Too many female prisoners, a special forces soldier transmigrates and marries wildly.

"It was precisely because she was alert that she made a move." A cold glint appeared in Lin Feng's eyes.

"Have Han Tao make a big show of it tomorrow, under the pretext of assisting in the investigation of Di Rong spies, and lead troops to patrol all the wards of the western city, especially the area near Goulan Street. Let them panic on their own."

……

Over the next two days, undercurrents surged in the western part of Shuofeng City.

As expected, Han Tao led a troop of soldiers, their armor gleaming, to "patrol" the streets of the western city, questioning travelers about their travel permits and inspecting goods, causing quite a commotion.

The red-light district is a "key area" of concern.

Lei Bao's henchmen, a group of "thugs," possessed superb acting skills.

They squatted at the alley entrance opposite Anxiang Tower, gambling. When they lost badly, they would curse and swear, their voices neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for people coming and going to hear them.

"Damn it, what bad luck! I heard that some Di Rong spies have infiltrated the city and are specifically targeting brothels!"

"That's right, yesterday Commandant Han led his men to search half a street. I bet they'll find their way here sooner or later!"

"This Dark Fragrance Pavilion... I heard that some strangers came here a few days ago? And they even had a Di Rong accent?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! If Granny Liu hears you, she'll tear your mouth apart!"

At the Eastern Suburbs Camp, on Lin Feng's desk.

"There is no movement in Yunshang's room for the time being, but an hour ago, a mute maid who brought hot water entered and stayed for a little longer than usual."

Lin Feng looked at the secret report handed to him by Yan Qing and tapped his finger on the "mute maid" part.

"The mute maid...is she Yunshang's person?" He looked up at Yan Qing.

Where did she go after leaving Anxiang Tower?

"I went back to a large courtyard on the back street, where most of the residents were servants who worked in the building."

"Keep a close watch on that mute maid, and that large courtyard," Chen Feng ordered.

As dawn broke, in the tents of the eastern suburban camp.

"General, at three-quarters past midnight, that mute maidservant carried a basket and headed towards the City God Temple. I followed her to the mortuary and saw her push open the bottom of the third thin-skinned coffin, revealing a secret passage underneath."

"A mortuary? A coffin?" Lei Bao was munching on a hard biscuit when he heard this and was taken aback.

"Damn it, they really know how to hide!"

Lin Feng put down the water bag in his hand and walked to the simple map.

Anxiang Tower, the tenement, and the City God Temple Charity Hall—these three points form a crooked triangle, covering the chaotic old town area in the southwest corner of Shuofeng City.

"Yan Qing, take a few men and disguise them as night soil collectors. Keep a close watch on the mortuary and the exits of the nearby underground ditches. Signal if there is any unusual activity. Try to capture them alive, especially that mute maid."

"I'll go and meet that mute maid."

……

At the beginning of Chen Shi (7-9 AM), Shuofeng City was just waking up.

The mortuary behind the City God Temple was deserted and overgrown with weeds, and crows cawed eerily in the bare trees.

Lin Feng, disguised as a down-on-his-luck man who had come to the city to look for his relatives but failed and was temporarily staying in a dilapidated temple, was curled up under the eaves of the land temple opposite the mortuary, wrapped in a patched old cotton-padded coat, as if he were asleep.

The crooked wooden door of the mortuary remained firmly in sight.

About an incense stick's time later, the wooden door creaked open a crack.

A thin figure dressed in gray cloth and wearing a headscarf appeared, carrying a heavy basket; it was the mute maid.

She glanced around a few times, then quickly walked towards the narrow alleyway next to her, which was piled with garbage.

Lin Feng slowly got up and followed at a leisurely pace.

The alley was piled high with broken baskets and rotten vegetable leaves, and the smell was unpleasant.

The mute maid walked to the middle of the alley, squatted down, as if she were tidying up a basket.

"Young lady," Lin Feng stopped three steps away from her and asked in a hoarse voice, "Excuse me, how do I get to the West Market?"

The mute maidservant froze, but without turning around, she quickened her pace.

