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Two skinners were feasting on the corpse.

Chen Qian hid behind a rock, holding a pebble in his hand.

He mustered all his strength and spurred his fingers out towards a deep, secluded fork in the road in the distance.

"Da, da, da..."

Pebbles struck the rock walls in the quiet cave, producing a crisp and rhythmic echo.

"roar!"

The two blind monsters instantly raised their heads, their blood-stained nostrils twitching, and then let out an excited growl.

They dropped the rotten flesh from their mouths, got on all fours, and chased after the source of the sound like two red lightning bolts.

"Hurry up."

Chen Qian silently calculated in his mind, and then darted out.

He didn't run away, but went straight to the corpse named "Li Er".

Despite the intense nausea and the stench of blood, Chen Qian moved swiftly, quickly stripping off Li Er's still-warm gray outfit.

He then reached out and smeared a handful of thick, sticky blood on Li Er's torn neck.

She covered her entire face with smeared makeup, cut off part of her long hair, and then made her hair messy, covering most of her face.

In this pitch-black underground, illuminated only by a faint firelight, who could recognize who was under this blood gourd unless they washed their face?

"If I say I am Li Er, then I am Li Er."

Chen Qian quickly changed his clothes, picked up the ball of red thread from the ground, and tied it around his wrist.

After doing all this, he took a deep breath and adjusted his posture.

Imitating Li Er's severely injured state, he staggered back along the red line.

……

Meeting point.

The flickering light from the tinderbox illuminated the solemn faces on the people's faces.

The other four scouting teams had returned to their posts and were whispering reports to Elder Ge and the leading burly man.

"Why is there still no movement from that direction?" The burly leader looked at the hourglass in his hand, his brows furrowed.

Just then, hurried and unsteady footsteps came from the darkness.

"Help...help me..."

Everyone turned their heads sharply and placed their hands on the hilts of their knives.

All that could be seen was a figure covered in blood, with disheveled hair.

Clutching her chest with one hand and clutching the red thread with the other, she stumbled out.

As soon as he reached the crowd, his legs gave way and he collapsed to his knees with a thud.

"Who?" several fierce soldiers shouted in low voices.

"I...cough cough...I am Li Er..."

Chen Qian's voice was hoarse and muffled, as if he had a mouthful of bloody phlegm in his throat, and his original tone was completely unrecognizable.

He covered his mouth and coughed violently, his body trembling violently; his pitiful state was horrifying to behold.

"Why are you the only one here? Where's Zhang Da?" The burly man in the lead stepped forward and asked in a deep voice.

"We've been attacked..."

Chen Qian raised his head, his hair sticking to his blood-stained face, looking particularly ferocious in the dim light.

"A man in black... wielding a dagger... ambushed us... which attracted those skinless monsters..."

As he said this, a trace of grief and fear appeared in his eyes:

"Brother Zhang... to cover my return and report, he lured the monster away... He... won't be coming back!"

"puff!"

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Qian suddenly hunched over and spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

This was a mouthful of foul-smelling, dead blood that he had secretly kept in his mouth to make it look realistic.

He gripped the wall tightly with one hand, his fingernails digging into the cracks in the stone, as if that was his only support.

"The man in black?"

The burly man's eyes flashed with astonishing killing intent, and he gritted his teeth, saying:

"These rats from the sewers, they really did smell it and came!"

He clearly made up the enemy's identity in his own mind and no longer doubted Chen Qian's words.

Seeing Chen Qian's swaying figure, the murderous intent in the burly man's eyes faded, replaced by a hint of concern:

"You did a great job, you didn't let our battalion down."

"Someone come here! Help Li Er bandage up!"

A pawn carrying a medicine box immediately stepped forward.

Chen Qian's heart tightened, and he quickly waved his hand, feigning great pain:

"No...no need to trouble you, brother...I have no external injuries..."

He clutched his chest, breathing heavily:

"That man in black just struck me in the chest...it injured my internal organs...let me recover...I'll be fine after a while..."

If it's bandaging, the body will inevitably need to be washed. Once the blood-stained clothes are removed and the face is washed, the truth will be immediately revealed.

The soldier glanced at the leading giant.

"Since it's an internal injury, don't move it around."

The burly man in the lead waved his hand and said, "Give him a calming pill and let him rest on the side."

Chen Qian took the pill, pretended to swallow it, but actually pressed it under his tongue.

He then leaned weakly against the corner of the rock wall, lowered his head, and seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion.

It became.

Chen Qian breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the surrounding soldiers were vigilant, most of their eyes were focused on the outside of the passage, and no one paid special attention to a seriously injured comrade.

As long as I blend into this group and follow them to the entrance, I can find a chance to slip away later...

Just when Chen Qian thought he had gotten away with it and his nerves relaxed a little,

"rustle……"

A series of extremely heavy and dragging footsteps slowly echoed from the dark depths of the passage he had just returned from.

The sound was slow, each step like dragging a heavy burden, sounding particularly jarring in the deathly silent cave.

All eyes were once again focused on that direction.

From the darkness, a figure stumbled out.

Half of his body was soaked in blood, his clothes on his left shoulder were tattered, and he staggered, looking just like a vengeful ghost who had just crawled back from hell.

But he is still alive.

It was that old, fierce soldier who should have died.

Zhang Da!

"boom!"

A thunderbolt seemed to explode in Chen Qian's mind, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the blood in his body seemed to freeze in that instant.

Zhang Da is still alive?

How is that possible!

He clearly saw with his own eyes that the skinning monster bit off Zhang Da's shoulder and saw him fall into a pool of blood and stop moving!

How could someone who suffered such a fatal injury possibly make it back?

At this moment, all the muscles in his body were tense to the extreme, and his feet were already preparing to escape.

Finished!

As long as Zhang Da speaks up and tells the truth, and describes what happened at the scene, then this imposter will be instantly torn to pieces!

"Zhang Da! You're still alive!"

The burly man leading the group rushed forward with delight and helped the swaying Zhang Da to his feet.

Zhang Da's face was ashen, his eyes unfocused, but he gripped the leader's arm tightly, panting heavily, and said in an extremely weak voice:

"Boss, be careful..."

"There were men in black who just ambushed me and Li Er."

"I risked my life to lure the monster away so that Li Er could come back and report first."

At this point, a grim and stiff smile appeared on his face:

"Luckily... I was also lucky... Although I was seriously injured... I still made it back..."

Quiet.

A deathly silence.

Chen Qian's hand, which was gripping the knife hilt, froze in mid-air. He stood there dumbfounded, as if struck by lightning.

What is he saying?

A man in black? A sneak attack? Lure the monster away? Let Li Er go first?

Isn't this... isn't this the lie I just made up?

Why would he cover up his own lie?

Was he hiding in the shadows eavesdropping just now?

Even when I was dealing with the scene and impersonating Li Er, he was hiding in some dark corner, watching everything unfold.

Just as Chen Qian was filled with doubt and uncertainty.

Zhang Da slowly turned his head.

That pale, blood-stained face looked particularly eerie in the firelight.

His somewhat cloudy eyes looked past everyone and went straight to Chen Qian, who was huddled in a corner, preparing to run away.

His lips curled up slightly, forming a chilling arc.

The moment their eyes met.

Chen Qian noticed that the smile on Zhang Da's pale face seemed to have deepened slightly.

There was no joy of reunion in his eyes, nor anger at being impersonated; only a mocking look.

He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse:

"Right... Brother Li Er?"