Chapter 13 Danger
"Walk!"
Seeing that the situation was not good, Ji Linyou pulled up Qiandeng, called his accomplices, and ran away.
Fortunately, the incident happened suddenly and the guards were some distance away from them. In the chaos, they made many detours and the others gradually dispersed. In the end, only one or two guards were left chasing Qian Deng and Ji Linyou.
Seeing that they were almost at the agreed meeting place, Ji Linyou became furious when he saw that they were still pestering him. He pulled out the short knife hidden under his green belt and prepared to kill these annoying and stubborn guys.
"Don't make trouble, just go!" Someone grabbed him and pulled him into the fork in the alley.
Ji Linyou recognized Cui Fufeng's voice and saw that he had arrived at the place they had agreed to meet. He thought that he must have come to pick him up, so he quickly put away his knife and followed him to a secluded residence in the city.
Qiandeng turned around to look for her and asked, "Where's the hawksbill?"
"She was led by Asafoetida and split up along the forked road."
Hearing that Daimao was being taken care of, Qiandeng felt relieved.
Cui Fufeng always did things properly and had already found an inconspicuous abandoned house in the city. The three of them did not dare to light a lamp inside, but sneaked into the house by moonlight and locked the door.
There was running water from the karez in the yard. Cui Fufeng brought some water to Qiandeng so that she could moisten her throat and take a breath.
The moonlight reflected in the water in the glass and then in her eyes, giving her a sense of clarity and coldness. The hellish fire and killing just now seemed like a lifetime ago.
Qian Deng drank two sips of water, pondered for a moment, and suddenly murmured, "I shouldn't have run away."
Under the moonlight, Cui Fufeng raised his eyebrows slightly and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
"Thinking carefully, there are many strange things about this matter. The king, the state teacher, and the Kucha royal family were attacked in the spirit hall. For such a serious matter, they would certainly not make random accusations." She pointed at the green belt on Ji Linyou's body. "But why did they all point out that the people who killed the royal family were dressed the same as us?"
Ji Linyou was angry about something else: "What's more, the county lady rescued the princess from the fire. How could a murderer risk his life to save someone?"
After hearing a brief account of what had happened, Cui Fufeng immediately analyzed, "There are two possibilities. First, the Kucha royal family, in order to eliminate the hidden danger posed by the county lady, resorted to any means necessary, even letting the real culprit go, and at the cost of severely damaging the royal family, pinning the blame on the county lady."
Qiandeng shook his head silently and pondered in silence.
Ji Linyou also said, "Impossible. They are relatives after all. Would the Kucha royal family go to such great lengths to frame the county lady?"
"That's the second possibility. Our operation was leaked. They prepared a blue belt just like ours, massacred the Kucha royal family, and pinned the blame on us."
Qian Deng nodded, pondering, "It seems the other party is quite capable. Not only did they discover your movements tonight, but they also know the details of the belt. Cui Shaoqing, the sudden fire in the palace was probably orchestrated by you, right?"
"I only arranged a small fire, hoping to distract the palace guards and rescue the county lady." Cui Fufeng frowned slightly. "I didn't expect them to intensify the fire to divert the enemy away from the mountain, leaving the defenses of the spirit hall unprotected. They then took advantage of our actions to achieve their goal."
"And in the end, they pinned the blame on me. The tactics were exactly the same as last time. I believe the mastermind behind this is the same person who murdered the Northern King."
Ji Linyou clenched his fist fiercely: "Who on earth is this bastard who dares to frame the county lady again and again! When we catch him, we will tear him into pieces!"
Cui Fufeng thought for a moment and said, "I'll go back and check if there's anything unusual happening in the Anxi Protectorate, and then see if there's any chance that the Jin family caravan has leaked any information."
Qian Deng said, "Also, even if he could find out about the operation, if he wanted to impersonate one of our men and massacre the royal family, he would need to have reliable soldiers and assassins at his disposal."
