Chapter 150 General Duan Holds Court to Investigate a Case

The leading soldier did not answer. His gaze passed over the magistrate of Hewan County and fell upon the angry and terrified people. He couldn't help but feel secretly glad that they had arrived in time.

If we had been even a fraction of a second late, I truly wouldn't know how to explain it to the Emperor and the Fairy.

Seeing that the other party was observing the people, the magistrate of Hewan County said, "You don't know this, these are all rioters who do all kinds of evil deeds, which is why I personally led people to surround and suppress them."

"A mob?" The leading soldier looked away. "Most of these people are women and children. How did they become a mob that commits all kinds of evil?"

The magistrate of Hewan County laughed and said, "As the saying goes, you can't judge a book by its cover. Don't be fooled by their seemingly frail appearance; they are actually vicious and ruthless."

The leading soldier said meaningfully, "Do you think I believe you or not?"

The magistrate of Hewan County frowned, unsure of the reason why these soldiers had suddenly appeared there.

But if he doesn't get rid of them, he can't continue doing his job.

Thinking that the other party couldn't possibly know his secret, he pointed to three human traffickers who had just been bandaged up not far away and said to the soldiers, "These three are survivors that I just rescued from the mob. There are about ten other people who have been tortured to death. Look at how they've been tortured."

The leading soldier said calmly, "Why do I feel that the survivors you supposedly rescued don't look like good people at all?"

"What do you mean?" The magistrate of Hewan County's face darkened.

At this point, the people present realized that these soldiers did not seem to be in cahoots with the county magistrate.

Clinging to his last hope, he knelt before them, his face filled with grief and indignation as he denounced the magistrate's despicable and shameless actions.

Before the crowd could utter a few words, the magistrate of Hewan County shouted angrily, "A bunch of scoundrels! How dare you slander even me?!"

He then addressed his soldiers, saying, “You see? I wasn’t wrong, was I? These are rioters! You must not be deceived by their appearance!”

"Sir!" the woman who had previously defied the magistrate of Hewan County cried out, "This corrupt official is in cahoots with human traffickers to harm the people! He came here to rescue the traffickers and now he wants to kill us to silence us! If I have uttered even the slightest lie, may I be struck by lightning and die a horrible death! Please, sir, help us!"

"How dare you spout such nonsense! Kill her!" the magistrate of Hewan County ordered in a fit of rage.

The guard strode forward, raising his long sword to kill the woman.

"Stop!" the leading soldier shouted to stop them.

But the guard completely ignored him.

The long knife was about to fall on the woman's neck.

The leading soldier quickly drew his bow and nocked an arrow; with a whoosh, the arrow flew as fast as lightning.

bite!

Sparks flew everywhere.

The guard's long sword was knocked from his hand.

The magistrate of Hewan County had a grim face. "I'm only speaking to you politely because of General Duan. Do you really intend to obstruct my investigation?!"

"So what if they try to stop us?" The leading soldier nocked another arrow, the arrowhead pointing at the magistrate of Hewan County.

"How dare you! You even threaten our county magistrate!" Several guards immediately stepped forward.

Whoosh!

Without hesitation, the leading soldier shot an arrow that knocked the magistrate's official hat off.

The guards' expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly stopped in their tracks. The rest of the constables also dared not make any rash moves.

The magistrate of Hewan County was so frightened that he lay prostrate on the ground.

The leading soldier coldly ordered, "General Duan is already waiting at the county office. Please return immediately, magistrate."

The magistrate of Hewan County's face turned pale and then red. He suppressed his anger and warned, "This is my jurisdiction. I am handling a case here, and no one is allowed to interfere! Moreover, the military is the military, and the officers are the officers. Their powers do not interfere with each other! What exactly do you mean? Are you trying to force me to complain to higher authorities?!"

Without a word, the soldiers drew their swords from their waists with a whoosh.

Although there were only about twenty people, each of them was a ruthless individual from the Xitun Pass region, seasoned by many battles and exuding a chilling aura.

Furthermore, they had all undergone personal training by Xiao Qidi, and being clad in armor and riding tall warhorses, the synchronized and chilling aura they unleashed when drawing their swords was truly terrifying.

The magistrate of Hewan County chickened out, but still didn't want to lose face, so he stubbornly shouted, "Fine, let's go back!"

"Take those three back and continue their treatment," he whispered to his men.

His subordinate asked in a low voice, "What about the rest of them?"

The magistrate of Hewan County said with a gloomy face, "Leave ten constables here to guard this place. After I leave... you know what will happen."

"Understood." The subordinate nodded.

