The children picked up the windmills placed on the ground next to them and imdiately ran joyfully out from under the shade of the big tree toward a distant alley.
"Such innocence," Qin Yuesheng murmured to himself and imdiately followed them.
As he followed the children through the streets and alleys, it wasn’t long before Qin Yuesheng arrived outside a rundown house. The roof tiles were disheveled, and the window fras were dilapidated, making it seem like a house that had been unoccupied for a long ti.
"Aunt Wang! Aunt Wang! A big brother is here to see you," a child shouted while knocking on the door.
However, there was no response, and no one ca to open the door.
Qin Yuesheng said, "You wait here; I’ll go in and take a look."
He leapt up effortlessly onto the roof and jumped inside through a hole in the decrepit structure.
The interior of the house was perated with a musty sll. Although the tables, chairs, bowls, and basins were all neatly arranged, they were covered in dust, indicating that no one had lived there for a long ti.
Qin Yuesheng walked to the backyard and opened the door. The backyard was enclosed by a mud wall. The vegetables in the small garden were yellow and black, wilting on the ground. On a nearby bamboo hanging rod were several dried fish and ribs strung with iron hooks, already rotten and emitting a foul odor, surrounded by buzzing flies.
"Hmm..." Qin Yuesheng pondered and then climbed back out of the house.
"Big brother, is Aunt Wang not here?" a child looked up and asked.
"No, she’s not. We’ll go to the next place and see," Qin Yuesheng replied with a nod.
Just then, he suddenly noticed the longevity lock around the neck of one of the children. Several clear cracks could be seen on the surface, with so black residue inside the gaps.
Before Qin Yuesheng could take a closer look, the group of children ran toward the next house, still beaming with joy.
After checking several houses, it turned out that the situation was the sa everywhere: the houses were empty, and dust was everywhere.
According to the young man at the pawnshop, these places were previously checked by the Qixing Jian officials. First, the Qixing Jian officials went missing, and now these households that encountered the water ghosts have all disappeared too.
A cloud of suspicion and confusion settled over Qin Yuesheng’s mind.
Could there be so connection between the two?
When he finally checked the last location on the list, Qin Yuesheng resignedly tucked the paper into his pocket and said to the children, "Thank you all for your hard work, making you run around so much."
"Big brother, since all the uncles, aunts, and grannies are not ho, you’re not going to take back the silver, are you?" a child asked, holding the Silver Yuanbao reluctantly.
"Don’t worry, the silver is still yours. Now, do one last favor and take to your Antong County’s yan. Once we get there, you can leave," Qin Yuesheng said.
Since the only lead in his hand was now useless, Qin Yuesheng decided to et with the local County Magistrate first. Perhaps he could learn sothing about the Qixing Jian officials from him.
Whenever the Qixing Jian mbers went to a place for business, they would first go to the local yan and have the local officials cooperate fully. This was a strict rule, which Bai Hao and Zuo Zonghao had always followed.
The group of Qixing Jian officials who ca to investigate here had no reason not to visit the local County Magistrate.
Led by the children, Qin Yuesheng soon arrived outside the Antong County yan.
The rundown drum for grievances, the ground covered with fallen leaves, and two listless doorn made the entire Antong County yan exude a sense of decay.
As Qin Yuesheng approached, a governnt official imdiately extended a wooden staff to block him: "What are you here for? If you have sothing, go beat the drum first."
"I’m not here to file a grievance; I’ve co to see your County Magistrate."
"The County Magistrate is not soone you can see just because you want to. Who are you?"
"Report to your superior that an official from Cyan Yang City has arrived," Qin Yuesheng said, producing a tael of silver and handing it over.
For Qin Yuesheng, solving things with money was the best option. There was no need to be condescending and cause any disputes that would waste ti.
Sure enough, people are always eager when they see money. Upon seeing the silver taels offered by Qin Yuesheng, the official imdiately reached out to accept them, and his tone beca more polite: "Very well, very well, young man, wait here, I’ll report to the County Magistrate right away."
Seeing his face light up with joy, shifting from indifference to humble flattery, desperate to earn more silver taels by being even more respectful, Qin Yuesheng couldn’t help but smile and nod. The happiness of rich people is often so unassuming and dull.
Soon, the man hurried back out, nodding and bowing with a smile: "Sir, please co inside."
Once he knew that Qin Yuesheng was an official from Cyan Yang City, even his address changed. Qin Yuesheng walked straight into the yan and was led to a side hall, where an ordinary-looking Great Han was sitting behind a desk. Upon seeing Qin Yuesheng enter, he imdiately stood up and asked, "I am Ning Houbo, the County Magistrate of Antong County. May I ask who you are?"
Qin Yuesheng took out his copper toad official token and held it up in front of him. Originally, Qin Yuesheng had two copper toad official tokens, but to get dicine pills, he had left the one given to him by Zuo Zonghao with Xu Chang and had not yet redeed it.
"And this is?" Ning Houbo was confused, his face full of puzzlent.
"You don’t recognize this official token?"
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