Chapter 238: Heading for the Traps

Translator: Madesmoiselle V.

Upon seeing Ouyang Shaochen and Murong Xue step inside, General Zhang put the map back on the table before cupping his hands to show his respect. "Prince Ouyang, Miss Murong, your tents are ready, and are just next to mine..."

"Thank you very much, General Zhang," Ouyang Shaochen said calmly.

"It's my pleasure!" General Zhang smiled. Red marks on the map on the desk implied his anxiety and confusion.

"Are you in trouble, General?" Murong Xue winked.

"It's not that serious. We have stayed here for several days, and the army is still not able to progress any further..." General Zhang sighed, his eyebrows knitted. Though the military situation was the top secret, it had already been well-known to the 300,000 soldiers outside the tent. Therefore, there was no need to hide it from them.

Something skimmed across Murong Xue's mind fleetingly, which was too quick for her to grasp. "What happened?"

"After the general of the Nan Jiang army passed away, the emperor appointed his son, prince Gong Qianyu, as the troop leader. Adept at martial arts and deployment, he made full use of the terrain of Mingzhou and blocked our army out of the city..." General Zhang said in a low-pitched voice, his sharp eyes flickering with sullenness.

During the war before, the Qing Yan army used to be in serious trouble, but the problem could always be solved smoothly. However, the traps set by the crown prince of Nanjiang are too mysterious and strange to break through, not to mention marching forward...

If they could not get past the traps, it would be impossible to conquer Mingzhou even in the next year...

Murong Xue remembered Gong Qianyu's clear eyes sparkling with strange light. As the leader of the Nanjiang army, that innocent guy wasn't only a top practitioner in martial arts, but also a talent in deployment. Obstructing 300,000 Qing Yan soldiers all by himself, how unimaginable...

"General, what about kidnapping several Nanjiang soldiers and interrogate them under torture?" One of the deputies suggested.

General Zhang shook his head. "The traps were set by Gong Qianyu. The soldiers may not know how to get past them..."

"What should we do..."

General Zhang and his deputies discussed heatedly about the available strategy.

Not interested in the war, Murong Xue kept silent. She looked around, but there was no sign of even one familiar figure nearby. "General Zhang, where is my elder brother?" She couldn't help asking.

"He is on patrol with groups of soldiers, and will return after two hours..." General Zhang answered expressionlessly.

Murong Xue nodded. Since she would live here tonight, it would be okay to meet Murong Ye later.

"General Zhang, there's an emergency..." A scream resounded in the air. A soldier lifted the curtain before rushing inside, out of breath.

"What happened? Why are you in panic?" General Zhang glared at him with a frown.

"It's the guards...They are in trouble..." The soldier took a long breath before saying in a hurry, "The guards noticed several suspects during the patrol and decided to catch them, but they were trapped in the net..."

With his gaze turning stern, General Zhang scolded them harshly, "Haven't I ordered that no one should step inside? How bold they were to violate my order..."

"The soldiers didn't violate your order. The range of those traps has been expanded...They thought there was still some distance..." The soldier argued eagerly.

General Zhang squinted his sharp eyes. What? Gong Qianyu actually expanded the range net and threatened the Qingyan army. At that time, not only the soldiers couldn't march forward, but would be forced to retreat...

With her eyelids twitching, Murong Xue had a sense of foreboding. She looked up at the soldier and asked, "Have all the guards on patrol been trapped inside?"

"I'm afraid so." The soldier nodded, his eyes flickering with sullenness. "The strange trap entrapped all the soldiers at once. Although Marquis Murong Ye is indeed a good practitioner in martial arts, he fell into the trap in the end after a long period of struggling..."

Murong Xue frowned heavily. Hadn't she warned Murong Ye repetitively? How silly he was to be so careless...

"Are the traps so horrible?"

"Traps of various kinds were set ahead. None of the entrapped soldiers could survive..." General Zhang murmured, his eyes full of frustration.

Murong Ye was surely in great danger...

"I want to have a look..." Murong Xue's eyes were narrowed.

"Please have a second thought, Miss Murong. The traps are very dangerous places..." General Zhang exhorted her at once.

"Set your mind at ease. I can look after myself." Murong Xue stepped outside with a chuckle. She not only had witnessed various traps, but had been to many dangerous and strange places in the modern society. In Murong Xue's opinion, there was never any trap in the world mysterious enough to entrap her...

Watching her resolute figure, Ouyang Shaochen followed her outside with vigorous strides, his dark eyes flickering with helplessness.

General Zhang and his deputies glanced at each other before hurrying out of the tent with their private guards, following Murong Xue.

They still remembered vividly how Murong Xue fought against the strange people on a wooden snake at the Royal Summer Resort. The traps seemed to be far more dangerous than those snakes. It was still unknown whether she could success this time...

The traps were located in the southwest of the military camp, merely two or three Lis away.

Standing afar, Murong Xue noticed a luxuriant and boundless forest covered by dead silence. The dark gray mist lingering among the trees accentuated its strangeness and gruesomeness.

Murong Xue frowned at the heavy mist. "The mist is poisonous. I must take the antidote before entering, or I will die within fifty steps!"

So powerful!

All the people squinted at the poisonous mist, which they had always mistook as a common one. No wonder none of the soldiers survived after entering the woods...

Glancing at other people's eyes filled with fear, Murong Xue turned around with a chuckle and reached inside Ouyang Shaochen's sleeve for a white bag from which she took out a dark brown pill before stuffing it in her mouth. "Since the traps are dangerous, there is no need for you to follow me inside. I will go there by myself!" She said slowly.