At this moment, the leading soldier dismounted, clasped his hands in a fist salute to the people present, and said, "Gentlemen, this place is too remote to stay for long. Please come with us."

The magistrate of Hewan County was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted, "These are rioters I must deal with! They cannot be allowed to leave this place at will!"

"If you're going to deal with this, why not take them to the yamen?" the leading soldier said meaningfully. "Could it be that, as these people say, those are human traffickers, and you're in cahoots with them?"

"Stop talking nonsense!" The magistrate of Hewan County glared and bristled. "These rioters are desperate and making baseless accusations against me! How could you believe them?! I just... just felt that there were too many rioters, and bringing them back to the yamen might cause chaos."

The leading soldier smiled and said, "With us following and protecting you along the way, are you not at ease, sir?"

The magistrate of Hewan County was speechless for a moment.

He had a vague sense of unease, but if he continued to argue, it would only make him seem guilty.

On second thought, no matter what, he was the local magistrate, and it was none of the business of these border soldiers interfering. Besides, they couldn't possibly know the inside story, so he had nothing to worry about.

"Heh heh, then I'll have to trouble you all," the magistrate of Hewan County said with a forced smile. "Come on, all of you, get back to the county office!"

Afterwards, taking advantage of the chaos and crowd in the house, the magistrate of Hewan County secretly whispered a few words to one of his trusted guards.

The guard then quietly slipped away through the back door of the house and rode at full speed to a place more than ten miles away.

The location here is even more remote. From a distance, it looks like a desolate, uninhabited forest, but once you enter the forest through a hidden path, you'll find a completely different world.

With its beautiful mountains and clear waters, birdsong and fragrant flowers, and the wisps of mist rising from the open-air hot springs, it's like a fairyland.

One of the houses was meticulously built according to the terrain and relying on the hot spring; it was clear at a glance that it was not a place for ordinary people to live in.

The guard knocked a few times at the door, and soon someone led him inside.

Inside the house, in a large hot spring pool.

At that moment, a man in his thirties was reclining in the pool, his back against the edge, his eyes closed, enjoying the massage of his shoulders by the maid behind him.

At this moment, a maid came over and stood by the pool, saying respectfully, "Sir, that girl... she was brought here yesterday evening and it's already past noon, but she still refuses to eat anything."

"Were you too harsh on her?" The man slightly opened his eyes. "Bring her here, I'll feed her myself."

"Yes, ma'am."

After the maid left, she returned shortly with a little girl who looked about four or five years old.

This girl was none other than Xiumei's daughter, An'an.

An An's expression was awful; her eyes were red from crying, and tears still clung to her cheeks.

“Oh, poor thing,” the man said with a smile, “you’re so thin, how can you not eat? You’ll look much better if you eat your fill and get plump.”

Although the man tried his best to appear gentle, his lustful eyes terrified An'an from the bottom of her heart.

"Why is she still wearing her old tattered clothes?" the man asked again. "Didn't you give her a bath and change her clothes?"

The maidservant answered cautiously, "Your Excellency, she is uncooperative, and we were afraid of hurting her, so..."

The man chuckled, "I didn't realize you were so stubborn. You're definitely a country kid, far less obedient and well-behaved than those from wealthy families."

As he spoke, he waved his hand.

The maids understood immediately, pushing An'an to the side of the pool and handing the man a plate of food.

The man sat up, turned sideways, took a piece of pastry from the plate, and held it to An'an's mouth, coaxing, "Sweetie, eat it. This is a top-quality pastry that ordinary people can't afford in their entire lives."

“I don’t want to eat… I want my mother… Waaah…” An’an started crying again.

The man's eyes turned slightly cold. "Little thing, don't be ungrateful. If you weren't good-looking, you wouldn't be worthy of being sent to me. If you don't behave, I'll get angry."

An'an didn't understand what these words meant, and cried even harder.

The man's face instantly turned cold. He grabbed An'an by the neck, dragged her into the hot spring pool, and then pushed her head underwater.

The poor little guy choked on the water and struggled with his little arms.

But she had no strength to fight against an adult, and no matter how hard she tried, she was pushed to the bottom of the pool.

Just as she was about to suffocate, the man lifted her up, gripping the back of her neck like a chick, and said in a dark voice, "Are you willing to eat now?"

An'an coughed and cried, "You...you're a bad person...I...cough cough...I'd rather starve to death than eat!"

Without saying a word, the man pushed her back into the water.

The maids and servants by the pool just watched expressionlessly, showing no pleading for the little guy, nor even a hint of sympathy or concern.

The man repeatedly pushed An'an into the water and pulled her out, torturing her several times until she was almost unconscious, but she still stubbornly refused to obey.

