Chapter 152: Life and Death Unknown (asking for monthly ticket)
Neither Grandpa Ling nor Lu Ming noticed that a group of men in black had approached the land temple.
The young man who was sleeping on a haystack in the corridor, wrapped tightly in an animal skin coat, was the first to wake up. He was puzzled as he saw a dozen men in black approaching with knives.
Who is it?
But he soon felt relieved. No matter who it was, if they wanted to touch Taoist Xiao Ji, they would be killed.
The young man underestimated the black-clothed men's kung fu. Although he killed several of them, the door of the land temple was still knocked open.
…
Jinsui got up when the roosters first crowed. The big bunk bed was crowded with men, women, old and young. The stench of sweat, smelly feet, and the odor of stale dry food and pickled cabbage mixed together made the small room look like a biological weapons laboratory.
If she wasn't afraid of attracting attention, she would definitely pay a high price for a single room.
Before leaving, she entered the space, washed up and had a big meal, then added two warm padded jackets inside her old cotton-padded jacket, wrapped herself from head to toe before leaving the inn.
The entire post station was silent, with only a little light coming from the lanterns at the door. The sounds of roosters and horses could be heard from the backyard. The air was cool, and there was a thin layer of frost on the ground, which creaked when stepped on.
The poplar trees in the yard were covered with frost, like crystal ice flowers blooming all over the trees, emitting a bright glow in the morning light.
It's so cold! Jin Sui took a deep breath, and the cold air went straight into his lungs, making him shiver and his mind clearer.
She walked slowly along the official road, estimating the time. It should be dawn by the time she arrived at the land temple, and the young coachman would have led the people in the dark away.
The people in the border town only knew that the fake King Li was a little Taoist priest, but no one knew that the little Taoist priest was a woman.
The way she was dressed would definitely not arouse suspicion. When she arrived in town, she would buy a new carriage, quietly move Grandpa and Jin'an there, and completely get rid of those people.
What she had to do now was to accidentally pass by the entrance of the land temple and watch the young coachman rushing out. It would be even better if she could see the person who was following them secretly, but it didn't matter if she couldn't see him.
As the morning light was dimming, diligent villagers were already picking up manure on the road. There were not many vehicles on this official road before, but since the border town became lively, there were more merchants coming and going, and naturally there were more donkeys and horses.
Some careful drivers will bring their own dung bags, while others dislike the smell of the dung bags and just let the donkeys or carts pull the dung bags on the road. This has become a hotly contested item among villagers during the autumn and winter farming season.
If you pick up one more basket of manure a day, the soil will be fertilized in the spring of the following year, and you can harvest one more bushel of grain in the autumn.
The morning official road, which had been filled with only the crowing of roosters and the chirping of birds, was suddenly filled with shouts. Villagers who were picking up manure on the roadside and digging embankments in the fields hurriedly ran in one direction.
I could faintly hear them talking: "How scary! Was it a wolf bite?"
"Don't you see that's a sword? Are the bandits and horse bandits fighting among themselves?"
"Have you reported it to the police? Report it immediately!"
"The world is not peaceful! Even bandits dare to come and kill people so close to the town."
…
Jin Sui's heartbeat quickened for no reason, and her sixth sense told her that this must be related to her.
Grandpa, Jin'an! She ran as fast as she could. Before she reached the land temple, she smelled blood and had to squeeze through the crowd of onlookers.
When she saw the scene in the land temple, she felt scared out of her wits and her hands and feet were shaking. In the yard lay the bodies of five men in black holding knives. Blood was all over the ground and had been frozen into bloody ice flowers.
The big yellow horse was gone, but the carriage was overturned in the yard, and the things inside were scattered all over the ground.
Looking further into the land temple, I saw a person lying in a pool of blood.
Jin Sui didn't care if she would be recognized, and rushed in. Passers-by hurriedly pulled her back: "Little girl, don't go in by yourself! Wait for the police to come."
Jin Sui was not willing to listen. He rushed into the temple and saw the person lying on the ground. He had been stabbed in the abdomen and was already dead.
It was the young rickshaw driver.
He died with his eyes wide open.
I never thought that such a simple errand would lead to my death.
Jin Sui stepped forward and covered his eyes, silently saying, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
I was too careless, too selfish, and too self-righteous.
You knew clearly that the journey south would be dangerous, and you knew clearly that someone was following you and you didn't know whether he was an enemy or a friend, but you let an ordinary person pretend to be you.
Now that he died for you, how are you going to repay this debt? There was no time to worry. Jin Sui quickly looked around the room. The straw curtain on the broken window was nailed by Grandpa. The animal skin blanket on the ground had a hole burned by the fire and was stained with blood. This should be the blanket that Jin An had covered.
