Chapter 161: The Missing County Magistrate

Yulin County welcomed another day.

Jiang Jili had not slept all night, his face heavy with worry.

He felt something was strange.

Last night, he had sent his spies near Li Lin’s home and stationed men at the Tree Immortal Goddess Temple.

If anything happened, it could only have occurred at one of these two places.

If Li County Wei ’s side gained the upper hand, he would send men to assist, to earn a favor.

If the County Magistrate’s side gained the upper hand, he would pretend to know nothing.

After all, this was a matter between the two sons-in-law of the Huang family—a family feud, none of my Jiang family’s business.

But the problem was… Li’s household had been perfectly quiet last night.

The Tree Immortal Goddess Temple had also been peaceful.

Even the County Magistrate’s residence had been silent.

After finishing breakfast, he sat in the main hall.

After a while, the steward entered.

“How is it?” Jiang Jili asked.

The steward shook his head.

Still no movement.

This was too strange.

According to Jiang Jili’s judgment, these two men must have clashed last night.

Could the County Magistrate really be so composed?

If he truly was that composed, he wouldn’t have sent assassins out before.

This was too strange.

Jiang Jili now had even less confidence in himself.

He had previously misjudged Li Lin’s character and abilities.

Now he had misjudged the County Magistrate’s character as well.

Perhaps he truly had little ability at all.

In this state of constant doubt, he went to work.

But all morning, the County Magistrate did not appear.

The Registrar came to ask if he had seen where the County Magistrate had gone.

Jiang Jili paid it no mind and replied coldly: “How should I know? Perhaps the County Magistrate is unwell and resting at home.”

The Registrar left, dejected.

Jiang Jili handled a few cases listlessly, with very low efficiency.

Just before noon, the Registrar rushed in again, breathless.

Jiang Jili glared at him: “Registrar Chen, what’s the rush?”

“Magistrate, I must report a crime!” the Registrar gasped. “Something terrible has happened—the County Magistrate is missing.”

“How could he be missing? He’s the County Magistrate—he should be at home… what?!”

Jiang Jili leapt to his feet, staring in disbelief at the Assistant Magistrate: “How could this be! But… have you checked?”

The Registrar bowed and said: “I’ve questioned the servants in the County Magistrate’s household. Last night, before they went to sleep, the County Magistrate was still in the back courtyard’s main hall giving orders to the servants. Since they had no order from him, none dared enter the back courtyard. Until this noon, no one had seen him emerge. Only then did the steward dare to go in—and found no one in the back courtyard… and the servants he had been addressing were gone too.”

“I’ll go see for myself.”

Jiang Jili immediately headed to the County Magistrate’s residence.

He brought several government office Runners with him, entered the house, and searched the premises. All he found was a damaged altar—nothing else.

But this altar alone revealed much.

“To make a County Magistrate vanish without a trace under the gaze of a Great Apparition—especially one who kept a True Lord in his household—is truly beyond reason.”

Jiang Jili looked up at the sky.

The phantom peach tree above was beautifully vivid.

Could the Tree Immortal Goddess have acted…? But then he dismissed the thought.

The Tree Immortal Goddess was now a true Temple True Lord—when she acted, the disturbance would be immense.

The stronger one’s power, the harder it is to conceal.

If she had truly acted, no one could have missed it.

Then who did it?

Jiang Jili walked the entire estate. The other government office Runners searched too. Aside from the destroyed altar, they found no other clues.

The steward approached, face pale with grief, pleading: “Magistrate, please help us find the County Magistrate…”

“I can’t guarantee anything. You should also send out your own men to search.”

Jiang Jili waved his hand and left.

He took the government office Runners to the city gate and questioned the junior officer on duty about whether the gate had been opened last night.

The officer shook his head: no.

Nor had he seen any suspicious individuals.

Last night had been perfectly calm.

Jiang Jili suspected Li Lin… but if Li Lin had done it, he would still have had to pass through the city gate.

There were patrols on the city walls, and climbing over the walls was always obvious—even if someone managed to scale them, they’d make noise.

He simply couldn’t fathom how Li Lin could have pulled off such an impossible feat.

Avoiding all eyes, leaving not a single trace.

Besides, Li Lin had already led the village militia out toward Jincheng.

This was witnessed by everyone.

A night raid over a thousand li?

He inwardly believed Li Lin was responsible—but upon closer thought, every angle had a flaw.

His intuition told him it was impossible.

He thought and rethought, and sent his own men to investigate.

But by evening, they found no leads—no one had seen Li Lin return, no one had seen the County Magistrate leave.

And… the County Magistrate had been missing for a full day.

Clearly, something major had happened.

He sighed and wrote up the case report, then sent it by pigeon to the Prefect’s office.

To Huang Yan, Prefect of Jincheng.

By the time Li Lin arrived in Jincheng, four days had passed.

The village militia had set up camp outside the city wall, beside the main road.

Li Lin entered the city with two Commandants.

The Commandants went to brothels to indulge; Li Lin went to the County Office.

“Prefect, your humble servant has come as ordered,” Li Lin said with a smile, bowing.

“Hmm,” Huang Yan nodded. “Li County Wei , you’ve traveled far—you must be weary. Come with me to the back courtyard for some tea and rest.”

“As you command.”

The two went to the Prefect’s back courtyard.

Like the County Office’s back courtyard, the Prefect’s had a pavilion—but larger, with more willows along the lake, giving it a grander air.

The basic layout was much the same.

Huang Yan poured tea for Li Lin and said: “Two days ago, the Yulin County Office sent a pigeon message: County Magistrate Zhang Guangqi vanished without a trace, no clues or signs found. Are you aware of this?”

Li Lin smiled and said: “Yes. I did it.”

Huang Yan’s expression remained calm. “Why? He was one of our Huang family.”

“He wanted to drive the Tree Immortal Goddess out of her incense temple.”

Huang Yan frowned slightly. “That was wrong—but not a reason to kill him.”

“Also, this is information I had someone investigate.”

Li Lin handed over the token and the list.

After reading it, Huang Yan’s face darkened.

“Good riddance,” Huang Yan muttered after a moment. “Traitorous dog… I’ll find a way to cover this up. I’ll deal with those in the capital too. Do your work without fear. If you encounter such matters again, kill without hesitation—I’ve got your back.”

“Thank you, Father-in-Law.”

“I owe you thanks this time,” Huang Yan sighed. “It seems I’ve been away from the capital too long—some people are growing restless. Rest in Jinmen for two days. Then take the Southern Barbarian woman back.”

Li Lin nodded.

After leaving the Prefect’s office, Li Lin planned to find an inn.

It wasn’t that the Prefect’s office had no room for him—it did—but the accommodations were poor. The rooms reserved for officials were long neglected, some even moldy.

Staying there was no better than finding a modest inn—no more expensive.

On his way to find an inn, he encountered Zhao Xiaohu and Ding Yingqiu.

They were walking together, appearing quite intimate.

(End of Chapter)