A Plan to Defeat the Mongols

The more fiercely Guo Fu attacked, the harder it became for her to land a hit. The more she struggled, the more stifled and helpless she felt. Her breathing grew heavier, and beads of sweat multiplied across her forehead.

That brat moves like a slippery eel! I can't catch him! Guo Fu cursed inwardly.

She abruptly changed her move. Her right leg lashed out like a whip, sweeping toward Lin Xuan's waist and abdomen. It moved so fast that the air let out a sharp whistle.

Lin Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't dodge completely. Just as Guo Fu's leg was about to reach him, he drew his left foot back half a step and arched his body slightly.

His left hand, unnaturally supple yet astonishingly precise, shot out like a venomous snake.

As Guo Fu's leg swept past, his fingertips lightly brushed an acupoint on the outside of her calf.

It was a subtle spot that ordinary people would never notice, let alone identify with the naked eye.

Guo Fu felt a sudden numbness in her calf. A wave of weakness instantly spread through her entire leg, and the force behind her kick dissipated. Her body came to a brief halt.

That brief halt was all it took.

Lin Xuan pressed his advantage without giving her a chance to recover. Following the momentum of Guo Fu's stumble, he lightly caught her wrist with his right hand.

His movement looked gentle, but concealed a deft force. He didn't use brute strength. Instead, he used Guo Fu's own momentum, turning her around by following the force of her movement.

"Ah!" Guo Fu cried out, pain shooting through her arm.

Having gained the upper hand, Lin Xuan didn't press the attack. He simply gave her a gentle push, and Guo Fu lost her balance, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground.

He quickly withdrew his hand, his expression calm and his breathing unhurried.

The atmosphere in the training yard froze.

Guo Fu steadied herself. Her face flushed and paled in turns, showing both the flush of exertion and her mortification and disbelief.

She stared at Lin Xuan's composed face, her mind completely blank.

She, Guo Fu, had actually lost?

Lost to a Junior Brother who had only been in the sect for a few months—and with Internal Energy forbidden?

It was the greatest humiliation of her life!

Huang Rong's eyes had been fixed on the bout from beginning to end. Now, they were filled with shock and deep thought.

She had seen it clearly. Lin Xuan hadn't used any of the martial arts she had taught him, nor had he shown any fluctuation of Internal Energy.

His moves were simple to the extreme, yet also exquisitely subtle. His command of timing, angles, and the human body's acupoints was simply unfathomable.

Especially that last move: a light touch of his fingertip on an acupoint had instantly broken his opponent's attack, then he had used her own force against her with stunning finesse. It was a level beyond what an ordinary martial artist could achieve.

She suddenly realized that Lin Xuan's so-called "Primal Essence Return Breath" might not be an empty claim. He was hiding a deeper secret.

Whatever the case, the result of the bout was an undeniable fact.

Lin Xuan had won.

Guo Fu's face reddened. She bit her lower lip, nearly grinding her teeth to dust. She had lost, without a single excuse to offer.

When had she ever suffered such humiliation in her life?

"I... I lost," she murmured, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's, tinged with humiliation and unwillingness.

Lin Xuan stepped forward. There was no trace of smugness on his face, only a suitable hint of apology. "Senior Sister, you went easy on me. I was only lucky."

His humility left Guo Fu, who had been furious just moments ago, at a loss for how to react.

She looked into his clear eyes. No matter how much she resented him, she couldn't bring herself to say anything reproachful.

"What... what's your condition?" Guo Fu asked hoarsely, as if forcing the words out of her throat.

She had already prepared herself for humiliation. Perhaps he would make her embarrass herself in front of her mother, or punish her with some degrading task.

Lin Xuan looked at her calmly. Instead of immediately naming his condition, he wore a mysterious smile.

"Senior Sister is a lady of noble birth, a woman of her word. This disciple naturally trusts you." He began by praising Guo Fu's honesty, making her feel respected.

Then he bowed slightly, his gaze deep and tinged with an inscrutable meaning.

"As for my condition... this Junior Brother hasn't decided yet," Lin Xuan said slowly, his voice carrying an undeniable certainty.

Guo Fu looked up sharply, astonishment in her eyes. He hadn't decided yet? What kind of answer was that?

Lin Xuan continued, "But please rest assured, Senior Sister. This Junior Brother won't put you in a difficult position. I'll keep the condition for now. Later... when the time is right, I'll make my request."

He gave the words "later" and "when the time is right" a meaningful emphasis, as though hinting at some expectation.

Guo Fu's humiliation and resentment didn't lessen. Instead, her unease grew.

The fact that Lin Xuan hadn't made his request right away only made her more uncertain. An unknown condition was far more unsettling than a known humiliation.

Looking at Lin Xuan's calm, composed face, she suddenly felt that this Junior Brother, who had only recently joined the sect, had become strangely distant and unfamiliar. He was unlike any man she had ever met, and nothing like the useless flatterers who fawned over her.

