Xuanxia

Chapter 1018 Mixing in
With horses, Shimen Town is not far away.

Before dawn, the group arrived here.

Interestingly, along the way, they encountered two "search" and "hunt" teams.

Of course, the men in black like Fu Qingzhou knew that it was a deliberate performance by Mingjian Pavilion, but the children of the aristocratic families had no idea. They were all scared and broke into cold sweats. One of them was so panicked while running away that he fell off his horse and broke his leg.

But it’s also a good thing this way, as it makes their escape seem more real.

Before dawn, Shimen Town was shrouded in gray fog. A few torches on the city wall flickered like will-o'-the-wisp fires. Fu Qingzhou led the horse and walked in front. The horse's hooves were wrapped in thick cloth, and there was almost no sound as they stepped on the grass and mud in the forest.

As it was still dark, the city gates could not be opened, so they had to take another route.

But it's not a big problem. Li Jingzhe's torture skills are top-notch in the world. There is nothing he can't pry out of the prisoners, only things they don't know.

The group dismounted a few hundred steps outside the city wall. Fu Qingzhou pushed aside the dense grass and searched for a few rounds. He soon found a dilapidated small land temple that he had seen in his confession.

There was a bunch of incense placed on the ground next to the land temple. He took out the three longest incense sticks, lit them, and inserted them into the incense burner in front of the God of Land.

White smoke was rising in curls. Not only was the smoke huge, but the smell was also extremely pungent. Some of the children of wealthy families who came close were choked to tears.

But soon, a low voice was heard from the dark forest not far away.

"Password."

Fu Qingzhou's ears moved, and he immediately lowered his voice and responded, "Frost on the Wutong tree."

The person in the shadow was silent for a moment and then walked out slowly.

He was a hunchbacked old man with a scar on his face that ran diagonally from his brow to the corner of his mouth. He swept a cold gaze over everyone present, and then said calmly, "Let's go."

After saying that, he went straight into the fog.

Fu Qingzhou waved back and followed closely.

The old man took them through a secret passage. Not far from the land temple there was a charity cemetery with a pile of coffins in it. The secret passage was actually hidden in a dilapidated coffin. When the coffin lid was opened, a dark tunnel entrance suddenly appeared in the light of torches.

"coffin?!"

A woman among the noble family children trembled and said, "This is too unlucky!"

“Miss Yuan Ling, if you don’t enter the tunnel and stay outside, you will die soon. There’s no way to talk about whether it’s auspicious or not.” The old man said coldly.

He actually recognized these children from noble families.

"Come on."

Fu Qingzhou also lowered his voice and said, "We were in such a hurry along the way that we didn't have time to erase all the traces. I'm afraid the Mingjian Pavilion will find us soon, so hurry up!"

As a result, no one dared to say anything more. They all climbed into the coffins and walked into the tunnel. The old man took the lead, the children of the noble families were in the middle, and Fu Qingzhou, Tang Jiao, Wu Yan and other men in black were responsible for covering the rear.

The light of the torches flickered, and the long secret passage was filled with the smell of damp earth.

After walking for about a quarter of an hour, the secret passage finally came to an end. The earthen stairs extended upward. The old man took the lead and climbed out, followed by a group of young masters and young ladies from aristocratic families.

But just as Fu Qingzhou followed closely behind and popped his head out, a number of shining knife tips suddenly pointed at him!

The old man looked down at him, and a large group of masters from aristocratic families around him drew their swords against him. The young men and women were all stunned and huddled aside, not knowing what to do.

Not only that, there was also a burst of dense footsteps coming from the back of the secret passage, and then a large group of masters from aristocratic families came out from nowhere, chasing after Fu Qingzhou and the other men in black, cutting off their retreat.

Fu Qingzhou was not panicked.

He calmly looked around - this place seemed to be an ordinary silk shop warehouse, probably also a property of the Yuan family, with doors and windows closed and lights dim.

"Mr. Chen, what are you doing?"

Fu Qingzhou asked coldly: "Kill the donkey after it's done working?"

The intelligence stated that the old man was also an elder of the Yuan family's side branch, named Yuan Chen, and was of the same generation as Yuan Keng and Yuan Ye, but he was a bastard, so he could only do dirty work.

Yuan Chen sneered, "You are a few days late. Not only did we change our secret agent's password to 'Crow Crossing the Water', who are you?"

The air solidified instantly.

The magic sword in Tang Jiao's sleeve slid to her fingertips, and Wu Yan's thumb had already pushed open the scabbard.

Fu Qingzhou suddenly laughed, raised his hand to lift the black cloth covering his face, revealing his sickly face after the disguise: "Master Chen, your test is a bit too harsh."

He flicked the sword with his fingers, and it made a crisp sound. "If you hadn't been chased by the rebels and had to hide from them, and if you hadn't risked your life to rescue the young masters and ladies from the Dark Prison of Mingjian Pavilion, how could you not even know the change of passwords?"

Yuan Chen's pupils shrank slightly: "The Netherworld?"

Fu Qingzhou said nothing, but turned his gaze to the young masters and young ladies from the aristocratic families standing beside him.

Lan Jingzhu, who was very sensible, was the first to react. He shouted "Exactly!" and suddenly opened his clothes, revealing the hideous whip marks on his chest: "Look at this!"

Tears welled up in his eyes instantly: "From childhood to adulthood, I have never suffered such hardship!"

The children of the noble families were immediately furious.

Some people lifted their sleeves to show their bruises, and the ladies sobbed while holding their torn prison uniforms. Yuan Qingfeng stiffened his neck and shouted, "I personally led them out of the encirclement! The knife of the emissary leader almost cut off my hand!"

No one would believe that he was the one who led the way out of the siege, but at this time, no one would waste time and energy to question him.

Yuan Chen frowned.

Fu Qingzhou laughed secretly in his heart.

Lan Jingzhu was indeed a man who knew the current situation - although this old man Chen recognized these young men and women, at the moment, their fate was tied to those men in black like Fu Qingzhou.

If there are spies and traitors among these "masters from aristocratic families" in black, then these young men and women from aristocratic families who were rescued by them would probably also have to undergo rounds of investigation.

Even if they had the slightest suspicion, their life would not be much better than in the dark prison.

Only when it is proven that there is no doubt about Fu Qingzhou and his men, and that they are all loyal vassals of the aristocratic families, can these young masters and ladies return to their hometown as soon as possible and live a free and easy life again.

Anyone who can figure this out in a short time is definitely a smart person.

"This person is indeed worth using." Fu Qingzhou thought secretly: "Maybe, he can also be the first person I turn against... Well, let's wait and see."

Looking at these young men and ladies desperately trying to prove themselves, Yuan Chen frowned.

"The matter that was delayed for several days and I don't know the password, I will put it aside for now."

He said slowly: "But you... still have to be interrogated."

As he said this, he also looked at the children of the noble families and said, "You want one too."

Several young masters and daughters immediately started to clamor in dissatisfaction, but soon after, the swords of those masters from the aristocratic families were placed on their necks!
This time, no one dared to shout, and the only sound in the room was heavy breathing.

"Now is the time for the survival of our family. We cannot allow you young masters and young ladies to act willfully."

Yuan Chen said coldly: "Tell us everything you have seen, heard, and known along the way."

"Mr. Chen."

Fu Qingzhou reminded them, "We are the young masters and young ladies who were rescued from the Mingjian Pavilion escort team... We also encountered two Mingjian Pavilion secret envoys along the way. I'm afraid we don't have time to dawdle here."

"rest assured."

Yuan Chen looked at him and said calmly: "We have a way."

(End of this chapter)