The soldiers were exhausted and slumped in a corner to rest, not daring to make a sound. They had entered Fanping and could be discovered at any moment.
Fanping is in a state of wartime, and even in heavy rain, patrols and guards have never been relaxed.
The general whispered to everyone to rest for a while and recover their strength, as there was still a tough battle ahead.
Zhou Wenshu, who was outside the city, breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that no one else was being rushed out.
He roughly estimated that about half of the people went in, so there was still hope.
Three soldiers followed Zhou Wenshu, and they anxiously asked, "What about the people who were swept away?"
They can still be saved.
Zhou Wenshu said to one of the shorter soldiers, "Go back to the camp immediately and have the men guarding the camp go downstream to look for them and do everything they can to rescue them."
Then, Zhou Wenshu turned to the other two soldiers and said, "Let's go to the southern hillside to meet up with General Tiger Cavalry!"
The three soldiers answered in unison, "Yes, sir!"
The short soldier ran briskly towards the camp in the ravine.
Zhou Wenshu and two other soldiers walked back in the direction they had come from.
Just then, without a sound, several dark figures appeared behind Zhou Wenshu.
Several karate chopes landed, and Zhou Wenshu and two soldiers collapsed to the ground unconscious.
——
Inside the city, the Ji army soldiers rested for a while before quietly making their way to the city gate.
The heavy rain effectively concealed their movements, and half an hour later, they arrived at the city gate.
There were no fewer guards at the city gate than usual, but it was dark and cold at night, and everyone huddled in a corner to avoid the rain and doze off.
The Hebei soldiers dispersed, stealthily crept up behind their men, and killed them instantly without making a sound.
By the time the soldiers defending Fanping realized what was happening, many had already been assassinated without their knowledge. The remaining soldiers fought back, but it was all in vain.
The city gates were quickly captured by the Ji army.
The generals of the Ji army opened the city gates wide and sent out a signal to summon the large army that was lying in ambush outside the city!
Before long, a large contingent of troops galloped in from afar, their momentum overwhelming.
The soldiers all wore straw hats, making it impossible to see them clearly, and the troops surged into the city.
The generals of the Ji army suddenly felt something was wrong. Why were the troops pouring in one after another?
They clearly only had a little over two thousand men lying in ambush, but now it seems like there are more than two thousand!
Just then, the soldiers who had rushed into the city stormed the city walls and captured the remaining thirty or so soldiers of the Ji Army.
Zhang Qi slightly raised the brim of his hat, revealing his face, and shouted, "Thank you, brothers, for clearing the way for my Zhuangwang army!"
Subsequently, Zhang Qi quickly dispatched men to guard the city gates, and then surrounded the city lord's mansion and the military camps in the city!
——
Meanwhile, Shen Qianxue was causing a scene at the government office in Liuxiang Town.
It's raining here too, but the rain isn't heavy.
Shen Qianxue stepped on the county magistrate and ordered him to summon all the soldiers guarding the city gates and ask them to recall whether they had seen a luxurious carriage on the day Mai Zizi left the city.
As soon as Shen Qianxue arrived in Liuxiang Town, she went to the Yuelai Inn where Mai Zizi had stayed to inquire. The innkeeper recalled that Mai Zizi had been riding in a luxurious carriage and said that she was going to Tianyang City.
So, Shen Qianxue rushed into the county government that very night to inquire about the whereabouts of the carriage.
Liuxiang Town is very small, and there are only about ten soldiers guarding the town. They have never seen anything valuable, so they have some impression of this luxurious carriage.
Two of the guards recalled, trembling, that the carriage had not headed towards Tianyang City, but had instead turned east onto a side road.
The two men were puzzled. The path to the east led up the mountain, a route impassable for carriages. Moreover, that mountain was treacherous, a hunting ground. They wondered what the carriage was doing there.
Upon receiving the news, Shen Qianxue immediately left the city and headed east, where she spotted Mai Zizi's carriage on the way into the mountains.
The bundles and money were still inside the carriage, and there were no signs of a struggle.
The traces were erased because of the rain.
Shen Qianxue had no choice but to send her people away to search up the mountain.
As they searched, dawn broke, the rain stopped, and everyone found their way to the mountaintop.
Suddenly, some noise came from ahead.
Shen Qianxue's eyes sharpened, and she ran over.
Yang Jiaoruo and her disciples who followed her caught up.
Two people came into view ahead, both with their backs to them.
But Shen Qianxue immediately recognized the figure in black as Su Jinxia.
Su Jin held the sharp sword in her hand and threw it at the woman in yellow running in front of her. The sword struck the woman in yellow squarely in the back.
After being shot by an arrow, the woman in yellow lunged forward, only to find herself facing a cliff.
"It's Miss Zizi!"
Suddenly, a servant from the Mai family who had followed them shouted.
Shen Qianxue was startled and, without thinking, hurriedly flew towards the cliff.
However, the distance was too far, there was no time at all, and they didn't even see the shadow of it falling.
Shen Qianxue didn't recognize who flew down. Nor would he believe that Su Jinxia killed Mai Zizi.
So he turned around, looked at Su Jinxia, and asked her, "Who is it?"
There was fear in his eyes; he was afraid that the person he was talking to was Mai Zizi.
Too many things have happened recently, and Shen Qianxue no longer dares to easily trust her own judgment.
Su Jin was completely bewildered, wondering why Shen Qianxue was here.
But she answered truthfully, "It's Nie Qingyi, a traitor to the Liuli Society, you know that."
"Nonsense!" A servant from the Mai household caught up; it was the same servant with the pointed mouth, monkey cheeks, and triangular eyes.
With triangular eyes, he glared angrily at Su Jinxia, "That's clearly Miss Zizi! I've seen that outfit before; it's Miss Zizi's clothes!"
Su Jin down...
What does this have to do with Mai Zizi?
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