This underground secret passage was far larger than Li Mu and the others imagined. It took the four of them, one behind the other, more than an hour to complete their patrol route.
"Brother, it is indeed a peaceful day again. Let's go back. We still have time to drink some warm wine."
The young soldier stretched out, yawned and said to the veteran beside him. This round of walking would have been quite tiring if it weren't for his half-step pill-forming strength.
"You brat, you think about drinking all day long. You should work harder to practice. With your age and the pills given by the city lord, it is very likely that you will break through to the realm of pill formation. Once you set foot on the path of immortality, your status will
But it’s different. Don’t forget about me when the time comes.”
On the way back from the original route, the two Guards soldiers were no longer as serious as before, and their steps were obviously much faster. They must have been in a hurry to return to the meeting early.
This made Li Mu and Liu Long heave a sigh of relief. There is still about an hour left in the duration of the Shadow Trace skill. If these two people continue to walk slowly, they may not be able to hide their figures before they reach the stronghold.
.
There is no place to hide in this underground passage. Once discovered, a fight will probably begin in advance.
"Oh, I'm finally back. Hey, Lao Yang and the others are still standing guard so seriously today. The sun has come out from the west. Shouldn't we have gone to drink secretly on weekdays?"
The four people in front and behind walked in the dark passage for another half an hour, and finally arrived at the end of the passage, and the scene in front of them suddenly changed.
The originally flat secret passage connected a cave. The entrance of the cave was unusually wide, as high as five people. There stood a huge rock at the entrance. Its shape was like a bloodthirsty devil. I don't know if it was the miraculous workmanship of nature.
It is still the handiwork of later craftsmen.
The two Guards soldiers also had standard spears in their hands, and the red armor on their bodies shone in the light of the fire. The two were standing at the entrance of the cave in a standard posture, completely different from the Guards Li Mu had seen before.
different.
"Hurry in, the city lord is here."
The soldiers guarding the entrance of the cave saw the two patrolling people looking careless and quickly warned them, otherwise they would offend the city lord and everyone would have a hard time.
"Ah? The city lord is here. How could it be? I think this is the first time the city lord has come to this stronghold."
When the older soldiers heard the news, they were surprised and said that there are many such strongholds in the hundreds of miles of mountains centered on Lishui City. The one they are responsible for guarding can only be regarded as medium-sized. Since its completion, Gongsun Qi
Just never came.
The recruitment orders and escort mission arrangements were all conveyed by the commander, but today the city lord suddenly came to inspect, which made the veteran who had been boasting that he was the only one who knew the truth start to break out in cold sweat.
"Uncle, is it...?"
The young soldier's legs were a little weak at this time. If he had known it, he would have been curious and asked again and again. As expected, if he knew too much about everything, his life would be lost faster.
"Don't think blindly, it probably won't happen. Let's go in. Remember, stay calm, otherwise none of us will be able to escape."
After admonishing his nephew, the veteran adjusted his armor, nodded to the guard at the entrance of the cave, and walked in.
Li Mu and Liu Long behind them exchanged glances, and then followed closely into the cave.
The appearance of Gongsun Qi somewhat broke their plan, but on second thought, it was also an opportunity. From the conversation of the two soldiers, I learned that there are many such strongholds where civilians are detained. Such a huge number of innocent lives depend on the two of them.
It is obviously unrealistic to rescue them one by one.
If Gongsun Qi can be directly killed or captured here, Liu Long can then mobilize troops from outside the city to take over power, and then he can find the strongholds one by one through secret passages and rescue the imprisoned people and casual cultivators.
The general plan has been agreed upon with one look. Although there is no time to plan the details carefully, with so many living lives right in front of them, Li Mu and Liu Long will not stand idly by no matter what.
After passing through the entrance of the cave, the scene inside shocked both Li and Mu instantly. The entire mountain seemed to have been completely hollowed out. The two of them were in a huge open space with circular stairs spiraling up.
And on top of the cliff are cells locked by fine iron door bars.
Every ten steps on the spiral staircase, there is a handle of a Guardsman wearing red armor. The torch at the door of the cell emits a faint light, and you can barely see that there are a large number of prisoners in each cell.
On the open space in the middle, a whole team of Guards soldiers stood neatly, nine or ten horizontally, and in front of the square team stood a man in white robes, with starry eyebrows and sharp eyes, and a handsome figure. He was none other than
Lord of Lishui City, Gongsun Qi.
At this time, Gongsun Qi was obviously preparing to say something to the soldiers in front of him. Li Mu and Liu Long relied on the magic of the shadow cloak to stand directly on the side two steps away from the formation. Here they could
Everyone has a panoramic view.