"Yes, clothes and belts are easy to find, but there aren't many people who can mobilize assassins to kill and burn..." Ji Lin said, slapping his thigh, "Xifan! It must be the Xifan people! Kucha is the most powerful barrier to prevent the Xifan from invading the Tang Dynasty. After dozens and hundreds of years of repeated tug-of-war, the national hatred and family feuds have accumulated. No wonder they are so ruthless. They want to wipe out the Kucha royal family!"
"So I can't leave. If I flee now, I'll be charged with all the crimes. Not only will the real culprit go unpunished, but my father and grandfather's reputation will also be tarnished, and even the blood feud of the Kucha royal family will be impossible to avenge!"
Seeing Qiandeng stand up and try to return, Cui Fufeng immediately raised his hand to stop him. "That shouldn't be the time. The Kucha royal family has always wanted you dead, and now with such a huge change, if you show yourself, I'm afraid you'll be killed without mercy. It would be better to stay out of the spotlight, secretly gather evidence, and then proceed slowly."
Ji Linyou also agreed: "I believe the county lady will be able to find out the truth, but if you fall into their hands again, how can you prove your innocence?"
Qiandeng was thinking silently when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside, and then a fire appeared at the corner of the alley.
Someone shouted loudly in the dark night: "General Yuchi has been ordered to capture the thieves. Search the entire city. No house is allowed to hide any unidentified people. Open the door!"
Before he could finish his words, there was a knock on the door next door. It was obvious that Kucha had mobilized the army and was searching for them.
Fortunately, they were very alert when they entered, and there was no light in the darkness. In the moonlight, Cui Fufeng gestured to them, tiptoed into the house through the nearby earthen window, lifted the bed cover, and there was a cellar underneath.
The three of them hid inside together, holding their breath in the darkness.
Fortunately, the climate in Kucha is dry, so there is no musty smell inside.
The cellar wasn't big, and the three of them were so crowded together that their breathing could be heard. But in this situation, they didn't care about the awkwardness and tried their best to shrink their bodies to leave space for each other.
Soon, the soldiers searched the dilapidated courtyard. The door outside was banged hard, followed by a coughing sound. It must be because the door had not been opened for a long time and was covered with dust and cobwebs.
All I could hear was the coughing soldier cursing, "This damn place, I'm afraid no one has been here in ten or eight years, right?"
"Stop talking nonsense, we have to go in and search!"
The tattered door panel was kicked open, and then two soldiers with torches came in. After lighting the room, they kicked over the only remaining broken cabinets and boxes. Seeing that they were empty, they kicked them twice more and turned and left.
The three of them didn't dare to make a sound in the cellar, just waiting quietly.
The firelight from the cracks faded, and the footsteps quickly faded away. Ji Linyou breathed a sigh of relief and stretched out his arms to push open the cover of the cellar above his head.
Cui Fufeng held him down and signaled him to wait a moment.
Sure enough, a moment later, firelight suddenly shot into the originally quiet doorway. The searching soldiers came back and quickly broke into the door again to check the situation inside again.
Seeing that the house was still dead silent and filled with dust, the two men turned around cursing and went to the next place to search.
The three of them hid quietly in the darkness, deciding not to go out for now. Ji Linyou lowered his voice and asked, "What should we do now? The whole city is under arrest, and the gates must be heavily guarded. How can we get out of the city? Where can we go after we escape?"
"This happened so suddenly. I hadn't anticipated this situation. I'm afraid it's going to take quite a while," Cui Fufeng said softly. "Fortunately, our identities haven't been revealed, and you were masked last night. I'll go back and investigate the situation in Kucha and look for an opportunity. You go back as usual and prepare some disguises for the princess. When the opportunity arises, take her back and leave the city among the old prince's followers."
"Okay. But in this case, the county lady might have to hide here for a while..." Ji Lin persuaded, thought for a while, took off the dagger he was carrying and handed it to her.
Qiandeng took the dagger and hid it, saying without hesitation: "Okay, I will do my best to hide myself and will never act rashly."
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