In a chaotic and famine-stricken era, I picked up an empress to be my wife.

"Luo Li, don't worry, they can't kill me. No matter how many come, I'll kill them all!" Shen An gave Luo Li a reassuring look.

He was not exaggerating; he was not afraid even if 200,000 troops came to attack the city.

Why should we be afraid of those assassins?

Do you really think he and his guards are just good-for-nothings?

Luo Li sighed heavily: "You are really stubborn. I feel like ten oxen couldn't pull you back. Fine, fine. If you are unwilling to cooperate with my father, I will not report it immediately. I will help you buy time."

During this time, I will use all my power to protect you and will absolutely not let anyone harm you!

When Luo Li said this, her pretty face was full of stubbornness.

Shen An could sense that Luo Li really wanted to protect him; if anyone hurt him, Luo Li would fight to the death for them.

Shen An's heart was touched.

Since she came into this world, it seems that only she has such a strong idea.

Dugu Meng never had such a dream.

Shen An originally wanted to politely decline her offer, but then swallowed his words.

He smiled and said, "Then I must thank you, my dear sister. But next, I'll prove to you that no matter how many of those petty scoundrels come, I can kill them all!"

"Hmph, you better be like that. If anything goes wrong, I'll tie you up and take you to the capital!" Luo Li said, hands on her hips.

"Okay, okay!"

Shen An responded and then ordered the army to continue advancing.

Two days later.

They stormed into the prefecture of Nanling Prefecture.

Along the way, the people of Nanling Prefecture, unaware of the situation, genuinely believed that Shen An's army was Yuwen Bingyu's army.

Their purpose in coming here is to annihilate Yuwen Qin.

The people of Nanling Prefecture had no idea about Yuwen Bingyu's character and thought she truly loved the people like her own children.

Upon arriving in Nanling Prefecture, they received support from the local people.

He originally brought only 15,000 troops with him.

When they arrived at the city of the prefecture, their numbers exceeded 100,000.

Almost all the able-bodied young men from Nanling Prefecture came.

It is evident that even though Yuwen Bingyu was extremely hypocritical, she was still able to promote herself and make them believe that she was a good official and that her interests must be protected.

When they saw an army of 100,000 gathered beneath the city gate.

Yuwen Qin, who seized the opportunity to occupy this place, regretted it!

Before he and Zhang Chi arrived, they absolutely did not expect to see this scene unfold before them.

The soldiers who had scattered and fled had not yet been won over. They only had a mere 20,000 troops in total. How could they possibly be a match for this army of 100,000?

In desperation, Zhang Chi came up with a plan: "Those lowly people support Shen An because they think he represents Yuwen Bingyu. Why don't we let the people know that Yuwen Bingyu is actually under Shen An's control?"

Shen An is the real enemy; let's work together to take him down!

"This method is excellent, let's do it this way!"

However, they underestimated Yuwen Bingyu's ambition!

In Yuwen Bingyu's view, the fact that the people in front of her loved her so much almost meant that once Shen An broke through the city, she could use the people to deal with Shen An!

The best course of action now is to break through the city first. Once the city is breached, she will order the people to attack Shen An!

Without the repeating crossbow, Shen An refused to believe that leading a mere ten thousand men could be a match for all the able-bodied men of Nanling Prefecture.

Now she not only won't expose Shen An, but she'll also cooperate with him!

She volunteered to stand up and explain things clearly to all the people.

After Shen An agreed, she told the people that Shen An had come to help her despite past grievances, because she had been betrayed by Yuwen Qin and Li Huaiyi, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of soldiers.

Therefore! No one should believe Yuwen Qin's words.

Join Shen An in attacking the city!

Yuwen Bingyu's words ignited a frenzy among the people, who charged to the front lines to attack the city, while the inhabitants inside also chose to riot.

Knowing that the situation was hopeless, Yuwen Qin immediately abandoned the city and fled with only two hundred personal guards.

Wang Junfeng had already blocked his way.

