Under the cover of night, the four of them slowly made their way towards the city, Luo Zheng calmly surveyed the city; it was not large, built along the water. Alongside the river was a road, with grasslands on both sides of it, and another road connected perpendicularly to the riverside road, forming a right angle. Houses were built along the perpendicular road. The whole city seed to have a population that probably did not exceed ten thousand. The streetlights were dim, and there were no people visible on the streets. The occasional cars that passed by sped quickly, as if scared of sothing—clearly, this was an unsafe city.
Such conditions, however, facilitated their actions. After entering the perpendicular road, everyone walked cautiously forward. Luo Zheng looked at the houses on either side of the road; most of them were wooden shacks, low-built with tightly shut doors. Dim shadows stretched long, and the whole city seed as though it were deep in slumber.
"How much further?" Luo Zheng asked coldly, still vigilant and observing his surroundings.
"We're almost there," the captive replied hurriedly. Seeing Luo Zheng's distrust, he added, "This is the General's hotown. At this ti every month, the General's son cos to visit his mother on his behalf. He arrived yesterday; I saw it with my own eyes. As per tradition, he stays for five days before leaving."
"What about the guards?" Ghost Hand suddenly asked in a low voice.
"About twenty people, I guess. This is the General's territory; no one dares to touch it," the captive quickly explained.
No one said anything more, but they stayed hidden in the shadows of the houses, cautiously moving forward. Before long, a two-story building appeared ahead, towering and commanding compared to the surrounding houses, expansive with a large courtyard, and four n patrolling the gateway, all ard and looking drowsy, almost on the verge of falling asleep.
Luo Zheng and the others quickly pressed against a concealed part of a neighbouring house's eaves. The captive pointed ahead and was about to say sothing when Luo Zheng pressed a hand over his mouth and followed by a pain in his neck, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. After knocking the captive out, Luo Zheng, without the intent to deliver a deadly blow, looked coldly ahead and said in a lowered voice, "Four n, Ghost Hand, think you can flank to the other side? Is three minutes enough?"
"Enough," Ghost Hand replied as he assessed the layout of the surrounding houses. He then darted into an alley, maneuvering to the front. Luo Zheng and Lan Xue remained hidden, patiently awaiting their mont, observing the lax guard at the gate without drawing attention.
Three minutes later, Luo Zheng asked tentatively through the headset, "Are you in position?"
"In position," ca Ghost Hand's response in the headset, faint but clear enough to hear.
"We'll draw the enemy's attention at the front; you silently take them out from behind," Luo Zheng whispered, glancing at Lan Xue. Lan Xue nodded, then, arm in arm with Luo Zheng, they walked forward dressed in local attire, resembling a couple returning ho. Lan Xue had let down her hair which, under the moonlight, made her look like a graceful fairy, pure and ethereal.
Two people walked up and overheard the four guards talking and occasionally bursting into ambiguous laughter. Luo Zheng noticed that their gaze toward Lan Xue was full of greed, and one even ca forward with his gun aid, shouting sothing. Luo Zheng, unable to understand, shielded Lan Xue in his arms, pretending to be scared.
"Hahaha!" The group burst into unrestrained laughter. Luo Zheng caught a glimpse of a black shadow flashing behind the four from the corner of his eye. In a swift motion, like a hungry wolf, it dragged one person back into the shadows of a dark corner and disappeared without a trace. Knowing that Ghost Hand was in action, he pretended to be panicked and quickly ushered Lan Xue away, feigning avoidance, which made the n laugh even more proudly.
The two n approached boldly, guns aid. Jili said sothing encouraging. Luo Zheng saw Ghost Hand stealthily erge from behind and silently reached another man, placing a cold Tiger Teeth combat knife against the man's neck. The man, still laughing proudly, was completely unaware of Ghost Hand's presence.
Seeing that Luo Zheng remained silent, the two n beca angry and charged at them, ready to strike. Luo Zheng and Lan Xue suddenly split and dashed forward. The Tiger Teeth combat knife traced a terrifying arc under the night sky, splashing blood. The two n clutched their throats as their guns fell to the ground, their faces full of shock and disbelief as they stared at Luo Zheng and Lan Xue.
Lan Xue, angered, delivered a flying kick, landing a series of kicks directly on the two n's heads. The impact, compounded by their slashed necks, made the wounds larger. The two n's bodies flew several ters backward and landed lifeless on the ground. Luo Zheng knew that Lan Xue had used her real strength and did not stop her; these ignorant n dared to molest Lan Xue and got what they deserved.
The duo picked up their weapons and swiftly moved to the door. Luo Zheng peeked inside, noting that the front door was about ten ters away from the house. The ground was level, one room was lit, soone was shouting inside, while the other rooms were quiet. Seeing no other movents around, he signaled several combat hand signals, indicating for the two to cover him as he quickly dashed forward, moving like a ghost under the cover of night.
He reached under the light of the lit room in one breath. The window was covered with white paper, making it hard to see inside. Luo Zheng moistened his fingertip with saliva and pressed it against the window paper, easily puncturing it. Peeking through the hole, he saw four people gambling, three watching, and another three watching TV on the sofa, all highly excited and completely oblivious to the sounds outside.
Luo Zheng signaled a few hand signs, and soon, Lan Xue and Ghost Hand also rushed over. With their backs against the wall, they looked at Luo Zheng, who surveyed the vicinity. The front door was tightly closed, and there was a wooden balcony on the second floor that looked accessible but might creak and expose them. Glancing again inside the room with ten people, based on the information from a captured enemy, if there were only around twenty enemies, eliminating the ten inside would leave only a few to worry about.
However, without confirming the position of the remaining enemies, Luo Zheng dared not act hastily. He signaled Ghost Hand to keep an eye on the ten inside the room while he checked upstairs. If they alerted the enemies, they would launch a strong attack. After receiving an understanding nod from Ghost Hand, Luo Zheng stepped back, took a running start, and leaped vigorously, grabbing onto a horizontal beam on the balcony and flipping up onto it.
No one was on the balcony. A door led inside; Luo Zheng rolled over to it and gently pushed. The door was unlocked and swung open easily. He signaled Lan Xue to guard the door and listened intently, peering into the dark, unable to see anything.
At that mont, Lan Xue also jumped up, hiding beside Luo Zheng, and vigilantly looked inside. She patted Luo Zheng's shoulder, and with a pointing gesture, indicated for him to advance.
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