Chapter 423: Chen Cang people, ghost mischief, silver treasury stolen for the second time

The ninth year of Does Does Da Xia, February 19th.

The sky had just brightened, and the falling snow became increasingly intense.

The biting cold wind also raged across the land at an exaggerated speed.

The sunlight, which became increasingly intense as the sun rose, not only failed to bring any warmth to the ground but instead added a few more points of chilling cold to the already piercing cold air.

Hong Sect City had basically fallen into silence, with only the Department of Justice building and the city gate area lit with firelight.

Fourth floor of the Department of Justice building, entrance to the morgue.

"Greetings, Guardian!"

Lin Kai, who had just returned from outside the city, didn't even have time to change his tattered white clothes, and his head crown was slightly messy. He gripped a straw doll tightly in his left hand, his expression unusually gloomy, and asked the guard in a deep voice: "Is Lord Li there?"

"Lord Li, Lord Zhao, and Lord Tong are all there!"

Hearing that both were there, Lin Kai immediately pushed the door and walked in.

"Greetings, Guardian Lin!"

Inside the morgue, Li Longkai, Zhao Bao, and the Deputy Chief of Punishment of the Prison Department, Tong Xingsheng, were all surrounding a corpse. Seeing Lin Kai walk in, they immediately bowed to him first.

"No need for formalities."

The three raised their heads and stood up. Li Longkai saw Lin Kai's gloomy expression and immediately guessed something, asking in a low voice: "My Lord, didn't catch that person?"

Lin Kai shook his head, first handed the straw doll in his hand to Zhao Bao, and then said in a deep voice: "Liu Yuan and I were both played by this straw doll..."

Just now, he had chased from Fengyang Village in Fengshan territory, deliberately driving that person toward Hong Sect. Although there were some twists and turns in the middle, he finally successfully surrounded that person with Liu Yuan and the elite of the Scout Camp who had just come out of the city, ten miles east of Hong Sect.

But just as he and Liu Yuan joined forces to prepare to behead that person, the person who had run for so long under his nose actually turned directly into a straw doll.

Li Longkai and Tong Xingsheng heard Lin Kai finish the origin, and their gazes immediately shifted to the straw doll in Zhao Bao's hand, their brows full of wariness.

Zhao Bao pinched the straw doll, his brows tightly furrowed, and said: "After all, it's someone from Chen Cang; they really have a few means!"

Lin Kai was startled upon hearing this, and then quickly reacted, asking with a look of joy: "Has the identity of that deceased person been confirmed?"

There were two people intercepting him this time. He had killed one in Fengyang Village in advance just now and let Li Longkai send the corpse back first. If the identity of the deceased hadn't been identified, how could Zhao Bao be sure that both were from Chen Cang?

Sure enough, Zhao Bao immediately nodded and said: "As soon as the corpse arrived, I immediately let the five Deputy Chiefs of Punishment come to verify it. After opening a thin paper-like mask on the person's face and revealing their true face, Xiang Liang and Bai Shan Ning recognized it immediately..."

Xiang Liang and Bai Shan Ning were Deputy Chiefs of Punishment who had only been transferred to Hong Sect last month. They happened to participate in the action of capturing Chu Yan'er's group of seven in the North Fifth District with Hou Ming last October.

Although that action failed and they didn't successfully capture Chu Yan'er's group of seven, Department Head Xia Chuan later told Hou Ming about the specific situation, including the Lord personally taking action to drive away the seven, as well as Chu Yan'er's identity as the Little Princess of Chen Cang and her special ability to paint.

The 23 Silver-Order Prison Wardens who participated in the capture in the North Fifth District that day also learned about these situations through Hou Ming later.

Of course, setting these aside, Xiang Liang and Bai Shan Ning actually had an encounter with Chu Yan'er's group of seven as early as last September when escorting Mu Longhe back to Xia City, passing through the Qinghepu post station. Moreover, the leader of the seven at that time, the person who held the guide, was Chu Dongning.

"According to Xiang Liang and Bai Shan Ning, this person is named Chu Dongning. Last September, he followed Chu Yan'er's group of six and went from Hong Sect along the north bank of the Xing River to Xia City, using the name of visiting. He lived in the North Fifth District for more than half a month. Later, Chu Yan'er mixed into the Inner City and was..."

"I know about this; I heard Department Head Yuan say it at the beginning of the year!"

Lin Kai directly interrupted Zhao Bao. He had also checked the road guide records afterward and discovered that the road guide for Chu Dongning's group of seven was signed by his own hand. He was also terrified. Fortunately, this group of people didn't cause any big waves in Xia City, otherwise, he would definitely have to bear great responsibility.

