Saving System: Calm Down, My Fleeing Host!-Chapter 87: Mission, Ambush V

Upon hearing this, Han Yi immediately understood. That’s right! How did he not think of this? Miss Cheng’s pre-emptive dream was meant for her to change the outcome of the dream. If they intervene forcefully and the result is not brought about by Miss Cheng, she would be deemed a failure and potentially obliterated.

Just the thought of it sends shivers down his spine; he had indeed thought too simply.

Luckily, there is the brilliant and wise Prince. "So, how many do you think we should send, sir? Miss Cheng asked for ten people. Should we really send just ten?"

Zhou Yanlan shook his head, "Ten people are too few. Send twenty people! That’s not too many and shouldn’t affect the outcome."

"You’re indeed thoughtful, sir." Han Yi didn’t hold back on his praise.

He then turned his attention to another piece of paper, which seemed to be the letter Miss Cheng wrote to the Prince. He finally understood why he was not allowed to see it last time; it was Miss Cheng’s handwritten letter.

However, he was truly curious about the treasure Leng Qi mentioned. Initially, he disdained it, thinking what kind of rare item a village girl could have. From childhood to now, their prince had seen all sorts of treasures. But after reading Leng Qi’s letter, he dropped that laughable prejudice and only wanted to witness it personally.

"Sir, what exactly is the treasure?"

Zhou Yanlan sat back in his seat, ignoring Han Yi’s sneaky glances, and asked, "How about the other two sides?"

Han Yi could only put away his curious gaze and replied solemnly, "The Princess Consort has taken action, cleaning up part of the aftermath and covering up many things. But the truth will eventually come out. Doing this will only make the situation worsen; it’s bound to collapse eventually, and saving it then will be as hard as climbing to the sky."

"Hmm!"

"Moreover, Great Xia has already sent several groups of spies into the city. The city is in chaos, and I believe the spies will soon find out the details." This was also what worried Han Yi. The Third Young Master had not noticed at all that the enemy had reached his side, while he was still troubled by the riots of refugees.

"It’s time to plan a retreat..."

Han Yi was surprised, "Sir, is it really unstoppable?"

"What do you think?"

Han Yi was rendered speechless. Yes! Without this disaster, they might have held on for a while, but there are no ’ifs.’ Now the Prince is old. In recent years, he’s delegated authority to let his sons manage, believing everything to be thriving. Coupled with the pillow talk by the Princess Consort, he thought his sons were excellent and capable. Little did he know that it was all an illusion created by the Princess Consort for him to see.

It’s likely the Prince will die of anger this time.

"Then... should we find a new base?"

Zhou Yanlan walked to the side, pulled out a map from a tube, spread it on the table, and examined it carefully. His slender fingers traced across various locations.

The map clearly marked the mountains, rivers, city distributions, and geographical features. Zhou Yanlan pointed to a mountain range, "Let’s set it up here!"

Han Yi looked, "Sir, won’t that be too far? It’s close to Beimang."

"Right here. You handle it personally. The Dark Pavilion Headquarters will be established in this mountain range."

Following Zhou Yanlan’s slender finger, he looked to the place marked: Da Yu Mountain Range!

Looking at the vast stretch of the mountains, for the first time, Han Yi felt under immense pressure. The place is sparsely populated, making it extremely difficult to establish a headquarters. The required manpower and resources amount to a massive figure.

Moreover, in front of it lies a cliff, and before the cliff is a big river. In such a desperate land, only their Prince would have the inclination to turn decay into magic.

"Any problem?" The man’s ghostly gaze swept over Han Yi.

Han Yi stiffened. The decisions of the Prince are only to be obeyed. How dare he have an opinion? He could only reluctantly reply, "No problem."

In his heart, however, he was bleeding. Such a huge amount of work, and building it in such a hostile area, if he doesn’t drop dead from exhaustion, he’ll die from anxiety!

After giving his orders, Zhou Yanlan leisurely began reading Cheng Xiaoxiao’s letter again, completely indifferent to the lifeless expression on Han Yi’s face.

Han Yi pursed his lips and could only reluctantly retreat. Not allowed to see the things, and tasked with such a perverted mission, it truly is the Prince’s usual style.

At that moment, Zhou Yanlan carefully studied the telescope’s description, eager to see what the actual item looked like. Does such a magical object truly exist, or is it indeed a unique treasure she gave him? An unusual emotion rippled in his heart, a sour and swelling feeling that was unfamiliar to him, which he assumed to be the joy of acquiring a treasure soon.

The corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted. If someone saw that expression, they would certainly think the person was lovestruck, though he himself was unaware.

...

Bored, Cheng Xiaoxiao had been in this place for almost a whole day without moving from her spot, occasionally listening to the system report on those people, sending messages, shuttling back and forth among the three captive zones, and perfecting the rescue details.

At this moment, a group of people entered through the South Gate.

System: "Host, host, more people have arrived. By the looks of it, the person on the tall horse is in cahoots with the bandits. They are talking with the gatekeeper, and they have somehow brought many more captives with them, about seven or eight hundred."

"What, they captured more captives? What do they want to do? You said they detain the captives, yet they still have to eat, sleep, and defecate. What are they after?" Cheng Xiaoxiao felt something was off. If they were just ordinary bandits, why capture so many refugees? It would require sharing a considerable amount of food.

Something’s off, very off.

System: "Apart from the captured captives, this time about 300 bandits returned."

In a small town, even if they captured all the surviving people from the villages, they wouldn’t number this many.

"77, keep an eye on those refugees and see where they come from."

"Okay, host."

She felt a vague unease, as if a massive conspiracy was being plotted. But what is it? What is the purpose of those bandits?

"Host, that bandit leader, the one with the scar on his forehead and missing an ear, has left the city on a fast horse." The horse raced quickly, soon beyond the system’s scanning range.

"Host, the bandit leader can’t be monitored anymore." The system regretted, wishing its scanning range were broader.

"No problem, just keep watching the refugees."

As darkness slowly fell, a group of people arrived in the mountain forest outside the North Gate, dust-stained from their journey, led by none other than Cang Er.

"Who’s there?" They were quickly spotted by patrolling people in the mountains.

Due to the poor visibility at night, two groups in the forest drew swords against each other, the atmosphere instantly turning tense.

"It’s me, it’s me, just allies." Cang Er hurriedly said.

The man with a knife was alert, "The weather is clear and bright."

"How much medicine to catch?" Cang Er immediately responded to the code.

Man: "Three taels and three qian."

Cang Er: "Five taels of silver with no change."

Recognizing the code, the man was ecstatic, "Are you from the Xue Family?"

"Yes, yes, I’m Doctor Xue’s apprentice. My name is Cang Er, and the hundred behind me are experts personally selected by the Xue Family Head of Yanzhou County."