Chapter 145: Tonight she will make the corrupt official bleed profusely

Under hazy moonlight, several burly men had fierce and vicious expressions.

One could tell from their posture that there was no room for negotiation.

Things had come to this; Xiao Qidi could no longer keep pretending to be a fool, or he would truly become crippled.

Seeing the burly men quickly closing in, Xiao Qidi's arm trembled rapidly; a small dagger hidden in his sleeve fell into his palm, and with a slash he cut the thick rope binding his wrist.

One of the burly men had already raised a wooden club with both hands at this moment and smashed it fiercely toward Xiao Qidi's knee.

At that very moment, all the ropes binding Xiao Qidi's body slipped off.

Xiao Qidi suddenly lifted his leg, striking first and hitting the burly man's arm.

Bang!

The wooden club flew from his hand.

The burly man winced, clutching his wrist, and exclaimed in surprise, "How did this fool get untied?!"

The remaining burly men immediately moved in, raising their clubs and striking hard at Qidi.

Bang! Bang bang!

Again came several consecutive dull thuds.

Before they could even see Xiao Qidi's movements clearly, they all flew backward, clutching their chests and spitting blood.

Against this bunch of utterly conscienceless scoundrels, Xiao Qidi would show no mercy.

Had it not been for considering that they might still be useful alive for a moment, they would already have been killed in that instant.

"Help… come quickly!" one burly man shouted at the top of his lungs, "This fool is tougher than we expected—quick… quickly kill him!"

A clatter.

The two doors flung open, and another seven or eight burly men rushed out from the house.

Seeing the situation in the courtyard, they drew their waist-carried sabers without a word and lunged at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi's face bore a icy, cold smile.

He had lost count of how many skilled martial artists or trained enemy troops he had slain.

This bunch of desperados, only good at intimidating ordinary people, was hardly worth a glance.

Xiao Qidi didn't even need weapons; using his fists and feet in wide, sweeping motions, each attack would surely send a burly man crashing to the ground, unable to rise.

In no time, all the burly men present had lost their fighting ability.

Some were knocked unconscious; others clutched broken arms or legs and wailed in pain.

"What's going on? Why such a commotion, even dealing with a fool takes this much effort?" the thin man who had gone to the pawnshop to fetch people shouted, poking his head out from the house.

Upon seeing his companions strewn across the courtyard and then the murderous Xiao Qidi,

the thin man froze, his face paled, and he hastily shut the door.

Then they heard him shouting from inside, "Boss, get out quick! We've run into a tough nut!"

Xiao Qidi would not give them a chance to flee; he darted forward in a single stride, kicked the door open, and lunged inside…

About the time it takes to burn half an incense stick passed.

Xiao Qidi had already dealt with the entire human-trafficker gang.

A total of sixteen people.

One was their leader, one was that thin man, and the rest were assistants.

Xiao Qidi bound their hands and feet and threw them into the courtyard, then searched the other rooms of the manor, releasing the women and children who had been locked inside.

The women and children fallen into the hands of this gang, plus the men whose tongues had been cut and faces disfigured, numbered over twenty.

Yet Xiao Qidi found no trace of An An.

Among them were four children, but all were three or four years older than An An.

"Have you seen any other little girl?" Xiao Qidi asked urgently.

The women and children present were still shocked, all dazed.

Xiao Qidi added, "Don't be afraid; the human traffickers are already under my control, and no one will harm you again. Please tell me if you have seen a girl about four or five years old, very small and thin, with big eyes, looking very cute and well-behaved."

"You mean… the child who calls herself An An?" a young girl whispered.

Xiao Qidi hurriedly replied, "Yes, that's her! Where is she?"

"Little Sister An An has left," said a seven- or eight-year-old child.

Shortly afterward, Xiao Qidi learned that these people were all from out of town, and they had been sold to the traffickers by the officials because they couldn't pay the official levies.

An An was the last one brought by the traffickers; although she had been detained with them for a short while, she was then taken away separately by the traffickers.

As to where she had been taken, they did not know.

Xiao Qidi's expression turned grim, and he asked them again, aside from the traffickers he had bound in the courtyard, were there any other accomplices?

The crowd went to the doorway to look, examined carefully, and said everyone was here.

Xiao Qidi's brows furrowed tighter and tighter as he fell into contemplation.

"Benefactor!" an older woman suddenly knelt, pleading, "Please… help us again! Don't abandon us!"

