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

Lin Feng no longer hesitated. He took off his coarse cloth outer shirt, which was covered in dust and blood, and quickly wrapped it around his head, face, mouth, and nose, leaving only his eyes exposed. Then, he stepped onto the edge of the stove and braced his hands against the inner wall of the flue. The inner wall was slippery and covered with a thick, hardened layer of soot, which felt nauseous but provided a little friction.

He took a deep breath, braced himself with his arms and tightened his core, and like a nimble gecko, extended his body upwards into the chimney. The chimney was extremely narrow, barely wide enough for someone his size to pass through. The walls were slippery, cold bricks and rusted iron, reeking of a strong, pungent smell of tar and soot, almost suffocating him. He could only use his knees and elbows to brace himself against the sides, inching his way upwards with great difficulty.

Each upward movement was incredibly strenuous, a tremendous test of both physical strength and willpower. The wounds on his left arm and back rubbed against the rough brick wall, causing excruciating pain. The air he inhaled was thick with cigarette ash, making him want to cough, but he could only forcefully suppress it. Sweat instantly soaked through his undershirt, mixed with cigarette tar, leaving it sticky and unpleasant.

But he couldn't stop. From the kitchen below, a muffled thud echoed—it sounded like the back door being violently kicked open! This was followed by hurried footsteps and hushed shouts!

"Search! Search thoroughly! Don't miss any corner!"

"Bloodstains! There's fresh blood here!"

"The stove! Look at the stove!"

The pursuers are coming in! And judging from their voices, there are at least four or five of them! They have indeed returned, and their target is clear: this wooden building, this kitchen!

Lin Feng's heart tightened, and he climbed even more desperately. The chimney wasn't long, only a little over ten feet, but at this moment it felt like an insurmountable chasm. He could hear the sounds of people rummaging through drawers and kicking things below, and he could even sense someone inspecting the stove! Fortunately, he had just cleaned up the traces and restored the bricks to their original state, so it shouldn't be so easy to be discovered.

Finally, he encountered an obstacle above him—the second-floor kitchen floor! The flue made a right-angle turn here, leading to the chimney outside the wall. There was a movable sheet metal baffle at the turn to control the smoke exhaust, which appeared to be half-open at the moment.

Lin Feng used his head to open the baffle, gripped the edge of the second-floor floor with both hands, and with all his might, pushed upwards! His body, like a fish out of water, escaped from the narrow, dirty chimney and rolled onto the cold floor of the second-floor kitchen with a muffled "thud".

Ignoring the black soot covering his body and his violent coughing, he immediately sat up, his short knife already in hand, and warily scanned his surroundings.

The kitchen upstairs was equally rudimentary, similar in layout to the downstairs kitchen, except for the addition of a worn-out cupboard and a low table. At this moment, the kitchen was empty, but there were fresh bloodstains on the floor, stretching all the way to the door leading to the front room. Besides the smell of cigarette ash, a faint stench of blood lingered in the air.

It seems the slight dragging sound from upstairs earlier was someone dealing with a body or a wounded person. Was it the two injured "Shadow Guards"? Or "One-Piece Red" (a euphemism for a shady character) or the accountant?

Lin Feng didn't dare to delay. He quickly got up, gently closed the chimney baffle, and tried to cover up the traces as much as possible. Then, he walked to the wooden door leading from the kitchen to the front room and listened intently.

The room in front was deathly silent, without a sound.

We can't wait any longer. We must leave the second floor immediately and escape through another exit. There should still be windows on the second floor.

Lin Feng gently pushed open the wooden door. Outside was a short corridor connecting two bedrooms. One bedroom door was wide open, revealing a scene of chaos—overturned tables and chairs—the very room where he had fought the "Shadow Guards"! A pool of blood remained on the floor, but the accountant and the bodies of the two "Shadow Guards" were nowhere to be seen. The other bedroom door was tightly shut.

The bloodstains extended into the open bedroom, and then... seemed to turn towards the end of the corridor, where there was a small window, half-open!

Lin Feng immediately realized that someone else might have escaped through the second-floor window, or... had just left, just like him. He didn't have time to investigate; his goal was to get away.

He walked quickly to the small window at the end of the corridor.

There was no ladder, but there was a clothesline not far from the window, with a few tattered clothes hanging on it.

But this is his only option at the moment. The pursuers downstairs could come up at any time.

Without further hesitation, Lin Feng climbed onto the windowsill, looked down, and estimated the distance and landing point. Then, he took a deep breath and jumped! During his descent, he reached out and grabbed the clothesline, using the rope to cushion his fall, his body swaying in the air before letting go and landing on a pile of soft, rotten cotton wadding and tattered sacks that had been there for who knows how many years.

We're safe for now. At least we're out of that dangerous wooden building.

He dared not linger. After discerning the direction, he immediately ventured into the depths of the alleyway, which was more secluded and chaotic than the one he had come from, opposite to the "One Red" wooden building.

Unbeknownst to him, shortly after he jumped out of the window, a figure dressed in black, his face covered with a black cloth, revealing only a pair of cold eyes, slowly appeared behind the open second-floor window of the wooden building. This person looked down at the messy marks on the pile of rotten cotton below, then looked up towards the alleyway where Lin Feng had disappeared, a glint of unfathomable light flashing in his eyes. In his hand, he toyed with a metal arrowhead-shaped piece of metal, identical to the one Lin Feng had carried, gleaming with an eerie light.

