Chapter 452: The Gourd Case

Hee Lingchuan didn’t stand on ceremony. Borrowing the Tiger Demon’s fearsome presence, he pointed at Wang Mazi. “There’s something fishy about this man. We won’t kill him for now. We need to question him further.”

The Official let out a cry. “This sentence was decided by the county…” The fierce tiger and the giant sheep both glared over, frightening him into quickly changing his tune. “…I imagine the County Magistrate won’t have any objections. In that case, please, come have a seat at the Government Office. I’ll take the prisoner back.”

The townspeople who had gathered to watch the spectacle weren’t happy about this, but with a fierce tiger presiding on the platform—truly glaring down at the whole crowd—they didn’t dare act rashly. They could only disperse while grumbling.

Wang Mazi hadn’t expected a savior to fall from the sky. Once he was untied, he dropped to his knees before Hee Lingchuan with a THUD. “Lord Official, save me! I’ve been truly wronged!”

Jiao Yu walked past him. “Lie by so much as a single word, and you’re dead.”

Hee Lingchuan, who had been watching the crows in the sky all along, now walked to the side of a tall platform post. He took out a bag of dried meat and asked them, “I’d like to ask you all about something. This bag of meat will be your compensation.”

The crows were full of resentment and didn’t react.

‘How could a bag of dried meat compare to the fresh, sweet flesh and blood of a living person?’

“Otherwise—” Hee Lingchuan snapped his fingers. The Cangying perched on the sheep’s horns immediately let out a sharp cry and postured as if to strike.

The flock of crows cawed in alarm, and Hee Lingchuan let out a satisfied breath.

Soon, a massive old crow descended, landing in front of Hee Lingchuan. “What do you want to ask?”

“A little over half a month ago, did you happen to see a White-shouldered Eagle around here, one that came from the north?”

Crows are the type of creature that loves to poke their noses into everything, making them the undisputed local birds. Asking them for information was the right move.

The old crow said, “No.”

“Think carefully.” ‘This old bird’s attitude is far too dismissive.’

“A White-shouldered Eagle is a bird of prey. If one was circling here, do you think we would have missed it?” the old crow said decisively. “We have not!”

Hee Lingchuan felt a little disappointed.

But just then, another crow landed and cawed a few times at the elder.

The old crow immediately said, “However, piles of white bones have occasionally appeared in the nearby mountains, and our clan’s Little Seventh… has also gone missing.”

“When?”

“A little over two months ago, I think?” It recalled carefully. “Not long after the Emperor’s Liquid appeared.”

Hee Lingchuan pointed to the Cangying. “Not taken by a natural predator?”

“We have few birds of prey here.”

Hee Lingchuan handed it the bag of dried meat. “I’ll come find you again later.”

The Official then led Wang Mazi back to the Government Office, two hundred paces away, and Hee Lingchuan strolled along with them.

He led his Rock Sheep mount, on whose back a Cangying was perched, while a fierce tiger walked by his side…

Of the four members in his party, he was the only human. Such a strange combination drew a lot of stares.

Not to mention the Wind-Drilling Beast was also coming along.

Master Antelope could act as he pleased in this area, and no one would dare complain.

They called it a Government Office, but the place was tiny—just a small courtyard with four rooms, the equivalent of a town hall. The jail was right across the way and could hold seven or eight people.

The Official invited Hee Lingchuan to take the seat of honor and offered him tea.

Most Demons didn’t care for tea, so that step was skipped for them.

Hee Lingchuan waved his hand. “This is a confidential matter. Just give us a room. No outsiders.”

He personally dragged Wang Mazi inside and had the Tiger Demon stand guard at the door. Not only were outsiders barred, but even the Officials were not allowed in.

But Master Antelope stubbornly insisted on joining in on the fun.

Considering it was also an aggrieved party, Hee Lingchuan let it in.

But the Wind-Drilling Beast was too tall to fit through the door. It lowered its head and rammed it, shattering the window lattice.

Then, it cheerfully stuck its head through the window.

Everyone in the Government Office heard the commotion, but no one came out or made a peep.

“Tell us everything you know,” Hee Lingchuan reminded Wang Mazi. “Your life is on the line. Don’t you dare lie.”

Wang Mazi kowtowed twice to him loudly and held nothing back.

It turned out that he and a few good friends from his village had gone to Five Stars Town to steal goods from a traveling merchant. The merchant was a stranger, new to this trade route and unfamiliar with the area, so they had succeeded easily.

The ten or so of them had stolen both the goods and the horses and were on their way back when they somehow wandered into the Official Land.

In the Official Land, some Reishi Horses happened to be ripe and glowing with a treasured light in the night. One of the villagers couldn’t resist and snatched two of them.

That’s when things went wrong.

The Official Family’s medicinal fields were guarded by the Wind-Drilling Beast clan, a duty passed down through generations. They were no mere Mountain Demons and Wild Beasts; how could they tolerate a dozen or so people stealing the herbs? They immediately gave chase!

Wang Mazi and the others fled in a panic, taking any path they could find. With poor visibility on the rainy night, they actually ran into Niutou Mountain.

And then, they saw the two lanterns on the mountainside…

After being abandoned by his companions, Wang Mazi didn’t just wait there to die. He threw himself into a nearby thicket.

Fortunately, it was dark enough, and the rain and mud masked his scent. The Wind-Drilling Beasts leaped right past him, somehow failing to notice his presence.

They went after his companions.

Wang Mazi lay in the heavy rain for a long time, not daring to move a muscle.

His companions never returned, and neither did the Wind-Drilling Beasts.

Later, he mustered his courage, got up, and looked. The valley was pitch-black. What lanterns?

His foot was injured and he couldn’t walk, so he could only stay on Niutou Mountain for two days until an herb gatherer entered the mountains and carried him out on a donkey.

