Chapter Fifty-Nine: Human True Feelings

  When Tai Shi Lan arrived at the inn, the fire had already been extinguished.

  All the way, I saw that the fire was raging at first, and then slowly shrinking, as if it had been controlled within a certain range. When Tai Shi Lan arrived, he saw that many people were lying on the ground, and to his surprise, they were the owners of the stalls outside the inn. A group of unfamiliar-looking guards came out of the fire scene, carrying a young man on their backs, with Su Ya standing beside them, her hair burned off at one end.

  Su Ya did not attend the banquet and stayed behind to take care of Chen Mu who was injured, also keeping an eye on the captive.

  Tai Shi Lan kicked those stall owners, they didn't die, just fainted from smoke inhalation.

  Earlier, Tai Shi Lan and Li Fu Zhou felt that the inn was relatively quiet, but in such a quiet place, there were actually many vendors, how could they do business? It's completely unreasonable. Occasionally, one or two people would pass by, and their eyes on the goods at the stall were not as much as their gaze at them.

  They lifted their ordinary outer garments and underneath were official robes; they were indeed undercover agents of the government.

  "How is it?" Ta Shi Lan asked Su Ya.

  Su Ya shook his head, raised his hand to lick the blood stains on the back of his hand, and said in a hoarse voice: "I killed Prison Officer Liu."

  "It's nothing." Tai Shi Lan didn't even ask why he was killed, "You don't have to pay for the funeral expenses."

  Everyone was shocked...

  "When the fire broke out, the local prison guards who were in charge of watching the captives opened the doors to let them escape and directed them to Chen Mu and Su Ya's location, telling them to go and silence them." Zhao Thirteen listened to his subordinate's report and said, "Luckily Miss Su was alert and discovered the problem in time. However, she almost got hurt herself."

  He spoke simply, but looking at Su Ya's black and gray bloodstained clothes, one could tell that the battle was arduous.

  Chen Mu, who was leaning on someone else's back, gratefully stretched out his hand to Su Ya, wanting to pull her over. Su Ya pursed her lips and awkwardly hid her hands behind her back.

  The captives were dragged out one by one from the three courtyards, all with dark eyebrows and eyes, weak and listless. When the fire broke out, they escaped, but because they wanted to kill Su Ya and Chen Mu, Su Ya resisted fiercely, and Cold Arrow was elusive, causing them to delay for a while. Just then, Zhao Thirteen's subordinates discovered something was amiss and rushed over. These people quickly dispersed the shop owner's family members, then threw medicine into the fire, taking advantage of today's southwest wind to knock out all the captives in the three courtyards at once, and then slowly cleaned them up one by one.

  Fierce, decisive, neat and thorough.

  Rong Chu's subordinates once again demonstrated in front of the students of Er Wu Camp what it means to be an elite private army.

  The students of the 25th camp were amazed, but Tai Shi Lan was thinking that according to legend, the Rong family had been a noble and aristocratic family for generations, with high-ranking military officials from the founding of the country to the present day. They had always held military power, and could be said to have old friends in the military all over the world. The Dragon Soul Guard of the Rong family, which Rong Chuyi had recruited, were supposed to be wandering heroes who had fallen on hard times, but judging from their style and discipline, they didn't seem like carefree and individualistic wanderers at all.

  This doubt flashed across his mind, and immediately he heard the distant sound of horseshoes and footsteps echoing, with torches like dragons illuminating the entire city in the distance.

  The local soldiers chased after them.

  "Why! Why!" The sons of the aristocratic families were at a loss, unable to understand why the meritorious officials were being pursued and killed. They were jumping up and down in grief and anger. Meanwhile, the sons of humble families all looked towards Li Fu-chou and Tai Shi-lan. Today's events could no longer be turned around for the better; they had to make a decision as soon as possible.

  "Break through." The two said in unison.

  Reasoning is unnecessary, and staying to fight with the county's military force is also foolish. Although they killed the county magistrate and made a disturbance at the Cuihua Building, in itself the other side's actions cannot be brought out to accuse them of anything. As long as the students of the 25th Regiment can leave Tongcheng today, Tongcheng will no longer have any way to convict them.

  This is also the reason why Tongcheng soldiers were quickly dispatched. One had to go, and one could not let them go no matter what.

  Li Fu Zhou furrowed his brow, he was more aware of the situation than others. At this moment, Tong Cheng should be lacking a strong commander, County Magistrate was seriously injured and dying, County Lieutenant was frightened to death by that one blow, who could quickly organize forces to counterattack?

