The Elixir is for You, The Poison is for Me

#624 - Pull the tiger's skin

Qi Wenren couldn't imagine why Director Luo would be willing to follow them on a risky venture to Shizhou, his old superior's territory.

After all, he had only recently been driven out of there by Chief Tong, and that was only out of consideration for his years of service to Chief Tong.

Considering that he had been by Chief Tong's side for so many years, he probably knew a lot of secrets, and going back might make Chief Tong change his mind.

This book is first published on the whole network by 𝕥 𝕨 𝕜 𝕒 𝕟 . 𝕔 𝕠 𝕞

However, to Qi Wenren's surprise, Lu Jing brought Director Luo back to the inn where he was staying in less than half an hour.

And along with him was Director Luo's daughter, Luo Yingying.

"Let me introduce you, An Shi," Lu Jing pointed to the surprised Qi Wenren, then to Director Luo, "Director Luo."

"I know you," Qi Wenren said, "I saw you drinking and sighing in your study when I went to your residence before."

"… … … …"

Lu Jing coughed twice, reminding Qi Wenren that although the Luo family didn't have any defenses and he could come and go as he pleased, he couldn't be so direct.

Qi Wenren immediately realized that he had let something slip and looked a little embarrassed.

On the other hand, Director Luo, perhaps because he had been in the officialdom for a long time and had seen all kinds of strange things, wasn't too surprised and laughed it off.

Qi Wenren then began to worry about leaving the city the next morning.

Because of the addition of Director Luo and his daughter, two ordinary people, according to the rules of the Department of Celestial Observation, he and Lu Jing could no longer use the [Well] to travel and had to travel honestly.

Someone breaking into the General's mansion at night was a very serious matter in Liangcheng.

Qi Wenren looked out the window of the inn and saw several teams of patrolling soldiers passing by.

Fortunately, those soldiers didn't enter the inn to search for the time being, but maybe they were planning to set up an ambush outside the city and wait for them tomorrow.

However, after listening to Qi Wenren's words, Director Luo didn't seem too nervous, but comforted Qi Wenren, "Mr. An Shi is overthinking things.

With my understanding of General Le, we shouldn't have any trouble leaving the city tomorrow."

"Why? Isn't he angry that he lost the fish?"

"Of course he's angry, but tonight, Hero Feng fought against many enemies and defeated the guards outside the General's mansion, and even injured the experts inside the General's mansion.

"No one wants to provoke such a peerless expert.

It's time-consuming and laborious, and you have to be on guard against revenge at all times.

Anyway, it's just a lost fish.

Le Shaobai won't be so stupid as to search for you in a big way.

At most, he'll just pretend to do it.

He can't wait for you to leave Liangcheng as soon as possible."

Director Luo had served Chief Tong for many years and understood the thoughts of these big shots very accurately.

The next morning, the four of them left the city without encountering any obstacles.

Because of the war, most of the horse carriage businesses near Liangzhou were closed, but there were still brave men under heavy reward.

Lu Jing spent one hundred taels of silver to buy a carriage and driver, and then the four of them rode in the carriage to Shizhou.

Along the way, they encountered bandits and small groups of defeated soldiers, but most of them were dealt with by Lu Jing before they could even finish their lines.

When he didn't have to fight, Lu Jing continued to practice his sword control technique in the carriage, consuming his secret power, and occasionally watched Qi Wenren tinker with his tools.

Qi Wenren had actually brought a large box of similar things, which looked like a variety of things, including things for measuring the concentration of secret power, monitoring the fluctuations of secret power, and even a bead that could shield magic… …

However, because Director Luo and his daughter were present, Lu Jing didn't want to ask too much about some things.

After all, Qi Wenren's public explanation was that he was a naturalist, specializing in collecting and studying strange objects from various places.

About eight days later, the four of them finally entered Chief Tong's territory.

In present-day Shizhou, although the border army had retaken some towns, the three largest counties were still firmly in Chief Tong's hands.

The method he adopted was very crude and effective, which was to drive most of the Chen people out of the city and use the wealth seized from them to reward his subordinates and clansmen.

In addition, he also won over the Xiang and Black Stone people, who accounted for the third and fourth largest populations in Shizhou, forming a fairly reliable alliance.

In this way, whether it was the remaining Chen people or other small tribes, even if they were dissatisfied with Chief Tong's rule, they could not make any waves.

Looking at the swaggering Shen people outside the window, Director Luo sighed, "Before the rebellion in the three northwestern prefectures, most of these Shen people were relatively peaceful.

Many of them regarded themselves as Chen people and were very proud of it.

Among them, the noble families scrambled to learn our writing and language and intermarry with us.

"Later on, except for the slight differences in appearance, there was almost no difference between the two sides, but now Chief Tong is using ghost stories such as building a country to deceive them, and he has also distributed a part of the money he robbed from the Chen people to the people below, which has aroused the greed in their hearts.

"A fire has been ignited in their hearts.

Even if this rebellion is quelled, it will be difficult to restore it to what it was before."

Many people like Le Shaobai are staring at this house, waiting for it to collapse, but I don't see any of the heroes in the world who have the ability to reorganize the country."

As Director Luo spoke, he glanced intentionally or unintentionally in the direction of Lu Jing, only to see that the latter was still meditating with his eyes closed.

After the carriage traveled for a while, it was stopped by a group of Shen people.

Director Luo saw Lu Jing open his eyes and prepare to get out of the car, but he took the initiative to suggest, "Why don't I try this time?"

"Sure," Lu Jing nodded, "Call me if you can't negotiate."

"Okay."

Although Director Luo agreed, he looked quite confident.

He got out of the car, spoke a few words to the group in the Shen language, and then saw the surprised expressions on their faces.

They looked Director Luo up and down, glanced at the carriage, saluted, and then left in a hurry.

After they left, Qi Wenren poked his head out, "Did you just reveal your identity to them?"

"No," Director Luo shook his head, "I have been driven out of Shizhou by Chief Tong, and my face is no longer useful.

However, I have known many people in Shizhou for so many years.

It's still no problem to borrow the tiger skin of others.

As long as I say it truthfully enough, people of their status will not dare to go to the main person to verify."