"Everyone, you are all the absolute elites of the Guards. That's why I selected you to guard this stronghold. As everyone has guessed, this is indeed the biggest secret of our Lishui City."
Gongsun Qi's image at this time returned to the state of a conscription speech. A few words of gentle breeze and drizzle made all the Guards soldiers feel like spring breeze. Their eyes were full of energy and they even stood a little taller.
"You must want to know why the people detained here were arrested. Indeed, the conscription and the like are just excuses I use to reassure other people in the city. I order you to take these civilians and even scattered
Xiu’s arrest does have a special purpose.”
Gongsun Qi's words made the eyes of the soldiers present move slightly. They are responsible for the operation of this stronghold. It is impossible to say that they have no doubts. It is not just the veterans who were followed by Li Mu and others who felt strange, but no one dared to express their doubts.
That’s all.
Unexpectedly, when the city lord came today, he actually brought up the matter on his own initiative, and looking at the city lord's expression, it seemed that he had made an extremely difficult decision.
"Brothers present, you are all the mainstay of Lishui City. What has our prosperity relied on over the years? It is the wealth brought by the refined iron ore veins and the fair business environment that our guards have bought with their blood time and time again.
Those of you who are more experienced should still remember how the three major chambers of commerce in the empire treated us in the past."
"They regard us as farmers who know nothing and use our blood and sweat to create wealth for them. If I hadn't led everyone to resist, we would still be living a life of looking at people's faces and without dignity."
"You, and you, you two, I remember that when I negotiated with the three major guilds, I directly drew my sword and killed all their guards, and exchanged human heads and blood for a fair trade contract. You were also present in that battle.
Well done, you are the heroes of Lishui City."
Gongsun Qi's voice became more and more passionate. He pointed at two of the soldiers in front of the square and shouted with eyes wide open. That emotion seemed to be contagious. The two soldiers who were named actually burst into tears with excitement, and the veins on their necks popped out.
, trembling all over, responded to Gongsun Qi's praise with his eyes.
"But our Lishui City is located in a remote place after all. Except for mineral veins, other resources needed for life are extremely scarce. All of them need to be purchased from outside at a large cost. As the scale of the city expands and the population increases, our pressure becomes more and more.
Come bigger."
"While most of us are paying for the continuation of this city, there are some people in the city who are selfish, greedy, or lazy. They use the resources created by others but do not contribute to the city.
Bring anything."
"Look at the people in these cells, who use poverty as an excuse. They are all working men in their prime, but they don't want to make a living with their own hands, so they beg all day long. There are also those casual cultivators who have no skills but steal ore.
The scum is trampling on the blood and sweat we have put in, brothers, can you bear it?"
Gongsun Qi's words obviously resonated with the guards soldiers present. His brainwashing speech made these soldiers stare angrily at the cells on the cliff, and they already agreed from the bottom of their hearts that these prisoners were the worms of Lishui City.
.
"Only by clearing out all these worms can our Lishui City truly unite as one, and we can be called the true main city-level existence of the empire."
"So I imprisoned these prisoners here, and then took a group away regularly to let them fight the bandits, robbers, and monsters in the mountains. I know this may be a bit inhumane, but this is also what makes us in Lishui City
The only way to go further is that as the city lord, I should bear this sin."
Gongsun Qi almost choked up when he said the last words, as if he was tortured by this feeling of guilt every day. His eyes turned red. It was so contagious that the soldiers present were excited.
"City Lord, you are not wrong. What is wrong is these scum and moths."
"City Lord, we absolutely support you. If anyone dares to say you are wrong, we will kill him."
Among all the people present, only the pair of patrolling soldiers knew that everything Gongsun Qi said was a lie. However, they naturally did not jump out to clarify the matter. Instead, they followed the others and shouted at Gongsun Qi.
"Brothers, thank you. If Lishui City can become a main city one day, it will be because of your existence. History will remember each of your names, and the descendants of Lishui City will praise you from generation to generation.
"
Looking at the guards soldiers who were completely crazy in front of him, Gongsun Qi took out a cloth bag, which was all filled with blood-colored elixirs. The thick smell of blood made Li Mu frown at the smell.
It's so familiar, it's clearly the aura given off by Fang Yan after taking the Blood Demon Pill.
"This is the Blood God Pill. It is a pill that I personally hunted down the fourth-level monsters and refined it with their blood. You should also know its efficacy. Everyone present today can get it.
Five."
First the mental brainwashing, and then the generous favors. Gongsun Qi's methods made Li Mudu, who had traveled from the 21st century, shout that he was awesome. At this level, he would definitely become the top success master on earth.