across the Quartet

Shortly after Gai Nie recovered from his injury, all countries entered into a short truce as winter gradually entered.

Heavy snow blocked the mountains, and Jingxing became a vast expanse of whiteness; Zhao Jun's drills were also much more relaxed than before.Most of the high-ranking generals drank and had fun around the charcoal fire in their respective tents, while the low-level military officers who were thinly dressed and could not get any coal had to rub their hands, stomp their feet, and run around to keep their bodies warm.

It was freezing cold, and no one was willing to stay outside the camp for a moment, except for the sentinels who took turns on duty.

However, not far behind the camp, on a small river that had been covered with thin ice, there was actually a man in unlined clothing sitting.

It was a young man with handsome features and a tall and straight figure. At this moment, he closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. His black hair was covered with a light layer of white snow.The strange thing is that he doesn't have chattering teeth and stiff limbs like those who suffer from the cold. Although his face is pale, there are no red spots or bruises from the cold, and even the blood on his lips and ear tips has almost faded away, just like a statue. A natural jade statue.

Suddenly, there was a light "click" sound from under the boy.

The boy opened his eyes suddenly, his twisted limbs stretched out in an instant, and he jumped onto the shore with a fish leap.Right where he was sitting just now, a thin crack opened on the ice.

The young man shook his head, with a trace of frustration showing in his eyes.

This boy is Gai Nie.Since joining the army, although he has not neglected the practice of swordsmanship, after all, he has spent a lot less effort than when he was in Ghost Valley.Recently, taking advantage of the fact that there is no war in winter, besides practicing swords for an extra hour a day, he still has more time to concentrate on studying the inner strength of Guigu's lineage.

There is no name for the internal energy of the Guigu School, only known to be divided into five realms, which are human, earth, heaven, Tao, and nature; however, the Guigu School has been in existence for more than 300 years, and only the founder Wang Xu has ever reached the highest and purest "natural" state. territory.He is no longer bound by "things" and "I". He is neither born nor dead, invisible, and roams between heaven and earth like sunlight, rain, smoke, clouds, and dust.It is difficult for ordinary people to understand this kind of state. For example, Wei Zhuang once said, "In fact, he died and turned into ashes, right?" He was severely taught by his master.

However, most of the descendants of the Guigu School are generally only wandering between the realms of "earth" and "heaven", and only a very few people have reached the realm of "Taoization"; Everyone has a different understanding of the transcendence of the time, so the various experiences and breakthrough methods during the practice were recorded in a book, and passed on to the descendants who inherited the name-this is the origin of the "secret technique" of Guigu.However, because each of them has completely different observations and perceptions of internal power; and the successors of each generation of Guigu are outstanding figures with lofty eyes, they may not agree with the opinions of their predecessors, so the records of this secret technique are often They are inconsistent, and many methods seem very dangerous, even absurd, which makes it very painful for future generations to study in detail.For example, Gai Nie’s master, Zhao Yi, once summed up the Qi training techniques of several ancestors, and added his own speculation, but in the end, something went wrong in the process of crossing from the "earth" to the "heaven". The root cause of the internal injury fell.

But in any case, with the experience of the predecessors, after all, it is a shortcut to practice.But Gai Nie gave up Guigu, and he lost the qualification to see this secret art forever. Practicing kung fu is like a blind man walking at night, he can only rely on his own groping.

When Gai Nie left Ghost Valley, although his inner strength could be said to be pure, and he was able to protect against cold, generate heat, heal wounds, and dry clothes, he knew very well that this was just a cultivation level in the human realm.The master once said that the word "control" is the most difficult thing to achieve in the realm of "earth"; such a master can control one's internal energy more precisely and effectively, and even use "spirit" to drive "essence" and "Qi" makes the body stronger.Sitting on the ice, he was trying to mobilize the zhenqi running in the eight extraordinary meridians, make them run against the veins, block the blood flow in the tubes; and then collect them into the dantian one by one without leaking out a tiny bit.This method of luck can make his heartbeat slow down, his blood flow slow down, and his body temperature gradually drop, until it is almost equal to the surface of a frozen river.If this kung fu is practiced to perfection, it is equivalent to putting a human-shaped ice cube on the river, regardless of each other.

Right now, looking at the cracks in the ice, Ge Nie is a little depressed.This shows that his control over internal power is still not tight enough, and the warmth in his body still leaks out a little.

At this moment, the sound of breaking wind suddenly came from behind his head.

