Chapter 200: Ambush on the Plank Road
An ancient poem says: "A mountain stream is surrounded by a mound, and bamboo trees shade the clear source."

A hundred miles northwest of Luoyang, there is a valley called Lingqiu. A tributary of the Wei River flows through the Lingqiu Valley, turning it into a paradise on earth, which is the "Lingqiu Mountain Stream".

There are towering mountains and steep ridges on both sides of the mountain stream, dense forests and deep bamboos, plum blossoms, peach blossoms, and charming willows and flowers. There was no road in the valley, but local people chose to go closer instead of farther away, so they often traveled here, and thus walked out a gravel path. The path runs along the stream, winding and rugged, surrounded by mountains and water, with twists and turns.

Lingqiu Mountain Stream is not the only way to go north to Yanmen, but it is a shortcut. If you go around the mountain, it will take at least two more days.

After the Mongols conquered the Jin Dynasty, the Mongol court built a 1,000-meter plank road in the Lingqiu mountain stream. Because of this, Liu Xunyi and Xunzhen both guessed the Mongols' intention, which was to use this shortcut to facilitate the transportation of troops and food when they attacked the Song Dynasty in the future.

Therefore, Chagan and his party, who were Mongolians, would definitely choose Lingqiu mountain stream for their journey when traveling from south to north.

At three quarters past the hour of You, the setting sun sets in the west, and layers of red sunset glow fade into the sky.

On the mountain on the east side of the stream, Liu Xunyi, dressed in black and wearing a black scarf, was lurking motionlessly behind a towering tree, hiding himself under the dense branches and leaves.

Liu Xunyi was only a few dozen meters away from the mountain stream plank road in a straight line, but due to the dense forest and the darkening sky, the merchants walking on the plank road could not detect his presence at all.

Next to Liu Xunyi, there was a sword and a strong bow. His plan was to ambush and kill a group of people with bows and arrows first, and then show up in person to wipe out the remaining ones.

Since Chagan was accompanied by many people, Liu Xunyi was worried that if he showed up rashly, some of them might slip through the net. His goal was to kill all of Chagan's people, and not leave any of them alive. He just wanted to make the Mongols suspicious, but without leaving any real evidence.

Liu Xunyi's goal is to make the Mongols give up trying to win over the Xianwang Mansion because of the death of Chagan and his party. But he cannot be discovered, so as not to expose his identity and bring disaster to the Xianwang Mansion in the future.

During the day, there were many people traveling in and out of Lingqiu Mountain Stream, but as the sun set and the sky darkened, fewer and fewer people were walking on the mountain stream plank road. At this time, the golden crow was setting in the west, and the plank road was already empty, without even a ghost to be found.

Liu Xunyi, who had worked in Tianji Pavilion for many years, was very good at hiding and waiting for an opportunity. At noon, he rode out of the city and rushed to Lingqiu Mountain Stream. So far, he had been lying under the tree for a full hour, but he had not moved at all.

At this time, the mountain stream was silent. Even the gurgling spring water and the chirping birds in the forest gradually became quiet.

Quiet, as quiet as death.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves and the creaking sound of wheels rolling over the plank road slowly sounded from the valley.

Liu Xunyi was shocked, and his dark eyes suddenly burst into a cruel look. He stared at the south of the plank road. A moment later, a convoy came out of the mountain and quietly appeared in Liu Xunyi's sight.

There were three carriages in total. Liu Xunyi recognized the carriage frames and the guards driving them. They were Chagan and his party who appeared in Prince Xian's Mansion yesterday.

"Brother Su, I know they are from the same sect as you, but the situation is critical right now, please forgive me for being rude!" Liu Xunyi kept repeating in his heart. He felt guilty towards Su He, after all, Su He had saved his life in the Western Regions.

Looking at the approaching convoy, Liu Xunyi quietly drew his bow and arrow, aiming the arrow directly at the second carriage. Through the curtain, the dim figure was Chagan.

The arrow was on the string, ready to be launched. At this moment, Liu Xunyi's heart was as calm as water, he held his breath and concentrated, vowing to make sure that the arrow would not miss its target.

"call!"

"who……"

"puff!"

Before Liu Xunyi could shoot, a black shadow suddenly flew out from the opposite hill. Before the guard on the first carriage could figure out what was going on, the black shadow had already drawn his sword from its sheath and chopped off the guard's throat, killing him instantly.

"Is this... the Changkong Sword?" Liu Xunyi was surprised and secretly exclaimed, "That person is Qin Ku? Why is he here?"

"Where are the Tartars going?"