  "Shall we go separately or together?" Huaxuan asked hastily.

  "Divide into groups." Li Fu Zhou said, "Thirteen, you take your subordinates to protect Tai Shi's mother and son, Su Ya, Shen Mei Hua, Xiao Da Qiang Xiong Xiao Jia, Yang Cheng, as well as several martial arts students and leave from the back of the inn. The captives will also be taken away by you. We can't lose these people. I'll take the remaining students with Xun Huan to meet the prefectural soldiers. Not far ahead is Tongcheng's seven alleys, the terrain is complex, I've been here before and am relatively familiar with it, so I can lead them out."

  "No way." The first to object was Tai Shi Lan, "These are local soldiers, you're familiar with the terrain, the enemy is naturally also familiar, if we go, we'll go together."

  She understood Li Fu Zhou's meaning, gathering the most elite forces around her to protect her and Jing Tai Lan's safety, as for the rest of the people, they could already be considered abandoned children.

  But this is not her usual style.

  "Go!" Li Fu Zhou suddenly lifted her up and threw her onto a nearby horse. Zhao Thirteen rushed over, patted the horse's buttocks, and the horse let out a loud whinny, raised its hooves, and galloped away.

  "Jing Tai Blue, steady!"

  On the galloping horse, Ta Shi Lan's voice was clear and loud. Jing Tai Lan threw himself on the horse and immediately grabbed the horse's mane tightly. Ta Shi Lan let go suddenly!

  She immediately jumped off the wildly galloping horse!

  "Zhao Thirteen!" she shouted loudly.

  Zhao Thirteen's soul flew out of his body, he didn't have time to think about anything, and with a loud crash, he pounced on the horse, embracing the tilted Jing Tai Lan in his arms. At this moment, he couldn't care less about his identity or status, and with all his might, he pressed his small body into his chest, then turned around furiously and scolded, "Ta Shi Lan you shameless woman! Are you trying to get yourself killed? Why did you jump down like that? What about Jing Tai Lan? You're heartless! You're ruthless! You're a murderer..."

  With a thud, Taishi Lan fell off the horse and into Li Fu's arms as he rushed over to catch him amidst the curses.

  Her fallen body was relaxed and soft, his embracing arms were firm and powerful.

  Just for a moment.

  She immediately jumped out of his arms and smoothed her hair.

  No explanation was given as to why he jumped down, nor did he cry out that he would live and die with them.

  Li Fu Zhou didn't ask her why she jumped down, nor did he shake his shoulders, tilt his head, or shout "Ahh, why are you so stupid?"

  He just patted her shoulder, and the two of them watched as Zhao's team disappeared into the distance, out of control.

  She didn't leave, and neither did anyone else. At this moment, the previous question arose again - to fight or flee? Should they split up when fleeing?

  "No need to divide it, the power is insufficient." Li Fu Zhou turned his head and took a look, then casually threw some things into the fire pit at the door which was still emitting smoke. The smoke slowly changed into a pale blue color, swirling and dancing, twisting like a ghost face.

  In the darkness, such a ghostly face is enough to make people hesitant and retreat. The neat footsteps in the distance brought hesitation and confusion.

  Of course, this is not Li Fu Zhou's only means.

  The vendors who were subdued by the roadside earlier were all carried in by his students, and he said, "We will make a breakthrough from the backyard, but we need someone to cover our retreat, so let's trouble them." After finishing speaking, he was about to sit down.

  Tai Shi Lan suddenly blocked his way, "I'll go."

  At her request, everyone retreated and left the courtyard, leaving Li Fu Zhou alone on the roof waiting for her.

  Tai Shi Lan took out the human needle, the silver needle tip pierced into each person's waist eye, then she disarmed each person, stuck A's hook into B's arm, B's knife stabbed into D's thigh, and D's sword rested on E's shoulder... Each person used someone else's weapon to create a minor injury that didn't affect their movement. After everything was set up, she clapped her hands, and Li Fu Zhou shot down a piece of stone, each piece hitting one person accurately.

  Everyone's eyelids flutter, and they are about to wake up. At this moment, the human brain's forgetting function is also at work, and they won't remember what happened before. At most, they can only recall a few words from the last moment before waking up.

  Tai Shi Lan stood in the house and said a sentence.

  She said, "The one beside you is a spy of the imperial guard! He will secretly harm you first and then call in a large number of imperial guards to capture you!"

