CH 299

"Do we need to talk about Xie? If it weren't for you, we would have died long ago. Your business is my business. Don't cry, wait for my news."

Li Huowang patted Bai Lingmiao's hand and broke free, walking outside.

He wasn't good at expressing love, but he didn't want what he had experienced to happen to Bai Lingmiao. That feeling was too painful.

Bai Lingmiao hurriedly followed and asked with concern, "Senior Brother Li, do you know where my parents went?"

"I don't know."

"How can we find them?"

"Don't worry, I have an identity now. I'll find a way." Li Huowang showed Bai Lingmiao the waist badge of the Jiantiansi.

A village suddenly disappeared, and it was not a small matter. The county magistrate who governed Niu Xin Village must know something. He could start there for the time being.

Li Huowang led out a horse and looked at the map before mounting and riding into the nearby largest county town.

He wasn't good at riding, but it didn't matter. He would learn after falling a few times. Others might get hurt, but he wouldn't.

After stumbling for a day and a night, Li Huowang finally arrived at the county town when the sky was gradually brightening.

Looking at the not-too-big county town in front of him, Li Huowang, who was covered in dust, walked in while leading the horse.

The county magistrate Wang woke up. Without opening his eyes, he kicked the quilt lightly, and the concubine who was sleeping at the other end of the bed quickly got up and knelt on the ground with her forehead against the floor. "Please change clothes, my lord."

Wang slowly opened his eyes and sat up with the help of his wife's soft hand. He stretched out his hand, and a peeled willow branch was handed to him.

He gently dipped the willow branch into the fine salt on the maidservant's hand, and rubbed it against his teeth.

When Wang was done rubbing, the maid quickly picked up the purple sand spittoon that had already been prepared.

After taking a sip of warm water and swaying his cheeks, he lowered his head and spat into the spittoon.

When Wang slightly closed his eyes, the maid with a towel carefully wiped his face.

Search tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w for the original.

After the face-wiping maid stepped back, the maid holding the official clothes slowly approached.

When the seven or eight maidservants stepped back, he, wearing a navy blue official uniform, walked out of the bedroom.

As soon as he stepped out, a wave of heat hit him in the face. He looked up at the sun hanging high and his face showed a hint of displeasure.

"It's such a hot day again. There are hardly any comfortable days." He muttered as he walked forward, with two maidservants holding fans following closely behind.

He arrived at his usual office desk after a few steps. His capable assistant, Hu Shiyeh, had been waiting for a long time."So, has anyone complained recently?"

The steward with a mustache on his lips gave a fake smile. "In response to the master's question, there was only one today. The accuser paid ten taels of silver."

"Oh?" Wang County Magistrate picked up the crystal-clear cold noodles and took a few bites, leisurely saying, "Who is the defendant?"

"The defendant is a horse dealer from Qingqiu. He paid one tael, but it was in gold."

"Hmm~! The cold noodles today are good! It's a pity there's not enough."

Hearing this, Steward Hu immediately understood and said, "I understand, master. I know how to talk to them privately."

After saying that, he took out a piece of paper from his arms and began to recite the complaint.

While shaking his head and listening to the complaint, Wang County Magistrate suddenly saw a man crawling out of the ground diagonally.

Seeing this eerie scene, Wang County Magistrate was first stunned, then panicked, and finally stood up abruptly. The bowl of cold noodles in his hand spilled all over the table.

"Who...who are you! How dare you kill the imperial official! The Monitoring Bureau will not let you go!"

Li Huowang looked at the trembling man in front of him and couldn't be bothered to talk to him. He took out his badge and showed it to him. "I have something to ask you."

Seeing the badge in Li Huowang's hand, Wang County Magistrate immediately got out from behind the steward and put on a flattering smile. "Ah~ it's a master from the Monitoring Bureau. Steward, bring some tea quickly!"

"Don't bother. I'm asking you, how did the people in the Niu Xin Village disappear? They've been missing for so long, you must know something, right?"

Upon hearing this, the other party was obviously stunned, and then whispered to the steward. "Steward, what happened to Niu Xin Village?"

"Master, don't you remember? All the people in the village disappeared for no reason. You asked Inspector Cao to investigate this matter. He wanted to tell you something before, but you were too busy to listen."

"Then what are you waiting for? Hurry up and find Inspector Cao!"

"This time, Inspector Cao went on patrol. I really don't know where he is."

Upon hearing this, Wang County Magistrate showed an embarrassed smile to Li Huowang. "Master, shall I take you to find Inspector Cao? This matter is under his jurisdiction."

"Let's go, hurry up. I don't have time to waste." Seeing Li Huowang leaving, Wang County Magistrate and Steward Hu quickly followed.

"Clang~" The harsh sound of gongs and drums rang out.

"Wang~ County~ Magistrate~ is~ leaving~"

Under this deliberately elongated voice, Wang County Magistrate with his official hat on bowed towards a blue sedan chair.

As soon as he sat halfway, he turned around and smiled at Li Huowang. "Master, why don't you sit?""Hurry up and get on the sedan, I don't have time to waste."

"Okay, okay." Wang Zhixian, who was secretly laughing in his heart, got on the sedan, but before he could sit down securely, Li Huowang's words scared him to the point of almost fainting.

"With so many people missing, didn't you report it to the Monitoring Heaven Bureau?"

Hearing this, Wang Zhixian suspected that he would be blamed, so he panicked and started to shift the blame as soon as he opened the sedan curtain.

"Master, we are still investigating this matter. If we report it without any evidence, what if we are wrong? It's no big deal if I take the blame, but it would be a waste of your time. That would be a bigger problem."

"I'm sorry, it's my fault. It's all because my subordinates are not competent enough and are dragging their feet in the investigation, which led to your personal involvement."

"After I finish with this, I will host a banquet at Fubai Tower to apologize and punish myself with three cups!"

Li Huowang impatiently waved his hand forward. "Let's go."

If it weren't for the fact that the catcher had some discoveries, he wouldn't bother talking to this talkative person.

As the sedan chair moved in sync, it creaked and swayed up and down.

The county town was not big, so it was not difficult to find the patrol catcher. Soon, Li Huowang saw him standing at the door of a brothel, joking with the women inside.

When the catcher saw the sedan of the county magistrate, he and his subordinates immediately put on serious expressions, adjusted their hats, and began to patrol the streets with great importance.

"Oh, Mr. Zhixian." Catcher Cao clasped his fists and bowed to the sedan.

"Mr. Zhixian, you are out early to investigate the people's livelihood. Please don't overwork yourself for the sake of the people."

"Well, what's a little hardship for the people?" Seeing Li Huowang's face darken, Wang Zhixian quickly asked, "Catcher Cao, have you found anything about the disappearance of the people in Niuxin Village?"

"You better think carefully before you answer. This is the master from the Monitoring Heaven Bureau who came to handle this matter in person!"

"What?" Catcher Cao looked at Li Huowang in astonishment.

"But it was the Monitoring Heaven Bureau who took away the entire village of Niuxin."