Because the rebel ranger troops nearby had not yet been eliminated, before setting off, the guarding official Jun Guan specifically warned us to be careful of ambushes. Yesterday, two of the soldiers sent out for liaison disappeared, vanishing on the road to Erliu City.
So, along the way, I would periodically activate my Qi-sensing technique to prevent ambushes.
However, there was no need to be so tense. The two spirits beside me, let alone in the mortal realm, were formidable figures even in the underworld, capable of taking the head of a general from amidst an army. If we encountered enemies, it would be the enemies' misfortune.
But as I said, I did detect something. It was in a mountainous area between Erqi City and Erliu City. We were following the coffin road and had just ascended a ridge when we came to a gourd-shaped valley ahead. The coffin road snaked down to the valley floor, with dense forests on both sides of the slopes – a perfect place for an ambush.
My Qi-sensing technique showed at least two thousand ghosts hidden in the dense forest. Without a doubt, they were rebels, and cavalry at that, because the grass in the valley floor and between the slopes was bare, clearly having been grazed by a large number of warhorses.
I pointed to the ambush site and asked Baobao and Xiao Nu whether we should go around or charge straight through.
"I know this road," Xiao Nu said. "Going around would add an hour to our journey, and I'm afraid Lord Hei Wuchang might not wait."
"But if we charge head-on, I'm worried about the firearms the ambushers might have," Zheng Baobao said, sitting upright on her horse, arms crossed, analyzing calmly. "Look at those trees; half their leaves are scorched. It's clear that some spearmen were there, firing through the leaves. The scorch marks on the leaves were left by gunpowder from their guns."
"You know a surprising amount about firearms," I chuckled. She was referring to the native blunderbusses of the underworld. Those things weren't very powerful, but the smoke and fire they produced upon firing were immense. This was mainly due to the low energy of black powder. A lot had to be loaded for each shot, and the seal between the barrel and the projectile was poor, causing excess gunpowder to burn and leak from the muzzle, igniting nearby objects.
"After all, I was once a commander. I might not use them, but I must understand them," Zheng Baobao replied.
"So, you think we should take the detour?" I asked.
Baobao countered, "Would Lord Wu compromise? I'm not so sure."
Damn it, I had initially intended to detour, but her remark spurred me on, leaving me no choice but to proceed. I had to bite the bullet, feigning calmness, and lit a cigarette. "No hurry. Let's dismount and rest for a while. The ambushers should have spotted us by now. Let's play it cool and see what they plan to do."
I dismounted and sat on a flat stone, contemplating our strategy while smoking my special saffron-infused cigarette.
An all-out annihilation of this ambush force was unlikely, even with the two formidable experts by my side. They were cavalry, after all, with high mobility. If we managed to eliminate a hundred or so, they'd likely flee. Running was fine, but I feared they might resort to a long-range "kiting" strategy, slowly wearing us down to death.
After finishing my cigarette, the enemy remained stationary. In my Qi-sensing vision, they were like two thousand statues. I envied their warhorses immensely; they were truly well-trained. Not a single one whinnied or bolted. I wondered if they were using "bridles," something placed in the horses' mouths to prevent them from neighing.
I stood up and patted my drum. Zheng Baobao immediately asked, "Ready to go?"
"Uh... yes. Let's mount up." I said, deciding not to push my luck. I didn't fear death, as I could revive, but I feared trouble.
The three of us mounted our horses. Just as I was about to concede defeat and announce my plan to detour, I accidentally noticed the cigarette butt I had discarded earlier had ignited a small patch of dry grass. We were at a mountain pass, and the wind was strong. The small flame spread about half a meter along the grass before stopping. There was no other dry grass nearby, so it extinguished on its own. The wind direction was pointing towards the valley below, blowing from behind us.
Eh? There's a way!
I immediately began observing the wind direction in the valley floor with my naked eye. It was the same. The entire gourd-shaped valley was like a large tunnel. The wind blew from our direction, passed through the entire valley, and leaked out from the bottom of the other end of the gourd.