The grassland in Mobei slowly turned from blue to yellow, bid farewell to the rain, ushered in the north wind, since the last violation of military discipline has passed three months, seeing that the 28th year of the Liang calendar is coming to an end, Xuan Shaoning, who is standing at the head of the city, tightened his collar.

The scene that happened that night three months ago replays itself in my mind from time to time, especially what does the unique mark embroidered on the neck mean? Song Wuchang has already drawn the mark and submitted it, so will King Yu and Senior Brother Mo know the meaning of this mark? But I can't ask them, what should this be? Xuan Shaoning had been thinking about this matter all the time, and he didn't notice the person behind him at all.

"Still thinking about the mark?" Suddenly, Xuan Shaoning was really startled, and when he turned around and saw Song Mi, Xuan Shaoning was very surprised, this Song Mi could actually see his thoughts?

"Don't have such a surprised expression, I don't know what you're thinking, but I've found that you've been thinking about things alone since the last time, and anyone who kills someone for the first time will have lingering palpitations, there were so many things that happened that night, I guess you still miss that mark?" Song Mi and Xuan Shaoning stood side by side, he sighed, and the smell of exhaled gas made Xuan Shaoning a little uncomfortable.

"Chief Wu guessed right, Chief Wu, do you know something?" In front of smart people, Xuan Shaoning didn't want to act like he was stupid.

"I do know something related to that mark, but that was a long time ago." Song Mi got closer to Xuan Shaoning again, his eyes kept looking into the distance, "More than ten years ago, I followed my father to Xiliang to do a small business, and I once saw this mark in a temple in Wancheng, the capital of Xiliang Kingdom, and I remember that it was engraved on the surface of a big bell. ”

"And then?"

"There is no then, it was just seen by chance, and I didn't remember it with my heart, and I saw it again after more than ten years, and it reawakened the dusty memory."

"It turned out that it was just like this......" Xuan Shaoning could not hide his disappointment.

"I was also present at the school competition that day, and I felt that you had more ideas than ordinary people, and the relationship in the past few months has confirmed this." At first glance, it sounded like a compliment, but Song Mi changed his words, "But as a soldier, obedience is what you should do, don't think too much about what you can't change, many things will naturally be worried about, at least not your turn yet." ”

Although the words were a little ugly, Xuan Shaoning knew that Song Mi was reminding himself that Song Mi was right, he was just a soldier, and the fact that he could do it was very limited.

"Captain Wu is teaching a lesson!"

"Cheer up, it's winter, and Xiliang's movements are going to start more." Song Mi didn't look at Xuan Shaoning the whole time, just talking to himself, and left after saying what he wanted to say, without considering the listener's feelings at all.

What a strange person, Xuan Shaoning muttered in his heart.

It just so happened that the west gate was opened at this time, and the people in the city walked out of the city with big bamboo baskets on their backs, and the people of Cangcheng would go out of the city to collect forage every year on the eve of winter, and the best quality forage was the grassland west of the Canghe River, but this grassland was in the disputed area between Daliang and Xiliang, so in order to ensure the safety of the people, King Yu decided to send a team to protect it every time.

The figures of the soldiers and civilians gradually faded away, this scene Xuan Shaoning did not see, his attention was attracted by the sudden snowflakes in the sky, at first it was just a little star, and it was already sprinkled after a while. "The snow under Mobei is also so different!" Xuan Shaoning shook the snowflakes on his shoulders and continued to stand guard.

"What? Make it clear! Ou Luyang slammed the book in his hand on the table, stood up and walked in front of the soldier. The soldier's face was full of horror, and he knelt on the spot and continued tremblingly: "Just when the grass was collected, we heard the noise in the mountains and forests not far behind us, judging from the sound, there should be a lot of people, the commander was worried that he would meet the Xiliang soldiers, so he asked me to escort the people in the city back to the city first and find someone to help at the same time, I returned to the barracks and happened to meet Qin Duwei. ”

"Yes, at that time, I had just come back from the school field, and I heard that I had encountered Xiliang soldiers, so I brought someone to rescue immediately!" Qin Qi, one of the captains of the Golden Armor, confirmed the soldier's statement.

"Is that Xiliang Bing?" Ou Luyang asked fiercely.

"When I led the troops to the foot of the mountain, I didn't see the Xiliang soldiers, I only found ....... The bodies of eight brothers were found...... "Qin Qi is very heartbroken.

But Ou Luyang is not in the same state of mind as Qin Qi, he is more concerned about Xiliang, "What is the matter, make it clear at one time!" ”

"The eight brothers have all been decapitated, their heads are all gone, I observe the wounds and see that the edges are jagged, and the blood is splattered on the ground, but from the posture of falling to the ground, there is no fighting, I think they should have been attacked by someone without defense!" Qin Qi said his analysis.

