Anyone who appeared in the Yang mansion was Yang Fan's imaginary enemy, not to mention these suspicious soldiers.
As soon as he discovered that they could pose a threat to him, Yang Fan instinctively wanted to know their background, strengths, and weaknesses.
Relying on his good relations with others, Yang Fan quickly found out the identity of these people from Steward Liu's mouth: the Minister General of the Imperial Guard, Cai Dongcheng. The four iron-walled soldiers were Cai Dongcheng's four great generals: Liu Kui, Shen Jiahui, Wu Shaodong, and Huang Qilin. They were his most important subordinates in the Right Imperial Guard.
In Yang Mingsheng's bedroom, Cai Dongcheng was kneeling in front of the bed, his back straight, giving people the feeling that he was a javelin.
Cai Dongcheng stared at Yang Mingsheng, whose facial features were difficult to distinguish, and said in a low voice: "You mean, this person is the fish that escaped the net from Shaozhou's Peach Blossom Village in Lingnan."
"Yes!"
Cai Dongcheng's eyes slowly lowered, and he said thoughtfully: "In that small village, there were altogether eleven families with the surnames Helan, Xiahou, Yang, Shen, Li, Zhao, Wang, Qiu, Fang, Feng, and Han. Most of them were scholars, and I have never heard of any martial arts experts among them. If they had such high level of ability, why didn't they make any moves back then?"
Yang Mingsheng said gloomily: "At that time, no one went to exterminate their entire family, why would they make any moves?"
Cai Dongcheng's brows furrowed slightly. Even though they had a common secret because of the major case they had worked together in the past, and also relied on this secret, their official careers had been smooth sailing. Now, Yang Mingsheng had become an influential figure in the Ministry of Justice's Judicial Division, and he had even been promoted to the Right Imperial Guard Commander, but he and Yang Mingsheng really didn't have much contact.
Scholars and martial artists were like water and oil, there were really not many who could mix together. What he remembered was Yang Mingsheng's temperament in the past. He didn't know if Yang Mingsheng's temper had grown over the years, or if it was because of his disability that his temperament had changed so much. In short, listening to him speak made people feel uncomfortable.
But looking at Yang Mingsheng's inhuman and ghostly appearance, Cai Dongcheng didn't want to bicker with him anymore. Cai Dongcheng carefully thought for a moment, then said, "It's really impossible to find out the other party's identity just by relying on an aged voice. There's only a glimmer of hope if we can confirm the other party's identity. "
Yang Mingsheng said, "These eleven families were banished to Ling Nan, along with their families, troops and servants. They lived on the mountain for more than ten years, growing old, getting sick and dying. We don't know how many of them survived. The only thing I can be sure of is that this person is no longer young. At that time, he was at least middle-aged. "
Cai Dongcheng said coldly, "This clue is as good as none! Perhaps … the key to finding out his identity is … why did he only come to us now? "
Yang Mingsheng said, "Maybe he just found out about us."
Cai Dongcheng sneered, "Find out? How? How can he find out about us? "
Yang Mingsheng sat quietly, not saying a word.
Cai Dongcheng looked at the face that was completely wrapped in white cloth. Suddenly he thought of something and his face changed color. After half a day, he laughed and said, "Yang Langzhong, don't tell me you are suspecting … that person? That's impossible! How could it be! If that person wanted to kill us, he only needs to move his mind and we'll be turned into ashes and smoke. Why would he need to go through all this trouble? "
Cai Dongcheng's expression was very uneasy. His aura was like an invincible sharp sword, no one can touch its edge. But right now he was unusually frightened. So much so that when he asked Yang Mingsheng, without waiting for his reply, he hastily rejected this possibility. His heart was extremely uneasy.
Yang Mingsheng slowly said, "What are you thinking? Of course I won't suspect that person! If it was an assassin sent by that person, the assassin could have just killed me. Why would he need to torture me like this? "
Cai Dongcheng breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that as long as it was not that person, he no longer had any fear. That invincible sharp aura once again shone. "Then what are you thinking?"
Yang Mingsheng said, "I'm thinking … he should be watching me right now. He's hiding somewhere very close to me, watching me, watching everyone who approaches me."
As Yang Mingsheng said this, he turned his head to 'look' left and right, even though he could not see anything. "Perhaps, to find out the key to him, we don't need any clues at all. We just need to sit here and quietly wait for him. He will definitely come again …"
Cai Dongcheng frowned at first, then he suddenly understood. He suddenly stood up, surprised and angry. "You mean, he deliberately let you go? He thought you were bait to lure me out? As for you, you did as he wished and brought me here? "
"Don't be noisy!"
Yang Mingsheng slightly tilted his head, as if he was listening to something. After a moment of silence, he straightened his posture and said to Cai Dongcheng, "General Cai, I, Yang, am not a person without responsibility! I did not reveal your identity to him. When I thought I would definitely die, he did not kill me. But if he wanted to kill me, it would be very easy. I thought for a long time before I understood. He wanted to use me as bait to find other enemies! My life is obviously not enough to offset his hatred. Haha, Yang is now a cripple. I don't want to think about anything else. My only wish is to kill him! So … "
He slowly raised his head, his pitch-black nostrils like eyes staring at Cai Dongcheng. He fervently roared, "Lure him to kill you, you kill him!"
