?"

Xiao Lie didn't beat around the bush.

"I am Xiao Lie, the King of the Northern Frontier."

The dark-faced man's eyes widened instantly.

"You are the King of the Northern Frontier?!"

"Dr. Xu mentioned you to me!"

"You saved countless people from suffering in Qingzhou, and I've also heard that you did so in Yongzhou..."

Xiao Lie reached out and interrupted the man.

"Xu De was kidnapped while investigating a case for me."

The dark-faced man's expression changed, from wariness to shock, and from shock to anger!

He suddenly stood up, put his hand on the hilt of the knife, then slowly released it and sat down again.

"A knife in the waves, a noble horse."

He lowered his voice.

"Dr. Xu saved my life."

"Two years ago, I was being chased in Xuzhou and was stabbed twice in the back. He pulled me back from the brink of death."

"He investigated the Mu family's affairs and has been staying with me."

Xiao Lie put down his teacup.

"Did he say anything before he disappeared?"

Ma Gui thought for a moment.

"Last night he asked me to keep an eye on the Mu family's pharmacy, and he also said that he was going to see a friend today. He left before dawn this morning."

"When I got home this morning, I found his room in a mess, like it had been ransacked."

"I was worried, so I went out to investigate, and that's when I saw this little flag."

Xiao Lie stood up.

"Where do you live? Take me to see it!"

Ma Gui's home was a small courtyard enclosed by earthen walls in the west of the city; it was simple but clean.

The main house faces south, with guest rooms on the east side and the kitchen and stables on the west side.

Xiao Lie walked into the guest room on the east side and immediately saw the wooden bed. The bedding was spread out, the pillow was crooked, and there were several shoe prints on the floor next to the bed, as if they were left during a struggle.

There was a fresh dent in the corner of the wall, with a few strands of fabric fibers embedded in the brick seams, the same color as the bluish-gray outer robe that Xu De often wore.

Xiao Lie squatted down and carefully examined the dent. It wasn't from a knife or a stick; it looked like someone had been pushed against the wall.

He slowly examined the wall, his gaze suddenly stopping.

In the gap where the wall meets the ground, a fish scale mark the size of a fingernail is faintly visible, with neat lines and clear patterns, indicating it wasn't just something that happened by chance...

It looks more like the marks left by the impact of the copper pattern decoration on the belt during a fight.

Fish scale pattern; only people in the palace could wear fish scale belts.

The Chu Emperor's secret guards!

Xu De has fallen into their hands!

Xiao Lie stood up and dusted off his hands.

"Brother Ma, do you know anyone in the martial arts world who can lend a hand?"

Ma Gui patted his chest.

"I, Ma Gui, may not have much else, but I do have a few friends."

"There are people in Xuzhou, Qingzhou, and Bingzhou who can lend a hand!"

"Dr. Xu's matter is my matter, Ma Gui's matter."

Xiao Lie looked into his eyes.

"I will go to Ergu to rescue Xu De."

"No matter what awaits me inside, I will bring Xu De back!"

"If he has already been killed..."

"I will also seek justice for him!"

Ma Gui clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"Old Xu wasn't wrong about you. You are a prince, yet you're willing to risk your life for us commoners..."

"He looks more like a chivalrous knight-errant."

Xiao Lie shook his head.

"I really want to be a chivalrous hero of the martial world..."

"Brother Ma, please gather your men as soon as possible. In three days, I may need your help."

Ma Gui nodded solemnly.

As Xiao Lie turned and walked out of the courtyard, it was already dark. In the twilight, the outline of Langgu Mountain resembled a crouching giant beast, silent and sinister.

That night, Xiao Lie returned to the inn and knocked on Jiang Min's door.

He skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"Xu De has been kidnapped!"

"The one who did it was the Chu Emperor's secret guards."

"I will go to Langgu Mountain Ear Valley in three days."

Jiang Min frowned slightly.

"With this move, you have no other choice."

Xiao Lie nodded.

