Reborn and returned, sisters swapped

Chapter 142 Tiger Clan

This scarf may seem ordinary, but the arrangement of its stitches reveals important information: the number of patrols, the range of vision of the watchtower, and the weakest point in the camp.

After completing her mission, she slowly retreated back into the shadows of the valley.

As dawn broke, the soldiers of the Tiger Clan began to emerge from their tents, and the camp gradually returned to life and bustle.

Gu Jinyan covered her face with a scarf to conceal her identity, blended into the bustling caravan in the morning light, and disappeared beyond the border of the Hu clan.

Gu Jinyan cautiously inquired about information, using her identity as a merchant to approach the soldiers of the Hu clan, and secretly made contact with the spies she had planted there.

“Agul’s plans have begun to falter, and General Dawar seems to be waiting for the right moment,” the agent whispered to her.

Gu Jinyan nodded slightly: "Continue to keep an eye on his movements. If Davar makes any unusual moves, send a message back to the city immediately."

After leaving the Hu clan, Gu Jinyan went to the Gebu clan's camp alone.

This time, she did not use her identity as a merchant traveler, but instead changed into a simple itinerant doctor's outfit, carrying a medicine box on her shoulder.

Using the basic medical skills she had learned, she treated the wounds of the Gebu soldiers and gradually gained a foothold in the camp.

One day, a warrior from the Gebu tribe was seriously wounded in battle and was carried back to the camp.

Two days,

For three days, Gu Jinyan took the initiative to treat his wounds. While administering acupuncture, she whispered to the soldier, subtly extracting information from him about the relationship between the Gebu tribe and the Tiele people.

“We just don’t want to take sides,” the soldier sighed. “The Gebu tribe has always been a fence-sitter, but the Tiele tribe’s ambitions are too obvious, and we dare not easily express our opinions.”

Gu Jinyan was secretly delighted, knowing that this information would greatly benefit her plans.

Return and intelligence integration

Several months later, Gu Jinyan quietly returned to Hesha City, bringing back the intelligence she had gathered from various tribes in the Northern Desert. She and Zhao Lingfeng compiled this intelligence in a secret room, analyzing the contradictions and divisions within the Black Rock Alliance.

“Dawar has already secretly contacted the Tianchen Dynasty. He is waiting for an opportunity to betray Agul,” Gu Jinyan said calmly. “The Gebu tribe is watching and waiting. They dare not act rashly, but they are also unwilling to completely submit to the Tiele tribe.”

Zhao Lingfeng nodded: "This intelligence is crucial. We can use these contradictions to dismantle the Black Rock Alliance's forces one by one."

Gu Jinyan smiled slightly: "Yes. In the next battle, we will no longer be on the defensive, but on the offensive."

Gu Jinyan sat quietly in a corner of the market, a soft sheepskin spread out beside her, covered with her meticulously drawn illustrations.

The sunlight in the northern desert shines through the sparse clouds onto the drawing paper, reflecting the vivid faces she paints.

Her fingers moved deftly across the paper, sketching the profile of a merchant. With a slight tremor of the pen, a smile appeared on the paper, as if the person was about to speak.

“You foreign girl, your painting is quite good.” A rough voice came from beside me, breaking the noise of the market.

Gu Jinyan looked up and saw an elderly soldier from the Hu clan standing in front of him.

His skin was tanned dark by the scorching sun, and his face bore the marks of time. A hint of curiosity shone in his deep eyes.

Gu Jinyan smiled slightly, put down his paintbrush, and handed the portrait he had just finished to the soldier.

The portrait on the paper outlines a rugged silhouette, with concise lines that accurately capture the unique demeanor and temperament of the merchant traveler.

The soldier stared at the painting for a while, and a barely perceptible smile slowly appeared on his lips.

"Are you drawing men from our Tiger Clan?" he asked, his voice less wary and more gentle.

“Yes.” Gu Jinyan nodded gently, his fingers gliding lightly across the sheepskin, pointing to several pictures depicting horses, camels, and winding mountains.

"I just wanted to record the beautiful scenery I saw here and the people I met."

The soldier's gaze wandered over her paintings, finally settling on a scene depicting Dawar warriors on horseback.

The warrior in the painting stands tall and straight, holding a longbow, galloping across a vast desert.

At that moment, the fierce wind seemed to blow from the painting, carrying the unique dryness of the grassland.

The soldier's expression gradually softened, as if he had returned to the days when he had ridden horses countless times.

“This painting looks a lot like me when I was young,” he said with a slight smile, his voice low but not without pride.

"Really? I can't guess." Gu Jinyan made a small joke, following his tone.

"However, if you'd like, you can tell me about those years, those days when we galloped across the northern desert."

The soldier paused for a moment, looking into her bright eyes.

Perhaps it was because no one had ever listened to his story so attentively before, or perhaps it was her fluent Hu clan language, which she had somehow learned, that made him feel at ease.

Finally, he slowly sat down, as if all his defenses had been relaxed at that moment.

The distant sound of camel bells seemed to draw his thoughts back to the distant past.

“The Dawar people…” he murmured, gazing at the distant mountains to the north.

“We Dawar people have lived in this place where the grassland meets the desert for generations. Our ancestors said that this is the territory of the wind god and the home of the warhorse.”

As the soldiers narrated, Gu Jinyan slowly sketched the scene with his pen: winding mountains, rolling grasslands, and soldiers sitting around a campfire under the night sky.

