After deceiving the villain, I was forced to love him.

An Luoshi's bandages had been changed seven times, and by then she was exhaling more than she was inhaling; she really didn't want to waste any more time.

"We use blinking to indicate affirmation (one blink), negation (two blinks), and no blinking to indicate uncertainty."

An Luo blinked.

How many groups of people ambushed you this time?

"one?"

"......"negative

"two?"

"......"negative

"three?"

"......"affim.

Now Baili Ce had a better understanding of the situation: "Are there any Wang Qingyan or members of the Wang family among these three groups?"

Anluo blinked twice unexpectedly.

Hmm... That's strange.

The private army did not belong to Wang Qingyan, nor did he pursue An Luoshi.

Could it be that she's being too suspicious and has misunderstood him?

From beginning to end, Wang Qingyan simply wanted to protect her and, incidentally, find a fellow villager.

wrong!

Based on An Luoshi's previous attitude towards Wang Qingyan, she wouldn't be wrong.

Bai Li Ce simply skipped over the question for now, "If it's not the Wang family... then it must be the He family?!"

“…” An Luo blinked without hesitation.

Then it started struggling again, making whimpering noises.

He forced out a few words, "Sound, sound... paper..."

box?

Bai Li Ce followed his gaze and looked at a table directly opposite the bed.

The table doesn't look special, it's not made of any precious wood, and the workmanship is quite rough.

However, when you open the cabinet, there is indeed a box without a lid inside.

It's obvious at a glance that it's something used to store miscellaneous items.

Bai Li Ce rummaged through the items, and with An Luo Shi's "cooperation," picked out two extremely heavy iron balls, several belts, and an old, faded congratulatory invitation.

After checking them one by one, I discovered that the contents of the congratulatory invitations were actually written on the back.

Congratulatory message—

behind?!

Bai Li Ce had a sudden realization and turned to sit back on the edge of the bed. "You mean the main force behind the He family this time was the one that made the move?!"

Anlu expressed his approval.

She's enlightened!

Then another possibility came to mind: "This force... is even more powerful than the Wang family's?!"

An Luo's expression was blank, seemingly a little confused... but he did blink heavily once.

"That......"

This is the last question: "Do you still believe that the person you met when you were seven years old was Wang Qingyan?"

An Luo's face showed a hint of suspicion, as if he didn't know what he was thinking either.

But in the end, he still blinked twice.

It just looks much more difficult than before.

Is this... a lamp that's run out of oil and doesn't even have the strength to blink?

Or perhaps... the answer is wrong.

Out of caution, Baili Ce repeated the question he had just asked.

"..." blinked twice.

And just like before, he looked like he was having a very difficult time.

"Alright, you can rest now." Baili Ce immediately left An Luoshi's place to find out about Ming Xiang from the second-in-command.

Although the He family has a larger power behind them, which does fit the previous speculation, it does not prove that Wang Qingyan is not a suspect.

She absolutely could not afford to make another mistake before she had a complete understanding of the private army's true nature.

......

Mingxiang is dead.

In addition to the fatal wound to the neck, there were also knife wounds, arrow wounds, and bite marks.

“There are often stray dogs in the south of the city. When her body was found, she was no longer recognizable as a human.”

"Didn't they say she has an older brother? Her brother..."

The second-in-command sighed, his feelings complicated. "Her brother... went crazy on the spot."

On the one hand, he was very angry that Ming Xiang was such a shameful traitor.

On the one hand, we've known each other for so long, and there's bound to be some affection between us. Hearing that she died so tragically, I can't help but feel a little sorry for her.

After all, she still owed him five taels of silver.

But now, he's not angry anymore.

Bai Li Ce remained silent for a while before speaking, "And then?"

"Later, the investigators arrived, but all the guards who were with Mingchuan had already committed suicide, so it seems they won't be able to find anything."

"So that means... all the leads have gone cold?"

"Hmm...not really."

The misunderstanding, but it did enlighten Baili Ce's second-in-command: "With the leader gone, the matter between Ming Xiang and her brother has become such a big fuss."

"Next, the officers and soldiers from the Investigation Division, the Wang family, and Shucheng and Jicheng... will probably all take the opportunity to go up the mountain and fight for this territory."

"Master, you..." The second-in-command hesitated for a long time, and with all his might, he managed to pick out a few tactful words from his limited vocabulary, "You should prepare early."

If you're incompetent, you should have said so earlier so we could all run away quickly.

"That's right!" Baili Ce's eyes lit up, and he suddenly understood.

Isn't she the best clue?

He even boasted to An Luo back then, how could he have forgotten now?

If the three groups that attacked Anluo did indeed include members of the Wang and He families, they would have eliminated everyone who might know the location of the private army before the main force arrived.

She must be the leader of this group.

So.....

"Do we have spies in the government?" There are certain messages that the Baili family definitely cannot release.

"Um...yes, yes, but..."

"As long as it's there, it doesn't matter how useful it is. Let them spread the word that the Investigation Division will send people up the mountain at midnight tomorrow."

The second-in-command thought for a moment and decided it was best not to tell Baili Ce that Xu Ba was just a latrine-scavenging boy. "Yes."

"Also, the chief will be buried tomorrow morning."

"what?"

"Has the chief not passed away? According to custom, the body should be kept for at least three days. Is it not appropriate to bury him so early?"

The main reason is that being in such a hurry would make them seem unreliable.

"It's uncertain whether anyone will even survive three more days, you..."

"I think you're right!"

If it weren't already past noon, the second-in-command would have wanted to carry him out and bury him right away.

"Leave this to me, I guarantee that you'll be able to enjoy the feast as soon as you wake up tomorrow at noon."

"Hmm," Baili Ce gave the second-in-command a thumbs up, promising, "I believe in your abilities."

The second-in-command patted his chest with a smug grin and assured him, "Don't worry, boss! I'll definitely do my job well!"

To see Anluo one last time.

No one was keeping vigil properly.

They were either gambling next to the coffin, bragging at the door, or stealing food in the kitchen.

but--

The incense burned before Anluo's spirit tablet was never broken.

The offerings on the table were also very fresh and neatly arranged.

The coffin was made overnight from century-old wood by the third leader and a dozen brothers who searched the entire mountain.

They were noisy, as usual, all doing their own thing, as if they didn't think the death of a big boss was a big deal.

But no one went to sleep.

"Here, all the chicken wings are for you." As soon as Baili Ce sat down, Li Simei brought her a bowl of chicken wings.

It's probably because they were afraid that Baili Ce would take the tribute from Anluo and eat it.

Nonsense, how could she possibly do something like that in front of so many people!

Of course not.

If you want to eat, wait until there's no one around.

However, even though Li Simei's fingernails were full of black dirt, her thumb was stuck in the bowl, and she even sucked on her shiny fingers after finishing, Baili Ce was still very moved.

So she gave the chicken wings to the fourth and fifth brothers who were bragging at the door.

I was moved, but there was no way I would eat it.

Capitalists don't tolerate compromising themselves.

"Master, we've already made a batch of crossbows according to your blueprints. Take a look and see if it's correct," the third leader said, handing Baili Ce a wooden crossbow.

Bai Li Ce gave it a quick test, and apart from not being very sturdy, there weren't any...major problems, I guess.

"This crossbow will loosen its ejection mechanism after about twenty shots," said Lao Wu, who had just finished eating chicken wings and was still not satisfied.

Hmm? Baili Ce continued listening to him.

"Also, the feathers on your tail are too soft, so it won't fly very far when it's shot out, and its accuracy isn't good enough."

"I estimate that at most seven out of ten arrows will hit the target, and that's without even considering the archer's skill level."

You're an expert!