In the mountain stream, Qin Ku had already killed two people with one sword. Then he moved like a snake, moving like a dragon, slashing left and right, with the sword flashing.

With one slash of the sword, the reins of the first carriage broke, and the horse escaped in panic.

Qin Ku immediately flew up, kicked his feet in the air with great force, and kicked the carriage several times. The carriage of the first carriage flew up and finally fell heavily on the plank road, blocking the way of the two carriages behind.

"You are such a bold bastard! How dare you stop our carriage? I think you are tired of living!"

With a curse, a man suddenly flew out of the third carriage. It was Bater. He held a scimitar in his hand, stepped a few steps in the air, and instantly rushed to Qin Ku. Without saying a word, he swung his knife and chopped.

"It seems that you are the young fool?"

Qin Ku smiled playfully, paused, and flew out backwards. At the same time, he killed two Mongolian guards who were about to get out of the carriage.

"Where to run?"

When Bater saw that Qin Ku did not fight with him, he immediately became furious. After landing, he turned around and quickly chased after him.

"I am here on the orders of Lord Luo to take your heads!"

Qin Ku was extremely agile. While laughing and teasing, he moved freely among the three carriages, moving as fast as the wind. While dodging and moving around, he had already chopped down several guards in a row.

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Xunyi on the mountain on the east side was suddenly startled, and an indescribable look of surprise instantly flooded into his eyes.

"Lord Luo?" Chagan, who had broken through the carriage and flew into the sky, had a look of deep horror on his face and asked, "Are you talking about Luo Tianjin?"

"You are all doomed anyway, so it doesn't matter if I tell you!" Qin Ku laughed wildly, "Apart from the Lord Luo in the Xianwang Mansion, who else dares to call himself the Lord Luo? The Lord said that you Tartars have evil intentions and are plotting against our Song Dynasty. I will kill you today and get rid of a few scourges for the Song Dynasty."

"Impossible!" Chagan's eyes were uncertain, and he said angrily in disbelief, "Luo Tianjin has clearly promised us, how could he..."

“If I don’t agree to your request, how can you let your guard down?” Qin Ku told him the words Xunzhen had taught him beforehand, “Lord Luo said that only by taking the enemy by surprise can we root them out! Do you remember Wang Xutong? That’s how he died! Haha…”

Hearing this, Liu Xunyi was shocked again, thinking to himself: "How did Qin Ku know that Wang Xutong's death was related to the Xianwang Mansion? What is going on?" Liu Xunyi became more and more confused, but he didn't dare to act rashly now, so he could only continue to hide in the dark and wait and see. "Luo Tianjin!"

In a hurry, Chagan had no time to think. He gritted his teeth, pointed his knife at the sky, and shouted: "We treated you sincerely, but you, a thief, turned your kindness into hatred! You, a despicable hypocrite, we will march to the city sooner or later and destroy the Xianwang Mansion!"

"What a pity! You will never see this day!"

Before he finished speaking, Qin Ku suddenly rushed in front of him. Chagan was angry, annoyed, sad and angry, and could only fight hastily. His martial arts were not as good as Qin Ku's, and the incident happened suddenly, which made him distracted. Therefore, after the two fought for more than ten rounds, Chagan was chopped off the collarbone by Qin Ku and was completely defeated.

"Don't panic, Chagan! I'm here to save you!"

Seeing that the situation was not good, Bater rushed forward hurriedly, intending to attack Qin Ku from behind, but unexpectedly Qin Ku was prepared. He swung his knife back and forth, tearing Bater's clothes in front of his lower abdomen. The blade also left a long bloody mark on his stomach.

This move not only shocked Bater, but also surprised Qin Ku. He secretly blamed himself for being too careless and almost killed the boy with a knife.

At this moment, several Mongolian guards who rushed up from both sides were killed by Qin Ku's sword one by one. His martial arts skills were far beyond those of these Mongolian guards.

"I'll fight you..."

"No!"

Before the furious Bater could attack again, Chagan suddenly attacked, tightly grasped Qin Ku's right leg, and shouted: "This man is very skilled in martial arts, we are no match for him. Run now, return to Chifeng Ridge, and tell the ridge master everything, saying that Luo Tianjin is a despicable villain, and the ridge master must not believe it..."

"open!"

Qin Ku pretended to be furious, and with a swing of his blade, he chopped off Chagan's left arm with a "click". Chagan screamed in agony from the excruciating pain and almost fainted.

"I……"

"Hurry up! If we all die here, Luo Tianjin's evil plan will be completely successful... Go away! Go!" Chagan was like crazy, holding Qin Ku's ankle tightly with one arm and biting Qin Ku's leg with his teeth.

