Besides lying down, I also know a little about power struggles

Chapter 63 Not from the same group
On this side of the wall, Feng Twelve pulled the arrow from behind the neck of the man in Confucian robes and looked at it in his hand.

Xiao Nian brought his men back and saw the arrow in his hand. He was surprised: "Your Highness, this arrow is..."

"It's the same crossbow that shot me in the forest today," Feng Twelve said calmly, "Judging from the force of the shot, it should have come from the same crossbow."

"That's right!" Xiaonian gritted his teeth, "This man is an accomplice of the murderer in the forest. He is the one who used the thunder bomb."

"Why do you think so?" Feng Twelve put down the arrow and continued to look through the corpses on the ground.

"You just said that this man was from the military. I have fought with him before. His boxing and kicking skills are indeed like those of a soldier. Thunderbolt bombs can only be used by soldiers, which just matches his identity." Xiaonian said, "There are two suspicious guests in Furong Courtyard. One is him, the one who uses thunderbolt bombs, and the other is the man with the crossbow. When the man with the crossbow saw that he was caught, he killed him to silence him."

"Since he rented a yard in Furongyuan, why did he appear in the inn?" Feng Twelve asked.

"A cunning rabbit has three burrows." Xiaonian said, "They are hiding in the city, maybe they want to attack you again."

Feng Twelve listened to his inference and did not comment: "Go find the madam of Furong Courtyard and ask her to identify the body."

As soon as Xiaonian left, Fang Tong came out of the house.

She came to Feng Twelve, glanced at the corpse on the ground, and looked away.

Feng Twelve found a pile of scattered objects from the corpse and said without looking up: "If you are afraid, just stay in the house."

Fang Tong shook his head: "I came here to tell you that I have heard this man's voice before. It is the same as the masked man I saw in the stable tonight. Their figures are also very similar."

Feng Twelve's eyes focused and he pulled out a black cloth from the scattered objects.

He covered the corpse's face with a cloth, leaving only the upper half of the face exposed: "Take another look."

"It's even more like it." Fang Tong said.

Feng Twelve called the guards and said, "Go and call the officers in the front yard."

Several clerks on duty soon came to the courtyard. Fang Tong took a close look at their figures and appearances and pointed at the shortest one: "That's him."

The short clerk was already panicking when he saw the corpse on the ground. When he saw Fang Tong pointing at him, his knees went weak and he fell to the ground.

"Your Highness, I know nothing!"

"I didn't ask anything, but you said you knew nothing," Feng Twelve murmured, "It seems you know a lot."

“No, no, no,” the official waved his hands hastily, “I really don’t know anything!”

Feng Twelve didn't say much to him: "Search me."

Upon hearing this, the official quickly covered his chest, but he was no match for the guards' strength, and soon someone took out a silver note from his chest.

"Your Highness, here is a silver note for three hundred taels."

Feng Twelve looked at the banknote and said to the clerk, "This man asked you to meet him at the stable tonight. He gave you this banknote and asked you to inquire about my schedule. Is this true?"

"No, no..." The clerk's lips moved a few times, and under his calm gaze, his voice became quieter, "I, I didn't betray Your Highness..."

"That's it." Feng Twelve said.

The official trembled all over and kowtowed repeatedly on the ground: "Your Highness, I didn't say anything. Really, even if I wanted to say something, I don't know anything."

"Who is he, where is he from, and how do you know him?" Feng Twelve asked.

"I, I really don't know," the clerk said with a bitter face, "This man stopped me on the street the other day and gave me a silver ingot, saying that you would pass through Linshui County soon and asked me to send a message to him if I saw you."

"On the street?" Feng Twelve's eyes were sharp. "There are people coming and going on the street. How could he talk to you about this?" "I, I, alas, it was not on the street, but outside the gambling house," the clerk was dejected. "That night I just lost all my money, and I was bewitched and accepted his money."

"He was wearing a mask. How could you recognize him?"

"There's a scar on his forehead," the official pointed at the corpse's forehead, "and there's a missing piece at the end of his left eyebrow."

"What other characteristics does he have?" Feng Twelve asked.

"He has a rough voice and broad knuckles, so he was very strong when he grabbed me," the soldier replied.

Feng Twelve and Fang Tong exchanged a glance, then turned around and asked, "How did you get in touch? Have you ever met his accomplices?"

"He told me to draw a triangle on the southwest corner of the wall as soon as I saw you, and he would come to the posthouse to find me." The clerk said, "As for the other accomplices, I have never seen them."

Feng Twelve asked a few more questions, and seeing that he really couldn't answer, he asked the guards to take the man away.

Fang Tong looked at the officer's back as he left and breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm finally relieved now."

"What are you worried about?" Feng Twelve asked.

Fang Tong smiled and said, "Confirming the identity of this masked man proves that I did not lie."

Feng Twelve looked at her: "When did I ever tell you that you were lying?"

Fang Tong pursed her lips. He had never doubted her, but because of the excuse of the mountain god, she felt a little insecure in front of him. Faced with his unconditional trust, she always wanted to make herself appear more reliable.

"Do you believe everything I say?" she couldn't help asking.

Feng Twelve's eyes fell on her face, with a bit of inquiry: "Do you have a reason to lie to me?"

Fang Tong pinched his fingers and muttered softly: "No."

Feng Twelve smiled softly: "It's good that you know."

Fang Tong looked away. His voice was gentle and his eyes were sincere, but she still lied to him.

She stared at the corpse on the ground and remembered the purpose of her coming out: "I just heard you suspect that he is the man who used the thunder bomb in the forest, but if he is the masked man, this inference does not hold true."

She had told Feng Twelve before that the masked man didn't know his itinerary, so if he was in the same group as the bandits in the forest, there was no need to bribe the officials to find out.

"Maybe someone wanted me to think they were in the same group." Feng Twelve picked up the arrow on the ground. "Xiao Nian's speculation is not unreasonable, but no one expected that you would be among them."

Fang Tong tilted his head and looked at him: "What do you mean?"

"If it weren't for you, no one would know that this man had been to the inn, let alone that he was trying to find out about me," Feng Twelve said. "Just looking at his skills and this arrow, it's hard not to think that he is in the same group as the bandits in the forest."

Fang Tong said "Oh" slowly and raised his chin imperceptibly: "Are you praising me?"

"Yes." Feng Twelve said without hesitation, "Just like you said, even if fate has arranged everything, there will be variables, not to mention human intervention."

Fang Tong's lips curled up slightly, and he crossed his index fingers behind his back and hooked them: "So I said long ago that if you let me stay, it will be more valuable to you."

Feng Twelve smiled, pushed aside the objects on the ground, and picked up a thin booklet.

"What is this?" Fang Tong looked over.

"Pass." Feng Twelve opened the booklet, glanced up and down, and suddenly frowned.

(End of this chapter)