Hidden in the court

Chapter 121 Bonfire

With a whoosh sound, Nangong Xiao clearly saw an arrow flying through the air and piercing its head, and the silly roe deer fell to the ground.

Silly roe deer, its name is well-deserved!

The other two came over and looked at the roe deer lying on the ground with satisfied smiles on their faces. The roe deer had thick fur and delicious meat, which was a valuable harvest of their hunting trip.

"Let's go back. We don't have horses and there are too many things to carry back."

In this way, Ji Liancheng carried a wild boar, Butterfly carried the silly roe deer, and Nangong carried a nest of rabbits, and they went to the camp.

It is called a camp, but it would be more appropriate to call it a military camp.

The three of them sat around the campfire in front of the big tent, the firewood crackling. The flames jumped in the air, illuminating the simply processed prey. The freshly hunted silly roe deer was placed on two sturdy wooden poles. The roe deer meat gradually turned golden under the licking of the flames, emitting an enticing aroma.

The three of them had clear division of labor. Hu Die was responsible for turning the barbecue to ensure that each side was evenly heated; Ji Liancheng held a sharp knife and skillfully cut the venison, dividing large pieces of meat into small pieces; Nangong Xiao was responsible for eating.

As the flames jumped, the barbecue made a "sizzling" sound, and the fat dripped onto the fire, stirring up white smoke and a stronger aroma. This aroma filled the air, making people salivate. The three of them occasionally chatted with each other, like old friends talking about interesting things or sharing each other's joy.

Ji Liancheng's actions are easy to understand. I know you are here to investigate me, so I will accompany you. I won't do anything tricky, so please don't investigate me.

The three men had their own thoughts. In the light of the campfire, Ji Liancheng's face looked particularly resolute and determined. At this moment, he was enjoying the fruits of hunting and tasting the gifts of nature. He seemed not to be the almighty King Jin, but an ordinary uncle next door.

Surrounded by a quiet forest, there are occasional sounds of insects chirping and the rustling of leaves in the wind. These sounds, intertwined with the conversations of the hunters and the aroma of barbecue, form a vivid picture.

Suddenly, there was an earthquake, and the soldiers rushed out of the woods. Almost everyone was carrying some prey, but most of them were carrying wolves on their horses.

The soldiers handled the wolf's body skillfully, first using a sharp hunting knife to cut open the wolf's abdomen, and a strong smell of blood filled the air.

The wolf skin is peeled off completely, avoiding the internal organs and meat. The wolf fur is soft and smooth, shining in the sunset. The fur of good quality has a good price in the market.

Then, they cut the wolf's body into several parts, shaved off the meat completely, and strung them together with ropes. They were going to eat some of the meat and smoke some of it for storage, after all, wolf meat was also a delicious delicacy.

They collected wolf skins, wolf meat, fat, and even some wolf bones and fangs. In the end, the useless parts were gathered in a pit and burned to ashes.

After handling the wolf carcass, wipe the hunting knife clean.

The exercises were so smooth that Nangong Xiao and Hu Die could not help but admire the neat appearance and strict discipline of the army.

Ji Liancheng explained with a smile: "If we allow the wolves to reproduce wildly at this time of year, I'm afraid there won't be any prey in this forest this year."

At night, the camp was filled with the aroma of barbecue. Soldiers also sat around the fire, enjoying their own prey. They exchanged hunting experiences and interesting stories, or chatted about family matters and jokes, with laughter and conversations coming one after another.

When the emotions reached a peak, someone started singing.

Soon, hundreds of soldiers sang in unison, their voices surging like a flood, full of power and passion, their voices echoing over the camp and penetrating into the dense forests.

Everyone's voice is clear and powerful, their different deep voices interweave together, passionate and high-pitched, full of lofty ambitions, making people feel an indescribable shock and emotion.

Nangong Xiao and Hu Die were both embarrassed and confused because they could not understand the songs the soldiers were singing at all.

However, at this moment they no longer had the mind to pay attention to these things. The unity of the army before them made them feel extremely shocked and horrified. They couldn't help but start thinking, if Ji Liancheng could lead this army into this state, then would the other armies of Jin be similar?

Faced with such a situation, Ji Liancheng didn't seem to care. Instead, he enthusiastically invited Nangong Xiao and Hu Die to eat and drink together.

In the next few days, Ji Liancheng always cleverly found various reasons to delay them, causing their investigation to almost come to a standstill.

Just when their investigation reached a deadlock, shocking news came from the capital: they finally found a breakthrough!

"Okay, I agree that you can go to the prison for interrogation, but you have to be sensible. Nothing can happen to any of these people."

Minister of Justice Li Chi said helplessly, in front of him was his daughter Li Yi.

"All right, all right, I see."

Li Yi didn't seem to care, but his eyes lit up when he heard that he could be sent to the Ministry of Justice's prison.

In the Ministry of Justice, a small iron door opened and the stairs behind the door led directly underground.

Under the dim firelight, one gloomy prison after another came into view. The heavy iron door slowly opened, making a harsh creaking sound, as if telling of the endless suffering and despair here. The cell was damp and dark, filled with a stench of decay and mold, which made people frown.

Li Yi, wearing an official uniform, walked into the cell. Her face was calm, her behavior was lively, and her eyes were shining. Behind her followed several jailers, holding chains and torture instruments in their hands, with serious faces and a tense atmosphere. Li Yi's appearance was incompatible with the gloomy and murderous surroundings, and the scene was quite weird.

Li Yi took a tour of the prison and found that most of the people there were sent by Ji Mingshang from the south. These people crying for their parents were mostly small fry and it was impossible to get anything out of them.

He walked to a cell and signaled his attendants to bring the person out.

"Take him to the torture chamber."

The prisoner was dragged out from the corner of the cell by the jailer. He was in tattered clothes and his body was covered with scars. However, there was no trace of fear in his eyes. Instead, they were filled with determination.

The person was taken to the torture room. When he saw that the person who came this time was a clean little girl, there was some surprise in his eyes.

Li Yi walked up to the prisoner and examined his dirty face with sharp eyes.

"Are you guilty?"

Li Yi's voice was cold and calm, echoing in the empty cell.

The man, perhaps because of the pain in his body, replied with a trembling voice: "I am a guilty subject... I know my crime..."

"Know your guilt? What crime has the prefect committed?"

This person was the former prefect of Jinling, who had embezzled tens of millions of taels of silver.