Ten minutes later.

A large group of soldiers left the Black Iron City with torches.

Ye Cheng sat on a tall horse, surrounded by many black-clothed guards.

And Zhao Sihai was also escorted all the way.

Finally, the team stopped by a river.

This is Qishui, which is a tributary of the Weijiang River with the Yan River.

Next to it is a rather high mountain, and the Black Iron City sits at the foot of this mountain.

"My lord, all the refined iron ore has sunk in the water, and some of the people who transported the refined iron ore have been picked up by the Cao Gang's boats, and some of the people who have not had time to leave are hidden in the karst cave under the cliff."

Bai Yulang pointed to the steep cliff not far away, where the river formed a bay that made the cliff face inward.

Due to the location, plus it was night, it was impossible to see the situation over there at all.

Zhao Sihai's face on the side immediately turned pale.

He couldn't figure out how the black-clothed guards could find such a hidden place?

"Get some boats."

Ye Cheng immediately ordered.

In less than half an hour, the people below found some small boats.

Ye Cheng took the people into the boat and rowed towards the bottom of the cliff.

At the bottom of the cliff, a huge cave mouth was revealed.

"Lean in."

Ye Cheng waved his hand, and suddenly the boat leaned to the edge of the cave, and one by one the black-clothed guards jumped up, lit torches, and touched inside.

Ye Cheng also went to the cave and checked the situation inside and outside the cave, there were traces of wheels that had been crushed everywhere, and at a glance, he knew that it was crushed by a car carrying heavy objects.

So he sent people into the water to find out what was going on at the bottom of the river.

It didn't take long for the black-clothed guard who had entered the water to surface, and there was an extra fine iron ingot like a square brick in his hand.

"Your Excellency, there's a pile of fine iron ingots under the water."

The black-clothed guard said excitedly.

Zhao Sihai, who was escorted over, was already in the dust, and he didn't have any luck.

"City Lord Zhao, what else do you have to say?"

Ye Cheng took the wet heavy fine iron ingot and said to Zhao Sihai.

"Father-in-law Ye, since you found out, Zhao has nothing to say, it is indeed me secretly reselling refined iron ingots for personal gain."

Zhao Sihai took a deep breath and simply confessed his guilt.

Ye Cheng smiled.

Zhao Sihai is just a small fish.

The Longmen Zhao family behind it is the real big fish.

This Zhao Sihai obviously wanted to take all the blame on himself and remove the Longmen Zhao family from this matter.

Just by the crime of selling refined iron ingots, it can't help the Longmen Zhao family, at least it can't shake the foundation.

Only by digging deep and finding out the black hands behind the bandit rebellion is the ultimate goal of his trip to the six southeastern states.

After a while, some of the black-clad guards came out of the cave.

"My lord, we encountered some resistance in the depths of the cave, and we didn't catch them alive, so we all committed suicide by poisoning, and there were many corpses inside, which should have been killed. In addition, we found a secret passage inside that led to the interior of the Black Iron City. ”

A leader of the Blackguard reported.

Ye Cheng glanced at Zhao Sihai and understood that these people who were killed or even killed must have involved some key secrets.

"Captain Song, you take someone to salvage all the fine iron ingots from the river."

Ye Cheng said to a general of the Wind Splitting Army wearing iron armor beside him.

This person was one of the captains in the Wind Splitting Army who was most cooperative with Ye Cheng, and told Ye Cheng a lot about the situation inside the Wind Splitting Army.

"Yes, sir."

Captain Song immediately received the order.

He didn't have a prominent background, he was born as a civilian, and becoming a captain in the first battalion was originally the limit.

But this time he saw an opportunity to go further.

After returning to Blackiron City.

Ye Cheng asked the black-clothed guards to start interrogating Zhao Sihai's men strictly.

Although I got some information, it was not particularly valuable.

At most, these people know something about Black Iron City.

The matter of bandits, these people are not qualified to come into contact with them.

That Zhao Sihai's mouth was also very hard, and he couldn't pry valuable information at all.

"I hope the Cao Gang can surprise me a little."

Ye Cheng sat in his chair and muttered to himself.

Although he took the Black Iron City, he mastered the situation of iron ore mining and private sale of refined iron ingots.

But it hasn't touched the core of the bandit rebellion.

