After listening to the speech, Hu Fan frowned, "Oh, you met him halfway. Did he tell you where he came from?"
Chen Xiaobo shook his head, "He didn't mention it. There were three of them in total."
"Oh, you mean Chen Ping brought outsiders to Hetou Village." Hu Fan's eyes lit up.
"Yes, but those two people are not from our village, nor are they from nearby villages."
Chen Xiaobei was a little anxious when he heard this, "Didn't Chen Ping tell you who those two were? And where they came from?"
Chen Xiaobo shook his head again, "Those two never said a word from beginning to end." Suddenly, he slapped his head, "Right, they probably came from Xiaojia Town. I met him in Xiaojia Town two days ago to deliver vegetables, and we even had a drink."
Hearing Chen Xiaobo mention Xiaojia Town, Zhao Chunqiang's heart skipped a beat. Chen Ping going to Xiaojia Town was introduced by himself.
If Hu Fan went to the inn and asked, he would naturally find out, and in the end, he would be accused of knowing but not reporting.
Thinking of this, he quickly interjected, "Lord Hu, I just remembered. Chen Ping went to the inn in Xiaojia Town, and it was me who introduced him there. The innkeeper, Old Wang, I know him very well."
Hu Fan gave Zhao Chunqiang a meaningful look. Of course, he understood why Zhao Chunqiang suddenly spoke up.
"Old Zhao, why didn't you say so earlier?" There was dissatisfaction in his words. How could Zhao Chunqiang not understand? He quickly bowed and said, "Alas, I must be old and confused. I just forgot about it in my haste."
Hu Fan let out a cold snort, "Alright, since you're old and confused, then go home and rest. You can consider it retiring from office."
At this moment, Zhao Chunqiang was extremely distressed. Alas, he wanted to stay out of it, but instead, he lost his position as village head because of it.
He Dali next to him quickly pleaded, "My lord, the case is not yet solved, and it is a time when we need people. After all, the position of village head is very important."
Hu Fan chuckled, "You're right, the village head is very important. But what use is there in keeping Zhao Chunqiang, who is afraid of implicating himself and conceals information?"
Zhao Chunqiang heard these words and knew there was no room for salvage. He had to leave dejectedly.
He felt incredibly wronged in his heart. Just because of a momentary lapse in judgment, he lost his position as village head.
Watching him leave, Chen Xiaobei also felt a bit regretful. He had a good impression of Zhao Chunqiang at first, but he didn't expect him to make such a low-level mistake.
After sending Zhao Chunqiang away, Hu Fan ordered He Dali to lead his men to Xiaojia Town to investigate Chen Ping's situation at the inn and find out who he had come to Hetou Village with.
At this moment, in an inn in Xiaojia Town.
Sun Jian was in a good mood today. With Chen Ping gone, no one could know his true identity anymore.
But before he could be happy for long, he heard a commotion ahead. He Dali, with a few constables, had arrived.
Seeing the constables arrive, Sun Jian's heart suddenly sank.
He instantly had a bad premonition.
His eyes darted around, and Sun Jian called over a subordinate named Shi Yan and whispered a few words to him, asking Shi Yan to pretend to be out on business and pass through the lobby to hear what the constables were saying to the innkeeper.
Seeing the constables arrive, the innkeeper, Old Wang, was very polite and clasped his hands in greeting to He Dali.
"May I ask what brings the constables here?"
He Dali nodded and pulled up a chair to sit down.
"Shopkeeper Wang, is it? Is Chen Ping working as a handyman here?"
"Chen Ping." Old Wang was stunned at first, then nodded, "Yes, but he took leave yesterday and is not at my inn."
Although He Dali pretended to look down, his peripheral vision was on Old Wang.
Old Wang's expression was very calm, showing no sign of panic.
He Dali continued, "Shopkeeper Wang, perhaps you don't know yet, but Chen Ping has been murdered."
Now, Old Wang's eyes were filled with surprise, "Murdered? How is that possible? Chen Ping never argued with anyone and was always honest and diligent."
Little did Old Wang know that that was just a disguise Chen Ping put on to better fit in.
However, He Dali got the answer from Old Wang's eyes. That is, Old Wang was definitely not the murderer, because his eyes only showed surprise, not panic.
"Let's go. Take me to his living quarters."
He Dali followed Old Wang to the backyard, and Sun Jian also received the news.
The jig was up. It was indeed about Chen Ping. Sun Jian was furious.
He called Sun Gui and Sun Qing over and lowered his voice, cursing them fiercely through gritted teeth.
Sun Gui and Sun Qing were bewildered, "Brother, something's not right. We dragged him into the woods and tied him up so tightly. How could he have been discovered so quickly?"
Sun Jian sighed, "Alright, stop talking nonsense. I'll ask you, were the traces cleaned up? Did you leave any loopholes!"
Sun Qing suddenly slapped his head, "Oh, no, brother. Yesterday, when we went back with Chen Ping, we ran into someone from his village driving a donkey cart, and he gave us a ride."
Sun Jian stomped his foot in anger when he heard this, "You two are incompetent and only cause trouble."
"Alas, it's all my fault. I should have gone myself." Sun Jian shook his head and sighed.
Sun Gui, however, was dismissive, "Brother, although we took his donkey cart, neither Sun Qing nor I said a word, and Chen Ping didn't mention us either."
Sun Jian still shook his head, "No, no. If the authorities investigate, it might ruin the Grand Tutor's great plan."
"Then what should we do?" Sun Gui panicked.
Sun Jian lowered his head, thought for a moment, and came up with an idea, "Wait for a while, you two will leave and go back to Cangying Mountain to hide first."
"But brother, if we leave, what will you do?" Sun Gui didn't want to leave just like that. After all, Cangying Mountain was a place of hardship and suffering, nowhere near as pleasant and carefree as Xiaojia Town.
Sun Jian glared, "Alright, you don't need to worry about things here. Go back and get ready."
After arranging for Sun Gui and Sun Qing to leave, Sun Jian pondered for a moment and then called Shi Yan, who had just gathered information, over.
"Shi Yan, take two brothers to Hetou Village and find Chen Xiaobei. You know what I mean, right?"
Shi Yan chuckled, "Brother, I understand. Ostensibly, we're asking about the progress of the iron chain bridge, but secretly, we're finding out how much Chen Xiaobei and the others know about Chen Ping's matter."
Sun Jian nodded approvingly, "Good, go. Oh, and if possible, go to the mountain yourself and take a look."
Shi Yan agreed and left with two brothers. Sun Jian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At this time, he didn't notice that Zheng Ke had already checked into the inn with two people.
A fierce battle was imminent, but Sun Jian's strength had been greatly reduced. Sun Gui and Sun Qing returned to Cangying Mountain, and Shi Yan went to Qingniu Mountain. With one side's strength decreasing and the other's increasing, the situation was developing in a direction very unfavorable to Sun Jian.