Shen Hao stepped forward, "If you tie me up and take me to the Crown Prince to claim credit, then let my two brothers go, is that possible?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled, as if Shen Hao thought he was going to capture them to claim credit.
With this thought, his expression turned serious. He cupped his fists towards Shen Hao, "Brother Shen, you've misunderstood. That's not what I meant."
"You are soldiers of the Da Cang Kingdom. Why would I tie you up to claim credit?"
This statement stunned Shen Hao, "Then why did you chase after us for so long?"
Chen Xiaobei smiled slightly, "I just came to verify my judgment."
In fact, Chen Xiaobei only told half the truth.
The other half was that he wanted to ask them how many of Zhu Meng's men were still on the mountain and if there was any danger if he continued forward.
After all, even though Qi Chong brought a thousand men, scattered across hundreds or even thousands of square miles of Qingniu Mountain and into the camp of a 300,000-strong army, they were but a drop in the ocean.
"If you want to go down the mountain, I can tell you the way."
Upon hearing this, a hint of joy flickered in Shen Hao's eyes. But it was fleeting, and then he smiled and shook his head, "We know the way down the mountain. We'll find it ourselves."
This meant he didn't trust him.
"If you keep going straight down this path, you'll come to two forks. Take the right path at the first fork, and the middle path at the second. After walking another ten to twenty li, you'll be able to get down the mountain."
After speaking, Chen Xiaobei called out to Chen Dayong and the others, "Let's go, we're heading back."
"As for Brother Shen, I apologize for injuring you, but I don't know how to treat wounds."
As Chen Xiaobei was about to leave, Shen Hao seemed a little anxious.
"Brother Xiaobei, please wait a moment."
Chen Xiaobei stopped and turned to look at Shen Hao, "Brother Shen, is there anything else you need?"
"Could you help us find our way? I'm afraid it's too dark and we might get lost."
The use of "us" indicated that there were more people. Chen Xiaobei nodded.
"Alright, I'll escort you down." Chen Dayong and Chen Dachun, who were nearby, were about to say something but were directly stopped by Chen Xiaobei.
"Brother Dayong, you come with me. Brother Dachun, you take them back."
Chen Xiaobei and Chen Dayong accompanied Shen Hao and his two companions back. After walking for about two li, Shen Hao suddenly stopped, observed his surroundings, and then put his little finger in his mouth and blew a whistle.
Looking at the surrounding scenery, Chen Xiaobei felt a sense of déjà vu. He suddenly slapped his forehead.
From here, if they walked three to four li to the right, it would be the end of the canyon. He had climbed up from there a couple of days ago and burned Zhu Meng's camp.
This meant Shen Hao and his men must have come through the canyon.
With this thought, Chen Xiaobei calmly said, "The canyon must be difficult to traverse, with such deep leaf litter."
Shen Hao instinctively replied, "Yes, it's too difficult."
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at Chen Xiaobei with surprise, "You know that too?"
Chen Xiaobei nodded, "We live at the foot of the mountain and often come up to hunt, so we're naturally familiar with it."
This excuse was perfect. Shen Hao nodded, a hint of relief appearing on his face.
"Fortunately, we met you, or we wouldn't have known how long we'd be wandering. It wasn't in vain that I took that arrow."
Soon, the sound of hurried footsteps could be heard, and faint lights flickered in the distance. It was the moonlight reflecting off armor.
Shen Hao made a gesture to Chen Xiaobei, signaling him to wait, and hobbled forward.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chen Xiaobei whispered to Chen Dayong, "Don't say too much. We'll come back after escorting them past the two forks."
While they were discussing this, a group of footsteps approached, and Ren Hao reappeared, accompanying a middle-aged man.
The man was clad in armor, with a square face, and held a torch, looking quite imposing.
He approached Chen Xiaobei and nodded slightly, "Are you a villager from the foot of the mountain?"
Chen Xiaobei also nodded, "Yes. We saw you were withdrawing and wanted to come into the mountain to hunt, but we didn't expect..."
The general nodded, "You said earlier that Marshal Zhu's troops have all gone to Jizhou. How did you know..."
"It's all over the villages, and they say the Crown Prince's forces have surrounded Qingnian County."
Upon hearing this, the man sighed, "If I had known this, we should have brought more provisions. Now, we can't even last long enough to reach Jizhou."
Hearing this, Chen Xiaobei could roughly understand that they were likely soldiers stationed below the main peak of Qingniu Mountain.
These were probably Zhu Meng's trusted confidantes and elite troops.
The reason they left must have been because they encountered some danger, and undoubtedly Qi Chong.
Qi Chong had the advantage in numbers, so they couldn't defeat him and had to leave.
In turn, Qi Chong being able to ascend the mountain indicated that the situation at the foot of the mountain had changed, so his words earlier would make the other party somewhat believe him.
The general pondered for a moment, cupped his fists towards Chen Xiaobei, and said, "Please lead the way, brother. We will reward you handsomely once we reach the foot of the mountain."
Chen Xiaobei and Chen Dayong led the more than a hundred soldiers past the two forks. Not far ahead was a steep slope with no further forks, so they shouldn't get lost.
At this point, Chen Xiaobei moved to the side of the road, cupped his fists towards Shen Hao, and said, "Brother Shen, you can just keep going forward."
Shen Hao nodded, also thanking them with a smile, "Thank you both."
After speaking, Shen Hao called out to the soldiers behind him to hurry forward.
It was clear that Shen Hao was also a minor officer.
Watching the large group of soldiers depart, Chen Xiaobei and Chen Dayong turned to leave when they heard someone call out from behind, "Wait."
Chen Xiaobei turned around and saw it was the leader of the group. Shen Hao also looked at him with surprise.
"Brother, is there something else?"
The man cupped his fists towards Chen Xiaobei, "I, Shen Qiang, am a man who repays kindness. Since you've shown me a way to survive, I will show you a way to get rich."
"From where we met earlier, walk forward for about three li, and you'll find a large canyon. Follow it for about two days, and on your left, you'll find ropes. Climb up using the ropes, and that's our main camp. There are all sorts of military supplies there."
Chen Xiaobei was somewhat surprised by this statement.
He could infer these things himself, but he hadn't expected Shen Qiang to reveal everything so readily.
Chen Xiaobei pretended ignorance and cupped his fists towards Shen Qiang, "Thank you, Brother Shen, but walking for two days is really a bit difficult. I remember there's a suspension bridge that can be crossed. I wonder if that's the place you're talking about."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qiang chuckled, "Now, let alone a suspension bridge, even a rope bridge is gone. If you want to get those supplies, do as I say."
After speaking, he cupped his fists and left with Shen Hao.
Watching the Shen brothers depart, Chen Xiaobei grinned.