"As far as I know, there should be more than one secret passage in Panhu Zhai!" Shen Li and Xuan Yuanjue were hiding in the dark, staring at the entrance of a cave not far ahead.
"There are indeed more than one! But aren't there people sent by your elder brother guarding the others? There's no other way. We can only come here." After saying that, Xuan Yuanjue shrugged helplessly at Shen Li.
Shen Li didn't believe a single word Xuan Yuanjue said. "Come on! What's your plan this time?"
"You're still so smart, little thing! But I don't have a specific plan. However, I do understand one principle: capture the ringleader first!"
"Even if we catch those small fries, it won't be of much use! None of the three leaders in Panhu Zhai can be allowed to escape!" Xuan Yuanjue's eyes were fixed on the cave entrance, emitting a deep glow.
"How do you know about this exit? And how can you be so sure they'll come out from here?"
"As for this cave entrance," Xuan Yuanjue twirled the tassel on his accessory and said casually, "I just happened to know about it by chance! Whether they'll come out from here or not is just my guess. As for whether my guess is right or not, it depends on our luck!"
Shen Li turned her head away and ignored Xuan Yuanjue, focusing on the cave entrance intently.
In response, Xuan Yuanjue just pursed his lips calmly, sat quietly on the tree branch, leaned his body against the tree, looking relaxed and leisurely.
"Second brother! Be careful. Let me help you!" Just as Shen Li and Xuan Yuanjue had been waiting for more than half an hour, there was finally some movement from inside the cave.
"It seems our luck is pretty good this time!" Xuan Yuanjue watched as more than a dozen people came out of the cave, a playful smile appearing on his face.
Unlike Xuan Yuanjue's high spirits, Shen Li said worriedly, "There are only two of us. I'm afraid we won't be able to capture them all!"
Hearing this, Xuan Yuanjue gave Shen Li a contemptuous look. "Little thing, what are you thinking? Even if we exclude the injured Zhuang Yusheng, there are still more than a dozen of them! That Mu Wulin's martial arts are a bit weaker. Maybe you can deal with him. But that Wu Sixi is not only extremely mysterious in martial arts but also quite good at using poison! One careless move and we'll be poisoned to death by him!"
"If it's just the two of us, not only will we not be able to capture them all, but we might even be captured by them as hostages! So stop daydreaming!"
After listening, Shen Li nudged Xuan Yuanjue with her elbow to make him shut up, and was also thinking about a solution in her mind.
"Don't be in a hurry. I made an agreement with Xuan Shu before. I told him to lead some people to come and support us later! Xuan Shu's martial arts are not bad either. Let him fight Mu Wulin then! The two of us will go and deal with Wu Sixi together. Well, plus your little follower. Let her take care of the injured one. That should be about right!"
Xuan Yuanjue sat on the tree branch, propping his chin with one hand and thinking. "Hey? Why didn't I see your little follower today? Didn't she used to follow you around like a tail? Why isn't she here today?"
"She has other things to do and can't come."
"Other things? What are they?" Xuan Yuanjue's whole face was filled with curiosity as he leaned closer to Shen Li and asked.
"Important things!" Seeing Xuan Yuanjue suddenly lean in, Shen Li instinctively leaned to the side to keep a distance from him.
"Stingy! You won't even tell me about this! Even if you don't tell me, I know!" Seeing Shen Li move to the side, Xuan Yuanjue mischievously leaned closer to her again. "That girl of yours named Yue, right, Han Yue. Could she be having an affair with your elder brother? When we were chasing those black - clothed men at Pufa Temple last time, she never left Shen Yi's side for a single step. It was the same outside the Jingzhao Mansion last time!"
"Even now, right? I mean, why does your maid always run to Shen Yi's side? Could it be that the two of them are..." At this point, Xuan Yuanjue showed a somewhat lewd smile on his face, looking at Shen Li as if he had guessed everything.
Seeing that Xuan Yuanjue had obviously thought wrongly, Shen Li pushed his shoulder to make him stay away from her. "Xuan Yuanjue, what are you thinking about in your head! Han Yue is there to protect my elder brother! It's so dangerous outside. My elder brother always needs more people to protect him!"
"Oh!" Xuan Yuanjue showed an expression of sudden realization on his face. "Protection! Well, close - range protection is conducive to cultivating feelings!"
Hearing Xuan Yuanjue's annoying words, Shen Li knew he was just deliberately misunderstanding Shen Yi, so she didn't explain much to him.
Outside, Zhuang Yusheng's arm was injured. Supported by Mu Wulin, he walked behind Wu Sixi. And there were highly skilled personal guards protecting them all around.
"After we pass through the forest in front, there will be people coming to support us!" Wu Sixi said to Zhuang Yusheng and Mu Wulin.
"Big brother! Are those people reliable? Could there be any problems?" Mu Wulin whispered his doubts.
"Alas! We have no other choice now. Apart from that person, who else can we trust!" Wu Sixi let out a soft sigh and said to his two brothers, "Let's leave this place first. It's not too late to deal with other matters later!"
Zhuang Yusheng advised Wu Sixi, "Big brother, we can't fully believe what those people say. Big brother, you should make other plans and leave some leeway in case of any unexpected situations!"
Wu Sixi nodded, indicating that he had it in mind. "I've thought about this for a long time. You can rest assured! Now we should focus on getting on our way, so as not to be discovered by those officers and soldiers."
At this moment, Shen Li and Xuan Yuanjue hiding in the dark couldn't hear clearly what they were saying.
Shen Li had learned lip - reading for a while in her previous life. Looking at their mouth shapes now, she could roughly guess what they were saying. "After they pass through the forest in front of them, there will be people coming to support them!"
Sitting on the tree, Shen Li could also see that the forest wasn't very big. It would probably take Wu Sixi and his group less than half an hour to pass through it. If they entered the forest, it would be difficult to take action.
"Let's act!" Shen Li had already taken out her whip and said to Xuan Yuanjue.
"Wait a bit more!" Seeing that Shen Li was about to act, Xuan Yuanjue grabbed her arm. "Xuan Shu will be here soon. It's not too late for us to wait a while. If we go down now, it'll be too dangerous."
Shen Li's eyes were fixed on the panicked figures of those more than a dozen people, and her hand tightly grasped the whip. "Xuan Yuanjue, this matter is of great importance and there can't be any mistakes. Now, I'll trust you this time! If Xuan Shu doesn't lead his people here after half a stick of incense burns, then..."
Before Shen Li could finish, Xuan Yuanjue continued, "We'll act no matter what."
"Okay!"