Chapter 161: The Missing County Magistrate

Yulin County welcomed a new day once again.

Jiang Jili had not slept all night, his face full of worry.

He felt something was very strange.

Last night he had posted his eyes and ears near Li Lin's home, and also sent some men to the Temple of the Tree Immortal Lady.

If anything were to happen, it could only be at one of these two places.

If County Lieutenant Li's side gained the upper hand, he would send men to help, to earn a favor.

If the county magistrate's side gained the upper hand, he would pretend he knew nothing.

After all, this was a matter between two sons-in-law of the Huang family — an internal clan struggle, what did it have to do with his Jiang family?

But the problem was… last night the Li household was very quiet.

The Temple of the Tree Immortal Lady was also very peaceful.

Even the county magistrate's home was silent.

He finished his morning meal and sat in the main hall.

After a while, the steward walked in.

"How did it go?" Jiang Jili asked.

The steward shook his head.

Still no movement.

This was too strange.

Based on Jiang Jili's judgment, those two were bound to have clashed last night.

Could the county magistrate really be that patient?

If he truly had that kind of patience, he wouldn't have sent men out to assassinate before.

This was too strange.

Jiang Jili was now growing more and more lacking in confidence in himself.

Before, he had misjudged Li Lin's temperament and ability.

Now he had misjudged the county magistrate's temperament as well.

Perhaps he really didn't have much ability after all.

In this state of indecisive anxiety, he went to work.

Then, the entire morning, the county magistrate did not come.

The Registrar came to ask whether anyone had seen where the county magistrate had gone.

Jiang Jili didn't take it seriously at the time, and replied coolly: "How would I know? Perhaps the county magistrate isn't feeling well and is resting at home."

The Registrar left in low spirits.

Jiang Jili went through some cases listlessly, his efficiency very low.

Near noon, the Registrar burst in again in a great flurry.

Jiang Jili looked at him irritably: "Registrar Chen, what's the meaning of this rush of yours!"

"County Deputy, I must report a case!" the Registrar said, panting heavily: "Something terrible has happened — the county magistrate has disappeared."

"How could he possibly be gone? He's the county magistrate, he should be at home… What!"

Jiang Jili sprang to his feet, staring at the Registrar in disbelief: "Impossible! Clearly… have you searched?"

The Registrar cupped his fist and said: "I've already questioned the servants at the county magistrate's residence. Last night, before they went to sleep, the county magistrate was still in the main hall of the rear courtyard lecturing the servants. Because there was no order from the county magistrate, none of them dared enter the rear courtyard. It wasn't until today's noon hour that no one had seen the county magistrate come out, and the steward finally mustered his courage to go in — only to find that the rear courtyard was completely empty… the servants who had been lectured were also gone."

"I'll go take a look."

Jiang Jili immediately hurried to the county magistrate's residence.

He brought several government office Runners with him, and once inside, after walking around, he only found a damaged altar — nothing else was discovered.

But that altar alone could explain a great deal.

"To be able to make a county magistrate vanish without a trace right under the nose of a Great Apparition — and one who keeps a Zhenjun no less — that really is a bit inconceivable, isn't it."

Jiang Jili looked up at the sky.

The phantom image of a peach tree in the air was quite beautiful.

Could it be that the Tree Immortal Lady had made her move… but then he felt it was impossible.

The Tree Immortal Lady was now a Zhenjun of temple rank in the true sense as well; when she acted, the commotion should have been enormous.

The stronger one's cultivation, the harder to conceal oneself.

If she had truly acted, it would have been impossible to hide it from bystanders.

Then who did it?

Jiang Jili walked around the entire residence, and the other government office Runners also investigated, but aside from the damaged altar, there were no other clues.

The steward came over, his face mournful, and pleaded: "County Deputy, my lord, please, you must help us find the county magistrate…"

"I can't guarantee that either. You should send some men out to look for him as well."

Jiang Jili waved his hand, then left.

He took the government office Runners to the city gate and asked the petty officer guarding it whether the gate had been opened last night.

The petty officer shook his head, saying it had not.

Nor had he seen any suspicious figures.

Last night had been very peaceful.

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

There were people patrolling the city walls, and generally speaking, anyone trying to scale the walls would be very obvious; even if one could climb over, it would have caused a commotion.

He truly could not figure it out — if Li Lin had done it, how could he have accomplished something so outrageous?

Evade everyone's gaze, leaving not a single trace.

Besides, Li Lin has already departed with the rural militia for Jincheng.

This is something everyone saw under the open gaze of the multitude.

A thousand-li night raid?

Deep in his heart, he believed this deed must have been done by Li Lin, yet upon closer scrutiny, he felt flaws everywhere.

His intuition told him this was impossible.

After much deliberation, he also dispatched his own subordinates to investigate clues.

By evening, no clues had been found; no one had seen Li Lin return, and no one had seen the Magistrate depart.

Moreover... the Magistrate has been missing for a day.

It seems, indeed, that something major has occurred.

He immediately sighed, drafted the case into a written report, and then sent it to the Prefect's Office via a messenger pigeon.

Specifically, into the hands of Huang Yan, the Prefect of Jincheng.

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

The rural militia camped outside the city walls, beside the official road.

Li Lin entered the city accompanied by two Captains.

The Captains went to the brothels for pleasure and revelry, while Li Lin went to the County government office.

"Prefect, this humble official has come by order." Li Lin smiled and clasped his fists.

"Hmm." Huang Yan nodded: "Captain Li, you have traveled a long distance; you must be tired. Why not follow this official to the inner courtyard for a cup of clear tea and a moment's rest?"

"As you command."

The two arrived at the inner courtyard of the Prefect's Office.

Much like the County government office's inner courtyard, the Prefect's Office also had a pavilion, only the area was larger, with more willow trees by the lake, making it appear more grand.

The basic layout was much the same.

Huang Yan poured a cup of tea for Li Lin and said: "Two days ago, the Yulin County government office sent a message by pigeon, stating that Magistrate Zhang Guangqi has mysteriously disappeared, with no clues or traces found. Do you know of this matter?"

Li Lin smiled slightly and said: "I know, because I am the one who did this."

Huang Yan's expression remained calm as he asked: "Why? He was also one of our Huang family."

"He wanted the Tree Immortal Lady to leave the Incense Temple."

Huang Yan frowned slightly: "This matter is indeed wrong, but it is not a reason to kill him."

"Furthermore, this is news I entrusted someone to investigate."

Li Lin handed over the token and that list.

After Huang Yan finished reading, his face turned ugly.

"Well killed." After a moment, Huang Yan snorted: "Betraying those who feed you... I will find a way to cover this up. I will also deal with Jingcheng; rest assured and do your work. If you encounter such matters again, just kill; I will back you."

"Thank you, Taishan."

"This time, I must thank you." Huang Yan sighed: "It seems I have been away from Jingcheng for too long; some people can no longer sit still. Rest in Jincheng for two days first; after two days, take the Southern Barbarian Woman back."

Li Lin nodded.

Coming out of the Prefect's Office, Li Lin prepared to find an inn to stay in first.

It was not that the Prefect's Office had no rooms for him to sleep in, but the conditions were very average; those rooms specifically for entertaining government officials were rarely cleaned for years, and some were even moldy.

Staying in such a place was no better than finding an inn oneself, and it was not expensive.

However, on his way to find an inn, he met Zhao Xiaohu and Ding Yingqiu.

The two were walking together, appearing somewhat intimate.

(End of this chapter)