Not to mention, among the twenty-eight children at the Yuan Mansion who were almost harmed at that time, there were also his three sons, Lin Shou, Lin Lie, and Lin Meng. If they hadn't been discovered in time by the Lord, he, Lin Kai, would have really become a father who pitted his sons. It was from that time on that he became cautious when signing road guides again.

Thinking of these, Lin Kai still had lingering fear. He walked to the table, uncovered the thin mask on Chu Dongning's face, and said in a deep voice: "Paper mask. In this way, the appearance of the other person is also likely fake. This time he ran away, it will be difficult to catch him again..."

Lin Kai paused, suddenly thinking of something, looked up and said: "By the way, there were seven people in Chu Dongning's group last year. Could the person who ran away be one of the other six?"

Zhao Bao immediately cupped his fists and said: "My Lord, don't worry. I have already let Xiang Liang and Bai Shan Ning go to find the painters of the Craftsman Department. With their cooperation, it is not difficult to restore the appearance of the other five. In addition, I have sent people back to Xia City. The Prison Department headquarters should have the real portrait of the Little Princess of Chen Cang. We will first secretly verify it in the city. If we can't find it..."

"Then make it public directly and let these six become famous in the Jiuzhen!"

Lin Kai took over Zhao Bao's words, his face full of anger as he continued: "Not liking to make waves in the dark? Then let them have to wear masks whenever they are active in the Jiuzhen territory from now on..."

Speaking of this, Lin Kai paused slightly. Thinking of something, a dark color flashed in his eyes, and he sneered: "By the way, remember to specifically explain to the outside world that Chu Yan'er's group of six all came from the Cai Qiu vassal town!"

Zhao Bao and the three were startled upon hearing this. The person who had just escaped from Lin Kai's hands was the one who had been secretly sowing discord in the Jiuzhen' relations over the past six months. Through Chu Dongning's corpse, it could actually be confirmed that he was definitely from Chen Cang.

Knowing clearly that they were Chen Cang people, why deliberately say they came from Cai Qiu?

The three were not stupid. After thinking for a moment, they associated it with the situation of Does Does Da Xia deliberately spreading news about foreign forces recently, and immediately reacted. Their expressions then began to become strange.

"By the way, my Lord, aside from the sword, quite a few things were found on Chu Dongning, among which the most special one should be this piece of jade!"

Tong Xingsheng was responsible for dissecting cold beasts in the Camp Needs Department in his early years. Later, he entered the Prison Department and was one of the first batch of Prison Wardens promoted to Silver-Order. Now his strength is also 21 jin. Last year, he was transferred to Hong Sect to serve as Deputy Chief of Punishment. Currently, among the five Deputy Chiefs of Punishment, he is the most skilled at dissecting corpses and identifying scars, so Chu Dongning's corpse was naturally his responsibility.

He said while taking out a fire-red jade stone from his body, which was clearly found on Chu Dongning.

"This jade stone is clearly fire-red, but the touch is very similar to silver, and I also discovered..."

Seemingly feeling that it wouldn't work just by talking, Tong Xingsheng took out a small piece of Fire-Condensing Oil from his body again, and then placed it on the fire-red jade stone.

A magical scene happened.

That Fire-Condensing Oil was absorbed rapidly the moment it touched the fire-red jade stone, and after the jade stone absorbed the Fire-Condensing Oil, its luster also became increasingly bright at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"This..."

Seeing this scene, Lin Kai's pupils instantly dilated.

What is Fire-Condensing Oil?

That is the unparalleled sharp weapon for dealing with ghosts that the Lord personally took out. Its power is much greater than silver. This fire-red jade stone can actually absorb it?

Tong Xingsheng's expression was also unusually excited, excitedly saying: "My Lord, if I'm not mistaken, this jade stone should be the same source as Fire-Condensing Oil. Considering Chu Dongning's vassal town background, it is highly likely an item used by vassal towns to deal with ghosts. However, the specific effect can only be known after testing."

Lin Kai took the jade stone into his hand, sized it up for a moment, turned to look at Zhao Bao, and said: "Aren't there just a few ghosts in the city? What has your Prison Department found out during this period?"

Zhao Bao's face was full of shame upon hearing this, and he cupped his fists and said: "Subordinate is ashamed. Those few ghosts kill randomly, without any logic at all, and their hiding means are stronger than the other. Aside from increasing manpower to patrol, we have no other way."

Lin Kai's brows furrowed fiercely upon hearing this, and he questioned in a deep voice: "Over the past four months, I have transferred at least 60,000 small torches, 10,000-plus pieces of Fire-Condensing Oil, and 2,000-plus Yellow Candles from Xia City. With so many materials to restrain ghosts, your Prison Department can't even catch one?"

