Chapter 284 True and False
On the altar, all the snake killers have been eliminated and the soldiers are cleaning up the battlefield.

Di Renjie interrupted the lovey-dovey conversation between Li Yuanfang and Ruyan. Seeing that both of them were safe and sound, he was naturally very relieved and even started a joke.

Ruyan's cheeks flushed, and she said angrily, "Uncle, you always like to make fun of us."

Di Renjie laughed loudly: "You are the number one contributors to the destruction of the Snake Spirit Altar this time. How dare an old man like me make fun of two heroes?"

Just as the three of them were talking happily, they heard steady footsteps behind them, and Yuan Tiangang and Xiaomei slowly approached.

Li Yuanfang immediately introduced "Lu Cheng" to Di Renjie enthusiastically: "Sir, this is Mr. Lu Cheng. Mr. Lu is a strange man. He was once a servant of Yuan Tiangang and learned all of Yuan's skills. This Snake Spirit Altar was designed by him."

Hearing this, Di Renjie's eyes revealed a bit of surprise and admiration. He turned to look at Yuan Tiangang, as if he was re-examining this seemingly ordinary old man.

"Oh? This headquarters was built by you, sir?" Di Renjie's words were filled with admiration as his eyes moved over Yuan Tiangang.

Although Yuan Tiangang was secretly proud in his heart, he was very humble on the surface, and quickly bowed and said: "General Li, you are too kind. Lu Cheng is just an insignificant person, how dare I accept such praise."

Di Renjie nodded repeatedly and smiled, "Great! A righteous man has many supporters, while an unrighteous man has few. Mr. Lu has abandoned evil and joined the light, helping the court to eliminate the Snake Spirit Rebellion. This is a blessing for our court and the world!"

Yuan Tiangang was so grateful that he bowed again and said, "Lu Cheng went astray in the past, but fortunately you were magnanimous and spared me the crime. I am deeply grateful. From now on, if you have any mission, I will do my best to serve you."

Di Renjie nodded with satisfaction and said, "After everything is settled, I still have a few things to ask you, sir. I hope you can give me some advice!"

Yuan Tiangang quickly agreed: "Your Excellency is too kind. Lu Chengding will tell you everything he knows."

After some pleasantries, Di Renjie turned his gaze to Li Yuanfang: "Hey, where is Chengyuan?"

Li Yuanfang then looked around, but did not see Zhao Ji.

He frowned and said, "Oh, that's strange, he was clearly here just now! I was so busy with Ruyan, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared!"

"Have you seen Chengyuan?" Di Renjie turned to look at Xiaomei and Yuan Tiangang.

Yuan Tiangang shook his head slightly, but his eyes fell on Xiaomei intentionally or unintentionally.

Xiaomei spoke up at the right time: "I saw General Zhao before. He seemed to be following this road to chase Xiao Qingfang."

Before he finished speaking, Wen Kai and Zhou Yi arrived side by side.

When the two saw Di Renjie, they hurried forward to report: "Lord! Except for the thousand soldiers guarding Tuoluo Town and guarding the prisoners, all the troops have entered the main altar! All the Snake Spirit rebels have been captured!"

Di Renjie stroked his beard and smiled, nodding his head in approval: "You have come at the right time! The traitor Xiao Qingfang is still at large. Zhou Yi, you will immediately lead 500 elite soldiers to the various passages in the mountain caves and bring him to justice. No mistakes!"

Zhou Yi heard this and bowed his head to receive the order: "I will obey your order!"

Ruyan also stepped forward and volunteered: "Uncle, Xiaomei and I are very familiar with Xiao Qingfang. Let us go with the army and lend a hand!"

Di Renjie thought about it for a moment, and finally nodded in agreement: "Okay, but you have to be careful about everything!"

Ruyan and Xiaomei agreed and led a large group of people to chase into the passage where Xiao Qingfang escaped.

After everyone left, Di Renjie said to Wen Kai: "Wen Kai, you must immediately order all the troops to strictly guard the entrances and exits of the cave. No one is allowed to enter or leave at will!"

Wen Kai agreed loudly and ran out of the altar quickly.

Di Renjie looked at Lu Cheng again and said, "Mr. Lu, please take the trouble to lead me through this cave."

Yuan Tiangang said calmly, "It's my job, so there's no need for you to bother with it. Please follow me." After that, he led the way and took Li Yuanfang and Di Renjie to the central stone chamber.
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At the winding corner of the cave, Xiao Qingfang and several of his men had already fallen in a pool of blood.

Zhao Ji sheathed his sword, looking confused, holding a piece of blood-soaked straw paper in one hand, his eyes empty.

"August 12th?" He whispered it and then shook his head slowly.

Just at this moment, dense and heavy footsteps were heard in the distance. Ruyan and Xiaomei came with their people.

Zhao Ji quickly put away the piece of straw paper that had aroused his imagination, regained his composure, and walked quickly forward.

The figures of Ruyan and Xiaomei gradually became clear, followed by a large group of soldiers.

"General Zhao! You are here!" Ruyan was surprised and happy to see Zhao Ji.

Zhao Ji said as if nothing had happened: "Oh, why are you here?"

"We are here on the orders of our uncle to hunt down Xiao Qingfang!" Ruyan explained her purpose concisely and clearly.

However, Xiaomei's exclamation broke the silence: "Ah——!"

She pointed with trembling hands not far away, where the bodies of Xiao Qingfang and his men lay quietly on the cold ground, a shocking sight.

"You killed her?" "Could it be... you did it?"

Zhao Ji blinked lightly, his eyes evasive: "I didn't kill him. He was already dead before I caught up with Xiao Qingfang. I just got here."

Xiaomei stared at Zhao Ji, with a strange light in her eyes. She knew clearly in her mind that Zhao Ji was lying.

Ruyan didn't think much about it, but just ran quickly to Xiao Qingfang's body to check the situation, and everyone followed closely.

Zhao Ji took a deep breath, calmed himself, and followed closely behind the team.

"All the wounds are similar, all on the throat. It seems that they died at the hands of the same person. The blood has not yet coagulated, which means they died not long ago." Zhao Ji introduced the way Xiao Qingfang died.

After a careful inspection, Ruyan confirmed that Zhao Ji's inference was correct and nodded secretly.

"The action was quick and decisive. The person who did it must be an expert!"

Then, a look of resentment appeared on her face again, and she gritted her teeth and said, "She got it so easy!"

Obviously, Xiao Qingfang used her as a hostage to threaten Li Yuanfang, which naturally made it difficult for her to let it go.

Zhao Ji staggered and reminded, "Her armor has been removed. The murderer must have taken something from her."

As soon as these words came out, Xiaomei gave him a complicated look again, and the thoughts in her heart became even heavier.

"Cough cough," Zhao Ji pretended to cough when he noticed Xiaomei's gaze.

He looked up and then down again, "Ruyan, judging from the condition of the body, the killer may still be inside the headquarters. Take people to search quickly. Leave two more people to protect the scene, and quickly call the adults over to take a look!"

Ruyan naturally had no objection and personally led the team to hunt down the "murderer".

Xiaomei stayed behind and guarded the body with Zhao Ji. Another person went to report the news, and the two of them understood each other tacitly.

(End of this chapter)