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

"Want to die?" Lin Feng was even faster, grabbing her chin and forcefully dislocating it!

With a "crack," her jaw dislocated. Cui'er was in so much pain that tears streamed down her face, but she couldn't speak.

Lin Feng pulled a wax pill from her collar, crushed it, and found black powder inside—it was highly poisonous.

"He is indeed loyal."

He sneered, put Cui'er's chin back on, but then pressed a pressure point on the back of her neck with his finger, and Cui'er immediately felt weak all over and couldn't move.

"Put them in the car first. We can't stay here any longer. Pack up and let's go."

The group dragged the bandit's body deep into the forest and roughly covered it with leaves. The carriage then set off again, quickly driving out of the woods.

Inside the carriage, Cui'er was tightly bound and slumped in a corner, glaring at Bai Xiaohe and Lin Feng with resentment.

Su Wanyue's face turned pale, clearly frightened by what had just happened.

"My lord, she...she really is a spy?"

"Yes." Lin Feng nodded. "Black Wind Stronghold. Last night's show was just for us, to let her in and cooperate from the inside."

Lin Feng looked out the window, "But behind Black Wind Stronghold, there's probably more to it than just bandits."

The carriage drove out of the blood-stained forest as the sun began to set.

Old Zhao drove the car at breakneck speed, the wheels rolling rapidly across the road, as if trying to shake off the lingering murderous aura and bloodshed behind him.

The atmosphere inside the train carriage was heavy.

Cui'er was tied up like a dumpling and left in a corner. Her eyes were closed, her face was pale, but her lips were tightly pressed together, as if she were at the mercy of others.

Su Wanyue sat opposite her, looking at this girl who had been pitiful not long ago and kept calling her "benefactor," her feelings were complicated.

She remembered how diligently Cui'er helped start the fire and cook, the tears she shed when she told her story, and the shy, expectant look in her eyes when she handed her the pickled vegetables... It turned out it was all a lie.

A chill ran through her, and she instinctively moved closer to Bai Xiaohe.

Bai Xiaohe gently held her hand and whispered, "Sister, don't be afraid."

Her gaze remained fixed on Cui'er, her eyes sharp as knives.

As a woman herself, and having experienced both pretense and betrayal, she understood the nature of people like Cui'er better than Su Wanyue—they were either assassins or pawns, but would never speak easily.

"Xiao He," Su Wanyue asked in a low voice, "were you...were you like this when you were in the White-Clad Guard?"

Bai Xiaohe's body stiffened slightly. After a moment of silence, she shook her head: "It's different. The White-Clad Guards... at least on the surface, we protect things that are worth protecting, even if our methods aren't exactly honorable. But they..."

She glanced at Cui'er, "Black Wind Stronghold, pure bandits, evil. For money, for personal gain, they'll sell anything, they'll do anything."

In the front seat, Lin Feng closed his eyes to rest, but kept listening to the conversation in the carriage.

He had to pry Cui'er's mouth open.

The carriage traveled for another hour, and finally, the outline of a row of houses appeared on the horizon ahead, looking quiet and peaceful in the twilight.

We've arrived at Luoyan Town.

Lin Feng asked Lao Zhao to find a clean and respectable-looking inn called "Ping An Inn" for them to stay at, even though it wasn't in the busiest location.

They booked two superior rooms: one for him and Lao Zhao, and the other for Su Wanyue, Bai Xiaohe, and Cui'er—Cui'er needed someone to watch over her at all times.

After settling in, Lin Feng asked Lao Zhao to go to the street to buy some food and medicine for his injuries, and then left the inn.

Lin Feng first took a walk around the town.

Luoyan Town was an important node on the north-south trade route, and merchants traveling between the north and south often stopped here to rest and replenish supplies, so it was well-informed.

He walked into a busy teahouse, ordered a pot of tea, and sat in a corner.

The tea drinkers chatted about all sorts of things, from this year's harvest to the movements of the Di Rong tribes to the north, and local anecdotes. Lin Feng listened quietly.

"The Wang family in Zhenxi was robbed a few days ago, and a lot of valuables were stolen. The yamen is investigating."

"I heard... it might be related to that bandit gang in the mountains to the north. Be careful."

