Jiaohua

Aside from the two women who were being suppressed, Feng Ping was also greatly surprised.

Xia Zhaoyi said, "I had Madam Qu and Zhao Ning deliberately arrange a play to get this mask to Yong'an, where it ended up in Song Zhiyi's hands. Then I used a trick, using a celestial chart to rehearse star orbits, and sent people to find Song Zhiyi. First, I wanted him to use this mask to be buried with Yan Qinglin and spread the news, so that Nangong Qiuming and the others would be lured into the trap. Second, I wanted Song Zhiyi to leave the palace and leave Yan Qinglin's coffin, so that Yan Ziyan could take the opportunity to put on this mask and switch Yan Qinglin's body."

After her explanation, Feng Ping understood: "Later, the general and General Shen rescued Yan Ziyan together, and this mask returned to your hands. I said I had never seen it before because I was holding Jiang Mei's newborn daughter at the time and did not go with her."

Xia Zhaoyi nodded.

She looked back at the two women: "Why does this mask frighten Feng Qingang?"

Seeing that they were determined not to talk, Xia Zhaoyi said, "The mask is real, but the female corpse is fake. This mask was taken out casually by Madam Qu from Nianhua Studio to help me with the play."

The two women's eyes widened instantly, staring at her in astonishment.

The woman who had launched the surprise attack with a hidden weapon earlier gritted her teeth: "Acting?!"

Xia Zhaoyi said, "Even Madam Qu doesn't know the origin of this mask. You're saying it's Princess Wulan's mask?"

The woman was nearly driven mad: "...You've played a masterful game! You've completely fooled us all!! Lord Nangong was tricked into going to Yong'an by you?!"

The companion beside him sensed something was wrong: "You're saying none of you know the origin of this mask?"

Xia Zhaoyi looked at her.

The companion said, "But it is indeed the mask of Princess Wulan. It is exactly the same as the one in the portrait. Nianhuazhai has a history of six hundred years. Before the Great Zhang Dynasty, there was a period of chaos among the seven kingdoms, and people suffered greatly. It is not surprising that this mask ended up in the hands of the Hengxiang Li family."

Feng Ping asked, "Then how could this mask frighten the person you mentioned surnamed Feng?"

The companion shut up again.

She looked at the mask in Xia Zhaoyi's hand, then at the bundle in Feng Ping's hand.

The bundle and the women carried letters, which were very important. They contained the action plan, contact locations, and secret codes for meeting. Fearing that something might be missed, they did not burn the letters after reading them.

Now, even if they don't say anything, Ali can guess a thing or two from these letters.

This companion was truly unwilling to accept it.

She almost blurted it out, but then she remembered that Ah Li had killed Feng Qingang, and that was that—it was just a matter of one stab. So she quickly shut her mouth, hoping for a swift death.

But now, the fact that these masks could frighten Feng Qingang has been revealed by the two of them.

They were going to die at Ali's hands today, and they were really unwilling for Ali to peek into the secrets of heaven from Feng Qingang.

Feng Ping's voice suddenly turned cold: "I don't know what secrets you're hiding, but we're from the battlefield, and we have plenty of ways to pry your mouths open. You want to die? I can make you wish you were dead."

The two women remained silent, their expressions cold.

Xia Zhaoyi suddenly said, "There are only two of you, but you have quite a few masks. Do you have accomplices?"

Yes, but the two women don't want their companions to appear right now.

They had only been there a short time, and they didn't know how many people had gone into the underground palace, or how many more were yet to arrive.

Feng Ping looked at the stench emanating from those rooms: "What's that stench coming from inside?"

The companion said, "I don't know, we haven't gone in yet."

"Where are your people? Did they go in?"

The companion shut up again.

The woman who had launched the hidden weapon earlier, intending to ambush the enemy, shouted, "Since you're someone who's been through the battlefield, you should know that the stench is obviously the smell of corpses. Can't you even smell that? You've gone too far in the war!"

Xia Zhaoyi said, "Slap him."

The female soldier beside her responded and struck again, this time with all her might, and the woman fell to the ground unconscious.

“I’m losing patience,” Xia Zhaoyi said, looking at her companion. “I’ll give you one last chance. Talk or don’t. If you do, I’ll spare your life. If you don’t, I might still find out; you still have accomplices here.”

"Kill me if you want!"

Xia Zhaoyi coldly said, "Fine, kill them." The female soldier responded, drew her dagger, and stepped forward.

Xia Zhaoyi took Ziyang's hand and left without looking back.

The stench came from those houses. Feng Ping and Li Xinya went inside to investigate and easily discovered the hole in the ground and the tunnel inside the hole.

The two people ran out and vomited in a pile of weeds nearby.

When Xia Zhaoyi returned after finding her way, Feng Ping immediately informed her of the situation inside the house.

Xia Zhaoyi said, "There is no road leading into the village ahead, only a cliff, and we cannot cross it."

Li Xinya said, "Shall we go back the way we came? But those corpses..."

Xia Zhaoyi looked inside the house: "I wonder if we can get into this tunnel."

Feng Ping said, "People are fine, but horses aren't."

Xia Zhaoyi chuckled: "For us soldiers, horses are our best comrades-in-arms, so naturally we won't let them risk going into the secret passage."

Feng Ping laughed and said, "It's because I'm slow-witted."

Xia Zhaoyi thought for a moment: "There is a relatively secluded open space by the cliff, which is perfect for arranging horses. Let's take the horses there first."

"Ok!"

·
Beneath the secret passage, several groups of people were still searching for their way.

This includes the owner of this underground palace, Feng Qingang himself.

He walked for a long time but couldn't find the way. He could vaguely smell the stench of the houses, but he just couldn't get there.

After all, even if two passageways are only separated by a wall, getting across them requires taking a long, winding detour.

They might not even make it there.

The three of them were also tired from walking, especially since they had to take turns carrying the heavily injured Master Banjiu on their backs.

Compared to the others who came down voluntarily, the four of them were truly wronged, completely by accident.

During their rest stop, they finally saw the firelight ahead.

Liu Jia and his men paused, then ran off.

After turning two right-angle bends, an oil lamp is lit every twenty steps in the long passageway ahead.

The candlelight shone brightly, illuminating the entire passageway.

They were afraid and dared not go forward, wondering if it was a trap.

The two turned back to find Master Banjiu.

Shen Lie happened to arrive there and finally heard their voices.

Shen Lie was overjoyed; searching for someone in this underground palace was truly exhausting.

He strode over: "Half-Nine Immortal Master?"

He didn't try to hide his footsteps so as not to frighten them.

But his gait and the sound of his voice still startled the four of them.

Liu Jia and his men quickly drew their swords.

The hearts of both Master Banjiu and his disciple were in their throats.

However, the group quickly realized that the other person's voice was clear, calm, and unhurried, and he said the four words "Half-Nine Immortal Master".

Shen Lie strode over: "Half-Nine Immortal Master, it is I, Shen Lie." (End of Chapter)