Chapter 1 Nightmare Assault

Hearing the words Chun Shen Lake, the owner's face became even more unsightly. He pleaded with a bitter face, "Sir, I... I'm just a small businessman, how would I know anything? It's all just idle gossip I've overheard."

"You don't want to tell me?"

"No, no, it's not that. I really don't know." The owner quickly waved his hands. All he wanted now was to get rid of this plague god as soon as possible. He dared not provoke the Zhennan Marquis's people.

The owner cautiously looked at the young man in front of him, determined in his heart that as soon as he saw him off, he would immediately close the shop and go home to avoid the storm.

"Alright, since you don't want to say, I won't make things difficult for you." Jiang Cheng, under the owner's grateful gaze, picked up a pen and wrote some words on the white paper beside him, then handed the pen to the owner.

The owner blinked. "Sir, what are you doing...?"

"Just sign a confession so I can report back." Jiang Cheng gave the owner a reassuring look.

The owner tried to get closer. When he saw the words on the white paper clearly, he was stunned, and almost cried. In black and white, it read: It has now been verified that Qian Ji Ancient Treasure Shop is colluding with bandits, and is still nostalgic for General Guo, a traitor of the previous dynasty. After interrogation, Shopkeeper Qian has confessed to this matter.

His legs trembled like sieves. Finally, Shopkeeper Qian knelt on the ground with a thud. "Sir, the Marquis's mansion can't speak carelessly! I'm a good man!"

"What? The Marquis's mansion are all fools, and you've killed people?!” Jiang Cheng was shocked. He immediately picked up the pen and continued writing on the paper, saying as he wrote, "Shopkeeper Qian said that the people in the Marquis's mansion are all fools, and he's killed people, and the bodies are thrown into Chun Shen Lake... I have to write all this down; my promotion and fortune depend on it."

"Sir, sir, please don't write anymore! I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything I know, okay?" Shopkeeper Qian stretched out his chubby hands, grabbed Jiang Cheng's pen, and pleaded bitterly.

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng understandingly released the pen and patted Shopkeeper Qian's hand. "It would have been better if you had done this sooner. It would have saved both of us trouble. Look at how things have turned out; it's so hurtful to our feelings."

Jiang Cheng knew he had found the right person as soon as Shopkeeper Qian recognized the fragment of armor. An ordinary antique shop owner wouldn't know so much detail, including the patterns on the armor and the affairs of General Guo's personal guards.

Shopkeeper Qian stood in front of Jiang Cheng like a prisoner, honestly telling him everything he knew.

According to Shopkeeper Qian, the Marquis's mansion seemed to be particularly interested in Chun Shen Lake. Starting a few years ago, fishermen had been mysteriously disappearing. When people went to report it to the authorities, nothing ever came of it. For a while, people were panic-stricken, and everyone was privately saying that they had offended the Dragon King of the lake, and that's why they had suffered this calamity.

"But... but later, one night, an old fisherman who had been missing for almost a month suddenly ran back home. This scared his family half to death. They thought a water ghost had possessed him to find a replacement, but after a closer look, there wasn't any water dripping from him. Although his face was pale, his eyes were still clear, but there were traces of being bound and beaten on his body..."

Speaking of this, Shopkeeper Qian seemed to realize something, and suddenly stopped talking. Then he looked at Jiang Cheng with a face of belated horror.

Jiang Cheng gave Shopkeeper Qian a knowing look, leaned back in his chair, and said faintly, "It's not some water dragon king, but you were captured by the Marquis's mansion, right?"

Shopkeeper Qian's pupils shrank suddenly, his legs weakened, and he was about to kneel on the ground and kowtow. He was so confused, he actually blurted out something like this. Could this be said?

After saying it, would he still have a way out?

But Jiang Cheng waved his hand indifferently. "This is not something that only you know. Many people in the city know it. As long as you don't spread it around, our Marquis's mansion won't bother you, but I want to hear the truth. You should understand."

Shopkeeper Qian reached out and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, nodding his big head repeatedly. "I understand, sir, I understand everything. I guarantee I will tell you everything I know."

"Continue."

"Yes, sir." Shopkeeper Qian brewed his emotions, and his voice lowered accordingly. "After the old fisherman returned home, he was trembling all over, and told them about his experience. He was captured by a group of people while returning late from fishing one day in a secluded spot. These people were dressed as ordinary people. Then they blindfolded him, led him around for a long time, and finally arrived at a mountain village halfway up the mountain. Then they locked him in a cave."

"There were many people in the cave, a dark mass of them. When he looked, he was surprised to find that he knew many of these people. They were all nearby fishermen. So, the so-called disappearances were all because they had been captured here."

"There were people guarding outside, and they didn't dare to speak loudly. They could only lower their heads and communicate in low voices. These people had basically the same experiences as him; they had all been captured. It seemed that they had encountered bandits."

"But he couldn't figure out why the bandits were capturing them. These fishermen's families didn't have any extra money to redeem them. These men were the pillars of their families. Could it be... could it be that they were recruiting them to join the gang?"

"But at this time, a short, sturdy man with a limp and a hoarse voice told them that the people outside were definitely not bandits, but soldiers, the soldiers of their Luo An City."

"The short, sturdy man said that he used to cook in the barracks and was familiar with the habits of these soldiers. He had noticed that these people got up on time at the fifth watch (5-7 AM), cooked their meals, and rested at noon when the clapper sounded. The sentries outside changed every hour during the day, and after the third watch (11 PM-1 AM) at night, when people were tired and horses were exhausted, they changed every half hour."

"In times of peace, being able to maintain such strict military discipline shows that this group of people is not only soldiers, but also elite troops, the elite troops of our Luo An City..."

Shopkeeper Qian didn't dare to continue speaking here, and kept using the corner of his eye to test Jiang Cheng's attitude. Jiang Cheng nodded thoughtfully. "Then only the Marquis's mansion has the qualification to mobilize them."

"These elite soldiers didn't wear official uniforms, obviously not wanting to reveal their identities, and they also made such a big show in these mountains. The old fisherman knew with his feet that something was up, and it was a big deal." Shopkeeper Qian continued.

"At this time, someone leaned over and quietly told him that they were not the first group of people to be captured. There was a previous group of people, also fishermen, but they were taken away blindfolded some time ago, and never came back."

"Every once in a while, people would be taken away blindfolded, and soon after, new people would be added one after another. Everyone was used to it."

"In the following days, the old fisherman couldn't eat or sleep well. As long as he dreamed at night, he would be taken away. He had a very strange premonition in the dark, as if being taken away was more terrifying than death."