Ge Nie instinctively slid a step to the side; a dry pine cone slid across the corner of his clothes, and suddenly threw it into the river, but there was a loud bang——the ice surface was smashed to the size of a copper basin potholes.

He quickly turned around with his left leg as the axis, and when he turned around, his right hand came out from under his side. First, he turned his palm into a knife, slashed towards the direction of the sneak attack, and then turned the knife into a claw, and then slapped lightly into the void. Catch——following a series of movements in one go, a side branch of a big pine tree on the river bank snapped off, and flew out obliquely as if being swept by a strong wind, and was held by Ge Nie impartially.

This was the branch the attacker had been standing on.

He stared at the boy in white in frustration.Ge Nie held a pine branch that was several feet long and spread out like a pheasant's tail like holding a sword.Such a weapon is a bit ridiculous.His opponent couldn't laugh.

The pine branch was big and heavy, with countless branches on it, and it was covered with a layer of snow—the pine needle at the tip did not tremble even when the young man lifted it up flat.

How steady is his hand?

The sneak attacker "huh" all over, suddenly relaxed his body, the empty door opened wide, and he had no intention of fighting any further.

"Looking dumb, but the reaction is not slow."

"who are you?"

The man took out something from his arms and held it above his head.Gai Nie took a look, immediately dropped the branch, and let go of his full vigilance.

"General Sima's Leopard Talisman? Are you—"

"From today onwards, you are my subordinate." The man spoke loudly, "General Li watched your autumn hunting competitions, and valued you very much, and felt that it would be a pity to be only a personal soldier with your skills. No; Master Sima specifically asked me to come and take you."

"Are you... from the Red Leopard Camp?"

The man snorted, seemingly disdainful. "The Red Leopard Camp? What is that?"

Ge Nie stared at him carefully.This man was of medium build, dressed as a sergeant, with slender eyes, high nose, square jaw and short beard. He had the appearance of an ordinary Zhao person that could not be found in the crowd. There was only one pair of unusual eyes, white eyes, benevolent and black. His lack of benevolence made him look a little fierce and arrogant for no reason.

"General Sima is also the captain of the Red Leopard Battalion, but he is only fooling people on the surface. Secretly, he is the highest leader of our 'Mountain Ghost'."

Gai Nie thought to himself, it turns out that General Sima called his real confidant army Mountain Ghosts, but called the Swordsman Battalion Red Leopards. It's just the mountain ghost's mount... Sima Shang was somewhat playing tricks on him by using such two names.

"'Mountain Ghost' is a scout battalion directly under the command of General Sima." The man felt that Gai Nie's expression was cold and his eyes were unfathomable, and he thought he was slandering something, so he sneered and said, "You can look at the scouts just like those people outside. I don’t like it, I think it’s better to be that kind of worthless hundred-gold warrior?”

"My subordinates dare not."

The man snorted and said, "All of you swordsmen call yourself peerless national warriors and think that you can win the enemy with a single sword in your hand. You are really stupid. What do you think scouts do?"

Gai Niebai was scolded for a while, but didn't make a sound, just looked down at the ground.He didn't know that it was actually Sima Shang who praised Gai Nie in front of the generals, saying how superb his swordsmanship and courage were, which aroused the resentment of some old subordinates.For example, the person in front of him, since he wants to take Gai Nie as his subordinate, he deliberately frustrates him.

"Listen well, the confrontation between two armies is like two masters competing in martial arts. Not only must there be fists and feet to attack each other, a well-organized torso, and a mouthpiece to give orders, but also eyes and ears to understand the opponent. If a person is deaf and blind , How can we hit the opponent? How can we not be beaten? And the mountain ghost camp is the eyes and ears of Zhao's entire army! Our people not only have to find out the number of enemy troops, deployment, marching routes, and food and grass supplies as early as possible before the battle, and provide these The enemy's situation is handed over to the general in time to decide. Usually, the mountains, terrain, rivers, vegetation, and products in our country and the enemy's territory are surveyed, and detailed maps and records are drawn for the purpose of ambush or guessing the enemy's ambush. Sometimes, it is necessary to break into the enemy Inside the army, they become espionage agents, deliver news, spread rumors, destroy the enemy’s secret posts, or directly assassinate people who threaten them. Without some extraordinary skills, you are not qualified to be a member of the mountain ghost.”

Gai Nie was really convinced when he heard it, so he saluted and said, "Your subordinate is being taught. May I ask what your name is?"

"You just need to call me the leader." The man said coldly, "Mountain ghosts don't need names, they only call each other by code names; in this way, even if you miss a mission and are captured and tortured by the enemy country, you won't be able to confess out companions."

