After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

As Ning Nan hurried down the mountain, he listened to the cold-faced female demon explain the situation on the mountain.

"...We've arrested all the accountants and such on the mountain, but we don't have any information about the assassination of Miss Zhu... We can't rule out the possibility that someone is pretending to be stupid. We'll investigate them one by one." Qin Yuanyao said calmly to Ning Nan, striding with her strong legs.

Even though she had exhausted a lot of energy killing Meng Hao single-handedly, and was now descending the mountain at a fast pace, the female commander's voice remained extremely steady, with no panting sounds.

After pausing for a moment, the female commander sighed and said that Meng Hao was a ruthless and ambitious man... After making a ruckus on the mountain, promising silver and women, she ordered the bandits on the mountaintop to descend and charge. Then she led more than ten men to try to climb down the north cliff.

"But some of the bandits weren't pushovers either," Qin Yuanyao recalled her scout's words. "A leader named Changtiao went mad and, with his henchmen, attacked, saying that the leader was disloyal and that the brothers' deaths were worthless... Changtiao entangled Meng Hao, and the two groups fought amongst themselves for a while. Eventually, Meng Hao made up his mind to take Changtiao's head, but by then, we had already stormed up..."

"Meng Hao and his dozen or so men are very skilled fighters. Neither Yu Shui's deputy commander nor Liu's head of guards were a match for Meng Hao... I only managed to take him down after I arrived..."

Qin Yuanyao skipped over that part and went straight to the result: "I broke his limbs, kicked out one of his teeth to prevent him from biting his tongue, and asked him a few questions. Meng Hao was quite cooperative and answered them all, begging me to give him a quick death, so I granted his wish."

Ning Nan chuckled, walked around a patch of dark blood on the ground, and laughed, "Chief Meng is decisive, decisive in both escaping and dying... He's a talent... It's just a pity he escaped too late."

In a split second, he made the decision to abandon his family business and hundreds of brothers, giving himself and his trusted confidants a chance to escape, instead of recklessly fighting. This decisiveness truly showed some of the qualities of a ruthless hero... His final death was both heroic and easy. Otherwise, if the court had judged him, he would have been subjected to the death by a thousand cuts to set an example and deter others from committing atrocities.

Ning Nan spoke as if it were none of his business. Qin Yuanyao narrowed her eyes, and the surrounding Imperial Guards also gave Ning Nan strange looks, inwardly grumbling... Too late to escape? Wasn't this all your scheme? You made him think there would always be a chance to escape, no need to rush... and in the end... he ended up with nowhere to run...

Qin Yuanyao continued with the last few questions she had asked Meng Hao.

Regarding the assassination of Miss Zhu, Meng Hao did personally lead a group to participate in the matter, but he was also confused... Xiao Chun made the connection, and the other party gave them a large reward to assassinate a wealthy family. At the time, they didn't think it was a big deal, so they just did it.

But they didn't expect that the wealthy family's guards to be so strong. Black Tiger Stronghold lost quite a few men at Falling Phoenix Slope, and there were still a few skilled fighters among them who were his old brothers.

Xiao Chun...

Ning Nan lowered his eyes slightly. It was truly a pity that he hadn't managed to catch this failed scholar last time.

"Based on the Black Tiger Mountain model you created and your analysis of the dozen or so surrounding villages, if Xiao Chun and his group were to escape, they would only have five routes. After he climbs down the cliff of Black Tiger Mountain, there would only be two options: either head north to Linjia Fishing Village, take a boat to Yunze Lake, and then cross the Yangtze River; or head south to Xiangjiaji, and ride horses into Huguang..." Qin Yuanyao said calmly. "An hour ago, news came from Xu Tong and the righteous Li Dahei that they had caught up with Xiao Chun on the route he took..."

Ning Nan simply nodded without saying anything more.

According to his agreement with Master Zhu, once he broke through Black Tiger Mountain and captured the mastermind behind it, his job would be done... At that time, Master Zhu would help him settle his household registration and even give him a house in Nanjing... Then he could prepare for the imperial examination in peace.

