Seeing Su Mo return so fast after he had departed, the soldier on duty was vigilant and did not let his guard down.
The story of the True and False Monkey King was very familiar to the people of Huaxia.
In the wasteland, there was no guarantee that someone would try to disguise themselves as Su Mo.
“The team has already stationed themselves on Great King Mountain. I’m back to look for someone to inquire about some information. It’s nothing serious.”
After showing his identity token and passing the verification, the soldier on duty sighed in relief.
Liu Jie and Liu Zhi, beside him, immediately rushed inside.
Relying on the slight authority they had as the previous leaders, the two quickly turned corners and found the laborer who had passed on the message to them in the crowd.
The informant was a man.
He was thin, dark-skinned, short, and inconspicuous, the kind that would disappear inside a crowd of people in a second.
Fortunately, he had a good memory. Liu Jie called him into a corner, and it only took a few seconds for him to recite the situation that night.
“The sky was a little dark that day, but they carried torches and guns. I was afraid they would become violent if there were a conflict, so I did not dare look at their faces for too long. I kept my head down most of the time.
“There were a total of nine people. The leader wore a bearskin, and a stinky smell oozed from him. It smelt a little bit like blood.
“They looked highly fatigued as if they hadn’t slept for two to three days, especially the one with the surname Wang. He spoke with a deep and hoarse voice. My throat hurt just from listening to him talk.
“What did they want to exchange from us? Let me think about it…
“Ah, yes! They wanted to exchange some clean clothes, hot water, and a wooden bucket to shower. They also requested a warm meal and a place to stay for the night.”
He described everything he knew as he had heard them and shook his head to indicate that he had already given them all the details of the encounter.
It was dark, and he was alerted because the opponent seemed strong. It made it difficult for him to make a proper observation, but he could remember whatever he had observed that night.
Judging from the current information gathered, it did not seem to match up with Marshal Wang’s team.
After all, the team was short of six people.
Feng Tianmin thought for a bit, then tentatively stepped forward.
“Do you have any recollection or impression of the shoes they wore?”
“Shoes?”
Feng Tianmin nodded and pointed toward the hiking boots on his feet.
“Do they look like mine?”
“This…I think they look a little similar.” He immediately lowered his head and glanced at Feng Tianmin’s boots but said uncertainly.
“Wait! There was actually someone who stayed in the bushes that night and did not reveal himself that night. Let me get him for you. He must’ve been able to see their shoes.”
He left quickly and returned to the group, lowering his head to whisper to one person hidden inside the crowd.
Even at a distance, Su Mo, who remained silent throughout, felt his heart sink as the man nodded his head with certainty.
“It’s the same shoes. The craft is identical. I’m sure of it!”
His words were like a final blow to Su Mo.
During a battle outside, whether in ancient or modern times, it was common to have a small army disguise themselves with clothes. Still, for shoes, it was tough to find an identical replacement.
The reason was simple.
Everyone had a subtle difference in foot shapes. The same size worn by different people would be comfortable for some and highly unbearable for others.
Putting on temporary camouflage shoes that were found would make even a flat road journey as painful as stepping on needles, let alone traveling through mountains.
The first batch of these handmade shoes produced in the territory had been fine-tuned according to everyone’s foot shapes, and it would not get any more comfortable than they had made them.
“Marshal Wang didn’t follow the route we planned for the team. He took people on another route, which delayed two days and harmed six of our brothers!
“There must be a secret about this man that we haven’t discovered!
“The mysterious group of people must want something in exchange for his wife and daughter. It surely isn’t as simple as wanting him to just show himself to them! We’ve been deceived!”
After hearing the confirmation, Feng Tianmin could not help but express his frustration and was full of anger.
Marshal Wang and the group of people that were in the team were personally trained and chosen by Li Hu, Feng Tianmin, and the other leaders.
In terms of strength, everyone was an elite of the elites.
