From the fusion of Tongbei Quan to the Longevity Martial Saint

Lu Jianfeng broke out in a cold sweat and stammered, trying to explain:

"You must believe me, I am innocent. It was the Jade-Faced Scholar who tried to turn the tables on me before he died!"

As he spoke, Lu Jianfeng quietly reached for the leather backpack he was carrying, where he kept a few firecrackers just in case.

Just as his hand reached into the small pocket next to his backpack, a long, black spear flew straight toward him with a whooshing sound!

Breaking Army Returning Dragon Thrust...Piercing Rainbow Style!

The next moment, Lu Jianfeng held the Thunderbolt in his hand, but still didn't have time to take it out.

He looked down at the hawk-spear that was completely embedded in his chest, then looked up at Fang Qing, who was slowly releasing his grip in front of him. His lips twitched, as if he wanted to say something.

When Fang Qing gently flicked the tip of his spear, Lu Jianfeng, still in the act of reaching for something, lay back, just like his cheap father, the Jade-Faced Scholar, collapsing to the ground and dying instantly.

The ten people who had been following Lu Jianfeng and had a very good personal relationship with him looked at each other in bewilderment.

From the Jade-Faced Scholar's last-ditch counterattack, to revealing all of Lu Jianfeng's identities and information, to Lu Jianfeng's attempt to throw the Thunderbolt at them.

All of this is enough to prove that what the Jade-Faced Scholar said is true.

Lu Jianfeng was indeed a spy planted by the salt bandits of Tiger Beach.

Thinking of this, they all broke out in a cold sweat.

They had been following Lu Jianfeng closely, and if the situation changed and the Jade-Faced Scholar and his group gained the upper hand, they were confident that Lu Jianfeng would use them as a pledge of loyalty.

At that point, it's likely that these ten people will be the ones lying on the ground.

So, all ten people immediately cupped their hands in gratitude towards Fang Qing.

When Gu Changyuan brought the account book to Fang Qing's side, he heard Zeng Qian vividly recount how Fang Qing had led the Jade-Faced Scholar and others into the pre-designed layout step by step through flag signals, and then cleverly had Lu Jianfeng pass on some messages.

This led the suspicious, jade-faced scholar to abandon his defenses and take a risk, personally leading everyone to bring out his own evidence ledger.

Now, everyone, including Zhanbo and Gu Changyuan, was full of admiration.

However, at this moment, Zhanbo still had some doubts and asked:

"On Naru Jianfeng's side, it seems you also discovered beforehand that he was a mole among the salt bandits in the reserve camp?"

"But you've only been in the preparatory camp for a few days, while I've been spending almost half a year with this Lu Jianfeng. How come I didn't notice?"

At this point, Zeng Qian also turned to look in Fang Qing's direction.

Most of the people in the reserve camp had been in contact with Lu Jianfeng for much longer than Fang Qing, and none of them noticed anything wrong with Lu Jianfeng. How come Fang Qing noticed something was wrong with Lu Jianfeng beforehand?

Fang Qing squinted, glanced in Lu Jianfeng's direction, and then spoke:

"Just yesterday, before he challenged me, he said a few things that surprised me. One of them was that he called me a lowly salt slave, a 'sand walker'."

"You may not know this, but for us salt workers, 'walking on sand' is a euphemism for salt bandits, and we salt workers naturally despise this word."

"Back then, when I saw Lu Jianfeng constantly talking about 'sand bandits,' I asked him, 'He was originally a member of the Salt Patrol Reserve Battalion, destined to become a Salt Patrolman. A Salt Patrolman has always harbored an irreconcilable hatred for salt bandits; the two are natural adversaries. How could he possibly keep talking about 'sand bandits'?'"

Immediately afterwards, Fang Qing glanced at Zeng Qian again.

"Yesterday he also said that I stole the woman he liked, which he called 'stepping on the plate.' This 'stepping on the plate' is also a common code word among people in the underworld."

"This made me even more wary of his identity."

"I only let Lu Jianfeng know about Zhanbo and I communicating using flag signals today, so that he could leak this information to the Jade-Faced Scholar in advance. It's best if Lu Jianfeng is one of our own; if he's the mole, we can use this to eliminate him directly."

When Zeng Qian heard Fang Qing say "step on the plate," her face immediately turned red.

She naturally knew what Fang Qing meant.

After that, Zeng Qian couldn't help but look in Fang Qing's direction with admiration.

Zeng Qian's family was a wealthy and powerful clan, and her father had produced many outstanding figures who were both literate and martial. However, Zeng Qian had never seen anyone like Fang Qing who could turn the tide of defeat on his own.

Such skill and intelligence made Zeng Qian's girlish heart flutter without her even realizing it.

Zhanbo, Gu Changyuan, and the others all gave Fang Qing a deep look.