Bater was grief-stricken, his red eyes were filled with blood and tears. He looked at Qin Ku viciously and said with gritted teeth: "Go back and tell Luo Tianjin that he will pay a heavy price for his stupidity today!"

After saying that, Bater ran towards the end of the plank road without looking back.

"Humph!"

Seeing Bater fleeing in a panic, Qin Ku had no intention of chasing him, and even smiled with a look of success. Chagan's heart sank when he saw this, but before he could ask any questions, Qin Ku suddenly raised his knife and chopped off Chagan's head.

Seeing this scene, Liu Xunyi, who was hiding in the mountains, was so surprised that he didn't know what to say. He had clearly heard what Qin Ku had just said, and it was clear that he wanted to frame someone. But Liu Xunyi couldn't figure out what Qin Ku's purpose was.
In a trance, Liu Xunyi suddenly had an idea in his mind, and he seemed to remember something. He quickly put an arrow on the bow and pointed it at Bater who was running farther and farther away. He knew in his heart that Bater must not be left alive at this point, otherwise the Xianwang Mansion would be in endless trouble.

"Whoosh!"

Wherever the arrow points, it never misses its target.

With a flash of black lightning streaking through the sky, the arrow accurately shot at Bater, who was a hundred steps away. The arrow pierced through his back and killed him instantly.

"who?"

As soon as the arrow was shot, Qin Ku instantly identified Liu Xunyi's position. He first glanced at Bater, who was lying on the ground, from a distance, then sighed in annoyance, then flew up, jumped over the stream, and headed straight for the mountain on the east side.

At this moment, Liu Xunyi didn't want to meet Qin Ku, so after shooting an arrow, he quickly turned around and fled. His legs and feet were still inconvenient, but the situation was urgent and he couldn't hide it too much. He could only limp into the forest and disappear in the lush greenery.

Little did he know that his hurriedly fleeing figure had been seen clearly by Xunzhen who was hiding on the opposite mountain.

Qin searched for him in vain and returned to the mountain trail in frustration. At this moment, Xunzhen had been waiting there for a long time.

"I wanted to let Bater go back to report the news, but he was killed unexpectedly..." Qin Ku smiled helplessly, "Actually, this is not my fault..."

"The sword manual you asked for!" Before Qin Ku could finish his words, Xunzhen handed him the remaining half of the "Xuan Shui Volume 2" and said with a faint smile, "I saw everything that happened just now clearly. You did a great job. I didn't expect that Cheng Yaojin would show up halfway, so it's not your fault."

"Hehe... you are indeed wise!" Qin Ku carefully put away the half of the sword manual as if he had found a treasure, and then grinned, "Since you are clear about gratitude and resentment, I don't want money for the other lives, I will count them as gifts."

Xunzhen nodded vaguely. At this moment, she was wondering who the figure just now was, so she had no intention of chatting with Qin Ku.

"Do you know... who wanted to kill someone just now?" Qin Ku asked with a wink, "What do you think that person's real purpose was? I don't believe there would be such a coincidence in the world."

"Of course it's not such a coincidence." Xunzhen chuckled, "In fact, it's not difficult to guess. That person's purpose is the same as ours, to kill these Mongols. It's just... we want to leave them alive and put the blame on the Xianwang Mansion. And that person's purpose is to kill them all..." At this point, Xunzhen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he nodded slowly and thoughtfully, "In this way, it's not difficult to guess the identity of that person?"

"who is it?"

Xunzhen looked at Qin Ku deeply, and said with a smile: "Your mission has been completed, and the 'Xuan Shui Volume 2' has also been obtained. From now on, we owe each other nothing, and we will go our separate ways."

Qin Ku curled his lips in dissatisfaction and complained to himself: "You said the first half of the sentence but didn't say the second half. You really whetted my appetite. You really are..."

Before Qin Ku finished speaking, Xunzhen had already turned and left.

Looking at her back, Qin Ku grumbled a few more words indignantly, and then suddenly felt bored. He reached into his arms and touched the hard-earned "Xuan Shui Xia Juan". A smug look appeared on his face again, and he turned in the opposite direction of Xun Zhen, jumping away quickly.

Under the afterglow of the setting sun, among the green mountains and clear waters, the two people, one in the south and one in the north, disappeared at the end of the mountain stream.

At this time, there were only corpses on the plank road. I believe that it will not be long before this matter will spread like the wind and spread all over the country. By then, everyone in the world will know about it, and at the same time... everyone will be in danger.

……

(End of this chapter)