Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 15 Wanchun Palace (Thanks to the leader of "How would I know if you didn't criticize me")

"What is this? Robbery killing people?"

Huang Hu walked forward and saw that the worn rattle in his hand fell to the ground.

After a moment of silence, he felt that there shouldn't be such robbers near the capital, and asked, "Could it be eaten by wild beasts?"

You Gui sighed and said, "There are so many corpses. Either they died while building the road, or the people were not relocated when Wanchun Palace was built."

Huang Hu took a few steps forward and saw that there were many children's skeletons among them. He said angrily: "These are also forced labor? This is a big case! Even Chao Juzhi is not free from involvement. If he is found out, he should be beheaded!"

He was furious and said, "Even if the Kaiping Division doesn't know about this, the Imperial Army can't be unaware of it. Maybe it's..."

"That's enough." Yugui reminded, "Let's talk about it when we get back."

Pei Nian said nothing, but clenched his fists.

Even Master Ma stammered and whispered to himself: "Heaven and earth are not kind, and treat all things as straw dogs."

Only Gu Jingnian's eyes showed no trace of shock, as if he had already known that this was the way the world was.

Then, he thought, with Lu Yanning's military power and status, who could hold him back? That was the imperial commander.

After all, they didn't find what they wanted in this deserted town, so Pei Nian asked Huang Hu to ride a horse to a farther village, and the rest of the people found a temple of the earth god that had not been demolished to rest.

Gu Jingnian was worried that someone might tell on others if they left alone, so he originally opposed this arrangement. Pei Nian didn't know where his excessive vigilance came from, so she insisted on her decision.

They all needed to rest, and it would attract too much attention if they took Master Ma with them. Most importantly, she absolutely trusted Huang Hu.

“Nothing can be accomplished alone.”

Finally, Pei Nian said this to Gu Jingnian.

“The reason why humans are stronger than beasts is because they can trust and cooperate with each other.”

Gu Jingnian didn't take it seriously and ignored her. He lay down in the corner and closed his eyes.

He was indeed very tired. Recovering from today's injuries had consumed a huge amount of his energy, and he really needed a good sleep.

You Gui and Pei Nian were chatting in low voices.

"Ji Shi, after this mission is completed, I will be allowed to retire with a disability pension, right?"

"With this achievement, you can move up one step."

"Walking high may not be good. My legs are not in good condition and I can't move any more."

"You use this excuse to get by all day long. It's rare that you can pull yourself together for two days, and then this starts all over again."

"To be honest, I've been called a hook all my life, and I'm really tired of it. Others say we are cold-blooded and heartless, but everyone is trying to make a living..."

The rank of a constable is not low, and even the civil officials in the capital have to show respect to him on the surface. There are many ways for him to make money. When Yougui said "he just wants to make a living", Master Ma did not believe a word of it. He thought that this old guy might have secretly taken too much bribes, and now he is afraid and wants to withdraw and go back to be a rich man.

Master Ma was too lazy to listen to these trivial matters. He arched his body twice like a pupa, found a slightly comfortable position and fell asleep.

The dilapidated temple gradually became quiet, with only the clay statue staring at the white bones in the distance among the spider webs.

When Master Ma woke up, it was already evening. The dusty ground was covered with red clouds, but there was no one else in the temple.

"Where are you guys?!"

He was startled and wanted to stand up, but he was tied up and had to tilt his head to look out the door.

After not seeing anyone for a long time, he didn't try to escape, but instead started shouting anxiously.

"Are you there? Don't leave me, come with me."

"You can't do it without me. I know a lot. Come back soon!"

"I'm still here, have you forgotten? You're here to arrest me..."

Finally, after a while, four people wearing coarse linen clothes came in. Master Ma breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this.

"I thought you were gone, you left without telling me."

"Do you really want to go to Wanchun Palace?" Pei Nian asked.

Master Ma said awkwardly, "Open your eyes, maybe you'll find a rare and unique species."