There was a depth and cunning in his eyes that didn't belong to someone his age.

She parted her lips, wanting to say something, but in the end, not a word came out.

Huang Rong had witnessed the entire exchange. Her gaze toward Lin Xuan no longer held only admiration and trust; there was also a trace of wariness and scrutiny.

Lin Xuan's martial arts and his command of the bout had both exceeded her expectations.

It wasn't that he lacked Internal Energy; he simply disdained using it—or perhaps his strength came from a subtler, more secretive source.

He had defeated Guo Fu, yet left his condition undecided. His way of doing things made her feel uneasy.

Lin Xuan paid no mind to Huang Rong's scrutiny or Guo Fu's complicated, unspoken feelings.

He knew he had gained a great deal from this bout.

Not only had he once again displayed his "talent" and "exceptionality" to Huang Rong, but, more importantly, he had gained a "bargaining chip" he could use at any time: Guo Fu's promise.

The proud Lady Guo had now suffered defeat at his hands and owed him an unspecified "favor."

He could sense the humiliation and resentment burning beneath Guo Fu's bright, lovely face. But he also knew that despite her spoiled nature, she had her pride. She wouldn't go back on her word.

Lin Xuan tilted his head slightly, looking at her full, supple figure beneath her emerald-green martial outfit and her lovely face, made even more striking by her anger.

The faintest curve touched his lips, and a difficult-to-describe sense of satisfaction rose within him.

Author's Note:

Another chapter for you. Please add it to your favorites!

Chapter 8: A Plan to Defeat the Mongols

Xiangyang City was shrouded in a palpable sense of oppression.

The Mongol Army had tightened its siege in recent days. The city's food and supplies could still barely hold out, but an even greater headache was the unprecedented breach in its intelligence defenses.

Over the past few days, small disturbances had repeatedly broken out in the city.

Cats and dogs kept finding their way into the grain storehouses. It seemed harmless, but at crucial moments they distracted the guards and left gaps in the patrols.

Small fires had occasionally broken out in the armories. Fortunately, none had become a disaster, but they had left everyone on edge.

Some of the soldiers defending the city had even fallen ill for no apparent reason. Their symptoms were strange and unlike those of any ordinary epidemic.

To Huang Rong and Guo Jing, these seemingly unrelated incidents all pointed to one terrifying fact: Mongol scouts had infiltrated Xiangyang City in broad daylight.

The atmosphere in the Council Hall was more tense than ever.

A huge map lay across the table, densely marked with the city's geography and the deployment of forces both inside and beyond its walls.

Guo Jing's square, solid face was filled with anxiety and worry. He slammed one hand down on the table with a heavy thud.

"Rong'er, those Tartars are truly hateful! I've ordered the men to intensify their patrols, but those rats always find a crack to slip through. If we don't uproot them completely, we'll be inviting endless trouble!"

His voice was heavy, his brow furrowed with concern for his country and its people. He excelled at meeting the enemy head-on, but when it came to unseen undercurrents like these, he seemed at a loss.

Huang Rong wore a plain, deep-blue silk dress, its hem embroidered with subtle cloud patterns that outlined her graceful figure.

Her hair was neatly arranged today, held in place with a single wooden hairpin. Though she wore no makeup, the fatigue of her recent exertions was impossible to hide.

Her eyes, usually as lively as the stars, were faintly bloodshot. Her brow was tightly furrowed as she racked her mind for a solution.

She pressed her slender fingers to her temple, as if she could smooth away the deep worry there.

Those hands had often plucked the strings of a zither, treated injuries with acupressure, and directed troops. Now they seemed to weigh a thousand pounds.

Her clothes were loose, but they couldn't entirely conceal her shapely figure. Her full chest rose and fell with her quiet breaths, and her slender waist seemed to bow under an invisible burden.

"Brother Jing, ordinary inspections and searches will only catch a few small fry. These scouts must have accomplices inside the city and a secret network of contacts if they can cause trouble here."

"Unless we learn how they're connected and find their leader, catching as many of them as we like will be useless." Huang Rong's voice was as gentle as ever, but her judgment was clear and composed.

She knew that in a war like this, intelligence warfare was more frightening than force of arms.

She walked to the map and lightly touched several key points along the city's defenses—the places where irregularities had recently occurred.

"The problem is, they can avoid our heavily guarded positions with such precision and know the city so well. That means there's a problem within our own ranks. To find them, we must first find the hidden thread they're following..."

Huang Rong sighed softly, but even that faint sound carried a bone-deep weariness.

She raised her eyes toward the entrance and saw Lin Xuan standing there respectfully. He had clearly come to pay his respects. She gave him a slight nod, inviting him inside without asking him to leave.

Over the past few months, Lin Xuan's talent and insight had gradually led her to trust him. In some ways, she even considered him someone she could confide in and discuss matters with—a "kindred spirit."

