Chapter 104: with translation of chapter title

Detected host poisoning, recommend using 'Heart-Clearing Detox Pill', price: 2000 points.

2000 points!

Jiang Xiaomu felt a pang of pain, but the taste of the bewitching incense was truly unbearable; he gritted his teeth.

"Purchase!"

After taking the pill, a cool breath instantly flowed through his whole body, and the feeling of dizziness and blurred vision gradually faded.

The next morning, Li Wenqing personally came to visit.

"Mr. Jiang, how do you feel?"

Li Wenqing asked with concern.

"Thank you for your concern, sir, I'm fine now."

Jiang Xiaomu cupped his fists.

"Good, Doctor Sun has been detained; now both human and material evidence are present."

"I will now go to the hall for interrogation; Mr. Jiang, would you like to come along?"

Jiang Xiaomu naturally would not let this opportunity slip.

"Of course."

In the hall of the Xian Ya, Doctor Sun was trussed up tightly.

Kneeling on the ground, his face pallid, his eyes darting, he obviously sensed his own fate.

"Doctor Sun, do you know your crime?"

Li Wenqing slammed the gavel and asked sternly.

"My lord, I am innocent!"

Doctor Sun, face full of grief, loudly protested his innocence.

"Innocent? We found a large amount of bewitching incense in your clinic."

"Both human and material evidence are here; do you still want to deny it?"

Li Wenqing gave a cold snort.

"Mr. Jiang personally saw you hiding it without evidence; what else do you have to say?"

Doctor Sun's eyes darted; he sneakily glanced at Jiang Xiaomu sitting beside him.

He silently cursed, this brat actually wasn't killed by the bewitching incense!

"My lord, that bewitching incense is… merely… something I, a commoner, use for self-defense…"

Doctor Sun stammered in his defense.

"Self-defense? You, a doctor, need bewitching incense for self-defense? Do you take me for a fool?"

Li Wenqing angrily rebuked.

"My lord, please see clearly, I… I…"

Doctor Sun was sweating profusely, yet could no longer fabricate any excuse.

Jiang Xiaomu watched coldly, knowing Doctor Sun would surely not confess easily.

He stood up, walked to Doctor Sun's front, and looked down at him from above.

"Doctor Sun, I'll give you one last chance."

Jiang Xiaomu's voice was ice-cold.

Doctor Sun trembled with fright, he lifted his head and looked at Jiang Xiaomu in terror, his eyes full of fear.

This young man before him was even more terrifying than the King of Hell.

Doctor Sun shook like a sieve, his lips quivering.

"I… I say! I… I am merely a runner! Please, my lord, show mercy!"

"A runner? What does he run?"

Li Wenqing violently slapped the gavel, making Doctor Sun shudder again.

"I… I am merely an eyes and ears for the bandits…"

Doctor Sun, face full of grief, spilled everything.

"I run a clinic in the city, but actually I gather information for the bandits!"

"The caravans' routes, goods… I report them all!"

Jiang Xiaomu's eyes narrowed, he stepped forward and pressed:

"Was the Miss Zhang also harmed by your report?"

Doctor Sun quickly nodded.

"Yes… yes, I… I deserve to die! My heart was clouded by lard!"

"Miss Zhang… I… I also coveted the bandits' reward silver…"

"Where is the bandits' lair? Who is their chief?"

Jiang Xiaomu's voice was cold as ice chips, chilling Doctor Sun to the scalp.

Doctor Sun, however, kept shaking his head.

"I… I truly don't know! I… I am merely a messenger!"

"On the fifteenth of each month, someone comes to my clinic to get medicine, says the password, and the information is hidden in the medicine packet…"

"What is the password?" Jiang Xiaomu pressed.

Doctor Sun, face full of grief,

"Half a mace of white angelica, one mace of pinellia, two taels of rhubarb."

"As for other matters, I truly don't know!"

"Everyone who comes to get medicine is different each time; I… I am only responsible for handing the medicine packets to them!"

Jiang Xiaomu furrowed his brows; Doctor Sun was obviously just a petty lackey, the true mastermind behind the scenes still hidden in the dark.

He turned his head to look at Li Wenqing.

"Sir, Doctor Sun knows only limited information; it would be better to first detain him, then decide after capturing the person who comes to get medicine."

Li Wenqing nodded and ordered the yamen runners to take Doctor Sun to jail.

Jiang Xiaomu walked out of the Xian Ya, lifted his head to look at the sky; it was already noon.

He was thinking, needing to find a way to capture the horse bandit who comes to get medicine before the next fifteenth.

Back home, his younger sister Jiang Xiaoyu had already prepared lunch.

Seeing Jiang Xiaomu return, she hurried forward to greet him.

"Brother, you're back! How did it go? Did you catch that bad guy?"

Jiang Xiaomu ruffled his sister's hair.

"I caught him, but he's just a petty lackey; the true mastermind behind the scenes hasn't been caught yet."

"Brother, you must be careful!"

Jiang Xiaoyu looked at Jiang Xiaomu with worry, her eyes full of concern.

Jiang Xiaomu felt warm in his heart, smiling as he comforted her:

"Don't worry, I'm fine, come, let's eat."

Over the next few days, Jiang Xiaomu nursed his wounds while secretly investigating the bandits' traces.

He had Li Wenqing send people to ambush near Doctor Sun's clinic, waiting for the fifteenth when the person who comes to get medicine would appear.

Days passed one by one, and in the blink of an eye it was the fifteenth.

That day, Jiang Xiaomu arrived early at Doctor Sun's clinic.

Disguised as Doctor Sun's apprentice, he waited at the counter.

As noon approached, a burly man with a full beard walked into the clinic.

"Hey, I'm here to get medicine: half a qian of Angelica, one and a half qian of Pinellia, two liang of rhubarb."

The burly man said in a rough voice.

Jiang Xiaomu, without looking up, took an inconspicuous medicine packet from under the counter and tossed it to the burly man.

The burly man took the packet, weighed it, then turned and walked out of the clinic.

All of this was seen in full by Jiang Xiaomu, who was hiding in the shadows.

"It really is them!"

He had already arranged for Constable Pei Dongyong to secretly tail, waiting for the person who comes to get medicine to appear.

The burly man left the clinic and headed straight out of the city.

Pei Dongyong followed from a distance, not daring to get too close for fear of being discovered.

The burly man left the city, heading east all the way, and upon reaching a concealed valley mouth, vanished from sight.

Pei Dongyong dared not rashly enter the valley, and hurried back to the Xian Ya to report to Li Wenqing.

Pei Dongyong said, panting:

"Sir, that burly man entered the valley and left no trace!"

Jiang Xiaomu was also nearby; hearing Pei Dongyong's report, he furrowed his brows.

"It looks like this valley is the bandits' lair."

Jiang Xiaomu said in a low voice.

"These damned bandits actually hid in such a concealed place!"

Li Wenqing was furious and slammed the table hard.

"We must suppress them at once!"

"Sir, the valley's terrain is complex, easy to defend but hard to attack; a rash assault would likely cause heavy losses."

Jiang Xiaomu reminded.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Li Wenqing asked.

"For now, the only plan is to report to the Prefect and request troops to suppress the bandits."

Jiang Xiaomu suggested.

Li Wenqing nodded, immediately wrote a letter, and sent someone riding at full speed to deliver it to the prefectural city.

At the same time, he and Jiang Xiaomu studied the specific plan to suppress the bandits.