39: Map-based deduction

The clamor of the teahouse seemed to vanish.

In Lin Feng's world, only the massive topographical map remained before him, along with the crisscrossing lines and symbols upon it. His brain transformed into a super war-deduction computer, inputting data: the remaining strength of the Taiping Rebellion Leader's forces, their marching speed, load-bearing capacity, and the Qing Army's pursuit speed and troop deployment.

"Look," Lin Feng's finger moved slowly across the map, like a chess piece on a sand table, "After the Wing King entered Western Sichuan, he faced pursuit and interception from multiple routes of the Chuan Army. Choosing the Dadu River as a breakthrough point was a risky move in itself. Before reaching Anshunchang, he was actually already in a state of semi-encirclement."

His finger stopped at a place called 'Zimagang,' which was the last rest stop for the Taiping forces before entering the Dadu River area.

"From Zimagang to Anshunchang, the straight-line distance is about eighty kilometers. Given the marching speed of a defeated army at that time, coupled with harassment from the Qing Army along the way, it would take at least three to four days to cover this distance. However, the Wing King stayed at Anshunchang for several days attempting to build rafts to cross the river, which means he secured a precious window of time for himself."

"The key is right here," Lin Feng's pen tip drew a large oval area in the vast mountainous region between Zimagang and Anshunchang, "The treasure must have been hidden during the time after he departed from Zimagang but before he arrived at Anshunchang."

Wang Dalong leaned in to look; that oval area covered nearly a hundred square kilometers of continuous mountains, and he couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. "Brother Feng, this range is too big, isn't it? How many mountain peaks are there? We wouldn't finish searching even if we looked until next year."

"That's why we need to continue narrowing the scope." Lin Feng's eyes were terrifyingly calm. "Let's make a few assumptions."

"Assumption one: the secrecy of the treasure-hiding operation. It's impossible that the Wing King sent a large unit to hide the treasure; the target would be too big. He would only send an elite small squad to carry the treasure, break away from the main force, and act in secret. After completing the mission, they would return to the unit."

"Assumption two: time cost. The total time for this small squad to leave the main force and return cannot exceed three days. Otherwise, it would seriously impact the main force's marching plan and make exposure more likely. Calculating based on mountain marching speeds, the range they could operate in would be an area with the main force's route as the central axis, not exceeding a single day's journey one way."

As Lin Feng spoke, he used his pen to draw two parallel dashed lines on either side of the red line representing the Wing King's marching route. The area between the two dashed lines instantly reduced the previous large oval into a narrow strip.

"The range has been reduced by two-thirds!" Wang Dalong exclaimed in surprise.

"It's not over yet." Lin Feng's gaze was like a hawk's, scanning the narrow strip. "Assumption three: the selection criteria for the hiding spot. We have already determined that the target is an abandoned or captured Bandit stronghold, and it must fit the military geographical feature of 'facing water and backed by mountains.'"

He began searching within this narrow strip for all locations matching these topographical features. His finger pointed one by one at mountain peaks with dense contour lines and markings for rivers or cliffs nearby.

"This one, no, the slope is too gentle, easy to attack and hard to defend."

"This one, the position is too close to the official road, easy to expose."

"This one, there's no water source nearby, doesn't meet the 'facing water' condition."

His finger moved rapidly across the map, with possibilities being quickly raised and just as quickly dismissed. Wang Dalong watched from the side, his eyes spinning; he felt that Lin Feng wasn't just looking at a map, but was conducting a dialogue across 160 years of time and space, engaging in a mental game of chess with the Wing King who had been at the end of his rope.

Finally, Lin Feng's finger stopped at a point in the northeast corner of the map.

This point was located at the edge of the narrow search zone, in an extremely remote position. The map showed it was a peak named 'Old Crow Mountain,' with steep terrain and cliffs on three sides, connected to the outside world by only a very narrow ridge. In front of the peak, a tributary of the Songlin River made a nearly ninety-degree sharp turn, forming a natural barrier.

A perfect 'facing water and backed by mountains' layout.

More importantly, at the summit of 'Old Crow Mountain,' the map used a tiny symbol to mark two words—'Fortress Ruins.'

"It's here." Lin Feng's pen tip pressed heavily onto those two words, his voice carrying a certainty that concluded everything.

"Old Crow Mountain... Fortress Ruins?" Wang Dalong read aloud, feeling the name itself reeked of banditry. "Brother Feng, how can you be so sure it's here? Although there aren't many places on the map that fit the criteria, it seems there's more than just this one?"

"Because of the distance," Lin Feng replied. "Look at its position on the map. Starting from Zimagang, the Wing King's main force marched toward Anshunchang along the official road. This treasure-hiding squad could have broken away from the main force under the cover of night and headed north into the mountains. They would only need one day and night of forced marching to reach Old Crow Mountain. Using one day to complete the hiding and camouflaging, and another day to return, they would rejoin the main force just as it arrived near Anshunchang. The time, route, and distance—everything fits perfectly."

"And," Lin Feng added the most crucial point, "this place was outside Chuan Army General's search range at the time! All of his attention was concentrated on the river valley areas around Anshunchang; he would never have imagined the treasure was actually hidden in the deep mountains dozens of kilometers away!"

Wang Dalong looked at the point on the map that Lin Feng had circled numerous times, then recalled the series of smooth, flowing deductions just now, feeling a chill rise from the soles of his feet.

This wasn't treasure hunting anymore; it was a crime scene reconstruction! Lin Feng's brain was simply a supercomputer born to solve historical mysteries.

"Then... then what are we waiting for?" Wang Dalong's voice trembled slightly, a mix of excitement and nervousness. "Let's head out immediately!"

"No rush." Lin Feng closed the map, but a rare hint of fatigue appeared on his face. That bout of high-intensity mental calculation had been a massive drain on him as well. He leaned against the back of the chair and closed his eyes, steadying his somewhat hurried breathing.

"We rest today. Gather our strength and restock supplies. Tomorrow morning, we enter the mountains."

He opened his eyes and looked at Wang Dalong, his tone more serious than ever before.

"Dalong, this trip into the mountains is different from any before. It's a true no-man's-land; there might be all sorts of unexpected dangers. Are you sure you want to go with me?"

Wang Dalong froze for a moment, then grinned and patted the camera on his chest.

"Nonsense! Have you ever seen a photographer run away and leave the protagonist behind? Besides, I'm your 'official spokesperson'; without me, who are you going to talk to during the livestream?"

Lin Feng looked at him and said nothing more, merely nodding slightly.

Outside the window, the Dadu River continued to flow restlessly. A true expedition deep into the wilderness was about to officially begin at dawn.