After carefully checking the study, Li Xin'an finally discovered the clue.
There were two porcelain bottles on Hong Shi's bookshelf, one of which was accumulated dust and had not been cleaned for some time, but the other was clean and a little worn.
"This is the switch of the secret passage."
Li Xin'an twisted the porcelain bottle. Sure enough, the sound of the mechanical brackets and the rotation of the gear chain sounded, and the bookshelf slowly separated, revealing a dark secret passage.
The secret passage continued to extend downwards, and Li Xin'an walked in slowly. He knew that in such a narrow place, any movement would be infinitely amplified, so he held his breath and focused, his steps and breathing were weak and inaudible.
But he forgot that the moment the secret door opened, Hong Shi inside knew that someone was coming outside.
The fire suddenly lit up, and Li Xin'an was startled. The sudden light made his eyes difficult to adapt. When he was closing his eyes to dodge, he heard the sound of the crossbow hanging on the strings.
"Swoosh--"
Even with his eyes closed, Li Xin'an could tell the trajectory of the crossbow arrow from his voice and flashed lightly.
Hong Shi could hardly believe his eyes. Where can anyone close his eyes and do things that normal people can do?
Before he could think, Hong Shi shot out all the crossbow arrows in the crossbow. When Li Xin'an flashed or pushed it away with a sword, he pulled a hanging line beside him.
Li Xin'an did not notice Hongshi's small move. He slowly walked up and pressed Hongshi step by step.
"Who are you...what are you going to do..." Hong Shi asked in horror.
"Last night, you met with Wang Jing and Zhang Heyan, what did you say?"
A hint of determination appeared in Hong Shi's eyes: "Nothing...we didn't say anything!"
"Warmer, let me go, I can buy my life with the money, ten thousand taels, twenty thousand taels, fifty thousand taels!"
"laugh……"
Li Xin'an sneered: "Shopkeeper Hong is indeed a rich man. He gives him tens of thousands of taels of silver as soon as he says it. It really opened my eyes."
"The hero means let me go?" Hong Shi said happily.
"No."
Li Xin'an's eyes drooped and said softly: "I mean, your life is not that expensive."
"In my eyes, it's as low as grass, and it's worth nothing!"
"Hong Shi, you cut off the food route, monopolize food, act as a blessing in Fengzhou City, collude with the prefect Wang Jing and General Zhang Heyan, and collude with each other, seeking personal gain, disregarding the laws of nature, and keeping the king's laws in vain, and the people are hungry, but you are stockpiling tens of thousands of stones of food. People like you should have died tens of times or eight times! Your life is worthless."
Hong Shi's eyes turned slightly and he smiled coldly:
"It turned out to be a hero who punished evil and eliminated evil, but hero, do you know that someone wanted to get rid of me very early. Over the years, many people who were determined to join the army and serve the country came to Fengzhou. When they heard about my affairs, they were filled with indignation and wanted to kill me to eliminate evil in Fengzhou. But their ending was either to become my slaves or die in my hands."
"I don't know any martial arts at all. Hero, do you know how I killed them?"
"You have countless hawks and dogs under you. If you want to kill people, they will do it." Li Xinan said coldly.
"Yes." Hong Shi smiled, "I have people, some are people."
The next moment, a chill rose from Li Xin'an's back. He had already practiced "The Hidden Killing Wuji" to great success. The dangerous warning made him quickly turn over and avoid it.
The moment he left the place, a dagger appeared at his previous position.
A man wearing a night-mounted dress and a prominent hooked nose appeared quietly in this secret room at some point.
"What a pity..." said the hook-nosed man hoarsely, "I have some skills."
"Sir, I'll leave it to you." Hong Shi said respectfully.
Li Xinan stared at the man cautiously, and he keenly realized that the other party might also be an assassin.
Otherwise, why would he not even notice his appearance in advance?
"Are you from Tusheng Building?" Li Xin'an asked in a deep voice.
"no."
The hook-nosed man said, "I am the one who kills you."
"Sir, don't kill him, you must interrogate him carefully." Hong Shi reminded, "I'm worried that he is not alone, and Wang Jing and Zhang Heyan may be targeted."
"I see."
After saying that, the man with a hook nose jumped forward and grabbed Li Xin'an like a big bird spreading its wings.
The two of them fought each other with a "ping-ping-pong" fight. The space in this secret room was small, and Li Xin'an's long sword advantage was completely ineffective. He was constantly bullied by a hook-nosed man. After a while, red was already seen on his body.
"This person is not small, and his strength is probably not as weak as Wu Yan, but he is not as strong as her." Li Xin'an thought in his heart, "It's not appropriate to fight hard, you have to use other tricks."
After making up his mind, Li Xin'an sold a flaw. The man with a hook nose was indeed deceived. The dagger quickly slashed at Li Xin'an's right hand holding the sword, which was simply shaken open.
However, he forgot that humans have two hands.
Li Xin'an secretly exerted force with his left hand and pulled the sleeve arrow on his wrist. Instantly, the man with a hook nose could not dodge and two sleeve arrows pierced his lower abdomen.
"ah--"
The hook-nosed man pushed Li Xin'an away, staggered back, hit the stone wall, and slowly collapsed to the ground.
Hong Shi was completely frightened. Unexpectedly, the people who came from the three towns were so vulnerable.
The layman watched the excitement and the expert looked at the tricks. Only Li Xinan knew how cruel the hook-nosed man in front of him was.
