Su Jin traveled for a day and a night and was already very close to Xinzhou.
The long procession was impressive, with cavalry guarding the front and rear, and infantry running forward in the middle. Su Jinxia and Shi Lang were in the center of the procession, sitting in a carriage.
Su Jinxia did not show her face from beginning to end; all orders were issued by Shi Lang.
Zhang Qi came running from outside. "Everyone is tired after walking for a day and a night. Should we rest here for the night?"
Running for twelve hours straight, with only a short rest during mealtimes, was exhausting.
However, Su Jin's cold voice came from inside the carriage, "Let everyone hold on a little longer, we'll rest when we reach Xinzhou."
Su Jin roughly estimated that they would arrive in Xinzhou in another two hours.
Zhang Qi frowned, not quite understanding. "The imperial army still has many things to deal with after entering the city. It's impossible for them to catch up with us so quickly. Aren't they rushing too much?"
"Listen to me!" Su Jin gave a decisive order.
The fact that the main army won't come after them doesn't mean that Shen Qianxue won't.
At this moment, Su Jin absolutely cannot see Shen Qianxue. Zhang Qi had no choice but to obey the order, and the team continued their journey, arriving at Xinzhou at midnight and setting up camp five miles outside the city.
Su Jin then dispatched another team to the city.
The next day, the troops broke camp.
After only half a day of rest, they had to leave again, which inevitably caused some discontent among the troops.
Furthermore, with Chen Wei remaining out of the public eye, Shi Lang gradually lost his temper.
Zhang Qi punished several of the most disruptive students before reluctantly setting off.
Su Jin got out of the car and listened carefully to everything around her, knowing that there were many of Chen Wei's confidants in the group.
They were suspicious, afraid, and at a loss, and they were clamoring to know Chen Wei's whereabouts.
Without Chen Wei, it means no one is protecting them anymore.
Zhang Qi was a ruthless character who killed several people, making Chen Wei's subordinates increasingly fearful and sensing that something was wrong.
The procession had been traveling for less than half an hour when Yue Ziqi rode up from behind and stopped beside the carriage Su Jin had disembarked from.
"How is it?" Su Jin's voice was tinged with nervousness.
Yue Ziqi's chest heaved violently as he calmed his wildly beating heart. He hurriedly said, "As the young master predicted, a group of people set off from Longhu City and headed straight for Xinzhou."
"Did you get a good look at the leader?" Su Jin asked.
Yue Ziqi thought for a moment, "I couldn't see his face very clearly, but he had a sharp aura and stood out from the crowd. He wasn't like an ordinary person."
Su Jin was almost certain that Shen Qianxue had come after him personally.
He certainly wouldn't easily abandon this rebel army.
Su Jinxia whispered, "Call Zhang Qi here."
Yue Ziqi urged his horse forward, and Zhang Qi arrived shortly afterward.
Su Jin invited Zhang Qi into the car, and they talked privately for a long time.
Afterwards, Zhang Qi rode his horse to the front of the group and stopped next to a captain named Fu Yu, whispering to him in secret.
"Prince Zhen is in trouble. Lord Shi has sent you with a team of men to rescue him immediately."
"What!" Fu Yu exclaimed in shock and anger.
"Shh!" Zhang Qi gestured for him to keep quiet. "Prince Zhen is on an important secret mission. The fewer people who know about this, the better. Quickly select some people that you or Prince Zhen trust to go to Jinjiang Road to provide support."
Fu Yu had no doubts. No wonder the team wanted to retreat; it turned out that King Zhen had other plans.
Everything makes sense now.
Fu Yu immediately selected a group of trustworthy soldiers and led them straight to Jinjiang Road.
There are two roads from Xinzhou to Zhuanghe, and there is a fork in the road ahead. Fu Yu took one of them, while Su Jin took the other.
Fu Yu is Chen Zhen's lackey. He didn't attend the previous banquet and was the biggest one to slip through the net.
Su Jin killed two birds with one stone: she could eliminate Chen Zhen's remaining followers and also deceive Shen Qianxue.
Meanwhile, Shen Qianxue's side finally arrived in Xinzhou. Shen Qianxue sent Shen Xi to inquire whether the army had entered the city.
The city gates were heavily guarded, and people entering the city were strictly checked. Shen Xi overheard someone say, "The army is entering the city, and suspicious persons are not allowed to enter."
So, Shen Qianxue and the others found a merchant and disguised themselves as merchants to enter the city.
However, once Shen Qianxue entered the city, she discovered that Chen Zhen's army had not entered the city at all.
The common people hadn't heard a single word about it.
Shen Xi refused to believe it. He clearly heard the soldiers guarding the city say that the army had entered the city!
So, Shen Xi angrily knocked out a guard and dragged him away. After interrogating him, she learned that someone had come specifically last night to tell them to say that.
They've been scammed!
Shen Qianxue became increasingly aware that things were not simple.
Shen Xi was also bewildered. "How did they know we were following us? Are we being watched?"
Shen Xi scratched his head vigorously. "No, even if Chen Zhen knew we wanted to recruit them and were chasing after them, he wouldn't lie to us like this, would he? They have several thousand men, are they afraid of us?"
How strange!
Shen Qianxue's brows were also deeply furrowed. He didn't wait for the situation in Fugu City. Now he was groping in the dark and could only remain confused.
"Keep chasing them. Once we catch them, we'll know everything!"
There was no point in thinking about it anymore, so Shen Qianxue immediately left the city to continue the pursuit.
After all that commotion, it was getting dark.
As darkness fell completely, Shen Qianxue finally arrived at the fork in the road leading to Zhuanghe.
He went down to investigate and found traces of soldiers and horses on both forks in the road.
Shen Xi gritted her teeth in anger. Although it was a petty trick, it was still very annoying.
"Split up and chase them!" Shen Qianxue made a quick decision, choosing the right path. "If we catch up, don't engage in direct combat; send a signal first."
Shen Xi nodded solemnly and led half of the people to the left.
The horses galloped wildly under the cover of night.
Suddenly, the horse, which was running, buckled its front hooves, let out a neigh, and collapsed with a thud.
Shen Qianxue was at the front and was the first to be thrown out, but fortunately, he was skilled in light-footed techniques and landed steadily.
One by one, the people behind them fell to the ground.
It was already quite dark, and no one even knew what had happened or why the horses had all tripped and fallen.
When Shen Qianxue took a closer look, she discovered that there were several steel wires blocking the road.
It goes without saying who did it.
A dangerous glint flashed in Shen Qianxue's eyes. Having fallen for the other party's tricks twice, the anger in his heart was completely ignited.
He absolutely refused to believe that all of this was designed by a brute like Chen Zhen. Could it be Shi Lang?
Shen Qianxue gritted her teeth and sent out a signal to summon Shen Xi back.
The horse is no longer usable; we can only wait for Chenxi to return.
Since there are traps on this road, it's highly likely that the rebels are taking this route.
However, going back and forth will waste a lot of time.
Meanwhile, Su Jin was resting with her eyes closed inside the carriage, appearing calm and collected on the surface, but her heart was in turmoil.
I just hope that Shen Qianxue won't get hurt.
"Who's chasing us? Even the King of Hell would tremble at your skills, young lady. Why are you so afraid of being caught?"
Shi Lang looked Su Jin up and down and asked curiously.
Su Jin ignored him.
A hint of anger flashed across Shi Lang's eyes.
She said Chen Zhen was dead and therefore he was the master, but now it seems this woman is the one who wants to be the master!
What an ambitious woman!
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