As for the rest, Hee Lingchuan had already heard it from the Official on the way here:

The official medicinal fields had been plundered, and the guardian Wind-Drilling Beasts had also disappeared. The official investigation led directly to Wang Mazi. This was because the goods the villagers had stolen were found near the medicinal fields, and the entrance to Niutou Mountain, where Wang Mazi had sprained his ankle, was only about three *li* away.

The facts were clear and the evidence was conclusive, so he was sentenced to death.

Hearing this, Hee Lingchuan felt something was wrong. “Just a group of villagers? They could kill the Wind-Drilling Beasts guarding the medicinal fields?”

Wind-Drilling Beasts were formidable fighters with foul tempers. Commoners would make a detour just to avoid them.

Hee Lingchuan’s entire family was involved in officialdom; one listen and he knew Wang Mazi was just an unlucky scapegoat. No wonder Master Antelope was so furious.

He asked Wang Mazi, “If we take you back to Niutou Mountain, can you point out the location of those two lanterns?”

“Yes, yes!”

Hee Lingchuan then had the fierce tiger go negotiate with the Official.

During this time, Hee Lingchuan examined the wound on Wang Mazi’s foot and found it was just a ligament sprain. After all this time, it had already healed by sixty or seventy percent on its own.

Wang Mazi gave a bitter smile. “A worthless life is a tough one. Master Hee, I beg you to save me!”

It’s unclear how Jiao Yu negotiated with the Official, but about a quarter of an hour later, Hee Lingchuan had found a horse-drawn carriage to take Wang Mazi to Niutou Mountain.

The Wind-Drilling Beast followed as well.

General Antelope, quick to make friends, sized up the Rock Sheep for a moment before sidling up to Hee Lingchuan. “Why would the Crown Prince send a kid like you to be the Special Envoy?”

“We hit it off.” ‘This sheep must have offended his fair share of people, right?’ Hee Lingchuan asked him, “General Antelope, your venerable age?”

“One hundred and nineteen!” General Antelope shook his head. “I’ll be celebrating a major birthday next year!”

“General Antelope, you are hale and hearty, far surpassing many humans.” ‘What would a nearly one-hundred-and-twenty-year-old human even look like? Forget going to the front lines; it would be a challenge for them to even walk a few quick laps on their own.’

General Antelope laughed heartily. “Don’t you dare compare me to you humans!”

Hee Lingchuan noticed that the beard under its chin was braided and wrapped with gold thread, and its left ear was pierced with two Golden Rings. Clearly, General Antelope paid great attention to his appearance and lived a rather refined life.

As everyone knows, sheep don’t have hands; they can’t braid their own beards.

That could only mean General Antelope kept servants or maids at home to handle such grooming for him.

Hee Lingchuan had long heard that the Great Demons of Beiga had their own fiefs, servants, and subordinates. They enjoyed high privileges in their local territories, sometimes even possessing immunity from the law.

But the number of Great Demons was small, and today he had finally met one.

Jiao Yu had already told him that this general was also the Feitian Vanguard General of the Chiyan Kingdom, a very high rank—not some Miscellaneous Title General. His direct subordinate, the Feitian Army, was composed almost entirely of Wind-Drilling Beasts. Though not large in number, they were a special forces unit.

No wonder General Antelope completely disregarded the local Government Office.

However, by rights, General Antelope should have been on his way to the eastern front, not still loitering in his hometown.

When Jiao Yu had asked about it again just a moment ago, General Antelope grew impatient, saying his troops were already on their way and he would catch up soon.

“The Crown Prince himself is not yet forty, just a young pup, yet he sends someone even younger to handle a case. This is just reckless!” General Antelope said to Hee Lingchuan’s face. “What great deeds have you done for him to treat you with such favor?”

“Nothing much,” Hee Lingchuan said lightly. “I just helped him get rid of Fushan Ji.” ‘Fushan Yue seems so boisterous, but he’s already almost forty?’

General Antelope’s eyes went wide, and he exclaimed, “What!”

Although he was recuperating in his hometown, such major news as the Second Prince’s death could not have been kept from him. Hearing Hee Lingchuan’s words, his first reaction was disbelief. But then he glanced back and saw Jiao Yu’s ears didn’t even twitch, which meant it was clearly true.

“How did you manage that?”

Hee Lingchuan had already inquired with Jiao Yu earlier. General Antelope’s position in the Royal Court was neutral, leaning slightly toward the Eldest Prince, which was why he felt confident enough to reveal his accomplishment.

Most Demons were straightforward by nature. Being too subtle with them was like casting a flirtatious glance at a blind man—utterly pointless.

Only with outstanding strength would they take you seriously. Otherwise, this General Antelope seemed like a natural-born troublemaker; why would he ever cooperate properly?

Hee Lingchuan didn’t answer, asking instead, “Your missing juniors, what was their Cultivation like?”

“Not weak,” General Antelope said in a low voice. “They were the backbone of the Feitian Army and had followed me through several battlefields. Logically, they shouldn’t have disappeared without a trace.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “Without them, the Feitian Army is down to just over seventy members. Our combat effectiveness is severely diminished.”

Hee Lingchuan nodded. No wonder he was so agitated.

Soon, they passed the official medicinal fields guarded by the Wind-Drilling Beasts.

It was a large expanse of fields tucked away in the belly of the mountain. The soil was more fertile than ordinary farmland. A dozen or so types of medicinal herbs were currently being grown, some covered with blue cloth, obscuring their species from view.

There were also many humans working in the fields.

The Wind-Drilling Beasts were only responsible for contracting and guarding; the delicate work of tending the medicinal fields still had to be done by human hands.

“The location of these medicinal fields is quite conspicuous. How could you have gotten lost?”