Chapter 205: Officials Like Bandits

Duan Rong still remembers that the first time he stepped into this courtyard, Hei Wa was still very shy, hiding behind the door and not daring to come out, only revealing half of his face to peek at him.

Later, they became familiar, and every time Duan Rong came, Hei Wa would look at him with a grin, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

The last time he came, Hei Wa even stuffed two bird eggs into his hands, telling him to roast them and eat them...

Duan Rong looked at the wooden stake where Hei Wa's head hung limp, and the image of him grinning to reveal his white teeth kept flashing through Duan Rong's mind...

The tears in Duan Rong's eyes could no longer be held back and burst forth...

His Divine Sense swept into the house; there were still three corpses inside. Qin Laohan had been cut in half at the waist, his intestines spilling all over the floor.

His son had been decapitated, and his daughter-in-law was naked, her chest stabbed into a bloody mess...

Duan Rong wiped the tears from his face, and his heart suddenly calmed down because he heard the sound of horses neighing not far away.

This world is not peaceful, and the weak being preyed upon like livestock is something that likely happens in many corners.

Although he wanted to seek justice for the late Qin Laohan's family, he also had to consider the opponent's strength. If the opponent's strength was too great, he would turn around and leave!

Duan Rong used his Divine Sense to lead the way, unleashed the Small Success Realm Cloud Snake Step, and used the courtyard walls and trees to conceal his figure as he headed toward the sound of the horse neighing.

Duan Rong hid behind a parasol tree behind a farmer's house and looked toward a large manor not far away.

That manor belonged to a wealthy family in the village; the head of the family was surnamed Quan and was the village head for several nearby villages.

The family had quite a bit of land and also kept a group of Martial Artists.

This Village Head Quan was quite benevolent and charitable, often providing relief to the poor in the village. In years of famine, he would also lend grain to the villagers, with interest only half the market rate, so he had a very good reputation in the village.

But at this moment, more than ten fine horses were parked at the entrance of the Quan Family Manor. Those horses had oily, shiny coats and spirited eyes, clearly all sturdy, good steeds.

And at the entrance of the manor stood two people, wearing headscarves and standing with swords. Duan Rong swept his Divine Sense over them; both of these people were at the Inner Breath Realm First Layer, and there were splashes of blood on their faces.

At the feet of the two men lay three corpses, with severed hands and heads, their state of death miserable. Moreover, those three corpses were all in tight-fitting clothes and carried weapons. Duan Rong's Divine Sense swept over them, and on the hilt of that broadsword, a character for "Quan" was carved.

The three corpses lying on the ground at the entrance were clearly the Guards of the Quan Family Manor.

The two fellows standing at the entrance were merely at the Inner Breath Realm First Layer; Duan Rong could destroy them with a lift of his hand!

But he did not make a move; he did not want to alert the people inside the manor!

At this moment, it was still unclear what the cultivation realms of the people inside the manor were. Acting rashly would startle the snake, which could very likely put him in a passive position.

Duan Rong flashed into the courtyard of the farmhouse behind him, circled to the side, emerged from another alley, and stood outside a certain courtyard wall of the Quan Family Manor.

The courtyard wall of the Quan Family Manor was tall and thick, but Duan Rong trod on cliffs as if they were flat ground; this height was nothing more than a single leap for him.

But Duan Rong did not leap in directly; instead, he bypassed the courtyard wall and began to move, while his released Divine Sense penetrated the wall and swept into the manor.

After some maneuvering, Duan Rong had already swept across a large area of the manor near the courtyard wall.

He did not find any living people.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted; he chose a concealed position and flashed over the wall.

Duan Rong landed lightly, almost without a sound. Beside where he landed was a tall canna lily, its leaves like huge palm-leaf fans...

Duan Rong hid behind the canna lily and scanned with his eyes; the courtyard was very vast, and what his eyes could reach already exceeded the range of his Divine Sense Envelopment.

But, apart from the occasional fallen corpse, Duan Rong did not find a single living person in the courtyard.

Duan Rong's figure flashed, rising and crouching, using trees, pavilions, buildings, and corridor pillars to conceal his figure, constantly probing the courtyard with his Divine Sense and his eyes.

However, when Duan Rong had almost scanned the entire manor, he still had not found a single living person.

"Impossible!" Duan Rong knitted his brows. "Since there are more than ten fine horses parked at the manor entrance, and there are two fellows with headscarves guarding it, there must be people inside the manor!"

Duan Rong's gaze flickered, his heart stirred, and he suddenly said: "There is a Secret Chamber!"

Probing with Divine Sense can pass through walls and courtyards; a Secret Chamber inside a building absolutely could not escape his Divine Sense. The Secret Chamber must be in a place he had not probed with his Divine Sense but had scanned with his eyes. Duan Rong turned abruptly and stared at the Rockery in the middle of the courtyard.

