Chapter 551

Shatuke looked at the IOU in his hand, saying nothing.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi, Daoba exchanged a glance—something's off? How could that be?

Luosaihu froze for a moment, then the flesh on his face trembled: "Chief! You saw it yourself—they say our documents are here, but there's actually none!"

He glared at Kang An: "The IOU was stolen by you! Tell the truth!"

Shougaoger also shouted: "Chief! Did you see? Why are these Central Plains people protecting this thief for no reason? I think they're in league with them!"

Several others also started shouting:

"Exactly! This thief stole the IOU—maybe he sold it to these Central Plains people!"

"That's why they won't hand him over!"

The couple exchanged a glance.

The man stepped forward, face full of grievance: "Chief, we've done business here at Shazhoubao for over ten years—when have we ever stolen chickens or dogs?"

The woman also wiped her tears: "These Central Plains people are the most deceitful—they frame innocent people here for no reason; Chief, you must give us justice!"

Luosaihu clasped his fists toward Shatuke: "Chief! The truth is now clear—please order them to hand him over; we must find out where the IOU is!"

Daoba snorted: "You beat him up last night—what did you get out of it?"

Luosaihu glared at him: "You! We didn't even have a chance to question him properly last night, and you already took him away."

Lu Qi crossed his arms: "You condemn him as a thief without evidence, then beat him when you can't get a confession—where's the justice in that?"

Shougaoger grew anxious: "Then what do you suggest? Without the IOU, we can't go anywhere—if not him, who do we ask?"

A crowd surged forward, trying to drag Kang An away.

Lu Qi and Daoba stepped forward to block them.

Kang An instinctively stepped back, a small hand gripping his own.

He turned his head—and saw Tuan Tuan!

No way! I can't let them hurt Tuan Tuan!

He grabbed Tuan Tuan with his backhand and shoved him aside, eyes red with urgency—his meaning clear: get Tuan Tuan out of here.

But Tuan Tuan didn't move; instead, he darted in front of him and pulled him behind.

Xiao Er stepped forward, shielding the two children behind him.

He frowned tightly—Miss couldn't be wrong, yet no contraband was found here; what's going on?

Luosaihu snapped: "This thief wants to run! Unless we torture him, he'll never confess!"

"These Central Plains people are dead set on protecting him—Chief, you need to say something!"

Shatuke looked at Xiao Er: "What do you have to say?"

Xiao Er met his gaze, thinking silently that in this situation, all he could do was stall.

Just as he was about to speak, out of the corner of his eye he saw Tuan Tuan leading Kang An to the edge of the dug pit and squatting down.

The couple's faces instantly changed color.

Xiao Er's heart stirred; he clasped his fists: "Please wait, Chief—my lady will surely figure it out."

Tuan Tuan reached a small hand into the pit and felt around: "There's still something in here,"

She lifted her head to look at Shatuke: "Why aren't you digging?"

Shatuke's eyes narrowed: "Keep digging!"

Several sturdy men grabbed their tools and headed for the pit's edge.

The couple's faces turned pale in an instant—how did this kid know we buried the stuff down there?

One's already been dug up—no one would keep digging after that!

No way—we absolutely can't let them dig it up!

The man shouted: "Wait! Haven't you already dug everywhere? My house has nothing—why keep digging?"

The woman lunged forward, grabbing those sturdy men: "What more digging? Do you want to hollow out my backyard?"

One sturdy man backhanded her, sending her sitting on the ground without a word, then started digging.

"Thud." Something was struck.

Several sturdy men exchanged a glance and sped up their work.

After a moment, a wooden plank surfaced; lifting it revealed an iron box just like the previous one.

A sturdy man handed the box to Shatuke.

The couple's faces flushed like a dye vat—red and white, with a bluish‑gray tint…utterly hideous.

Shatuke opened the iron box; inside lay a stack of paper.

He took out the top sheet and unfolded it.

Luosaihu recognized it at a glance: "This is our document!"

Shatuke took out all the papers and threw the iron box to the ground.

He flipped through them one by one: "Not just yours; there are other caravans' as well."

His expression cold and hard, he looked at the two people standing dumbfounded: "It seems all the documents lost from Shazhoubao these past days were stolen by you."

The couple went limp on the ground, unable to utter a word.

Shatuke looked down on them: "I have always been fair in my dealings; now that we have caught you red‑handed, tell me—how do you wish to die?"

The two stared blankly at him; hearing "how to die," they suddenly jolted awake.

The woman scrambled up, fell to her knees, and kept kowtowing: "Chief! We had no choice! Business at the shop is bad; we couldn't survive, so we came up with this foolish idea!"

The man followed, dropping to his knees and kowtowing: "Yes! Yes! Chief, please spare us! We only wanted to earn a bit more silver; we never meant to harm anyone!"

Lu Qi snorted: "Is that so?"

He raised a hand and pointed at Luosaihu and his group: "You've prevented them from moving on, detaining both people and goods here—have you considered what will become of them?"

Daoba's interface: "You're right! Humph! Still dare to say you didn't mean to harm anyone, what about Kang An?"

"You see him, so young, beaten by a crowd until his face is bloody, yet he hides at home counting silver, glad he became your scapegoat!"

"And this counts as not meaning to harm anyone?"

"Humph!" Tuan Tuan imitated them and also let out a heavy humph: "Exactly! Exactly!"

"Kang An is always hungry, already pitiful enough, yet you not only don't help him but also harm him, you scoundrels!"

Kang An, hearing this, looked at Tuan Tuan, his eye sockets turning red.

Shatuke lowered his head and looked at Tuan Tuan: "You only arrived here last night, yet today you can find where the stolen goods are hidden—did you come here last night?"

Tuan Tuan shook his head: "No! I just walked around this place."

Shatuke, lost in thought: "I never imagined that digging up one could still have another underneath; this idea of hiding the stolen goods is truly ingenious."

"So, little thing, you've never even entered, yet how do you know?"

Upon hearing this, Tuan Tuan couldn't take it: "I'm not a little thing! I just know, is that not allowed? Big guy!"

Dakuaitou?

The people around, hearing this, were all startled, daring to speak like that to the chief?

The man's eyes shifted, he sprang up from the ground, pointing at Tuan Tuan and shouting angrily: "Impudent! How dare you say that? He is our most respected chief!"

As his words fell, Shatuke kicked up, striking his chest and kicking him far away.

The man landed with a "Bang!" heavily on the ground, clutching his chest and continuously panting.

The woman hurriedly threw herself to his side, both of them looking at Shatuke with faces full of fright, their lips trembling from fear, not daring to say another word.

The chief flew into a rage! Several big men simultaneously drew their side swords and stood behind Shatuke.

Xiao Er, Lu Qi, and Daoba stood in a line, blocking Tuan Tuan and Kang An, swiftly drawing their side swords; both sides glared at each other, tension at breaking point.

Luosaihu, leading the people, abruptly stepped back several paces.

"Are we about to fight? We just wanted the documents!"

The next moment.

"Hahaha..." Shatuke burst into loud laughter.

Everyone was stunned.

Shatuke laughed loudly: "Interesting, too interesting! I've been calling the wind and summoning the rain here for so many years, yet no one has ever dared to call me that!"

"Little thing, you're not small in courage, and your mind is sharp."

"Come, follow me to my place; I happen to have a thorny matter—see if you can help me!"