Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 86 Yilijin

"Yilijin? What is that?" Su Zhan looked confused.

"Yilijin is the title of the commander of the Khitan army." Rong Wanyin explained. Rong Wanyin had dealt with the Khitans before, so she naturally knew it.

"So they really are Khitan soldiers!" Su Zhan suddenly realized, "Then... what should we do with so many spies?"

Yan Mingzhang denied it, "No, they're not spies. If they were spies, why would so many of them gather in this remote mountain village? Shouldn't they hide in the streets and towns, so they can gather more information? Besides, spies usually choose ordinary-looking people, so people will forget them as soon as they see them."

Su Zhan nodded. That's right. Who would regard this leper as a spy? If everyone avoids him, wouldn't it be impossible to find out any information?
Yan Mingzhang's face was stern: "Then there is only one possibility - they are deserters!"

"Deserter?" Su Zhan and Rong Wanyin said in unison.

"Or it could be called a pawn sacrifice." Yan Mingzhang expressed his guess.

Even Su Zhan understood: "You mean, they were kicked out of the barracks because they had leprosy?"

"Very likely!" Yan Mingzhang was already 70% sure. He looked up at the sky and said, "Let's go. The time has come and the door to life has opened!"

Su Zhan and Rong Wanyin immediately stood up and followed Yan Mingzhang closely, turning left and right and finally walked out of the forest.

The three of them leaned against a large rock to rest.

A cold wind rustled through the trees, and Rong Wanyin's heart raced. Her hands and feet trembled slightly, and a cold sweat broke out on her back. A strong sense of unease rose in her heart. Would Changfeng and Mo Yun return safely? What if those people were truly desperate criminals?
Under the moonlight, Yan Mingzhang saw Rong Wanyin's slightly worried expression and heard her slightly rapid breathing. Yan Mingzhang gently placed his hand on Rong Wanyin's trembling hand. His firm and warm hand wrapped around Rong Wanyin, and Rong Wanyin gradually felt at ease, and her body gradually stopped shaking.

After an unknown amount of time, a noisy sound was heard in the forest, and there were dozens of flickering lights, which seemed to be torches.

"How could this be... Did I make a wrong judgment?" Yan Mingzhang stood up alertly, staring at the white light accompanied by the faint light blue.

Su Zhan got up in a panic. He had just dozed off accidentally and was now awakened with a look of horror: "Those villagers must have been chasing us. Have Changfeng and Mo Yun been caught?"

Yan Mingzhang hadn't reacted for a moment when the bushes in front of him suddenly began to shake violently. Rong Wanyin drew out her soft sword and protected Yan Mingzhang in front of her.

At this time, a small figure emerged from the bushes.

"Abao!" Rong Wanyin shouted in surprise.

A Bao looked terrified and kept looking back. Yan Mingzhang looked coldly at the lights in the distance.

"Let's go! Those villagers are here to catch us!" A Bao ran forward, grabbed Su Zhan's hand, and ran forward quickly.

A Bao pulled Su Zhan ahead, with Yan Mingzhang and Rong Wanyin following closely behind. The four of them entered a dense forest again. The light behind them was barely visible, receding further and further away. Everyone felt a little relieved, but then a light rain began to fall again. Their clothes were quickly soaked, and the cold biting into their bones.

"It seems they didn't catch up. Look, there's a cave over here! Let's go in and hide!" A Bao saw a cave in front of him at a glance. The cave entrance was overgrown with weeds and it was hard to find without careful observation. Yan Mingzhang glanced at Rong Wanyin, who was shivering with cold, hesitated for a moment, and nodded in agreement.

As soon as the four of them entered the cave, a foul stench hit them in the face, and Rong Wanyin immediately began to retch.

Yan Mingzhang and his companions hurried out of the cave and took shelter in a windproof place. Yan Mingzhang took out a few handkerchiefs he had with him, wrapped them in medicinal powder, and handed them to the three people. Rong Wanyin quickly took them and covered her mouth and nose. The handkerchiefs were fumigated with wormwood and the medicinal powder, and there was a faint medicinal fragrance, which calmed the turbulent waves in her stomach.

Yan Mingzhang took out a handkerchief covered with medicinal powder, folded it in half, and covered his mouth and nose, tying it at the back of his head. He then took out another handkerchief and handed it to Abao, asking him to follow his example and protect himself. Yan Mingzhang said to Su Zhan, "Jingjun, you and Miss Rong stay here. I'll take Abao in to take a look. Abao, let's go..."

Rong Wanyin grabbed Yan Mingzhang's sleeve, refusing to let him go, wanting to go into the cave together to find out what was going on:

"I'm going too! There must be something in there. This smell—it's the stench of a corpse!"

Yan Mingzhang glanced at Rong Wanyin and hesitated for a moment. He was indeed worried without her by his side, so he nodded in agreement.

The terrain in the cave is complex, with many complicated forks in the road. If you are not familiar with it, it is easy to get lost in it.

Yan Mingzhang held Rong Wanyin's hand tightly, shielding her behind him. A Bao glanced worriedly at the pale Rong Wanyin, then followed Yan Mingzhang into the cave by tying the handkerchief. Su Zhan covered his mouth and nose, bracing himself to follow, one foot deep, one foot shallow, constantly looking back to see if any villagers were catching up. He wanted to stay outside, but he was afraid to stay alone, so he followed in.

Yan Mingzhang took out a tinder box neatly wrapped in oil paper from his arms, blew a few breaths at it, and the flame started burning. The faint light turned the rock wall orange-yellow.

A Bao followed Yan Mingzhang and moved forward little by little with the help of the light.

The further we went in, the stronger the smell became. After walking for about a quarter of an hour, three forks in the road appeared in front of us.

"Abao, which way do you think we should go? Children's premonitions are always accurate." Yan Mingzhang asked with a smile, but his eyes were a little cold.

A Bao was stunned. After thinking for a moment, he pointed to the cave entrance on the far right and said, "Brother Yan, let's go to the far right!"

"Okay!" Yan Mingzhang walked towards the cave on the far right without hesitation.

Rong Wanyin felt a little puzzled. Why was Yan Mingzhang acting so strangely today? Normally, he was a stickler for evidence, but why was he relying on a hunch today? It was strange no matter how she thought about it.

Rong Wanyin thought this but continued walking forward. Suddenly, she felt the compass in her arms spin wildly. She took it out and slapped it a few times: "What's going on? Is it broken again?"

The compass was tapped a few times and stopped.

At this moment, Rong Wanyin suddenly felt something long and hard under her feet. She picked it up in the dark and said, "Wait a minute, this seems to be something."

Yan Mingzhang raised the tinder, and with the dim light, everyone could see clearly that it was a woman's wooden hairpin. The hairpin was very clean, black all over, and very heavy. In the dim light, it was vaguely visible that it was in the shape of a turtledove. The turtledove had a vivid shape, and its eye was inlaid with a "red bean"!