"Alright, I believe you didn't rob the birthday gifts." Wang Han said to Chao Gai, "Even if you did rob them, it was only thirty strings of cash worth of dried goods and local specialties. You've done a great service this time, enough to offset your mistake."

"Magistrate, give them thirty strings of cash. I will compensate them, and this matter will be over," Wang Han then instructed the magistrate.

"Why don't you buy some local specialties nearby and continue escorting them?" Wang Han said to Supervisor Xie.

"General, we absolutely dare not ask you to pay for this. It was we who lost the birthday tribute. Each of us can contribute half a string of cash," Steward Xie quickly said upon hearing this. How could they possibly ask Wang Han to pay?

“Yes, yes, yes…” Zhou Jin and the others all agreed.

“Fine, since you lost it yourselves, you can pay for it yourselves.” Wang Han said directly, without any politeness. “However, I am now in charge of suppressing bandits in various places. If you dare to rob and plunder, breaking the law, I will not let you off.”

"We would never dare, we would never dare!" Upon hearing this, Steward Xie quickly replied, his heart filled with bitterness. Who robbed the birthday tribute? It was none other than General Shenwei himself! He had originally thought that they could only try to raise the money themselves, perhaps by robbing some people along the way. Although it would take some time, at least they could complete their mission. But now, they were not even allowed to rob any. How were they supposed to take back the 100,000 strings of cash worth of birthday tribute? If they actually managed to raise 30 strings to go to the Cai residence, he feared his days were numbered.

"What's wrong? Is there some difficulty? Do you really intend to break the law?" Wang Han asked in a low voice, seeing Xie Duguan's troubled expression.

"I wouldn't dare, absolutely not. There's no difficulty, no difficulty at all." Upon hearing this, Steward Xie quickly replied, showing that he dared not disobey General Shenwei in the slightest.

"Really?" Wang Han said skeptically, waving his hand to take out a stack of yellow talismans, and said, "This thing is called the Karmic Fire Talisman. Light it up, mix it with water, and drink it. Once you do something immoral, the karmic fire on your body will increase, and this talisman will ignite the karmic fire on your body."

"This..." Xie Duguan was somewhat stunned when he saw the yellow talisman that Wang Han took out.

"Hmm, do you really intend to rob and plunder, or is the birthday tribute not thirty strings of cash, but three hundred thousand strings?" Wang Han said angrily upon seeing this.

"No, no, no, it's definitely thirty strings of cash, no less. Even if you gave us a hundred lives, we wouldn't dare to rob and plunder." Upon hearing this, Steward Xie quickly said, respectfully taking the yellow talisman from Wang Han's hand and distributing it to the others one by one.

"Yang Zhi, you two make sure they drink it," Wang Han said to Yang Zhi.

"Yes." Upon hearing this, he immediately replied, having been suppressing a laugh for quite some time, and led a few people out of the hall. Seeing this, Steward Xie and the others could only follow with bitter faces.

Nearby, Chao Gai and his men, who had come in to present the demon's forearm, had been listening intently and had also pieced together the story. Looking at the birthday tribute displayed in the hall, they understood: the birthday tribute had been swallowed up by General Shenwei. Even those who escorted the tribute dared not speak out, and the soldiers who had clearly never seen them yet insisted they were the culprits, daring not to point out the real culprit, much less reveal the amount of the tribute. It was likely the General had robbed the birthday tribute. They were immediately thankful they hadn't robbed the tribute themselves, otherwise they might have been caught red-handed.

"Alright, now it's your turn." After Steward Xie and the others left, Wang Han lit a flame in his hand and threw it into the iron box containing the monster's forearm. He then turned his gaze back to Chao Gai and the others. "You've probably been hiding this for half a year!"

"General Shenwei is wise," Chao Gai said upon hearing this. Wu Yong and the others were even more certain that it was General Shenwei himself who wanted to embezzle the birthday gifts, which was why he hadn't exposed them. Fortunately, General Shenwei still had some conscience and didn't compound the mistake by sending them to take the blame.

"Tell me, what is the purpose of you sending this?" Wang Han asked.

Upon hearing this, Chao Gai and the others looked at each other and said in unison, "We wish to follow the General and serve him faithfully."

"Serve me faithfully." Upon hearing this, Wang Han pondered for a moment and said, "What skills do you have to serve me faithfully and do things for me? You have to have the ability. I don't want people who are not capable enough."

"Thank you, General." Upon hearing this, Chao Gai and the others immediately said, "I am trained in martial arts and am willing to challenge your men to prove myself."

“Okay,” Wang Han said with a smile, “Come with me.”

Once outside the county government office, Wang Han, Yang Zhi, and others supervised Xie Duguan and the others as they finished drinking the talisman water, then called them over.

"Choose any of my guards, regardless of their methods. If you can defeat them, you will take their place. If you cannot, you will leave," Wang Han said to Chao Gai.

"Yes," Chao Gai replied, then observed Yang Zhi and the others, clearly looking for a suitable challenge.

Wang Han then said to Yang Zhi and the others, "They will have to work under me, but there are only so many positions. If they lose, they will have to go back to being guards in the manor."

"Yes." Upon hearing this, Yang Zhi and the others immediately responded, standing ramrod straight. They glared at Chao Gai and his men, looking ready to go all out. They were all unwilling to go back to being guards in the manor. The difference between guards by the general's side and guards in the manor was vast. Unless you were truly exceptionally skilled and lucky enough to stand out again, you would never be able to do so.

"I choose him." After watching for a while, Chao Gai pointed at Lu Han and said.

Upon seeing this, Lu Han immediately stepped forward three steps and stood up.

"Lu Han, it seems you really deserve a beating." Seeing this, Wang Han said with a smile, "The rule is that no one can help until one side is completely beaten down or admits defeat."

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