Looking at the body of the young rickshaw driver, Jin'an's heart was pounding. Grandpa and Jin'an, please don't be in trouble! Was he captured? Or did he escape? Jin'an looked at the bodies of the men in black again. They were all wounded by swords, and two of them were killed by a single sword. The young man in the room had a knife wound, which was caused by the weapons of the men in black.
Who killed the man in black? Which of the two groups of people followed them? Gu Changxiao's face appeared in her mind, but she quickly suppressed it.
Stay calm. No matter whether Gu Changxiao wants to kill you to silence you or his people saved Grandpa and Jin'an, you can't let your emotions get the better of you now.
They must be found as soon as possible!
Jin Sui rushed out of the land temple, but several villagers stopped her from leaving: "Did you take anything in there? The police will be here soon."
Jin Sui raised his head, his eyes narrowed slightly: "Get out of the way!"
The villagers felt a chill in their backs when they were stared at by those angry eyes. How could the little girl be so fierce even though she was still young? Unconsciously, they stepped aside and Jin Sui rushed out of the yard, trying to find something on the frosted ground.
She actually found a clue. There were a few strands of cloth hanging on the thorns in the grove, and the weeds on the ground showed obvious signs of being trampled on in a panic.
She followed the traces in the woods and found the bodies of two men in black. No one was around at this time, so she searched the men in black.
I only found a token, which looked familiar. After careful recollection, I realized that Huo Zian had the same token!
She couldn't help but think that Gu Changxiao's attitude towards her changed drastically after he came back from Huo Zian and talked with him.
Could it be that Huo Zian was playing Infernal Affairs? He actually attracted Prince Yu's men...
If you have the ability, why do you want to hunt down a retired fake king like me? Gu Changxiao, you are too stupid! You believe everything others say! You actually believe Huo Zian and are unwilling to discuss it with me.
Jinsui continued tracking while brainstorming.
When she chased until there was no road ahead but a river, she became completely panicked.
In weather like this, you will freeze to death if you jump into the river!
She ran downstream along the river, shouting, "Grandpa, Jin'an!"
No one responded. In fact, this area was barren, with only barren slopes and trees, and no fertile fields.
She didn't know how long she had been running. She didn't feel tired or hungry, but her feet felt too heavy. When she looked down, she found that her shoes and calves were covered in mud.
She took off her shoes and wiped them with hay, and accidentally looked upstream, and couldn't help thinking.
If Grandpa and Jin'an jumped into the river to escape, they would naturally go downstream.
But if they did not jump into the river but wanted to confuse the enemy, they would definitely run upstream.
She had been walking for quite some time but hadn't found any clues. Perhaps she had chosen the wrong direction from the beginning.
She decisively turned around and spent half a day returning to the starting point, only to find that it was almost dusk. She had been walking in the wilderness for a whole day.
Although she didn't feel hungry, she forced herself to eat two energy bars and drink a large glass of glucose water. She had to replenish her strength as she didn't know what she would face next.
She searched along the upper reaches of the river and actually found a clue before dark. It was Jin'an's handkerchief, which was also stained with blood. It must have been used to cover the wound, but fell off along the way.
Was it Grandpa or Jinan who was injured? With so much blood shed, freezing in the wilderness all night after dark, he would die!
She was about to shout Grandpa and Jin'an's names when suddenly, two men in black walked out of the woods.
In fact, they were not wearing night clothes, but ordinary black tights. Their faces were not covered and they were holding knives, obviously looking for something.
Jin Sui was instantly horrified. He knew that he was no match for these two people, and he didn't know how many of their people were hiding in secret.
Just when she was about to hide, two men in black discovered her. The more nervous she became, the calmer she became.
With a flick of his wrist, a needle of anesthetic fell into his palm.
She took the initiative and shouted to the two men, "Two brothers, have you seen my calf?"
The two were originally wondering how a little girl could suddenly appear in such a wilderness. In addition, the mission was special, so they could not help but suspect that this little girl had something to do with the fake Li King and his group.
After hearing her question, the two asked back: "What are you doing here in the wilderness, a little girl?"
As they were talking, the knife was pulled out. Jin Sui pretended to be frightened and her legs went limp. She knelt on the ground and cried, "I went out to herd cattle and lost the calf. If I can't find it, my father will beat me to death."
"Brother, spare my life. I will leave as soon as I find the cow."
One of them said coldly: "Get lost!"
The other man pulled out all his knives: "Seeing what we are like, how can we let her go!"
After saying that, he rushed towards Jinsui with a knife in his hand. Jinsui held his head and screamed, while looking at the person rushing towards him through his fingers.
What she was betting on was that the other party would see her as a little country girl and let down his guard.
She won the bet. The man treated the girl like a lamb to be slaughtered, without any guard at all, as if he could kill her in the wilderness with just a swing of his knife.
But when he met the girl's eyes through her fingers, he saw a pair of eyes as cold as ice, emitting two rays of light sharper than his blade.