Her lead prompted the other women and children to also kneel on the ground.

Xiao Qidi knew that even if the traffickers were under his control, this group of unfamiliar, pitiful people had nowhere to go, and if they left, they would be caught by the officials again.

"Don't panic," Xiao Qidi soothed, "I will take responsibility for each of you; for now, just follow my arrangements."

Upon hearing Xiao Qidi's words, everyone's faces filled with gratitude, and hope rose in their eyes.

While thinking, Xiao Qidi commanded, "Leave the children inside; the rest of you go untie the men the traffickers bound in the courtyard and bring them inside as well, then search the entire manor inside and out, gathering the traffickers' supplies together."

"Yes, Benefactor!" the crowd exclaimed, rallying their spirits and immediately taking action.

Xiao Qidi returned to the courtyard, headed straight for the trafficker leader, kicked him in the stomach, then grabbed his collar and demanded, "Where did you send An An?"

The trafficker leader, face slick with cold sweat from pain, wore a sinister yet arrogant expression and said, "You brat were just pretending to be a fool; this time I've fallen into a gutter and capsized—you're formidable, but I tell you, you're doomed."

Xiao Qidi's eyes darkened, he moved his broad, long hand to the Human Trafficker Leader's shoulder and suddenly pinched.

Crack—

One of the Human Trafficker Leader's collarbones shattered with a crack!

The intense pain made his whole body tremble violently, yet he gritted his teeth, making no sound, and did not even beg for mercy.

"Tell me, where is An An?" Xiao Qidi's eyes flickered with a faint chill under the torchlight.

The Human Trafficker Leader gave a sinister smile, "What... what An An, I... I don't know, I don't know!"

Xiao Qidi burned with anger, "You've all fallen into my hands, what's there to be stubborn about?"

The Human Trafficker Leader stopped answering, merely continuing to glare at Xiao Qidi viciously.

Seeing this guy was a tough nut, Xiao Qidi estimated it would be hard to pry his mouth open anytime soon, so he shifted his gaze to the thin man.

Relative to the others, the thin man appeared to be the weakest among the traffickers.

Indeed, as soon as he looked over, the thin man pissed his pants.

"Come, tell me, where did you send An An?" Xiao Qidi extended his right hand and gently placed it on the thin man's shoulder.

"I... I..." the thin man trembled all over, his face growing deathly pale.

Xiao Qidi gradually increased the force of his fingers.

The thin man burst into tears, "Don't... don't ask me! I... I don't know anything!"

Just as Xiao Qidi was about to snap one of his collarbones as well.

The thin man's face suddenly turned fierce, he clenched his mouth, his cheeks tensed sharply, then blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and his whole body began to convulse violently.

Xiao Qidi hastily pried open his mouth, only to see that the man had actually bitten off his own tongue.

"Mmm... mmm..." the thin man spat out half his tongue, blood foam continuously bubbling from his mouth, clearly unable to speak anymore.

The excruciating pain of biting off one's tongue is beyond what an ordinary person can endure.

Yet this man would rather endure such torment than reveal even a hint.

This greatly exceeded Xiao Qidi's expectations.

Xiao Qidi released his grip, letting the thin man lie on the ground, writhing in pain.

If not treated promptly, he would die from excessive blood loss amid the agonizing pain.

But for such a beast, Xiao Qidi would absolutely not lend a hand.

"You really won't talk?" Xiao Qidi stood up, his cold gaze sweeping over the crowd of traffickers.

In response, only the scornful laughter of this bunch of scum.

Xiao Qidi said coldly, "Don't think that just because you're colluding with the county officials of He Wan County, I can't do anything to you."

"Heh! Hahaha!" the Human Trafficker Leader burst out laughing.

Xiao Qidi secretly pondered; for now he could only confirm that in He Wan County, the county officers and constables were colluding with these traffickers, and it was still unclear whether they had any other backers, so he deliberately probed: "Once I hand you over to the county magistrate for punishment, let's see if you can still laugh."

"Hahahaha!" the Human Trafficker Leader laughed even harder.

Xiao Qidi feigned anger, continuing deliberately: "So arrogant? You don't even put the county magistrate in your eyes?!"

Seeing Xiao Qidi suffer a setback, the Human Trafficker Leader couldn't help feeling proud, shaking his head and swaying: "The county magistrate is nothing! In front of me, he has to tuck his tail and act polite!"

A flicker of surprise flashed in Xiao Qidi's eyes; this trafficker truly had some background!

