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

"Not as good as what?" Zhou Yanru interrupted him coldly, staring at Yan Ying.

"Why not seek refuge with Borte? Or Feng Kun? Do you think they'd still take in two stray dogs, two useless officials who have committed crimes against the court? What else can we do but obey the imperial decree and return to the capital to gamble on a sliver of hope?!"

An hour later, in the garrison commander's study.

The Ministry of War Assistant Minister, a middle-aged civil official of about forty years old with a kind face, stood respectfully to the side. He was the accompanying deputy envoy and had now taken over Zhou Yanru's duties.

"Lord Wang," Lin Feng bowed to the official, "Now that Lord Zhou has been ordered to return to the capital, I will leave the investigation of the northern frontier to you. However, the city is currently under martial law. If you have nothing else to do, please rest at the post station and do not go out easily, lest you be injured by stray arrows or cause misunderstandings."

This was a euphemism for house arrest. Wang, the Assistant Minister, understood perfectly, and repeatedly replied, "This humble official will follow the garrison commander's lead. This humble official understands, understands. Everything is at the garrison commander's disposal."

The matter was resolved quickly.

Zhou Yanru and Yan Ying, along with their dozens of guards from the Beijing Garrison and the Plum Blossom Inner Guard, fled Iron Wall City from the South Gate like stray dogs.

Standing atop the south gate tower, watching the procession gradually shrink into a line of tiny black dots, Xu Tiande spat, "Those two bastards got off easy!"

"With Li Song down, their return to the capital is a dead end for them as well," Lin Feng said calmly.

"That's true." Xu Tiande scratched his head. "And this new Lord Wang?"

"He's just a cowardly, self-serving civil official. Let's keep him out of the loop, appease him, and prevent him from interfering in military affairs. Right now, we should focus our energy on Börte and tomorrow night's deal."

In the garrison commander's study, Lin Feng carefully placed the rubbings for tomorrow's transaction into his robes. Old Gui had already led his men to the City God Temple to make preparations. Everything was ready; they were just waiting for midnight.

The second day at midnight, at the City God Temple.

The cold wind howled, and the broken monument stood silently. Old Ghost's night scouts and Xu Tiande's cavalry had already completed their deployment as last night and were hidden in the shadows.

Lin Feng stood alone in front of the monument, his sharp gaze scanning every inch of shadow.

Three figures emerged silently from behind the temple wall precisely on time, cloaked in grey. Linglong was still in front, with the two guards trailing half a step behind.

"You've kept your word." Linglong's voice came through the hood, still carrying the gentle softness of a Jiangnan water town, but tonight it seemed to lack some of the composed probing of the day before. "Did you bring the rubbing?"

"Where are they?" Lin Feng asked calmly, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.

Linglong seemed to chuckle softly. "The defenses are indeed cautious. However, my friend is not currently in our hands. Our men only 'noticed' his movements in the Gray Fox tribe and saw that he seemed to be involved in the explosives matter, putting him in a rather dangerous situation, so they sent a warning."

She admitted that she had not controlled Yan Qing! She was only monitoring him, or even "observing" him! Lin Feng was slightly angry, but he remained calm on the surface.

This explanation was more plausible than his initial assumption that "Yan Qing was kidnapped," and it also better suited the style of the Linglong Pavilion—a clandestine organization that "plans carefully before acting and reaps the benefits." They didn't directly get involved; instead, they exploited information asymmetry and conflicts between various parties to seize what they wanted.

"Warning?" Lin Feng's tone was slightly cold.

"At least, the garrison has obtained the blueprints for the Earth Fire, which can save countless lives. As for us, we only need a copy; each takes what we need, and neither owes the other anything. As for your friend's location, the garrison can provide its approximate location if needed."

These words were perfectly watertight, both clearing Lin Feng of any suspicion of hostage-taking and highlighting the benefits of the deal for him, while also implying that he could continue to provide information about Yan Qing. The Linglong Pavilion's style of operation was indeed more secretive, sophisticated, and...more difficult to deal with.

"The rubbing is here." Lin Feng said no more, took out the deerskin scroll from his pocket, unfolded it, and showed the other party the front pattern. He still did not hand it over. "I want Yan Qing's exact location now, and all the information you know about his situation. Also, the remaining blueprints of the Earth Fire."

"That makes sense." Linglong nodded and gestured to the guard on her left.

The guard stepped forward, first placing another small roll of silver paper on the broken monument, then retreated. He then took out a roughly folded, crudely drawn sheepskin map from his robes and placed it beside the silver paper. "This is a sketch of a hidden cave thirty miles southwest of White Wolf Valley. Three days ago, our men last saw Yan Qing and his three companions there. They seemed to be tracking a group of 'Shadow Wolves' transporting suspicious supplies. They disappeared afterward, but no signs of battle or capture were found. As for the Earth Fire Map, this is the last part, marking several protective mechanisms and possible self-destruct devices for the main fuse hub."

Lin Feng stepped forward, first picking up the silver paper drawing and quickly scanning it. It matched the previous two parts, with detailed annotations, especially mentioning several treacherous traps, which was indeed Feng Kun's style. He then picked up the sheepskin drawing, on which the mountain terrain and the location of the cave were simply outlined in charcoal, with the Chinese characters "Saw Yan Qing and the other three days ago" next to it.

Information is limited, but at least one location has been identified as recently visited. Moreover, Linglong Pavilion has admitted to monitoring Yan Qing, which means their infiltration of the Gray Fox Tribe may be deeper than previously thought.

"Here's a rubbing for you." Lin Feng handed over the deerskin scroll in his hand.

The guard on the left stepped forward to take the rubbing and carefully examined it. After a long while, he nodded slightly to Linglong.

Linglong seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and personally stepped forward to carefully put away the rubbing.

"Thank you for guarding. The transaction is complete." Without lingering, she nodded slightly to Lin Feng and, with two guards, quickly retreated into the darkness behind the temple wall.

Lin Feng watched them disappear, then let out a whistle that sounded like the flapping of a night insect's wings as he looked up at the night sky.

The old ghost in the shadows immediately understood and, with several night watchmen, followed Linglong and her two companions like a persistent leech, keeping a close watch on them from a distance.

Lin Feng climbed to a higher place, his gaze piercing through the wind and snow, firmly locking onto the three gray figures that were quickly shuttling through the streets and alleys.

Linglong and her two companions walked straight through almost the entire Iron Wall City and arrived at... a small "Southern Goods Shop" located near the West Market, in a relatively bustling area.

The three quickly slipped inside, and the door closed immediately.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea later, the back door of the general store quietly opened. This time, instead of three people in gray cloaks, a young woman dressed in a light blue brocade robe with arrow sleeves and a silver fox fur cloak emerged, accompanied by two guards dressed in ordinary servants' attire.

The woman was tall and slender, dressed in men's clothing, yet possessed delicate features such as willow-leaf eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and skin as white as snow. Her movements exuded a graceful elegance characteristic of women from Jiangnan, yet also carried a subtle air of competence and sharpness beyond the typical lady's boudoir. She was none other than the leader of the Linglong Pavilion, who had removed her hood!

Judging by her age, she is no more than twenty years old, with beautiful features and an extraordinary demeanor. She must be Su Xuanji, the daughter of the Linglong Pavilion Master.

Without pausing, the three quickly turned into a side alley, heading straight for... the West Gate!