Jiaohua

When Shen Lie left, he handed Yan Jun over to Liang Jun and Chang Zhicheng.

Since Fang Yinai and Xie Zhong could not be found, in order to prevent them from returning to the city to gather a large army for a counterattack, Liang Jun ordered the capture of the corpses of the Fang family soldiers who were about to be killed, as well as the sand, gravel, wooden stakes and straw bags that the villagers had stored to prevent flooding during the river season, and piled them all at the narrow bend of the mountain road. This was the hillside where Master Banjiu and his disciples were hiding today, and they were almost shot by Fang Yinai with an arrow.

Xia Zhaoyi arrived with her men, and the whole way there, there was an unpleasant smell.

The battlefield was only briefly cleaned up; Xie Zhong's company and its battalion had not yet been completely pacified, and the blood on the ground was still there. The earth was waiting for a rain.

Unable to cross the main road, Xia Zhaoyi looked toward the extremely narrow path.

"Let's dismount and lead the horses across. The road is difficult to walk on, so let's proceed cautiously rather than rush," Xia Zhaoyi said.

"Yes!"

Feng Ping and the others dismounted and steadied their horses.

The road was extremely narrow, clinging to the mountainside, and even leading a horse was difficult during the day. The female soldiers each carried a small oil lamp and made their way forward by the dim light.

It took them a full quarter of an hour to walk a distance of about fifty meters. When they came out, they all smelled an indescribable odor.

Just then, a hidden weapon was suddenly launched from the darkness, heading towards their location.

But at almost the same time, Xia Zhaoyi raised her hand, and two pebbles flew from her hand.

One of the hidden weapons struck the target mid-air, while the other headed towards the source of the weapon.

The woman hiding in the corner cried out in pain and fell to the ground, her knees throbbing with pain.

Just as her companion was about to help her up, she heard the sound of wind rushing by, and a figure approached, pointing a dagger at them.

The two were shocked, startled by the opponent's ghostly speed.

Xia Zhaoyi said coldly, "Who is it?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the two of them suddenly attacked at the same time.

Xia Zhaoyi's dagger was right in front of them, giving her the upper hand, so naturally she wouldn't give them any chance to resist.

The instant they made their move, a sharp sound suddenly came from their arms. Xia Zhaoyi wielded a knife, each cut penetrating two inches into the flesh, before kicking them down.

The two women scrambled to their feet, clutching their blood-soaked arms. Feng Ping and the others caught up, and a small oil lamp illuminated the two women.

Like them, she had her hair neatly styled in a Taoist nun's bun, and her clothes were also fitted and practical for traveling. She seemed to have just arrived as well.

Feng Ping's gaze fell on their bundles, and she squatted down to pick them up.

A woman, her eyes wide open, attacked despite her wounds, only to be kicked back by Xia Zhaoyi.

The other two female soldiers immediately stepped forward to subdue them.

A woman shouted, "You wicked thief, give me back my things!"

The female soldier didn't hold back and slapped her across the face: "You were the ones who attacked us from behind first. If we were villagers here, we would have died at your hands long ago. What are you yelling for? Shut up!"

Feng Ping opened the bundle, paused, and looked up at Xia Zhaoyi.

Xia Zhaoyi picked up several gold foil masks from the bundle, her brows furrowing slightly.

“What a strange mask,” Feng Ping whispered, “but it looks good too.”

Xia Zhaoyi said, "This mask is not strange, it's very beautiful, but it's a replica, a replica of Madam Qu's mask."

In fact, the original mask is now in her possession.

Feng Ping was surprised: "Madam Qu's mask?"

Feng Ping was among the first batch of female soldiers recruited by the Falcon Battalion in Hengxiang. Everyone in Hengxiang knew Madam Qu.

Xia Zhaoyi looked at the two women and raised the mask in her hand: "Why did you make a copy of this?"

The two women glared fiercely at Xia Zhaoyi. The woman who threw the hidden weapon said, "Are you Ali?"

"I'm."

The woman sneered, "Ha, you little bastard of the Qiao family, you're like a persistent ghost, how come I run into you here! That's right, this mask is indeed a replica we made from Qu Xiling! We made ten replicas in total, to use against Feng Qingang. You should know Feng Qingang, right?" Xia Zhaoyi asked, "Whose men are you?"

The fact that they shouted "the bastards of the Qiao family" at the exit suggests that their identities can be preliminarily confirmed.

However, the relationships among "those people" are complicated, their power is intertwined, they are like gangs, and they are fighting among themselves.

The woman said, "Whose subordinates are they? Come to think of it, you should call us great-grandmothers!"

The female soldier next to her immediately slapped her face again.

The ruthlessness the female soldiers displayed in treating prisoners on the battlefield made them ruthless and extremely strong.

Xia Zhaoyi didn't stop her.

The woman's vision blurred for a moment, then she glared fiercely at Xia Zhaoyi: "Li Zhixi, do you know him?!"

Xia Zhaoyi raised an eyebrow: "Are you Nie Long's men?"

“That’s right, Li Zhixi is the commander of the Jiangnan military camp, and the head guard is his son. Shen Lie has now taken over the Jiangnan military camp, so according to seniority, don’t you think you should call us great-grandmother?”

The female soldier raised her hand again and delivered another crisp slap to her face.

"Pah!" The woman spat out a mouthful of blood, glaring at the female soldier. "If it weren't for Ali, would you dare hit me like this! I'd kill you, you piece of trash!"

The female soldier didn't make another move; she just glared fiercely at the woman.

It's okay to scold her, but offending the general is unacceptable.

Xia Zhaoyi replied, "Fight."

The female soldier responded and slapped the woman across the face again.

The woman was dizzy from the beating. Seeing this, her companion shouted, "Ali, let's get down to business! We came here to kill Feng Qingang. Now that we've fallen into your hands, we're doomed. But you don't want to let a villain like Feng Qingang go, do you?"

Xia Zhaoyi looked at her: "Why did you make a copy of this mask when you killed Feng Qingang?"

"Weren't you present when this golden coffin was unearthed in Qu Xiling's residence?"

Xia Zhaoyi: "..."

Xia Zhaoyi felt as if she had been stabbed by a boomerang she had thrown.

It was all a lie, just a bait she set up.

She had asked Madam Qu to bury the golden coffin, and then deliberately dug it up for Fan Zhuyi to see; even the female corpse was fake.

Xia Zhaoyi was curious; how did this become a weapon against Feng Qingang?

Seeing that Xia Zhaoyi didn't speak, her companion continued, "This mask belongs to Princess Wulan from seven hundred years ago. The female corpse that was dug out of Qu Xiling's house was none other than Princess Wulan!"

"..."

"Are there things in this world that you don't know?" his companion sneered. "I thought you knew everything."

Xia Zhaoyi said, "Continue, what is the connection between the mask of Princess Ulan from seven hundred years ago and Feng Qingang?"

“Because Feng Qingang is afraid of this, this mask is Feng Qingang’s obsession! This mask…” His companion paused, his brows furrowing.

Xia Zhaoyi looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

After a moment of silence, his companion said in a deep voice, "Ah Li, give us a quick death."

Feng Ping exclaimed, "Why did you stop talking?"

"Give us a quick death! Hurry up and kill us!"

Xia Zhaoyi raised her hand to her lips and made a soft sound. Ziyang slowly walked over.

Xia Zhaoyi uncovered a bundle on her mount and took out a mask from it.

Compared to the masks in Feng Ping's hands, the mask in Xia Zhaoyi's hands was dazzling and magnificent, with a golden sheen that seemed to shimmer with a mysterious brilliance even in the darkness. (End of Chapter)