  After saying this sentence, she came out and beckoned to Li Fu Zhou from below.

  In the firelight, her eyes sparkled brightly, and her raised face slightly sweated, also sparkling like pearls.

  Li Fu Zhou pulled her hand and quickly climbed up the roof, while the other students had already jumped over the wall and left ahead of time. At this moment, there was a commotion below.

  The government's undercover agents all woke up, and when they woke up, they had already forgotten what happened before. They only vaguely remembered the last sentence, and their hearts were all tight. In the dim light, they looked down again...

  Ah! Old Ding's sword pierced my thigh!

  Ah! This is Old Wang's hook!

  Ah! Old Li is actually going to harm me!

  In a fit of rage, without thinking, he let out a loud roar and charged at his imaginary enemy, then broke the window and left.

  A burst of scolding, shouting and the sound of fists and feet, immediately followed by the shattering of windows, the rustling of clothes and the sound of wind. Two or three dozen government spies fled out one after another. Originally still in doubt, he raised his head to see a wave of torches rushing over, batch after batch of official soldiers!

  These people were already dizzy from the beating, and then they suffered a human needle, it was the moment when their brain was most unclear, the words that Tai Shi Lan had planted in their minds, like a magic spell, bound their thinking, making them tense and out of control, with no room to wake up.

  "I did my best for the officials, but they actually..." A furious thought flashed by, turning into a driving force that made them sprint out with their feet. To save themselves, they didn't hesitate to take drastic measures and charged forward with a loud roar.

  The imperial guards approached with torches held high, and upon seeing someone rush out of the guest house, they were about to interrogate when suddenly several hissing sounds were heard, the torches went out, and the light instantly dimmed. Immediately, a gust of wind blew in their faces, and the person who came out had already taken action without saying a word.

  The imperial guard hadn't even seen the person approaching before being attacked and enraged, at this moment, appearing here again with these actions, if not an enemy then who!

  "Surround them! Orders from above, anyone who resists will be shot!" a military officer shouted in a shrill voice.

  As soon as this sound came out, the dark explorers who had been gradually clearing up and were still hesitant in their hearts suddenly became desperate.

  Two people quietly appeared on the roof, Li Fu Zhou and Tai Shi Lan.

  They gazed coldly as a massacre began in the darkness. Of course, the time to discover the truth wouldn't be too long, but it was enough for Li Fu Zhou to lead Tai Shi Lan quietly over the rooftops under the cover of night.

  He took her hand and led her in a series of leaps across the rooftops, their clothes fluttering behind them, entwined in the warm summer breeze of April. The dark tiles glistened with dew, and as they stepped on them, they slid lightly, their bodies arcing through the air like a fluid motion. Suddenly, Tai Shi Lan thought of ice-skating he had seen in modern times - smooth, elegant, poetic, and effortless. At this moment, he and she were like two figures gliding across the ice, performing a waltz under the sky, on the rooftops that stretched out like waves.

  A black cat let out a low cry and slipped away from under their robes, its tail raised high, as if challenging the big golden moon. Tai Shi Lan lifted her head and saw the moonlight rushing towards her face. In a daze, she thought it was that time when she was being escorted to be executed. She rushed up onto the flying carriage, the driver's whip-like sleeves fluttering in the wind, and saw the carriage heading straight into the moon.

  There are many similar scenes in this world, familiar to the point of startling one's heart, as if from past lives.

  Racing along, the city gate came into view. At a glance, another shock arose in his heart. The city gate, which should have been dark and gloomy, was brightly lit with lanterns and fires, while soldiers held spears and swords, patrolling back and forth. How could he get past now?

  In the shadow under the city wall, a figure emerged, it was Su Ya, Xiao Daqiang, Huang Xiaojia, Shi Xiaocui, Yang Cheng, and several martial arts students. Almost all the elite students of Erwu Camp were here.

  "What are you doing here?"

  "The others left early and have already exited the city, Hua Shou Jiao is escorting them. We stayed behind to wait for you." Shi Xiao Cui said, "Just now someone came to report that the city gates are starting to strengthen their defenses, you're too late."

  Jingtai Lan has left the city, and Taishi Lian can finally relax. Seeing that almost all of his good friends are present, a strange feeling suddenly wells up in his heart.

  That feeling is like seeing green shoots sprouting from the fields in winter, warm and green.

  However, she still said lightly: "Just get out."

  "What a person!" Suddenly a loud shout came from above, and immediately the light shone brightly downwards.

