The left and right legs, from the bare feet to the knees, do not have any scars that would be expected from a bear trap.
"Sure enough, it's not Qian Fengrong!" Wu Shaoning raised his head and said.
Ye Zheng thought for a while, then went back to rummage in the pit, and soon pulled out the corpse of a man of medium height and thin build.
When he saw the face of the corpse, he and Wu Shaoning, who was not far away, were stunned at the same time.
They killed people cleanly, with only a swipe in the throat, but the whole face of this corpse was smashed with daggers, making it unrecognizable.
"Come here and identify yourself!" Ye Zheng looked at the two women, "Is this person Xie Zhong?!"
Seeing the two women cowering and not daring to step forward, Ye Zheng frowned: "Hurry up!"
Compared to the men in the Zhongxin Army, he raised his voice like this, but he was still gentle.
The two women hesitated for a while and then stepped over.
When they got closer and saw the miserable state of the corpse, the two screamed and huddled together.
Shen Lie and the surrounding secret guards did not make a sound, patiently waiting for them to regain their composure.
After a while, a woman gathered her courage and looked again.
Although the corpse's face was covered in blood and flesh, and the features were indistinguishable, the bones of the body were mostly still there.
She looked carefully and said in a trembling voice: "He, he doesn't seem to be Prime Minister Xie."
Because of her words, another woman also looked at the corpse and was stunned: "I recognize him! He specializes in taking people to find caves and tombs. His, his name is..."
"Yan Zhi Geng!" another woman said.
"That's right, it's Yan Zhigan! He looks very similar to Prime Minister Xie in body and appearance, but I recognize his hands. He is Yan Zhigan."
Ye Zheng was furious, stood up and stared at the corpse pit, shouting: "Damn it!"
"Master..." Wu Shaoning looked at Shen Lie.
All the secret guards also looked towards Shen Lie.
Shen Lie's face was impassive, his black eyes silently looking at the headless corpse on the ground and the fake Xie Zhong.
After a while, he said calmly: "It's not our problem. Xie Zhong is treacherous. No matter whether we assassinated him or not yesterday, the person sleeping in the tent will be his scapegoat."
Ye Zheng said angrily: "That's right. He must have known that he had offended too many people and knew that he deserved to die. In order to protect himself and avoid disaster, he had prepared this move early. It was just a matter of grafting on flowers and substituting them!"
"Master, shall we pursue him? To the southeast." Wu Shaoning said.
"Who do you think scratched his face?" Shen Lie asked.
Wu Shaoning paused and looked at Ye Zheng.
"It's the one who peed his pants." Ye Zheng said with a frown.
"...So, we are not the only ones who were deceived?" Wu Shaoning asked, "Those loyal troops who went southeast also thought that Xie Zhong was really dead?"
"So, Xie Zhong and Qian Fengrong are not in that loyal army." Shen Lie always said in a calm tone.
He turned around and walked to the mountain stream, looking down at the stream not far away, his dark jade-like eyes slightly narrowed, thinking about everything he had seen and heard in the past few days: "Qian Fengrong, he may have been there from the beginning to the end. Not in this loyal army, this 'big king' was also found by Xie Zhong to replace him."
"So, where is Qian Fengrong really?" Ye Zheng asked.
"I don't know, maybe he is dead, maybe he has other tasks arranged by Xie Zhong, or maybe he was seriously injured in many battles and is currently looking for a place to escape from the world to recuperate."
Wu Shaoning said sadly: "In this case, we won't be able to find him in a short time. This time, Ling De and his party have failed."
"Not necessarily," Shen Lie turned around and looked at him, "Xie Zhong had broken off his arm to survive. The loyal army that went to the southeast was at least 2,500 people. No matter how open-minded Xie Zhong was, he would not fail to do so. Heartache."
"That's right," Ye Zheng said, "these people also took away all the baggage and silver of the Zhongxin Army. Although they didn't have much possessions, they were still fat. It was because Song Zhiyi's soldiers were cheap, so they could claim credit and reward them. "
"It doesn't matter," Shen Lie's voice became lower, "It's just that we need to get to know Xie Zhong again."
Although he never underestimates any opponent, no one who can make waves in troubled times should be underestimated.
However, Xie Zhong's methods and character are far beyond what he previously thought.
The headless corpse and Yan Zhigeng's corpse were thrown back into the pit. A secret guard took out the bag containing the head and threw the head in.
The soil around the corpse pit was pushed back and lightly filled. The setting sun in the sky completely disappeared, leaving only a faint light blue-gray light on the sky and the earth.
Ye Zheng and the others went to the river to wash their hands, while the other secret guards packed their horses and luggage.
Seeing them like this, the two women felt uneasy and looked at Shen Lie not far away. They mustered up the courage to go over.
"General Shen..." a woman whispered, "Are you going back?"
Shen Lie turned around and nodded: "Yes."
Under the darkening sky, his handsome face softened, disappearing from the cold and indifference he had shown in the day, and most of the fear the two women had towards him also faded away.
"Will you still take us with you?" A woman whispered, "General Shen, we want to go with you."
It was a good thing they didn't mention it, but when they mentioned it, Shen Lie remembered that they were still here.
"No," Shen Lie said, "There are no wild beasts here for the time being, and the people of the Zhongxin Army have left, so you are safe."
The two women were anxious: "General Shen, in this barren mountain and wilderness, we are two women..."
"It's a good time to go now," Shen Lie interrupted her, "just walk west for a few hours and you'll be able to see the villages in Hezi."
"But……"
"No money?" Shen Lie asked.
The woman choked.
Shen Lie looked at Wu Shaoning who had returned: "Take two portions of dry food and give them some money."
"Yes." Wu Shaoning responded and quickly followed the instructions.
When Ye Zheng and the others came back, everything was ready and ready to go.
The two women held dry food and a heavy amount of silver in their hands, and they couldn't tell what they felt like.
The other party's generosity is staggering, but although the silver is important, it would be better to have someone to accompany and lead the way at this moment.
Not to mention, such a group of excellent and humble men are far better than the rough and mean men in the Zhongxin Army who shout loudly, pick their feet and pick their teeth, and pinch their bodies whenever they pass by.
"General Shen!" A woman chased after him, trying to fight for it again, "The slave family will serve you as a cow and a horse, and as a servant girl, you can take over the slave family!"
Shen Lie frowned, looked at her displeased, and rode away.
Wu Shaoning and the others followed immediately.
The group of people left quickly and disappeared from the sight of the two women.
At the same time, the soldiers returning from the south entered a smelly, dilapidated cave.
Xie Zhong, who had hidden himself again, was making tea.
I hoped that the scent of tea would dispel the musty smell in the cave, but it mixed together and the smell became extremely unpleasant.
After listening to what the soldiers said, Xie Zhong stopped shaking the fan in his hand: "What? Those people didn't disperse? Didn't they run around?"
"No, they all went to the southeast!"
"Oh? Oh!" Xie Zhong continued to shake his fan, "Is that so? It's not messy at all?"
"without……"
"Cao Chunshan's soldiers and horses are chasing him?"
"Um."
"It's too bad," Xie Zhong frowned, "This is too bad."
