The Heavens of Film and Television: From Serving as a Soldier

Chapter 156 Jin Mulan

Zhang Yang and his party arrived at the City God's Temple, where Jin Mulan and Yu Feng had already been waiting.

Jin Mulan saw Zhang Yang, stepped forward and said, "You are finally here."

Zhang Yang asked: "What do you want from me?"

Jin Mulan said: "I have contacted the Allied Forces and are preparing to take action in advance. Now I need your help, I need you to help me." After saying that, he excitedly took Zhang Yang's hand, and when he touched Jin Mulan on his arm, he suddenly became alert.

Zhang Yang calmly pulled out his hand and said, "I'm sorry, I can't help you."

"What do you mean?"

"I advise you not to go against Judge Dee, you can't win."

"You are all denying me, why?"

Zhang Yang looked at Jin Mulan who was going crazy and said: "You are just a crazy woman who desires for your own rights. I don't care if you do something in advance. Remember not to hurt the people in the city, and don't hurt Judge Di."

After saying that, he turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and said, "I have always known that you were the one who passed my message to the prince, and that the people behind you were also using me to play chess, right?"

"you know?"

"Of course I know. Li Gui trusted me so much the first time he met me. The prince is also investigating my news behind the scenes. Wu Zetian must know about it soon."

"then you……"

"Why am I not afraid?" Zhang Yang turned around and looked at Jin Mulan and said, "Because I am upright, so I am not afraid of those crooked ways. And if you betrayed national interests to the Turks, I promised others that I would save your life."

Zhang Yang just left, leaving Jin Mulan standing there.

……

In the main hall of the Governor's Mansion, Di Gong, Dayou, Li Yuanfang and Ji Li stood in front of the map. Lu Dayou pointed at the map and said, "This is Xiaolianzi Village. The cave should be at this location."

Judge Dee raised his head and said thoughtfully: "It's time, we should go down and take a walk."

Li Yuanfang said: "I'll notify the guards. When will we set off?"

Judge Dee smiled: "Let's go now. There are only four of us."

Soon, Duke Dee's official sedan, escorted by the guards, left the main entrance of the Governor's Mansion and walked towards the street. Not far away, two people behind the corner looked at each other. One of them said, "Follow me." The other person put on a hat and followed.

At the same time, a covered food truck slowly drove out of the back door of the Governor's Mansion. In the car, Judge Dee put on the clothes of a traveling doctor again; Ji Li's face was stained with beard and he was wearing a green-striped robe. Li Yuanfang and Lu Dayou sat opposite them.

Li Yuanfang smiled and said: "Your Majesty, your appearance reminds me of when I first entered Youzhou."

Judge Dee smiled slightly and nodded: "At that time, we caught the fake Fang Qian off guard. Now, as a rogue doctor, I want to show some color to these evil thieves who are harming the people."

Dayou laughed and said, "The folks in Xiaolianzi Village are looking forward to your arrival as soon as possible."

Judge Di said: "We must not let the villagers know, and we must not alert anyone! This operation must be kept strictly confidential!"

The night in the mountains is eerily quiet, so quiet that one can hear the heartbeat. Several figures appeared in the col of Xiaolianzi Mountain. They were Di Gong, Li Yuanfang, Lu Dayou and Ji Li. Da Youyi pointed to the fence not far in front and said, "Sir, that's where it is."

Di Gongming was a little bit of a torch. There was a bright fire, and the torch in his hand was lit, and the surrounding area suddenly became bright. Judge Dee waved his hand, and the four of them walked into the fence and came to the cave on the mountain wall.

Five or six huge stone caves are like the bloody mouth of a monster, ready to devour people at any time. Judge Dee took the torch, looked around and said, "Let's go into the cave and have a look!"

Li Yuanfang said: "Sir, I am walking in front." As he said that, Li Yuanfang walked in the front, with Di Gong and Ji Li sandwiched in the middle, and Da You walked at the end. The four of them walked forward slowly with their bodies lowered. There were a few wooden stakes standing scattered in the cave, but most of them had fallen to the ground in a mess. The cave is very deep, and there are traces of artificial excavation on the stone walls on both sides. Judge Dee stopped, stood by the stone wall and looked at it carefully, then stretched out his hand and touched it. Li Yuanfang asked: "Sir, what's wrong?" Judge Di shook his head: "Let's go."

The four of them continued to walk forward. Not far away, there was a high pile of stones, the top of which almost touched the roof of the cave. Judge Dee walked to the stone pile and stopped, bent down and picked up a stone, saying, "This is an iron ore mine."

