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

His moves were cunning and ruthless, targeting the lower body and joints, but his strength and speed were far inferior to Lin Feng's. After a few rounds, he was forced into a corner.

Lin Feng suddenly kicked out, hitting Chen Laoshuan squarely in the abdomen! Chen Laoshuan groaned and crashed into the wall, the package in his arms flying out of his hands.

Lin Feng reacted quickly, grabbing the package and simultaneously pointing the dagger forward, pressing it against Chen Laoshuan's throat.

"Move again, and you die."

Old Chen's face turned ashen, and he stopped struggling, but resentment and unwillingness flashed in his eyes.

The sounds of fighting overhead quickly ceased. "Mudfish" and "Groundhog's" voices came through: "Guards! It's over up there! Two 'Shadow Wolves,' we killed them! Are you alright?"

"It's alright. Get down, tie him up, and search this place thoroughly!" Lin Feng replied.

"Loach" and "Groundhog" came down and tied Chen Laoshuan up tightly with rope. They then quickly searched the entire underground workshop and found some secret letters, blueprints, and a number of privately made mechanisms and hidden weapons used to contact Feng Kun.

"Guards, this secret passage..." "Loach" pointed to the dark entrance.

"Chase!" Lin Feng was the first to dive in.

The secret passage was narrow and damp, allowing only one to walk at a stoop, and its destination was unknown. After chasing for about a hundred paces, a faint light and the sound of wind could be heard ahead, and the exit seemed to be in a dry well.

When they climbed out of the dry well, they found themselves in an even more secluded dead-end alley filled with garbage, and the young apprentice was nowhere to be seen.

"They ran away." "Groundhog" spat.

"It's alright. Catching the 'Falcon' and getting the rubbing is already a great victory." Lin Feng looked at the package in his hand.

Deep inside the garrison's dungeon.

On the table lay the rubbing of the jade pendant wrapped in deerskin, along with several secret letters and drawings found in the underground workshop.

"Falcon, you were tasked with replicating the coiled dragon jade pendant for Feng Kun, researching its internal mechanisms, drawing rubbings, and deducing the secrets of the 'Star Key Lock.' Last night at midnight was the agreed-upon time with Feng Kun's men to return the rubbings and tokens. Unfortunately, they had no intention of letting you live until after the delivery."

Lin Feng picked up a piece of paper from the table and read aloud, “‘…The hawk knows too much, keeping him around might cause trouble later. The secret of the jade pendant can be found by obtaining its rubbing, and the person… can be made to keep the secret forever.’ The signature was the character ‘Kun’. Feng Kun has long wanted to kill you to silence you. This was found on the two people who were preparing to hand you over.”

The hawk trembled, a flicker of fear and resentment flashing in its cloudy eyes.

Lin Feng stood up and walked to the hawk.

"I know this dragon-patterned jade pendant is related to a secret treasure of the previous dynasty. I know Feng Kun and Boerte colluded to excavate in the old mines of the Gray Fox tribe, searching for the entrance to the underground palace. I know Li Song has lost power in court and is eager to find the jade pendant or the power behind it as a bargaining chip to turn the tide. I also know that you, Hawk, are the one in this grand scheme who understands the jade pendant's mechanism best and is most likely to find the true entrance. Feng Kun wants to kill you because you are too important and too dangerous. And I…"

He paused, his voice softening but carrying even greater pressure: "I can give you a way out. Tell me everything you know about the plans. I'll guarantee your life, and I might even let you leave this place under an assumed name with enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life, never to have to worry about Feng Kun's pursuit again. Or, you can choose to remain silent, and I'll hand you over to Feng Kun, or... Minister Zhou Yanru. Do you think you'd be much more comfortable in their hands than you are now?"

A combination of persuasion and coercion, kindness and severity, was employed. Cold sweat beaded on the hawk's forehead, its eyes filled with intense struggle. Continuing to resist would only lead to death, and a meaningless one at that.

"I...I'll talk..." The hawk finally broke down.

"The Panlong Jade Pendant... is indeed related to a secret guard unit of the previous dynasty's royal family. That guard was responsible for protecting a secret treasure known as the 'Xuanji Underground Palace.' The entrance to the underground palace is said to be near the ancestral land of the Gray Fox tribe, but its exact location is unknown. It can only be opened with the jade pendant as a key, combined with specific timing and incantations. The jade pendant itself is not only a key, but also contains a hidden diagram of mechanisms, indicating the internal paths and layout of the underground palace... Feng Kun asked me to make a replica, mainly to figure out the internal structure of the underground palace and the possible locations of the treasures by disassembling and studying it. He is more interested in the enormous wealth accumulated by the previous dynasty that may be stored in the underground palace, and... some kind of secret technique or weapon that is said to be able to 'reverse the universe'..."

"Have you made a copy of the blueprints for the interior of the underground palace?" Lin Feng interrupted.

"No...no." Hawk shook his head. "I've never seen the real thing in person. I only studied it based on a fragmented rubbing that Feng Kun got from somewhere years ago. The jade pendant's mechanism is extremely complex. Many patterns that seem decorative are actually miniature diagrams and ciphers. Simply imitating the shape won't reveal the details. Feng Kun got desperate later, which is why he risked cooperating with Borte, trying to find the entrance to the underground palace directly and force it open."

"How much does Burte know?"

"Berte... mainly wanted to use Feng Kun to find the treasures of the underground palace, strengthen his power, completely control the Gray Fox tribe, and even annex the surrounding tribes. He wasn't very interested in the secrets of the jade pendant itself; he wanted real gold and silver, weapons and armor. Feng Kun, on the other hand, used his manpower to dig and explore near the royal court... They found some traces of what appeared to be the outer passage of the underground palace in the old mine, but they were blocked by an extremely sturdy dragon-severing stone. Feng Kun deduced that the mechanism to open the dragon-severing stone was on the jade pendant, or that the jade pendant was needed as a trigger. That's why he spared no expense, even condoning Berte's forced marriage to the princess, in an attempt to seize the real jade pendant."

"Where is the agreed delivery location? Who is the recipient?" Lin Feng pressed for the key questions.

"It's...it's 'Soul-Falling Slope,' five miles west of the city. There's an abandoned local temple there, under the third old locust tree behind it. The person who picks up the goods...I don't know him. He always has a different face, but he always has a blue wolf's head tattoo on the back of his left hand, the mark of the 'Shadow Wolf.' After I return the rubbing and the token, they'll give me new instructions, or...silence me." Hawk smiled bitterly.

"Besides you and 'Old Chen's Teahouse,' what other strongholds does Feng Kun have in the city? How many members of 'Shadow Wolf' have infiltrated?"

"I don't know the specific location; Feng Kun never lets us know."

Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the dungeon, and a guard reported from outside the door: "Commander! Signs of a struggle have been found near the Earth God Temple at Fallen Soul Slope in the west of the city. There is blood and the corpses of 'Shadow Wolves'! About five or six of them, dead for less than an hour! Judging from the wounds, it was done by a master, a single fatal blow!"

Silencing them! Feng Kun's men did indeed go to the delivery location, only to be ambushed by a third party who took them all, along with the goods! Was it that southern force? Or Zhou Yanru's men? Or perhaps... the Black Wolf Guards sent by Boerte?

"Understood. Double the manpower to patrol the four gates, especially at night," Lin Feng quickly ordered.

"Yes!" The guard accepted the order and left.

Lin Feng said to Han Tao, "Place Hawk in a solitary confinement and keep him under strict guard. His food and medicine must be carefully inspected. No one is allowed to approach him without my authorization. If he dies, I will hold you responsible."