Chapter 50: Fifty. It

Fifty. It’s already over!

“Investigate! Must investigate thoroughly! We Longcheng County is not a lawless land!”

Ouyang Rong slammed the rosewood desk with a loud “bang bang.”

Wang Caozhi, Ma the Merchant, and the other grain merchants’ eyelids twitched again with the inkstand on the desk.

Again, the same place.

Again, the same faces.

Again, the same tone.

Just a bit hard on the desk.

But the young county magistrate was actually gripping the wooden gavel under his sleeve and striking it—how else could bare palms move a rosewood desk? He found the thing quite effective; no wonder he’d always seen county magistrates in dramas bang it—it was truly a stress-reliever.

“This is utterly outrageous! Within our Longcheng territory, they openly burn boats—where is the law? Where is justice?”

Ouyang Rong raised his hand sharply, poised to slam the desk—the grain merchants below instinctively leaned back—but this time, no sound came.

They looked: the young magistrate had raised his right hand high, then gently lowered it, turning to ask the blue-clad constable… a masterful feint.

“Constable Yan, were there any casualties?”

“Your Honor, only two boatmen suffered minor burns. Everyone else was skilled in swimming and jumped overboard in time. Fortunately, the grain barge hadn’t sailed far, and our men arrived quickly—no other losses.”

“Good. A blessing in misfortune—as long as no one died.”

“My lord, but my grain is gone!” Better if people had died.

Ma the Merchant clenched his prayer beads so tightly his knuckles turned white, his heart bleeding.

Wang Caozhi and the others noticed the beads’ string had snapped—but they felt no sympathy; instead, their faces held a trace of schadenfreude.

“Ma the Merchant, calm down,” Ouyang Rong soothed, then turned to the blue-clad constable: “Two grain barges caught fire simultaneously. To call it coincidence is too convenient—has it been determined who set the fire?”

“The rescued boatmen all say they didn’t see how the fire started. The flames first spread from the grain storage hold; when they realized they couldn’t extinguish it, they abandoned ship and jumped into the river…”

Ma the Merchant cut in angrily: “They didn’t even try to save the fire—just ran away! All ungrateful wolves!”

Wang Caozhi sighed, speaking fairly: “Ma the Merchant, maybe they did their best. Who wouldn’t panic in such a situation—ship on fire, everything burning?…” He paused, as if remembering something, then added: “Besides, they hadn’t eaten.”

“Best their ass!”

Ma the Merchant leapt to his feet, scattering his prayer beads across the floor, face flushed with outrage:

“No one even died, and you still say they did their best?! Everyone on both ships escaped—only my grain burned! There’s foul play, there’s definitely foul play!”

His eyes red, he looked up: “County Magistrate, I beg you to uphold justice for this humble subject! You must investigate to the end!”

Ouyang Rong raised a hand in a calming gesture, solemn: “Ma the Merchant, don’t rush.”

He turned to Yan Liulang: “To set fire to grain without being noticed—either one of the boatmen is an inside man, or… someone with exceptional swimming skill slipped aboard under cover of night.”

“Or maybe there’s an inside man helping!” Ma the Merchant was always the one to interrupt.

Ouyang Rong glanced at him, nodded: “Hmm, possible. We must investigate both angles, Constable Yan. This matter concerns the safety of our Butterfly Creek shipping—this must be handled decisively!”

“Yes, sir!”

Yan Liulang bowed, expression unchanged—but as he stepped back, a commotion erupted in the courtyard. Soon, Yan Liulang returned with a disheveled old merchant with a goatee.

It was Li the Merchant, who had been absent today.

Wang Caozhi and the small grain merchants beside him stared curiously.

These past two days, Ma the Merchant and Li the Merchant were the first to have their grain stores inspected; both were busy transporting grain and had no contact with their peers—nor any reason to, since they’d recently torn each other apart before the young magistrate.

Ma the Merchant finished inspection of his dock warehouse first and rushed to load his grain last evening.

Li the Merchant had his nine-hundred-dan warehouse inspected only last night—but upon hearing of Ma the Merchant’s misfortune, he took heed: he didn’t transport at night, chose to leave the city in daylight, abandoned water transport for land, and personally supervised the escort…

“Er… Li the Merchant, weren’t you leading your men to transport grain out of the city? Why do you look like this…?”

Wang Caozhi eyed the old merchant whose hat was gone,

asking cautiously.

Li the Merchant’s beard was tangled, his eyes vacant, muttering to himself, ignoring Wang Caozhi.

Led into the hall by Yan Liulang, he nearly tripped over the one-step threshold—had Yan not warned him, “Watch the step.”

