Both parties found the matter beneficial, so Tong Guan seized the opportunity to gracefully concede.
After the two discussed a few more details, someone happened to come in to report military intelligence, and Xu Churen took the chance to leave.
“Someone!”
Not long after Xu Churen left, Tong Guan directly summoned his confidant, Ma Zhiyou.
“Sir, what are your orders?”
Although Ma Zhiyou only held the military post of Judicial参军 (Canshu - official title), as Tong Guan’s strategist, his position in the army was quite special.
“Mr. Ma, between us, I won’t say those flowery words. There’s something that needs to be done by you, and I hope you can handle it for me!”
Xu Churen’s words had already revealed a lot. Tong Guan was no longer in the mood to dawdle and spoke directly to Ma Zhiyou.
“Sir has something to do, please command!”
Seeing that he had agreed, Tong Guan beckoned him to come closer. The two whispered for a moment in the tent before Ma Zhiyou received the military order and led a dozen attendants out of the camp.
——————————————————————
“Sir, Jiang Yan is back!”
As dusk began to fall, Xu Fengnian quietly approached Han Mo and said in a low voice. kAnshu伍.ξà
“Where is he?”
Hearing this, Han Mo’s spirits immediately lifted.
“He’s outside now. He seems to be injured, and there’s a faint smell of blood on him!”
Hearing Xu Fengnian’s words, Han Mo’s heart tightened.
Han Mo knew the skill of Jiang Yan and his companions.
If their martial arts were so good that they were injured, then this matter was indeed a bit complicated.
“Help me prepare some clothes, I’m going out to see him!”
After pondering for a moment, Han Mo lowered his voice and said to Xu Fengnian.
Although Tang Ke did not live in this posthouse, Li Yan and others had sent a few people to reside there.
Of course, Han Mo himself understood very well that their stated purpose was for convenience when auditing accounts, but in reality, it was to monitor him.
Since Jiang Yan was unwilling to come in, he must have something important to tell him.
After hastily changing his clothes, and with Xu Fengnian’s cover, Han Mo quickly climbed over the corner gate of the backyard.
“You’re injured?”
Indeed, as Xu Fengnian had said, there was a strong smell of blood on Jiang Yan. Even from seven or eight steps away, the pungent odor of medicinal plaster could not be concealed.
“I ran into two tough customers and was careless, taking a cut on the shoulder. But it’s just a superficial wound, nothing serious!”
Seeing the concern on Han Mo’s face, Jiang Yan felt a warmth in his heart but still said it calmly.
“What about the others? Are the rest of the brothers alright?”
“Don’t worry, sir. The rest of them are all fine. They only suffered a slight disadvantage at the beginning of the engagement. Their skills are not weak, but our brothers are not to be trifled with either!”
Unlike his previous superiors, the genuine concern shown by Han Mo was greatly appreciated by Jiang Yan.
“Did you find anything?”
Hearing that the rest were unharmed, Han Mo breathed a sigh of relief.
“You guessed it. There is indeed something strange in the Lin family’s courtyard. The accents of these two people who injured me are strange, and I can’t tell for sure where they are from. However, their fighting techniques are very fierce, and their attacks are not like those of ordinary martial arts practitioners, but rather resemble military combat techniques. Every move is fatal, and they fight using a mutually destructive style!”
“Were they captured?”
Hearing this, Han Mo was startled and quickly asked again.
“They were captured, but these two fellows are very tight-lipped and haven’t said anything yet. Most of the military interrogation methods have been used on them, but they still refuse to reveal any information!”
As he spoke, a hint of helplessness was evident in Jiang Yan’s expression.
“Where are they now?”
“In a civilian residence not far from here!”
Seeing Han Mo ask, Jiang Yan quickly replied.
“Take me to see them!”
Looking around and confirming that no one was nearby, Han Mo lowered his voice and said.
“Yes!”
After a quiet affirmation, Jiang Yan stopped talking and led Han Mo through a series of twists and turns, taking a big circle around the city before arriving at a semi-abandoned civilian residence.
“How did you find this place…”
Although the courtyard was dilapidated, the air nearby was always filled with a strong scent of perfume. One could easily guess what kind of place this was.
“Don’t worry, sir. The small building in front is the largest brothel in Neihuang County. Most of the people living nearby are also from similar establishments, and the people coming and going are very mixed, so no one will suspect you!”
Jiang Yan chuckled twice, clearly very pleased with his arrangement.
“It’s really thoughtful of you to find such a place!”
Han Mo said as he followed him into the house.
“Where are they?”
Looking at the empty room, Han Mo couldn’t help but frown.
“To avoid alarming the neighbors, we dug a cellar in this room!”
Jiang Yan said, looking at the only large bed in the room.
“Be careful, I can handle this!”
Seeing that he was about to take action, Han Mo quickly stopped him.
If the wound were to reopen, it would only be more troublesome to deal with later.
Jiang Yan did not insist. He pointed in the direction and let Han Mo do it.
Following his direction, Han Mo pushed the large bed to the corner of the room. After removing the blanket covering it, a dark hole was immediately revealed in its place.
“Don’t move, it’s the son-in-law!”
Before Jiang Yan could speak, Han Mo leaped down.
Jiang Yan clearly hadn’t expected Han Mo to move so quickly and shouted down.
Upon hearing his voice, two torches suddenly lit up in the darkness.
When his eyes adjusted to the glaring light, Han Mo suddenly realized that what was pointing at him were two crossbows.
If Jiang Yan hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have taken a couple of hard hits by now.
“Son-in-law…”
Upon seeing Han Mo’s face clearly, the two men holding the crossbows twitched their mouths and quickly turned their weapons in another direction.