"Beheading? Xiliang Jun doesn't have such a habit, if it wasn't for the Xiliang people, who would it be? It has been snowing since yesterday, and there must have been footprints at the scene! Oluyang immediately thought about the details.

"Yes, as the commander thought, I did find footprints on the ground, but the footprints were so messy that they were almost indistinguishable!" Qin Qi added.

"That area is already the area where the two armies are fighting, if you rush to send troops now, I'm afraid that you will startle the snake, but this matter must not be handled casually!" Ou Luyang was already aware of the seriousness of the situation, "I want to go see the general immediately!" ”

At this time, in the General's Mansion, King Yu and Mo Chengfeng were discussing the latest news about the mysterious mark in the Haolu.

"The Master sent me a book a few days ago, which recorded in detail the situation of the organization of 'Reverse Scales', although it is detailed, but only what the Master knows."

"Chengfeng, tell me what you know."

"Yes!"

"The reverse scale was originally created by the Huyan clan, a nomadic tribe in Mobei, originally just to protect their own clan from plunder, but as the Huyan clan gradually became stronger, the number of people in this organization also increased, until a hundred years ago, the Huyan clan was defeated by the Luo clan, then the Luo clan took this organization under his command, and the Luo clan was able to finally establish Xiliang, and this organization also had a contribution."

"I didn't think there would be such a history."

"Yes, General. After the founding of the Luo clan, young children were selected from all over the country and trained by the leaders of the organization, and their power grew stronger and stronger, and they only obeyed Shan Yu's orders. This organization reached the peak of its strength during the time of Zeluo Lang Danyu, and it was heard that it could even influence the courtiers, but it began to decline after Zeluo Gezhu came to power, and it was difficult to find a trace of Zeluo in thirty years until Zeluo Fuqu. Just half a year ago, the second son of Zeluo Fuqu, Luo Lerong, staged a coup d'état, forced the palace elder Shan Yu, and seized the throne. ”

"Such a secret past, I'm afraid that there are very few people who can know about it in Daliang, but fortunately, there is a master." King Yu has a certain grasp of the reverse scales, "So can the master mention the situation within this organization?" ”

The Master mentioned only a few words. The number of people with the scales is uncertain, each dynasty is different, and the members are no different from ordinary people, but I heard that each member has an organized mark tattooed on his body, and the technique is very strange, and the mark will only appear when the body is hot. When Mo Chengfeng said this, he didn't seem to even believe it.

"Is it a hot body to make the mark visible? Could it be that the mark on the neck of the Xiliang soldier disappeared because the person died and the body was cold? "It was the first time that King Yu had heard of such a miracle.

"That's probably the most plausible explanation at the moment."

"It seems that ......" King Yu just said when he saw Ou Luyang hurriedly walk in, "Commander Ou, what happened?" ”

"General Huiyu: Yesterday evening, eight gold-armored soldiers of our army who went out to collect forage to protect the people in the city were killed in the grassland near the Yecangshui, and their heads were all cut off!" Ou Luyang looked solemn and briefly recounted what happened.

"Xiliang doesn't have the practice of taking people's heads, but it is located in the battle zone between the two armies, who can there be besides Xiliang?" Mo Chengfeng immediately analyzed the key points of the matter.

"What Mr. Mo said is extremely true! The last general thinks the same, the last general thinks that this matter is not trivial and must be investigated, but if you send troops in this way, you are afraid that it will affect the whole body, so I specially rushed to report to the general! Ou Luyang's words were not leaky, not only patting Mo Chengfeng's sycophants, but also reflecting his strategy by the way.

After hearing this, King Yu did not immediately express his position, and got up and came to Ou Luyang, "Commander Ou is thoughtful, it is already winter, once the war starts, the loss will be great." Hearing that King Yu was on his side, Ou Luyang felt a little complacent, and the expression on his face did not change.

"But this matter can't be ignored, first send someone to retrieve their corpses, and search the vicinity, this matter needs to be personally supervised by Commander Ou!"

"Yes, General! The last general still has some ideas! ”

"Commander Ou, please speak!"

"The last general wants to ask the Han Dao Guard for help, and the last general has long heard that Song Mi under Xia Duwei is as careful as a hair, and he can deduce what happened according to the clues." There are 40,000 Jinjiawei, and there are not many talents, but Ou Luyang only mentioned Song Mi, no matter what, it was a little abrupt, and he himself was not very sure, so he was naturally not tough enough.

"I've also heard Jun Mao mention it, and he can come in handy in this matter."

Ou Luyang didn't expect King Yu to agree so quickly, and immediately replied with confidence, "The last general will do it!" ”

Xuan Shaoning, who had just finished changing guards, also heard the news of the killing of the soldiers of the Liang Dynasty from Pao Ze after walking back to the barracks, and he was also shocked in his heart, the killing methods were so cruel and cruel, in comparison, the soldiers of the Liang Dynasty were too merciful.

