As the sun set, the wind sounded like a wailing child, and from time to time one could hear men's voices, a horse's whinny, a log spitting in the camp's giant bonfire.
Hidden within the thicket of the forest, a head peeked from behind a tree.
"Three men are patrolling the front of the camp. So far, they haven't changed shifts." Yin Changpu jerked his head back to the men behind him. "We need to take all three of them out if we want to get in."
Fan Mingli stood beside him and snuck a glance at the Tuhan men. As Yin Changpu said, there were three of them. Three big, tall men with bristling beards, copper skin, and bulging muscles.
To someone of Fan Mingli's stature, they were terrifying.
Swallowing the bile at the back of his throat, Fan Mingli took one hand and leaned against the ancient oak, his fingertips gripping into the crevices that ran through the bark. Under his boots, the golden leaves were as noisy as the static in his head.
Why did he come here?
He couldn't fight those men. He didn't have the strength like the rest of his comrades. Not like An Sun.
Remember what you're fighting for...who are you fighting for?
These words, Fan Mingli could not help but remind himself. Taking a deep breath, he turned toward the rest of the men.
"There are thousands of them there. We'll wait till dark...and then we'll find Captain Sun's friend."
"How will we get past the guards out front?" A comrade man with small black eyes asked.
"It'll be night, so they won't see us sneaking around. However, someone strong will need to take them out." Fan Mingli replied.
"You count on me for that!" Yin Changpu raised his hand, his mouth spread in a big, toothy grin.
Twitching his brows, Fan Mingli continued. "Like what we did in back in the village, we'll disguise ourselves. Three out front, two inside the camp. Based on what I've investigated on the An Clan, they'd keep their prisoners close to the main tent."
"Why?" A man couldn't help but ask.
"Easy access for torture." Fan Mingli answered simply.
Everyone fell silent; some swallowed nervously.
"But there will most likely be a guard or two in the front, so we'll have to be quiet when we're issuing our escape."
Nodding their heads, everyone stared at Fan Mingli with commendable smiles.
"Then it's settled." Fan Mingli peeked behind the tree and smirked. "Now we wait."
...
Before long, night came. The sky was black, not a single star in the sky. Just clouds and the glaring moon to shine down on the land.
Slipping within the shadows, Fan Mingli and the others moved. They leaned against the camp's wooden walls and made their way close to the guards. Fan Mingli glanced at Yin Changpu, who nodded at his signal.
It was then he moved in and stepped toward the guards, his body still wrapped in the shadows.
One of the guards keeping watch heard a sudden sound. The moment he turned his head to see what the noise was, a giant boulder had already crushed into his skull. When the other two noticed the commotion, they quickly ran over, not before Yin Changpu marched over and grabbed both their heads, bashing them together.
Both men fell unconscious. Still holding the bloody bolder in his hand, Yin Changpu hovered over the unconscious men's bodies and struck it down against each of their heads, blood pooling from their bodies like thick, red wine.