Ge Nie raised his head and looked straight into his eyes.

The man seemed to have guessed his strange emotion, and grinned, revealing a mouthful of unusually sharp teeth.

"But I can tell you my code name. I am a descendant of the Zhongshan Kingdom. My brothers loved me and nicknamed me Zhongshan Wolf."

In the early morning of the next day, Gai Nie packed his bags, put on a patchwork sheepskin jacket, and followed the leader of the 'mountain ghost' on the mountain road to the west of Jingxing.The leader was vague about their mission, and Gai Nie could only guess from a few words that they seemed to want to contact a spy who had been planted in Qin long ago.Along the way, the leader taught him a lot of common sense necessary for scouts, such as how to identify the traces of people and animals in the mountains and forests, how to deduce the possible location of the enemy from the traces and water sources, how to cover himself or confuse the pursuers. Line of sight, as well as the code words and communication methods inside the 'Mountain Ghost', etc.Gai Nie felt that although the leader had a strange temperament, he was cautious and thoughtful in his actions, and he was worthy of being the leader of the most elite scout battalion in the Zhao army.

"The ugly words are up front. Every mission we perform and every piece of information we have may determine the lives and deaths of thousands of soldiers." During the night break, the "Zhongshan Wolf" was tearing Ge Nie with his teeth. The bamboo mouse said, "So when necessary, I can sacrifice you, others, and myself to protect the information. The life and death of a few people, compared to the safety of Zhao's army, is just a hair on the body of a whole cow. "

Genie nodded and listened.The Zhongshan wolf seems to have no concept of sharing food at all. Even though the prey was caught by Ge Nie, he took it up and chewed the whole meat as soon as it was roasted. Ge Nie could only eat some with snow water dry biscuits.After eating, he threw the bone casually, wiped the oil on his mouth, and said, "It's not too dark yet, with this little light, we can still walk a few miles forward."

"It's not too dark?" Ge Nie looked up at the pitch-black sky.They deliberately found a small clearing in the forest to light a fire. At this moment, there was a pale half-moon hanging above their heads, and the fighting stars in the north could be vaguely discerned.

"What's the matter, walking at night, are you afraid? Or are your feet weak?" Zhongshan Wolf squinted at him, "The current recruiting department is really useless, all kinds of softies and trash are recruited. Hey, A year is not as good as a year-"

Gai Nie stood up and left without saying a word.

Traveling day and night like this, crossing mountains and ridges, after a few days, they bypassed the heavily guarded city walls, entered Qin territory without anyone noticing, and arrived at the Fenshui River Valley.

"On the other side of the river is Jinyang City. There, it was originally the place where the Zhao family rose." Zhongshan Wolf sighed pointedly.

This place is warmer and more humid than the place they passed by before, and there is a layer of soft grass mixed with yellow and green on the ground, and the grass is covered with hoarfrost.After walking along the river for a while, Ge Nie found that there were many horses scattered in the valley, a dozen tents of various sizes were pitched, and many vehicles piled up with goods were parked.It seems that there is a convoy of merchants temporarily resting here.

"This is the motorcade of the Zhuo family, the largest horse merchant in Zhao State." Zhongshan Wolf said.Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and he waved to a figure in the distance: "Hey! Old Kang!! Old Kang!!!"

"Old Chen, it's you!" A chubby man trotted over, with a shrewd and slick face, full of smiles, "What good things did you bring this time?"

Zhongshan Wolf also grinned and gestured to Gai Nie.Gai Nie immediately dug out the two pieces of snow fox furs that had been prepared from the bag, held them to Zhongshan with both hands, and Zhongshan handed them to the "Old Kang".

"Is there only so much?"

"The mountains are covered by heavy snow, these beasts are very sophisticated, and they are well hidden—"

"The leather is soft, but it's a pity that the color of the fur is not pure enough... How about a bag of millet and two bolts of silk at the old price?"

"Lao Kang, we are old acquaintances. Let's discuss it and add some more? I have added a few more mouths to eat recently, like this little brat." Zhongshan Wolf slapped Gai Nie on the back of the head. On, "Hands and feet are still diligent, but it's a pity that I'm very stupid, and I eat too much, I can't support myself!"

"Hey, this young man is very energetic, where is he from?"

"My nephew, a native of Daijun, and his parents are gone, so he had to come to join me."

The two chattered familiarly; Ge Nie knew it well, and at the moment when they handed over the goods, under the soft animal skin, the two hands shook quickly, and then separated again.