  Li Fu Zhou snapped his fingers, the lampshade shattered, and the light went out. Almost simultaneously, the sound of footsteps and alarm bells echoed from the city wall, "Someone is trying to break into the city! Be on guard!"

  "With a whoosh, arrows fell like rain, shooting into the city below, but people were no longer in their original places. It was just that from the eyes of the people on the city wall, it seemed as if there were people down below, swaying and disappearing, so they shot even more enthusiastically."

  It was actually just Li Fu Zhou leading the male students to take off their outer shirts and put them on a nearby tree. He stood far away in the dark shadow under the city wall, occasionally shooting a pebble, making the trees wearing shirts sway back and forth. Under the flickering firelight on the city wall, it looked like people were running around everywhere.

  The rest of the people were at the city gate, which was unguarded because it wasn't necessary. The gate had a lock and hinges on both sides. First, three men pulled the hinges to reveal the lock in the gate, then used a key to open it.

  There was a gap in the middle of the city gate, Su Ya tried to pass through the gap, but the arm-thick gap was impassable. Tai Shi Lan glanced at the hinge and suddenly said: "Do you have the strength to help me pull the hinge?"

  Su Ya Mo didn't make a sound, walked to the edge of the chain and pulled with all his might.

  A dull thud, two doors slightly ajar, revealing a huge tiger head lock.

  "Can it be smashed?"

  Su Ya was taken aback, this is a holistic lock set, even if it's smashed, it can't be opened, why bother wasting energy.

  The others also showed disapproving expressions, anxiously glancing around, feeling that it was a waste of time to stay at the city gate. Yang Cheng couldn't help but say: "I think we can't get out now, why not find a place to hide first and wait for dawn when the city gates open again? At that time, there will be a way to muddle through..."

  Tai Shi Lan didn't listen and instead found a piece of iron on the ground, stuffed it into the keyhole of the tiger head lock, and said: "Try it."

  The boys hesitated, and Xiong Xiao Jia muttered: "I believe you, but I don't think I can..."

  Li Fu Zhou walked over, smiled, and threw a punch.

  "Bang." His long hair flew up in an instant, hanging upside down under the cold white moonlight. This normally elegant and gentle man was majestic and godlike at this moment.

  A loud thud, and the tiger-headed lock was smashed beyond recognition.

  Su Ya and Xiong Xiao Jia, who were born with divine power, couldn't help but gasp in admiration as they looked at him. This lock was extremely hard to break, and it wasn't easy for an ordinary person to smash it into a flat piece like that.

  Tai Shi Lan looked at the flat lock and said only two words, "Wait for me."

  She immediately turned her back to the crowd, squatted down, pressed her hands on the smashed tiger head lock, and closed her eyes. Su Ya and Li Fu Zhou protected her in front of her.

  After a while, Tai Shi Lan's face turned pale, and a faint bead of sweat appeared on his forehead.

  Li Fu Zhou took out a handkerchief and gently wiped away the sweat on her forehead.

  After a while, Tai Shi Lan's breathing became slightly rapid and her face flushed with a faint red glow, revealing a hint of weakness.

  Su Ya's eyes widened in surprise.

  She saw under Tai Shi Lan's palm, something slowly bulging up, dark green and black in color, with a slightly raised edge, which was the outline of the edge of the tiger-headed lock.

  She is recovering that lock in......

  What is she doing?

  Li Fu Zhou watched as the lock slowly restored itself, his eyes deep in thought.

  The castle tower had already sensed something was amiss, having shot so many arrows, a hundred people would have been killed, yet the figures below still swayed and danced. The leader at the city gate waved his hand, preparing to lead men down to investigate. The sound of footsteps echoed from the stone stairs above, the light of torches casting shadows on the castle walls' hinges, extending out a cyan-colored glow.

  The tiger-headed lock under Taishi Lan's control had an extremely clear outline, but she furrowed her brow, seemingly a bit anxious, and became even more focused.

  The light moved and shot at the middle of the city wall. The officers and soldiers were about to arrive, and if they didn't leave now, hiding in this gate with no way out would make them easy targets for arrows.

  The students can no longer hold back, if they don't leave now, are they waiting for death? They all looked at Li Fu Zhou with eager eyes, as for Tai Shi Lan, they didn't dare to look at her, knowing that this woman, once she makes up her mind, no one can stop her.

  Shi Xiaocui was a bit urgent, just about to open her mouth, when she was stopped by Li Fuzhou's gaze. Immediately after, he stood up and blocked Taishi Lan in front of him.

