Chapter 455: Gourd Case

The government office runner said "Ah": "This is the sentence set by the county..." The fierce tiger and the giant sheep stared at him at the same time, scaring him into changing his words immediately, "... I think the County Magistrate has no opinion, so please come to the government office to sit for a while, I will take the prisoner back."

The townspeople who wanted to watch the excitement were unhappy, but with the fierce tiger sitting in town, it was truly a tiger staring at the audience, and they didn't dare to act rashly, only complaining as they dispersed.

Wang the Pockmarked didn't expect the reinforcements to arrive, and after being untied, he knelt down to He Lingchuan with a "pu tong" sound: "Officer, save me, I'm really wronged!"

Jiaoyu walked past him: "If there is a single word of falsehood, you are dead."

He Lingchuan had always learned not to mind other people's business, but his heart stirred when he heard the word "disappeared."

He stepped forward and asked: "How did they disappear?"

Wang the Pockmarked was afraid that outsiders would be numb and unresponsive, and he would be acting alone until death, but now that there was feedback, he was so excited that he had caught a life-saving straw: "There was light on the mountainside, they chased after it and then they were gone! There must be a more powerful demon there!"

The Drilling Wind Beast didn't allow him to quibble and was about to pull him away.

At this moment, two crows couldn't resist the desire and landed, stretching their beaks to peck at Wang the Pockmarked's face.

They originally wanted to peck out his eyeballs, but unfortunately, Wang the Pockmarked turned left and right and didn't cooperate, so they only chiseled two bloody holes in his face.

He Lingchuan only then understood that "chisel punishment" originally meant this.

There were still a hundred crows above, if they all landed, Wang the Pockmarked would really be chiseled to death alive.

The demon nation's punishment was truly creative, and this crime was not much different from being cut into a thousand pieces.

He whistled, and the goshawk on the roof changed from its leisurely watching mode and swooped down diagonally.

It passed by the high platform and scared the two crows back into the sky.

Then this goshawk stood on the large horns of He Lingchuan's mount—the Rock Sheep.

The government office runner who reacted patted the dust off his body and rushed over, shouting: "Lord Ling, don't be confused, let go of the prisoner!"

Lord Ling didn't pay attention at all, let his subordinates pull Wang the Pockmarked and turn around to leave, it turned around and faced the government office runner, lowering its head and digging the soil, looking like it was ready to attack.

How would the government office runner dare to step forward?

Just at this moment, a tiger roar came from behind the crowd! The roar that shook people's hearts calmed the chaotic scene, the old man beside He Lingchuan covered his chest, almost falling to the ground.

Then the fierce tiger jumped out and walked two steps, only then speaking in human language: "I am the Baishan Central General, ordered to handle the case, who dares to do it?"

This fierce tiger suddenly approached, the government office runner was scared back two steps by its fierce power, only then discovering that it had a copper plate tied under its neck, which was emitting the unique light of Yuan power.

Seeing the words on the copper plate, the government office runner was first startled, and then overjoyed: "Lord Baishan, you came just in time! Here..."

"Retreat."

"Okay." The government office runner immediately shut up, happily retreating.

If the sky falls, there's a tall person to hold it up, it's great, and it's time for someone to kill the prestige of this group of Drilling Wind Beasts.

However, he was going to be disappointed.

The seemingly irritable Drilling Wind Beast leader didn't explode, but spoke leisurely: "Lord Jiao, long time no see."

Eh? The onlookers were disappointed at once: these two know each other?

Jiaoyu nodded to the giant sheep: "General Ling, the military order should have arrived, why haven't you set off yet?"

"My juniors disappeared inexplicably, how can I not care?" The General Ling shook its head, spitting on the ground. "I'm here, and this group of scum dares to shirk responsibility, if I wait until I receive the order and go out, won't this case be ruined?"

It also asked Jiaoyu: "You wouldn't be here to handle the disappearance case of my clansmen, would you?"

It had a bad temper, but it had self-knowledge. Seven or eight Drilling Wind Beasts disappeared, how could it alarm the hand of the Eldest Young Master? "No, but it might be related."

General Ling was overjoyed: "Good, good! As long as it's related, you go and investigate it well!"

Jiaoyu retreated to He Lingchuan's side: "This Crown Prince special envoy is the main person, I'm just ordered to accompany him."

(End of chapter)

So, it happily stretched its head into the window.

The government officials heard the commotion, but no one came out to make a sound.

"Tell me everything you know," He Lingchuan reminded Wang Mazi, "Your life is hanging by a thread, so do not lie."

Wang Mazi kowtowed to him twice and told him everything without reservation.

It turned out that he and a few close friends from his village went to steal goods from merchants in Wudou Town. The other party was a group of unfamiliar merchants passing through this trade route for the first time; they were strangers to the area, and the group easily succeeded.

The dozen or so men stole both the goods and the horses and were on their way back when, for some reason, they ended up in the government-owned fields.

In the government fields, some "Zhi horses" happened to be ripe, emitting precious light at night. One villager couldn't resist and reached out to snatch two of them.

That snatch caused trouble.

The government medicinal fields were guarded by the Zuanfeng Beast clan, a duty passed down through generations. They were not some wild mountain monsters; seeing these dozen or so men stealing medicine, how could they tolerate it? They immediately gave chase!

Wang Mazi and the others panicked and lost their way, and with the poor visibility on that rainy night, they actually ran into Mount Niutou.

Then, they saw two lanterns halfway up the mountain...

After being abandoned by his companions, Wang Mazi did not stay where he was to wait for death; instead, he rolled hard into the bushes nearby.

Fortunately, it was dark enough, and the rain and mud covered his scent. The Zuanfeng Beasts jumped right past him without discovering his presence.

