Zhu, the head constable, personally oversaw the division of He Zifeng's family property. At the time, he guessed that He Zifeng must have some connection with the county magistrate, otherwise the county magistrate would not have personally ordered the division.

He was deeply moved when he witnessed He Zifeng's ordeal that day. Fortunately, the old town mayor intervened, and the matter was resolved satisfactorily.

Constable Zhu was always busy with personal matters, and his deputy in the yamen was helping him with them, so he was unaware that He Zifeng had become a yamen runner.

Seeing that Constable Zhu was interested in He Zifeng, the deputy whispered from the side, "He was introduced by the old town mayor."

Only then did Constable Zhu realize what was happening, and said, "Search this group, with He Zifeng leading the way." As soon as he finished speaking, everyone else was shocked; this was tantamount to promoting He Zifeng out of turn.

The group of fifteen people, excluding He Zifeng, felt extremely resentful upon hearing that He Zifeng was in charge of them, the old folks, but none of them dared to protest to Constable Zhu.

As soon as Constable Zhu left, they surrounded He Zifeng: "What's your relationship with our constable?"

Just then, the three men from the city guard team recognized He Zifeng and said, "It was Constable Zhu who personally went over to assign him the family property that day." These men had gone to the countryside with the constable back then, but since some time had passed, they couldn't remember him. It was only when they saw the constable speak that they remembered.

Several men in their group had been planning to cause trouble, but upon hearing this, they dared not act. Even if they didn't care about He Zifeng, they still had to give the head constable some face.

Xiong Ge was assigned to the city defense group, while Bingzi and Xie Rui were in the same group as He Zifeng.

Since it was a direct order from the county government, they had to take action. Despite their usual laziness, they were decisive when it came to matters.

These men were assigned to different roles: patrolling, guarding the city, and searching the city. Both groups had already set off.

He Zifeng said, "I arrived the latest and have the least seniority, so please forgive me if I am not thorough enough. Let me first share my thoughts, and you are welcome to add any good suggestions at any time!"

These words were very tactful, making the dozen or so people present feel a little better.

He Zifeng divided the sixteen men into three groups: one led by Zhou Hao and the other by Lin Feng. These two were always organizing drinking parties, spending their days drinking and chasing girls; they didn't seem to have any serious business, and neither the deputy nor Officer Zhu ever used them. But He Zifeng felt that these two had extensive connections and strong organizational skills, making them rare talents. Moreover, given their past friendships from drinking and chatting, others would definitely listen to them.

These two never expected that they would one day be able to lead a team, and they became quite interested.

He Zifeng led the third group, which included Xie Rui, Bingzi, and three others.

Although the other two groups were one person less, no one raised any objections. Everyone knew how timid Xie Rui was; if they were really in danger, he wouldn't be able to help at all.

Lin Feng asked Zhou Hao, "How do you want to arrange this?"

He Zifeng said, "Since these two bandits are from out of town, they certainly won't live in crowded places. Their unfamiliar faces coming and going will definitely be spotted by their fellow villagers. The places they could go are the red-light district, the gambling dens, and the plain street. They've caused such a big disturbance, so according to custom, we'll definitely search the inns. That will fulfill their wishes. We should attack them by surprise."

He Zifeng was very serious when he patrolled the streets. Although he was not a native of the county, he had been to every street in the county more than once.

Su Street is a notorious street for the poor, a place where all sorts of thugs, hooligans, and prostitutes gather. If these people hide here, they are not easily discovered.

He Zifeng, after all, retained memories of his previous life and had heard that these notorious thieves, a male and female, would stay at the home of a blind old woman on Su Street for five copper coins a day. The old woman and her five-year-old granddaughter depended on each other for survival. When the thieves left, they killed the old woman, then tortured the child to death, leaving bloody handprints on the wall and door. They were extremely arrogant and finally left in a carefree manner.

This left the entire town in a state of constant fear. After they left, the county began a five-year search for them. Now that he had taken on the task, he was determined not to let such a tragedy repeat itself.

Lin Feng and Zhou Hao also felt that his arrangement was appropriate. They split up and acted separately, as the three streets were not far apart. There were three signal flares in the three groups, which would indicate that something was amiss once they were launched.

This time, unlike any other, we were here to catch a notorious bandit, so we couldn't be careless. Everyone took out their swords from the armory. They were all top-quality blades.

He Zifeng said, "Follow me." He and his group arrived at Su Street.

They started questioning from the very first one.

He Zifeng only knew that it was a blind old woman taking care of a child, but he didn't know which house it was in; there were hundreds of households on Sujie Street. The poorer the area, the more densely populated the houses were.

He Zifeng ordered Bingzi to guard the only exit with a knife, and to stab anyone who tried to rush out.

Xie Rui followed behind them, his face pale with fright, his legs trembling as he walked. He Zifeng, standing close enough to hear Xie Rui's teeth chattering, was relieved that He Zifeng hadn't told him that a notorious duo of thieves lurked on this street; otherwise, Xie Rui would have wet himself in fear.