  Su Ya blocked Ta Shi Lan on the other side.

  "She made me wait, so I waited." she said.

  The students opened their mouths, unsure of what to say. After a while, Xiong Xiao Jia scratched his head in distress and stood in front of Su Ya.

  Xiao Daqiang immediately stood in front of him.

  The rest of the students also stopped talking, sighed, and stood silently. The strongest ones had to stay behind, they ran out alone and helpless, still a dead end.

  Yang Cheng looked left and right, his eyes wide with shock. "Are you guys crazy? Staying here isn't waiting for death, is it? Leaving to find a safe place wouldn't be better? Let's go, hurry up!"

  "Alright, you go look," said Shi Xiaocui, "I'd be too embarrassed to go."

  "What are you running for, stay behind." Xiao Daqiang said, "It's not Tai Shi Lan, you wine fool has been drunk to the big prison before, what's the talk about escaping or not. Now you want to abandon her, can do it, but don't come back to Er Wu Ying again, I'll beat you up every time I see you."

  "You will be the death of Tai Shi Lan!" Yang Cheng stamped his foot.

  "Leave." Su Ya said coldly.

  Yang Cheng stood foolishly in place, looking at everyone, no one met his gaze, with tension but no hesitation in their eyes. He thought these people were really stupid, the thoughts of a poor family's child were simply unreasonable, eating bran and swallowing vegetables from childhood was just brainless... We are not worthy to be with them, it is indeed the most correct thing...

  Then he quietly stood in front of Shi Xiaocui.

  "What's wrong with you?" Shi Xiaocui pushed him, "You're blocking my light!"

  "Stinky hag!" Yang Cheng couldn't help but curse in a foul tone - unreasonable!

  Everyone's face was tense, but they all smiled a little.

  The warmth flowing quietly at this moment.

  Tai Shi Lan didn't know what was happening at this moment, didn't know that danger was lurking nearby, didn't know about Li Fu Zhou and Su Ya's trust in her, didn't know that the students were taking enormous risks for her. She just focused on restoring - destroying - restoring again - destroying again...

  A difficult process, far beyond her usual restoration difficulties.

  In the past when using the restoration ability, generally speaking, the smaller and softer the material is, the easier it is to restore, while larger and harder materials are more difficult. During the restoration process, no extraneous objects can be mixed in, otherwise molecular recombination will not be possible, and the final product will be unrecognizable.

  She inserted the iron piece into the tiger head lock, intending to pry it open. The tiger head lock and the iron piece were both made of iron. During the restoration process, she didn't restore the iron piece, but instead destroyed it in an instant, filling the keyhole of the tiger head lock with powdered iron fragments, instantly filling the gap between the keys. At this point, when she reassembled the tiger head lock, the iron piece inside became... the key.

  This is an attempt that feels incredibly difficult even to think about, not only having to restore the huge and hard tiger head lock, but also controlling the destruction of the iron pieces while restoring them, and then reassembling the restored iron pieces... The restoration contains destruction, and destruction transforms into restoration. For her, who has only tried sequential restoration - destruction - restoration at a grassroots level so far, achieving this is equivalent to a miracle.

  But she had promised to take them out.

  "They're at the foot of the city!" A soldier rushed down to the bottom of the stairs and shouted a warning as soon as he saw them.

  "Whoosh." Su Ya's short arrow pierced his throat.

  The soldier fell backward, and the fresh blood from his throat splattered on the moss-covered city wall. Almost immediately, the frantic alarm bell sounded.

  Large groups of soldiers rushed down, with shield-bearing soldiers in the front and archers in the back. It was clear that they had been prepared for a long time, with a large number of people and shiny poisonous arrowheads that made one's throat tight, swallowing saliva mouthful by mouthful.

  At this time, if you escape, at least you can keep your life; if you stay, there is absolutely no way to survive.

  Some people turned pale with anxiety, some swallowed saliva constantly, and some had legs that trembled uncontrollably. Before life and death, fearlessness also has its limits.

  But legs were weak or trembling, no one left, the crowd was dense, blocking Taishi Lan inside.

  Through thick and thin, this is true friendship.

  The leading general sneered, his eyes wide with incredulity. He really didn't understand what kind of reckless adventurer would stand still and wait to be surrounded, as if tired of living?

  Since they've all gone mad, he might as well go through the trouble and send them on their way.

  Fire!

