The place where Yan Liqiang ambushed the three people was not far from where Hu Haihe and his team parked their car, only a few hundred meters away in a straight line. Although Hu Haihe did not see what happened, he vaguely heard the neighing and short screams of the rhinoceros horse coming from that direction. Hu Haihe immediately understood what had happened. When he saw Yan Liqiang come back and say he was leaving in a decisive manner, Hu Haihe felt nervous.
He lit the lantern hanging on the carriage again to illuminate the road. Hu Haihe drove the carriage, waving the whip, and as the wheels turned, he followed Yan Liqiang and galloped on the road.
“Hello…Hello…Hello…”
The night fell, but because the weather was very good today, under the shining light of the stars and the moon, the visibility on the mountain road was still quite good. In addition, there were few people walking on this official road at night, and there were basically no people on the road, so the carriages and horses could run freely on the road.
The carriage and the horses had been galloping on the mountain road for more than an hour before Yan Liqiang saw a group of people also traveling at night on the road ahead.
It was a caravan traveling together, with more than thirty horses, more than forty carriages, and about a hundred people, including merchants and travelers. It should be a team put together at random. Hearing the sound of hurried horse hooves coming from behind, many people in the caravan looked back, and some even took the bows on their backs in their hands, looking alert.
It was not until Yan Liqiang and Hu Haihe appeared in their sight and they realized that there was only a horse and a carriage coming from behind that everyone's nerves relaxed together - if they were robbers, it would certainly be impossible for only two people to rob such a large team.
"Huh..." When he ran to the tail of the caravan, Yan Liqiang slowed down his horse and clasped his fists towards the people behind the team. "Excuse me, are you guys going to Kunzhou?"
"Yes, we are going to Kunzhou together, and we have to travel at night tonight. If you are going the same way, you might as well go together so that you can take care of each other. Ordinary robbers will not dare to act recklessly when they see so many of us!" Seeing Yan Liqiang's extraordinary BMW, an elderly merchant at the back of the team suddenly smiled and invited Yan Liqiang to travel with everyone. This kind of temporary team has strength in numbers, and it is normal to add people to the team during the journey.
"That's great. We also want to go to Kunzhou, so let's go together!" Yan Liqiang smiled, then turned to Hu Haihe and said, "You are right. As long as we go faster, we will definitely meet other people on this road. This way it will be much safer. It seems that I made the right decision to bring you out this time. You have learned a lot from your experience in traveling around the world over the years!"
Hu Haihe was also a smart man. When he heard what Yan Liqiang said, a smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Thank you for the compliment, young master. The master told me that safety is the top priority when you go out for a trip this time, so I was asked to drive the carriage for you!"
"Um!"
After hearing the conversation between Yan Liqiang and Hu Haihe, everyone in the team imagined Yan Liqiang as a young master going out for a trip. They were no longer surprised and were completely relieved.
The group walked until almost midnight and covered nearly a hundred miles before finally arriving at a prosperous market town on the edge of Lujiang River. They then separated and looked for places to stay.
After crossing Lujiang River, Kunzhou is on the opposite side. There is a large wharf in the town here, with ferries and passenger ships on the wharf. However, the rule of the ferries and passenger ships is that they will no longer cross the river after dark, because the river is windy and surging at night, so everyone can only wait until tomorrow morning to cross the river.
Yan Liqiang naturally found the best inn in the town, asked for an independent courtyard, and settled down.
…
"Sir, did you just... just kill someone?" When Yu Qing, who was standing next to Yan Liqiang, brought water for washing his face to his room, she saw Yan Liqiang washing his face and suddenly asked in a low voice.
Yan Liqiang stopped what he was doing and looked at Yu Qing. He just hesitated for two seconds and then nodded calmly, "Yes, there are bad guys following us and they want to harm us, so I had to take action! I'm afraid this kind of thing will happen again in the future. If you are afraid, I can give you money and ask the escort agency to send you back to the Imperial Capital!"
"That's what I mean!" Yu Qing lowered her head, her voice became smaller and more determined, "I believe that you are a good man and will never kill innocent people, so the people you killed must be bad guys. I will follow you wherever you go. It's a pity that I don't know how to fight. If I knew how to fight, I would be able to protect you in the future!"
"Don't worry, when we get to Ganzhou, I'll teach you martial arts when I have time!" Yan Liqiang laughed, "By the way, how do you know I killed someone?"
"There were three arrows missing from the quiver that the young master took out of the car. I heard from Brother Hai that the young master is a master of archery, so I guessed that when the young master asked us to stop the car, he must have gone to kill someone, and he killed three!"
"I didn't expect you to be so meticulous!" Yan Liqiang understood all of a sudden. This was exactly the same as what happened a few years later. "By the way, do you remember the men's clothes I asked you to prepare before you set out? Tomorrow morning, put on the men's clothes and become a servant. This will make it easier for you to set out on the road!"
"Okay!" Yu Qing nodded obediently.
…
Early the next morning, Yu Qing changed into men's clothes and hid her hair in a hat. In addition, she was originally thin and young, and when she changed into men's clothes and spoke in a deliberately hoarse voice, it was difficult for ordinary people to tell who she was.
Yan Liqiang and his companions boarded the earliest ferry, crossed the Lujiang River, and entered Kunzhou. However, on that day, Yan Liqiang and his companions traveled along the Lujiang River for a whole day and arrived at Lingbai City, a large city in Kunzhou. In Lingbai City, Yan Liqiang disposed of the luxurious carriage that Manager You had given him and sold it to a merchant who got a bargain. He then exchanged it for an ordinary carriage, and then the three of them disappeared in the vast sea of people...