Duan Rong's figure flashed, his Divine Sense released, and as his body got closer and closer to the Rockery, Duan Rong's Divine Sense had already enveloped the Rockery.

Duan Rong's gaze shifted; at a gap in the ground of the Rockery, there was actually a pitch-black hole.

Inside the hole, there were faint stone steps!

That seemed to be the entrance to the Secret Chamber.

Duan Rong walked a few quick steps and enveloped it with his Divine Sense...

Duan Rong stood not far from the hole, his gaze flickering. He did not flash inside, but hid behind the Rockery and used his Divine Sense to penetrate underground...

No matter how deep the underground Secret Chamber was, its depth could not exceed one hundred meters.

Duan Rong stood behind the Rockery, and with one sweep of his Divine Sense, he almost exhausted the entire underground Secret Chamber space.

In fact, the space of the Secret Chamber was not too large, and there was only one room; it was nothing more than a hidden warehouse of the Quan Family.

Inside that Secret Chamber stood more than ten people, and there were two corpses on the ground: one was an old man with graying hair, and the other was a burly middle-aged man. Both were dressed elegantly, and their facial features and builds were quite similar; they seemed to be a father and son.

Duan Rong speculated that the ones who died inside were the Quan father and son. The two were clearly held hostage in the Secret Chamber, and after this gang of bandits found the wealth, they killed them to silence them.

In the middle of the Secret Chamber, there was a large chest at this time. The lid was flipped open, and it was actually filled with gold, jewelry, and silver notes...

Duan Rong concentrated his Divine Sense, penetrated the bodies of each of these people, and saw their Internal Breath realms clearly.

There were twelve people here.

There was one person, about forty years old, with a burly build and a long, thin face, who was actually at the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer Great Success Realm.

There were five others at the Inner Breath Realm Second Layer, and six at the Inner Breath Realm First Layer.

Among them, a thin man clutching a steel sword, with bloodstains dripping along the blade of the steel sword, looked at the open chest. A flash of greed crossed his eyes, but he immediately suppressed it and said in a hoarse voice: "Shen Tou, this Quan Family just has a bit more land and collects land rent; how could their family fortune be so abundant?"

That burly middle-aged man called Shen Tou was the Martial Artist at the Inner Breath Realm Great Success Realm, clearly the leader of this gang.

This person glared at the thin man and said: "Do you think Tang Wanhong is a pushover! If it were an ordinary manor, would he let us come to rob it?"

Hearing the name Tang Wanhong, Duan Rong's heart tightened abruptly.

This gang was actually directed by Tang Wanhong!

But Tang Wanhong was one of Shen Yanliu's people!

Thinking of this, Duan Rong felt a chill all over his body.

For the sake of his own political achievements and official reputation, Shen Yanliu had not invented any pretexts or imposed harsh taxes since taking office; on the contrary, he had not offended the people, and therefore, his official reputation had always been quite good.

However, this person clearly has immense ambition and has always wanted to climb higher; the cases of Xu Ruhu and Xie Lei are a glimpse of this. Worried that the unsolved cases would affect his performance review, he had Tang Wanhong personally go to the Prefecture City to pull strings with the Surveillance Commissioner.

Since Shen Yanliu has not exploited the people through harsh taxes and levies, he needs a great deal of silver to pull strings in officialdom.

Where does this silver come from?

The several factions within Xiangu City possess formidable military strength and are difficult to shake, so he set his sights on the wealthy manor owners outside the city!

Furthermore, he colluded with bandits and did not hesitate to slaughter villages!

He truly deserves a thousand cuts, and it would not be enough!

"An official who acts like a bandit!" A flash of hatred and resentment crossed Duan Rong's eyes!

This person Shen Yanliu is simply a hundred times more detestable than those corrupt officials who invent pretexts to amass wealth!

He wants a reputation as an incorruptible official to serve as a boost for his own climb upward.

Yet at the same time, he colludes with bandits, robs the local gentry, and does not even hesitate to slaughter villages.

An official on the outside, a bandit on the inside!

A human face on the outside, a beast's heart on the inside!

Duan Rong stood by the Rockery, his intent to kill surging; he wished he could immediately decapitate this dog official with a human face and a beast's heart, Shen Yanliu, and hang his head on the gate tower of Xiangu County to be exposed to the sun as a warning to the public!

But Duan Rong also knew clearly in his heart that Shen Yanliu was absolutely not someone he could shake at this moment.

It is not just his status as the Magistrate of Xiangu County and an outer disciple of the Taiyi Sect; his cultivation realm of True Qi Realm alone is something Duan Rong cannot deal with.

However, while he cannot kill Shen Yanliu, he does not want to let a single one of these lackeys before him go.

"I shall use you all to offer a sacrifice to the spirits of this village!"

(End of this chapter)