Chapter 481: Grievance

Inside the County Yamen hall, the blue brick floor was level.

In the center stood the official desk, with the gavel and sign tube placed on it. Behind the desk hung the plaque "High Mirror Hanging High" and the official title board. On both sides were rows of water-fire staves and weapon 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 floated in front of him.

He didn't know how long this yamen had been unused; it had been temporarily cleaned, the dust largely cleared, but there were still spiderwebs in some corners that hadn't been cleaned away.

But if one only looked at the row in the middle, it was still somewhat majestic.

The County Magistrate sat upright under the "High Mirror Hanging High" plaque, and with his appearance, it looked even more majestic. 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.

The three points of courage Li Dabao had just been propped up with by Li Miao vanished the moment he saw this scene, his legs softening as he prepared to kneel again.

Li Miao reached out and lifted him up.

"You are not allowed to kneel."

"Stand straight, have some backbone."

Li Dabao stood trembling, but whispered.

"Hero, it's no use... you should leave..."

"We have already gotten used to it... I can't let you lose your life for no reason... There have already been many heroes who lost their lives for us before, we—"

Li Miao raised his hand to interrupt.

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

Li Dabao nodded violently.

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

"There were others who came, listened to us, said they were going to leave the city to return to their sects for reinforcements, and later they also disappeared..."

Li Miao suddenly understood.

"So that's how it is."

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

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

Li Dabao was stunned.

"What did the Hero say?"

Li Miao waved his hand.

"Nothing, tell me something else."

"The children on the carts outside are the ones I found in the mountains. I assume they must be 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 bean-sized tears gushed out of his eyes.

"The child's mother..."

Immediately, he choked up and told the story bit by bit.

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 with no fierce people coming to fish for profit, the common people were at least getting by.

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

One day, a person came to the city. ===== CHAPTER 482 =====