lcionline Chapter 217 The Mystery of the Murder of the Deposed Crown Prince
Chapter 217 The Mystery of the Murder of the Deposed Crown Prince
Seeing the man called Sixth Master leaving with his men, the two men who were left behind to guard the ox cart driver and his family angrily drove away all the onlookers on the road, and Shen Wen and his men were no exception.
Xiao Mao took Shen Wen for a distance, then went deep into the woods. The person who had contacted Xiao Mao came out to meet him. It was Cai Tou and a young man named Shou Wang. Cai Tou took Shen Wen and said, "Master Guan sent us here to bring the wounded soldier who was saved by the owner of the manor to see you."
Shen Wen was surprised and asked, "Him? Why did you send him to see me?"
Cai Tou said, "I don't know the details. We were walking on the road when one of the captured wounded soldiers suddenly got angry and grabbed the wounded soldier who was saved by the owner of the manor by the neck, trying to strangle him to death. No one could stop him."
The young man named Shouwang quickly continued, "I know, I know, I saw it clearly. Someone was gossiping about the family of Shen Houfu in the capital, and as they were chatting, there was a rumor that you, the owner of the manor, are the son of the Shen family. The wounded soldier who was just saved by you, somehow went crazy again, muttering things that only he knew. Another brother and I stayed by his side and observed for a while, in case he had another epileptic seizure and bit his tongue, and no one treated him in time. After waiting for a long time, the man didn't have another seizure, so we relaxed and slowed down to drink two sips of water, and they became chaotic. The guy we saw who wanted to kill people to silence them was a ruthless person. Five or six people tried to pull his hands that were pinching the man's neck, but they couldn't pull him away. He looked like he was possessed by a ghost, and he vowed to strangle the man to death and would not stop until he died."
Shen Wen asked: "What happened next?"
Shouwang said, "We finally managed to pull them apart. After the wounded soldier you rescued recovered, he shouted loudly and insisted on seeing you, the owner of the manor. We called Master Guan over, and they talked for a few words. Master Guan then assigned Cai Tou and me to bring the wounded soldier to see you."
Shen Wen asked, "Where is that person?"
Shouwang quickly pointed behind him and said, "He's leaning against that little elm tree."
Shen Wen immediately followed Shouwang and Cai Tou to take a look.
The wounded soldier was still sleeping and was woken up by Cai Tou pushing him twice.
When the wounded soldier saw that it was really Shen Wen, his expression became strange, his eyes rolled, and he immediately knelt on the ground and crawled to Shen Wen's feet, crying, "Master, please save my life! I just want to live. I am a coward. I just want to live well. I am so young and I don't want to die."
Shen Wen held the man and said, "Tell me why you asked me to save your life. Aren't you alive and well? No one in our team wants you to die."
The man didn't answer and just kept wailing.
Shen Wen said: "You can't explain it clearly, why should I save you?"
After waiting for a while, the man wiped his tears and said, "Can I talk to the owner of the manor alone?"
Shen Wen signaled Xiao Mao and the others to go somewhere farther away.
The man saw them walking away and then said, "My name is Li De, and my ancestral home is... a villager of Lijia Village, Liangqing Mountain, Dai County. When I was twelve years old, my family was broken up and I was forced to beg for a living in other places. Later, I was taken in by a kind-hearted military officer and was fortunate enough to become a soldier. After three years of training in the army, one day, the superiors sent a secret order, selecting a hundred people like us and running from the distant border to the vicinity of the capital to do business. At that time, the court was in turmoil, and a good prince was deposed. Our companions who worked secretly together were secretly discussing this matter. Who knew that we later learned that the superiors ordered us to kill the forces of the deposed prince. This is not the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing is that at that time there was a scholar named Zhong, and his three-room house had mysterious and unpredictable power. The superiors asked us to kill the forces of the deposed prince, which meant that we had to fight against the three-room house! It made us panic."
Shen Wen remained calm, seeing that he was still frightened and panicked, and waited until he calmed down a little before asking, "What happened next?"
The wounded soldier Li De said: "There was a man called Qi Ye who was about 20 years old. He later became our leader. He got the news and led us to Liangqing Mountain in Dai County in secret... There is a Hongni Village in Liangqing Mountain... Under the leadership of Qi Ye, we killed everyone in the village..."
Shen Wen was not in a hurry to ask him about the details. He asked, "Anything else?"
Li De said: "The deposed prince was indeed hiding in Hongni Village, but he was escorted by his men to escape to the mountains of Liangqing Mountain. We tracked them overnight and later found them. Under the leadership of the Seventh Master, we also wiped them out."
Shen Wen said: "You mean, it was you who killed the deposed crown prince?"
Li De quickly denied it, "I heard later that the man we killed was not the real deposed crown prince. He was a fake and a substitute."
Shen Wen said: "I believe what you said is true. Now I ask you, what is the surname of the Seventh Master you mentioned? Do you know his real name?"