The mastermind is right in front of us... Xiao Chun can catch anyone he sees, and that will end the matter.

As for the mastermind behind the mastermind... that's a matter for Master Zhu himself.

He's a member of the imperial family, and his grudges are at that level, something I, a nobody, can't interfere with.

As we descended Black Tiger Mountain, the sun had already disappeared into the hazy distance, and the light of day had dimmed.

Ning Nan glanced at the sky, mounted his horse, and as dusk approached, the chances of Xiao Chun escaping were actually quite high.

The Imperial Guards took out torches and flints from their bags and lit the torches.

The warm, soft orange firelight cast long shadows of the horse and the man.

"Let's go to Lin Family Fishing Village." Ning Nan turned his horse around and flicked his whip.

Linjia Fishing Village is only about ten miles away from Black Tiger Mountain. It is a small village with only a hundred or so people.

The waters here are full of reefs, but Linjia Fishing Village has very few reefs, making it one of the few shallow beaches in the area where large ships can dock. A few cargo ships will stop here to unload or resupply.

The sky had completely changed from a pale, gloomy white to a light black, and the bright yellow moon was now hanging in the sky.

Today, several large ships were moored on the shore of the fishing village, and on the distant lake, a huge shadow seemed to be sailing in this direction.

On the shallows of the fishing village, a small horse-drawn carriage was still parked. The large yellow horse snorted and its hooves scraped the sand.

A cool lake breeze blew, and the gray carriage curtain was lifted, revealing a figure draped in a black robe sitting upright on the carriage.

Four guards with swords at their waists stood around the carriage.

Just then, the clatter of hooves came from the path to the southwest, and the four guards immediately placed their hands on the fine swords at their waists.

The two horses drew closer and closer.

Upon seeing the newcomers, the guard commander raised his hand, and the four men lowered their guard.

Xiao Chun's scar on his right cheek trembled slightly as he dismounted.

The honest-looking mute man who was following behind him also dismounted at this moment.

On the brown horse's back was a long cloth bag, which, judging from its shape, clearly contained a person.

The two horses were tied to the tree trunk.

Slowly walking towards the shallows.

Xiao Chun jumped onto the carriage, lifted the curtain, and climbed inside without any hesitation.

The man in black robes inside sighed: "Second Master Xiao, do you know how risky it is for you to request a meeting with me?"

"Manager Zheng, Black Tiger Stronghold is gone," Xiao Chun said expressionlessly.

"What did you say?" The old man in the black robe looked startled and asked in surprise.

"Just now, Black Tiger Stronghold is gone, so you don't need to call me Second Master anymore." Seeing the old man's horrified expression, Xiao Chun didn't know why, but the complicated and indescribable emotions in his heart calmed down, and he appeared much more relaxed.

The old man's pupils contracted as he said, "According to our information, Gu Xichuan has only just arrived in Dingjiang County, and the funds and provisions for the three counties are not even fully prepared... Didn't those more than a thousand people who arrived only attack for one day?"

They were also surprised when they learned that His Majesty had appointed Gu Xichuan, the Grand Tutor, as the Governor of Yunhu.

Gu Xichuan was the top scholar in the eighth year of the Longchang reign. He had been out of the mountains for a long time, and in recent years he had only taught Emperor Tianqi and Prince Xin. He never expected that he would strike so swiftly upon returning to the mountains!

After being appointed governor, it seems that Xiao Chun was defeated within a few days. This time it was even more indescribable, even terrifying... Gu Xichuan actually broke through the Black Tiger Mountain, which was known as a natural barrier, in just one day!

Xiao Chun sneered, "Mountain bandits are nothing but a bunch of cowardly bastards who would collapse at the slightest provocation. One day isn't enough? How many more days do you expect them to last?!"

"Moreover," Xiao Chun's voice suddenly turned somber again, "this major defeat at Black Tiger Mountain has little to do with that Gu Dongxue."