Tangli Fried Snow

It was mealtime again, and Jin Cheng silently observed the soldiers delivering the food.

These soldiers are frequently replaced; there are no fixed individuals doing the same task.

The soldiers who came in to deliver food were not allowed to bring anything else; their hands were only allowed to hold food and drink, and they would leave immediately after delivering the food.

They wouldn't talk to him. Every time, Jin Cheng would try to talk to them. Human language is so magical. As long as you chat with someone, people will go from being hostile to becoming familiar. Even the closest people will become strangers if they don't talk.

Jin Cheng always tries his best to communicate with them.

"Hey, how old are you? What's your name?"

"The food was good today, have you eaten?"

"You're so ugly, no girl would ever be interested in you."

"Are all you Southern Army soldiers pigs? You send over pig feed every day, why don't you bring me some meat to eat?!"

No one spoke to him, and some wouldn't even make eye contact with him. No matter what he said, how he behaved, or how hard he tried to provoke them, the people who came in treated him like he wasn't there.

He secretly used the iron cage to rub the iron chains on his hands, but it didn't do much good. However, he was bored and always wanted to find something to do besides exercising.

Today, an older soldier came to bring him food. He was hunched over, but his eyes were sharp, and he looked him up and down.

Jin Cheng glanced at him a few times without showing any emotion, but didn't notice anything unusual. Who knew that when the old soldier handed him his food, he would say something to him: "Today's buns are filled with fennel."

Jin Cheng's body trembled violently; he had already recognized his voice.

This man is one of my father's most trusted subordinates, Mr. Luo Chuan.

He was overjoyed, knowing that Luo Chuan was the best at disguising himself and had come here at great risk to see his current appearance.

He quickly lifted his face so that he could see clearly, and even showed him his clothes and shoes.

The old soldier glanced at him a few more times before hurrying away.

Jin Cheng's heart was pounding, but he couldn't show it on his face, so he could only lower his head and eat to hide his excitement.

. . . .

Wen Xiangli was waiting outside to meet Mr. Luo Chuan. He was relieved to see him return safely.

They had been in Xuzhou for a full twenty days, and today they finally arranged everything and sent Mr. Luochuan in to meet Jin Cheng.

Jin Yunchong delivered crucial information, saying that Duan Jingyu and Xu Daoan were going to marry, and the group focused all their efforts on the city garrison. Coincidentally, Xuzhou was the city where Wen Xiangli's brother-in-law studied, and he had been there several times, so he was somewhat familiar with it. Even more coincidentally, one of his cousins ​​was Xu Fu, the chief steward of the city garrison.

He first took the opportunity to contact Xu Fu, invited him out for drinks and entertainment several times, and sent many things to his family. When his youngest son turned one year old, he wrapped up six small yellow croakers for him, which finally moved him.

Xu Fu revealed some information about Duan Jingyu to them.

Duan Jingyu will come to the city garrison on the 18th of this month to discuss marriage matters.

Jiang Qimo followed Duan Jingyu for seven days and seven nights, figuring out the exact location where Jin Cheng was imprisoned.

It turned out he was being held captive in a mine.

During this time, Wen Xiangli was not idle either. He contacted his former classmates and subordinates and thoroughly investigated all the thousands of soldiers guarding Jin Cheng. Duan Jingyu could not possibly use all of these thousands of people as his own loyal troops from the Southern Army. There must be soldiers from Xuzhou City among them. He went through every minor officer and found that a squad leader was a local from Xuzhou who liked to drink, gamble, and play with women. Such a person would definitely be short of money at times.

Wen Xiangli bribed the loan sharks at the casino, first setting up a scheme to make him lose everything, then making him owe several dozen taels of silver. It wasn't a huge amount, not enough to force him to sell his house or land, but it wasn't a small amount either, enough to embezzle several years' worth of his military pay.

Jiang Qimo then disguised himself as a wealthy businessman and mediated between them, saying that he had someone here who wanted to find a job and asked if he could arrange it for him.

For just a small yellow croaker, they sent the disguised Mr. Luochuan to become a cook.

Luo Chuan regained his former physique, no longer hunched over. Wen Xiangli asked, "How was it? Did you see him?"

Luo Chuan said, "Yes, I saw him. Luckily, you are reliable and capable enough to let me meet him. His physique and appearance have changed dramatically. If I hadn't met him, the mask I made based solely on my memory would have been vastly different, full of flaws, and the operation would have failed."

The two returned to an inconspicuous house, where Jiang Qimo and Hong Zhiying were waiting for them.

Those inside the house were overjoyed to see the two return safely. Jiang Qimo asked, "How was it? Did you see them?"

The two nodded, and all four of them smiled.

Hong Zhiying said, "That's great! How's Jin Cheng?"

Luo Chuan said, "He's doing well. He's still in good spirits. He recognized me as soon as I opened my mouth. I just don't know if there are any people listening in there, so I didn't speak to him rashly."

Luo Chuan took out two exquisite masks and said to them, "This Jin Cheng mask also needs to have a beard added. I didn't expect him to look like that now. Come here." He called Hong Zhiying over, looked him over for a few moments, and put the mask on his face. "But it's not difficult for me. With a few slight changes, such as modifying the shape and color of the sideburns and eyebrows, and adding a beard, people who don't know him well won't be able to see the flaws. It will definitely fool those guards."

He stretched out his fingers and tidied up his eyes and hairline, then smiled and said, "Luckily, the joints are all in places with lots of hair. The joints still need to be coated with a layer of glue. You two have similar expressions and temperaments, which makes things much easier. I still need to do some repairs, which will take about a day or two."

After saying that, he took off Jin Cheng's mask and put on Hong Zhiying's mask, saying, "As for yours, it also needs to be modified. We need to add some glue to fill it. It will take two or three days to modify both masks."

All three nodded, indicating that waiting a few more days would be fine, and their heavy mood eased considerably.

Jiang Qimo asked curiously, "Sir, you are truly amazing. You can make such a lifelike mask just from memory. What material did you use to make it?"

Luo Chuan, pleased with the person's appreciation, happily showed him the mask, explaining in detail as she gestured: "First, a special clay is used to sculpt the person's features. After it dries, it undergoes meticulous carving to ensure it looks exactly like the real person. As for the material of this mask, it's made from the belly of an ancient rare beast, which is very precious. It's combined with the gelatinous substance derived from boiling pig skin and trotters, along with a unique secret recipe, and is made bit by bit. Finally, the eyebrows, eyes, and lips are painted using tools used by women for makeup, and then it's complete."

He added smugly, "It sounds simple, but there are very few people in the whole world who can actually do it. If you start learning from a master now, it will take at least eight years to complete your apprenticeship."