The God of War Who Protects the Nation: Starting with Saving a Mother and Daughter in Distress

The night was as dark as ink, so thick it was impossible to see through.

Only a few rays of moonlight pierced through the gaps in the branches and leaves in the dense forest, barely illuminating the withered branches and fallen leaves underfoot.

Qin An huddled under an old tree, breathing very softly, almost blending into the sound of the wind in the forest.

Han Quan, standing beside him, was sketching a simple map on the ground with a twig, using the dim light.

"Based on the location where Wang Yong had the accident and the previous footprints, those Bai Ji spies should be hiding behind that cliff in front. The terrain there is treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, making it perfect for an ambush."

Qin An looked in the direction he was pointing and could only see a blurry black shadow, like the bared fangs of a giant beast.

He frowned and asked, "Are there any other routes around the cliff?"

"Yes, there is!" Han Quan drew a circle on the map. "According to Old Man Sun, there is a dry riverbed on the east side of the cliff that leads to the top of the cliff. But that path is more difficult to walk on than the front one; it's all loose rocks, and you can easily slip and fall if you're not careful."

Qin An pondered for a moment: "Then let's go through the riverbed. A frontal assault would definitely lead to an ambush, but a surprise attack from above might catch us off guard."

Old Sun, who was listening nearby, couldn't help but interject, "But the riverbed is too dangerous. It's pitch black, and you might fall to your death before you even reach the bottom."

"It's better than dying." Han Quan looked up at the sky. "In another hour, the moon will be obscured by clouds. That will be the perfect time to act. Qin An, do you dare to come with me?"

Qin An gripped the ox-horn bow tightly in his hand: "What is there to be afraid of?"

A hint of approval flashed in Han Quan's eyes, and he then said to the others, "Old Sun, you take Li Zhuang and the others and launch a feint attack from the front. The bigger the commotion, the better, to attract their attention. Remember, don't actually charge in. Just make them think we're going to launch a full-scale attack."

Old Sun nodded in agreement: "Don't worry, Officer Han, we know what we're doing."

With the arrangements made, everyone prepared.

Qin An checked the arrows and then tucked the dagger into his boot to make sure it wouldn't make a sound during the operation.

Han Quan then took off his official robes, revealing a dark-colored short jacket underneath, and wrapped his sword with cloth to prevent it from reflecting light.

As Han Quan had predicted, when the moon was high in the sky, a thick cloud blocked out the moonlight, plunging the forest into complete darkness.

"Go!" Han Quan shouted in a low voice, and took the lead in touching the riverbed on the east side.

Qin An followed closely behind, the two of them moving lightly, like cats darting through the forest.

In the darkness, Qin An's senses became exceptionally sharp. He could clearly hear Han Quan's breathing beside him and even distinguish the different textures of the fallen leaves and pebbles under his feet.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the riverbed, Qin An finally understood why Old Man Sun had said this place was treacherous.

The dried-up riverbed was covered with fist-sized pebbles that crunched underfoot and would slip if you put too much pressure on them.

The two sides are steep rock walls covered with thorny vines, which can easily scratch you if you are not careful.

"Watch your step." Han Quan lowered his voice, took out two ropes from his backpack, tied one around his waist, and handed the other to Qin An. "Tie this rope on, so you can have someone to hold you in case you slip."

Qin An took the rope and tied it up. The two of them, one in front of the other, slowly climbed up the riverbed.

Gravel kept rolling down from underfoot, making a clattering sound that was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Qin An's heart was in his throat, fearing that the noise would alert Bai Ji's scouts on the cliff.

Fortunately, the journey was uneventful, and after half an hour, the two finally reached the top of the cliff.

Looking down from the edge of the cliff, you can vaguely see a few flickering lights below and hear intermittent voices, but you can't understand what they are saying.

"As expected, they're here." A cold glint flashed in Han Quan's eyes. "Looks like there are seven or eight people, which matches the number we encountered before."

Qin An counted the figures around the firelight and said in a deep voice, "There are two more lookouts behind the rocks on the left."

Han Quan looked in the direction he indicated and saw two dark figures huddled behind the rocks, watching the direction in front of them warily. They obviously did not expect anyone to sneak up from above the cliff.

"We'll make our move once there's some commotion on the front lines." Han Quan pulled out a short crossbow from his pocket, which he had brought specifically for close-range ambushes.

Qin An nodded, nocked an arrow, and aimed at the Bai Ji scout on the left.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a shout suddenly came from afar, mixed with the sound of arrows piercing the air. It was clear that Old Man Sun and his men had begun a feint attack.

The Baiji scouts below the cliff were indeed drawn to the sight, and they all stood up and looked straight ahead. Even the two sentries couldn't help but stick their heads out.