"I only like people who are a little stubborn, but not stubborn like this. It's a real shame they can't be tamed." The man lost his patience, his five fingers locking around An'an's slender neck, ready to strangle her to death.

"My lord!" At this moment, a servant rushed over. "The magistrate of Hewan County has sent someone to request an audience. It seems... something has happened."

The man frowned, and without thinking, immediately let go of her hand.

Suddenly, he noticed something glittering on An An's pigtails, so he pulled it off and, upon closer inspection, found it to be a very special hair tie.

The hair tie was circular and very elastic; he had never seen such a material before.

Furthermore, the hair tie is adorned with several small, transparent pink crystal beads, making it exceptionally exquisite in both its craftsmanship and texture.

"Huh?" The man looked surprised. "This country child doesn't even have a decent set of clothes to wear, yet he has such a treasure hidden in his hair?"

"My lord!" the servant urged, "Please hurry over, the magistrate's men are waiting for you!"

The man left An'an behind and dressed with the help of a maid. He liked the string of crystal beads more and more, so he casually hung them, along with the jade pendant he always carried, on his waist. Then he went to meet the people sent by the magistrate.

——

On the other side.

When the magistrate of Hewan County returned to the county office, Duan Wu was already waiting in the courtroom.

As of now, the magistrate of Hewan County still doesn't know what Duan Wu's purpose is in coming here. He tried to get information out of the soldiers on the way, but he couldn't get anything out of them.

However, the thought that he had already sent someone to inform that person about the situation gave him confidence, in case anything unexpected happened.

"General Duan, it's been a long time," the magistrate of Hewan County said with a smile, striding up to Duan Wu. "What brings you here so suddenly?"

After saying this, he suddenly noticed that the young man named Su Mu was sitting openly to the side.

"How did you get out?!" the magistrate of Hewan County roared. "Who let this brat out?!"

The clerk, his expression complicated, leaned close to him and said, "Sir... General Duan led his men to force their way into the prison, and the constables simply couldn't stop them..."

"I'm sorry," Duan Wu said with a grin, "I saw that you hadn't returned for a long time, so I took the liberty of inviting the man out."

The magistrate of Hewan County looked surprised. "General Duan, do you know this young man?"

Duan Wu glanced at the monarch sitting beside him with his eyes closed, and replied, "Well, I know him, we're quite familiar."

The magistrate of Hewan County frowned. "Are you aware that this man has committed a serious crime?"

Duan Wudao: "Oh? Tell me about it?"

The magistrate of Hewan County frowned. "The case I'm handling doesn't seem to have anything to do with a border general like you, does it?"

"Since you won't speak about him, then this general will speak about you," Duan Wu turned and walked to the judge's table in the courtroom, sat down, picked up the gavel and slammed it down heavily, "This general is now holding court to handle the case! Magistrate of Hewan County, do you know your crime!"

The magistrate of Hewan County stared at Duan Wu in astonishment. After a long pause, he said incredulously, "Duan Wu! I have given you face because I had some connection with your father and because you are now a general of Xitun Pass. Yet you sit so arrogantly in my seat and act as if you are interrogating me. You are simply going against the natural order!"

"Guards! Bring him down here!"

After the words were spoken, the yamen runners inside the county government office did not move their feet for a long time.

On the one hand, most of the constables were busy outside, and there was a shortage of manpower in the county government.

On the other hand, they really didn't have the guts to fight a group of soldiers.

"Useless scoundrels!" The magistrate cursed angrily at the timid and cowering yamen runners present, and then ordered his men to call all the constables back.

He thought that his county government had more than two hundred constables, and if a conflict really broke out with Duan Wu later, he should be able to deal with Duan Wu's fifty or so soldiers.

Even if we can't handle it, at the very least we can hold out until that person comes to our aid.

In short, everything is still under my control.

"Duan Wu! You little brat!" The magistrate of Hewan County shouted, his beard bristling and eyes bulging, as he walked towards the trial table. "Who gave you the audacity to sit in my seat and act so arrogantly?! Get down here right now!"

Duan Wu sneered inwardly.

This courage was, of course, given to me by the Emperor.

Moreover, this wasn't a show of force; it was a serious investigation.

"Men!" Duan Wu shouted, head held high. "Seize the magistrate of Hewan County, give him a good beating with military rods first, and teach him a lesson for his arrogance!"

"Yes, General!" Several soldiers immediately took action.

Before the magistrate of Hewan County could react, he was pinned to the ground and had his pants pulled down.

"General, how many strokes?" the soldiers asked, rubbing their hands together eagerly.