Huang Hu had returned, and stepped forward with a knife in hand, saying, "Behave yourself. If you dare to move, I will kill you."

"Don't dare, don't dare."

Huang Hu then cut the ropes off Master Ma's body with a knife. They wanted to sneak into Wanchun Palace, and it was inconvenient to bring a person who was tied up with ropes...

In the quiet night and deep in the mountains, five figures passed through the forest.

Suddenly, they heard a few birds singing, and Master Ma hurriedly pulled Gu Jingnian and bent down.

"Shhh."

Everyone waited for a while, and Master Ma looked around for a while before standing up.

"how?"

"There are not many birds or animals in this area of the forest. The bird just now might have been a caged bird."

"Caged people?" Gu Jingnian thought of something, "People in cages?"

"No, it's the one who caught the alien and put it in the cage. You have to be careful too...Haha, I've said too much. I'll slap you in the face."

Pei Nian said: "Why haven't I heard of it?"

Master Ma said, "It's just a little trick of the people. How can it alarm your government? Master Gu, lead the way."

Gu Jingnian had seen the defense map of Wanchun Palace and knew that there was a mountain behind the palace. There was no palace wall in that area, but the mountain was used to isolate the area.

There was no road on the steep mountain, but fortunately Pei Nian was agile and climbed up the cliff first and let down the rope, so Huang Hu and You Gui were able to bring the two burdens up.

After walking up a bit, you can see a pavilion that has been built at the highest point, with several guards sitting by a fire.

Pei Nian gestured, indicating to go around.

They crouched as they walked through the darkness and entered the Wanchun Palace.

The palace was built against Chunshan Mountain, and the entire Chunshan Mountain was turned into a back garden. There is a pond in the valley on the mountainside, named Chunchi.

The spring pool is quite small, with no source and not a hot spring. It looks like a pool of stagnant water, presumably it was dug out. There are four people guarding such a small pool, their silver armor shining in the moonlight, standing upright and motionless.

The five people did not dare to get closer and went to the brightly lit palace built beside the mountain.

The mountain breeze blew, carrying with it a slight stench of stagnant water.

Gu Jingnian turned his head and took a look, and found that he could only see clearly from a high place that below Chunshan was the nameless valley marked by Master Ma on the map.

If it keeps rolling down from the spring pond, it may roll into the valley... Of course, the people will be crushed to pieces. Although Wanchun Palace has been under construction for many years and has not yet been completed, it is being rushed day and night, and I don't know how many laborers are moving wood and stones in an orderly manner.

The five people walked in and were inconspicuous, but when they looked around at the majestic scene, they didn't know where to start.

They pretended to be chiseling stones and chatted quietly for a while.

"What would you do if you revealed your identity?" Gu Jingnian asked.

Pei Nian said: "Of course, I will find the person in charge."

"Then let's go find the person in charge."

You Gui then went to inquire, and soon came back and whispered, "The guards are in charge of the Imperial Right Army, and the one in charge of the labor is the Palace Garden Supervisor."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know."

Secret investigation is not as good as direct investigation, and the laborers only know very little.

Pei Nian looked at Huang Hu and said, "Let's make some noise."

Huang Hu looked around and saw bundles of firewood piled everywhere. He didn't know what they were used for. He walked to a fire tower, took a breath, and kicked it hard.

The fire tower was quite tall, with a large pot filled with kerosene on top for lighting, and a ladder for people to go up and down, so it was very stable. However, Huang Hu was very strong, and he kicked it down directly. The flames and the kerosene in the pot fell on the pile of firewood, and a big fire immediately started.

"Quick! Recruit the Submarine Fire Team!"

It must be said that the guards here reacted extremely quickly and did not panic. They put out the fire immediately and there were even special fire monitors.

Soon, another palace supervisor came to check the situation and turned back after seeing that the fire was put out immediately.

