CH 83

"In the first few days, there were no problems. After everyone gathered, the new sheriff returned to the county government hall to meet the new recruits."

"Not long after the meeting started, a large group of people from the Inspection Bureau suddenly acted and rushed into the county government conference room, taking everyone away."

Xiang Henian's heart sank. He turned to Lai Juncheng, whose face was already twisted.

"Good, good kid."

Since Lai Juncheng debuted, he had never suffered such a big setback or been humiliated like this. This inexperienced kid treated him like a toy, not considering his previous reputation as something to be feared.

He sat back heavily on the chair, veins popping on his withered, wax-yellow face, making him look terrifying.

Xiang Henian was even more worried. He whispered, "Director Lai, it seems that this is indeed a trap. That kid set up a suspicious formation, intentionally avoiding strict investigation in the county and pretending to have internal vacancies and a shortage of officials. He did all this just to lure us in."

"But in fact, he already knew that no one would come to Changshan County. The ones who came were all spies. As soon as everyone gathered, he immediately returned and closed the door, using his mature and ruthless methods without hesitation. He is a formidable opponent that should not be underestimated."

"And he knows us very well, but we know nothing about him. We underestimated him. That's why we fell into his trap."

Lai Juncheng barely suppressed his anger and began to think calmly. After a moment, he said:

"From this perspective, he deliberately provoked me earlier, making me think he was a reckless fool who had nothing but absolute loyalty to Sheng Huaixuan. He intentionally exposed so many flaws to make me think there was an opportunity to exploit and tempt me into taking action."

"Yes," Xiang Henian said. "That kid must have thoroughly studied you. He probably piled up all the information about you in his office and thought of ways to deal with you day and night."

"Hmph," Lai Juncheng sneered. "Naive. He thinks he can defeat me with just that? Too inexperienced! If that's all he's capable of, his death will come soon."

Xiang Henian said, "That's right. Overconfidence is his downfall. Director Lai never follows the usual logic. If he thinks that the previous information can represent all of Director Lai's abilities and behavior patterns, he is absolutely wrong."

Find the original at "pawread dot com".

Lai Juncheng laughed darkly.

"Heh heh, let this brat see how terrifying the famous Huangshi Lai Juncheng is."

"At that time, he will understand that all the information he painstakingly collected about me is worthless."

---

In the waiting room of the First Hospital of Huaizhen, Yun Qingshui met her brothers and sisters.

Most of them had bandages or were hooked up to IVs. Those with serious injuries were lying in bed. Remembering their past spirited appearances, Yun Qingshui couldn't help but feel a twinge of sadness and said, "It's all my fault. I've caused everyone to end up like this..."

"Yun Jie, if you say that, our brothers can only apologize with death!"

"That's right. If it weren't for Yun Jie, we wouldn't even know where we would be by now."

"The grass on our graves is already a meter high."

"Why not two meters?"

Butcher cursed angrily, "Old Gang, shut your mouth! Are you still arguing at a time like this? Do you know how much Yun Jie has sacrificed... Ouch! Red Fox, why did you kick me?"

Yun Qingshui ignored them and said loudly, "Don't worry, Sheriff Lin has no ill intentions towards us. They have allowed us to rest in Huaizhen."

She recounted what she had seen and heard along the way, omitting her personal thoughts.

"This is the situation. What do you all think?"

After a moment of silence, Butcher asked first, "What does that official mean?"

Monkey said, "Maybe he really has a grudge against the official from Qingcheng."

"That's why he deliberately showed goodwill towards us, hoping that we would stand on his side and help him deal with the Qingcheng official."

"Then why didn't he ask us to take the lead in the charge?"

Old Gang couldn't help but interject.

"He should at least establish an offensive and defensive alliance with us. Is it because we are not capable enough?"

Another moment of silence.

Butcher couldn't help but say, "This must be Yun Jie's sacrifice..."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His head was knocked by a group of people, but this time, he held his ground and shouted, "What's wrong with saying this? Yun Jie, we know that you have endured humiliation and burdens. It's okay, we all respect you. Once we rescue the Xingtai and kill the Qingcheng official, we will turn around and avenge the official in Changshan County for you. You don't have to worry about not being able to get married. Yun Jie, you are so outstanding that even if you wanted to, there would still be many pursuers. Even if no one wants you, I, Lao Zhang, won't look down on you..."

Crash!

Yun Qingshui couldn't take it anymore and grabbed a spittoon, slamming it on his head.

"Wu wu wu wu wu..."

Yun Qingshui ignored him and said, "Regardless of what that official is thinking, our first priority now is to heal our injuries. This way, no matter what he does, we won't be afraid."

"That's right."

"Yun Jie is right."

Yun Qingshui continued, "I have thought about it. In fact, all the information we have about the new sheriff of Changshan County is hearsay. We have never truly seen what he looks like. Xingtai said that Sheriff Lin is already a rare conscientious official who buys meat, vegetables, and eggs for the common people."

"Xingtai also told me before that to judge a person's character, we shouldn't guess what they're thinking, listen to what they say, or believe what others say about them. We should only look at what they do."

"Yes!" Monkey agreed loudly. "I used to think those rumors were fake. They were just a bunch of dirty secrets, like how powerful they are and how long their... you know... is. And the wild stories about battling the First Princess in bed for ten hours. They're not true at all."

Red Fox unhappily said, "Can you not mention that last example?"

"That's right," Nightingale also agreed. "There are many supporters of the First Princess. If someone hears you say that, it will cause trouble."

"That's right, we have several here! You offended all of them with that one remark!"

Lao Gang shouted loudly, "Of course he has to say it. He listened to the last example for ten hours!"

Monkey's face turned bright red, and he angrily said, "You're talking nonsense!"

"Alright," Yun Qingshui stopped them and said, "In any case, we need to recover as soon as possible. Red Fox and Nightingale, your injuries are not too serious, and you are good at hiding. Go back and gather information."

Red Fox and Nightingale answered together, "Yes, Yun Jie."

"This will be our temporary base for now. Leave a few brothers to take care of the hospital, and the rest of us will go out to gather information. Monkey, go contact the brothers in Mingzhou, report the situation to them, and seek support."

---

The next day, everyone gathered at the hospital again.

Old Gang, who was best at gathering information, spoke first, "I think rumors have some truth to them. I have been to the restaurant where the official was caught accepting bribes. Many people saw him coming out of the restaurant with a black suitcase, getting into the sheriff's car with his mistress."

"That's right, I also heard that the official is not a good person."

"But why did I hear people say that he is the best official in history?"

Opinions varied, some good, some bad. Yun Qingshui, like most people here, was good at doing specific tasks, but judging the situation in a complex environment was extremely difficult.

"Alright," Yun Qingshui sighed, "whatever the case may be, it seems that the official doesn't have any intentions towards us. Maybe he really has a grudge against the Qingcheng official. Otherwise, I can't think of any other reason for him to be so tolerant of us."

Butcher hesitated to speak but remembered Yun Jie's furious expression and decided to stay quiet.

Monkey agreed, "I also think so. He probably doesn't know how capable we are, so he doesn't take us seriously."

Yanshi said gloomily, "Should I go educate him?"