"Now!" Han Quan shouted and pulled the trigger.

"Whoosh!" The arrow from the crossbow shot out silently, accurately striking the scout on the right in the throat.

Almost at the same time, Qin An also released the bowstring, and the arrow, like a black shadow, struck the scout on the left in the back.

The system made a sound, but Qin An had no time to pay attention to it.

He just stared intently ahead.

The two spies collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

The Bai Ji scouts below the cliff were focused intently on what lay ahead, completely unaware of the impending danger.

"Go down!" Han Quan jumped off the cliff, rolling as he landed to dissipate the impact.

Qin An followed closely behind, adjusted his posture in mid-air, and landed steadily on the ground.

The two exchanged a glance, drew their weapons, and rushed toward the firelight.

The Bai Ji scouts didn't react until the two rushed close, and they cried out in alarm as they drew their swords to fight back.

But they clearly didn't expect to be attacked from behind, and were caught off guard and confused.

Han Quan's sword flashed like a tiger descending a mountain, and with a single stroke, he felled a Bai Ji spy who was trying to draw his sword.

Qin An, wielding a short knife, nimbly weaved through the crowd, dodging the blades and targeting the enemy's vital points.

"They're from Daxing!" a Baiji scout roared, brandishing his curved sword and slashing at Qin An.

Qin An neither dodged nor evaded; instead, he grabbed the other man's wrist with his left hand and thrust the short knife in his right hand into his chest.

With a flick of his wrist, he drew a short knife, blood splattering all over him, but it did not affect his movements at all.

Han Quan dealt with the enemies around him and shouted to Qin An, "Leave one alive!"

Upon hearing this, Qin An glanced at the remaining two Bai Ji spies, kicked one of them to the ground, and held a short knife to his neck: "Don't move!"

The Bai Ji spy was so frightened that he trembled all over and lay paralyzed on the ground, too afraid to move.

Seeing that things were not going well, the other turned around and tried to run away, but Han Quan caught up with him and cut him down with a single blow.

The battle ended in a short time.

The bodies of Bai Ji's spies lay scattered at the bottom of the cliff, leaving only the one who had been subdued by Qin An, kneeling on the ground trembling.

Han Quan, panting heavily, pointed his knife at the survivor and said in a deep voice, "Speak! How many of you are left? Where is your hideout?"

The Bai Ji spy rattled off a string of words that neither Qin An nor Han Quan could understand.

"Damn it, we can't communicate." Han Quan frowned. "It seems we have no choice but to take him back and have the county magistrate's interpreter interrogate him."

Qin An noticed that the Bai Ji scout's eyes kept glancing at a pile of campfires nearby, and it seemed that something was buried under the fire.

He walked over, used his knife to poke at the campfire, and found an oilcloth bag buried underneath.

Opening the oilcloth bag revealed several sheepskin maps marked with cinnabar, as well as several letters with crooked, obviously written in Baiji script.

"What's this?" Han Quan leaned closer to take a look. "It looks like a map and a letter."

Qin An picked up a map, which seemed to be marked with the locations of villages around Xingye County. Several villages were marked with red crosses, and Zhao Family Village was prominently listed among them.

A thought struck him: "These red crosses might be the targets of their planned attack."

Han Quan's expression changed drastically: "This is bad! We must send these things back immediately so the magistrate can take precautions!"

He glanced at the corpse on the ground, then at the subdued survivor, and said, "Qin An, take the map and the survivor back to report. I'll go and inform Old Man Sun and the others to withdraw. I'll be there shortly."

"Okay." Qin An did not hesitate. He put away the map and letter, tied the Bai Ji spy tightly with a rope, and dragged him down the mountain.

The path down the mountain was easier than the path up, but dragging someone along still slowed us down considerably.

Qin An dared not delay, trudging through the darkness, his mind constantly focused on the red crosses on the map.

Baishantun was among them.

He had to go back and report the news as soon as possible, otherwise Yang Yuyan and her daughter might be in danger.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from behind, accompanied by Old Man Sun's shouts: "Brother Qin An! Wait for us!"

Qin An turned around and saw Old Man Sun rushing over with Li Zhuang and the others, each of them looking frightened.

"What happened?" Qin An asked.

Old Sun, panting, said, "We made a feint attack for a while, and seeing no movement, we wanted to retreat. But we hadn't gone far when we encountered another group of Baiji spies, at least a dozen of them! Luckily, Constable Han arrived in time and led us out to fight our way out, otherwise..."

Qin An's heart sank: "Where is Officer Han?"

"He told us to meet up with you first, and then he went to cover the rear," Li Zhuang interjected. "Those Baiji spies are hot on our heels, and I'm afraid Officer Han is..."

Qin An's expression changed drastically, and he turned to go back: "I'm going to save him!"