The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

"Great Dragon, if you encounter any difficulties in your cultivation in the future, you may visit my residence. Is that alright?"

The head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) racked his brains to come up with this reward.

Sometimes it's better to guide than to block; it's better to let the youngest daughter get to know Zhao Dalong more as soon as possible.

After you've gotten to know her fully, let her meet those talented young men her age. With comparisons in mind, she'll know who's more suitable for her.

Zhao Dalong was unaware of these things; he simply thought this was an excellent opportunity.

"Thank you very much, Third Escort!"

"Alright, you guys go ahead. Ah Lu, you're the smartest, so report to me anytime if anything happens."

The third镖头 (head镖师) gave Chen Lu a few instructions, then took out a sealed short bamboo tube from his storage bag and handed it over.

The two exchanged a glance, neither saying anything, and Chen Lu simply accepted it silently.

This is a special type of mother-child Gu. When the player is surrounded and unable to escape, they must immediately crush the child Gu in their hand.

At the same time, the mother Gu in the hands of the Third Escort would emit a pitiful cry.

However, once deployed, it means that the following teams will abandon them and retreat immediately to ensure the safety of the cargo.

Often, in order to ensure their own survival, the scouts would deliberately not sound the alarm, thus giving the following teams incorrect information.

Only those who are absolutely trustworthy can be entrusted with such important tasks.

Of course, this is just a saying; in reality, one should choose cultivators who have both parents alive or who have deep family ties.

If they join forces with the traitors, their families will suffer joint liability and be unable to hold their heads high for the rest of their lives.

Although Chen Lu lost both his parents and was raised by his uncle, that was still an important bond between them.

Of course, the more important reason is that the Third Escort trusted Chen Lu and would never betray others.

Chen Lu and his companion spurred their horses, and the horses galloped to the front of the group, leaving the others behind, their figures gradually disappearing into the distance.

"Hopefully, it'll all be alright." The third镖头 (bodyguard/escort) watched the two figures disappear into the distance, feeling somewhat annoyed.

He then turned around and shouted at the line, "Hold on for fifteen minutes!"

The other bodyguards breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the two volunteer, and silently prayed that nothing bad would happen to them.

Chen Lu and his companion gripped the reins and galloped along the road. The spirited horses beneath them breathed evenly, their gait neither walking nor running.

When the time was almost up, the two loosened their grip on the horse's belly, pulled on the reins, and allowed the spirited horse to return to its normal speed.

Chen Lu took out a spirit fruit, bent down, and stuffed it into the spirit horse's mouth as a reward.

The horse snorted contentedly, adjusted its pace, and stopped deliberately bouncing Chen Lu's bottom.

I glanced at Zhao Dalong, whose face was still beaming with joy, and he kept talking about his relationship with Wang Xiaohe, the youngest daughter of the Third Escort.

Men in love often unleash extraordinary power for their partners.

Over the past few days, Chen Lu consulted the divination every day, and on one occasion he directly inquired about the specific details of the ambush.

But what he ultimately received was not what he had hoped for; he only learned that he would be ambushed in the next few days.

The instructions were very vague, except for a tiny bit more detail about the timing of the ambush.

To obtain more detailed and specific information, you can only ask separately.

First, inquire about the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness of tomorrow. Then, depending on the situation, choose to inquire about the detailed location the following day, or continue to inquire about the auspiciousness or inauspiciousness.

Until the 6th day.

"Disciple Chen Lu humbly beseeches the divine will to reveal to me the fortune or misfortune of tomorrow!"

[Lower-middle divination - Ominous: At 9 PM tomorrow, you will be surrounded, severely wounded, and captured.]

[Medium-medium fortune - Auspicious: Proceed with caution at every step, see through any ambushes, and you will gain a small opportunity.]

"The results are the same as last time, only the timing is more detailed."

This is because I was closer to the ambush and had a deeper connection to the cause and effect, which allowed me to obtain the specific time.

Chen Lu's suspicions were confirmed.

"Because I took away the opportunity that the three镖头 (bodyguards) gave me, the fortune slips declined."

Chen Lu was overjoyed; after waiting for several days, the ambush had finally come.

On the seventh day, just past midnight, Chen Lu immediately asked for instructions:

"Disciple Chen Lu humbly beseeches the divine will to reveal the location of my tribulation cultivator!"

[Information: There are 7 cultivators in total, forming a secret battle formation of the Yuansheng Sect, with three inside and four outside. Their exact location..., and approximate cultivation level...]

When Chen Lu saw that there were seven of them, he was startled.

On our side, including the two of them, there are only five bodyguards in total.

The one with the lowest cultivation level is definitely Zhao Dalong, who is only at the fifth level of Qi Refining, while the one with the highest is the head镖头 (镖头 is a person who escorts a镖头), who is about the ninth level of Qi Refining.

The opponent's strength was relatively even, with the lowest being the sixth level of Qi Refining and the highest being the ninth level.

Fortunately, under normal circumstances, a caravan will always have a guard who is skilled in archery.

Taking into account the crossbows he possessed and his intelligence advantage, he could take out at least two people.

However, our current strength is still insufficient to completely eliminate them, given our numerical advantage.

If we use strategy, we can definitely cripple the opponent, but not everyone; we must make some sacrifices.

Fortunately, as long as you act cautiously, you will surely achieve a good outcome.

Chen Lu glanced at Zhao Dalong, who seemed somewhat distracted, and pondered for a moment, figuring out how to deceive him.

As dawn broke and the sun blazed down, and then as darkness fell, he seemed to realize something, and quickly pulled on the reins, hastily dismounting.

He stared thoughtfully at the rubble on the ground.

Zhao Dalong noticed Chen Lu's unusual behavior and was puzzled. He tugged at the reins but did not dismount.

"Ah-Lu! What are you looking for?"

Chen Lu didn't speak, but turned his back to him and slowly made his way into the dense forest not far away until his figure completely disappeared.

Zhao Dalong called out several times, but received no response, which made him panic.

He quickly dismounted and took out a Golden Body Talisman and a Swift Travel Talisman, respectively, and slapped them on his body.

Then he carefully took off the large sword and held it in his arms to prevent the spirit ring on it from making a sound.

"Ah~ Ah Lu! You...you're scaring me! I don't want my first escort mission as a bodyguard to fail here!"

A short while later, Zhao Dalong saw Chen Lu squatting on the ground with a gloomy face.

Seeing Zhao Dalong approach, he finally spoke:

"Brother Da Long, look at these places over here. It seems like someone was here a few days ago."

Chen Lu brushed aside the rotten leaves, making a smoothed-out dent more noticeable.

Zhao Dalong's expression hardened. Although he didn't see anything, he pretended to have seen something in order not to show his ignorance.

"Ah Lu...you mean, that group of cultivators is nearby?"

"Hmm, this mark is very fresh, it was formed no more than half a day ago."

As expected, we've been spotted! They're just waiting for us to continue our journey, then fall into their trap, just like those three spies last time!

"This! What... what should we do?" Zhao Dalong panicked and asked in a trembling voice.

"Need help! Go and call the Third Escort to join us!"

"But..."

"We can hide for a while, but we can't hide forever. We'll have to meet them sooner or later."

If we miss this opportunity now, it may never come again!

"Please bring along the three镖头 (head镖师, escorts), and Brother Song, who is skilled in archery. Let's use a 'mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind' tactic!"