The clouds in the sky were a thin layer, surrounding the silvery crescent moon, like a gray veil.

"Sir, it's still a scarecrow."

Li Jinlin set up several traps in succession, just to lure the snake out of its hole, and just now when he arrived at the gate of the Dali Temple, there was still a scarecrow in the prison car.

Li Jinlin didn't catch anyone at all. It was a scam from beginning to end.

Chu Huan, however, did not breathe a sigh of relief. If Zhongba and Zhongjiu had not been caught, they should have sent a message long ago, but there was no news until now. He turned and looked at the shadow guard hiding in the dark, and said, "Find Zhongba and Zhongjiu as soon as possible."

"Yes."

-

The dungeon of the Dali Temple is divided into three floors. The second floor was cleared out to detain all suspicious persons related to this smuggling case.

The first and third floors were only quiet with the flickering candlelight in the corridor. Only on the second floor, the interrogation sounds and the screams of the prisoners were mixed together, constantly echoing in the narrow space.

"Is Ma Xiuwei brought?"

Li Jinlin asked in a calm voice.

"Bring the adults."

As soon as the words fell, a little girl, who was as tall as an adult man's waist, wearing light green clothes, stood timidly outside the door.

The little girl was particularly pretty and lively, and she looked nothing like her father Ma Cheng.

Li Jinlin walked over.

The little girl stepped back in fear. Li Jinlin grabbed her slender wrist and leaned down slightly: "I'll take you to see your father."

Ma Xiuwei's voice trembled slightly, and her wrist struggled slightly a few times.

Li Jinlin noticed her movements, let go of her hand, turned around and went into the dungeon: "Follow by yourself."

Ma Xiuwei hesitated for a moment, her intuition told her that this man was unfathomable and had a strange temper, but seeing her father was too tempting for her.

She looked at the man's figure getting farther and farther away, stomped her feet, and hurried to follow.

There were screams in the dungeon, the candlelight flickered, and the shadows of people were reflected on the walls and the ground, like ghosts.

Sharp and desperate screams and some crackling sounds came from the side.

Ma Xiuwei was extremely scared, and ran up and followed Li Jinlin.

"Sir."

Li Jinlin nodded lightly, and the jailer opened the door.

Ma Cheng had not been punished in recent days and was sitting in the corner of the cell. When he heard the noise, he immediately raised his head.

Li Jinlin's tall figure blocked all sight. Ma Cheng frowned and was about to look away, but he saw Li Jinlin take a few steps forward and move away slightly. In the light behind him, a pretty little girl was standing there. When she saw him, she immediately burst into tears.

Ma Cheng's throat suddenly felt sore and swollen. He stood up and caught Ma Xiuwei who ran towards him.

"Father... sob... sob..."

Ma Cheng hugged her tightly.

Li Jinlin stood aside silently, watching their deep affection for a while, then raised his chin to the people behind him.

Several people stepped forward and pulled Ma Xiuwei away.

Ma Xiuwei held Ma Cheng's arm tightly and cried breathlessly.

The crying gradually faded away. Li Jinlin walked to Ma Cheng and half squatted down, looking at him: "I saved your daughter's life."

Ma Cheng pulled the corner of his mouth lightly: "Thank you, sir."

Li Jinlin shook his head: "You're welcome, but there are two people I need you to identify."

Li Jinlin stood up: "Bring them in!"

Two tall men were thrown into the dim dungeon. They were the two who were thrown at the door of Li Jinlin's study in the evening.

Although the letter said that they were the two people who monitored Ma Xiuwei, and they were also tucked in with the letter of the mastermind behind the scenes, the letter still called the man "Young Master". But Li Jinlin could not confirm that this was not a trap set by someone else.

Li Jinlin said to Ma Cheng: "Are these the two people who monitored Ma Xiuwei?"

Ma Cheng shook his head: "I have never seen them, but I know that my daughter is in their hands. They have been monitoring us secretly, and neither my daughter nor I have ever seen them."

Li Jinlin grabbed the two people and threw them next to Ma Cheng, grabbed his hair and pulled it down hard, forcing Ma Cheng to raise his head. Li Jinlin stared into his eyes: "Look carefully."

Ma Cheng frowned in pain.

Li Jinlin pushed him away, and Ma Cheng came to his senses and looked carefully at the two people opposite.

These two people looked like a lot of people on the street, and there was nothing special about their clothes. They wore coarse cloth clothes and a belt of the same color.

Ma Cheng narrowed his eyes and suddenly said, "Sir!"

Li Jinlin walked up and said, "What did you find?"

Ma Cheng pointed at the belts on the two people and said, "This kind of belt is only available in Ning County, but we don't tie it like this, which means they are foreigners who often stay in Ning County."

Li Jinlin looked at the belts of the two people. There were two hemp ropes sewn on the cloth. Li Jinlin compared the way the carriage and the two people tied it and found that they were indeed different.

Ma Cheng stared at the faces of the two people in a daze and said, "The strange thing is..."

"What?"

Ma Cheng said, "They have the same face as the guard next to the young master, which is not easy to remember."

Li Jinlin stared at Zhongjiu and Zhongba. When Ma Cheng said that, they obviously flashed panic in their eyes. After looking at each other, they lowered their heads.

Ma Cheng thought Li Jinlin didn't understand what he was saying, so he explained, "It's just very strange. I've seen the guards around the young master several times, but I really can't remember his appearance and characteristics. The same goes for these two."

Li Jinlin was sure that these two people were related to the mastermind behind the scenes. He stood up and said to his subordinates, "Take them away and put them in different cells. Keep them on high alert. There must be no mistakes."