…
"What, Yan Liqiang lost?" Lin Qingtian paused with his hand holding the brush, and it stopped in the air. A drop of ink from the tip of the brush dipped in ink gently fell onto the drawing paper below, instantly "disfiguring" a painted crabapple flower...
Gu Chunyi lowered his head. Lin Qingtian's eyes made his heart tremble slightly. Gu Chunyi couldn't help but lower his head slightly, and a little frustrated in his tone, "I just learned the news. The three veterans I arranged to follow Yan Liqiang have been missing for many days. They haven't contacted the contact person..."
"Where did Yan Liqiang get lost?"
"Luzhou!"
"When did this happen?"
"It has been eleven days since the three people from the Ministry of Justice disappeared!"
Lin Qingtian raised his head, looked at the intricate patterns on the ceiling of the study, and murmured to himself, "Eleven days, Luzhou..."
"Luzhou is a bit far from the Imperial Capital, and it takes time for all parties to confirm and pass on the news, so I learned the news a bit late..."
"How long does it take you to deliver the message from Imperial City to Luzhou?"
"Even if I use the power of the Ministry of Justice, it will take at least two days for the news to be transmitted between the Imperial Capital and Luzhou..."
"Was the route Yan Liqiang took before the same route he took when he escorted Sun Bingchen back from Ganzhou?"
Gu Chunyi was surprised, "Ah, sir, how did you know?"
"No need to look for them. The three people who followed Yan Liqiang are in danger!" Lin Qingtian dipped his brush in ink again, and then began to draw on the thick ink that "disfigured" the crabapple flower, without even looking up. "From the beginning, Yan Liqiang knew that he was being followed. The reason why he chose to return by the same route he had taken to escort Sun Bingchen to the Imperial Capital was to deliberately deceive the people who followed him and make them careless. And the reason why he chose to start in Luzhou is because Luzhou is very far away from the Imperial Capital and Ganzhou. It takes at least two days to pass the message from Luzhou to the Imperial Capital. Even if you react in time and have new arrangements, four days will have passed since the message came and went. In that time, he has no idea where he has hidden. And if he changes his route from Luzhou, there will be more routes and possibilities for him to return to Ganzhou. No matter how many people you have, you can't keep an eye on him..."
"Yan Liqiang is so cunning?" Gu Chunyi's tone was a little unbelievable, because in his impression, Yan Liqiang has always been a tough nut who never showed much scheming. He didn't expect that this nut also had such a cunning side.
"Perhaps we have underestimated that young man. He has made a name for himself in Imperial City in such a short period of time. He must be quite capable!"
Gu Chunhua was furious and said fiercely, "Yan Liqiang is so bold that he dared to touch the people in the Ministry of Justice. Just this one thing can make him lose his head. Aren't you afraid that I will put him on the wanted list?"
"The key is that you have no evidence. Three detectives from the Ministry of Justice are missing, and you say that Yan Liqiang killed them. On what basis? If the person living in the palace asks you this, what will you say? Three detectives from the Ministry of Justice secretly followed and monitored court officials, which is already a serious crime. If you want to punish Yan Liqiang, you have to admit this crime yourself!"
"Sir, then... then what should we do now? If we don't know the whereabouts and news of Yan Liqiang, even if Shi Minzhang and Master Lin go to the northwest, it will be difficult for them to run into Yan Liqiang again. They will have no idea where to start if they want to take action. The previous plan..."
"What do you think of my touch-up?" Lin Qingtian picked up the brush, interrupting Gu Chunyi, and asked with satisfaction as he looked at what he had drawn with the ink that had fallen on the crabapple flower.
"Ah!" Gu Chunyi looked at Lin Qingtian's painting and found that in just a moment, Lin Qingtian had turned that dot of ink into a cute bee lying on the crabapple flower. The bee was vivid and lifelike, and it was impossible to tell that it was Lin Qingtian's finishing touch on the dot of ink.
"Mr. Master, your painting is so ingenious and exquisite. With this bee, the crabapple trees in the garden suddenly come alive!" Gu Chunyi said flatteringly.
"When the enemy changes, I also change. There is no fixed situation for soldiers and no fixed shape for water. Why should we stick to the previous arrangements? Since Yan Liqiang has discovered that he is being followed and has taken measures, he will not foolishly step into our trap again. The previous plan of Shi Minzhang and Lin Zhe will definitely not work. At this juncture, if we let them take the risk of being discovered to kill Yan Liqiang, it might be a loss for the greater good. It will ruin my plan. Let Shi Minzhang come back. When Lin Zhe comes back, send him to seclusion and don't hang around outside!"
"Sir, are you just going to let Yan Liqiang go?" Gu Chunyi said somewhat unwillingly.
A hint of coldness flashed across Lin Qingtian's face. "Let him go? Of course not. Isn't he the governor of Qiyun? Just inform the people of Shatu Seven Tribes and let them deal with him. Everything will be justified, and the Black Wind Bandits will become real. Who can say that Baishi Pass will not lose their lives? If Shatu Seven Tribes can't even deal with a kid who hasn't even grown all his hair in Ganzhou, then Shatu Seven Tribes will have no right to bargain with us in the future!"
"I see… "
"You are the Minister of Criminal Investigation. Don't let your emotions sway you. You will only focus on a young boy all day long. Zheng Huaian's matter is a big deal. You must handle it thoroughly without any mistakes..."
"Don't worry, sir. I will never let you down..."
(End of this chapter)