Fang Qing's wisdom was truly refreshing and enlightening for them.

"This person is so resourceful, almost like a demon." This was the thought that arose in the minds of many people at this moment.

……

Gu Changyuan and the others breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they received the account book.

Now, as long as they bring the account books back to the residence of Lord Lin, the Salt Commissioner of Yangzhou, none of the officials in the court will dare to say anything more.

At that time, these powerful families were thinking about how to sever ties with the salt bandits of Tiger Beach and how to find a scapegoat to cover up the incident.

Although this incident won't truly cripple those powerful clans, it's enough to cripple their henchmen at least in the Lianghuai salt fields. For the salt patrol guards, it's a considerable victory.

Just then, Gu Changyuan was about to say a few words of encouragement to Fang Qing when his expression suddenly changed.

Ding Mingcheng reacted a beat too slow, and the next moment he was lying face down on the ground with one ear close to the ground.

Immediately afterwards, Ding Mingcheng's face turned solemn, and he stood up.

"At least nearly a hundred horses are charging toward us from ten miles away. These horses are not government horses; judging from the sound of their hooves, they most likely come from beyond the border."

When Ding Mingcheng and his comrades reached the level of salt patrol officers, they were very familiar with the hoofbeats of the official horses of the Great Qian Dynasty. It was obvious that these riders were not locals of the Great Qian Dynasty, but came from beyond the border.

Upon hearing this, Gu Changyuan's eyes narrowed.

Horses outside the border can travel a thousand miles a day, and a ten-mile journey can be covered in the blink of an eye.

Just as Gu Changyuan ordered his men to quickly propel their boats and head towards Yangzhou by waterway, he suddenly seemed to realize something and looked towards the upstream waters of Tiger Beach in the distance.

A dense array of countless sampans were seen drifting downstream from the waters upstream of Tiger Beach.

Given the swift currents in the Tiger Beach area, it's estimated that these small sampans will reach them even faster than fast horses.

On each of these sampans stood at least three to five skilled men dressed in black and masked.

Gu Changyuan glanced at them from afar and immediately saw that at least several of them were experts at the True Essence Realm.

Upon seeing this, Gu Changyuan's eyes narrowed immediately.

Later, more than 100 cavalrymen from beyond the Great Wall directly blocked their land escape route.

Upstream from Tiger Beach, there were countless sampans.

Gu Changyuan had already deduced that the reason these people upstream abandoned the more convenient large ships and switched to sampans was probably to conceal their identities.

Unexpectedly, the officials in the imperial court and those powerful families were so wary of this account book.

Gu Changyuan looked down at the account book wrapped in velvet in his hand.

Suddenly, Gu Changyuan's hand tightened.

Several breaths passed before Fang Qing, Zhan Bo, and the other members of the reserve battalion heard the sounds of small sampans drifting downstream.

After all, their cultivation level was only at the Body Tempering Realm.

Compared to Gu Changyuan and Ding Mingcheng's True Essence Realm, the gap between the two is not small.

Just one glance at the small sampans drifting downstream like dumplings being dropped into a pot, and Fang Qing immediately understood what was going on.

Those powerful families seemed to have been prepared all along. If this handsome scholar couldn't withstand the pressure, they would look for an opportunity.

"Since we can't solve the problem, let's solve those of us who asked the problem!"

Gu Changyuan was stunned upon hearing this.

The more he pondered Fang Qing's last words, "If you can't solve the problem, solve the person who raised it," the more insightful he found them.

Ding Mingcheng, Zeng Qian, and the others all turned to look at Fang Qing.

Fang Qing's words were so philosophical that they felt the flavor only grew stronger with each chew.

Gu Changyuan couldn't help but sigh:

"A talent like Fang Qing, and this time I've actually put them in a very difficult situation!"

The next moment, Gu Changyuan's gaze suddenly turned cold as he turned to look at Ding Mingcheng, and finally his gaze fell on Fang Qing.

"The more the enemy wants this account book, the more we, as the Salt Patrol Guard, must find a way to get it into the hands of Salt Patrol Censor Lin."

"Do you have any way to send this ledger out?"

When Gu Changyuan said those words, it already meant that he was going to cover for the person who delivered the account book.

He would pay any price, even his own life, to ensure this person escaped alive.

Although Gu Changyuan asked for opinions, his eyes were fixed on Fang Qing's direction.

The salt patrol guards who followed him, along with more than 30 members of the reserve battalion.

At this moment, the person he most hoped would get out alive was Fang Qing.

Therefore, Gu Changyuan's unspoken meaning was to gather his dozens of salt patrol guards to carve a bloody path for Fang Qing.

Let Fang Qing take this ledger and leave through this bloody path, heading towards Yangzhou...

……