Maybe it’s just that there’s finally a rare chance to poke fun at Shi Sheng.
Si Nan’s laughter went on and on, refusing to stop for quite a while.
Shi Sheng stayed indifferent for a long time.
Then he turned to Ye Liuyun and asked, with genuine earnestness,
"Sir, can I beat him to death?"
Now it wasn’t just Ye Liuyun—even the Embroidered Uniform Guards behind him were all sharing sly, knowing smiles.
But they didn’t continue with the banter any further.
,,,
After several days of travel, their destination, Shuihe County, was finally in sight.
When Ye Liuyun led his squad into Shuihe County, quite a few locals passing by cast curious and probing looks at them; maybe it was their first time seeing so many Embroidered Uniform Guards with their own eyes.
"Honored sirs!"
In no time, the Shuihe County Magistrate, having received news, rushed over with some yamen staff from the office to greet them.
Especially when he caught sight of Ye Liuyun at the front.
That smile was downright obsequious.
"The lord has traveled thousands of miles to get here; surely you must be tired. I’ve already arranged a banquet to welcome you."
Ye Liuyun didn’t turn it down, merely waved his hand, signaling the magistrate to lead the way.
Shuihe County lay far from the throne’s reach; the Magistrate here was basically a local tyrant.
And being a hundred-household commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Ye Liuyun could kill the Magistrate on a whim, so long as he found the right excuse, and nobody would bat an eye. No wonder the Magistrate was extra fawning.
Shuihe County wasn’t all that big, but the restaurant’s food was at least decent.
"Honored sirs, won’t you please take your seat?"
The Magistrate beamed, politely gesturing for Si Nan, Shi Sheng, and the rest to sit down.
But no one paid him any heed.
Not until Ye Liuyun took his place at the head and waved at everyone.
"Sit!"
With Ye Liuyun’s go-ahead, everyone finally sat down in unison.
This scene made the Magistrate look momentarily embarrassed, but he quickly smoothed over, knowing full well that Ye Liuyun was their real backbone.
"Lord!"
Sitting close beside Ye Liuyun, the Magistrate first had his people bring in a chest.
Then, raising his cup, he said to Ye Liuyun,
"Shuihe County can’t compare to the Imperial City; there aren’t many amusements for you, honored sirs. This is money I saved up myself. May you accept it with a smile and enjoy yourselves here."
After speaking, he signaled his men to open one corner of the chest.
Inside were rows upon rows of neatly stacked gold.
Saved up himself? How much could the Magistrate make in a year—enough to save all this?
Some things go without saying.
"We’re here on orders to solve Shuihe County’s troubles; we can’t just indulge in pleasure. In future, speak no more of this."
Saying that, Ye Liuyun shot a look at Si Nan.
Si Nan understood at once, grinning as he took the chest of money.
"Got it, got it!"
Seeing Ye Liuyun accept the cash, the Magistrate’s smile grew even wider.
No wonder so many Embroidered Uniform Guards like taking cases out of the capital—there’s plenty of fat to be skimmed here.
,,,
Back at the inn especially arranged by the Magistrate.
Si Nan opened up the chest, gazed at that pile of gold, and couldn’t help sighing,
"That’s a whole lot of money. Who’d have thought a small-time Magistrate could line his pockets this much?"
How much of the people’s flesh and blood has he scraped off to get this?
"Hmph, this kind of man’s fit to be a Magistrate?"
Shi Sheng snorted his disapproval, utterly unimpressed with the Magistrate.
But sadly, Shuihe County was just a microcosm; things like this were everywhere, no end to them however hard you tried.
"Same old rule—keep half, split up the other half."
To be honest,
With Sheng Lanzhi minding the estate now, Ye Liuyun hardly lacked for cash.
But to hand all the loot to the brothers and keep none would be playing the fool, wouldn’t it?
"No problem!"
Half was already plenty; Si Nan nodded delightedly.
,,,
Freshly arrived at Shuihe County, Ye Liuyun didn’t rush to act, and rested up for the night.
The next day, he gathered his men and had the Magistrate lead him around to get the lay of the land.
"Ghost fire, the ghost fire showed up again!"
"Don’t tell me it’s really a vengeful spirit?"
"It’s so scary—I don’t even dare go out at night anymore."
Along the way, Ye Liuyun overheard plenty of folks gossiping fearfully about the ghost fire.
Seemed like while he’d been catching up on sleep in the inn last night, the ghost fire had struck again.
Seeing Shi Sheng trailing quietly and keeping his mouth shut, Si Nan grinned, bumping him on the shoulder.
"Well, you scared yet or not?"
"Piss off!"
Shi Sheng had heard all the villagers’ gossip too, and of course understood Si Nan was just trying to get a rise out of him.
He shot Si Nan a dirty look, choosing to ignore him.
"Heh!"
Si Nan didn’t mind—actually found it pretty amusing.
"How many times has this ghost fire incident happened?"
Now that it was about the case, Ye Liuyun got serious.
"Wouldn’t dare hide it from you, sir!"
Seeing Ye Liuyun ask, the Magistrate hurried to reply,
"Actually, the ghost fire started showing up just over a month ago. Not many saw it at first, didn’t happen often, so folks didn’t really believe. But these days, it pops up nearly every night."
The Magistrate had first tried to handle it himself, but ultimately couldn’t manage.
The situation kept escalating, until someone died—then he had no choice but to report it to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
"To start, the ghost fire wasn’t hurting anyone. But one time, the villagers rallied to chase it off; some got touched by the flames—and caught on fire right then and there. On a few occasions, folks saw a person standing there just fine, when suddenly, his body burst into flames, burning him alive."
As the death toll climbed,
the people only grew more and more nervous and unsettled.
The Magistrate himself was getting scared, too—money was nice and all, but he only had one life; if he died, then what’s the point?
"Is that so?"
Ye Liuyun nodded thoughtfully.
So people had already died from this ghost fire?
Just as Ye Liuyun was pondering while walking, a noisy clamor not far off snapped him out of it.
"Peace Talismans! For safety! With my talisman, you’ll be protected for life—no ghost or demon can get close!"
Looking over from a distance,
It was a young-looking fellow, holding a duster, selling a spread of talismans at his stall.
"Who’s that?"
The moment Ye Liuyun looked that way, he froze.
Thinking Ye Liuyun was curious about the youth’s identity, the Magistrate quickly explained,
"Sir, that young man calls himself Yun Sheng Daoist. Showed up here about a month or so ago. At first, we thought he was a fraud, but then people realized—with his Peace Talisman, the ghost fire really doesn’t seem to touch you."
Ye Liuyun said nothing.
What caught him was spotting the Talent Entry on the youth.
,,,,,,