Chapter 108, Chapter 108, I'll expose everything.
Pei Zhiwei and the others followed the Wuhoupu team into the alley where the Silla Pavilion was located. The street was in chaos, with Silla people carrying buckets of water rushing back and forth.
Under the eaves not far away, several Silla women were holding and comforting their crying children. The noisy cries and the warning sounds of gongs mingled together, creating an atmosphere of panic.
"Halt! This is the Silla residence. Liang soldiers are not allowed to enter!" Two Silla guards dressed in black held their swords horizontally, blocking the entrance.
They spoke with heavy accents, staring intently at Xiao Yunzhan and his group, their right hands on their sword hilts, ready to draw their swords and drive them away at any moment.
Xie Ji was already furious because Liu Jing often said that the Silla people were too arrogant.
They were stopped in Daliang territory and told that Daliang soldiers were not allowed to enter.
Without saying a word, he raised his hand and slapped the guard blocking the way, knocking him to the ground.
"Are you blind? Can't you see the fire is almost reaching the roof beams?" He pointed to the flames shooting up in the distance.
“This Silla Ward is next to our Yangdu’s Mole Ward. If the fire spreads there with the wind, can you Silla people bear the consequences?”
The guard was stunned by the attack. When he came to his senses, he got up and tried to draw his sword.
Seeing that he still dared to defy her, Xie Ji kicked him in the chest. The man staggered back several steps, knelt on the ground, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Get out of the way!" Xie Ji said, making a move to put out the fire.
The Silla guards looked at the densely packed vassals around them, then turned to see that the fire not far away seemed to be burning brighter and brighter, just as he had said, and they began to waver.
"Can't you see the fire is getting bigger?" A team from Wuhoupu deliberately raised their voices and rushed towards the fire with fire-and-water sticks in hand.
"If the goods in the store are burned, can you afford to take responsibility?"
"Hurry up and help put out the fire! What are you standing there for!"
Seeing that the guards had been transferred away by the people from Wuhoupu, Pei Zhiwei quickly tilted his head to indicate the direction.
Xiao Yunzhan secretly gave Lu Yinzhou and Xie Ji a wink, and the four of them broke away from the group and rushed westward.
In the darkness of night, the eaves of the Silla Pavilion were outlined in a somber glow by the firelight.
Following the architectural drawings provided by Liu Jingchang that she had noted down during the day, Pei Zhiwei found the inconspicuous corner gate.
A very ordinary brass lock hung on the door. Lu Yinzhou opened it with the ease of opening his own door, as if it were his own.
"This lock is just for show," he muttered to himself, then pushed open the door and went inside first.
The warehouse was filled with a damp, musty smell, and by the light of the fire shining through the windows, you could see that it was packed full of goods.
Several large wooden crates, each with a seal written in Silla script.
Xie Ji casually opened a box, which was full of exquisite-looking porcelain.
He picked up a vase, touched the opening of the vase, and threw it back with a look of disgust.
"These things look nice, but they're so rough inside. They can only fool those ignorant Silla people."
Pei Zhiwei followed Lu Yinzhou into the warehouse and started knocking on the walls.
When the sound was struck near the ground, it suddenly produced a different sound than the rest of the sound.
Pei Zhiwei made way for him and said, "This is it. Grandpa Lu, we're counting on you from now on."
Lu Yinzhou carefully felt around on the wall.
As he passed over an inconspicuous brick, he pressed it down hard, revealing a dark hole inside.
Next to the opening was a brass mechanism with several raised dots engraved on it, which looked like some kind of lock.
"This thing is actually quite interesting."
Lu Yinzhou squinted, carefully observing the mechanism box.
I gently touched the buttons with my index finger; each button felt different when pressed.
Some are very light to press, while others are very heavy.
He didn't rush to press any more buttons. Instead, he put his ear to the mechanism box and pressed the leftmost button first, from which a faint turning sound came from inside.