Lin Xuan entered the hall without looking around and respectfully saluted Guo Jing and Huang Rong.

He could sense the tense atmosphere in the hall and the exhaustion nearly spilling from Huang Rong's eyes. His heart stirred. He knew an opportunity had come.

"Xuan'er, you're here?" Huang Rong's voice regained a trace of its usual gentleness. "Do you have any thoughts?"

She had asked offhandedly and didn't expect much. After all, even she found military strategy like this difficult. Why make things hard for a young man?

Lin Xuan respectfully replied, "Master, Master's Husband—I hope I've got the form of address right—this disciple is dull and can't grasp the deeper mysteries. But... I have a few tentative ideas about several recent incidents in the city. May I speak?"

He deliberately left them curious, showing humility while piquing their interest.

Guo Jing glanced at Huang Rong. Seeing the encouragement in her eyes, he said gravely, "Go ahead. Xuan'er, you're perceptive. You may notice something we've overlooked."

Lin Xuan was secretly pleased. Huang Rong's expression showed him that he needn't hold back. He cleared his throat, his voice growing steady and confident. He seemed nothing like his usual modest self.

"This disciple believes the recent disturbances in the city aren't simply a matter of scouts infiltrating us. They're part of a coordinated strategy of 'Information Counter-Penetration' and 'Psychological Offense and Defense.'"

Huang Rong and Guo Jing were both taken aback. They had never encountered these terms or concepts before.

Lin Xuan continued, "First, there are the dogs at the granaries, the fires in the armories, and the soldiers falling ill. These incidents may look accidental, but they aren't."

"The dogs at the granaries are meant to cause panic and make the people think the city is running out of food. The fires in the armories suggest that the defenders are poorly organized and their morale is wavering. The illnesses among the soldiers spread rumors, undermine morale, and may even be accompanied by some colorless, odorless poison that weakens our forces at the source."

He paused, his voice growing more forceful. "None of this is meant to cause direct damage. It's meant to create the illusion that 'we can get in anywhere, and you have nowhere to hide,' so they can break the will of our Xiangyang defenders and people."

Huang Rong's eyes, dimmed by fatigue just moments before, now brightened like two brilliant stars set aflame.

She bit her lip, shock showing on her exquisite face. Lin Xuan's analysis revealed a deeper Mongol conspiracy from an angle she had never considered.

She leaned forward without thinking. Her deep-blue dress draped gently over her graceful figure, tracing her curves and emphasizing her full chest as her excitement grew.

"Go on!" she urged, her voice quick with an intense desire to know more.

Lin Xuan knew he had completely captured her attention. He smiled confidently and continued:

"Second, since they want to create this illusion, we should use their own methods against them. They're spreading rumors, so we can 'refute' them and turn that tactic against them."

"We can release carefully designed rumors, half true and half false, to make the Mongols unable to tell fact from fiction. For example, we can spread word that the city has plenty of grain, that the defenders have been equipped with new weapons, or even exaggerate the martial arts of Master's Husband Guo Jing and Master to make them afraid."

"But that isn't the core of it." Lin Xuan shifted his tone, and Huang Rong and Guo Jing's hearts tightened again.

"The core is how to catch the scouts and accomplices hiding in the shadows. They aren't rats; they're the puppeteers pulling the strings from behind the scenes."

Lin Xuan glanced over the map and said gravely, "We can exploit their desire for information and set a trap."

"We can deliberately release some 'top-secret information' that must be accessible only to specific accomplices, and plant a 'marker' in it that only we know about."

"For instance, the schedule for moving an important shipment, the repair plans for a section of the city's defenses, or even a fake 'strategic deployment map' that looks entirely authentic."

"This 'information' can't be passed along by word of mouth. It must be transmitted in writing or as a 'secret order' that only certain people can know. Once the Mongols learn about information carrying one of our 'markers' through some channel, we can use process of elimination to quickly identify the leaker and the network behind them!"

Lin Xuan's voice grew more resolute, and his eyes gleamed with intelligence. He seemed like a commander devising strategies from his headquarters, turning the entire battlefield into a game board.

"Going a step further, we can turn the tables in the war of public opinion," Lin Xuan said. "They want to sow panic and disorder, so we can do the opposite. We can step up efforts to organize the people in the city: hold group drills in defending the walls, distribute extra supplies, and even put on activities to raise morale."

"Most importantly, during these activities and drills, we should include a few seemingly accidental 'mistakes.'"

"For instance, we can suddenly increase patrols, yet make it appear that the defenses have slackened at a certain section of the wall. Or, while transporting supplies, we can deliberately leave an 'opening,' then quickly cover it up. The scouts will think they can take advantage of it, only to come up empty again and again."

"That will give them the false impression that Xiangyang's defenses seem lax but are full of hidden traps. It can lure them into exposing themselves, keep them rushing about until they're exhausted, and ultimately make them fall into disarray."

Lin Xuan finished speaking in one breath. The Council Hall fell completely silent.