The hand grenade landed on the snow without a sound.
After a while, the sound of the four guards falling could be heard.
Li Daniu gave Lv Huo a look.
Lv Huo crept to the entrance of the Armory, testing the door with his hand.
The main gate did not budge.
He returned and shook his head at Fang Er.
"Captain Fang, the gate inside is bolted. Should I climb in and open it for you?"
Fang Er was a little uneasy.
So, he threw several blinding smoke grenades over the wall.
He patiently listened for any movement inside the gate.
Indeed!
The sound of people falling inside could be heard.
He nodded at Lv Huo.
Lv Huo took a few steps back.
Li Daniu stood by the wall, took a horse stance, and crossed his hands below his crotch.
Lv Huo quickly ran a few steps, stepped on Li Daniu's hand, and using his strength, leaped onto the wall.
Soon, the main gate of the Armory was opened from the inside by him.
"Scatter, find that cannon! Don't make any noise, understand?"
Fang Er said, picking up a blinding smoke grenade and showing it to everyone.
The fifty "Mie Lu Army" soldiers dispersed, searching the Armory for the cannon.
Every time they entered a room, as Fang Er instructed, they first lit a smoke grenade and poked a small hole in the window paper.
They then aimed the smoke outlet at the small hole.
The thick smoke emitted by the grenades flowed into the houses through the holes.
With the cover of these devices, the operation proceeded smoothly.
However, there was no sign of the cannon!
An hour later, everyone gathered.
They all shook their heads at Fang Er.
Fang Er had not expected the cannon to be elsewhere!
His expression turned somewhat grim.
"Since we can't find it, let's stir up trouble!"
Afterward, everyone withdrew from the Armory.
Only Lv Huo was left inside.
Fang Er and his men had not gone far when they saw a raging fire erupt from the Armory.
Lv Huo, following Fang Er's instructions, had set fire to the Armory's warehouse.
But all the guards in the Armory had been drugged into unconsciousness!
Therefore, Lv Huo emerged safely and rejoined Fang Er.
It wasn't until they returned to the Zhang family that they heard people on the street shouting about the fire.
"Heh heh, it's really exciting to follow Big Brother Fang!"
Cheng Chumuo was very excited.
This feeling of sneaking around and doing bad things was too exhilarating!
Yuchi Baolin gave him a sidelong glance.
"You get this happy just from a quick stroll inside?"
Fang Er was accustomed to their love-hate relationship and chose to ignore them.
The next day.
Patrol soldiers marched in waves through Shenyang, constantly sweeping the city.
Chen Xuelian, using the opportunity to go out and buy groceries, managed to gather some information.
The Armory had lost two large warehouses of supplies and provisions due to the fire yesterday.
Additionally, over a dozen craftsmen had perished.
However, no clues had been found.
After releasing smoke, the "Misty Grenades" were collected by the Mie Lu Army soldiers.
As for the footprints in the snow, they had turned into muddy water due to the Armory fire, leaving no trace.
Shenyang City was vast, and it was impossible to search every house.
Therefore, they had to increase patrol intensity, hoping to find the arsonist.
Lv Huo was very skilled.
Fang Er sent him out to keep an eye on the Armory, hoping to find clues about the cannon.
That night, Lv Huo returned with news.
Upon hearing the source of the information, Fang Er couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for Lv Huo.
This guy had actually gone into the Armory supervisor's study to eavesdrop!
But his risk had not been in vain.
In the supervisor's study, Lv Huo hid on the roof beams, becoming a gentleman of the rafters.
He saw a general-like figure come to meet the supervisor.
From their conversation, Lv Huo confirmed one thing.
The cannon was indeed in Shenyang!
However, it was not within the city walls!
Yuan Gaisu Wen was cunning. To prevent news of the cannon from leaking, he had not allowed the cannon into the city at all!
Instead, it was sent directly to a manor outside the city.
And this supervisor was the owner of that manor.
This general had come to confirm the progress of the cannon's replication and its safety.
Yuan Gaisu Wen, having suffered a great defeat, had been summoned back to the capital by the King of Goguryeo. Before leaving, he had specifically entrusted the matter of the cannon to this general.
He had considered taking the cannon back to Pyongyang as well.
However, transporting iron ore from Shenyang to Pyongyang was a journey of over eight hundred li, and it was winter, so he had the cannon replication project moved here.
Fang Er, upon receiving this news, finally breathed a sigh of relief.
With a direction, everything became manageable!
With the help of silver, they successfully located the Armory supervisor's manor.
It was located at Sun Family Manor, thirty li east of Shenyang City!
Thus, Fang Er led everyone, including Chen Xuelian.
They exited the city using ropes from the city walls of Shenyang.
Outside the city, Zhuzi and the others had been waiting for a day and a night.
The great fire that had occurred in the city last night had led them to believe that Fang Er had succeeded.
However, they had not seen them return.
They had even decided to blow open the Shenyang city gates under the cover of night to search for Fang Er.
Seeing Fang Er return, Zhuzi quickly came to greet him.
"The cannon is not in the city. Gather everyone, we are going to Sun Family Manor."
This time, Chen Xuelian had been of great help.
After all, she was from Shenyang!
Her understanding of the area was something Fang Er and his men could not match.
With her pointing in a general direction, the thousand-man team moved towards Sun Family Manor.
After walking for about the time it takes to burn one stick of incense, they passed a small village.
Lv Huo went into action again, sneaking into a farmer's house and using two taels of silver to inquire about the exact location of Sun Family Manor.
It was now less than three li away!
Three li was a short distance, covered in an instant.
The originally quiet Sun Family Manor.
As Fang Er and his men arrived, dogs began to bark from within the manor.
Then, they saw one household light an oil lamp.
Fang Er walked up and knocked on the door of this house.
Yuchi Baolin and Cheng Chumuo exchanged a glance, drew their crossbows, and prepared themselves.
"Who is it! It's late at night, can't a person sleep!"
An aged voice came from within the courtyard.
Afterward, the gate was opened from the inside.
An old man with hair that had turned somewhat white appeared before Fang Er.
He was wearing a large fur coat.
The old man was about to say something more when he found himself being pointed at with two crossbows.
He startled and took two steps back.
"I ask, you answer. Dare to shout, and I'll take your life!"
Fang Er stared at him and said.
A large black dog rushed out of the courtyard and barked incessantly at Fang Er and the others. Cheng Chumuo raised his hand and shot it dead.
The old man, looking at the dead black dog, nodded his head tremblingly.
"Where is the thing the Armory sent?"
"There, there, there! It's in the largest courtyard on the east side of the manor! That's the residence of the Armory supervisor, Master Sun."
The old man trembled, unsure if it was from the cold or fear.