ebookland Chapter 523 Missing Persons
Chapter 523 Missing Persons
thump!
With a splash of water, dozens of black figures appeared in Lin Ping and Jiang Mo's line of sight.
"Sigh, another round of arrests. Hopefully, we'll have a good haul this time," one of the men in black sighed.
“Last time we captured a hundred people, but only twenty survived. Most of them drowned in the water. With such weak bodies, they won’t amount to anything even if they enter the Lotus Palace,” another person said from the side.
"Let's go, or people will say we're slacking off if they see us."
Their voices were very soft, but Jiang Mo heard every single one of them.
"How did you know there were people underwater?" After the Lotus Palace disciple left, Jiang Mo stared at Lin Ping with suspicion.
"I'm not blind. There are bubbles in the water, how could there be no one?" Lin Ping replied seriously.
He can't very well reveal the functions of his left and right eyes, or he'll be used as a guinea pig for experiments.
"Did it bubble? I didn't notice it," Jiang Mo muttered to himself. He couldn't remember how much movement there had been in the water just now.
"What were those people whispering about? They looked really reluctant," Lin Ping quickly changed the subject.
"It seems they were going to arrest people, and quite a few drowned." Jiang Mo repeated what he had heard verbatim.
"Arrest someone? Could it be that Lotus Palace is short of people?" Lin Ping's mind raced, considering every possibility.
"Who cares? Since we know the cave entrance is underwater, let's go in and take a look," Jiang Mo said eagerly.
Lin Ping rolled his eyes at him, as if to say, "You think you can get into the water with a body like that? You'll be asking me to carry you, and who knows if you'll grab my shoulders and start moving around."
"Is it really a good idea to force our way in? Are you sure we won't get arrested?" Lin Ping retorted.
If he guessed correctly, the Lotus Palace was right after he entered the cave, and there were likely experts guarding it.
Let alone rescuing Jiang Yunying, even escaping capture is a problem.
"Get caught? Since forcing our way in won't work, we might as well just walk right into their trap!" Lin Ping had a sudden inspiration and came up with a solution.
"I hate people who only say half of what they mean. Hurry up and tell me your plan," Jiang Mo asked anxiously.
He also felt that forcing his way in was not the best option, as it might leave him with no chance to escape.
"Didn't those people just say that Lotus Palace is arresting people? Do you know why they're arresting people?" Lin Ping asked Jiang Mo.
"Speak up, stop talking nonsense." Jiang Mo placed the sword directly against Lin Ping's neck, his patience completely exhausted.
"Don't be impulsive, let me explain slowly." Lin Ping pinched the blade with his fingers and carefully removed the longsword, already drenched in cold sweat.
"Since Guo Zhixi dared to openly resist the imperial army, it means that the Lotus Palace was about to take action, which is why they arrested a large number of civilians to serve as cannon fodder for the Lotus Palace."
Lin Ping explained methodically.
"What is a cannon fodder unit?" Jiang Mo asked, puzzled.
"That is to say, the Lotus Palace cannot expect hundreds of experts to destroy the entire Martial Kingdom. They must have ordinary soldiers. The people they captured are the selected elites."
"If we deliberately get caught, we can become disciples of the Lotus Palace openly and legitimately."
"No, I can't betray my sect and join the Lotus Palace." Jiang Mo refused without hesitation.
Seeing his straightforward manner, Lin Ping was furious: "We only pretended to be disciples of the Lotus Palace to rescue my wife, so as not to betray your Crimson Sun Pavilion."
"I didn't expect you to be so cunning. Let's hurry down the mountain." Jiang Mo suddenly realized.
"That's called being smart, not being cunning!" Lin Ping clearly didn't like Jiang Mo's assessment.
To avoid being detected by the enemy, they followed at a distance of over a thousand meters.
Anyway, Jiang Mo's nose is sharper than a dog's, so he's not afraid of losing them.
It wasn't until evening that a dozen or so Lotus Palace disciples finally descended the mountain and went to different places.
Most of them went directly into the city, clearly having already made arrangements with the city's guards.
If the Prefect of Ningcheng hadn't colluded with the Lotus Palace, how could the news of daily population shortages in the city have been suppressed?
Not only the prefect, but even the city lord of Ningguo Prefecture is in cahoots with the Lotus Palace.
Lin Ping finally understood the king's predicament; no wonder he was so eager to send him to lead troops to attack the Lotus Palace.
However, he had a doubt about the strength of the Lotus Palace and overestimated Lin Ping's strength.
How could a mere ten thousand cavalrymen possibly defeat the Lotus Palace, which is full of experts, especially with the secret assistance of the four city lords?
"Alas... this battle is inevitable." Lin Ping shook his head helplessly, knowing that a fierce battle between the imperial court and the Lotus Palace was bound to take place.
As the great general, he was also the first to be affected, and he always felt that he had fallen into the king's trap.
The position of Grand General is a trap, a pitfall he dug himself.
"Hmph, I'm going to elope with my wife and not care about the court's mess. Isn't it better to lie in bed and live off a woman? Why should I go and confront the Lotus Palace head-on?" Lin Ping thought to himself.
He and Jiang Mo entered the city later, but were questioned and searched by a group of guards.
"Ignoring the assassins from Lotus Palace, yet relentlessly questioning two ordinary passersby—is that really fulfilling your duty?" Lin Ping was practically cursing.
If these were guards from the Jiangcheng City Lord's Mansion, they would probably have been dealt with by military law long ago.
Fortunately, Lin Ping had prepared in advance, placing the shotgun in his crotch to create the proper shape, thus avoiding detection.
Jiang Mo had already thrown away the broken sword and kept grumbling that Lin Ping should pay for it.
"Are you from out of town?" one of the guards asked Lin Ping with suspicion.
Lin Ping nodded. This was undeniable; he didn't speak the local dialect, nor could he fake it.
"Ningcheng is one of the top cities in the Wu Kingdom, especially lively at night. Even after midnight, it's still brightly lit, which is a good opportunity for you outsiders to broaden your horizons," the soldier said sarcastically.
"Looking down on people from other places?" Lin Ping almost lost his temper.
"It seems they know that the Lotus Palace disciples arrest people every night, and they deliberately made us go out late at night to get arrested. Because we are from out of town, even if we disappeared into thin air, no one would report it to the authorities," Jiang Mo explained.
Lin Ping also guessed the meaning and glared fiercely at the soldiers.
It appears that all the outsiders in Ningguo Prefecture have been arrested.
"Thanks for reminding us, we'll be out." Lin Ping quickly masked his anger with a smile.
Even if the soldier didn't warn them, they would still be arrested if they went out late at night.
He was simply speaking out for those outsiders who were unaware of the situation.
To demonstrate his identity as an outsider, Lin Ping chose to stay at an inn.
This is definitely a sheep village for the disciples of Lotus Palace, with a house full of fat little sheep. You can catch whoever you want.
"Sir, sir, would you like to stay at the inn?" The innkeeper walked cautiously to Lin Ping and asked with a heavy heart.
"The owner doesn't seem willing to let us stay at the hotel," Lin Ping asked curiously.
"Sir, you look kind, so I won't lie to you, but our shop has been haunted lately. Several of our customers have disappeared. You'd better try another shop," the shop owner whispered in Lin Ping's ear.