Chapter 81: The Interrogation of the Bottle

At this moment the whole Jiangcheng is in chaos, the sounds of smashing and people's panicked cries can be heard everywhere, and the mountain bandits of Yangguangzhai also display astonishing discipline.

Everyone finds the task they should do; the villagers of Da Jiang Cun haul things onto the donkey carts with all their might, and if the carts cannot hold more, they shoulder the load, and the donkey carts loaded with goods begin to leave the city gate in an orderly line.

At this moment Jiang Jinshi is leading a group straight toward the County Magistrate's residence, and upon reaching the doorway, Lao Wu opens the door and steps out.

Before the Wu steward can speak, Jiang Jinshi's halberd is already pressed against the man's neck.

"Where is the County Magistrate?"

At this moment Lao Wu still doesn't understand what has happened and looks at Jiang Jinshi with puzzlement.

Jiang Jinshi, impatient to ask again, presses the crescent blade of his halberd a little deeper against Lao Wu's neck.

Realizing his life hangs in the balance, Lao Wu hurriedly says, "In... in the rear courtyard annex!"

He kicks it aside with a foot, and Jiang Jinshi leads his men straight toward the County Magistrate.

The County Magistrate, unaware that danger approaches, hears the faint sounds from the city and continues to wonder how much silver taels he will gain this time.

"Bang!"

The door is kicked open by Jiang Jinshiyi, and the first thing he does upon entering is to check if anyone else is inside.

When Jiang Jinshi and his men rush into the house, the guards finally react and hurriedly move toward the crowd.

"Assassin!"

"Protect the County Magistrate!"

Jiang Jinshi pays no heed to the guards' counterattack and leaves it to Xiao Hu outside the door.

The County Magistrate stands up, his face dark, and scolds, "What is going on?"

"County Magistrate, today you are doomed!" Jiang Jinshi now tears off his disguise, grips his halberd tightly, and shows no concealment of the murderous intent in his eyes.

"Jiang, the big boss, I have not treated you poorly! Why?" the County Magistrate, realizing he has been played, lets out words that show his frustration.

Jiang Jinshi snorts coldly, "Just the deeds of your subordinates are enough to make you die ten times!"

If Jiang Jinshi had given another reason it would have been tolerable, but this reason makes the County Magistrate laugh uncontrollably: "Who do you think you are? A living bodhisattva rescuing the suffering? You are just a mountain bandit!"

"Exactly! I am just a mountain bandit; does a bandit need a reason to kill?" At this point Jiang Jinshi, too lazy to waste words, adds, "Ye Chang, your chance for revenge has come!"

Ye Chang is the one who previously attempted to assassinate the County Magistrate, and after Jiang Jinshi's words he chose to join Yangguangzhai, waiting for today's opportunity.

Jiang Jinshi invited Ye Chang to join Yangguangzhai both because he feared Ye would act prematurely and spoil his plans, and because Ye's martial skill is considerable, likely from special training, and Yangguangzhai greatly needs such talent.

A flash of excited smile crosses Ye Chang's face in the ranks; he had previously tried to assassinate the County Magistrate but was stopped by Jiang Jinshi, and now the time for his revenge has finally arrived.

"Corrupt official, return my family's lives!"

"Very well! The assassination last time was also arranged by you, right? That's why you didn't let my men chase, just to gain my trust." The County Magistrate rages, like a little lady abandoned by an unfaithful man.

Regarding the County Magistrate's words, Jiang Jinshi gives no response—what can you say to a dead man?

Ye Chang's dagger flashes across the County Magistrate's neck, and the words in his throat never get a chance to be spoken; he clutches his neck with both hands and slowly collapses to the ground.

"Father! Mother! Your vengeance, the child has avenged!" Ye Chang kneels on the ground, tears slipping from the corners of his eyes.

Jiang Jinshi lifts his halberd and thrusts toward the County Magistrate's abdomen, to prevent any feigned death.

"Go!"

After saying that, Jiang Jinshi walks toward the doorway and shouts at the still-fighting guards, "The County Magistrate is dead; anyone who doesn't want to die, get out quickly!"

The guards glance at each other, and ultimately choose not to avenge the County Magistrate.

Jiang Jinshi leads his men in a sweep of the residence and finally finds the brocade box containing the plastic water bottle.

Holding the bottle up for close inspection, Jiang Jinshi can now be 100% certain that this is a Mou Haha plastic water bottle.

He hands the remaining treasures and silver taels to the mountain bandits to take away, and with the water bottle in hand, Jiang Jinshi and Xiao Hu dash furiously toward another location.

To Jiang Jinshi, the truth hidden behind this bottle is far more valuable than the County Magistrate's head.

Lao Xiao is currently counting money on the second floor of the gambling den he runs; he enjoys the feeling of counting copper coins, though only a small portion of the money is his, the majority must be handed over to the County Magistrate.

