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

After escaping from Zhuolu County, he joined forces with Su Lang, whom he had arranged to ambush in Huangyang Mountain, to defeat Huang Zhongcai's government troops.

Then, without stopping, they fled straight to Shanxi, without even bothering to clean up the battlefield or strip the soldiers of their armor.

But unexpectedly, Ortai, the Minister of War, was faster than him.

According to the spies of the Heavenly Principle Sect and the Imperial Guards who contacted Qian Sijin, Ortai entered Datong and, without uttering a single wasted word, swiftly and decisively ordered the mobilization of troops from Datong Prefecture, bringing in 14,000 to 15,000 men to join Huang Zhongcai in suppressing him.

Dong Tianpan, the prefect of Datong, was very cooperative and readily provided manpower and provisions.

In order to divert the attention of the Northern Dynasty, he and Jia Shi'an deliberately showed up at the city gate of Zhuolu County to show that he was not dead, and especially to show that the Southern envoy was in the hands of the Heavenly Principle Sect.

This is probably why Ortai, the Grand Councilor who once conducted a city-wide search for him and the envoys from the Southern Kingdom, was so furious and eager to arrest him.

This time, they underestimated Ortai's will and speed, which is why they were trapped in Yangyuan and almost couldn't escape.

"Young master,"

The stretcher slowly came to a stop, and Old Huang, panting heavily, said:

"We've arrived."

The mountain stronghold that Zhen Susu and her thirty men captured was located in front of a cliff on the south side of the mountain, and the gate of the stronghold had already collapsed.

The village was built against the mountain, with a wooden structure built against a dozen or so caves of varying sizes.

Besides the four men, including Lao Huang, who helped carry his stretcher, Qian Sijin led about twenty men to cover their rear about a hundred feet behind them, while about ten men on each side protected their flanks.

Including the people in the village, there were a total of eighty or ninety people, which could be considered his personal guard.

After entering the village.

Dressed in all black and carrying a broadsword on her back, Zhen Susu came out to greet them.

"Young Master!"

Su Su the fox sadly raised her right index finger.

"I got a splinter in my finger!"

As Susu, whose face was still covered in blood, said this, the others hurriedly ran away, some carrying the corpses, some searching the caves, and some setting up cooking pots and pans.

After all, although this Miss Susu was as beautiful as a fairy, seeing her kill people as easily as drinking water, with no time to wash herself and some bloody things hanging on her body that made people feel scared, always made people feel a chill in their hearts.

Apart from speaking to the young master, Miss Su Su had never spoken to anyone else like this. Just one indifferent glance from her sent chills down everyone's spines.

The room wasn't ready yet, and the stretcher was placed on the floor. Old Master Ning said irritably:

"Get lost, go cook."

Zhen Susu said, "It's already being done; the lead sheep has been killed."

"Sheep?" Ning Nan hummed in agreement, swallowing hard. Eating meat would be good for the wound.

He moved his body slightly, and felt a pain in his chest; his face also showed signs of struggle.

If he hadn't been wearing a simple leather armor and the gold-threaded soft armor his wife had given him, he probably would have been killed by Xing Zhengting, who was still charging at him despite being hit by two arrows in his death throes.

Even though he was wearing two layers of armor, his chest was still slashed open by the opponent's fine blade and the strength of a ferocious beast. Fortunately, the cut was not deep.

Zhen Susu and Qian Sijin returned to provide assistance quickly enough.

Qian Sijin parried his second stab with his gun, and Zhen Susu swung her knife and beheaded him.

The soft armor was also torn, and Xu Xiyin was helping to mend it.

Master Susu snorted and said:

"I just helped you conquer such a good stronghold, enough for us to hide in for a month, and you didn't even say a word of praise..."

Ning Nan shook his head:

"We can't hide for a month; we'll have to leave soon. Otherwise, Ortai will catch up. We can only hide for three days at most."

Erlai and Peng Liangang led more than a thousand people as the vanguard.

Su Lang and Chen Tianxuan, along with other altar leaders, led more than two thousand people behind them.

With a total of four thousand people, not to mention whether they would be caught up by Ortai, just the thought of four thousand mouths to feed and drink was enough to make one gasp and make it imperative to head south as soon as possible.

"Young Master," Zhen Susu's pretty face softened slightly, and she pursed her lips:

"But your injuries..."

Ning Nan glanced at her and smiled:

"You won't die, just minor injuries. What? It's only been a short time, and you can't even handle this much hardship? When I arranged for Master Lu to leave, I made sure you left too."

