Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 120 The Clever Kid

After another hour of walking, the road became even more difficult.

One section is almost vertical, with only a few protruding rocks to step on.

Below is a bottomless abyss; if you fall in, you won't even find a bone fragment.

Huang Hu, familiar with the area, was the first to climb up and lower the rope.

"One by one."

Tuoba Feng was the first, and he went up steadily.

Xiao Rui followed suit, his movements clean and efficient.

Chen Lei hesitated for a moment while climbing, but quickly regained his composure and made it to the top smoothly.

It was Ye Qingying's turn.

She gripped the rope and climbed up gracefully, her movements as elegant as a white crane.

Jiang Xun watched from below, thinking to himself: This woman looks so beautiful even while climbing a mountain.

Finally, there's Jiang Xun.

He gripped the rope, placed his feet on the rocks, and slowly moved upwards.

"Don't look down," Xiao Rui reminded him from above.

Jiang Xun hadn't planned to read any further, but after Xiao Rui said that, he couldn't help but glance down—a bottomless abyss, shrouded in mist.

My legs went weak on the spot.

"My God..." He gripped the rope tightly, his heart pounding like a drum.

"I told you not to look down." Xiao Rui's voice carried a hint of helplessness.

Jiang Xun gritted his teeth, stopped looking down, and slowly climbed upwards.

Fortunately, it was a close call, and we finally made it to the top.

"How is it?" Ye Qingying asked, her eyes filled with concern.

Jiang Xun wiped the sweat from his forehead, feigning nonchalance: "It's nothing, I'm not afraid at all."

No one believed him, but no one called him out on it.

After walking for most of the day, we were getting closer and closer to the summit.

All around was a vast expanse of white snow, making it impossible to distinguish east from west. The wind grew stronger and stronger, howling like a wild beast.

Huang Hu walked at the front, stopping every now and then to check the direction.

Jiang Xun wrapped his fur coat tighter, cursing Ling Xuan's ancestors for eighteen generations in his mind—the poison was cured, but if that bastard hadn't poisoned her, none of this mess would have happened.

"Watch out!" Tuoba Feng suddenly shouted.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked around warily.

Jiang Xun also sensed something was wrong—something was nearby.

He gripped the sword hilt tightly, his gaze sweeping across the snow, but he saw nothing.

He trusted Tuoba Feng's judgment; this man's intuition was terrifyingly accurate, and he was the first to spot danger several times along the way.

"Over there." Tuoba Feng's gaze was fixed on a boulder behind a large rock to his left.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a white figure darted out from behind the boulder.

It was a snow leopard, frighteningly large, with pure white fur that almost blended into the snow.

But his eyes were amber, radiating a chilling killing intent.

Its target is clear—Ye Qingying.

The snow leopard was as fast as lightning, and in the blink of an eye it pounced on Ye Qingying.

Ye Qingying reacted quickly, dodging the first pounce with a swift movement.

But the snow leopard was clearly an expert. The moment its front paws touched the ground, it swept its tail sharply, creating a cloud of snow mist, and at the same time used the force to turn and pounce on Ye Qingying again.

The change of move was extremely fast, and Ye Qingying did not have time to completely dodge, so she could only raise her sword to block.

With a clang, the snow leopard's claws slammed into the sword, the immense force sending Ye Qingying staggering back several steps, nearly causing her to fall.

Tuoba Feng and Xiao Rui attacked simultaneously.

One blade slashed at the snow leopard's neck, while the other stabbed at its abdomen.

The snow leopard reacted extremely quickly, twisting its body to dodge the two attackers, taking a few steps back, arching its body, and letting out a low growl.

Chen Lei also arrived, standing in front of Ye Qingying, his eyes fixed on the snow leopard.

Several people stood ready, confronting the snow leopard.

Jiang Xun stood on the outside, not in a hurry to go up.

He could tell this snow leopard was unusual—it was a whole size bigger than a normal one, moved quickly, reacted quickly, and even seemed to have some intelligence.

"Be careful, this beast is not simple," Jiang Xun shouted.

As if understanding, the snow leopard turned its head and stared at him with its amber eyes.

Then, it pounced again—this time targeting Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun was prepared and dodged the attack with a quick movement.

But then the snow leopard's tail swept over, accompanied by a whooshing sound.

Jiang Xun dodged to the side, drew his sword with his right hand, and slashed at the snow leopard's hind leg.

The snow leopard roared in pain and turned to pounce on Jiang Xun.

Tuoba Feng and Xiao Rui seized the opportunity to attack from both sides.

Beset on all sides, the snow leopard had no choice but to abandon Jiang Xun and deal with the two men instead.

Its claws and fangs gleamed coldly in the sunlight, each strike deadly.

Tuoba Feng's swordsmanship was fierce and powerful, while Xiao Rui's swordsmanship was sharp and ruthless. Although it was the first time the two had joined forces, they cooperated perfectly and fought the snow leopard to a draw for a time.

But the snow leopard's fur was too thick; the sword could only cut through the fur, not inflict any serious damage.

"This can't go on," Jiang Xun frowned.

Snow leopards are significantly stronger than humans, so the longer the conflict drags on, the worse it will be for them.

Chen Lei also noticed the problem, drew his sword and joined the battle, intending to end it quickly.

The snow leopard seemed to sense the danger, and suddenly abandoned the three of them, pouncing on Ye Qingying again.

It's incredibly fast.

As if Ye Qingying had anticipated this, a flash of sword light appeared, slashing towards the snow leopard's forepaw.

The snow leopard twisted its body in mid-air to avoid the sword's edge, then opened its massive jaws to bite at her throat—a jaw large enough to fit a fist, with gleaming white fangs and a stench of blood.

"Oh no!" Chen Lei exclaimed in alarm, but it was too late to save him.

"Bang!"

A muffled thud.

The snow leopard let out a miserable howl, its body swayed, and it fell to the ground in the snow.

Xiao Rui seized the opportunity and slashed the snow leopard in the neck with his sword.

The snow leopard struggled a few times, then finally stopped moving.

Only then did everyone realize that a crossbow bolt was stuck in the snow leopard's abdomen.

The arrow shaft was mostly embedded in the ground, with only a small section of its tail feathers visible.

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ye Qingying walked up to Jiang Xun, looked at the repeating crossbow in his hand with a complicated expression, but still sincerely said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Jiang Xun waved his hand and casually put away the repeating crossbow.

Chen Lei leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Where did you get that repeating crossbow?"

"Bought them." Jiang Xun's tone was relaxed. "In the eastern market of Shuofeng City, at Boss Yang's shop, one hundred taels apiece, plus twenty arrows for free. Good quality at a low price, fair dealing for everyone."

"..." Chen Lei was speechless.

Repeating crossbows are strictly forbidden to be privately possessed in the Central Plains, but I never expected to see them being openly sold in the market of Shuofeng City.

Xiao Rui and Tuoba Feng saw this but didn't say anything, seemingly unsurprised.

Huang Hu broke the silence: "Let's go up the mountain first. It's getting dark, and we need to get to Sword Ruins before then."

Everyone nodded and continued climbing.

Jiang Xun walked at the very back, touched the repeating crossbow in his arms, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

He said those things on purpose.

He had promised the Duke of Wei that he would investigate the smuggling of crossbows.

The Xiao family is now the prime suspect, and Xiao Rui, as an important figure in the Xiao family, couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

If we throw out the clues now, and this person has something to hide, they'll make a move sooner or later.

When the time comes, he just needs to wait to reap the rewards.

"Jiang Xun, you're such a clever fellow," Jiang Xun thought to himself, quickening his pace to catch up.