Before he can close the box containing the money, a sound from downstairs catches Lao Xiao's attention.

"Do you know who guards this gambling den? To cause trouble while I'm here, it's downright audacious!" Lao Xiao curses, slams the box shut and prepares to go downstairs to see what's happening.

Every now and then, someone who has lost everything comes to cause trouble in the gambling den, and he has become accustomed to it; he has dealt with such incidents at least twenty times.

Just as he reaches the downstairs, the scene before his eyes leaves Lao Xiao stunned.

He sees all the thugs in the gambling den lying on the floor wailing, and several covered in blood, looking as if they cannot survive.

Only three people remain standing in the hall: Lao Xiao, who just came down, and Jiang Jinshi and Xiao Hu.

Lao Xiao, being a seasoned slickster, not only doesn't get angry at the sight, but smiles and speaks to Jiang Jinshi.

"Yo! What wind blew Lord Jiang here? Did the people below bump into you? I'll teach them right away."

While speaking, Lao Xiao's foot quietly steps back toward the gambling den's back door.

Xiao Hu, without any extra words, rushes forward, grabs Lao Xiao's clothing and belt in one hand, lifts him into the air, leaving him no chance to run.

He then slams Lao Xiao forcefully onto the gambling table, a massive hand gripping Lao Xiao's neck.

Jiang Jinshi approaches, raises the plastic water bottle in his hand and asks, "Where did you get this thing?"

"Jiang... Lord Jiang, let's speak properly." Lao Xiao struggles with both hands against Xiao Hu's massive hand, yet cannot move it a fraction.

"I ask, you answer! Where did you get this thing?" Jiang Jinshi repeats the question.

Lao Xiao looks at the bottle in Jiang Jinshi's hand; of course he is not unfamiliar with it, after all it is the one he gave to the County Magistrate.

"I... I bought it at a high price!"

Thinking of Wang Gui, whom he killed and threw into the old well, Lao Xiao dares not tell the truth, fearing the other is here to avenge Wang Gui.

"How much did you pay? From whose hands did you buy it?" Jiang Jinshi's gaze grows increasingly hostile as he speaks.

"It cost two hundred taels, bought from a woman." Lao Xiao continues the lie, praying he can escape this disaster.

After all, when this bottle appeared in Jiang Jinshi's hand, Lao Xiao keenly sensed something was off.

One must know the County Magistrate is famously a tightfisted miser; he loves this treasure dearly and would never bestow it upon anyone else.

But now that it appears in Jiang Jinshi's hands, that can explain some questions.

"What kind of woman?" Jiang Jinshi continued to ask.

Lao Xiao heard this and became very nervous, his eyes darting around, and for a moment he couldn't think of a reasonable appearance to describe.

"You're lying!"

Jiang Jinshi raised the long halberd in his hand, the tip aimed at Lao Xiao's eyes, "I'll give you one last chance—tell the truth, how this thing came to be!"

Seeing the blood on the halberd tip just inches away, Lao Xiao no longer dared to fool Jiang Jinshi.

"Tru—truly, a woman gave it to me."

"And the person?"

"I killed her and threw her into the dry well."

Jiang Jinshi inhaled deeply, signaling Xiao Hu to lift Lao Xiao, "Lead the way! If you still dare deceive me, I'll break every bone in your body one by one."

Hearing that, Lao Xiao couldn't help but shiver and begged repeatedly.

"Jiang... Jiang Ye! Every word I said is true! Please spare my dog life!"

Now Lao Xiao dared not play any tricks, only hoping Jiang Jinshi would let him go.

Just as the two were carrying Lao Xiao out, Wang Hou arrived with his bandits.

"You move the silver; I still have to go somewhere," Jiang Jinshi said to Wang Hou, then he and Xiao Hu left with Lao Xiao.

Wang Hou, a bit uneasy, ordered his men to move the silver, then hurried after the two.

Arriving at the tavern familiar to Lao Xiao, Jiang Jinshi also successfully located the dry well.

Holding a torch, he shone into the well's mouth but couldn't see clearly; however, the foul stench emanating from the well proved Lao Xiao hadn't lied—there was indeed a corpse inside.

"How many corpses are inside?" Jiang Jinshi asked Lao Xiao.

Lao Xiao trembled and extended three fingers, "Three!"

Wang Hou fetched a rope, tied it around his waist, and, relying on his small stature, slipped easily into the well; the other end was tied to Xiao Hu.

Jiang Jinshi tightened the rope and let it down inch by inch, soon receiving Wang Hou's response.

"Boss, I've reached the bottom!"

"Good! When you're ready, just shout."

Because the well was pitch black, Jiang Jinshi dared not drop the torch, so he let Wang Hou feel his way and pull a corpse out; thus the first body retrieved was not the woman Lao Xiao mentioned, but a male corpse.

