Chapter 199 Another Assassination
The next morning, the elite troops of the Left Guard led by Quan Shancai finally arrived at the city of Pingzhou in a mighty manner.

Since Di Renjie had already arrived in Pingzhou, there would naturally be no grand welcoming ceremony.

The army entered the city and deployed defenses in an orderly manner, and everything went smoothly and without any problems.

With the arrival of a large number of reinforcements, Di Renjie ordered the lifting of the martial law in Pingzhou City, and also ordered Qiu Jing to take over the government affairs of Pingzhou Governor again.

After a series of measures were taken just to appease the people, the streets and alleys in Pingzhou City gradually regained their vitality.

Qiu Jing regained trust, and Yingzi and Ruyan were naturally very satisfied, but Su Honghui was still imprisoned. In addition, Di Renjie would check on Zong Huaichang from time to time, and the Snake Spirits dared not let down their guard.

Inside the lobby of the Governor's Mansion, the newly arrived Quan Shancai was bragging about business with Di Renjie, Zhao Ji, Li Yuanfang and others. Zeng Tai, Qiu Jing and others were also there.

Di Renjie introduced Zhao Ji with a smile: "Chengyuan, this is the General of the Left Guard, Quan Shancai."

"General Quan, I have long heard of your great name! Pingzhou will finally be truly stable once you lead your army here!" Zhao Ji smiled and bowed to Quan Shancai.

Quan Shancai also flattered back: "General Zhao, I have heard your name like thunder. You attacked the Khitan royal court, and even His Majesty praised you highly. After seeing you today, I can see that you are indeed a handsome man, a real hero of the time!"

"General Quan, thank you for your praise. I would like to ask you for more advice on this joint attack on Khitan." Zhao Ji said modestly.

"No, no, we should all ask the Marshal for advice." Quan Shancai bowed to Di Renjie again.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone laughed. For a while, laughter and joy filled the room, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

At this moment, Di Chun rushed into the hall at an inopportune moment and shouted excitedly: "Master, General Zong has woken up!"

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie's face became even happier: "It seems like today is a double blessing. Let's go and visit him!"

So everyone followed Di Renjie and went to the back hall.

In order to ensure Zong Huaichang's safety, Di Renjie deliberately placed him not far from his bedroom, and he had a special guard to protect him.

Zhao Ji walked and talked, full of confidence: "Once General Zong wakes up, many details of the battle of Dongxishi Valley will be clear. Wang Xiaojie is guilty, but Su Honghui is definitely not a good guy. It's a good opportunity to let everyone see the true face of Su Honghui!"

However, when everyone reached the back hall, they suddenly heard a cry for help coming from inside the back hall.

"There is an assassin, protect my lord!" Quan Shancai shouted suddenly as if facing a formidable enemy, drew out his sword and protected Di Renjie behind him.

The guards around heard Quan Shancai's cry and gathered around Di Renjie.

Faced with this sudden change, Di Renjie remained calm and stretched out his hand, commanding in a hurry: "They are not coming for me, go check on General Zong!"

In fact, there was no need for Di Renjie to give any orders. Zhao Ji had already jumped up and rushed to the back hall like an arrow, with Li Yuanfang following closely behind him.

The door of Zong Huaichang's room was wide open. When he stepped inside, he saw several figures lying powerlessly on the ground. They were all guards in front of the door.

Going further into the inner room, Wang Tiehan brought several guards, each holding a sword, and approached Zong Huaichang. When they saw Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang, they all saluted hurriedly.

"Governor Zhao, General Li!"

Without asking for details, Zhao Ji rushed to Zong Huaichang's bedside. Zong Huaichang's face was ashen, and he was obviously poisoned by a very strong poison and in critical condition.

Zhao Ji reached out his hand again and felt Zong Huaichang's breath. Feeling the faint but lingering breath, he felt relieved: the person was still alive.

Then, he pulled out a steel needle as thin as an ox hair from Zong Huaichang's left arm.

"It's the invisible needle again!" Li Yuanfang arrived shortly after, and couldn't help but frown when he saw this, his tone quite indignant.

There was a sound of hurried and heavy footsteps outside the door. Di Renjie came in with Quan Shancai, Zeng Tai and a group of guards. Zhao Ji saw this and quickly made way: "Sir, the person is still alive, but he was poisoned."

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie took out a silver needle from his arms without any hesitation and went forward to start treatment.
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The process lasted until the evening. When Di Renjie finished the acupuncture, Zong Huaichang spat out a mouthful of poisonous blood, but he managed to save his life.

Seeing this, Di Chun hurriedly took a towel and hot water to clean up Zong Huaichang.

Di Renjie slowly put away the silver needles in his hand one by one, gently wiped away the dense beads of sweat on his forehead, and seemed a little tired.

Li Yuanfang quickly poured a cup of tea and asked, "Sir, how is it?"

Di Renjie took the teacup, drank it all, and then heaved a sigh of relief, saying with emotion: "This time the poison is more powerful than before. Fortunately, he was treated in time, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanfang smiled and praised respectfully: "Your skill is still superior. I have never seen anyone that could not be saved by your silver needles!"

Di Renjie chuckled, gently put down the teacup, waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to praise him, and asked, "Did you catch up with the assassin?"

Zhao Ji heard this and shook his head: "Nothing was gained."

"Nothing found? Where is Wang Tiehan?" Di Renjie asked again.

"Knowing that the adults wanted to ask, he was waiting outside." Zhao Ji replied immediately.

Di Renjie nodded, then walked into the outer room with Zhao Ji and Li Yuanfang.

When Wang Tiehan saw Di Renjie coming out, he immediately bowed and saluted: "Greetings, Marshal!"

Di Renjie waved his hand to excuse himself and said gently, "Stand up and answer. Iron man, have you seen the assassin's appearance?"

Upon hearing this, Wang Tiehan shook his head and said, "Before the guards and I could reach General Zong's room, the assassin had already escaped."

Di Renjie nodded slightly: "Then can you tell me what happened at that time? The more complete and detailed the better, starting from before you heard the cry for help."

Wang Tiehan nodded, his thoughts seemed to go back to that moment, and he slowly said: "At that time, before the incident, I was resting in the room and did not do anything."

"Then I vaguely heard someone shouting 'Help!' outside, so I immediately opened the door and looked outside. I saw many guards heading towards General Zong's room."

"I knew something had happened to General Zong, so I picked up my weapons and rushed over. But when I got to General Zong, the two guards at his door were both lying in the room."

"General Zong fell unconscious on the bed. Not long after, Governor Zhao and General Li came over. The Marshal knew what happened next."

Di Renjie nodded and asked, "Then, who entered General Zong's room first? You or those guards?"

Wang Tiehan thought for a moment and replied, "That's about right. The guards at the Marshal's door should have arrived first. I was a little further away and went in after them, but we were about the same time."

"Did you notice any unusual details throughout the whole incident?" Zhao Ji suddenly asked.

Wang Tiehan looked embarrassed, shook his head, and said with a wry smile: "I can't think of it. I just feel that the assassin is very skilled in martial arts. There are so many brothers, but I didn't see his shadow."

Upon hearing this, Di Renjie nodded slightly to show his understanding, and then waved his hand to signal: "Okay, I understand, you can go and rest first."

Wang Tiehan bowed and slowly left the room.

After Wang Tiehan left, Zhao Ji glanced at Di Renjie and gently pointed at Di Chun in the room.

Di Renjie understood what he meant and said, "Let's go and take a look at the bodies of the guards in front of General Zong's gate."

(End of this chapter)