Huyan's Shocked Revelation of the Treacherous Plot, Regretful Sighs Over Greed and Foolishness Ruining Meritorious Deeds

After bidding farewell to the officer of the second ambush unit, the first messenger spurred his horse without pause and raced toward the ambush zone where Huyan Du was stationed.

He knew perfectly well that this was a task that could send him soaring to the heavens in a single step!

As long as he delivered news of the great "victory" at the front to General Huyan Du, even if he received no lavish reward, it would still be a tremendous chance to show his face. Perhaps he could even shed his status as a lowly messenger and squeeze his way into the ranks of the army's minor officials.

The journey stretched for nearly ten li through the mountains, far rougher and harder to traverse than he had imagined.

The steep slopes were littered with sharp-edged gravel, and every step threatened to send him slipping.

The dense thickets were like countless hands, clutching fiercely at his robes. With the slightest tug, the cloth would be snagged open.

The mountain mist thickened and thinned by turns. When it grew dense, he could not even see the path a few paces ahead and could only feel his way forward through memory and the sensation beneath his feet.

He staggered onward, his knees and elbows scraped raw red by the stones. The soles of his feet were covered in densely packed blood blisters, every step piercing him with heart-drilling pain. His breath came as urgently as a broken bellows, his chest heaving violently.

Yet he dared not stop for even an instant. The excitement in his heart and his yearning for reward crushed all exhaustion beneath them. He thought only of delivering this news of "great merit" before Huyan Du as quickly as possible, in exchange for an opportunity of his own.

After