"I can't decide the price, I have to ask the manager." "Old Kang" put the fox fur on his shoulders, nodded with a smile, turned around and went into a tent.

Seeing him go, Zhongshan wolf immediately put a smile on his face, and hurried to the river.He pretended to be drinking water with his head down, and secretly unfolded the crumpled silk in the palm of his hand.

Gai Nie also leaned over, and out of the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of the dark brown writing on the silk:

"Qin Lian Han Wei strikes up and down"

"Qin Lian Han Wei...Could it be that Qin Guo saw that it was impossible to attack our country by force, so he decided to adopt the strategy of 'crossing the dog'; attacking up and down together, this should refer to the 'up' and 'down' of Handan, that is to say, they We plan to divide our troops into two groups and take Handan from the north and the south." Gai Nie whispered.

Zhongshan glared at him impatiently, and put the silk cloth into his arms. "You don't need to talk about this kind of thing. The generals will naturally take care of it. We just need to spread the news."

"General Sima once said that the Qin people will not give Zhao a chance to breathe, and there will be wars in the coming spring." Gai Nie said to himself, "They are connected with Han and Wei. From a geographical point of view, the Han and Wei allied forces must be from south to north. To attack our country, the main force of the Qin army will probably still leave Taiyuan from the west to attack Jingxing, or simply go south from the north, leave Jiuyuan, and attack Yunzhong and Yanmen..."

Hearing what he said clearly, Zhongshan Wolf couldn't help but retort: ​​"How do you know that the main force of Qin's army must be concentrated on the north road? If there are only suspicious soldiers in the north, the main force of Qin's army will join forces with the armies of Han and Wei, and the armies of the three countries will cross the Yellow River at the same time. What about attacking Ye City?"

"...I don't think so." Gai Nie frowned, "The two countries, Han and Wei, have lost troops and land in recent years, and have been embezzled by Qin State for many cities. , if the State of Zhao is destroyed by the State of Qin, then the end of Han and Wei will not be far away. It is not that the King of Han and the King of Wei do not understand this truth, it is just that the strength of the two countries is insufficient now, and they dare not disobey the State of Qin on the surface. But on the other hand, it is not that King Qin does not understand the situation of the two countries, so he may not really trust the coalition forces of Han and Wei. Therefore, I think that the Allied Forces of the Three Kingdoms are so powerful that they are suspicious soldiers; the elite of the Qin Army, It is still deployed in the north. This place is relatively close to Hanoi and Shangdang counties, and the food, grass and soldiers are guaranteed, and because of years of confrontation, the soldiers of the Qin army are also very familiar with the terrain of the Taihang generation. If you choose to break through here—"

"Shut up for me." Zhongshan Wolf slapped him again, "You know so well, why don't you go to Qin to seek an official position?"

Ge Nie didn't speak again.Zhongshan Wolf wanted to reprimand him a few words, but suddenly stood up and looked into the distance.

To the west of the valley, a stream of smoke and dust billowed in.After a while, dozens of soldiers from Qin State, who were dressed in black and held spears and halberds, rushed to the vicinity one after another.They lined up on the merchant's camp, forming a bow-shaped formation, faintly encircling them.

A few people rushed out of the tent and saluted respectfully to the knight on horseback.The "Old Kang" just now is also among them.

"Military masters, we are from Zhuo's racecourse. We have returned to Handan from Liyang. We have paid all the customs and city taxes, and we have all the certificates—"

"Who are you, of course I know." The leading knight took off the iron mask covering his face, revealing a rather young face, but the aggressive aura in his speech and demeanor remained undiminished. "However, when some merchants from the six countries came back from Qin, some things that should not have been carried in the truck. Therefore, Lieutenant Li took special care of us. Before leaving the country, no matter which country the goods are in, they must be checked repeatedly. Yes." He pointed his right hand and shouted, "Search for me!"

"No!" More than a dozen knights said in unison, then got off their horses at the same time, and rummaged through the tents, carriages and horses unceremoniously.

Entrainment and entrainment, the people of Qin certainly know the pros and cons of it.Gai Nie thought to himself.I think if Lu Buwei hadn't brought Ying Yiren out of Handan in his private goods back then, I don't know who is sitting on the throne of King Qin now.

He suddenly felt that his thoughts were tricky and weird, just like what his junior brother Wei Zhuang said—thinking of this, he smiled unconsciously.

He didn't expect that just such a shallow smile would cause himself a lot of trouble.