His voice was sometimes low and sometimes high, as if those bygone years were resurrected in his words.

On the edge of the drawing paper, she quietly recorded the ancient legends he mentioned: the heroes of the Tiger Clan, the gods who protected the tribe, and those names that had vanished with the wind.

The soldier would occasionally stop to watch the way her pen moved across the paper.

Seeing the drawing of a curved sword she had made on the paper, he suddenly smiled. "This sword is well drawn," he said. "It's the symbol of the Davar tribe, curved like a crescent moon, sharp as the wind. We call it the 'Storm Sword,' and only warriors can wield it."

Gu Jinyan nodded slightly and carefully wrote the words "Lan Dao" on the paper.

This is not just a simple object, but a symbol of the tribe's history and pride.

One day in the future, when these records are passed to her companions, perhaps these small details will reveal the deep secrets of the Tiger Clan.

"Your skills are really good," the soldier said approvingly, looking at her gradually finishing painting. "It's clear you want to understand us."

Instead of those merchants who come and go, only thinking about taking something from us and leaving.

Gu Jinyan looked up and smiled as she met his gentle gaze: "I think the stories here deserve to be seen by more people."

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on them, and Gu Jinyan's drawing paper trembled slightly in the breeze.

The market's hustle and bustle was gradually swallowed by the night, smoke rose from chimneys, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat and earth.

Gu Jinyan sat in front of her stall, looking down at the handkerchief in her hand, her fingers moving over the handkerchief, the needle and thread flying between her fingertips.

With each stitch and each thread, she silently drew the code—in her heart, this was not just embroidery, but a silent battle.

She placed the handkerchief on her lap, glancing around from time to time to confirm that every passage and every dark corner was part of her escape route.

Not far away, a little boy stood in front of a vendor, secretly looking at the toys on display.

Gu Jinyan smiled slightly and waved casually. The boy approached timidly, with a hint of curiosity.

He stared at the embroidered fabric in her hands, his eyes widening in surprise: "Big sister, what are you embroidering?"

“These are flowers I’ve seen before,” Gu Jinyan replied softly.

One's movements must be flawless—the more natural they are, the less likely they are to be noticed.

The boy stared at the handkerchief, his gaze lingering on the small flowers on it.

This embroidery is not only a code, but also needs to appear realistic.

Gu Jinyan said softly, "Do you like it? If you do, I'll embroider an even prettier one for you tomorrow."

She gently patted the boy's head, her gaze casually sweeping over the crowd.

Her spy partner is slowly approaching the market, and everything is proceeding according to plan.

The spy disguised himself as an ordinary merchant, dressed simply and walking with a steady gait, seemingly just a traveler passing the time in the market.

He approached Gu Jinyan's stall, his gaze sweeping over the paintings on it—the mountains and figures sketched on the paper possessed a rugged beauty, as if they depicted the very soul of the northern desert.

Gu Jinyan looked up and gave a natural smile, treating it as if he had just met an ordinary guest.

She gently wiped her hand on the handkerchief, unintentionally revealing a small part of the embroidered pattern.

The merchant nodded slightly and said in a low voice, "Young lady, did you paint these yourself? They look so real."

She nodded gently and replied softly, "I learned the craft from my master."

The voice was like a murmur in the night wind, gentle yet full of profound meaning.

He picked up a painting and said with a smile, "What a coincidence, I also came from the Northern Desert. I've seen all the places you've painted."

He whispered the code without making a sound, subtly mentioning the embroidery she needed to complete.

Gu Jinyan nodded imperceptibly and continued embroidering, but she already understood.

The needle and thread moved gently across the handkerchief, and a flower representing troop deployment bloomed at the fingertips.

The guests watched quietly from the side.

The two talked and laughed, sometimes in silence.

To outsiders, they would just look like two strangers who met by chance.

As night deepened, the noise of the market gradually subsided, and the atmosphere seemed to become even more tranquil with the darkness of night.

Gu Jinyan's hands never stopped, his fingertips moving without a moment's hesitation.

This handkerchief is not only a carrier of intelligence, but also a guarantee of her life at this moment.

Her breathing gradually slowed, her fingertips grew slightly cold, yet her resolve remained firm.

The spy occasionally struck up a conversation, pretending to casually browse the paintings on the stall.

Gu Jinyan observed his movements out of the corner of her eye, confirming that he was closely monitoring his surroundings.

During their brief conversation, she had already finished embroidering the last "flower" on the handkerchief.

She slowly finished the needlework and carefully folded the handkerchief in half.

This is just an insignificant ornament.

Her hand trembled slightly as she handed the handkerchief to him, her fingertips barely touching his palm.

In that brief moment, the two had already exchanged a silent promise.

The spy gently touched the embroidered pattern on the handkerchief with his fingertips, his eyes slightly darkening.

We are currently analyzing the secrets hidden within.

He carefully tucked the handkerchief into his sleeve, his eyes expressionless, yet revealing a silent understanding.

As he put the handkerchief away, he said in a low voice, "Your craftsmanship is truly excellent."

His tone was gentle, yet it concealed a profound sense of farewell.

Gu Jinyan nodded and smiled, but a hint of seriousness appeared in his eyes.

His departure meant that her mission was also complete.

However, her heart was still filled with a sense of nervousness and anticipation.

This handkerchief may be ordinary, but it will bring back crucial intelligence about the enemy's deployment.