After a fierce battle, Yuwen Qin and Zhang Chi were captured and brought before Shen An.

When the soldiers still holding out in the city saw that Yuwen Qin had not only abandoned the city and fled, but had also been captured by Shen An, they were shocked.

They immediately lost all will to fight, surrendered one after another, and opened the city gates on their own initiative.

After Yuwen Bingyu entered the city, she felt that her opportunity had come.

She wanted to shout loudly, "Shen An is the culprit! She was forced into this! Come and save her!"

Before she could even open her mouth, Shen An's men forcibly tied her to the sedan chair and took her back to her governor's mansion, giving her no chance at all.

After taking him into custody, Shen An sent men to quickly control officials at all levels in the prefecture of Nanling Prefecture.

But instead of speaking to them immediately, he went to see Yuwen Qin and Zhang Chi.

Now that he has the Nanling Prefecture under his control, he can communicate with these officials at any time. However, Yuwen Qin and Zhang Chi should know how the human skin mask is made.

Shen An also needs to master the production method.

Therefore, if he were to be assassinated in the future, he could simply change his appearance, making it even more difficult for others to kill him.

Both of them were tied up.

Shen An pushed open the door and entered. The two men's expressions changed visibly, and they didn't dare to look up at Shen An.

Wang Junfeng brought a chair for Shen An to sit down, and Shen An then asked, "Yuwen Qin, is this the first time we've truly sat down and met to talk?"

"Probably, it was that imposter last time," Yuwen Qin nodded.

"Hey, that imposter, even his voice sounds just like yours. You must have gone to a lot of trouble to find someone like this, right?"

"Who says otherwise? That human skin mask alone wasn't enough. I also needed to find someone with a similar head and voice to me. It took quite a bit of effort."

"Then you should know how human skin masks are made, right?" Shen An asked.

"It seems you're quite interested in human skin masks."

Tell me, and I might let you live!

"Hehe, Shen An, I'm not a three-year-old. With your temperament, you don't even consider your enemies as human beings. After I finish telling you, you'll turn around and kill me. So I won't say anything. Even if you use torture on me, it won't work!" Yuwen Qin chuckled.

Shen An did not deny it: "Although this is the first time we've really sat down to talk, you seem to know me quite well."

But human willpower is finite. If I were to cause you such unbearable pain that you wished to die but couldn't, could you still hold back and not complain?

"If you don't believe me, you can try. I, Yuwen Qin, was kicked out of my home by my father and became a prefectural governor with nothing. I was renowned throughout the southeastern prefectures. If I couldn't even endure that little bit of suffering, how could I have accomplished all that?" Yuwen Qin retorted.

"Now that you mention it, I have to admire you a little. If we weren't enemies, I might even consider you a confidant. But alas, we are enemies. You have no way out here!" Shen An stated bluntly, "As for whether you can withstand it, I'm starting to have second thoughts."

"Then don't waste your energy. Since I'm doomed, I won't let my enemies get away with it!" Yuwen Qin raised his head high, as if he had a body full of pride.

Shen An smiled and said, "People are different. You might be able to handle it, but others might not!"

Yuwen Qin's heart skipped a beat, and when he looked up...

Shen An's gaze was already fixed on Zhang Chi.

Yuwen Qin had a bad feeling; Zhang Chi also knew the secret of the human skin mask.

Based on his understanding, Zhang Chi was unlikely to withstand torture.

But in order to inspire Zhang Chi's belief, Yuwen Qin said in a low voice: "Zhang Chi, don't forget that you have always thought that you are the number one young talent in this nearby prefecture."

If you were to yield to his torture, how could you be considered the foremost talent?

But something that Yuwen Qin never expected happened.

Suddenly, Zhang Chi burst into tears and pleaded with Shen An: "Lord Shen, Master Shen, I am just a strategist, and everything I have done is only to serve my superiors."

There is no deep-seated hatred between us. I am willing to tell you all of Yuwen Qin's secrets, including the method of making that human skin mask.

Can you give me a real way to survive?