Jiang Xiaohuan stared with wide eyes as the light of the torch danced on her face.
"This..." Her voice echoed in layers in the cave. "Could there really be such a place hidden in Dayi Mountain?"
Huang Laosan ran his rough fingers over the marks of water erosion on the rock wall and said proudly, "Back then, our chief called this place the 'Dragon King's Hall'. Look at these stone steps—"
He stomped his foot, and the sole of his boot made a dull sound when it hit the ground. "They must be at least a few hundred years old. The narrowest part can allow three people to walk side by side... No one knows which dynasty had them carved out. Hey, it was discovered by our hall master!"
The stone steps were smooth and flat, clearly carved by someone. Li Wanming also stomped hard on the ground. It was very solid and strong enough to support a troop of a thousand heavily - armed soldiers.
After walking for about a quarter of an hour, Huang Laosan pointed to an unremarkable crack in the northwest corner. "Crawl out from there, and less than half a mile away, you'll reach Fengyang Slope in Qingzhou!"
When everyone crawled out of the cave one by one, the silhouette of Qingzhou City in the thin mist came into view.
The flags on the city wall loomed in the morning mist, and the whole city stood as majestic as a mountain.
"General Gao," Li Wanming turned around. "Go quickly and report to Feng Xiao. Tell him that we've found the surprise - attack route he's been looking for."
"Yes!" Gao Yong replied and rushed back into the cave.
"I'll go too, I'll go too!" Huang Laosan took the silver from Chuntao's hand and beamed with joy. "I know another way down the mountain. It's even closer..."
Li Wanming stood at the cave entrance, silently gazing into the distance at Qingzhou City without any expression on her face. But for some reason, Chen Mazi, who was standing behind her, felt a bit cold.
He comforted himself: Maybe it's just that the wind here is particularly cold. It's okay, it's okay. Li Wanming has found the secret passage she was looking for. She'll let me go soon...
He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead. Suddenly, when he turned around, he found Li Wanming staring intently at him with a faint smile on her lips.
Chen Mazi's heart tightened. Then he heard Li Wanming say, "I remember you once told me that your Black Wind Bandit Stronghold had a unique weapon called... the Yama Nail?"
The Yama Nail was a kind of blow - dart.
It was made by cutting a bamboo as thick as a thumb into a three - inch short tube with a smooth inner wall. A one - inch - long hardwood spike was placed inside, with hemp threads wrapped around the tail to add weight. When lying in ambush in the bushes, one could blow the dart out of the bamboo tube. It could penetrate leather armor within ten steps.
The blow - darts made by the Black Wind Bandit Stronghold were even more special.
The arrowheads were smeared with a unique nectar that could attract highly poisonous black - tailed bees. The bees would sting people until their bodies turned blue and purple and oozed pus, and they would lose their combat ability within a few breaths.
Therefore, the chief of the Black Wind Bandit Stronghold proudly called it the Yama Nail.
When Chen Mazi defected from the bandits back then, in addition to showing the way, the more important thing was that he informed Li Rusong and Yuan Jinqiu in advance about the existence of the Yama Nail, which avoided heavy casualties for the Tangli Army, thus making great contributions.
The Tangli government not only exempted him from prison but also gave him a reward of silver, which allowed him to later expand his mountain - goods business...
It was only at this moment that Chen Mazi realized why Li Wanming had insisted on bringing him along all the way. It turned out that she still had use for him.
"Yes, yes..." Chen Mazi's voice trembled, and his fingers involuntarily tugged at the corner of his clothes. "But when the bandits were being suppressed back then, the half - box of Yama Nails left in the warehouse was all confiscated by the officials..."
"I don't want the Yama Nails," Li Wanming shook her head. "The range of your blow - darts is too short. They're not suitable for attacking cities or setting ambushes."
"Then... what do you want?"
A bad premonition suddenly came over Chen Mazi. He nervously licked his lips.
Li Wanming stared at him fixedly and suddenly smiled. "I want the nectar you used to make the Yama Nails."
The range of blow - darts was short, but the range of crossbows was very long.
—Since it had been confirmed that the secret passage in the mountain could be used and the ambush plan could be carried out, if the nectar of the Yama Nail was smeared on crossbows, it would surely be like adding wings to a tiger and would kill the Anluo people in a complete rout...
All the strength seemed to be drained from Chen Mazi's body. He slumped to the ground and cried with a long face, "Ancestors... If that nectar was easy to collect, why would our Black Wind Bandit Stronghold have only made half a box of Yama Nails in several years?"
"Precisely because it's not easy to collect that we especially need an expert like you~~" Li Wanming helped him up with a smile and kindly patted his shoulder. "Believe in yourself. You can do it!"
Among the six southern border cities, the most prosperous ones were Qingzhou and Yuecheng.
The Jiupan River rushed by at the foot of the towering city wall. The whale - like pier jutted out more than ten zhang into the river. Dozens of cargo ships were connected end to end, with masts like a forest and white sails like clouds.
Coolies ran bare - backed between the gangplanks. Their sweat drops hit the tung - oil - soaked wooden boards, splashing tiny water droplets.
The news that Yanchuan had been captured hadn't reached here yet. Yuecheng was bustling, still showing the wealth and prosperity of the largest commercial port in the southern border.
A black - awninged boat floated downstream. Its waterline was quite low, indicating that it was fully loaded with goods.
"Will it work...?"
On the deck, Pei Yanqi's throat was slightly dry.
Liu Yiyi stood against the wind and said confidently, "No problem. Although I've never been to Yuecheng, I've heard from my father that the rock tea from Dayi Mountain sells very well here... The Yuecheng defenders are money - grubbers. They'll definitely let us into the city!"
Sure enough, the officers on the dock briefly checked their travel permits. Hearing her fluent answers and seeing that she was indeed a seasoned merchant, and since she was so savvy and immediately stuffed two silver notes over—so the Anluo defenders just lifted the lids of the boxes and took a quick look before allowing their boat to enter the port and dock.
Liu Yiyi leaped onto the dock, skillfully summoned some coolies, and shrewdly bargained with them. Finally, she hired four coolies at twenty wen per box to carry twelve large boxes off the boat.
One coolie complained, "What... what's in these boxes? Why are they so heavy?"
Liu Yiyi frowned and said fiercely, "Nonsense! If they weren't heavy, would I pay you twenty wen per box? Don't think I don't know. You usually charge ten wen per box for moving goods!"
"What's in them? They're filled with top - quality new tea! It's all tightly packed, and even the jars are made of jade. Can it not be heavy?"
The coolie had never seen such a fierce young lady before. He was startled and silently lowered his head, not daring to say a word.
In fact, only the top two layers of the boxes were filled with rock tea, while the several layers of clay pots below... were all filled with fierce fire - oil that could burn rivers and boil the sea!
The purpose of Liu Yiyi and her group was not to capture Yuecheng but to find a way to burn Yuecheng's dock so that the Anluo reinforcements couldn't dock!