"And Zhao Xiangyun's Yunzi Seventh Battalion has been without a trace, if you want to find the clues of the bandits, I'm afraid it will fall on this person."

Ye Cheng thought in his heart.

According to what he knew, Zhao Xiangyun was also a member of the Zhao family of Longmen, and his status in the Wind Splitting Army was transcendent, and even Ma Yunlong couldn't summon him.

Moreover, the Yunzi Seventh Battalion under his command has the largest number and the strongest strength in the Splitting Wind Army, and it is not stationed in the Splitting Wind Battalion in peacetime.

The next morning.

Finally word came back from Twilight City.

The black-clad guard pounced.

The people at the Cao Gang Headquarters got the news in advance, and when the black-clothed guards arrived, they had all evacuated.

"Lao Bai, it seems that there are still fish that have slipped through the net."

Ye Cheng sighed and said.

Although he already had a hunch, he was still a little disappointed.

"Impossible, I intercepted all the pigeons?"

Bai Yulang frowned.

"It should have been used by other means of communication, and it was an inside line that was hidden deeper."

Ye Cheng shook his head.

The few inside lines that Bai Yulang discovered before were all black-clothed guard leaders in the six southeastern states.

He suspected that the superintendent might have the other party's eyeliner to pass on intelligence information.

For more than a year since I took over the black-clothed guards of the superintendent, I thought that it was almost cleaned up, but now it seems that it is a lonely one.

In the blink of an eye, a few days passed.

Ye Cheng's investigation into the bandit rebellion has come to a standstill.

Because all the clues are broken.

The bandits who were originally active in the six southeastern states seemed to have disappeared.

Ye Cheng could only write a secret report on the investigation of Black Iron City first, and quickly sent it to Yujing through the intelligence channels of the Black Guard.

On this day, Ye Cheng was carefully studying the information that the black-clothed guards had gathered from all over the six southeastern states.

During this time, less and less information was gathered.

On the contrary, more and more black-clad secret agents have lost contact.

It seems that there is a mysterious force that is secretly hunting down the secret intelligence agents of the Black Guards.

Ye Cheng felt more and more as if he had fallen into a vicious mouth that was gradually revealing its fangs.

Suddenly, Zhao Fang walked in.

"Mansion master, Captain Song has something important to report."

"Let him in."

Ye Cheng put down the information in his hand and said.

Soon, Captain Song, dressed in armor, hurriedly walked in.

"The last general will see the envoy."

Captain Song knelt down on one knee and saluted.

"Captain Song, what's the matter?"

Ye Cheng asked.

"My lord, when a team of people under the command of the last general was patrolling the river, they found a person lying by the water, seriously injured, but still alive, and found a special pattern on this person."

Captain Song hurriedly said.

"Take me to see it."

Ye Cheng hurriedly got up.

On some of the Black Guard's spies, there will be special patterns.

These patterns don't seem to have any special meaning, but they represent their identity as secret agents.

Each pattern is specifically recorded.

Moreover, these patterns do not usually appear, and only emerge when they are active, unconscious, and on the verge of death, or when they die.

So, under the guidance of Captain Song, Ye Cheng came to a camp outside the Black Iron City.

Captain Song's first battalion of soldiers was stationed outside the Black Iron City.

Soon, Ye Cheng saw people.

Unconscious.

The pattern on his body is indeed the secret agent symbol of the black guard.

"Can you wake up?"

Ye Cheng asked the Splitting Wind military doctor who was being treated.

"My lord, this person is too seriously injured, and he has been soaked in the river for too long, it should be a secret technique such as turtle breath to survive, if you want to wake up, it is very difficult, and you may die on the spot, the best way now is to recuperate slowly, and finally wake up naturally, so that there is a glimmer of life."

The medic said.

"How long does it take to treat slowly?"

Ye Cheng frowned slightly.

"My lord, conservatively estimated, it will take at least half a year."

The medic said.

Half a year is too long, and Ye Cheng can't wait so long.

This spy suddenly appeared around Black Iron City, and there must be a reason why he was still so injured.

Perhaps valuable confidential information can be obtained from this person.

The evil sword Ye Cheng was holding shook slightly, and an invisible fluctuation spread.