"I'm starting to be interested in your identity." Li Xin'an walked forward slowly and asked with interest:
"Your value may be much greater than Hong Shi Wangjing and others."
The man with a hook nose had bleeding from the corner of his mouth, and raised his head with difficulty and looked at Li Xin'an.
Suddenly, he opened his mouth and a stream of black smoke emerged from it, covering Li Xin'an's face.
"ah--"
Li Xin'an covered his eyes and knelt on the ground in pain. The man with a hook nose stood up with his lower abdomen, grabbed Li Xin'an's hair, and lifted him up.
Hong Shi felt a little relieved when he looked at this scene. Sure enough, the people above were still reliable.
"Your identity?" asked the hook-nosed man Yin Wei.
Li Xin'an's painful voice gradually weakened until it disappeared completely. The hook-nosed man frowned, thinking that he had poisoned the man to death?
It shouldn't be...
The next moment, Li Xin'an's eyes were suddenly opened, and the hook-nosed man was shocked. Before he could react, Li Xin'an twisted his neck.
"It's so satisfying to grab my hair, right?"
Li Xinan was a little stern and cowardly: "You will tear off my scalp!"
"Are you surprised? Why didn't I get poisoned by you? I have been dealing with poisons since I was five years old. Although I am not proficient, I can barely say that I am proficient. My body can resist most of the non-fatal poisons. Ordinary anesthetics have no effect on me, let alone I am guarding against you."
"And there is a detoxification pill hidden in my teeth."
A look of despair appeared on the face of the hook-nosed man. He kept spitting out blood and kicking his legs hard.
Li Xin'an's face changed drastically. He hurriedly pried open his mouth and spit out a mouthful of black blood. The hook-nosed man let out a shrill cry, and his eyes gradually dissipated and his body became soft.
"I committed suicide by taking poison..."
Li Xin'an was a little lost. He looked at the corpse of the hook-nosed man and admired him in his heart.
"You are a qualified assassin. I don't know which force you are from, but you deserve the respect of your opponent."
Li Xin'an closed the body of the hook-nosed man and immediately looked at Hong Shi who was so scared that he hugged in the corner of the wall.
"Your helper is dead."
Hong Shi knelt down in front of Li Xin'an with a "thump" and cried bitterly:
"Grandpa Hero, please spare me. The things I did were not my original intention. They were forced by the prefect Wang Jing to do it! If I don't do it, he will kill me. I dare not disobey my order..."
Li Xinan said coldly: "Tell me what you conspired with Wang Jing and Zhang Heyan, and I won't kill you."
"this……"
Hong Shi's body trembled slightly, as if something terrible would happen when he mentioned that:
"Can't say...can't say!"
The corner of Li Xin'an's mouth slightly raised: "Well, if you don't say it, I have a way to ask."
He took out a small medicine bottle from his arms, pried open Hong Shi's chin, and poured some of the things in the medicine bottle into it.
"Dian Shen San is specially designed to deal with people like you who have a hard mouth. After taking it, you will have a whole body ulcer. Of course, it doesn't matter."
Hongshi's pupils gradually dissipated, and slowly, he showed dementia and saliva flowed from the corners of his mouth.
"What did you conspire with Wang Jing and Zhang Heyan?" Li Xin'an asked in a deep voice.
Hong Shi said stiffly:
"Due to the military rations, and then intercept and kill the Zhulanhe camp army."
Li Xinan was stunned and couldn't believe his ears.
He asked again, and Hong Shi's answer was exactly the same as before.
"Why do you do this?" Li Xin'an asked in disbelief.
"For... the master's great cause."
"Your master?"
"An Lushan."
Li Xin'an seemed to remember something, walked up and took off Hong Shi's clothes. On his chest, there was a blue tattoo, and Li Xin'an couldn't understand the words on it.
He remembered that Zheng Yang, who was killed by him, also had this mark on Luoyang!
"It turns out it's An Lushan's man..." Li Xin'an murmured to himself.
"Wang Jing and Zhang Heyan are your accomplices?"
"yes."
"How long have you planned this?"
"In five years, it began to be implemented when the army conquered the Khitan."
"What poison do you put in the military rations?"
"Slow poison, colorless and odorless, over time, soldiers will gradually become weak and weak."
"this--"
Li Xinan was shocked. This was exactly the same as the situation in Chenjiazhuang outside Chang'an City!
The difference is that the poison in Chenjiazhuang is released in the well, but now they are put in the grain.
Li Xin'an felt more and more that there was a big conspiracy that was gradually peeling off the cocoon and revealing it to himself.
And when all the mystery is revealed, what will be waiting for him?
"Apart from that, what other conspiracy do you have?" Li Xin'an continued.
"Contact the Khitans... Let them go south from Fengzhou to the Central Plains..."
Hong Shi's voice gradually became intermittent, and the effect of the Dianshen Powder was about to pass.
Li Xin'an was not surprised that they practiced with the Khitans, or that there was nothing that could make him feel strange anymore.
"Who was that man just now?"
"The master's subordinate...the bloodthirsty camp..."
"No wonder, he is a master with Zhou Bian in Wuxiang."
"Who are your contacts with An Lushan?"
"We... Fei Ge passed the letter, who was the other party... I don't know..."
"What about the Khitans?"
"The Khitan side is Wang Jing's connection."
Li Xin'an prayed in his heart that Murong Bai and Zhou Bian must ask for information!
All Hong Shi could say was finished. Li Xin'an broke his neck and then left Honglailiang while no one was paying attention.