When the two were only a knife's length away from each other, a flash of light appeared in the girl's hand, and she lunged forward, and something stabbed her calf.
His hand grasped the knife limply, and with a clang, the long knife fell to the ground, and the man fell limply to the ground.
He wanted to send a distress signal to his companion, but he heard the girl shout first: "He was bitten by a five-step snake!"
While shouting, he picked up his knife and chopped at the grass around him. He looked like he was frightened by a snake.
When the man closed his eyes for the last time, he saw his companions running towards him with concern, but he did not draw his knife.
The girl who was cutting the grass suddenly turned around, jumped up, and stabbed her companion in the chest with a knife.
Unfortunately, the knife didn't kill the man in black. It only scratched his arm, and she was kicked back by the man in black who reacted.
She was not good at martial arts and couldn't kill anyone even with a sneak attack, but she was very good at one thing, and that was the crossbow.
The man in black drew his knife and secretly hated himself for being careless and being deceived by the appearance of this little village girl.
Then he ran towards Jinsui like a lion hunting a rabbit, but the little village girl twisted her body and when she faced him again, a crossbow appeared in her hand.
There was no arrow on the crossbow, but a strange syringe.
In an instant, the needle pierced his arm. He pulled it out as quickly as possible, but after a few breaths, his legs went weak, his hands could no longer hold the knife, and his vision went black.
He saw the little village girl pick up the knife dropped by her companion again, scratching the ground with it, and walking step by step to the first man in black.
One knife stabbed into his chest, and to prevent any accidents, another knife cut his neck.
"If you want to interrogate him, just leave one person behind."
Jinsui looked at the second man in black, and he had fainted.
They dragged the man to a relatively secluded place in the woods, took out cable ties and ropes from the space, tied him up twice, and then gave him an injection of sobering agent.
"I ask, you answer, do you understand?"
The man in black who had just woken up was obviously not in good condition. After seeing her clearly, he angrily said, "How dare you! Do you know who we are?"
Jin Sui calmly took off his boots, cut the sock strings with the tip of a knife, and picked up the socks.
He placed the tip of the knife on his big toe and asked again: "I ask, you answer, do you understand?"
The man in black sweated profusely, but continued to be stubborn: "I am a cavalryman from the Duwei Mansion! If you dare to kill an official of the imperial court, your entire clan will be executed!"
Jin Sui cut it with his knife, and the man in black let out a miserable wail. Jin Sui inserted the toe on the tip of the knife and blocked his mouth with a towel.
"Keep your voice down, or you'll attract the wolves."
"Now, just nod your head."
She held the finger in front of the man in black with a malicious look and said, "If you still don't understand what I'm saying, I'll cut off your finger, then your ear, then your tongue, until you can understand what people are saying."
"Do you understand?"
This man no longer had any arrogance, because he now suspected that the little village girl standing in front of him was not a human at all! She was a wilderness spirit, not a female ghost.
Female ghosts are all about seducing men, and although she looks very beautiful, her behavior is completely evil, and she is definitely not a human! If Jin Sui knew that she was mistaken for a ghost by the men in black, she would definitely laugh out loud. If Prince Yu keeps sending this kind of people to Yandi, they will never be able to enter the border town.
"I understand. Now I'll take off the towel. Don't scream. If you dare to scream, I'll chop off your foot right away."
The man in black nodded painfully, and Jin Sui pulled off the towel and threw it on his knees with disgust, and continued to block him for a while.
"May I have your name?"
"Fang Ze."
"What a nice name! He sounds like a gentleman, but I didn't expect he would do such dirty things."
Fang Ze remained silent. He was just a small imperial guard and had no choice but to follow his master's orders on what to do.
"What are you doing in the wilderness?"
"Chasing people."
"Chasing someone? Not killing someone? What are you chasing?"
"The fake King of Li will be captured, not killed. Bring him to Chang'an."
Jin Sui raised his eyebrows and praised, "Very good, that's it, tell me more, don't let me keep asking questions. If you ask too much, I will be upset, and when I am upset, I will want to chop something."
"Why did you bring the fake Li King to Chang'an?"
"I don't know. The higher-ups ordered us to capture him alive... Don't use your knife. I really don't know! It wasn't until I arrived in Yan that I realized the King of Li was a fake."
Jin Sui flicked the blade of the knife, making a crisp sound, but to Fang Ze, it sounded like the death-taking sound of the King of Hell.
"The fake Li King is in the wilderness?"
"He's not here, but his family is here. The fake King of Li is too cunning and actually got a substitute. We killed the substitute last night and chased his family into this wilderness."
Jin Sui's heart was moved: "Has anyone among you seen this fake Li King?"
Otherwise, he wouldn't have recognized at once that the rickshaw driver was a fake.
"Yes, some of our people have secretly visited the border town and confirmed that the King of Li is a fake."
Jin Sui suddenly changed the subject: "What is Huo Zian's mission?"
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