  Arrows fall like rain, suddenly rushing forth.

  The students rushed to pull out their weapons, which was a complete disadvantage. The narrow city gate was unable to deploy, and the opened arrows were likely to injure others by mistake. Li Fu Zhou was in the front, his sleeves rolled up like iron, and he withstood countless sharp arrows. However, the arrow he pulled open collided with someone else's arrow, and sparks flew everywhere. The arrow slid past Shi Xiao Cui's temple and shot towards Tai Shi Lan.

  Tai Shi Lan lowered her head, completely unaware.

  Li Fu Zhou suddenly shifted his body to one side, and with a lightning-fast movement of his single hand, he reached over Shi Xiao Cui's hair and grabbed the arrow tail.

  The arrow stopped three inches in front of Taishi Tianling's forehead, and Li Fuzhou's palm blocked it above her, while Shi Xiaocui didn't even have a hair out of place.

  "Drip."

  A faint sound, a drop of fresh blood, slowly dripped from Li Fu's palm and landed on Tai Shi's cheek. At the same time, Li Fu's body shook violently, and he let out a muffled groan.

  Bright red blood fell on the pale honey-colored cheek, each shining with crystal light, and then was diluted by the rolling sweat from Taishi's forehead, flowing down her face, down her chin, down her neck, and slowly flowing into the deep collar of her clothes...

  She remained completely unaware, sweating profusely, swaying precariously yet fully focused.

  The arrow has passed through three wheels.

  One student was finally injured while dodging and was quickly taken inside for treatment, the others were also at their last gasp, their movements of swinging weapons and deflecting arrows becoming softer with each passing moment.

  They rushed overnight and are now trapped in a narrow strip of land with no room to maneuver. The enemy is not approaching, deliberately using arrow rain tactics to exhaust them to death.

  It can be foreseen that soon everyone will be pierced by a thousand arrows.

  "Li Assistant Lecturer, take Tai Shi out with you," Su Ya said suddenly. "I know you have a way."

  "Hmm." Shi Xiaocui brushed aside an arrow with a soft whoosh, and bitterly smiled, "We'll take care of the rear for you, don't waste your energy here anymore."

  "This life is given by Tai Shi Lan, and it's still hers today!" Xiong Xiao Jia said with a hoarse voice and a silly smile.

  "A bunch of idiots!" Yang Cheng cursed in a low voice.

  There were several students, extremely exhausted and slightly disoriented, who suddenly started cursing loudly, "Ta Shi Lan, what are you capable of! Why are you lingering here for no reason! Good job, now you've gotten me killed!"

  "A life for a life! I don't owe you anything!"

  "It's too late to run now, Ta Shi Lan, even as a ghost I will find you and settle the score!"

  "What the hell are you doing? Let me die with a clear conscience!"

  ……

  Li Fu Zhou looked up at the top of his head, and another batch of archers came down.

  At the end of one's rope.

  "Let's die together......" Xiao Daqiang grasped Xiong Xiaojia's hand, and the two looked at each other with tears in their eyes...

  "Ah."

  A faint sound, almost everyone didn't hear it, but Li Fu Zhou suddenly turned his head back.

  Tai Shi Lan loosened his grip, and the moment he did, he felt a surge of energy drain out of him. His body lurched forward, and with a creaking sound, the door was suddenly pushed open.

  The crowd turned around in shock and saw that the iron gate had opened a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

  The door is open? How did it open?

  Su Yu glanced over and saw Tai Shi Lan picking up the tiger head lock. The lock had returned to its original shape, and in the keyhole on the lock, a thin iron sheet was inserted, which was the same iron sheet as before, but its shape had changed.

  Everyone at this moment did not think much, extremely happy and cheering, a figure flashed, Li Fu Zhou rushed over, picked up Ta Shi Lan who was falling to the ground, "Hurry up!"

  The soldiers who were shooting arrows from a distance, seeing the gate open, were stunned for a moment and forgot to shoot. When they saw everyone opening the door to run, they hurriedly chased after them.

  The students rushed out early, and Li Fu Zhou Su Ya stayed behind as usual. When everyone was gone, Su Ya quickly pulled the big gate shut, took over the tiger head lock, removed the iron plate key, and inserted his arm into the gap, making a "click" sound.

  With a "click", she locked the door just as the soldiers were about to rush in.

  "Hmm." An arrowhead grazed the gap and stuck to her nose tip, pinning itself to the door frame. Su Ya's eyes didn't even blink.