Everyone present only felt that their eyes were full of gold stars, their scalps were numb, and there were serious auditory hallucinations, even an innate martial artist like Bai Yulang could feel the terrifying aura emanating from Ye Cheng's body.

Not to mention doing it, even the innate true qi in the body seems to be unable to be manipulated.

"It's getting easier for the Mansion Master to trigger the sword intent in this sword."

Bai Yulang was amazed in his heart.

This means that Ye Cheng is getting closer and closer to comprehending martial intent and stepping into the threshold of the grandmaster.

Ye Cheng used the sword intent in the sword to ward off evil spirits as a cover, but in fact, he used his own martial intent to suddenly inject into the mind of this unconscious secret agent, wanting to stimulate the other party's spirit, awaken the subconscious, and let the other party forcibly wake up.

At the same time, he stroked the top of the person's head with his palm in the air, and a soft ball of innate true qi gradually enveloped the person, so as to temporarily stabilize the person's physical condition with the innate true qi, so as to prevent the sudden awakening, causing the aggravation of the injuries in the body, and the death of a whimper.

It takes a lot of control to do it.

After a while, the man suddenly opened his eyes and sat up directly from the bed, his face frightened.

"You, you are"

The man saw his surroundings and the people he saw, and he became more and more confused.

"This seat is the eunuch of the Governor of the Martial Guard, the secret envoy of His Majesty's Imperial Seal, which part of the black-clothed guard are you?"

Ye Cheng took out a token of the Heaven Survey Secret Envoy.

The man showed ecstasy, as if he could not feel the wounds on his body, and quickly rolled out of bed to the ground, and knelt down.

"The humble position is Liao Liang, a wordless spy in the Shuitang of the Shadow Department of the Black-clothed Wei Weizhou, who has important information and reports it to the secret envoy."

The man said hurriedly.

"Say, what's the important information?"

Ye Cheng immediately asked.

"My lord, the humble position was originally the personal soldier of Zhao Xiangyun, the commander of the seventh battalion of Yunzi, and accidentally found that Zhao Xiangyun was secretly in contact with the bandits, and after the humble duty secretly investigated, he finally found the bandits' lair, but unfortunately he revealed his identity negligently, and was chased and killed by Zhao Xiangyun's people, and was knocked into the water.

Liao Liang hurriedly said.

"Do you know where the bandits' lair is?"

Ye Cheng's eyes lit up and he hurriedly asked.

"It's on the Five Eyes Ridge of Fengming Mountain. In addition, the Yunzi Seventh Battalion also settled in Sushi Town a few days ago in the name of blocking the bandits from Guanglin County from attacking Yuming County, which is very close to Fengming Mountain. ”

Liao Liang said.

But as he spoke, he suddenly coughed, and blood overflowed from the corners of his mouth.

When Ye Cheng saw this scene, he sighed in his heart, knowing that this person's life was not long in coming.

"Liao Liang, the information you gave is very useful, you have made a great contribution, what are your last words? As long as I can do it, I will definitely agree. ”

Ye Cheng said.

Liao Liang also seems to know his physical condition.

A flush appeared on his face, and he hesitated for a moment and said, "I want to go home to see my father and mother, and see my wife and children."

But there was more and more blood in his mouth, and his breathing became more and more rapid, and finally he couldn't sit steadily, and lay down again, his eyes widened, and his breathing had slowly stopped.

Ye Cheng gently stroked Liao Liang's eyelids, but his mood was very heavy.

Black-clothed spies like Liao Liang, I don't know how many there are.

They were unknown and suddenly died in a corner one day without anyone knowing.

Perhaps for ordinary people, the simplest wishes cannot be fulfilled.

After becoming Blackguard agents, they are destined to be accompanied by darkness, loneliness, and danger.

"Zhao Fang, save his body, send it back to his hometown, and arrange his funeral according to the meritorious handling process of the black-clothed guard."

Ye Cheng waved his hand.

"Yes, Lord."

Zhao Fang, who had been following Ye Cheng's side, immediately said.

Zhao Fang was originally the commander of the Black Ice Terrace, but after Ye Cheng took over the Black Guard, he arranged for Zhao Fang to enter the Black Guard and hold an important position, and this time he also came to Weizhou.

This kind of relationship is confidential, and Ye Cheng only trusts the people of the original Black Ice Platform for the time being.

(End of chapter)