Although Lu Chong didn't say it, Ning Nan could tell that the other party's injuries were actually quite serious.

He then wrote a secret letter to Cui Cui's wife, entrusting Master Lu to take it back to Nanjing. He also entrusted Master Lu with the large white horse that his uncle had given him, hoping that he would take it south.

With Master Lu's hidden skills, he should be able to make it back to Nanjing by himself and his horse without any problem.

This is also to allow Master Lu to properly recover from his injury.

They also let Zhen Susu leave, so she could temporarily hide in a branch altar of the Heavenly Principle Sect in a remote mountain valley.

Zhen Susu, who hadn't left yet, rolled her eyes and said:

"Why would I be tired? I could walk for another hundred years and still not get tired."

The boastful and arrogant Su Su, the forum leader, tossed her hair, stood up, and went to check how the mutton was cooking.

We've eaten.

Ning Nan was carried to a cave to rest.

Just as Zhen Susu tucked him in, she heard a whistle.

"Young Master!"

Old Huang rushed over to report:

"A group of people want to enter the village and request an audience with the young master."

Zhen Susu stood up, a murderous glint in her eyes:

"Who is it?"

After a while, more than ten people who had been disarmed entered the room.

There were men and women, all dressed in a rough and unrefined manner. To Ning's surprise, some of them even had long hair.

According to Su Su, they were sent by Er Lai Zi and Peng Liangang. They are both leaders of mountain bandits. Er Lai Zi hadn't even gone to fight them yet, but they came looking for him on their own.

The group entered and kowtowed to Ning Da, who was barely sitting in a chair. The young man at the head of the group said in a loud voice:

"We are the chieftains of the seven mountains and nine caves of the Taihang Mountains, and we have come to pay our respects to Ning Jiexiao, the leader of the Heavenly Principle Sect! We humbly request that Leader Ning accept us!"

The others also chimed in:

"We humbly request that Leader Ning take us in!"

Ning Nan was taken aback, then frowned: "What's going on here, everyone?"

The young man, his eyes gleaming, straightened up from his knees and said:

"Our leader, Ning, is unparalleled in martial prowess. He stormed into the Forbidden City and personally wounded the Tartar emperor, earning him fame throughout the land! We admire him greatly. Upon hearing of our leader's repeated victories over the Tartar and Green Standard Army troops and his arrival at the Taihang Mountains, we were overjoyed and hastened to join him!"

He kowtowed again:

"Please, Master, take me in!"

The others also kowtowed and shouted loudly, "Please take us in, Master!" The sound shook the cave and caused some rock dust to fall.

Ning Nan glanced at them, pondered for a few moments, and then chuckled to himself:

"Please rise, everyone. If you've come to me because you're afraid my men will destroy your strongholds, there's really no need for that."

Upon hearing this, several people's expressions changed slightly, and they became somewhat guilty.

"Master Ning is mistaken."

At this moment, the young man in the lead said with a serious expression:

"We are all people forced by the Tartars to flee into the mountains and live as commoners. I, Lin, wish to join Master Ning only because Master Ning dares to fight and kill the Tartars. Therefore, I am willing to serve under Master Ning as his vanguard! I also implore Master Ning to have mercy on us..."

After the young man finished speaking, the others' eyes immediately became much more determined.

Ning Nan frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and after careful consideration, said softly:

"Joining the Heavenly Principles Army isn't easy. You have to pass a series of tests."

He didn't value the bandits' strength; they were just a rabble.

Rather, it was because someone dared to grow their hair long, which showed that they still cared about the old dynasty.

Secondly... due to the complex and continuous Taihang Mountains, he urgently needed a group of guides familiar with the terrain...

Upon hearing this, the young man's eyes suddenly lit up:

"Does the leader require a pledge of allegiance? Do you want the heads of corrupt officials, or the heads of Tartars? How many?"

"Heh." Ning Nan didn't speak, but chuckled, a meaningful smile appearing on his lips.

After a while.

A sound came from the open space of the mountain stronghold.

Look ahead!

"Turn left!...Left! Left!"

"Turn right!...Right! The hand holding the chopsticks!"

"About turn!..."

Seemingly completely unprepared for the so-called test to be making them wander around aimlessly, everyone complained incessantly, wondering if Leader Ning had made a mistake.

Ning Nan sat in the room and said to Zhen Susu:

"Three days. Of the hundred or so people they brought, those who can understand orders can be taken away; those who can't, let them stay in the Taihang Mountains."

As Zhen Susu picked out thread to mend her torn clothes, she nodded twice in agreement.