He pressed the rightmost button again, and this time the sound was more like a mechanism getting stuck in a slot.
"This lock relies on the interlocking mechanism. You have to listen carefully to the sound inside. If you press the wrong button, the mechanism inside will reset."
He spoke in a low voice, his fingers lightly tapping the buttons, his ear pressed tightly against the mechanism box, the sound and the touch were both indispensable.
Pei Zhiwei, Xiao Yunzhan, and Xie Ji all held their breath and dared not make a sound.
The sounds of firefighting could still be faintly heard outside the warehouse, and occasionally a figure would rush past the window.
Lu Yinzhou probed again and again...
As the last button was pressed, the wall opened to the side.
"It's done." Lu Yinzhou breathed a sigh of relief.
The four quickly slipped through the hidden door. Just as they reached the heart of the secret chamber, a dozen Silla guards dressed in black rushed out from the shadows, shouting in an unintelligible Silla language.
But you could tell from the tone of his voice that it wasn't anything nice.
The guards, taking advantage of their numbers, surrounded the four of them.
"careful!"
Pei Zhiwei quickly bent over to dodge the oncoming arrow.
Xiao Yunzhan's sword pierced through the air and collided with the sword of the Silla guard.
The crossbar snapped in two, and one half of the blade flew out and embedded itself in the wooden pillar of the secret chamber, trembling precariously.
Xie Ji was not to be outdone, and with his wide and powerful moves, he forced the two guards back in just a few moves.
While they were locked in combat, Pei Zhiwei had already spotted an iron door in a corner deep within the secret room, and it was locked with the same troublesome lock as before.
Behind the iron gate, the faint sound of a woman sobbing could be heard.
"Grandpa Lu, there's a sound behind the door!" she shouted to Lu Yinzhou, her dagger precisely stabbing the wrist of a guard who was trying to ambush Xiao Yunzhan.
Lu Yinzhou braced his feet against the wall, his body almost parallel to the ground, and walked over the crowd to the iron gate.
He pressed his ear to the lock, about to press the button, when the sound of fighting next to him made him frown.
"Could you please keep your voices down? This lock is supposed to be quiet, how am I supposed to hear it clearly when you're all making so much noise?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Ji kicked a guard away and shouted at Lu Yinzhou, "You tell them that! Don't you see they're getting more and more numerous? If they don't move, I promise I won't move either."
Even so, he deliberately changed his movements to avoid clashing with the guards' weapons.
Although Pei Zhiwei's martial arts skills were not as good as Xiao Yunzhan and Xie Ji's, she was better at agility and could always avoid the guards' attacks at crucial moments, and even take the opportunity to strike them.
Just then, a guard raised his knife and slashed at Xiao Yunzhan's back. Pei Zhiwei reacted quickly and pulled Xie Ji aside.
Using the momentum, he kicked the guard in the knee, and the dagger in his hand plunged into his thigh.
"Impressive skills!" Xie Ji smiled at Pei Zhi, and then took down another guard with his sword.
Lu Yinzhou, standing to the side, angrily shouted at the three of them, "Can you guys hurry up?"
I've pressed the wrong button three times already!
If this continues, and something happens to the girls inside, you'll regret it!
Upon hearing this, Pei Zhiwei gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and lunged at a guard, her dagger aimed straight for his throat.
The guard was caught off guard by her sudden attack and was unable to dodge in time. He was stabbed by the dagger and fell to the ground without a sound.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yunzhan and Xie Ji no longer held back.
Just as the three of them finished dealing with all the guards, Lu Yinzhou pressed the last button, and with a "click," the iron gate slowly opened.
Behind the door, a dozen or so girls dressed in coarse cloth huddled in a corner. When they saw them come in, their eyes showed fear, and they screamed and hugged each other.
"We're here to save you," Pei Zhiwei shouted a few times, but the girls were too terrified to hear her.