"Shaoning, hurry up and gather in the camp, Commander Ou is here!" was thinking about it, but was disturbed by Cao Tie, "It's coming!" ”

When Xuan Shaoning and the others all arrived, Ou Luyang and Xia Junmao appeared at the same time.

"You must have heard about yesterday's incident, this matter is not only about the lives of our eight brothers, but also about the reputation of the Xuanjia Army and the safety of Yecang City!" Ou Luyang faced the fourth team of the cold knife, and said with a solemn face, "This time I came to hope that the cold knife guard can help me, especially your fourth team!" Ou Luyang walked to Song Mi's side.

"I once heard Xia Duwei say that Song Wuchang was delicate and resolute, so I specially wanted to ask Song Wuchang for help." Judging from Ou Luyang's identity, this was said extremely politely, and Xuan Shaoning couldn't help but sigh that the dignified commander was so unofficial.

"Commander Ou has won the award, his brother was killed, and the Xuanjia soldiers have the responsibility to seek justice for them, if this matter can be used by me Song Mi, I should go all out." Song Mi said "I", but not "we", obviously separating himself from the Fourth Army.

I don't know if the people present heard the clues, but Ou Luyang obviously heard it, "Okay, Song Wuchang is really a bloody man, so there will be a fourth army for you!" Ou Luyang deliberately pretended not to understand Song Mi's hints, and replaced Song Mi with the fourth team, "Without further ado, let's go now." ”

Ou Luyang and Xia Junmao led a team of men and horses from the west gate to the grass near the night cangshui, at this time the snow had stopped for a day and a night, and the road was covered with a thick layer of snow, and people would leave an obvious footprint when they stepped on it. The group swam across the Yecang River that had not yet been frozen and had entered the dry period and arrived at the scene of the crime: this is a grassland adjacent to the Yecang River, the weather is in autumn, the grassland on the east side of the Yecang River is the first to wither yellow, and the grassland on the west side can be postponed for about 20 days, if the weather is clear, the extreme view is far away, it is still a beautiful appearance of water and grass, but now it is a white expanse in front of you, at first glance it is nothing special, only a few white irregular protrusions can be seen on the snow.

Ou Luyang and Xia Junmao had already dismounted and walked to the side of the bulges, Ou Luyang squatted, hesitated for a moment and then stretched out his hand to wipe the snow covered by the bulges, Xuan Shaoning only saw that it was a headless corpse, still wearing a military uniform of Xuanjia, and the blood stains on the wound had been covered by snow.

"Spread out the search, don't stay too far between the woods!" Xia Junmao immediately ordered, and everyone immediately plunged into the search of the scene.

Xuan Shaoning suddenly remembered something when he walked past the corpse, and immediately squatted down to look at the footprints near the corpse.

"What are you doing? Don't listen to military orders! Ou Luyang was very angry when he saw Xuan Shaoning's actions.

"Commander Ou, I found out about the situation."

"What can you find?"

"The commander makes you see that the military boots issued by our Xuanjia Army are all made of several layers of gauze and cotton, so the footprints left on the snow should be like this", Xuan Shaoning said and kicked his feet hard, and at this time, Xia Junmao also heard the movement and looked in the direction of the two.

"Look, that's it, the rough texture of the sole can be more clearly printed on the snow!"

Xia Junmao was reminded by Xuan Shaoning, and suddenly understood something, "Xiliangjun's shoes are all made of cowhide, and the footprints left by stepping on the snow must be a whole piece, and there will be no lines in it!" yes, I didn't expect that! ”

As soon as he said this, everyone at the scene immediately understood that there were so many footprints and they were messy, and there was only this way to distinguish them.

"Oh? This little brother is very smart, what's his name? Ou Luyang looked at Xuan Shaoning and asked.

"Xuan Shaoning, it's been seven months since I joined the fourth army!"

"It turns out that you are the proud protégé of Master Baishi from Qingshan Academy, it's really impressive!"

"The commander has won the award!"

"Shaoning, what do you have in your head, you can think of it!" Cao Tie shouted excitedly.

"Cao Tie! What is this place, forgot? Is it so loud to attract the Xiliang Army? Song Mi immediately reprimanded with a straight face, and Cao Tie immediately realized his mistake and quickly shut up.

Ou Luyang heard a little uncomfortable, but he smiled and said in an instant: "I see, this little brother is really careful, I thought that Song Wuchang would find out, but I didn't expect to be preempted by you!" That doesn't sound like a compliment.

Xuan Shaoning heard that the taste was wrong and just wanted to explain, but was interrupted by Xia Junmao: "Immediately search according to this clue, and report immediately if you find anything!" ”