Jiangshan Fengwuzhi

Chapter 94 Silencing
There was a small courtyard with a private entrance in a remote alley in the south of the city. A horse was tied in the front yard. A man and a woman hurried into the house and quickly began to take off their clothes.

"Sir, you are injured."

Xing'er watched Gu Jingnian pull out the crossbow arrow that was stuck in his heart, and her voice became tearful.

The next moment, her eyes were filled with shock.

Gu Jingnian took off his clothes and the wound on his heart healed quickly. Xing'er was surprised and happy, but at the same time she was shocked by the horrible burns all over his body.

"Sir, you..."

Tears as big as beans kept dripping from Xing'er's eyes. She clenched her fists and said with both heartache and anger, "Who burned you like this?"

"fine."

Gu Jingnian spoke in a flat tone, took out a green porcelain bottle, and poured a few drops of liquid on his face. Soon, his stiff face seemed to come alive, and the liquid began to move.

He picked up a white porcelain bottle and put the liquid squirming on his face into it little by little.

Xing'er was stunned.

"This is a strange technique." Gu Jingnian said, "And I am a strange person. There are many strange people and strange techniques in the world. I know you are surprised, but now is not the time to explain it to you in detail."

But Xing Er's focus was not on this. Instead, she cried, "Sir, your face, you have such a handsome face..."

"do not Cry."

Gu Jingnian opened a bundle, changed into a new set of clothes, and handed a coarse cloth skirt to Xing'er, saying, "Put it on."

After saying that, he turned around, took out a few porcelain bottles and paints, and started fiddling with something.

Xing'er looked around and saw that there were no partitions in this shabby house. She walked behind Gu Jingnian holding her coarse cloth skirt and took off her clothes quickly. She was worried that the young man would suddenly turn around, as it seemed that he had no intention of peeking at her, and she felt a little embarrassed.

After she changed, she looked down and felt that the style of this skirt was more like what older maids wore.

"Sit down."

As Gu Jingnian spoke, he poured liquid from the porcelain bottle and began to apply it on Xing'er's face, with a focused expression, like a painter.

Xing'er sometimes closed her eyes, and sometimes secretly glanced at him, feeling sorry that he had become so ugly. But then she thought, ugly is ugly, but ugliness also has its good points.

My thoughts gradually drifted away from here.

It wasn't until Gu Jingnian suddenly said "Okay" that Xing'er came back to her senses.

Just now in her mind, the two of them had been living in hiding for eight or nine years. The first child grew up to be six years old and had an outstanding appearance. Everyone in the village was amazed and said that the child's father must have grown up very well before he was burned.

"Oh, okay, all right?"

Xing'er finally reacted, Gu Jingnian picked up a small bronze mirror and held it in front of her, saying, "You look like this now."

In the mirror, there was an ordinary-looking old woman. When Xing'er saw how ugly she was, most of the lustful thoughts in her mind disappeared.

Gu Jingnian handed her a bundle and said, "Go to Shuangfeng Town outside the city and live there for half a month. If I don't come, your disguise will slowly disappear, so you can leave on your own."

"Sir, where are you going?"

"I still have things to do."

Gu Jingnian sent Xing'er away, put on a ghost mask, turned around and left the room.

--------

In the room, Pei's father and daughter sat opposite each other.

Pei Wujiu held the bowl of medicine in both hands and took a sip, saying: "I asked clearly, Gu Jide likes a game called 'Statue', he wanted to pat my back before I turned around and found him."

"I've never played it." Pei Nian said lightly.

Pei Wujiu coughed twice and said, "I mean, the man who broke into the prison knew Gu Jide very well and was able to think of using the 'wooden man' to take advantage of him at the first opportunity."

"Ah."

"They say he is a monster, and it is difficult to hurt him with swords. I saw clearly the arrow you shot at him, right in the heart, but he acted as if nothing had happened."

Pei Nian said: "If he was fine, he would have killed you at that time."

Pei Wujiu thought for a while and said slowly: "He held back and deliberately spared my life."

Seeing Pei Nian didn't answer, he muttered to himself: "Why? Maybe he saw you coming, or he thought it didn't matter whether he killed me or not. This person is familiar with Gu Jide, has a special physique, and he held back on me. Who could it be?"

"What do you think about the case of Gu Beiming and Lu Yanning's rebellion?" Pei Nian changed the subject.

"One surrendered to the enemy, the other raised an army. It's a fait accompli. What else can I do about it?" Pei Wugou sighed, "I can only say that the sooner the case is closed, the fewer people will die."

"But I think there might be someone behind this..."

Pei Wugui waved his hand to stop Pei Nian's questioning and said, "This case is not under the jurisdiction of Kaiping Division, so don't ask any more questions. I'm injured and need to rest early."

It was already dark when we came out of Pei Mansion.

One of his subordinates hurried back and reported: "We have found the man's hiding place."

Pei Nian arrived at the small house in the south of the city as soon as possible. The first thing he saw was a brazier with some burnt clothes in it.

There was an account book on the table. When she opened it, she recognized it as the notes of Yuan Bocheng, the chief judge of the Dali Temple. It should have recorded the bribery that the Zong family had given him.

Pei Nian couldn't help but ask in his heart.

"is it you?"

She didn't think that Mei Chengzong was wrong. Gu Jingnian was most likely dead. But after listening to Pei Wugui's analysis just now, the murderer looked very much like Gu Jingnian, including the account book in his hand, which seemed to be left there intentionally.

Pei Nian closed his eyes, cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts, and no longer thought about Gu Jingnian. He only thought about what the murderer would do next.