Ji Li asked what iron stone was and what it was used for. Judge Di said: "I came into contact with it when I was the Minister of Household Affairs. These stones contain a lot of iron and can be smelted into iron blocks after being tempered by fire. China and Turks have reconciled. At that time, there was mutual trade on the border, and merchants from your country exchanged horses for our country’s iron tools.” Geely nodded and said, “I understand.”

Li Yuanfang suddenly shouted: "I understand why the villagers died here."

Di Gong said: "Yuan Fang is right. They used the ghost town as a cover to capture nearby villagers as hard labor, and sent them here to dig iron ore, smelt it into iron, build weapons and armor, and prepare for rebellion. And the fake Fang Qian used the name of the government to issue an order to close the mountain, and no one was allowed to enter. A few days ago, the fake Fang Qian rebelled against the party was exposed, and I revoked the order to close the mountain. They had no time to move, so they blocked the entrance of the cave with huge rocks and diverted water for irrigation. Kiln, kill people and silence them!"

Lu Dayou suddenly realized: "Ah, that's what happened!"

Di Gong gritted his teeth and said: "These murderous beasts! If we don't bring them to justice, how can I, Di Renjie, see the elders of Youzhou! It seems that the crux of the matter is this ghost town!"

Judge Di and Li Yuanfang decided to explore the ghost town at night. The town stands on a grave mound, with phosphorus fire flickering all around. All the houses in the town have no doors, and of course there are no people, and there is no sound, which makes this rumored home of evil spirits even more sad and terrifying. A gust of cold wind rose from the ground, and a flash of lightning flashed across the distant mountain top. Two figures appear on the streets of the ghost town. Judge Dee walked slowly, searching around with a pair of eagle-like eyes. Li Yuanfang held a steel knife in his hand.

There was another flash of lightning, followed by a rumble of thunder. Judge Dee raised his head and said, "It's going to rain." Judge Dee pointed to a house on the street, and the two of them walked in quickly. The room was dark. Outside, the rain has begun to fall. A flash of lightning lit up, and the two discovered that there was a bowl of steaming boiling water on the Eight Immortals table in front of the door.

Li Yuanfang waved the steel knife in his palm: "Sir, be careful!"

Another bolt of lightning lit up the room. Judge Dee raised his head and saw a man nailed to the wall, his teeth bared and his face covered in blood. Judge Dee screamed. Li Yuanfang asked: "Sir, what's wrong?"

Judge Dee pointed at the wall: "Look!"

Li Yuanfang quickly fired it and lifted it up. There was nothing on the wall. Judge Dee was shocked.

There was another thunder, followed by a flash of lightning, and a figure was cast on the wall. Li Yuanfang shouted: "My lord, get out of the way!" When someone arrived, he immediately pushed Duke Di aside.

It was too late to say that, but it was too soon. There were sounds of breaking through the sky, and the cold stars were coming straight towards Li Yuanfang's throat. Li Yuanfang jumped up, and the hidden weapon passed by his feet and was nailed to the wall opposite. Li Yuanfang turned around like lightning, but there was no one at the door. Judge Di asked who it was, and Li Yuanfang said he hadn't seen it. Judge Di said: "Yuanfang, leave the room immediately!" After saying that, the two of them quickly walked out of the house and returned to the street. It rained heavily, accompanied by bursts of thunder and lightning, and Di Gong and Li Yuanfang were soaked to the skin in an instant. The two of them raised their heads and were immediately stunned by the sight before them. The ghost town, which had been dark just now without any light, was now brightly lit, and every room was lit up. Moreover, four men in black were sitting at the Eight Immortals table in front of the door of each room, looking at Mr. Dee and the others quietly.

A flash of lightning lit up, and a man wearing a bamboo hat appeared at the street corner, standing quietly in the rain. A voice shouted: "I had expected that you would come here to die!"

Judge Dee wiped the rainwater from his face: "It's a sure thing to come here. It's not necessarily a matter of dying."

The man said: "Oh. Really? Kill him!"

Dozens of killers in the room slowly walked out, surrounded Judge Di and Li Yuanfang from all directions, and swarmed up. Li Yuanfang shouted angrily, and the knife in his palm turned into a cold mist, accompanied by rain and thunder and lightning, making a "chacha" sound. In an instant, blood splattered, figures flew, and five or six killers fell. However, the remaining people rushed forward like a tide. Li Yuanfang was helpless and surrounded by danger. He shouted loudly: "Sir, come into the house quickly!"

Di Gong jumped into the room next to him, and Li Yuanfang followed with his steel sword, cutting down several killers. The killers shouted wildly and rushed towards the house. Li Yuanfang blocked the door and resisted desperately.

