Judge Dee's Mystery Episode 20 Recap, Plot

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Ma Rong was unable to stop it and was shocked internally. It wasn't until she saw two mounted bandits beside Di Renjie die from the arrow that she breathed a sigh of relief. Diao Xiaoguan, on the other hand, reacted quickly, completing a series of actions including drawing his bow, aiming, and shooting, which saved Ma Rong from a sneak attack from behind.

During this time, more and more bandits arrived, and Di Renjie and the others were about to be overwhelmed. Fortunately, government soldiers arrived in time. After leaving the post station, Diao Xiaoguan followed Di Renjie and Ma Rong all the way, seemingly guiding them to a place. Soon the three came to a bustling market, where merchants from all over the world gathered. Diao Xiaoguan was adept at cargo trading and also skilled in Western Region languages.

Di Renjie noticed an old man on the street who was grieving, so he asked Diao Xiaoguan to help inquire about the situation. However, Diao Xiaoguan's answer was off-topic, falsely claiming that the old man's daughter had been killed by Han Yongnan and that he knew where Han Yongnan had gone. Later, in the desert, the group met Huo Huaili and followed him to Zhenxi Fort.

This place was located in the city defense area, where soldiers guarded year-round against various dangers, solely to protect the peace of the surrounding people. However, Di Renjie learned that Han Yongnan was dead and wanted to lift the shroud to confirm his identity. A soldier warned him not to lift it easily because Han Yongnan had contracted the plague, but he found Han Yongnan's face disfigured and already unrecognizable.

According to Huo Huaili's account, they kindly took in Han Yongnan, but the other party repaid their kindness with enmity, not only trying to steal horses to cross the border but even killing a soldier named Zhou Changyi. When Diao Xiaoguan heard this name, he gave Di Renjie a meaningful look.

Di Renjie was startled when he heard Huo Huaili describe Han Yongnan's accent; he clearly remembered that Han Yongnan was born and raised in Chang'an and did not understand Lanfang dialect. Meanwhile, Ma Rong inspected the situation in the army and felt that something was strange. Coincidentally, Diao Xiaoguan, while drunk, bumped into military supplies. As the soldiers helped pick up the supplies, Ma Rong noticed that these men had whip marks of varying degrees on their wrists.

Thus, Di Renjie and Ma Rong concluded that the deceased was probably not Han Yongnan, and Huo Huaili's weapon was a three-section chain whip. The two groped their way to a thatched hut and found Huo Huaili's weapon, as well as the tragically killed soldier Zhou Changyi. At this time, "Huo Huaili" brought the soldiers outside the thatched hut.

Di Renjie exposed him as the real Zhou Changyi, stating that because Huo Huaili often mistreated soldiers and even tortured and killed his younger brother Zhou Changyong, he conspired with everyone to mutiny and kill Huo Huaili, then disguised himself as the escaped prisoner Han Yongnan. Zhou Changyi accused Huo Huaili of various heinous acts, which left them with nowhere to file a complaint. If they did not resist, they would only have to endure even more severe persecution.

To prevent the truth from coming out, Zhou Changyi imprisoned Di Renjie and Ma Rong. Ma Rong felt that Huo Huaili deserved his death, and if she were one of the soldiers, she probably would have wanted to kill him with her own hands.

But Di Renjie still insisted on the Tang Dynasty laws and the so-called etiquette, believing that Tang generals and soldiers should not mutiny based on their own temperaments just because of their superiors' alleged tyranny, leading to incidents of killing superiors. This would inevitably endanger the prosperity and stability of the Tang Dynasty.

Diao Xiaoguan listened to Di Renjie's words from outside the window and could not agree with them, stating that he was just an ordinary person and did not want to think about the laws and rules of officials like them. So Diao Xiaoguan only knew that regardless of status, beneath this skin, everyone is a beast. And beasts are divided into ferocious and arrogant ones and weak and incompetent ones.

Han Yongnan was a jackal in Lanfang, but here he wasn't even a rat. In the truly cruel and bloody coliseum, every beast has value, and that is to kill for survival; otherwise, they will be at the mercy of others. As soon as he finished speaking, sounds of fighting came from outside. It turned out that the bandits were attacking Zhenxi Fort fiercely.

The soldiers fought desperately but were still at a disadvantage; the disparity in numbers was so great that they were completely fighting like cornered beasts. Zhou Changyi personally came and released Di Renjie and Ma Rong, stating that Huo Huaili's death was his doing alone, unrelated to anyone else. He hoped that when Di Renjie reported the situation to the military headquarters, he would remember that the soldiers guarded the frontier loyal to the emperor and patriotic, without any fault.

After saying these words, Zhou Changyi rushed out and fought alongside everyone, hacking at the bandits with all his might. Diao Xiaoguan stood at a high place witnessing everything, trying his best to protect Di Renjie from harm, but Di Renjie personally witnessed the soldiers using their flesh and blood to resist the bandit invasion, fighting until the last man, and felt both shocked and grieved.

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