Chapter 496: Chapter 465: Should Not Have Brought Someone Back to the Village_1
“Are you really secretly smelting iron and forging weapons?”
Daohua stared with wide eyes at Yongwang, who hung his head in silence.
“Do you not know that such actions are punishable by death?”
Upon hearing this, Yongwang lifted his head, his expression somewhat agitated, “Of course, we know it’s a capital offense, but what can we do? Most of the people in the village were captured and brought here. We can’t escape, and to survive, we have no choice but to help them smelt and forge.”
Daohua was silent, then after a long moment, she asked, “Where are you smelting and forging the iron?”
Yongwang’s face showed hesitation, and after thinking, he said, “Miss, please take my advice, forget about this. If you don’t know about it, you might still have a chance to survive. But if Lord Cao and the others find out that you’ve discovered the secret of Sishan Village, you will definitely be killed.”
Daohua shook her head, “Whether I will be killed depends only on whether I am of any use. If I am useful, even if they know I’ve discovered their secret, they won’t do anything to me; on the contrary, if I am of no use, even if I were blind and deaf, they would still kill me.”
Yongwang pondered for a while, then sighed, “Alright, I’ll take you there. The armory is built on the East Mountain. We are now on West Mountain. We can’t go through the village; it might take over an hour trekking through the mountains.”
Daohua nodded.
The two of them quickly headed towards East Mountain.
Meanwhile, on East Mountain.
Unlike the other three mountains, this one had countless stone tombs built all over it.
At this moment, in front of an ordinary stone tomb halfway up the mountain, Old Fan with a gloomy face asked a one-eyed burly man, “What, they haven’t found the person yet?”
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The one-eyed burly man hung his head low, ashamed, and nodded, “We searched inside and outside the village but still have not spotted anyone.”
Old Fan frowned, “She’s just a frail young girl; could she really vanish into thin air?” As he spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, “Someone must be hiding her.”
Upon hearing this, the one-eyed man immediately said, “Impossible, the people in the village don’t have the courage.”
Old Fan snorted and coldly laughed, “They don’t have the courage? Have you forgotten those who tried to escape before? Some people are desperate enough not to care about their own lives, let alone hide someone. Keep searching, and kill anyone you’re suspicious of directly. I want to see how long they can hold out.”
Looking at Old Fan’s sinister eyes, the one-eyed burly man did not dare vocalize his plea and hung his head as he retreated.
After he left, the stone tomb behind Old Fan opened automatically, and the Guard Leader came out, “Old Fan, don’t worry too much, there’s only one exit, the person won’t be able to escape.”
Old Fan shook his head, concern evident in his eyes, “For some reason, I’ve been feeling uneasy these past couple of days.” As he spoke, his gaze suddenly became ferocious.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have sent One-Eyed Bald to handle the kidnapping. Those two are only good for fighting and killing, not delicate tasks.”
The Leader nodded, “Indeed, One-Eyed Bald should not have brought the official’s relative into Sishan Village. Whether she has escaped or not, she poses a huge risk.”
Old Fan sighed, “I used the wrong person for the job!”
The Leader smiled, “It’s a minor mistake; Old Fan, you shouldn’t blame yourself.”
Old Fan was silent for a moment, “We still have to report this to the master.”
The Leader nodded, “That’s best.”
Saying so, the two turned and entered the stone tomb.
Before long, Old Fan came out alone, holding a homing pigeon in his hand.
After releasing the pigeon, Old Fan did not re-enter the stone tomb but walked down the mountain instead.
He did not trust One-Eyed to handle things; he had to oversee it himself.
At the same time, Daohua and Yongwang had also arrived at East Mountain.
Daohua: “Why are there so many tombs here?”
Yongwang: “The entrance to the military factory is actually a stone tomb. While some of these tombs are real, most are designed to conceal the entrance to the military factory.”
Daohua nodded without asking further questions. As the two were climbing upward, Daohua, who had been observing their surroundings, spotted a pigeon flying through the woods.
Without much thought, Daohua pulled out a slingshot, picked up a pebble, and shot it towards the pigeon.
“Bang!”
Looking at the pigeon that had fallen to the ground, Yongwang appeared surprised. Seeing Daohua running towards the pigeon, he hastily followed her. “Miss, why do you carry a slingshot with you?”
Without turning back, Daohua replied, “Don’t you also carry a dagger with you?”
Yongwang paused, looked at the dagger tucked in his shoe, and thought to himself that she really had sharp eyes. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Miss, where exactly were you hiding before? Why couldn’t I find you even after several searches?”
This time Daohua turned around, casting a fleeting glance at him. “If you had found me, could I have escaped from the Guard Squad you mentioned?”
Finished talking, she ignored him and ran up to the pigeon, removing the note tied to its claws.
After opening the note, Daohua found it was just some words of well-being. Not bothering to think any further, she directly put it into her inner pocket. After all, it wouldn’t matter as long as it wasn’t delivered.
At that moment, a noise came from the distance. Daohua immediately hid behind some nearby bushes and motioned for Yongwang, who was about to approach, to hide where he was.
Yongwang heard the sound too and carefully took cover in a nearby gully.
It didn’t take long for Lord Fan’s figure to appear in Daohua and Yongwang’s line of sight.
Daohua stayed motionless in the bushes until Lord Fan was just about to pass by. Suddenly, the pigeon in her hand ‘squawked’ loudly.
Instantly, Lord Fan turned around and quickly moved towards the source of the noise.
Daohua bit her lip, glared at the pigeon in her hand, then abruptly stood up, threw the pigeon at Lord Fan, and raised her slingshot to shoot a sleeping pill at him.
“Well, well, you’re actually here!”
Although Lord Fan was a Scholar, he knew a bit of kung fu and dodged both the pigeon and the sleeping pill.
Seeing this, Daohua immediately fired a second and a third pill, aiming not at him but around him.
Lord Fan sensed the fragrant smell of the drug in the air, quickly held his breath, and put his fingers in his mouth, whistling into the air.
Daohua’s expression changed drastically, and in that moment, as Lord Fan began to sway under the influence of the sleeping powder, Daohua charged at him and kicked him down into the gully.
Daohua glanced at Yongwang who was looking at her anxiously, shook her head, and then rushed into the mountains without looking back.
Yongwang did not pursue. He understood the meaning of Daohua shaking her head; she didn’t want to implicate him.
Hearing the sounds of people rapidly converging from all directions, Yongwang looked at Lord Fan, a few meters away.
Having inhaled only a small amount of the powder, Lord Fan was weak in his hands and feet but had not completely passed out.
Seeing Lord Fan staring at him with his mouth wide open in a plea for help, Yongwang, fueled by righteous anger and recalling the villagers who had died over the years, walked over in a few strides, picked up a stone, and smashed it down hard on Lord Fan’s head.
Yongwang smashed repeatedly, then crouched down to check his pulse, and only after feeling no heartbeat did he hastily leave the scene.
In the gully, the top strategist of Prince Duan had died in silence.