At this critical moment, only three cannon shots were heard outside the town, followed immediately by the sound of thunderous hooves and the sound of killing. The killers were shocked, stopped their attack, and looked outside the town. A group of cavalry broke through the rain and fog and rushed into the town like a whirlwind. The leader was Jili Khan.

The killers exclaimed, "Official troops!" Before they could finish their words, the cavalry rushed forward like lightning, with cold light and screams, and the killers fell down in an instant. The rest scattered, rushing towards the outside of the town.

There was another cannon shot, and Lu Dayou, who was ambushing outside the town, led the infantry and rushed in to intercept them head-on. The killers suddenly dispersed and were divided and surrounded by the government troops.

Li Yuanfang stood in front of the door holding a steel knife, while Di Gong stood in the room and observed quietly. Lu Dayou led several officers and soldiers to rush in and reported: "Eradicated more than half of the enemy, and the rest surrendered! Jili Khan is leading the officers and soldiers to search for the remaining party members."

Judge Dee nodded: "Immediately order the troops to search the ghost town carefully!" There was a big response, "Yes!"

The sky is getting brighter. In the room, Judge Dee and Ji Li were sitting across from each other, and they were talking about something. Geely nodded repeatedly: "It makes sense. In other words, the case is not over yet."

Judge Dee smiled and nodded. Li Yuanfang rushed in and said loudly: "Sir, come and take a look!" Di Gong was stunned, exchanged glances with Ji Li, stood up and walked out quickly, following Yuanfang into the room on the left side of the street.

The gable wall in the house actually splits into two in the middle, opening up on both sides. A wide passage inside was revealed, leading nowhere. As soon as Judge Dee entered the house, he was stunned by the sight in front of him.

Li Yuanfang said: "We just searched this room, and I don't know which mechanism was touched. The wall actually opened by itself."

Judge Dee walked to the gable wall, looked around, and then looked at the passage inside: "Where does this passage lead to?"

Dayou said that he did not dare to trespass without an adult's order. Judge Dee waved his hand: "Let's go!" He strode into the passage.

The passage is very wide, and it is lit with pine pillars and is full of light. Dayou said: "Looking at the width, I'm afraid a carriage can also run through it."

Judge Dee stopped and turned around: "Well, that makes sense."

A huge stone door appeared in front, and the door was tightly closed. Lu Dayou stepped forward and pushed hard, but the thick stone door did not move at all. Judge Di said: "These two stone doors must be activated by mechanisms. Let's look for them."

Everyone spread out and looked around. Judge Dee stood in front of the door, searching around with a pair of eagle eyes. After a long time, he sighed: "Stop looking."

Everyone was stunned. Judge Dee said: "This door can only be opened from the inside. Unless gunpowder is used, it will take many times to explode. Besides, we don't have gunpowder on hand."

Li Yuanfang said: "There must be another way."

Judge Dee said: "Even if there is another way, it must only be opened from the inside. This place is designed to advance and attack, and to retreat and defend. Once the door is closed, it cannot be opened from the outside."

Lu Dayou said anxiously: "What should we do? We have found the enemy's lair, but we can't get in!"

Judge Dee's eyes lit up: "Last night, we were attacked. Where did those killers come from?"

Li Yuanfang was stunned. Judge Dee said: "There is no way they have been hiding in the house for a long time. If so, I will definitely find it."

Li Yuanfang said: "What do you mean..."

A smile appeared on Judge Dee's face: "There are passages underneath all the houses in the ghost town. The fact that those killers can appear so quickly shows this."

Li Yuanfang clapped her hands together: "Yes. Why didn't I think of that!"

Judge Di said: "Dayou is right, this road is used by carriages. In battle, its width and length can accommodate large troops attacking, so these two stone gates are particularly thick."

Li Yuanfang pondered: "I understand, you are saying that there must be a passage for individual soldiers to enter and exit."

Judge Dee nodded: "Otherwise, if everyone has to open such a heavy stone door to enter or exit, it would be troublesome and easy to be exposed. Do you still remember the house we were attacked yesterday?"

Li Yuanfang said: "Yes, let's start from that room!"

……

"Master, Xiaolianzi Mountain has been captured by the army."

"Very good. Let's wait three days after the officers and soldiers evacuate before we take action again. Let Su Qing transfer people to me."

"Yes, Master, I will send the message immediately."

"How is Tiantianju doing? Have all the chefs learned how to do it?"

"It will be open in five days."

"Very good. Give the decoration team an extra month's salary."

"Thank you, Master."

(End of this chapter)