Chapter 370: No One Died

Gao Wanli returned with a group of subordinates.

At the gate, Lang XiaoBa blocked them again.

Though you are Deputy Chief of Discipline, is it necessary to bring so many “servants” into the yamen?

Gao Wanli’s good mood from morning nearly vanished because of this sycophant.

Mr. Lu quietly held Gao Wanli back: “Miss, let him boast a little longer—they’ll have their turn to cry!”

Gao Wanli realized he was right, so she took only Mr. Lu and Mr. Jiang inside.

Gao Wanli’s duty room was far from Xu Yuan’s.

She first went to her own room, had Mr. Jiang write a memorial, and harshly accused Xu Yuan of “negligence” and “incompetence,” causing frequent tragedies outside Zhan City and heavy civilian casualties.

She didn’t write it herself because her handwriting was ugly and utterly unacceptable.

Then, she carried the memorial and, with two subordinates, kept walking past Xu Yuan’s duty room over and over.

She waited for the incident to erupt, then would immediately send the memorial out.

On the first pass, she saw a Mountain Moving Captain from the Nan Cheng patrol duty room rush in to report and enter.

Gao Wanli couldn’t help smiling.

Afterward, personnel from the other three duty rooms kept arriving.

Gao Wanli figured Xu Yuan must now be frantic, sweating and cursing.

So she stood outside, tilting her head and straining to listen.

But the duty room was utterly silent.

Gao Wanli wondered: How can he stay so calm?

After a while, the door opened, and Xu Yuan stepped out, followed by Jia Yi and Mao Dabin.

The three ignored Gao Wanli’s sneaky presence nearby and walked out together.

Gao Wanli’s eyes darted, and she sneered: Pretending to be calm? Trying to bury such a big case?

You’re dreaming!

Gao Wanli immediately ordered her men to follow.

Outside the yamen gate, Xu Yuan and the others mounted their horses; Gao Wanli chased after them: “Where are you going?”

Xu Yuan replied coldly: “What I do doesn’t require reporting to you.”

Gao Wanli’s eyes flickered: “I am also an officer of Zhan City Office—if anything happens, I should be informed.”

“Since you admit you’re an officer of Zhan City Office, I assign you a task: Guard the yamen!”

With that, Xu Yuan kicked his horse’s flanks, and the three sped off.

Gao Wanli smiled triumphantly: He won’t let me follow—there must be something wrong.

She waved her hand, and Mr. Lu and Mr. Jiang immediately followed her, chasing after Xu Yuan.

The three crept along, deliberately keeping far behind, blending into the crowd on the street.

They saw Xu Yuan meet Fu Jingyu and Di Youzhi at the Nan Cheng gate, then leave the city together, before they slowly followed out.

Gao Wanli knew Xu Yuan’s first stop would be Dong Zha Village—she wasn’t worried about losing him.

She estimated his speed and arrived at the village a quarter-hour after him.

From afar, Gao Wanli suddenly frowned.

She smelled no blood.

And in the fields around the village, villagers were diligently tending their crops.

A group of children ran past the old well at the village entrance, laughing as they waved windmills.

There was no sign at all of a recent “demon-cannibalism” tragedy.

Gao Wanli’s first thought: Could we have been fooled by an illusion?

Mr. Lu shook his head: “No.”

Gao Wanli and the two entered the village and met several villagers; seeing their official robes, the villagers quickly stepped aside, afraid of offending the officials.

“Three more officials have come.”

Gao Wanli whipped her horsewhip, coiling it around a villager’s neck and yanking him to her horse’s front, then asked sternly: “What happened in the village last night?”

The man, choked by the whip, turned beet red, gasping for air.

Gao Wanli jerked the whip loose: “Speak! If you hide even a single detail, I’ll cut off your head!”

The villager fell to his knees in terror: “Last night… last night a demon entered the village…”

“Then why is the village so peaceful?”

“I—I don’t know. Everyone says the demon meant to eat Cao Da’s family, but heavenly fire fell from the sky and turned it to ash…”

“Nonsense!” Gao Wanli’s whip lashed down across his face.

The poor villager screamed in agony, his body instantly crisscrossed with bloody welts.

“I’m not lying—the previous officials who came are all at Cao Da’s place…”

Gao Wanli barked: “Lead the way.”

The villager dared not protest, filled with grievance, led them to the place, then ran off as fast as he could.

Xu Yuan was pretending to examine the demon’s ashes with his men.

Seeing Gao Wanli arrive, he showed surprise: “Officer Gao… you’re disobeying orders!”

Gao Wanli no longer cared; she dismounted and rushed forward several steps.

A normal person would have covered it in three steps, but her legs were short—she needed five.

Ordinary people couldn’t tell the difference, but she’d spent years in the Purification Office—she could instantly distinguish demon ashes from ordinary wood or grass ash.

Gao Wanli rushed into the house—Cao Da’s entire family of five was intact.

Gao Wanli frowned, stepped out, and asked: “No one died in the village?”

“No one died,” Xu Yuan said, relieved: “Some righteous soul appeared and destroyed the demon, saving the whole village. Otherwise, every officer in Zhan City Office would have faced severe punishment from above.”

“Truly, not a single person died?”

Xu Yuan: “If you don’t believe me, take the household registers and check door to door.”

Di Youzhi snorted, sarcasm dripping: “I can’t help but think… you’re disappointed no one died, Officer Gao?”

Gao Wanli glared coldly at Di Youzhi.

Di Youzhi, a hardened rogue, wasn’t fazed—he glared right back, unyielding.

Gao Wanli examined the ashes again, her brow furrowing.

Xu Yuan said: “The demon attacks last night weren’t limited to Dong Zha Village alone…”

Gao Wanli snapped her head up.

Dong Zha Village got lucky—a passing cultivator saved them at midnight, but if all other villages had perished, Xu Yuan’s responsibility still couldn’t be avoided.

The memorial in her bosom was hard and ready to be used!

But Xu Yuan continued: “When I received the news this morning, I was truly startled. So many villages around Zhan City suffered demonic attacks in a single night!”

“Fortunately, heaven protected us—not a single life lost…”

“What did you say?!” Gao Wanli cried out: “Not a single life lost?”

“Yes!” Xu Yuan wore an expression of relief and lingering fear: “Every demon that attacked a village was slain by a hidden righteous soul!”

Gao Wanli stood frozen, stunned for a long moment.

Seven villages, scattered around Zhan City!

How could it be so coincidental that each village was saved by a “righteous soul” in the dead of night?

Gao Wanli cursed inwardly: Does Xu Yuan have such luck?!

Suddenly, another possibility struck her: Could this “righteous soul” be the same person…? What level of power would that require?!

Thinking of power, Gao Wanli immediately thought of Xu Yuan!

He was the strongest in all of Zhan City.

Fifth-tier—perfectly capable of this.

(End of Chapter)