Pei Nian knew that he was going to report the information to his superiors, so he winked at everyone.

They lifted up a huge beam and followed the palace warden.

Huang Hu and Gu Jingnian were tall and walked in front, while You Gui and Pei Nian supported them from behind. Master Ma was short and couldn't even reach the beam with his head, so he walked below and raised his hands from time to time to pretend to support himself.

Walking all the way to the center of Wanchun Palace, there were patrolling guards on the road from time to time. They all thought that it was the Palace Supervisor who was personally leading people to move the beams, so they did not go forward to check.

They were stopped only when the other party entered a palace.

"Where to move to? This place has already been built!"

Gu Jingnian said: "I forgot to ask Yuan Jian, then, let's wait for him to come out."

"Get out of the way, idiot."

The four of them had no choice but to carry the large beam to the side and wait.

After a long time, the palace supervisor did not come out. Instead, a thin young man in a gray robe walked out.

Seeing that there was nothing special about this man, Gu Jingnian continued to stare at the Palace Supervisor, but Pei Nian spoke in a low voice.

"Yugui, look, do you recognize that person?"

You Gui and Pei Nian carried the beams and walked forward a few steps, squinting their eyes, trying to recognize the face of the young man in the firelight.

"I'm afraid it's... the medicine boy we haven't found in Liu Heng's treason case?"

"That's right, Liu Ziyan."

Although he was called a medicine boy, Liu Ziyan was already in his twenties. He must have learned medicine from Liu Heng since he was a child and was a key figure in the conspiracy case.

Pei Nian had been hunting for this escaped fish for half a year but had no clues. He did not expect that he was hiding in Wanchun Palace.

Now it seems that these people are still determined to assassinate the emperor and are still plotting.

"Follow him."

The beam turned, and Pei Nian and You Gui turned around and carried it on their other shoulders.

At this moment, a short figure suddenly rushed towards the bushes and flowers nearby. It was Master Ma who took the opportunity to escape.

Gu Jingnian did not hesitate and caught up decisively.

Huang Hu originally wanted to chase after him, but the beam on his shoulder shook and he subconsciously held on to it.

"do what?!"

The guard over there heard the noise, turned around and shouted.

Seeing this, Pei Nian quickly made a decision and whispered, "Go after Liu Ziyan."

Yugui then smiled and said, "I just remembered where I want to send the wood, and I'll leave right away."

Huang Hu looked back and saw that Gu Jingnian and Master Ma had disappeared into the darkness.

The three men carried the large beam and followed Liu Ziyan from a distance.

The terrain of Wanchun Palace is complex. After taking a detour for a while, Liu Ziyan entered another palace. Looking up, he saw three big characters "Gongdeyuan" on a plaque.

They put down the beams and quietly went around to the back of the palace and climbed over the red wall. They first saw a towering three-story building. Looking inside through the crack in the door, they saw rows of shelves filled with books.

Going around the library, there is a large hall in front. On the corridor outside the hall are several large vats, which are common water storage tanks used for fire prevention.

A team of patrol guards walked by, and the three men quickly hid behind the water tank. They stood up only after the footsteps faded away.

Just as he was about to take a step, Pei Nian sniffed, pushed open the heavy cover on the vat, and couldn't help but be surprised.

"Is it kerosene?"

"To light up? Even if we light a fire day and night, we don't need so many."

"Maybe it's piled here."

You Gui whispered, and saw that these kerosene tanks were placed every ten steps or so, and were obviously not stacked.

"Go in and have a look."

Pei Nian said this and walked into the hall. He saw that the hall was empty, but there was a strange big cage inside.

She always felt something was wrong, so she looked up and discovered that the hall actually had a partition, and the top was made of iron plates.

"careful!"

Yugui suddenly shouted.

The iron plates above their heads suddenly opened, and several sharp arrows shot out.

After narrowly avoiding the arrows, a cloud of smoke came from above and instantly enveloped them completely...

(End of this chapter)