As Huo Ling fell to the ground, Gongsun Jun, who had been equally stunned and perplexed, also lost consciousness.
Whether by coincidence or design, as Gongsun Jun fell to the ground, he landed on top of Huo Ling.
Huo Ling: "!!!"
Always resolute, Huo Ling, even as he lay on the ground, did not lose consciousness completely. However, before he could stand up, Gongsun Jun, who was lying on him, not only caused him a second injury, but also accidentally knocked their chins together on the pavement, causing Huo Ling, who was close to biting his tongue, to truly pass out.
Amidst the dark and windy night, it was a perfect time for those hidden in the shadows to stir up trouble.
After Huo Ling and Gongsun Jun fell, the two shadowy figures in dark clothes almost melded into the corner, neither of them uttering a word, but instead communicating through eye contact.
Sramu: What do we do now, Brother?
Wu/er Na: You ask me, who do I ask?
Sla Mu: Big brother?
Wu/er Na: Shut up, take them both away.
After the two quickly reached an agreement, a shadow suddenly emerged from the darkness.
Subsequently, the two, who did not notice anything unusual, came out, each taking away both Huo Ling and Gong Sunxun.
The two deftly took away Huo Ling and Gong Sunxun, leaving only half a footprint on the wall and the quiver left behind after using a disposable blow arrow.
After the two left, Ye Xiao, dressed in dark clothing, came out from behind the ivy outside the half-moon gate.
Unaware that he had lost control, Huo Ling not only had three Blue Feather Guards assigned by the three emperors beside him at all times, but even Ye Xiao had followed him since he left the banquet.
When Huo Ling and Gong Sunxun bid farewell, Ye Xiao noticed the two figures in the shadows.
However, when they tried to harm Huo Ling, Ye Xiao did not intervene immediately, and even the Blue Feather Guards guarding Huo Ling did not act rashly.
The emperor wanted to test Huo Ling and see his ability to adapt to unexpected situations. So, under the assurance that everything was under control, Ye Xiao let the two people who had infiltrated the celebration party act as they pleased.
Perhaps the only surprise was the sound of Huo Ling's chin making contact with the stone floor, so clear that even Ye Xiao outside the half-moon gate could hear it.
- I hope Your Highness won't hurt his head.
As "the best cousin" to Huo Ling, Ye Xiao's presence made up for the lack of "paternal love" for Huo Ling, but this did not prevent "old father" Ye Xiao from enjoying the spectacle of watching Huo Ling in certain situations.
Thinking it might be a good thing if Huo Ling hurt his head, Ye Xiao, knowing that the Blue Feather Guards had followed, was not in a hurry. He even took the time to play with the quiver in his hand while examining the footprints left on the wall.
As the wind blew through the silent courtyard, the moon, which had been hiding behind the clouds, was finally brought out by the gentle breeze. The clear moonlight bathed the ground, but it could not fully envelop Ye Xiao's figure standing at the boundary between light and shadow.
The dim light blurred Ye Xiao's face, and even his smile seemed elusive.
"Blow arrow of Thunder Gate?"
Recognizing the blow arrow, Ye Xiao's eyes flashed, feeling insulted by his own intelligence- obviously, he had been cautious enough to wait deliberately for a while and make sure everything was safe before coming to take away Huo Ling and the others. Why would he have left something from Thunder Gate behind?
Also, the clear half footprint on the wall obviously belonged to the official boots worn by the son of a prefect. Why was it so clear?
Were they really from Thunder Gate?
Or perhaps, were they really acting on behalf of Da Zhou?
Ye Xiao did not know if the people from Thunder Gate were involved, but as the always easygoing (?) commander of the Brocade Guards, he did not mind having a good chat with the people from Thunder Gate afterward.
Touching the half footprint on the wall and lightly pinching it between his fingers, Ye Xiao smelled the scent of grass.
With a guess in his mind, Ye Xiao lowered his eyes, revealing an ambiguous smile.
The red soil that does not exist anywhere in the county office, coupled with the grassy smell with a hint of fish, led Ye Xiao to make a direct move, ahead of the Blue Feather Guards, to a temple twenty miles from Yanchi County.
This temple, which had collapsed halfway due to a recent earthquake, was already sparsely inhabited. After becoming a dilapidated temple, it had become an ideal place for certain people to seek refuge.
Ye Xiao circled the temple, but instead of finding traces of more than two people in a place that should have had such evidence, he only found the recent traces of two people's presence.
Frowning, before Ye Xiao could continue his investigation, a commotion suddenly came from outside the temple, causing him to quickly hide behind the statue of Guanyin.
Stepping into the temple were the black-clothed men who had bound Huo Ling and Gong Sunxun.
Returning to their hiding place, the masked men threw their captives to the ground and started talking in the Northern Xinjiang dialect.
"Big brother, can I take this thing off my face?" asked the man with a beard, scratching the back of his head, while turning to the man whose hair was tied up with a handkerchief.
The man called "big brother" took off the handkerchief, revealing a head full of small braids. He glared at the bearded man, "No, you can't."
"Little Hao, the stuff the guy surnamed Huo gave us is no longer useful. We must carry this with us now and not show our faces." Thinking about the guy who brought them so much trouble by getting hurt, Wu/er Na felt angry, and even more upset that there were now only two of them left and they still needed to prevent the guy surnamed Huo from abandoning them, lest they would not be able to return to Northern Xinjiang.
"Well..."
Before Hao could finish his sentence, Wu/er Na directly slapped him on the head, "Shut up, don't annoy me!"