The young magistrate on the dais raised an eyebrow at Li the Merchant’s disheveled state and quietly asked the scribe beside him: “Our city’s sewer grates haven’t been stolen, have they…? We must improve road safety.”

“….”

“…All bandits… all bandits… all bandits…”

Arriving below the dais, Li the Merchant moaned.

Ouyang Rong cleared his throat, puzzled: “Li the Merchant, did you fall into a well?”

Li the Merchant opened his mouth, speechless. His attendant behind him, pale with fear, burst into tears:

“Your Honor, this morning, the master hired dock laborers and set out with the grain—but when we passed the fields outside the city, the refugees in the broken huts along the road suddenly surged forward like starving wild dogs, stripped all our carts bare—hundreds of bags of premium rice, all stolen by these wretched people! What a tragedy!”

“Bandits… all bandits…” Li the Merchant collapsed to his knees, sobbing: “Heavenly Judge, please uphold justice for your humble subjects!”

Ouyang Rong leapt from his chair.

Bang bang bang! The gavel echoed through the hall.

“Rebellious peasants! Outright robbery in broad daylight! Has our Longcheng’s public security deteriorated to this level?!”

The young magistrate lamented bitterly:

“These rebellious refugees at the city’s relief camp have lost all sense—they dare openly rob? Haven’t I distributed rice to them? Even at Dragon Boat Festival, I gave each person half a rice dumpling! What’s there to steal?!”

“Don’t they know the rice in those dumplings was painstakingly transported here by these honorable merchants? Is it too expensive? Without them, they’d have eaten nothing but air at Dragon Boat Festival! They don’t even show gratitude—and now they turn on their benefactors?!”

The young magistrate, seemingly beside himself with rage, dropped the gavel, flung back his robe, and stormed toward the hall’s exit to rebuke the ungrateful peasants with righteous fury.

This passionate outburst left Li the Merchant and Ma the Merchant, who had been crying out for justice, momentarily stunned; Wang Caozhi and the others watching from the side grew solemn.

“Your Honor, calm down! Your Honor, please calm down!” Only Yan Liulang and the scribe’s desperate blocking prevented him from rushing out.

“You want me to calm down? How can I?” Ouyang Rong declared sternly. “Ma the Merchant and Li the Merchant have suffered such grave injustice, and your subjects show no gratitude—how can I remain calm?!”

Yan Liulang grimaced: “Whatever the matter, let us handle it. How can Your Honor personally intervene? You are the county magistrate—if anything happened to you, our world would collapse.”

“Fine. You investigate. Investigate thoroughly!”

Ouyang Rong pointed under his sleeve at Ma and Li the Merchants, his face stern: “Set aside all other tasks. Deploy every available hand—first, pursue the stolen rice from the relief camp; second, investigate the burned barges. You must restore justice for these two merchants!”

Ma and Li the Merchants looked at the young magistrate, slightly moved. He truly couldn’t be faulted.

“Your orders shall be carried out!”

Yan Liulang turned to leave, but Ma the Merchant hesitated, calling out urgently:

“Wait, Constable Yan! If you go investigate, what about the grain inventory?”

Yan Liulang replied offhandedly: “We’ll put it off for now. This is the priority—our men must secure justice for these two!”

Ma the Merchant opened his mouth, then closed it.

Li the Merchant’s lips were dry: “Constable, inventorying grain is also a priority.”

Yan Liulang frowned, hugged his sword, and tilted his head: “Then what? Both tasks are massive. Our small county office lacks manpower. We usually patrol the relief camp regularly—our security was always good. But these past two days, we slackened off inspecting your warehouses—and now this disaster happened, enraging Your Honor…”

“This…” Ma and Li the Merchants hesitated.

Yan, well, both of you have tens of thousands of dan stored at your docks—losing two thousand dan to fire or theft isn’t much. A minor matter.”

“No, no!” Ma the Merchant waved frantically. “This time it was a thousand dan—next time it could be ten thousand! Constable Yan must swiftly apprehend the culprits and uncover the truth—this is serious!”

Li the Merchant nodded vigorously, as if pounding medicine, his face pained: “We must recover the stolen grain—and also uncover the truth! I suspect someone among these beggars instigated the robbery. Constable, you must catch them—otherwise, who dares transport grain out of the city?”

Yan Liulang stared, palms up: “So what do you suggest? Which task do we do first?”

Ma the Merchant whispered: “Maybe… split into two groups? Cover both…”

The blue-clad constable said nothing—but his expression, arms crossed, sword held, eyes fixed coldly on Ma the Merchant, made his stance clear.