"Interesting, not even fearing the county magistrate," Xiao Qidi said lightly, "who gave you such confidence?"

The Human Trafficker Leader glanced at Xiao Qidi with a look of contempt, "Kid, just wait to die."

After saying that, he said nothing more.

During Xiao Qidi's interrogation of the traffickers, the people held captive by them, following his orders, had already searched the premises thoroughly, turning up a considerable amount of valuables and food.

"Benefactor, we've placed the found supplies in one room—there's lots of gold, silver, treasures, and plenty of ingredients. What should we do next?" A woman, acting as representative, came into the courtyard to ask.

Xiao Qidi said, "Divide the gold, silver, and treasures among yourselves, then go prepare some food, eat and drink your fill, and rest well."

"Then... do we need to..." the woman glanced at the traffickers trussed up beside her, her eyes filling with hatred.

She truly wished she could skin these beasts herself.

Xiao Qidi understood her intent, waved his hand, and said, "No need; I'm keeping their worthless lives for now, I won't sleep tonight—I can guard you outside while continuing to interrogate them."

"Yes... Benefactor." The woman bowed her head in salute, spat at the traffickers, then turned and left.

After she left, Xiao Qidi drew the sharp little dagger he carried, casually walked over to a sturdy man, and said expressionlessly, "You look the strongest; let's start with you."

——

At the same time, Ning Jinli had already arrived at the residence of the He Wan County magistrate.

Earlier, after sending Xiu Mei to Yaowang Gu, she had passed through the spacetime portal back to the factory, gathered some tools, then returned to the Death Prison, and while the jailer wasn't looking, she used a pipe cutter to snip the lock and slipped out.

The reason she came to the magistrate's house was because she had learned that the magistrate only turned over the regular tax revenues, while the various miscellaneous levies he had arbitrarily imposed on the populace were largely moved to his residence.

Ning Jinli is now here for the magistrate's ill-gotten wealth extorted from the people.

Tonight, she intends to make this dog official bleed heavily.

At this moment, guards patrol outside the magistrate's residence.

Ning Jinli released a mini drone nearby, observed for a moment, seized the gap in the guards' patrol, and climbed over the wall with her tool bag.

Then she immediately hid in the spot just found by the drone that was suitable for concealment, continuing to wait for an opportunity.

Inside the magistrate's residence, there were also servants on guard, who occasionally patrolled.

Ning Jinli relied on the mini drone as her eyes, but due to her unfamiliarity with the layout of the magistrate's residence, it would be difficult for her to locate the storeroom quickly.

But she already had a way to solve this problem.

She used the drone to tail, while avoiding the servants, she took gasoline from a bottle in her tool kit, splashed it onto easily flammable corners, then took out a lighter and ignited it.

After igniting one spot, she immediately moved to the next.

By the time a servant noticed something amiss, fire had already broken out everywhere inside the magistrate's residence.

Soon, everyone inside was shouting and scrambling to put out the fire.

Ning Jinli hid in the dark, continuing to observe the situation with her mini-drone; shortly after, she saw the County Magistrate rush out of the study and head straight for the rear of the residence.

At a time like this, the County Magistrate is surely most worried about his valuables.

Ning Jinli believed he was certainly heading for the storeroom.

So she kept the drone trained on the County Magistrate's figure in the air.

I saw the County Magistrate walk all the way through the rear garden, enter a rockery, and have his attendants wait outside the rockery while he strode in himself.

After a while, he finally came out.

Compared with his hurried, tense expression before entering, he now wore a relaxed face when he came out.

"Hehe, found it." Ning Jinli crouched low in a dark corner, eyes fixed on the screen of the remote in her hand, a smile tugging at her lips.

Half an hour later.

All the fires that had broken out in the County Magistrate's residence had been completely extinguished.

Since the fire had been started by Ning Jinli with a gasoline lighter, the servants really couldn't figure out how it had ignited; after cleaning up, they told the County Magistrate it must have been due to the dry weather.

The County Magistrate had the servants and guards search again, but finding nothing suspicious, the fire incident was left at that.

By the middle of the night, aside from those on night watch, everyone—including the County Magistrate—had fallen asleep.

Only then did Ning Jinli sneak into the rockery in the rear garden.

She, according to memory, found the spot where the County Magistrate had entered, clutching a small flashlight in her hand, and tiptoed forward.

Just then, several pairs of green‑glowing eyes appeared in the rockery…