Chapter 163: Is There Such a Good Thing?

There is news in the wards again.

The commoners gather together in their leisure time to discuss it.

It is rumored that a government official who was allotted an "Immortal Pill" had his home visited by a thief! The "Immortal Pill" was stolen!

That person was a mid-level officer in the City Defense Army who had risen through the ranks by merit, and he was able to receive a portion in his monthly allowance.

He had a share in this distribution of "Immortal Pills," and although the quantity was only one, this "I have what others don't" privilege made him very smug.

Once the "Immortal Pill" was in his hands, he showed it off in the ward. Not everyone could squeeze into the front row of that Dharma Assembly to gaze upon the "Immortal Pill," so as soon as word spread that he had been allotted one, people immediately came over to see the rare treasure.

After showing it off for two days straight, he woke up this morning to find that the Dan Pill originally kept in the box had vanished into thin air.

His state of mind immediately exploded; he cursed incessantly and even called for a Clerk from the ward to catch the thief.

But the problem is, no one knows who the thief is or where the thief is.

Over the course of two days, people have successively reported that the "Immortal Pills" in their homes have been stolen!

The pressure is on the Patrol Guard Division.

They are to investigate the case and catch the thieves!

The East Office of the Patrol Guard Division.

Ming Tiao and Yu He are organizing case files.

"It is true that some people have had their Dan Pills stolen, but more are using the rumors to resolve family matters. Their households are strapped for cash, or for other reasons, they sold them secretly themselves, but to save face, they claimed they were stolen."

"A thief crying 'thief'?"

"However, thieves have indeed emerged. Once this matter is over, we must tidy up the security within the city again."

Wen Gu listens to their discussion and feels it is more like someone wants to divert attention and have more Patrol Guard Division manpower transferred elsewhere, so he says: "The people in hiding may be about to act; remind every location to heighten their vigilance!"

Yu He immediately says: "Deputy Envoy, rest assured, I remind them once every day! Even the night watchmen patrolling Xinzhou City will be a bit more alert!"

Wen Gu says: "It is not just at night; you must also be on guard during the day. The storehouse must have people guarding it at all times!"

Ming Tiao replies: "There are people there day and night, and people have been arranged for the storehouse as well."

Even the Patrol Guard Division is not as solid as an Iron bucket.

It is a chaotic time now, and many of the staff are not professional; it looks orderly, but there is plenty of chaotic management and many opportunities to exploit loopholes.

The management capability at the grassroots level is uneven, and Wen Gu cannot personally oversee every single place, so he can only offer more reminders.

"The Caishan Horse Bandits have a high success rate. They are waiting for an opportunity to strike with full force and then slip away. Two years is enough time for them to hide many secret lines."

Wen Gu unfolds a newly received letter, takes a look, and mentions a few places for Ming Tiao and Yu He to keep an eye on.

Wen Gu does not deliberately cover it, and Yu He had not intended to look, but he accidentally caught a glimpse of the words on the letter while collecting the case files.

He only saw that the handwriting on the letter was delicate and graceful, very likely from a young lady.

He is very curious, yet he does not dare to ask directly.

Thinking about it, among the letters received this morning, there seems to be only one from the Huwei Escort Agency.

Of those at the Huwei Escort Agency who fit the status, is it only that young widow?

That young sister-in-law is now one of the heads of the Huwei Escort Agency, and one could even say she is the one steering the ship from behind the scenes. I never expected she would have been in contact with the Deputy Envoy all along!

The fire of gossip burns fiercely in Yu He's heart, but when Wen Gu's gaze sweeps over, he immediately returns to working seriously.

He coughs lightly and brings his attention back to official business: "Deputy Envoy, the Incense Pills are all kept in the storehouse over there. The ones responsible for guarding it include people from the City Defense Army, but the main force is still our Patrol Guard Division. But if we still fail to defend it and the Incense Pills are stolen, what then?"

The storehouse where the Incense Pills are placed is not the Patrol Guard Division's own storehouse. Those storehouses over there hold the monthly stipends, allowances, and reward supplies for the army and officials. It is guarded jointly by the City Defense Army, the Hunting Army, and the Patrol Guard Division.

However, since these "Immortal Pills" have another use this time, the main guarding force is their Patrol Guard Division, with some City Defense Army personnel assisting.

Since the Caishan Horse Bandits are so formidable, what if they are stolen by them?

Wen Gu says calmly: "Those Incense Pills are not the most important thing. What is important is whether we can lure them out and encircle and annihilate them."

"Even if we cannot lure out the Caishan Horse Bandits, if we lure out other thieves, we can take the opportunity to wipe them out together. That is a good thing for Xinzhou City."

"Moreover, even if the medicinal pills are stolen from the storehouse, as long as we keep the bandits from escaping Xinzhou City, it is a success."

If they can still be stolen despite the current deployment, it means there was a lapse internally. After the fact, those who deserve rewards will be rewarded, and those who deserve punishment will be punished.

Through this incident, everyone will also know where they need to be restrained, take it as a warning, and be more rigorous in future operations.

The weather is hot.

Except for those who have to work or be on duty, most others are at home avoiding the heat.

In this weather, the Idlers responsible for running errands are also a bit lazy, avoiding the times when the sun is hottest.