  The defenders inside the city were in a state of confusion - one blink and the gate was open, another blink and it was locked again. It was so mysterious that it was almost eerie. Some old soldiers had already begun to look at each other in alarm, whispering: "It's not even July 15th yet..."

  "Get the key! Get the key!" A chaotic cry came from inside, accompanied by the sound of footsteps rushing around.

  Outside, people were rushing silently, Li Fu Zhou held Tai Shi Lan, finally leaving, but running ahead of the crowd. The Tai Shi Lan in his arms was completely soft and wet, unable to move on her own, leaning against him like a handful of silk cotton soaked by rainwater. Even where their arms touched, his sleeves were gradually getting wet.

  This was extreme weakness caused by dehydration, very dangerous. Li Fu Zhou rushed extremely fast, needing to find a water source at the fastest speed possible. As he flew past, he lowered his head, and the last ray of light from dawn before it went away shone on her eyebrows, reflecting off the sweat on her face with a crystalline glow, even her lips had lost their color, looking pale but not thin, only making people feel soft, astonishingly soft. Her usual coldness like snow had transformed into this moment's desolate coolness, like a snow lotus on a high cliff edge about to be melted by the sun.

  This rare moment of weakness is so charming as to take one's breath away and evoke sympathy.

  He grasped her arm and couldn't help but squeeze it tightly.

  Tai Shi Lan didn't faint, but the extreme mental exhaustion made her head ache violently, and she was so weak that she couldn't even lift her fingers. Her face was pressed against Li Fu Zhou's chest by him, tightly stuck to it, and she didn't have the strength to push away. All she could hear was his heartbeat, which remained strong and steady amidst the turmoil, like a drumbeat that resonated with chanting and prayer in a long song.

  As he drew closer, the freshness of his breath became more pronounced. She only then realized that amidst the fresh grass-like scent, there was a subtle fragrance that was extremely elegant and refined, making one feel dizzy. It was as if it existed yet didn't, elusive to capture, but would unintentionally waft into her nostrils at times, leaving her heart feeling as though it had been gently brushed by the soft petals of a flower.

  She suddenly furrowed her brow, sensing an unusual smell, and glanced down to see that the hem of his garment was slightly darker on one side, as if something had dripped down - was he injured?

  At this time, she felt that her cheeks were also a bit sticky, and the corners of her eyes drooped downwards. In the corner of her eye, she saw bright red beads stuck to her cheek - was it his blood?

  She wanted to call out for him to stop and bandage himself, but she didn't have the strength to speak, and she seemed to sigh, leaning against his chest.

  Distant lanterns, like a long river flowing across the field of vision, starlight and moonbeams gathered in the wind ahead. The pursuing soldiers behind still exist, but the thundering shouts are as distant as a dream, or perhaps this is just a dream. Clamor is actually silence, pursuit is actually staying, heartbeat is actually serenity, sighs are actually joy. Heaven and earth, all things, Nirvana emotions, flowers blooming on the water.

  Tai Shi Lan woke up again and found herself already in a horse-drawn carriage.

  She opened her eyes to see a big face of Jing Tai Lan in front of her, his long eyelashes brushing against her and making her itch. One hand was still raised in mid-air, with two fingers pinched together as if plucking an eyebrow hair. Ta Shi looked at him calmly for a moment before the little boy quickly withdrew his hand and flung himself at her, hugging her tightly and exclaiming "Mom... Mom..."

  Her heart was also numbed by his gentle and soft words. Looking closely at the blue eyes below, there seemed to be tear stains as well. This little guy knew she didn't like him crying, so he held it in.

  She hugged him, pinched his big ears, and Jing Tai Lan giggled with joy. He liked all her little movements because they were too rare.

  Li Fu Zhou was sitting across from her reading a book. At this time, he put down the book and smiled lightly, "Awake? Feeling better?"

  Tai Shi Lan looked at him, smiling lightly as if nothing had happened. She felt a little dazed, as if they were still on the road, without the turmoil of life and death that night, the struggles. It was just another day when she woke up, and he asked how she was doing.

  She immediately looked clear-eyed and glanced at his side, "Are you okay?"

  Li Fu Zhou seemed to be in a daze for a moment before saying: "It's just a minor abrasion, it's already been bandaged."

  "What's going on?" Tai Shi Lan furrowed his brow, recalling the danger he had encountered in Tong City.