Courage is something innate, so He Zifeng didn't force him. He said, "Go and get me two ounces of Zhuyeqing from the west end of the city." He then took out two hundred coins. Zhuyeqing from the west end of the city was famous throughout the county, and only that one shop had it. This was a way to get rid of him and give him a way out in front of his colleagues.

Although Xie Rui was timid, he figured he might not be so unlucky as to run into these two people, so he said, "It's more dangerous for me to be alone, so I'd better stay behind you."

“Okay,” He Zifeng said.

They then began searching each house one by one.

Various groups of people were huddled together gambling. There were also lone men and women fooling around, and the dilapidated shed reeked of something.

He Zifeng told them not to get separated. If there were more of them, they could intimidate the notorious bandit. But if they were separated and encountered each other, they might lose their lives.

There were also patrols outside. The city gates were surrounded like an iron barrel; if you wanted to get out, you really needed some kind of superhuman ability to fly or disappear into the ground.

The two notorious thieves were hiding in a farmhouse courtyard. One of them was drinking, still feeling smug about how he had tricked the county magistrate the day before.

These two are far from short of money; they just enjoy causing a huge commotion wherever they go, instilling fear in the locals. Their behavior is insane, and their thinking is completely abnormal.

To everyone's surprise, the two notorious thieves were both quite handsome. One of them had once been a doctor and came from a family with a long and distinguished lineage. The other was a young man who had been cold-blooded since childhood, and killing someone was easier for him than killing a chicken.

They had intended to rest during the day, but the noise outside just wouldn't stop. Like bloodthirsty patients, already irritable, they were now consumed by a nameless rage, wishing they could immediately go out and chop down those making the noise. The young man's nose was twitching slightly; this was a sign of his killing urge.

The doctor said, "I'll go out and ask." He then went out and kicked the girl outside, waking her up. The old woman and her granddaughter had rented out their house to them to earn an extra five coins, leaving them to sleep in the woodshed.

The little girl didn't cry even after being kicked; she was a little afraid of this handsome older brother.

The doctor said, "Go out and find out who's making the noise."

The little girl went out, and after a while she said, "It's the government looking for someone."

The doctor's expression changed upon hearing this, and he immediately told his colleague inside.

They committed crimes in multiple locations, each time causing chaos and disruption, but never before had their targets reacted so quickly.

Years of experience dealing with yamen runners had left them feeling uneasy; these men seemed to know the way and had come straight for them. However, the thought quickly vanished. The young man said, "They're just a bunch of good-for-nothings. So what if they come? We can't do anything to them in broad daylight. We'll deal with these annoying troublemakers tonight." With a single sentence, he decided the fate of these men.

He Zifeng quickly investigated each house and found this one. A blind old woman opened the door. Ordinary people like them were most afraid of seeing officials, so they were a little nervous and asked, "Sir, what's going on?"

Xie Rui said, "We're looking for an important prisoner. Everyone in your family, come out. I need to check them one by one." He had already checked for half an hour, and seeing that there was no danger, he became bolder. Anyway, with He Zifeng around, he wasn't afraid anymore.

The old woman quickly called her granddaughter over, then told her that there were two more guests who had come from afar. She then asked her granddaughter to call them.

He Zifeng paused for a moment upon hearing this, but fortunately, his usual expression remained unchanged, and no one could tell that he was acting strangely.

Then I heard coughing coming from inside.

The person who opened the door was a doctor. He said, "This is my younger brother who is sick and cannot be exposed to the wind. I would be grateful if you could examine him quickly, sir." After saying this, he even tried to ingratiate himself by slipping He Zifeng a money pouch containing two hundred coins.

He Zifeng tossed the money in his hand, then angrily threw it on the ground, saying, "This little bit of money, are you trying to give to a beggar?" He then pushed him aside and opened the door, where he saw a petite, bluish-white woman. She was slender and delicate, with furrowed brows and a sorrowful expression. She had a charming face, not the most beautiful, but certainly captivating.

The doctor suddenly knelt down and said timidly, "Sir, please calm down. My brother can't stand the wind."

"What younger brother? Don't tell me it's a lover's brother?" one of the other three said, and the other two laughed strangely. After all, they had seen plenty of brothels on the way here, but he was the only one who was handsome.

Seeing the young man sit on the bed and step back, it seemed like an invitation to these men. Apart from He Zifeng, who was married and worldly-wise, the others lacked self-control and stared intently.

He Zifeng and his men rummaged around the house for a bit, then said, "Let's go. Let's check the next house."

Only then did everyone reluctantly leave. After they left, the doctor said, "All five of them were given Soul-Chasing Incense." This incense is special; once it touches clothing, the scent will linger for a year. By having bees chase after it, they can easily eliminate the incense one by one.

At that moment, the sickly young man wiped the bluish color from his face with a wet towel and said coldly, "These people who have seen my face all have to die."