Du Gu Mingyu led a contingent of soldiers straight to the mountain forest outside Yangguan Pass to rendezvous with Xiao Luo. Under the cover of darkness and a strong wind, the group stealthily entered the woods, unaware that their every move was being watched.
"Your Majesty, the fish have taken the bait," Wei Wuji reported softly.
Murong Shengrui lifted the curtain of the carriage and glanced outside. "Xiao Luo is an interesting fellow. He actually used a stratagem within a stratagem to expose the spies in Yangguan Pass, but he doesn't realize that while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind."
"Your Majesty, shall we reel them in?"
"Let's reel them in. Xiao Luo must be captured, and Du Gu Mingyu cannot be let go. Both must be taken alive," Murong Shengrui said gently. "Mother doted on this younger brother the most. If she knew Du Gu Mingyu fell into my hands, she would surely not be able to resist coming to see me."
Wei Wuji bowed his head to listen, his face respectful, but his heart was indifferent. Even if His Majesty were to slice Du Gu Mingyu into a thousand pieces, the dead could not crawl out of their graves to stop him. As long as Murong Shengrui was resolute, he was willing to let him continue to indulge in such fantasies.
"Let's go, let's go and watch the good show," Murong Shengrui suddenly became interested. He wanted to see the expressions on their faces when they discovered they had fallen into a trap.
Du Gu Mingyu led his men stealthily through the mountain forest and happened to encounter Xiao Luo being besieged. He immediately joined forces with Xiao Luo, resolving the urgent crisis.
Seeing Du Gu Mingyu appear, Lu Wei thought things were bad and tried to slip away. However, he was stopped by Du Gu Mingyu. "Vice General Lu, where are you going?"
"General Du Gu, I wasn't planning to go anywhere," Lu Wei said, feigning calmness. "Just on reconnaissance."
"Take him down."
"General Du Gu, what do you want to do?" Lu Wei's face changed greatly. "Young General, save me!"
"Mingyu, what's going on?"
"You'll have to ask him what he's done," Du Gu Mingyu said, looking at Xiao Luo. "Adjutant Zhao asked me to inform the Young General that Lu Wei has betrayed us."
"Slander! This is slander!"
Xiao Luo pondered for a moment and immediately understood. "The military tally."
Lu Wei's face turned pale. "Young General, I am not the only one who knows about the existence of the military tally."
"Indeed, there are not just you, but only four people: the Zhao father and son, and you and me," Xiao Luo said calmly. "The Zhao father and son would not betray themselves, so the only person who could have leaked the information is you."
Lu Wei's face showed despair. He gave up struggling. He had not expected that only a few people knew about the military tally, and even less that the other person was Adjutant Zhao's son!
Suddenly, countless Yunqi soldiers emerged from the forest, surrounding everyone. Xiao Luo and Du Gu Mingyu exchanged glances, seeing unease in each other's eyes.
"They say the Xiao family produces famous generals, and Xiao Zhen is a rare one. His son is not bad either. He actually risked his own life to use the enemy to weed out internal traitors," Wei Wuji's unique voice rang out. "Little does he know, while the mantis stalks the cicada, the oriole waits behind."
"Wei Wuji!" Du Gu Mingyu gnashed his teeth fiercely, but he was quite wary. Wei Wuji never left the emperor's side. If Wei Wuji was here, did it mean the emperor was also here?
"So it's Yunqi's foremost eunuch, Grand Eunuch Wei!" Xiao Luo became defensive. This popular figure around the Yunqi emperor was a truly ruthless eunuch. What was his intention in appearing here?
"Young General Xiao, this humble servant has long admired your reputation. I wish to invite Young General Xiao to be a guest in Pingxi City. Please do not refuse." Wei Wuji's voice, high-pitched with a feminine undertone, carried an indescribable sinister chill.
"What if I refuse?" Xiao Luo suddenly remembered Xiahou Ying's warning: their target was him, to lure Man'er to the border. Had Man'er once again escaped the capital through a trick?
"In that case, this humble servant will have to use a slightly more forceful method to invite Young General Xiao to be a guest."
"Wei Wuji, the person you want to capture is me. Why bother with Young General Xiao?" Du Gu Mingyu stepped forward, shielding Xiao Luo. "Young General, after a while, take your men and tear through the encirclement, retreat towards Yangguan. Adjutant Zhao will bring men to meet you."
"What about you?"
"I'll stay behind to cover your retreat."
"Du Gu Mingyu, you think too highly of yourself," Wei Wuji said slowly. "This humble servant is quite interested in Young General Xiao. As for you, a stray dog... you're not worth this humble servant's effort."
Du Gu Mingyu frowned. He absolutely could not let Xiao Luo fall into Wei Wuji's hands. Wei Wuji was ruthless; if Xiao Luo fell into his hands, he would be stripped of his skin, if not killed!
"If you want to take him away, you'll have to step over my dead body!" Du Gu Mingyu drew his sword and stepped forward. "Since you killed so many of my Du Gu family anyway, you probably don't mind adding one more!"
Wei Wuji's expression turned cold. At this moment, a low voice came from the carriage behind. Wei Wuji immediately bowed his head to listen. A moment later, he returned. "If you surrender willingly, then he can leave today."
"Mingyu, don't believe what they say," Xiao Luo said calmly. "Eunuchs are notoriously untrustworthy."
A flash of displeasure crossed Wei Wuji's face. "Young General Xiao, you should think before you speak, lest you don't even know how you died."
"My Xiao family men have never feared death," Xiao Luo sneered. "You are merely a sycophant who has gained the emperor's favor through flattery. Mingyu, do you really think a villain can be as trustworthy and honorable as a gentleman?"
Wei Wuji's face completely changed. Anger filled his eyes. With a flick of his wrist, his sword fell into his hand, and he immediately charged at Xiao Luo. Xiao Luo and Du Gu Mingyu attacked simultaneously, their combined efforts against Wei Wuji.
Although Wei Wuji was skilled, he could not withstand the combined attack of the two and was beginning to struggle. Suddenly, the carriage curtain moved, and a figure in bright yellow flashed out. Du Gu Mingyu was startled and was about to warn Xiao Luo when he was repelled by a palm strike from Xiao Luo.
"Young General!"
Xiao Luo's expression was calm and composed. Even with his vital throat grasped, he showed no panic.
"This general feels truly honored that the Yunqi Emperor himself has come to arrest me."
Murong Shengrui's face was somewhat pale. His long fingers, with their distinct knuckles, could snap Xiao Luo's throat with a slight squeeze.
Murong Shengrui tightened his grip slightly, and Xiao Luo's face turned red, struggling to breathe.
"Young General."
"Du Gu Mingyu, I told you, no matter how vast the world is, there is no place for you to hide," Murong Shengrui said coldly, looking at the anxious Du Gu Mingyu, his words laced with cruelty.
"Let him go."
"It's not impossible for me to let him go," Murong Shengrui said with a smile. "Kneel down and beg me."
Du Gu Mingyu's eyes split with rage. He glared fiercely at Murong Shengrui. This man had slaughtered over three hundred lives of the Du Gu family and poisoned his sister. He was utterly ruthless. If he did not do as he was told, this man might very well kill Xiao Luo in a fit of anger!