Chapter 425: Grievance

Inside the main hall of the county office, the blue brick floor was smooth.

In the center sat the official desk, with the gavel and the bamboo slip container on top. Behind the desk hung the plaque "Bright Mirror Hanging High" and the official rank board. On both sides were rows of water-fire staves and torture racks, and sunlight slanted in from the high windows, outlining the dust floating in the air.

Li Miao waved his hand, pushing away the dust that had drifted in front of him.

He didn't know how long this office hadn't been used; it had been cleaned up temporarily, the dust mostly cleared, but there were still spiderwebs in some corners.

But if one only looked at the center row, it still had some majesty.

The County Magistrate sat upright under the "Bright Mirror Hanging High" plaque, and with his dignified appearance, he looked even more imposing. The two rows of yamen runners on both sides, holding water-fire staves, were burly and looked even more elite than the runners of ordinary counties.

Li Dabao's courage, which had just been bolstered by Li Miao, hit rock bottom the moment he saw this scene, and his legs went weak, ready to kneel again.

Li Miao reached out and pulled him up.

"You are not allowed to kneel."

"Stand straight, have some backbone."

Li Dabao stood trembling, but whispered.

"Great Hero, it won't work... you should just leave..."

"We... we are already used to it... we can't let you throw your life away for nothing... there have already been many heroes who died for us, we—"

Li Miao raised his hand to interrupt.

"Wait, you mean to say that other Wu Lin people have come here before, discovered the oddity, and prepared to seek justice for you?"

Li Dabao nodded violently.

"Yes... in the past year, seven heroes, young heroes, and heroines have come... they all died..."

"There were also a few who, after hearing us out, said they were going to leave the city to return to their sects for reinforcements, but later they also disappeared..."

Li Miao realized.

"So that's how it is."

"I was wondering why that bandit stronghold, having harmed so many people this past year, hadn't faced any trouble from the authorities. I originally thought they were using silver to bribe the local officials, but now it seems that the bandit stronghold was the enforcer all along."

"Those Wu Lin people who left the city saying they were seeking reinforcements were likely all turned into white bones and buried in that corpse pit."

Li Dabao was stunned.

"What did the Great Hero say?"

Li Miao waved his hand.

"Nothing, tell me something else."

"The children on the carts outside are ones I found in the mountains; I assume they are the children of the people of Kangfu County, right?"

Li Dabao nodded tremblingly.

Li Miao patted his shoulder.

"Besides taking your children, what else did the person who threw them into the wilderness take?"

Li Dabao seemed to have been asked about his deepest sorrow, and tears the size of beans gushed out of his eyes.

"The child's mother..."

Immediately, he choked up and told the story.

A year ago, Kangfu County was not what it is now.

At that time, although Kangfu County was poor, relying on the nearby mountains, rivers, and the "advantage" of being remote and having no fierce people coming to exploit it, the people lived passably well.

But... stories always need a "but."

One day, a person came to the city.