They went to chase his companions.

Wang Mazi lay in the heavy rain for a long time, not daring to move.

His companions never returned, and neither did the Zuanfeng Beasts.

Later, he gathered the courage to climb up and look, but the valley was pitch black—where were there any lanterns? His foot was injured and he couldn't walk, so he could only stay on Mount Niutou for two days until medicinal herb gatherers entered the mountain and brought him out on a donkey.

As for the latter part, He Lingchuan had already heard it from the government runners on the way: the official medicinal fields had been raided, and the Zuanfeng Beasts guarding the fields had gone missing. The official investigation led directly to Wang Mazi because the goods stolen by the villagers were found near the medicinal fields, and the entrance to Mount Niutou where Wang Mazi sprained his ankle was only about three li away from the fields.

The facts were clear and the evidence was conclusive, so he was sentenced to death.

Hearing this, He Lingchuan felt something was wrong: "A group of villagers, and they could kill the Zuanfeng Beasts guarding the fields?"

The Zuanfeng Beasts were formidable in combat and had bad tempers; even civilians would take a detour when they saw them.

He Lingchuan's entire family worked in the officialdom, so he knew immediately that Wang Mazi was an unlucky scapegoat. No wonder Master Ling was so angry.

He asked Wang Mazi: "If I let you go to Mount Niutou again, can you point out the location of those two lanterns?"

"I can, I can!"

He Lingchuan then let the fierce tiger go to negotiate with the government runners.

During this time, He Lingchuan examined the wound on Wang Mazi's foot and found it was only a ligament strain, which had already healed by sixty or seventy percent after all this time.

Wang Mazi smiled bitterly: "A lowly life is just tough. Master He, please save my life!"

It was unclear how Jiao Yu negotiated with the government runners, but about a quarter of an hour later, He Lingchuan found a carriage to take Wang Mazi to Mount Niutou.

The Zuanfeng Beasts followed as before.

General Ling was very familiar with everyone; after sizing up the rock goat, he leaned over and asked He Lingchuan: "Why did the Crown Prince send a child like you to be a special envoy?"

"It's a matter of like-mindedness." This sheep must have offended quite a few people, right? He Lingchuan asked him: "General Ling, how old are you?"

"One hundred and nineteen!" General Ling shook his head, "I'll be celebrating a big birthday next year!"

"General Ling is vigorous and strong, far surpassing humans." A human nearly one hundred and twenty years old—what would they look like? Let alone going to the front lines to fight, even walking a few laps quickly wouldn't be easy.

General Ling laughed heartily: "Don't compare you humans to me!"

He Lingchuan saw that the beard under its chin was braided and wrapped in gold thread, and there were two gold rings on its left ear. Clearly, General Ling paid attention to his appearance and lived quite an exquisite life.

As everyone knows, sheep don't have hands and can't braid their own hair.

That could only mean General Ling kept servants or maids at home to take care of these things for him.

He Lingchuan had long heard that the great demons of Beijia had their own fiefs, servants, and subordinates, enjoying great privileges locally, sometimes even immunity.

However, there weren't many great demons, and he had finally seen one today.

Jiao Yu had already told him that this one was also the Feitian Vanguard General of the Chi Yan Kingdom, holding a high rank, not some miscellaneous general. Its direct Feitian Army was basically composed of Zuanfeng Beasts; although they were few in number, they were a special unit.

No wonder General Ling didn't take the local government seriously at all.

However, logically speaking, General Ling should have been on his way to the eastern front, not still wandering around his hometown.

When Jiao Yu asked again just now, General Ling became impatient, saying his troops were already on the road and he would be catching up soon.

"The Crown Prince himself is not even forty, just a little brat, and he actually sent someone even younger to handle the case. It's simply absurd!" General Ling said in front of He Lingchuan, "What good deeds have you done to make him look at you differently?"

"Nothing much," He Lingchuan said indifferently, "Just helped him finish off Fu Shanji." Fu Shanyue looked so boisterous; it turned out he was almost forty?

General Ling's eyes widened instantly, and he blurted out: "What!"

Although he was recuperating in his hometown, such major news as the death of the Second Prince certainly couldn't be hidden from him. Hearing He Lingchuan's words, his first reaction was disbelief, but looking back and seeing Jiao Yu didn't even twitch an ear, it was clear this matter was true.

"How did you manage that?"

He Lingchuan had already inquired with Jiao Yu just now; General Ling was neutral in the royal court's stance and even leaned slightly toward the Eldest Prince, so he felt safe announcing his battle achievements.

Most demons were straightforward; being too subtle with them was like throwing a wink at a blind person—there was no need.

Only with outstanding strength would they take you seriously. Otherwise, this General Ling looked like a natural troublemaker; how would he cooperate with him properly?

He Lingchuan didn't answer but asked instead: "How is the cultivation of those missing juniors of yours?"

"Not weak," General Ling said in a deep voice, "They are also the backbone of the Feitian Army and have been through several battlefields with me. Logically, they shouldn't have disappeared without a trace."

He paused and continued: "Without them, the Feitian Army only has seventy-some members left, and their combat strength is severely diminished."

He Lingchuan nodded; no wonder he was so fired up.

Soon, they passed the official medicinal fields guarded by the Zuanfeng Beasts.

This was a large field hidden in the mountain belly, with fertile soil surpassing ordinary farmland. Now, over a dozen types of medicinal herbs were planted there, some covered with blue cloth, making it impossible to see the types inside.

There were also many humans working in the fields.

The Zuanfeng Beasts only contracted and guarded; such delicate work as tending to the medicinal fields still required human hands.

"The location of these medicinal fields is very conspicuous; how could you have gone the wrong way?"

(End of chapter)