"...Have you heard? Black Wind Stronghold went down the mountain again a few days ago, robbed the village to the west, and kidnapped several girls!"

"What a terrible thing! Doesn't the government do anything about it?"

"Manage? How can we manage it? Black Wind Stronghold is an easy place to defend and difficult to attack. The government has been there several times, but they haven't even touched the gate. Besides, I heard... there are people above Black Wind Stronghold."

"Someone's there? Who?"

"I wouldn't dare to speak carelessly about that. But think about it, Black Wind Stronghold has been entrenched for so many years, robbed so many caravans, and offended so many people, why hasn't it been wiped out? Are they just bandits? Do they have such audacity and such powerful backing?"

It seems that the existence of someone behind Black Wind Stronghold is an open secret. However, the identity of this "person" remains a subject of much speculation.

He sat for a while longer, but didn't hear any more useful information, so he paid the bill and left the teahouse.

When he passed through the west of the town, he made a special detour to the vicinity of the Wang family's house, which was said to have been robbed.

The courtyard was grand, with a vermilion gate and a pair of stone lions at the entrance, quite imposing. But the gate was tightly closed, and the lanterns hanging under the eaves swayed in the evening breeze, making it seem somewhat desolate.

He noticed that there was a pawnshop diagonally opposite the Wang family's house, with a sign that read "Zhou's Pawnshop" hanging at the entrance.

A shop assistant was absentmindedly dusting the counter with a feather duster, but his eyes kept glancing at the Wang family's gate, and he looked somewhat nervous.

Lin Feng's heart stirred, and he walked over.

"Sir, what would you like to order?" The waiter asked with a smile as he approached.

"I don't want anything, I just want to ask you something." Lin Feng took out a few copper coins and placed them on the counter.

"I heard that the Wang family across the street was robbed a few days ago?"

The waiter's expression changed slightly. He looked around before lowering his voice and saying, "Sir, are you from out of town? It's best not to inquire about this matter."

Why?

"It's evil!" the waiter's voice trembled.

"That thief... was no ordinary thief. He came and went silently, stealing only an inconspicuous wooden box from Master Wang's study, leaving all the other gold and silver jewelry untouched. What's even stranger is that Master Wang fell ill the next day, saying he was frightened. But someone saw that Master Wang was perfectly fine that morning, but after going to the yamen and returning, his face turned pale, and then he shut himself in and refused to see anyone."

"What's inside the wooden box?"

"How would I know?" the waiter shook his head.

"However... some people speculate that it might be related to the batch of 'goods' that Master Wang acquired recently."

"goods?"

"Besides being a prominent local figure, Master Wang also deals in antiques. A while ago, he somehow acquired a batch of antiques, some of which are said to be from the palace. That batch of goods... its origins might not be entirely legitimate."

As the waiter was speaking, he suddenly remembered something, his face turned pale, "Oh dear, I've been too talkative! Sir, please pretend you didn't hear me, and please leave!"

Lin Feng asked no more questions and turned back to the inn.

The four of them had a simple dinner. Cui'er was fed a few mouthfuls of porridge, but she remained silent with her eyes closed.

After dinner, Lin Feng said to Lao Zhao, "Lao Zhao, you go and rest. I'll keep watch tonight."

"Mr. Lin, you must be tired after a long day, I..."

"Go to sleep." Lin Feng's tone left no room for argument.

Old Zhao had no choice but to go back to his room.

Lin Feng then said to Su Wanyue and Bai Xiaohe, "You two should get some rest too. She..."

He pointed to Cui'er, "I'll take care of her."

"Husband, are you going to interrogate her?" Su Wanyue asked worriedly.

"Okay." Lin Feng nodded. "There are some things we need to figure out. You guys go sleep next door and lock the door."

Su Wanyue wanted to say something, but Bai Xiaohe stopped her: "Sister Su, listen to Brother Lin. We can't help if we stay here."

The two went to the next room. Lin Feng closed the door, walked over to Cui'er, and pulled up a chair to sit down.

Cui'er kept her eyes closed, but her breathing became slightly rapid.

"Miss Cui'er, or rather, what else should I call you?" Lin Feng asked slowly.

"Zhao Kui, the third leader of Black Wind Stronghold, is dead, and your ambush in the forest has been completely wiped out. You are now a useless pawn."