"Yes!"

He turned and walked out of the cell. Suddenly, there was a muffled sound behind him. Li Jinlin turned around and saw Ma Cheng kneeling upright, knocking his head on the ground. After knocking his head three times, he raised his head and said to Li Jinlin: "Sir, I cannot escape the death penalty. But my daughter is innocent. She lost her mother when she was young, and now she will lose me, her father, when she is only ten years old. I hope you..."

Ma Cheng swallowed hard and was about to speak when he was interrupted by Li Jinlin: "I said I would protect your life."

"Take care of your daughter yourself."

Ma Cheng's eyes were bitter, and he was silent for a long while, then slowly closed his eyes.

To prevent them from committing suicide, Zhongjiu's head, hands, and feet were all chained, and the whole person was suspended in the air.

Li Jinlin walked into the cell, stood two steps away from Zhongjiu, and looked at him straight in the eye: "You death warriors have no relatives or friends, and you have been trained since childhood, so you are not afraid of death."

Zhongjiu sneered and said nothing.

Li Jinlin also chuckled, he looked at Zhongjiu, and said slowly: "But no one is not afraid of pain, endless pain."

Zhongjiu seemed to be indifferent and did not respond.

Li Jinlin waved his hand lightly, and five or six people came in carrying various torture instruments.

Li Jinlin stepped forward and chose an extremely sharp and compact knife. Zhongjiu's eyelids twitched, and he pursed his lips tightly without saying a word.

He walked forward, went around behind Zhongjiu, pulled open his pants, and gently placed the cold blade on the inside of his knee.

Zhongjiu tensed up unconsciously.

Li Jinlin said softly: "Your master is from the capital, and I'm sure you've heard of me. As long as you give out the person behind this, I can save your life." Zhongjiu

said lightly: "No need... Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!"

A sharp and fierce pain came from the inside of the knee, sweeping up along the spine like a wave covering the sky and the earth, and the whole scalp was numb with pain.

Zhongjiu's eyes suddenly widened, his body tensed up, and then he suddenly collapsed on the iron chain.

Cold sweat immediately slid down his chin, dripping onto the dirty ground.

Li Jinlin's voice was still cold: "Your son is a native of Beijing, and his wife just passed away. There are less than 30 people in the whole city who can meet this condition. It's just a matter of time to determine the scope."

"So, I'm giving you a chance to save your life."

Li Jinlin slowly put the bloody blade close to his bloody wound, and his voice sounded like a curse: "Do you want it?"

Zhongjiu bit his lips tightly.

...

The screams of collapse continued to echo in the dungeon. It was already bright outside, but the dungeon was still dark, making it difficult to tell the time.

Li Jinlin looked at the unconscious man and said calmly, "Help him stop the bleeding."

He walked out of the room, and the person in charge of the interrogation of the final eight came out, looked at Li Jinlin and shook his head.

"What a loyal bastard." A cold light flashed in his eyes, and he washed his hands in the water brought by his subordinates, wiped them clean, and walked out of the dungeon.

Today is the last day of the three-day deadline.

If there is no substantial progress today, the emperor will be furious, and no one can bear the consequences. And Li Jinlin will be the first to bear the brunt.

Li Jinlin returned to the study and sat quietly for a while, and hurriedly had breakfast. The subordinates outside came to report.

"Come in."

The three men half-knelt in front, and the leader said, "Report to the Lord, the list of all the people with Beijing accents, aged between 18 and 30, whose wives have just passed away has been found, a total of 28 people."

Li Jinlin took a look and saw the very conspicuous name on it.

Chu Huan.

The Chu family.

"Check the whereabouts of all the people in the past half month, and focus on Chu Huan!"

There are many civilians on the list, and many sons of fourth- and fifth-rank officials. But they do not have the ability to communicate with officials from all over the country and cultivate such shadow guards. The

only one who satisfies the young widower and has a strong enough background is Chu Huan.

The mystery has gradually become clear.

Li Jinlin crumpled the paper into a ball, then slowly unfolded it and pressed it under the inkstone.

The Chu family...unexpected, but also expected.

The undercurrents in the capital city had accumulated to such a crazy and huge extent without anyone noticing.

The struggle for the throne, the rebelliousness of the emperor. Especially the jealous and suspicious emperor.

Li Jinlin exhaled slowly, turned around and walked into the dungeon.

The doctor bandaged Zhongjiu's wound. Zhongjiu twitched in pain, his eyes rolled back, and he hung on the iron chain like a dead fish.

Li Jinlin approached and waved away the doctor.

Zhongjiu opened his eyes weakly and saw Li Jinlin. He shuddered with fear.

When a person is in extreme pain and weakness, his will will also become weak.

Li Jinlin slowly approached him: "I'll give you one last chance."

Zhongjiu lowered his head and did not respond.

Li Jinlin grabbed his hair to reveal his entire face, then stared into his eyes and whispered, "Your young master, is that Chu Huan, right?"

Zhongjiu was stunned, blinked unconsciously, then shook his head, "I don't know him."

Li Jinlin smiled, "You know about this kind of thing. The emperor would rather kill a thousand people by mistake than let one go. As long as I attack to meet the emperor now... the meaning of your existence is nothing more than to make the Chu family fall faster."

"As long as you testify, I will save your life. From now on, the sky is high and the earth is far away, and no one can control you."

Li Jinlin approached him, looking at him with those calm eyes, "I will guarantee your freedom."

Zhongjiu's eyes flashed slightly, and his lips opened a little unconsciously.

He looked into the void, was silent for a long while, and said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: "...I say."

...

The author has something to say: Double update ah ah ah