  They are meritorious officials, students who will soon be rewarded. Although the 25th camp is ranked last in the local Guangwu camp, it still has a status there, let alone with noble sons inside. What's wrong with the people of Tongcheng? No matter what, they want to put them to death?

  The curtain was lifted, and Hua Xunhe and Shen Meihua slipped in, first laughing and asking if she was okay, then saying they were scared to death, and then furrowing their brows, asking about this inexplicable pursuit.

  This knot is not clear, and everyone feels that even death cannot be closed eyes.

  "It's actually, perhaps not Tong Cheng's courage." Li Fu Zhou hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "I had suspicions earlier, but I was afraid of being overly suspicious and disturbing you all, so I didn't say anything. Now..."

  "He sighed and said, 'We're in trouble.'"

  Tai Shi furrowed his brow.

  "Huh?"

  "I don't know if you still remember, the bow and arrow that ambushed us at Longmao Ridge three years ago, although the vermilion mark was erased, but the style, it's vaguely one of the military equipment that was eliminated during the equipment replacement in the army. Li Fu Zhou said, "This kind of bow has long been discontinued in Lijing and surrounding areas, but after the local equipment replacement delay, some areas may still be using them in the military."

  He is currently the Grand Governor of the State of Jin, and Gong Chu was highly trusted by the previous emperor, in charge of national military affairs, so he naturally knows this best.

  The words were simple, but everyone understood what they meant.

  "The military is involved......" Shen Mei's face turned pale as snow.

  Originally thought to have caught a group of fierce bandits, with brilliant military achievements. As a student who hasn't even graduated from the 25th Regiment's training program, having such results in their first year would be an enormous honor that cannot be erased, whether in the 25th Regiment or locally. In the future, reporting this achievement and receiving awards, or even being directly promoted to the Imperial Guard, and later becoming a high-ranking official, are all possible.

  However, now that it involves the military, it is equivalent to involving a powerful interest group. How deep is the truth here?

  Tong Cheng's actions are so reckless and harmful towards them, doesn't it further illustrate from the side that they have stirred up a massive hornet's nest?

  The worst thing in the world is that you poke a beehive and think you've found a treasure.

  "It's not necessarily the military." Li Fu Zhou spread his hand, and in the palm of his jade-white hand was a broken copper button. "Local government offices can sometimes use military equipment too."

  "What is this?"

  "The officials and servants of the government, or those who are on official business, all have a mark on their arm, held in place by a copper button." Li Fu said, "I found this on a man in black that night, but I didn't think much of it at the time and just put it in my pocket. It wasn't until we passed through the city gate and saw the uniforms of the officials that I remembered it. This copper button is only half intact, probably because he was too careless when he tore off the mark and the button broke off and stayed on his clothes."

  Everyone was silent, and things were getting more complicated.

  "No need to tell them." Taishi Lan instructed Shen Meihua, nodding towards the students outside the car.

  Shen Mei Hua and Su Ya nodded silently.

  "What should we do now?" Huaxian Huan's eyes widened in confusion.

  Li Fu Zhou and Tai Shi Lan simultaneously looked at her with a strange expression.

  "What's wrong with you two, staring at me like that!" Huaxian Huan shouted, unable to bear the identical foolish gazes of these two people.

  Tai Shi Lan didn't even bother to reason with her, while Li Fu Zhou patiently said: "Whatever will be, will be."

  "Huh?"

  "It's a fact that we caught the habitual offender, if there's credit to be given, it should be given, and if there's a reward to be reported, it should be reported."

  "But this involves the military and government, doesn't it? But Tongcheng has already taken action..."

  "Are you planning on letting the military and government know that you already know?"

  "This is a roundabout way of speaking, Hua Xun was delighted to figure it out after three attempts, and suddenly excitedly patted his thigh, "Wow! Fun! Right, that group of rabbits doesn't know we know, actually we just know they don't know, when the time comes it's us knowing versus a group not knowing, playing dumb... Let's play them to death, haha!"

  Shen Mei silently nodded her head, with this assistant, life is a tragedy.

  Su Ya's face was solemn, while Dumb Big Sister's Hua Xianghuan could find joy in this matter, she knew the severity of it. If things didn't go well, none of the people present would have a good outcome.

  "Don't think so much." Tai Shi Lan said calmly, "What's mine is mine; what harms me must be compensated. If there's a mountain ahead - move the mountain for me."

  Digression

  Yesterday was a moment of complaining, today selling Meng comes first: Hello everyone, goodbye everyone, thank you everyone, everyone is so sweet. Mua mua da.