"This basket is quite heavy," Lin Feng said, taking another step closer. "What good stuff is in it?"

The mute maidservant suddenly stood up and turned to run away!

Lin Feng casually stretched out his foot, only to trip over her ankle.

She screamed and fell forward, the basket flew out of her hand, and its contents scattered all over the floor with a crash—

Several neatly folded women's dresses, the fabric looking quite fine. A few small porcelain bottles. Several rolls of paper wrapped in oilcloth. And a thin-bladed dagger, less than half a foot long, gleaming with a faint blue light.

"Hah!" The mute maid hissed in terror as she struggled to grab the dagger.

Lin Feng's foot was already on the dagger.

Almost simultaneously, the brothers disguised as "night soil collectors" from both ends of the alley rushed up and, in the blink of an eye, pinned the mute maid to the ground, gagged her, tied her hands, and searched her body—cleanly and efficiently.

……

In the secluded barracks of the eastern suburbs camp, only an oil lamp was lit.

The mute maid was tied to a chair.

Her face was as white as paper, her lips trembled, and her eyes were fixed on the ground, without uttering a sound.

Lin Feng sat opposite her and placed the items from the basket one by one on the table.

"Are these clothes for Yunshang?"

The mute maid remained silent.

"Who is this map in the oilcloth roll for?" Lin Feng's voice turned cold.

The mute maid remained silent, her breathing noticeably rapid.

Lin Feng picked up the dark blue dagger. "A fine blade, deadly to the touch. Is it for self-defense, or... for you to end your own life or silence witnesses if necessary?"

He stood up, walked to the mute maid, squatted down, and looked directly into her fearful eyes.

"Even if you don't tell me, I can guess pretty much. You're the lowest-ranking messenger under that 'master,' running errands and delivering things in Shuofeng City. Your superior is Yunshang. Yunshang uses the pipa and secret doors to access the outside world, while you take a dirtier and more secretive route, like the coffins in the mortuary."

"You're sending clothes, medicine, and a map. The clothes are for Yunshang, the medicine is for someone important who's injured, and the map... it's military intelligence, to be sent to Di Rong or Sha Hu. Am I right?"

The mute maid's face turned ashen, cold sweat soaked her temples, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

"You have two choices now. First, continue to play dumb, and I'll deal with you. Second, speak up, and I'll guarantee your survival, give you some money, send you out of Shuofeng, and let you start a new life somewhere no one knows you."

A long silence.

Finally, the mute maid's lips moved a few times, emitting a very faint, dry, hoarse sound, like the turning of a rusty door hinge:

"I...I'll talk...Please...Please don't kill me..."

"My name is Xiaolian... I was originally from Suzhou. I was bought by a man called Master Gu. He said he would send me to a good place to be a maid... But when we got to Shuofeng, he locked me up, made me pretend to be mute, and taught me to recognize maps, remember routes, and deliver things..."

"Third Master Gu?" Lin Feng's eyes narrowed. "Is he around fifty years old, thin, with a goatee, and from Jiangnan?"

Xiaolian looked up abruptly, her eyes wide with horror: "You...how did you know?"

Lin Feng and Yan Qing at the door exchanged a glance.

Sure enough! It was that mysterious Master Gu from Jinyunxuan!

"Go on. What does Third Master Gu do? Is Yunshang one of his people?"

"Third Master Gu is in charge. He manages us... errand runners. Miss Yunshang came directly from the south. She's of high status, and even Third Master Gu treats her with great respect. She only listens to... only listens to her 'master's' orders."

"The clothes are for Miss Yunshang. The medicine was sent to the mortuary by Third Master Gu for someone. I don't know that person. Every time I put the medicine in the coffin, I knock on the bottom three times and leave. That person never opens the coffin or shows his face."

……

The clues, like scattered beads, were strung together by Xiaolian's words.

Master Gu is the chief liaison in Shuofeng City. Yunshang is an envoy on a higher level. The medicine is delivered through people hidden in the mortuary. The map is passed to the mule and horse market by beggars—a gray area where Shuofeng City and the outside world, especially the nomadic tribes of the northwest, conduct private transactions and exchange information.