"Okay, big brother."
Listening behind the statue of Guanyin, Ye Xiao understood the Northern Xinjiang dialect perfectly. He could even tell from their accents which tribe in Northern Xinjiang they belonged to. Listening to their conversation, he raised an eyebrow, it seemed that these two men were part of the same group as those Northern Xinjiang people who had been silenced during the "landslide."
Never expecting there would be survivors, Ye Xiao pursed his lips, hoping that what the "surnamed Huo guy" was not as he thought, or it would be a real pity.
Thinking this, Ye Xiao made sure to conceal himself even more securely.
Wu/er Na, who was angry at the thought of the surnamed Huo guy, walked around the room and was even unhappy enough to kick the statue of Guanyin. Despite only the statue of Guanyin between him and Ye Xiao, he did not notice Ye Xiao at all.
After venting his emotions, Wu/er Na and his brother Sla Mu crouched in front of Huo Ling and Gong Sunxun, discussing with their heads together.
Seeing Huo Ling and Gong Sunxun lying side by side in front of them, Sla Mu couldn't help but laugh, "Big brother, we've caught a big fish! Haha! Is this how people in Greater Yan say it?" They had believed that they could accomplish things even without the surnamed Huo guy and caught such a big "fish"!
Different from the excited Sla Mu, Wu/er Na pointed out the mistake with a serious expression, "No, we caught the Golden Son-in-law, not a big fish. People in Greater Yan don't say they caught a big fish."
"Alright! Then we caught the Golden Son-in-law!" Sla Mu readily corrected himself, completely undeterred by his elder brother Wu/er Na's putdown.
Despite begrudgingly resisting the urge to roll his eyes at his unthinking brother, Wu/er Na pulled out a painting from his chest, directly unfolded it, and compared the portrait with the two people on the ground. He also asked Sla Mu, "Who do you think of the two is surnamed Huo?"
The guy surnamed Huo wanted to cooperate with them, yet his heart was not sincere at all, and if it weren't for their coercion and lure, they might not even have obtained the portrait.
Ha, that guy probably didn't expect them to actually do it!
Although he despised and disliked the other party, Wu/er Na and Sla Mu rigorously followed the plan provided by the other party and took Huo Ling and Gong Sunxun out of the county office. Even the half footprint they left behind was absolutely standard, with no error of more than a finger's breadth.
The only unexpected thing was a slight problem that occurred halfway through -
Wu / Erna and Sla Mu had never seen Holing. In their eyes, people from the Central Plains all looked the same, so even if someone provided them with a portrait of Holing, they wouldn't be able to figure out which of the two standing in front of them was the real one.
The person in the portrait was wearing white clothes, but the two people they brought back were both wearing white clothes, and they both had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. How were they supposed to know who was surnamed Holing?
Sla Mu had always believed whatever his older brother said, and not using his brain, suddenly felt important when his serious older brother, Wu / Erna, asked him such a question. He quickly widened his eyes and carefully observed Holing and Gongsun Xun lying on the ground from left to right.
However, even after staring until his eyes were sore, Sla Mu still couldn't see any difference between the two. He couldn't tell who was who. Seeing the similarity between the two people and the painting in Wu / Erna's hand, but unable to see the resemblance, Sla Mu resisted his urge to ask, "Brother, what if we captured the wrong person and ended up getting a pair of twins?"
"These two people look so much alike, who knows which one is which!" Wu / Erna exclaimed. "Shut up!" He smacked Sla Mu on the head, rolling his eyes. "We can't make a mistake. The only thing that could be wrong is the portrait given by that guy."
"Brother, are you saying... the guy surnamed Holing tricked us again?" Wu / Erna glared and sternly exclaimed, "What are you talking about? Shut up!"
Sla Mu, taught a lesson once again, didn't get upset. Instead of keeping quiet as ordered, he changed his tone directly, "So, the guy surnamed Holing did deceive us?"
Wu / Erna: "... Why is my little brother so stupid?"
Suppressing the urge to doubt whether the other person was born from the same womb, Wu / Erna pushed Sla Mu aside and unrolled the portrait on the ground, comparing it with the two lying on the ground, Holing and Gongsun Xun.
"Thinner than the person in the portrait? Definitely not surnamed Holing." After carefully observing Holing lying on the ground, Wu / Erna finally found a difference and couldn't help clapping his hands. "I told you, just look at him, he's a deceitful little pretty boy. It's clear that he's not related to the guy surnamed Holing."
Looking at Gongsun Xun on the side, Wu / Erna nodded to himself. "This guy is just like the guy surnamed Holing, clearly fitting the description of the 'well-dressed villain' as described by a Da Yan person. That's right."
Confirming the real Holing, Wu / Erna rolled up the portrait and put it back in his pocket. He kicked Sla Mu aside and then grabbed Gongsun Xun, lifting him up by the collar.
Shaking him awake, when Gongsun Xun lifted his head, Wu / Erna grinned behind his mask and spoke some nonstandard Da Zhou dialect. "I knew you were awake. Holing, let's have a chat."
When Wu / Erna's words fell, Ye Xiao, hidden behind the Guanyin statue, quietly put back the drawn-out embroidery knife – if they mistook the person, he would wait a little longer. Ye Xiao retreated behind the Guanyin statue, and the Qingyu guard on the roof relaxed their tense posture.
Gongsun Xun, still not fully awake and being grabbed by the collar, asked in confusion, "…? What's going on?"