Wang Hou went down again, and this time finally brought up a female corpse.

When Jiang Jinshi saw the female corpse clearly, he was stunned! Though the body was decayed to varying degrees, her face still resembled Wang Gui.

"Widow Wang?"

Seeing Jiang Jinshi's reaction, Lao Xiao, the most frightened, realized his worst fear had come true: Jiang Jinshi indeed knew the woman, so she must be seeking revenge on him!

Jiang Jinshiyi kicked Lao Xiao, "Speak—what exactly happened, say it word by word!"

Lao Xiao's face was ashen; he recounted how he had gone to Wang Gui for an affair, then how Wang Gui told him the whole process of obtaining this bottle, and he told all of it to Jiang Jinshi.

"Lord Jiang, I truly didn't know she knew you! Otherwise, even with a hundred doses of courage I wouldn't have done this! Lord Jiang, spare my dog life!"

Continuously kowtowing on the ground, Lao Xiao now deeply regretted why he had acted against that woman.

Following Jiang Jinshi's signal, Wang Hou drew his dagger from his waist and swiftly slashed across Lao Xiao's neck.

Xiao Hu tossed the corpse back into the well, then sealed the well cover; everything seemed unchanged from before, except the well now contained an additional corpse.

Jiang Jinshiyi ran toward the city gates, constantly pondering the whole chain of events in his mind.

According to Lao Xiao, Wang Gui found the bottle on Little River Mountain, thought it valuable, and brought it here to sell.

There was still some water left in the bottle, which Wang Gui drank as divine water.

Therefore! The person who could produce this bottle must be inside Da Jiang Cun, and must be a transmigrator.

Because people of this era have never seen such material; when they see it they treat it as a treasure, as evident from Wang Gui's and Liu County Magistrate's reactions.

If it's a treasure, why would anyone discard it so easily?

Thus this person didn't consider it a treasure, because it's something discarded casually in the modern world; even here, deep down they still think it's worthless.

As for why it must be within Da Jiang Cun, although Little River Mountain has several entrances, Wang Gui certainly wouldn't detour to another village and then enter Little River Mountain through another village's entrance.

Therefore, the spot where Wang Gui found the item must have been entered through the Da Jiang Cun entrance.

Thinking this, Jiang Jinshi began recalling the villagers, wondering if anyone had recently acted strangely.

Since the village population was sizable, Jiang Jinshi decided to use elimination first, to see if he could locate the person.

His own family was certainly fine, so he would next look for a chance to test each villager.

What should the password be?

"Court Jade Liquor?"

"Strange change, occasional constancy?"

When he reached outside the city, Jiang Jinshi still pondered this issue, while another problem troubled him.

Since he has a system, could the other side have one too?

He harbored no ill will toward the other, but vigilance is necessary; as fellow transmigrators, what if the other intends harm?

Thinking this, Jiang Jinshi began to hesitate; if this matter remains unresolved he can't sleep, yet to resolve it he must confront the other directly.

Wang Hou looked at Jiang Jinshi's conflicted face, thought repeatedly, then asked, "Boss, what are you thinking?"

Jiang Jinshi snapped back, "Nothing!"

Then Jiang Jinshi decided to set the matter aside for now; after all, the events of tonight weren't finished, and he needed to oversee the overall situation.

When the donkey cart, loaded with goods, returned to the starting point, the excitement on everyone's faces hadn't faded.

Seeing the abundant cargo and silver, Jiang Jinshi knew it wasn't time for celebration, and he immediately raised his hand.

"Depart, Lianhuan Shan!"

Although he has gained a lot on this trip, the real battlefield is not here; if he doesn't eliminate the remaining stronghold of Lianhuan Shan, there will always be a thorn hanging behind him.

After all, the other families aren't stupid; after taking such a huge loss this time, they will definitely look to regain their footing.

Moreover, all of County Magistrate Liu's wealth has fallen into Jiang Jinshi's hands; will they tacitly allow Yangguangzhai to grow larger?

The answer is negative.

So instead of waiting for your several families to unite and attack me, I'd rather strike them down one by one before they even react.

Thus the real hard battle lies ahead!

Originally, Jiang Jinshi could have let the villagers of Da Jiang Cun first haul all the plundered silver and grain back to Da Jiang Cun, but in the end he didn't.

Because he doesn't trust the villagers of Da Jiang Cun, he will only be at ease if all the spoils are sent back into Yangguangzhai.

Moreover, Da Jiang Cun has a considerable number of people; once the fighting starts, letting them also gain experience, real combat will make them grow faster.

When they reached the foot of Lianhuan Shan, a greeting suddenly came from the roadside.

"Chief of Yangguangzhai, nice to meet you for the first time, hope you're well!"

Jiang Jinshi turned toward the voice, but the newcomer surprised him.

"Scorpion Stronghold, Xiexiezi!"