Xie Ji, however, had a sudden inspiration. He gathered his strength in his dantian and shouted, "Don't be afraid, we are officials from Daliang, we will take you out."
The girls gradually calmed down.
One of the older girls asked cautiously, "Are you... really here to rescue us?"
As she spoke, she clung tightly to Pei Zhiwei, crying out, "We thought...we thought we would never see our family again."
Pei Zhiwei didn't forcibly push her away, but instead pulled the girl who was still sitting on the ground, "Get up and come with us, it's not safe here."
As the four of them escorted the girl to the courtyard, Xiao Yunzhan shouted, "Take them all down!"
Before the words had even faded into the night air, the officers and soldiers who had been scattered around awaiting orders instantly surrounded Xinluofang.
Immediately following were the screams of the Silla guards and the shouts of the Wuhoupu people.
Several Silla guards were pinned to the ground, still struggling, while the owner of the Silla Pavilion was being held by two soldiers, his face as pale as paper.
Liu Jingchang: "Your Highness, Madam Pei, are you alright?"
"It's nothing," Xiao Yunzhan waved his hand in acknowledgment.
"First, send them back to the county government office for resettlement, find out their names and origins, how they were abducted here, and who they have met."
Liu Jingchang accepted the order, but fearing that someone might kill them to cover it up, he decided to personally lead the team to escort the girls, cruelly abandoning his long-awaited search of Xinluofang.
Before leaving, he still shouted unwillingly, "The rest of you, give Xinluofang a thorough cleaning!"
"Oh, Mr. Lu, I haven't had a chance to ask yet." Xie Ji finally asked the question that had been on his mind, seeing that the situation was settled.
"You don't usually deal with the government, do you? Why did you come as soon as Madam Pei called you today?"
Lu Yinzhou sneered, "I simply cannot stand these barbarian villains acting so recklessly in my Great Liang territory. Today, I will help even the most heinous criminals, let alone the government."
Pei Zhiwei watched the girl leave; she had just paid close attention to her.
Among the crowd were Sun Qiao'er and several other girls who had previously disappeared in Suzhou, which eased my anxiety a little.
Seeing that some areas were still burning, she pulled Xie Ji aside and asked, "This fire is bigger than I thought. Has anyone been hurt?"
Xie Ji smiled slyly, "Don't worry, this fire was set by the team leader of Wuhoupu who knows the most about fire, along with the secret guards. It was very carefully planned."
Furthermore, the informant Xiaodouzi and his group found had thoroughly scouted these locations before setting the fire, ensuring that no innocent bystanders would be caught in the crossfire.
Pei Zhiwei then revealed a slight smile, "Then burn it, and see if they dare to cause trouble again."
Turning to look at Lu Yinzhou, she said earnestly, "Grandpa Lu, we'll have to rely on you from now on."
"Don't worry, I'll find everything they've hidden for you." To be honest, this was the first time in his life he'd openly searched a place like this, and he was somewhat excited.
For the next hour, Lu Yinzhou led everyone to search through the Xinluo Pavilion.
His eyes seemed to see through walls; he found everything, from hidden compartments in the rafters to wooden boxes buried underground.
Before dawn, everyone had returned to Yaoguang Garden.
Pei Lin, Cui Yanwu, and Liu Jingchang were already waiting there. When they saw them return, they quickly went to greet them.
"How is it? Have you found any useful evidence?" Pei Lin asked, his eyes full of anticipation.
"We found quite a few." Xiao Yunzhan placed the items he had found on the table.
The group gathered around the table and began examining the evidence.
Pei Zhiwei picked up a letter and carefully read its contents.
After reading the letter, she frowned, hissed, and went back to the first page to read it again.
He suddenly slammed the letter in his hand onto the table with a "bang" halfway through reading it.
"No! We were wrong about some things before. We need to re-interrogate Wang Heng. He might be one of Wang Jingzong's men!"
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