Chapter 489: Not Recognized

Soon, the two of them came out from the back door of the rice shop, leading a horse.

A single fine-scaled steed was worth ten thousand pieces of gold, and Bai's Rice Shop only owned three of them.

Galloping horses were forbidden inside the city. After exiting the city gate, the two of them shared one horse and galloped away, as twilight had already fallen.

Wu Jinliang had already caught up with Lao Changtai. They rode side by side through the Heart-Winding Grass forest, their bodies separating and rejoining as they pressed forward together, periodically encountering the tall Heart-Winding Grass blocking their path.

"How many people?"

"Only ten so far."

"Continue to tail them," Wu Jinliang said, then abruptly stopped in the forest.

Lao Changtai was puzzled. He looked back while still riding, but Wu Jinliang's figure was already indistinct behind the dense Heart-Winding Grass.

Based on the direction of the culprits' escape, Wu Jinliang silently calculated the speed and distance. He suddenly turned his palm and released wind scales, his entire body rising into the air again. He still didn't fly high, staying close to the ground, but moved in an arc.

He didn't fly far before the fluttering scales fell back into his palm, converging and retracting as if sand gathering into a tower.

As he landed in the tall grass, he conjured a large gourd onto his back. The gourd's stopper popped open, and he closed his eyes, concentrating, listening for sounds. First, he heard the rustling of insects and the evening breeze swaying the grass blades.

Outside, the sky was already dim. His tall figure was partially obscured by the high grass, appearing somewhat hazy.

Soon, faint rustling sounds approached.

A masked man, with iron chains wrapped around his arm, was rushing ahead to clear the path when he was suddenly startled. He saw a figure in the grass ahead, braked urgently, and shouted, "Who's there?"

A group of masked men appeared swiftly behind him, stopping one after another.

This group of masked men didn't recognize Wu Jinliang. However, Huang Yingying, who was being carried on someone's shoulder with a face full of panic, was startled. Others might not recognize him, but how could he not recognize Wu Jinliang?

He didn't know why he would encounter Wu Jinliang here. If not for the masked man's shout, he would have suspected Wu Jinliang was the mastermind behind these masked men.

Although he didn't know if Wu Jinliang could save him, his first reaction was to call for help. However, he couldn't speak or move, as restrictions had been placed on his body. He could only blink hard, hoping Wu Jinliang would understand his intention.

Wu Jinliang remained calm, coolly observing these strangely dressed people. He counted them: exactly ten.

His calmness alone made the masked men feel uneasy.

The masked men exchanged glances. They neither wanted to leave anyone alive nor dared to act rashly without knowing the opponent's background. For a moment, they were caught in a dilemma.

Wu Jinliang had no time to waste with them. He suddenly waved his sleeve at them, then charged towards them.

Seeing the opponent make the first move, the masked men instantly had no choice. They were about to grab their weapons and retaliate, but soon all sensed something unusual. They felt a lagging force around their bodies, then became completely immobilized, unable to move even a finger. All of them showed terror in their eyes.

Huang Yingying, who was already unable to move, didn't feel much of a difference.

The charging Wu Jinliang was like plucking melons by sweeping leaves, knocking down the defenseless masked men one by one.

As the masked man carrying him fell, a storm of shock arose in Huang Yingying's mind. "Is this young man so powerful?" he wondered. He hadn't even seen how Wu Jinliang attacked, yet an entire group had been knocked down.

Wu Jinliang didn't pay him attention for now. He took out the wind scales again and shouted into the forest, "This place is not good for staying long. Let's go."

So Lao Changtai flashed out from the forest, but he had already masked himself. He didn't know that Wu Jinliang intended to silence all these people, so to facilitate future actions, he temporarily kept his true face hidden.

Lao Changtai gathered the fallen group together. Wu Jinliang, riding the wind scales, enveloped the group and ascended. This time, he didn't fly close to the grass, but directly flew towards the sky...

When the two rice shop attendants, riding one horse, arrived at Zhelan Slope, the sky had already turned completely dark, but they still saw three bodies in a pool of blood.

The two carriages pulling spirit rice were not at the scene. Frightened during the incident, they had bolted into the Heart-Winding Grass forests on both sides. Hampered by their carriages, they hadn't run far and by then had calmed down, quietly munching on the Heart-Winding Grass.

The rice shop attendant found the two carriages by following the sounds.

There was no need for discussion. One remained at the scene, while the other rode the fine-scaled steed back at full speed like a gust of wind.

By the time he returned to Dazhi City, it was completely dark. He galloped to the city gate before slowing to a trot.

The rapid clatter of hooves approaching made Bai Qiru, who was sitting quietly in the shop, sense something amiss.

As soon as she stood up, she saw the attendant dismount his horse and run in frantically, reporting in a trembling voice: "Madam, something terrible has happened! Fangzi and the others are in trouble; they were killed at Zhelan Slope, and Master Huang's whereabouts are unknown."

Bai Qiru's eyes sharpened as she coldly said, "You stay here and watch the shop."

There were no other attendants left in the shop; she had just been personally guarding it.

After speaking, she flashed out, her skirt fluttering as she moved swiftly. She pushed off the back of the fine-scaled steed blocking the doorway, soared into the air, found her direction, and flew horizontally across the sky.

The attendant quickly ran to the doorway to watch her leave, still looking pale with lingering fear.

