Xiao Youran waved her hand and summoned an old woman, "Take her to the back, the rest of the children come with us."

The old woman grabbed the girl who was in the lead, and the others, guided by another old woman, followed Xiaoyou Ran and the others out of the courtyard and into the front yard.

Sun Chengyuan led them to the front of the government office and they circled around. Seeing that his father was still interrogating the group of monks, he said to the girls behind him, "Did you see that? That's my father, the magistrate of Wufeng County, surrounded by a group of yamen runners. It's impossible that he was just someone impersonating him."

The girls all lowered their heads in shame.

Xiao Youran looked at Magistrate Sun, who was sweating profusely inside the door. It was clear that the monks, who had been beaten bloody and mangled, were still refusing to confess. After thinking for a moment, she took out a bottle of pills from her sleeve and handed it to Sun Chengyuan. "These are pills that can make people tell the truth. Have the magistrate try them."

Sun Chengyuan took it in surprise, but without suspicion, he went around to the back of the registrar, handed him the pill, and whispered a few words to him.

The registrar, also filled with surprise and doubt, approached Magistrate Sun and whispered a few words to him.

Magistrate Sun was already overwhelmed and at his wits' end, so after hearing this, he waved his hand and told him to do as he was told.

A moment later, the tallest monk at the head of the group was the first to be forcibly stuffed with a pill.

But this monk was skilled in martial arts; he was no pushover. He opened his mouth to spit it out.

Wen Yuanbai had somehow picked up a small pebble from his fingertip and flicked it at the target.

The monk immediately felt a strong force strike his back, and his mouth involuntarily opened wide. The constable immediately lifted his chin and punched him in the chest, forcing the monk to swallow the pill.

Magistrate Sun was overjoyed, but he didn't know when the medicine would take effect, so he ordered his yamen runners to continue administering the pills.

Without Wen Yuanbai's help, the other monks were not so easily fooled. Although they were being held by the constables with sticks, they kept spitting out the pills as soon as they were forced into their mouths.

A monk laughed loudly and said, "Brother, don't be afraid. In my opinion, this so-called truth-telling pill may not be true!"

Enraged, Magistrate Sun slammed his gavel, shouting, "How dare you, monks! Kneel down and confess the truth!"

The tall monk suddenly knelt down, his head bowed to the ground, and said, "Yes."

The other monks were startled, "Big Brother!"

Magistrate Sun was overjoyed, "Quickly gag the rest of the monks!"

The constables immediately found rags and socks and gagged them.

Magistrate Sun then demanded, "Who are you? Where do you come from? What do you do for a living?!"

The tall monk replied, “My name is Ding Xing. I was originally from Xingping County, Nanyang Prefecture. I worked odd jobs at the He family’s shop. Five years ago, I accidentally killed my boss, so I killed his whole family and fled here. I originally stayed in the temple on the mountain, but then I saw that human traffickers made money quickly by buying and selling girls, so I started kidnapping people and reselling them.”

Everyone gasped in shock upon hearing this.

Magistrate Sun was also greatly alarmed and pressed further, "And what is the origin of those monks over there?"

Ding Xing said, "They are all fugitives captured from various parts of Taizhou Prefecture. Some of them stopped here to rest and I managed to get the truth out of them, so they joined our group. Others came here after secretly inquiring about us."

Everyone's lips twitched upon hearing this.

People actually came "by reputation" to buy flowers and traffic people?

The monk next to him was so anxious that he cried out.

Magistrate Sun and the registrar exchanged a glance, both seeing excitement in each other's eyes. Was this the prelude to solving a major case and catching a serious criminal?!

Then he slammed his gavel again, "What are their names? What are their backgrounds?!"

Ding Xing pointed to the nearest person and said, "He is Zhang San, from Pingyuan County. Last year, he stole from his employer's ninth concubine and was caught. He accidentally knocked over an oil lamp, causing a fire. Before leaving, he locked the door, and eleven people were burned to death..."

The crowd grew increasingly horrified.

Xiao Youran then pulled Yueyue forward, and gestured to the old women to continue leading the girls to the backyard.

After entering the courtyard, Yueyue patted her chest, still shaken, and said, "I never imagined... those thieves would be so vicious..."

The girls looked at each other in bewilderment. The eldest girl, who had been the most wary and instigating, was now at the back, her face pale, biting her lower lip and remaining silent.

The two older girls immediately knelt down before Sun Chengyuan. "Young Master, it was our daughters' fault for being blind and not knowing what was good for them. Please forgive us, young masters and ladies, and thank you for saving our lives."

Sun Chengyuan stepped aside, raised his hand and gestured towards Xiao Youran and Yueyue, "They are your true saviors. If it weren't for them, my father and the officials wouldn't have received the news. You've just witnessed the skills of this little miracle doctor, so now you finally believe they were able to escape from that pleasure boat, right?"

The other girls followed suit, kneeling down and kowtowing to Xiao Youran and Yueyue, saying sincerely, "Thank you, sisters, for saving our lives."

Xiao Youran watched with a broad smile as the luck value in her notebook soared to over 100.

The little notebook glowed brightly red, and after a moment, a "ding" sounded, revealing the words, "Upgrade successful!"

Xiao You was overjoyed. He had indeed leveled up!

She was about to ask what new features the upgraded notebook had when Yueyue pulled her back, "You Ran, they said they'd like to go work with you in that herb garden!"

Xiao Youran suppressed the joy on her face and nodded, saying, "Alright, then I'll trouble Brother Sun to arrange a few carriages to take us back to Sanyang Village."

Sun Chengyuan readily agreed and turned to instruct the old woman to do it, thus giving him an excuse to return to Sanyang Village.

Wen Yuanbai, seeing Xiao Youran's expression, was secretly puzzled.

She was overjoyed to receive the girls' gratitude, but the girls, who had promised to help in the herb garden as she had said, showed little joy.

Could it be that she didn't really need help, but just wanted the girls' gratitude? But what use would it be if she received this unfounded gratitude?

His gaze fell on Xiao Youran's sleeves.

She had her hands in her sleeves the whole time, and this time he was sure he saw it clearly—the bottle of medicine was taken out of her sleeve.

He didn't believe that the so-called truth pills were prepared in advance, just like the tea leaves she took out of her sleeve when her master suddenly decided to teach the tea ceremony.

So, what secrets lie hidden in her sleeves?

Soon the old women called for a vehicle to come over, and the girls went out one by one and got into the vehicle.

Wen Yuanbai glanced at the blooming plum tree in the corner of the courtyard and decided to test the waters.

He said, "Yueyue, junior sister, let's get in the car too."

After saying that, he gestured for Nan Zhuo to push him out.

Yueyue readily agreed and followed behind, pulling Xiaoyouran along with her.

At this moment, Wen Yuanbai suddenly clutched his chest and gasped for breath.

Nan Zhuo asked anxiously, "Young Master! Young Master! What's wrong with you?"

Wen Yuanbai looked like he couldn't breathe.