Li De said, "I don't know! Otherwise, I wouldn't... I have been hiding for so many years, never daring to stay in a team for too long. Every time I joined a regiment, I asked the superiors to change my name. I know that those companions who killed people in Liangqing Mountain like me were secretly killed. They all died inexplicably. Who would dare to keep us alive after doing such a thing?"
Shen Wen said: "If you don't answer the questions I ask, I can't save you."
Li De's eyelids drooped and he said, "I dare not not tell the truth. I really don't know the name of that Seventh Master, but I have been paying attention and making inquiries for so many years. His surname should be Shen. Now that so many years have passed, he is middle-aged. People should call him Master Shen Qi." As he said that, he glanced at Shen Wen with the side of his eyes, looking at his expression seriously.
Shen Wen said: "Master Shen Qi, so your last name is Shen, and it's the same last name as mine."
Shen Wen thought for a moment and said, "I heard that you were almost strangled to death by your own people in Guan Yonghuan's team just now. I think you are really afraid of death. Since you can persuade Uncle Guan to send you to see me, I think you don't have to hide it. Just tell me everything you want to say, and then discuss with me how you want me to protect you."
Li De knelt on the ground, thought carefully, and clenched his fists and said, "Let me be frank. The man who plotted to kill the deposed prince was Master Shen Qi from your Hou Mansion. I was a soldier under General Shen Yan in the past. Over the years, I have escaped their assassination attempts many times. They will definitely not let me go. Besides... I really saw a ghost that night. It was a wronged spirit seeking my life! Master Shen, you are the successor chosen by Mr. Zhong. Now that you have such a great power, you should eliminate the villains in the Shen family, control the Shen Hou Mansion, and take in the power of General Shen Yan at the border."
Shen Wen looked at Li De and said, "You know a lot."
Li De realized it later and was afraid that his words would provoke Shen Wen's murderous intention again. He hurriedly said, "I am afraid enough! I just want to hide under the protection of Master Shen. Only when Master Shen becomes stronger and stronger, I can live in peace! Master Shen is different from them. He is an upright and kind person."
As the two were talking, they heard a commotion outside the woods, along with the frightened crying of a woman.
At this time, Xiao Mao ran over and stopped a few steps away, looking as if he wanted to say something but hesitated. He knew that the elder had something confidential to discuss and he shouldn't have come to disturb him rashly, so he just gestured to Shen Wen from a distance.
Shen Wen called him over and asked, "What's going on?"
Xiao Mao said, "Those two bastards who beat people with whips are really not good people. They fell in love with the driver's daughter and daughter of the ox cart driver, and forced them into the forest to do that kind of thing. They are really looking for death."
Shen Wen said: "Let's go and take a look."
Shen Wen looked back at Li De, and Xiao Mao also looked at Li De and said to Shen Wen, "Young Master, go ahead. I'll take the wounded soldier behind."
Shen Wen didn't say anything and walked forward alone.
When Shen Wen arrived at the scene, he did not see the driver's family being bullied. He saw Cai Tou and Shou Wang lying on top of the murderer, beating him violently.
Another man who was guarding the driver outside seemed to notice something was wrong. He stretched his neck and shouted into the woods: "Hey! What's going on with you? It sounds different from usual. Are you okay?"
Cai Tou and Shou Wang exchanged glances, and Cai Tou said, "I'll go out and deal with that guy first. If I can't deal with him, you can sneak over and attack him. Anyway, we can't let these two guys go."
Shouwang agreed with Caitou's idea and said, "You can go ahead. That bad guy is no match for you. We can't just let this guy who we knocked out go. I'll take off his belt and tie his hands and feet."
The driver's daughter, who was dragged into the woods and witnessed all this, was still in shock. She huddled up under a tree, not daring to run around. She just kept crying and had lost her own opinion.
Shen Wen took a look at the woman, fortunately her clothes were intact. Shen Wen said to Shouwang: "How is your kung fu? When his accomplices come back soon, we will have a hard fight with them."
Shouwang smiled and said, "Don't worry, Master. I have more than ten years of martial arts experience, so it's no problem for me to deal with these people."
Xiao Mao brought Li De and followed Shen Wen, standing at the edge of the woods. They watched Cai Tou walk up to the man and pointed at him and cursed, "You are such a beast. You bully decent women in broad daylight. Did you crawl out of your mother's belly? Your mother gave birth to you in vain. I'm going to beat you to death and tell you to be reborn as a human being. No! You should be reborn as a beast."
It was the first time that the man was scolded so harshly by someone. He became so angry that his face turned red. He rolled up his sleeves and raised his fist to fight Cai Tou.
Cai Tou had anticipated this and with quick eyes and hands, he dodged the incoming fist and kicked the man on the back of the head with an extremely fast kick, causing him to stagger.
The two of them fought each other like a dragon and a tiger.