He handed the jade pendant to Lin Zhenming.
"Oh, I see."
Lin Zhenming squinted and examined the items for a long time, but found nothing.
He pretended to understand, but in reality, he was already suspicious. After all, who would come to the border to visit relatives for no reason, let alone show a jade pendant to everyone?
Surely they can't be here to seek refuge, can they?
I'll have someone investigate the identities of those two people later.
"By the way, General Lin, why were none of the officers willing to answer our questions just now?"
Tang Nian cooperated fully, taking half a step closer to Lou Mu and feigning intimacy, like a perfect couple.
Lin Zhenming assumed the woman behind them was just a guard and didn't think much of it.
"Oh, this..."
He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up, and he put on a bitter and resentful look.
"Alas, recently, some wicked scoundrels have been using monsters to slaughter the people in our Great Chu territory. My soldiers were saddened to see the miserable state of the villagers and had no heart to speak."
"Please do not be offended if we have neglected our two guests who have come from afar."
Although I don't know the background of these three people in front of me, just by their clothes and appearance, they are not ordinary people.
He'd better be careful.
Tang Nian and the others could not possibly take Lin Zhenming's answer seriously; they were merely putting on an act.
"So that's how it is. We also met some villagers fleeing along the way and casually killed a few demons."
Tang Nian looked as if she had just realized something, and a few tears even welled up in her eyes.
"Why did the general order them to move the mangled bodies of the villagers?"
Lin Zhenming also sighed deeply, looking sad, with tears welling up in his eyes.
My heart is aching!
With a thud, Lin Zhenming punched himself in the chest, and then tears streamed down his face.
“Whenever I think of the villagers being slaughtered by monsters, without even a complete corpse left, I, as the general guarding the city, feel extremely guilty.”
"But I had no choice. The city was under my control, and I couldn't just rush out and let those bandits kill us all."
"I can only have my soldiers collect the villagers' bodies and find a mortician to restore their complete remains. This is just a small thing I can do."
After Lin Zhenming finished speaking, tears streamed down his face. His words were deeply moving and touching.
Lou Mu reached out and patted Lin Zhenming on the shoulder: "General, please accept my condolences!"
Chu Roujia explained in a low voice from behind, "There is a custom in Yingzhou City that considers a complete body to be very important. If the body is not complete after death, one is not qualified to be reincarnated."
Tang Nian nodded slightly; she seemed to have heard of it as well.
According to this explanation, Lin Zhenming's statement is naturally without any flaws.
But Lou Mu observed the dull, silent soldiers in front of him who tirelessly carried away mutilated bodies, and was about to ask them some more questions.
"Oh, right!"
Lin Zhenming wiped away his tears, afraid that Tang Nian and Lou Mu would ask him more questions and he would be exposed.
"Didn't you come to Yingzhou City to look for someone? I can help you. I wonder if you two would be willing to provide me with some information?"
Tang Nian nodded. Since they were willing to mention that they were looking for someone, they must have made thorough preparations.
She pulled a portrait of Ming Huan from her bundle and handed it over with both hands.
Since Lin Zhenming has already come over, let him help look for it.
If he doesn't recognize them, he'll think about finding someone to send them away as soon as possible.
If you know someone, it's like "searching high and low without finding it, only to have it come to you effortlessly."
"General Lin, the person we are looking for is just as depicted in this portrait."
Lin Zhenming took Ming Huan's portrait. His pupils involuntarily contracted, but he quickly recovered: "Truly a handsome young man!"
He then rolled up the portrait and put it away.
"Please rest assured, I will definitely help you with this."
Lou Mu quietly observed Lin Zhenming in front of him, trying to find some flaws, but Lin Zhenming's behavior always made sense.
Although those small details had already revealed his true feelings, without evidence, he could only wait and see.
Tang Nian didn't miss Lin Zhenming's momentary unease, and understood immediately.
He was even giving them the runaround.
Just a portrait, and they weren't allowed to inquire about any other information. What this signifies is quite obvious.
Just as Tang Nian was about to ask a few more questions, she suddenly looked towards the city.
There seemed to be something strange about the city.
She glanced at Lou Mu without making a sound, and from Lou Mu's subtle expression, she knew that Lou Mu had also noticed.
"Then thank you very much, General Lin. We will go into the city to search first. If we can find it, that would be great. If we can't find it, we will have to rely on you, General."
After saying that, Lou Mu took Tang Nian's hand and said goodbye to Lin Zhenming.
"Very well, gentlemen, I have many military duties to attend to, so please excuse me!"
Lin Zhenming took the portrait, bid farewell to the two men, and hurriedly went up the city wall.
The two entered the city, and Tang Nian remained silent.
This is unlike Tang Nian's style.
Lou Mu thought he had forgotten something and was about to speak when he heard Tang Nian stammer, "That..."
"What's wrong?"
Lou Mu turned his head and realized that Tang Nian was staring at him holding her hand.
I see.
Lou Mu let go of his hand somewhat embarrassedly: "I was in such a hurry when we entered the city that I didn't notice."
"Um."
Tang Nian lowered her head, her voice barely audible.
Lou Mu had just let go of her hand, and she felt somewhat disappointed.
That's not what she meant.
Chu Roujia followed behind the two, watching their awkward expressions, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
She saw that there were still many soldiers resting on the street in the city, and she volunteered, "I'll go and ask them."
Chu Roujia approached a soldier who was leaning against the wall, dozing off. "Um, can I ask you a few questions?"
Suddenly, her pupils dilated in shock. She saw that the soldier in front of her had a long, narrow stitch on his neck.
Shh, don't make a sound.
Tang Nian pulled Chu Roujia up and said softly.
Then, he loudly reprimanded, "You just stay obediently behind us and don't disturb these officials' rest!"
At the same time, Lou Mu's voice appeared in Tang Nian's mind, and then he came up behind Tang Nian.
“Someone is following us.”
"I felt it too."
The two communicated telepathically again and both noticed something strange about Yingzhou City.
Even if Chu Roujia was vigilant, she was still just a mortal, and her perception was far inferior to theirs.
The two quickly reached an agreement.
Tang Nian was seen covering her head in a somewhat exaggerated manner, her body staggering slightly.
"Oh dear, I'm so tired. Let's find an inn to rest first."
Although Chu Roujia could tell that Tang Nian was acting, she still cooperated and helped her up.
Lou Mu suppressed a laugh and pointed to the far corner of the street.
“I saw an inn flag over there, why don’t we stay there for the night?”
The three of them chatted as they made their way into the inn.
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