Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hensheng Disappears

Then Jiang Sijin talked about what happened back then. It turned out that the peasant girl knew she couldn't pass the physical examination, so she prepared money to bribe the authorities in advance. Granny Li, who had received the Crown Prince's instructions, still wanted to earn money twice.

Li Da didn't know what to say about this. Who wouldn't take advantage of their position in the palace to gain some benefits? There were also those who would kick someone when they were down once they gained power.

Su Zhenzhen narrowed her eyes, "When your birth mother entered the palace for the imperial concubine selection, you were probably still alive and well in your previous life. How do you know so much about this?"

Jiang Sijin covered her mouth and laughed, "I am not a mortal. Many people have accumulated enough good fortune over several lifetimes to give birth to me, but my birth mother just had to act foolishly."

Before Su Zhenzhen could ask any more questions, Jiang Sijin yawned and fell asleep on Hensheng's body.

Hensheng shook his head and said softly, "Things will turn into their opposites when they reach an extreme."

Su Zhenzhen simply meditated with Hensheng, absorbing his imperial aura.

The day passed quickly as the group ate the dry rations they had bought in town.

Su Zhenzhen had no appetite, and Jiang Sijin didn't eat either.

"Your body is only three years old right now, are you sure you don't want to eat?" Su Zhenzhen asked.

Jiang Sijin remained leaning on Hensheng's shoulder, saying, "This kind of thing affects your mood."

After saying that, he glanced at Li Da and said, "A loyal servant of the Jiang family dynasty, seeing his master struggling to eat, why don't you think of offering suggestions to share the burden?"

Li Da's face turned red, and he couldn't utter a single word.

Su Zhenzhen really wanted to applaud; indeed, even the wicked need another wicked person to torment them.

As night fell, the sounds of a large army moving about could be heard outside.

Su Zhenzhen was startled. Could it be that the barbarians had completely breached the defenses of the border region?

I quietly opened the window a crack, and the scene on the street was chilling.

A large number of ghostly soldiers were traveling on the road, coming and going repeatedly.

What's reassuring is that these ghostly soldiers are mindless, like puppets being manipulated.

Su Zhenzhen suddenly looked at Jiang Sijin, "The green-eyed people in front of us are all because of these ghost soldiers? You made us stay in Shanxian County just so we could see this ghost soldiers passing through?"

After all, if Su Zhenzhen hadn't encountered Li Da and the other two when leaving the city gate, she would have followed Old Man Bai into the mountains and bypassed Shanxian County.

When the previous batch of green-eyed people turned to ashes, Su Zhenzhen could have left, but Jiang Sijin mutated those few living people.

After all this commotion, anyone would be tired. And to make matters worse, it was the inn that Jiang Sijin had directed them to, and then they just happened to witness this scene that night.

Jiang Sijin bit her finger. "Yes, the first question is yes. I don't want to answer the second question right now."

"Why?"

Jiang Sijin closed her eyes, hugged Hensheng's neck, and breathed steadily.

Su Zhenzhen felt a surge of helplessness. It was so damn frustrating! All she wanted was to get her performance checked and become a full-fledged employee! Where did all this come from?

However, when it comes to performance, Jiang Sijin's actions actually boosted her own sales figures considerably.

In that case, I'll be more magnanimous and not hold a grudge against the kids.

Su Zhenzhen shook her head violently. When did she become as saintly as Hensheng? It really is true that one is influenced by one's company.

Hensheng gently tugged at Su Zhenzhen's sleeve and whispered, "I observed that although these Yin soldiers come in a continuous stream, they do not repeat themselves, and their marching movements are exactly the same, as if they have undergone rigorous training."

Having gone through so much with Su Zhenzhen, Hensheng and Old Man Bai were no longer the timid people they once were, and they could calmly face such a bizarre event as the ghost soldiers borrowing a path.

Even Old Man Bai was now calculating Su Zhenzhen's performance for promotion, saying, "Miss Su, you've rested for a day, why don't we follow these ghost soldiers and see if we can find any corpses?"

Su Zhenzhen had the same idea. "I can go by myself. Old Bai, you're too old. This thing has a lot of yin energy, which is not good for you. It can easily cause your soul to leave your body. Hensheng can come with me."

Su Zhenzhen looked at Jiang Sijin, who was already asleep, and said, "With her here, there's no way we'll be in real danger."

So Hensheng went out to investigate behind Jiang Sijin and Su Zhenzhen's backs, while Old Man Bai stayed at the inn to rest.

Li Da didn't say a word.

Su Zhenzhen suddenly felt like teasing him, "Oh, two bloodlines related to the Last Emperor have followed me. Aren't you going to follow them to prevent anything from happening to them?"

Li Da's face was grim, but he remained silent.

True loyalty should be pure and unadulterated, like General Huo who died on the battlefield, preventing the Hu people from invading the Central Plains, and entrusting the imperial bloodline to the rightful owner before his death.

He talks about loyalty all day long but does nothing, mixing obsession with loyalty—it's all vanity at play.

Therefore, they are naturally unwilling to venture into places that pose a danger to themselves.

Su Zhenzhen had important business to attend to, so she didn't continue to argue with the old eunuch.

The inn's doors opened, and the three of them went out, following the ghost soldiers.

They walked for a long time, until they reached the outskirts of the city, before Su Zhenzhen finally saw the leading group of ghost soldiers.

The ghostly soldier rode on horseback, holding a flag in his hand. There was no wind, and the flag was drooping. Su Zhenzhen looked at it several times before confirming that the character on the flag was the character Huo.

Could these soldiers have been General Huo's subordinates before their deaths?

These ghostly soldiers continued to walk out, or more precisely, to the south, until they reached an open area where they stopped. Then they turned north, still outside the city, and stopped in an open area before heading south.

Hensheng looked around but couldn't find anything wrong with the empty space.

"Miss Su, can you tell what's different about this place?"

Just because it's not on the surface doesn't mean it's not underground.

The tools that the group used to dig up Jiang Sijin's tomb were taken by Su Zhenzhen, and now they come in handy, so there's no need to look for comments to accumulate points.

Hensheng felt it was inconvenient to carry Jiang Sijin on his back, so Su Zhenzhen dug alone. She dug for a full three feet before her hoe finally hit something hard.

Su Zhenzhen looked down and saw that it was a skull.

With the clues, Su Zhenzhen dug even harder, digging until dawn before she had unearthed all the skeletons in the area.

The ghostly soldiers disappeared without a trace.

Su Zhenzhen arranged each piece of bone and pieced them together, eventually arriving at four complete skeletons.

Since being a partner in the underworld means dealing with corpses and ghosts, Su Zhenzhen had learned some related medical concepts.

The four skeletons were of varying ages, but died around the same time, and their leg bones were all exceptionally well-developed, indicating that they were skilled martial artists in life.

"I suspect there are also skeletons in the southern suburbs. Let's go dig there too."

Hensheng, however, was concerned about the four skeletons on the ground. "Doesn't this place need someone to watch over it?"

Su Zhenzhen wanted to put them all away, but she didn't have enough storage space.

"You stay here and watch over things. I'll run back and call Old Man Bai. With that prodigy Jiang Sijin around, there shouldn't be any major problems."

However, when Su Zhenzhen arrived with Old Man Bai and Li Da, not only was Hensheng nowhere to be found, but the four skeletons on the ground had also vanished without a trace.