Ma and Li the Merchants felt uneasy.

Yan Liulang suddenly nodded: “Fine. Split it. Though our constables usually act together, since you two are the masters, we’ll split up. But if manpower runs short, the case drags on, and the grain isn’t recovered… don’t blame me and my men. And the inventory? It’ll be even slower. Bear with us…”

“Enough!” The young magistrate, back on his seat, rubbing his temples, suddenly cut in sharply: “Why speak in anger?”

Ouyang Rong shook his head, frowning at Ma and Li the Merchants: “I know you’re anxious, but Longcheng’s safety matters more than inventorying grain. Prioritize. Let Constable Yan’s team focus on the investigation. The inventory can wait.”

He made his decision.

Ma and Li the Merchants stammered, unable to argue, caught between hope and despair.

It felt as if everything had stalled—the gate to transporting grain out of Longcheng had slammed shut again…

The two major grain merchants turned to Wang Caozhi and the other merchants, seeking to unite them and pressure the magistrate once more.

But meeting their pleading glances, Wang Caozhi and the small merchants remained motionless—like clay statues in a temple, turning away or pretending not to see.

Ma and Li the Merchants’ spirits plummeted…

The people’s hearts had scattered.

Soon, the bailiff shouted: “Court adjourned!”

Though unwilling, everyone in the hall slowly filed out.

Wang Caozhi walked last among the departing merchants. Before leaving, he couldn’t help turning back: high above, the “cheap brother-in-law” casually patted his wide sleeves, then calmly turned toward the rear hall.

The short young man frowned, his expression thoughtful.

…

By the courtyard in the rear hall, Xie Ling was again kneeling to feed the fish.

Even though they were unwilling, the people in the hall gradually dispersed.

Wang Cao walked at the very end of the grain merchants leaving the county office; before stepping out the door, he couldn’t help turning back—on the high dais, that “convenient brother-in-law” casually patted the wide sleeves of his robe, then turned calmly toward the back courtyard.

The short young man furrowed his brow, his expression thoughtful.

……

By the courtyard in the back quarters, Xie Lingjiang was again bending low to feed the fish.

Ouyang Rong walked away with his hands behind his back.

“Not in a hurry anymore?” she asked curiously.

“It’s over,” he nodded.

The young county magistrate smiled again and turned first: “Let’s go. I promised to take you somewhere—hurry before it shuts down.”

Xie Lingjiang stood stunned.

After you.

Fifty—already over! Yet no one questioned the origin of this ability; after all, the Peacock Demon Clan’s innate talent is precisely Star Shift. Her technique mirrors Star Shift in its subtlety.

After countering Cao Yuwei’s attack, the Beauty Lady did not press forward, but stood still.

Cao Yuwei frowned slightly. Could this girl’s perception be so sharp? After donning his armor of flame, he had other means at his disposal—if the Beauty Lady pressed the attack, he was certain he could trap her with them. The web version updates slowly; please read the latest content for free on the app. But the Beauty Lady did not advance, forcing his readying ability to abort.

The battle blade slashed again, its blade intent stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, merging man and weapon, charging straight at the Beauty Lady.

The Beauty Lady wielded her Heaven’s Mechanism Feather once more, executing the Heavenly Profound Circle, then instantly shifted her position. She not only deflected his attack but also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already on the other side. The golden-red light on Cao Yuwei’s body flickered and vanished—if she had not dodged so swiftly, another ability would surely have descended.

Endurance battle! She seemed determined to outlast Cao Yuwei.

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Yet no one questioned the origin of this ability; after all, the Peacock Demon Clan’s innate talent is precisely Star Shift. Her technique mirrors Star Shift in its subtlety.

After countering Cao Yuwei’s attack, the Beauty Lady did not press forward, but stood still.

Cao Yuwei frowned slightly. Could this girl’s perception be so sharp? After donning his armor of flame, he had other means at his disposal—if the Beauty Lady pressed the attack, he was certain he could trap her with them. But the Beauty Lady did not advance, forcing his readying ability to abort.

The battle blade slashed again, its blade intent stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with the blade, merging man and weapon, charging straight at the Beauty Lady.

The Beauty Lady wielded her Heaven’s Mechanism Feather once more, executing the Heavenly Profound Circle, then instantly shifted her position. She not only deflected his attack but also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already on the other side. The golden-red light on Cao Yuwei’s body flickered and vanished—if she had not dodged so swiftly, another ability would surely have descended.

Endurance battle! She seemed determined to outlast Cao Yuwei.

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