In the kitchen on the first floor of the wooden building, several men dressed in ordinary clothes but with sharp eyes were conducting a thorough search. One of them squatted by the stove, his fingers brushing against the edge of the third brick from the left, his brow furrowed. Another man picked up a small piece of cloth stained with black cigarette ash from the back door and examined it closely.

"The flue has been disturbed; someone went up from there," the man squatting by the stove said in a deep voice.

"There were also fresh signs at the back door, indicating that more than one person had gone in and out," the person who found the rags added.

"There were signs of a struggle in the upstairs room, and the blood was fresh, but the people were gone. The second and third brothers (referring to the two injured 'shadow guards') are also missing," another person reported as they came down from upstairs.

The leader, a man with a gloomy gaze, swept his eyes over the messy kitchen and the empty hiding place, then looked upstairs before finally saying coldly, "The stuff's been taken. Someone beat us to it. Judging by the method, it wasn't an ordinary person. Report to Third Master immediately, send more men, seal off this area, and thoroughly investigate all suspicious individuals! Especially... any outsiders who are injured and acting hastily!"

"yes!"

Several dark figures quickly dispersed and disappeared in all directions of the alley.

At this moment, Lin Feng, relying on his tenacious will and excellent grasp of the terrain, had already wandered through the maze-like alleyways, completely away from the core area of ​​Cui Liu Lane. He found a dilapidated side hall that seemed to be an abandoned earth god temple, crawled inside, and barely blocked the entrance with a broken door panel. Then, leaning against the cold, cobweb-covered wall, he slowly slid down, panting heavily, cold sweat pouring down his face.

He succeeded.

With trembling hands, he took out the account book tightly wrapped in oilcloth from his bosom. The oilcloth still bore traces of ashes from the stove. He carefully unwrapped it; inside was a booklet bound with thick Xuan paper, its cover blank, the pages yellowed and curled. He quickly flipped through it, using the dim light filtering through the broken window to read its contents.

What catches the eye is a dense, neat, and clear collection of tiny characters. These records are not of ordinary leather trade, but of shocking transactions:

"On the seventh day of the third month of the ninth year of Jinghe, fifty taels of red gold were received from the 'Grey Wolf Tribe' in the north. At market price, three thousand fine iron arrowheads and five hundred bowstrings were purchased. The goods were transferred through 'Zhou Ji' at Laoya Ferry and transported out by 'Fuyun Shipping Company'. The person who made the transaction was Qian Gui (accountant). Note: The Third Master handled the transaction and took a 10% cut."

"In the fifth month of the ninth year of Jinghe, a deposit was paid to 'Blackwater Village' to purchase a batch of medicinal herbs, including old mountain ginseng and deer antlers from Liaodong, for 800 taels of silver. The goods were designated to be delivered to 'White Wolf Banner' in the north. The person in charge: Third Master's personal attendant. Note: Seal of the Prince of Qi's Mansion."

"In the ninth year of Jinghe, at the end of July, the envoy of the Di Rong 'Right Guli King' secretly met at the 'Drunken Immortal Pavilion' and agreed to exchange 500 warhorses for 200 standard crossbows of our dynasty. The location is yet to be determined. The matchmaker: Third Master. Guarantee: Prince Qi's private seal."

As you turn the pages, the time span is nearly two years. The transactions range from military equipment, medicine, and horses to salt, iron, grain, and even intelligence. The trading partners are clearly targeted at several Di and Rong tribes in the north. The people involved frequently appear as "Third Master," "Prince Qi's Mansion," and "Qian Gui." The delivery locations are mostly related to "Zhou's Warehouse," "Laoya Ferry," and "Fuyun Shipping Company." And behind almost every large transaction, there are notes or guarantees such as "Prince Qi's Private Seal" or "Third Master's Handling."

This is no ordinary ledger of furs! It is irrefutable evidence of Prince Qi, Zhao Yuankai, colluding with the Di and Rong tribes, smuggling contraband, and plotting treason! Every single entry is enough to ruin his reputation and even lead to the execution of his entire family! No wonder Zhou Wenyuan values ​​it so much, and no wonder Prince Qi is willing to go to any lengths to retrieve or destroy it!

Lin Feng's heart pounded wildly, not from fear, but from the weight of the evidence in his hand. He carefully wrapped the ledger again in oilcloth and kept it close to his body. Then he took out the metal arrowhead he had found and examined it closely. The metal was of unknown material, neither gold nor iron, and quite heavy in his hand. The arrowhead's shape was consistent with the markings he had seen before, but more refined. There seemed to be extremely fine, rune-like indentations engraved on the back, though they were not clearly visible.

The appearance of this arrow where the ledger was hidden was no coincidence. It was likely a token, or a mark of some kind of identity or authority within the "Shadow Guard." Keeping it might be useful in the future.

After putting the two items away, Lin Feng began to treat his wounds. He tore off a relatively clean piece of his undergarment, washed the wounds with the little water he carried with him, sprinkled on the excellent wound medicine given to him by Zhou Wenyuan, and re-bandaged them. Every movement made him grimace in pain, but his movements remained steady.

Having done all this, he was utterly exhausted, his eyelids heavy as if filled with lead. But he knew he couldn't sleep now. It wasn't safe here; pursuers could come at any moment. He had to leave immediately and head to the contact point Zhou Wenyuan had given him—"Moyunzhai"—to deliver the account books and messages.

He struggled to his feet.

He pushed aside the broken wooden plank blocking the door, took a deep breath of the cold, polluted air, and strode resolutely toward the "Moyunzhai" in the east of the city.