…
At night, Yang Langzhong's residence was very peaceful. At least, on the surface, it seemed very peaceful.
From this, one could see the vastness of the Minister's residence. There were so many servants, guards, and Marquis Wu, as well as patrolmen. Although they had to take three shifts a day, so only a third of them were active at night, when they spread out, it still looked the same as usual. It was still quiet and spacious, as if it had to be such a spacious residence.
It was foggy at night, and the autumn mist curled up in spirals, so the patrolling guards were even more cautious. They were afraid that the audacious assassin who dared to assassinate the disciplinary officer would suddenly appear out of the night fog and stab them with his blade. Therefore, their steps were very careful, their backs slightly bent, and they cautiously looked around, paying attention to any movement.
Yang Fan, like the other night patrolmen, walked cautiously, a saber at his waist and a gong in his hand. His steps were as light as a cat's, afraid that someone would hear him.
"Shh! Shh, shh! "
Yang Fan followed the sound and saw Maqiao, wearing a straw hat woven from tree branches, poking his head out from behind a clump of flowers and grass and waving at him. Yang Fan walked over. Maqiao whispered, "Don't keep wandering around like that. Be careful if you really run into that fiend. Just deal with him casually. When there's no one around, slack off and find a place to dawdle."
Yang Fan's heart warmed. He nodded and said, "I know. You should be careful too."
"Mm! I know, someone's coming! "
Maqiao answered and squatted down with a whoosh. Yang Fan turned to walk down the road. Two officials from the Ministry of Justice were walking side by side. They seemed to be walking casually, but their eyes were sweeping around, taking in everything in their surroundings. Their hands were tightly gripping the hilts of their sabers.
Yang Fan stood by the side of the road, waiting for the two officials to pass before continuing on the road.
The door to the first floor of the study in the rear courtyard was wide open. Light flowed out from the room and shone on the steps three feet away from the door.
There was a stool placed at the place where Mu Ninger used to brew tea. A large, stocky man was sitting on the stool, wiping his saber under the light.
The saber was a thousand-bull saber, as bright as autumn water. The large man used a deerskin rag to wipe it over and over again. Sometimes he would raise it and squint his eyes, then he would continue wiping the non-existent dirt.
He cherished this saber very much. The thousand-bull saber could cut a thousand bulls, so it was naturally a first class saber.
Cai Dong Cheng's four 'Iron Wall' experts were led by him. His name was Liu Kui.
Liu Kui did not know why Minister Cai had brought them to the Yang residence. Moreover, he had asked the four brothers to stay the night in the residence and assist Minister Liu in capturing the assassins.
They were soldiers, while Yang Langzhong was a civil official. Even if Minister Liu and Yang Langzhong had a close personal relationship, it was extremely inappropriate for him to transfer a military officer to do the work of a patrolling official.
However, Liu Kui had no complaints. Minister Cai was his superior and also his big brother. These brothers had been in the army for so many years. They had charged and broken through enemy lines together, killed enemies together, and had long since forged a deep friendship. They were like brothers.
He was good at killing people, but he was not good at dealing with people. He was even less skilled at welcoming and socializing in the official circles. Now, he was able to stand out among the Fengchen Guards and become a thousand-bull soldier. Liu Kui was very clear on this point.
The twelve thousand oxen of the Fengchen Guards did not only rely on their ability to bathe in blood on the battlefield. Among them, some relied on family connections, some relied on flattery and flattery. If it was not for Cai Langjiang's discerning eyes, after twenty years of military life, he might still only be a platoon leader, at most a lieutenant.
He knew that everything he had today was thanks to Cai Lang General, so he never questioned any of Cai Lang General's decisions. Since Cai Lang General had given them the task of guarding the courtyard, then he had to do this task well. The four brothers each guarded the four corners of Yang Lang's room, each occupying a direction in the east, south, west, and north direction.
With them here, one man could hold the pass against ten thousand enemies.
The sound of footsteps came from the stairs. Liu Kui's hand that was wiping his saber stopped and he raised his eyes to look at the steps. A youth in blue clothes and a small hat held a gong under his ribs and a wooden mallet hooked on his pinky finger as he unhurriedly walked up the steps.
Liu Kui had seen him before. He was one of the ten sentries of the inner compound. He did not remember his name, but he had some impression of this person's appearance.
The youth seemed not to have thought that there would be people here. With a shocked expression, he paced back and forth and wanted to retreat.
Liu Kui said in a low voice, "What is it?"
The youth hesitated and said embarrassedly, "This lowly one wanted to find some water to drink. I didn't expect General to be stationed here."
Although a thousand-bull soldier was a high-ranking military official, he was not a general. The youth's honorific made Liu Kui feel very comfortable. So while his face was still tense, his tone softened. "The water is over there. Pour it yourself!"
The youth let out a breath and hurriedly bowed. "Many thanks, General! Many thanks, General! "
The youth quietly entered the room and walked to a low table on the side.
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