In this sweltering weather, the nobles are even less willing to go out. Those who want to visit others do so in the morning when the ward gates open, before the temperature has risen.

By the time the sun rises high, one can barely see anyone on the main roads in the city.

——

Inside a large warehouse stacked with goods.

The two boys of the Mu Family are busy.

Three people from the Mu Family were selected as handymen for the Patrol Guard Division; besides fifteen-year-old Mu Jun and thirteen-year-old Mu Feng, there is also their little aunt, Mu Zhao.

It is nearly noon, and the two of them are checking and recording with a cargo manifest in the large warehouse.

Both are wearing handyman clothes and look ordinary. They fled with their whole family to Xinzhou City some time ago and haven't had many peaceful days since; they are both dark and rough-looking, not looking at all like young masters from a family of military nobility.

Fleeing was very arduous, but fortunately, young teenagers recover quickly; otherwise, they would be lying at home recuperating just like their second uncle/father.

For them now, it belongs to the stage of grinding experience.

Following the steps, whenever the experience is fully ground, they can become regular staff.

Of course, there is another path—performing a meritorious deed!

But is a meritorious deed so easily performed?

Even if they wanted to, it usually wouldn't be their turn; others would rush to take it.

There are several layers of guards outside, and people are squatting right at the entrance of the storehouse.

If it were at night, there would be even more guards on patrol.

Even if the two of them lounged in the warehouse, they might not necessarily see a single mouse after waiting all night.

If a mouse came over from the guard post, it would likely be hacked into minced meat before it even reached the storeroom.

"I'm hungry," Mu Feng said.

"Wait a little longer, Aunt will be here with food soon." Mu Jun was no better off than his cousin. They were at the age where they were growing, so it was easy to get hungry.

Their aunt had applied for this job with them, but the warehouse regulations only allowed two people inside, so the three of them took turns.

This morning it was the two brothers, and in the afternoon it would be Mu Jun and their aunt.

Whoever came to change shifts at noon would bring food along.

Otherwise, if they missed mealtime and went back, the food would be cold, and there was no telling how much would be left.

The warehouse windows were small and the light was dim, but fortunately, the sunlight was relatively sufficient around noon, so they used this light to hurry and get their work done.

The current records for the storeroom could not be as perfunctory as before, but most of the old employees, even if they knew a few characters, lacked the patience to spend a long time writing and drawing.

The three from the Mu Family were new employees, so some good tasks did not fall to them. Knowing about this task, they actively applied for it; if they had been even a little slower, this job would likely have been snatched up by someone else!

There could be no fire in the warehouse, so they could not light lamps. The weather was good today and the light was sufficient, so they had to verify the goods as quickly as possible to finish early and get off duty.

Looking at the subsidies and rewards to be issued in the next ten-day period on the cargo list, the two brothers felt envious as they verified them.

"I wonder when we'll be able to become permanent staff."

"Just endure it slowly!"

"I'm bored, I want to perform a meritorious deed!"

"Go to sleep, everything is in your dreams."

They had to survive the novice period first; only after becoming old employees could they compete for the big tasks.

Having finished another cargo list, the two lay on the wooden table to rest.

They felt listless after staying in the warehouse for too long, so they slept for a while.

The surroundings fell silent.

Due to the vigilance developed from fleeing as refugees, they did not sleep very deeply. They vaguely heard someone talking outside the storeroom, and it stopped after a short while.

The storeroom door opened.

Did Aunt come?

Did lunch arrive?

The two thought in a daze.

But they soon sensed something was wrong. The footsteps were very light and very unfamiliar.

The two of them nimbly flipped off the table.

A person wearing the uniform of the City Defense Army opened the storeroom and saw at a glance two lumps of unidentified objects crouching in front.

Like two wild wolves hidden in the darkness, the gazes they cast seemed to carry a faint, eerie light.

It gave him a start.

But upon closer inspection, it turned out to be two boys in their teens.

There was no eerie light in their eyes; they had just woken up and widened their eyes, that was all!

At first glance, he sized them up several times; both boys were wearing menial servant clothes that were convenient for work and cool, with no other accessories, and they were tanned dark and completely unremarkable; at first glance, they had a rustic air.

He figured they were just some relative's kin, arranged to be placed here to sponge off the subsidies.

The person thought to himself: They are just two naive boys who haven't seen the world; they look dull-eyed, with red marks on their faces from sleeping, and don't seem very bright; they are probably stunned.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed the man's eyes. It was better to let these two continue to "sleep" as soon as possible!

While the intruder was sizing up the Mu Family brothers, the Mu Family brothers were also analyzing him.

That footstep from just now, and the way he was sizing them up, gave them a sense of familiarity.

Was it like thieves wearing the clothes of officials?

They had followed their uncles to suppress bandits to gain experience since they were ten, so they had a natural intuition about people of certain professions.

At this very moment, the two felt a jolt, their eyes widened even further, and the listlessness originally brought on by hunger instantly switched to excitement.

There was such a good thing?!

A barrage of thoughts flashed through their minds: administrative promotion, performing a meritorious deed to become permanent staff!

First come, first served!

First come, first served!!

First come, first served!!!

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