"Gu Jiye."

The account book in his hand hinted at the answer.

In Lu Yanning's case, Gu Jiye was the first to file a complaint. If one wanted to find out the truth, one had to find Gu Jiye and find out who forced him to file the complaint.

Pei Nian walked out of the courtyard quickly. His subordinates outside came up to him and asked, "Ji Shi, where are you going?"

"Go to the Zong family."

As a witness, Gu Jiye has now been allowed to return to the clan family and is under strict protection.

--------

Late at night, there was a knock on the side door of a large house in the north of the city.

"Tuk, Tuk, Tuk."

The concierge opened the door and saw a tall figure with his back to him. He asked, "May I ask who it is?"

The man turned around, revealing a ghost face.

The doorman was shocked and was about to scream when the ghost-faced man grabbed him by the throat and pushed him through the door.

"who?!"

Inside the courtyard, the guards rushed out from the inverted room and surrounded the ghost-faced man, preventing him from breaking in.

The ghost-faced man grabbed the doorman's neck and said in a hoarse voice: "I want to see the Marquis of Zhenyuan. He will see me."

The guards looked at each other, but someone still notified Lu Yanqing.

After a while, an old servant came over and said, "The master invites the guest to the study to talk."

The ghost-faced man left the doorman and walked leisurely with the old servant into the depths of the mansion.

The lights in the study were on brightly. Lu Yanqing, Marquis of Zhenyuan, was sitting at his desk, drinking alone from a pot of wine, his face looking haggard.

When he saw the ghost-faced man enter, Lu Yanqing sighed deeply and waved his hand, saying, "Once Yuan Bozhen died, I knew that the matter was not over. You came so soon."

"Do you know who I am?"

Lu Yanqing pondered, tapping his knees with his fingers, and said slowly: "Mortal?"

Hearing this answer, Gu Jingnian was stunned, but his expression was hidden under the ghost mask and Lu Yanqing didn't see it.

"It seems that I guessed right." Lu Yanqing murmured, "In recent years, there are signs that the alchemists are causing trouble for the world again. It's time for mortals to clean them up."

Gu Jingnian did not answer.

What seemed like a simple matter to him was complicated by Lu Yanqing.

It sounds like Mortals should also be an organization, with a stance opposite to that of Cage People and Gentlemen's Society.

Yes, if there is black in the world, how can there be no white?

Gu Jingnian didn't understand these things, nor was he interested. He knew that talking too much would lead to mistakes, so he asked directly, "Where did you send Gu Caiwei?"

"Why are you paying attention to her?" Lu Yanqing asked, "Because she just gave birth to a child, you are helping her out of moral obligation? But her father is indeed a member of the Alchemist group."

"Just answer my questions."

"The Prime Minister's Mansion has taken him away."

"Where did you take him?"

"I don't know." Lu Yanqing shook his head. "I can't take care of myself, how can I take care of her?"

"You just said that she had a baby."

"Yes, a girl, who was born on the day she fled to my house."

"What about the child?"

"He was also taken away."

"That's also the Lu family's child, can't you protect him?"

Lu Yanqing laughed at himself and said, "How can I protect him? My brother is guilty of treason..."

"You know it's not true. Lu Yanning can't possibly be plotting treason."

"Yeah." Lu Yanqing raised a glass of wine and drank it, and whispered: "Who made him know too much and not keep his mouth shut."

With just this one sentence, Gu Jingnian knew that Lu Yanning was indeed being plotted against.

And he will no longer try to clear any evidence as he did before. That is just an excuse for the strong to pick out the meat to eat.

"I want to see the prime minister. Please help me make the contact." Gu Jingnian said, with an unquestionable tone.

Lu Yanqing finally realized something was wrong, raised his head and looked at him, saying: "You are not a mortal... Who are you?"

Just as Gu Jingnian was about to speak, a wine jug hit him on the head, breaking into several pieces with a "bang", and hitting his head so hard that it was bleeding.

The wine spilled and splashed onto the wound on his head, causing a strange stinging pain.

Gu Jingnian suddenly felt strange, because at this moment, he clearly discovered that the wine was poisonous.

However, before he could ask, Lu Yanqing suddenly rushed in front of him and pierced his abdomen with a palm.

This is what Gu Beiming once said, the heritage of generations of nobles in the Zhenyuan Marquisate.

He didn't need any of his warriors who were good at breaking through enemy lines. With just the Lu family's knowledge, he was able to defeat Gu Jingnian with just one move, leaving him without any chance of fighting back.

Lu Yanqing took a few steps drunkenly, came to Gu Jingnian, took off the ghost mask on his face and took a look.

Unfortunately, it was a face full of burns.

"Master Hou."

An old servant walked behind Lu Yanqing at some point.

"I handled it myself." Lu Yanqing stretched out his bloody hand and let the old servant wipe it. He sighed and said, "Except for you, all the worshippers in the family have been taken away. From now on, I have to learn to do things myself."

"That's not necessary."

"Oh?"

"puff."

The old servant's arm suddenly turned into an iron spike and pierced straight into Lu Yanqing's chest and went through.

Lu Yanqing's pupils trembled in disbelief, and he murmured, "There were so many people... I kept only you... I thought you were the most loyal..."

"My Lord, I am just pretending so that you think I am the most loyal." The old servant sighed, "You said Lu Yanning knows too much, but you also know a lot."

"you……"

"I originally wanted to let you slowly die of illness, but tonight, the Ghost-Faced Man has come, so you will die with him."

(End of this chapter)