"Who is flying without permission within the city!"

The city gate guards saw someone about to fly directly overhead. Someone shouted loudly, and several people flew up to intercept.

Bai Qiru's cold voice rang out in the air: "Something has happened at home; I am acting under urgency. I will apologize to the city lord later."

After speaking, she didn't wait for their agreement. She flashed through a gap in their interception.

The airborne guards looked at each other, recognizing who it was. Although she had given an explanation, two of them still broke off to pursue her.

In a pavilion not too far from Bai's Rice Shop, Mei You, behind the window lattice, could clearly see the comings and goings at the rice shop.

Seeing Bai Qiru's urgent departure, he took out a parent-child talisman and sent an inquiry: "What's the situation?"

At this moment, Wu Jinliang had already reached the mountainous area on the outskirts of the vast grassland. He found a temporary cave to hide in, using a few grains of sandalwood golden flames for illumination.

The masks of the ten masked men had naturally been removed. Lao Changtai was searching them, attempting to find anything that could identify them among their personal belongings.

Wu Jinliang knew more about the situation, and his method for identifying them was simple. He directly unsealed Huang Yingying's speech acupoint and asked, "You recognize them all, don't you?"

When Huang Yingying saw the true faces of the culprits, he gasped. His eyes darted around for a while, full of apprehension and uncertainty. Then, as if thinking of something, he glanced at Wu Jinliang and the masked Lao Changtai, and suddenly shook his head repeatedly, saying, "I don't know them. I've never seen them. I don't know who they are."

A look of surprise flashed across the faces of the ten masked men, and they were somewhat relieved.

However, the waist tokens identifying them as officials of Dazhi City were one by one searched out by Lao Changtai and thrown, item by item, at Wu Jinliang's feet.

Wu Jinliang nudged the waist tokens with his foot, glanced at Huang Yingying, and couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't believe Huang Yingying didn't recognize any of Dazhi City's officials, unless they had deliberately faked the tokens.

Not seeing anything of high value, a parent-child talisman that began to emit a faint glow caught Wu Jinliang's attention. He picked it up and looked. Then he showed the words "What's the situation?" on it to the ten masked men sitting against the wall and asked, "Whose is this? It has a secret mark. How do I reply? If you can give me an explanation, give me a look."

However, he didn't get the desired reaction.

Wu Jinliang chuckled. He casually picked up a dagger found during the search on the ground. Then he casually grabbed one of them, seizing the back of his head and pressing him against the cave wall. The dagger was thrust into the wall near his neck, and with a forceful pull against the throat, a gush of blood spurted directly onto the cave wall.

He let go, and the person fell to the ground. It was more casual than slaughtering a chicken, making Huang Yingying's heart pound in terror.

The other nine masked men were no different. Even Lao Changtai's mouth, hidden behind his mask, couldn't help but twitch.

Wu Jinliang, holding the bloody dagger, asked the next person, "Can you give me the answer I want?"

The man's eyes immediately darted frantically. He was scared and desperate.

So Wu Jinliang unsealed his speech acupoint. The man immediately gasped, saying, "It's Qiu Laosan's. He knows how to reply."

"Who is Qiu Laosan?" Wu Jinliang asked, pulling the man by the hand and making him face his eight companions to identify.

The man angrily gestured with his chin towards a burly man.

Wu Jinliang then said, "I only give three people a chance to live. I hope you cherish it. Who sent you?"

The man hesitated for a moment, but finally bit the bullet and replied, "Mei You, the Assistant Tax Supervisor."

Wu Jinliang threw him aside. He then went and unsealed Qiu Laosan's speech acupoint, shaking the parent-child talisman in his hand, and said, "Teach me how to reply."

Qiu Laosan said, "It depends on what you want to reply. Just add the character 'rice' at the end of the message as a secret mark."

Wu Jinliang: "I want to stabilize him first."

This was the truth. His current situation hadn't been fully dealt with, and if he could delay the mastermind's reaction, it would naturally be safer.

Qiu Laosan: "Then just say you've succeeded."

Wu Jinliang didn't care if there was a trick. He immediately used the parent-child talisman as instructed and sent a reply.

The parent-child talisman quickly showed a message feedback: "Excellent, return quickly."

Wu Jinliang put away the parent-child talisman. He saw that the one who had died earlier had now transformed into a massive mountain boar. He then smiled at the other masked men and said, "If you can't prove that what they said is accurate, then they have earned the right to live. As for you, there seems to be no need to keep you alive."

He didn't just talk; he immediately took action. He grabbed another person and pressed him against the wall. With a pull of the dagger, blood splattered on the wall again.

He let go, then grabbed the next person, whose eyes were rolling wildly.

Wu Jinliang let out an "oh" and asked, "Do you perhaps have something to say?"

The man's eyes immediately moved up and down, almost making his head nod along.

So Wu Jinliang unsealed his speech acupoint. The man's eyes immediately darted to Huang Yingying, and he urgently said, "He's lying! Huang Yingying is lying! He knows us, and has known us for many years!"

Huang Yingying's old face immediately twisted into an awkward grimace, like a bitter gourd. He looked at the blood-dripping dagger in Wu Jinliang's hand, his eyes filled with panic.

Wu Jinliang turned his head to look at him and chuckled, "Old Huang, are you lying, or is he lying? I think he's lying. I came to save you; how could you possibly deceive me?"