"Indeed, it's difficult to hide without relying on the mountainous terrain."

Jiang Min looked at him.

"Then why are you still going?"

Xiao Lie walked to the window and looked in the direction of Langgu Mountain in the night.

"Xu De was entrusted to me; I cannot stand by and watch him die!"

Jiang Min suddenly felt inexplicably irritable and swept the teacup in front of her to the ground.

"You are a prince!"

"Just one more step, and you will be the king of the Great Chu!"

"Can't you just endure this humiliation for now?"

"A gentleman takes revenge, even after ten years!"

"Even Xu De himself wouldn't want to see you put yourself in danger!"

Xiao Lie looked at Jiang Min, who had completely lost her composure, with a complicated expression.

"Princess, are you happy being caught up in power struggles, calculations, and the gains and losses?"

Jiang Min was taken aback upon hearing this, and immediately realized why she had been so impatient just now.

Deep down, she wanted to support Xiao Lie's suicidal yet morally upright approach, but her long-standing habit of political maneuvering made her instinctively weigh the pros and cons.

Xiao Lie smiled.

"Today I met a swordsman from the martial arts world, and he said I looked like a chivalrous hero."

"Hahaha, I really want to settle my score this time!"

Jiang Min looked at him in silence for a long time.

"A few days?"

Xiao Lie.

"Three days later, during the autumn hunt, I will first enter Ergu to rescue people."

Jiang Min straightened her clothes.

"What I'm asking is, how many days do you plan to stay in the mountains?"

Xiao Lie thought for a moment.

"Seven days."

"If I do not emerge within seven days, I request that the princess take Bisu back to Jing Kingdom."

Jiang Min flicked his sleeve and stood up.

"If Your Highness does not appear in seven days..."

"I will approach Du Ming as an envoy of the Jing Kingdom and ask him to send troops to search the mountains."

"Since Du Ming is willing to pass you a note, he won't stop you."

"When the soldiers searching the mountain enter, Your Highness will naturally find a chance to escape."

Xiao Lie stared at Jiang Min for a long time, his gaze intense and undisguised.

"With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for!"

Jiang Min raised her chin, pretending to have heard everything.

"Seven days!"

"If you don't emerge in seven days, I am not without recourse!"

She turned and left, pausing at the door without looking back.

"Your Highness, you'd better come out alive."

"There's also an engagement..."

Xiao Lie did not answer. He stood by the window, looking in the direction of Langgu Mountain. The night wind made the candlelight flicker. His shadow swayed on the wall, like a weed growing in the wind.

Just then, Ledo returned with seven or eight brothers.

He was covered in dew and his boots were covered in mud. He pulled out a few sketches from his pocket.

"Your Highness, I dared not go too deep; I only walked around the perimeter of the hunting grounds."

"Boundaries, high slopes, passes, water sources... everything that could be marked has been marked."

Xiao Lie took them and unfolded them one by one, his expression growing more and more serious as he read.

"Where is Ergu?"

Ledo fumbled around on the map for a while, then pointed to a canyon in the northwest.

"This mountain is shaped like a wolf looking back. This valley is located halfway up the mountain. It is called Ear Valley because it looks like a wolf's ear."

At the northwest corner of Langgu Mountain, there is an extremely narrow rift valley with a hidden entrance, resembling a mountain crevice cleaved open by a knife.

"This humble general did not dare to get too close, but from a distance, the place was only wide enough for one person and one horse to pass through, with steep cliffs on both sides and the top of the cliff full of rubble and shrubs."

"If there's someone up there..."

He didn't finish speaking. Xiao Lie finished it for him.

"The people below are sitting ducks; they have nowhere to retreat."

He folded the map and put it in his pocket, then looked out the window.

On the windowsill sat the iron plaque of the Panlong Guard, with a small section of the arrowhead still embedded in the dent from the arrow piercing it.

On the other side, an iron-framed bow was hanging...

"Isn't it just risking your life?"

"I'll take your bet!"