Hearing the blame in Lin Kai's tone, Zhao Bao's expression was naturally even more difficult. He said helplessly: "My Lord, forgive me. Judging from the current situation in the South City, those few ghosts have probably figured out the pattern of the small torches and are no longer afraid at all; Yellow Candles are useful, but the quantity is limited, and it is impossible to light them in a large area in the city; as for Fire-Condensing Oil, it is necessary to find the ghost's true body first before it can exert its effect. Up to now, we haven't even seen what those three ghosts look like!"

After hearing Zhao Bao's words, Lin Kai's expression sank a lot.

The Guardian belongs to the Jurisdiction Department. Nominally, he is the main administrator of Hong Sect, but in reality, he is on the same level as the persons in charge of the other seven departments.

The matter of ghosts in the city, strictly speaking, should be managed by the Prison Department.

His main duty as this Guardian is the defense of the entire Hong Sect territory, coordinating specific affairs within the Eight Departments. At the same time, because Hong Sect is a Does Does Da Xia port, he also has to take care of many Eight Towns affairs, such as ferreting out foreign vassal town spies, accelerating the integration of the three towns, and working with Xu Ning and Yu Wentao to promote the Jiuzhen Alliance...

Because there are too many things to manage, he hasn't paid much attention to the ghost matter in the city for the past half year, or rather, the energy he invested in this area was quite limited. Even though Zhao Bao came to him several times, he only sent letters back to Xia City, asking the Camp Needs Department to allocate a batch of materials to restrain ghosts.

Now hearing what Zhao Bao meant, the Prison Department seemed to have no way to deal with these few ghosts. If he continued to sit idly by, it wouldn't work.

"Notify the heads of the other five departments to come to the top floor hall to see me immediately!"

Lin Kai left only one sentence and turned to leave the morgue directly.

Hearing Lin Kai's tone so severe, Zhao Bao's expression was bitter. Beside him, Li Longkai smiled, patted him to comfort him: "Don't be afraid, Old Zhao. That Chen Cang person escaped from Lord Lin's hands after all. He is already annoyed in his heart. It's inevitable that he has some emotions when hearing about the ghost matter. Let's go up and discuss what to do."

Zhao Bao's expression eased a bit upon hearing this, but after thinking about it, he still shook his head and sighed softly: "Useless is useless, Zhao Bao is not a person who is hard-mouthed. It's just that Hong Sect is crucial. If it's really because of my Prison Department's dereliction of duty that the Lord's grand plan is delayed, Zhao will die without regret, sigh..."

After sighing, he could only follow Li Longkai and leave the morgue.

………………

Top floor of the Department of Justice building.

Lin Kai had already taken the main seat first. As Zhao and Li conveyed his orders, Civil Affairs Department Head Ying Yi, Hunting Department Mountain Prefect Yuan Shanyuan, Logging Department Medicine Elder Chen Hua, Craftsman Department Master Kong Xiu, and Yunjiao Army Commander and Hong Sect Military Department Commander Liu Yuan all arrived one after another.

The heads of the seven departments, plus the Guardian Lin Kai of the Jurisdiction Department in the main seat, constituted the core management layer of the entire Hong Sect City at present.

"Everyone, sit!"

Having served as Hong Sect Guardian for more than half a year, and with his strength becoming increasingly powerful, Lin Kai had cultivated some aura of a superior. Seeing that all seven had arrived, he didn't talk nonsense, signaled the seven to sit down first, and then directly asked: "Department Head Ying, how is the population situation in the city?"

Ying Yi's expression was slightly heavy: "Report to my Lord, it's not very optimistic. At the beginning of the year, the total population in the city was already close to 300,000. Today is February 19th, and the current total population is only over 320,000."

Nearly two months, and it only rose by 20,000?

Not only Lin Kai, but the others were all frowning fiercely upon hearing this.

Rising by 20,000 sounds good.

But what kind of place is Hong Sect City?

It can be said that at present, in the entire Mo'ao southern foothills, except for the eight town cities, the most lively is here.

Before the opening of Hong Sect in July last year, there were only Does Does Da Xia people in the city, and the total population including the garrison was only over 30,000; but with the construction of the Wanbao Building and Does Does Da Xia announcing the official opening of the port, the population of Hong Sect almost soared crazily every month.

Before the Battle of Hong Sect started on September 18th last year, the total population in the city was already close to 150,000;

The Battle of Hong Sect, Xia Hong defeated Yang Zun, the number one person in the Jiuzhen, and intimidated the Six Towns... As these news gradually spread in the Eight Towns later, the popularity of Hong Sect reached a new high.

In the following three months, people came to Hong Sect one after another. In just three months, by the beginning of the year, the total population in the city was close to 300,000.

That is to say, it was adding 50,000 per month.

And it has been almost two months since the beginning of the year, but it only increased by 20,000. Even if the total population base of the Eight Towns is taken into account, the population growth rate would not slow down so much.

"The reason?"

"This..." ===== CHAPTER 424 =====