What are you doing here?

“Hyenas, it’s not safe here.” Actually, the most unsafe thing is not the hyenas, but… the legends about hyenas and the food chain. It is said that many hyenas like to eat rotten things. Hyenas follow behind large rodents, and the carcasses that others don’t eat become their food. Thinking about this, Qi Guze saw some clues.

"Oh no, there's a wild bear nearby."

How do you know?

"Look at this." Qi Guze pointed to an enormous footprint on the ground.

The footprints were shocking.

It's easy to imagine how big this wild bear must have been.

"Leave here as soon as possible."

In fact, Xu Yuehuai also found feces, and it was still warm.

The two returned to Wang Ping'an's side, where Wang Ping'an muttered to himself, "I have committed many evils in this life. Now that I think about it, what could be better than this gentle breeze and bright moon? I thought that if I had money, I would have everything, but what good would it do?"

“I embezzled and accepted bribes, and obtained a lot of gold and silver treasures. I bought a large number of wives and concubines, but who was truly sincere to me? I bought a group of cronies, but I did not gain friendship. I bought delicacies, but I could not buy health, nor could I buy life. Now it seems that I was wrong.”

"Oh?" Xu Yuehuai said sarcastically, "Now you seem to have woken up from your dream."

"I wonder if Lord Qi could give me another chance?"

Qi Guze's face immediately turned cold. "Did you give those miners a second chance?"

Wang Ping'an was speechless.

"Let's go, let's go, it's not safe here." Xu Yuehuai quickly smoothed things over, and the three of them continued walking eastward. As they walked, Xu Yuehuai heard a noise, a very noisy sound, as if people were talking.

Immediately afterwards, all three of them stood still.

They strained to see into the distance.

At the edge of the horizon, one could clearly see scattered spots of light.

These bright, sparkling spots of light also resembled animals.

"Heavens...again?"

Xu Yuehuai is already looking for a suitable weapon.

As for Zhou Wan and the others, they had already been taken by Tie Xiong's side. Zhou Wan would occasionally steal glances at Tie Xiong. Seeing his imposing presence and his courage, seeing how heroic he was when he was giving orders, and seeing how well he took care of her and the two little ones, a vague feeling naturally arose in her heart.

if……

No, no, no.

Before she could let her thoughts wander any further, Zhou Wan felt ashamed of herself and slapped him across the face. The slap instantly extinguished any romantic notions she had been having, much to Tie Xiong's surprise.

Why are you hitting yourself?

Zhou Wan quickly explained, "I was bitten by a mosquito."

"Here, this will work well."

Tie Xiong brought over an enamel box.

Zhou Wan didn't intend to take it, but at that moment someone called out to Tie Xiong, who forcefully threw a box of comfrey ointment at her. Zhou Wan could only barely hold onto it, as the comfrey ointment was indeed effective.

"This is a campfire," Tie Xiong exclaimed with delight. He shoveled the charcoal aside and discovered animal bones inside. Having spent many years on the battlefield, he quickly recognized the bones from the bones: "These are rabbit bones."

"really?"

Zhou Wan leaned closer and deduced from the three stones that someone had rested and eaten nearby.

Zhou Wan suggested that everyone shout, and in the darkness of the night, everyone began to shout, and for a moment the mountains and valleys echoed, but there was no response from Qi Guze and the others.

"Oh dear," Xu Yuehuai faintly heard the sound, and she pointed to the scattered spots of light directly opposite, "It's them, it must be them."

"Let's go take a look."

In fact, Qi Guze also heard clearly that the group of people on the other side were indeed shouting at them. This road was not easy to walk on. Xu Yuehuai responded as she walked, and Zhou Wan was overjoyed. She didn't care that the road was slippery. Although she tripped and fell, she was still happy.

Zhou Wan pointed to the distance and said, "That's my mother. She's responding."

The group hurriedly approached, and Xu Yuehuai was overjoyed to see Zhou Wan and A Qi.

On the contrary, Zhou Wan's tears rolled down her cheeks. It was clear that Zhou Wan regarded her as her only elder and relative. As for the hunter who was responsible for leading the way, he immediately asked for money. Tie Xiong said, "You can come with us to the yamen tomorrow. You will be fined."

"That's good, that's good." The hunter became a stubborn snake, refusing to leave no matter what.

After everyone reached the cliff, Qi Guze handed the man over to Pei Xuan.

Pei Xuan was surprised. In fact, he had heard about the prince's activities in various places half a year ago, but he did not know that the prince had arrived here and had solved such a complicated case. The case was very complex and had far-reaching consequences, so many people were implicated.

Now that Pei Xuan had finally met Qi Guze, his excitement was palpable.

He hurriedly knelt down.

"temple……"

The moment the word left his mouth, Qi Guze's expression changed.

Pei Xuan, being an official himself, naturally understood the importance of reading between the lines, and immediately shut his mouth. "My lord, I have finally found you. Are you well?"

"It's all good, get up."

He leaned closer and held out his hand to him.

Pei Xuan seemed to admire him greatly. Even in front of everyone, he knelt down in front of Qi Guze with heartfelt admiration, as if meeting Qi Guze was the greatest luck of his life. In the distance, Zhou Wan gave beef jerky to Xu Yuehuai to eat.

"Mother, I bought this a few days ago. It's finally coming in handy today. Please have some."

Xu Yuehuai divided the dried beef into portions, and each of the five people received a small bite.

At that moment, she noticed Qi Guze and Pei Xuan opposite her.

Why would this local official be so fearful and apprehensive?

His obsequious manner was unforgettable, which made Xu Yuehuai feel strange. Could Qi Guze be the highest-ranking official in the Censorate?

Could it be that he has a long-standing friendship with Pei Xuan?

While still lost in thought, Qi Guze and Pei Xuan had already gone far away. The two walked one after the other and finally left the crowd. Qi Guze turned around with a calm look in his eyes.

Pei Xuan, on the other hand, had to kneel down and pay his respects again.

The two looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Does Lord Pei know the purpose of my visit here?"

"Investigate this case." Unable to hide his joy and excitement, as if he had finally met the object of his long-cherished admiration, Qi Guze took a deep breath upon seeing Pei Xuan's excited appearance. "You could say that. I have received a unique order from the Emperor, so I have not left any traces wherever I go. You must not let anyone know my identity."

"Yes, yes, may Your Highness live a long and healthy life."

“Pei Xuan,” Qi Guze looked down at him and noticed that Pei Xuan’s shoes were badly torn. He seemed to remember something. “Last year, your area experienced both drought and flooding.”

"this……"

In fact, the drought and floods here last year were very severe, to the point that many farmers were displaced.

When it came time to pay the state's grain tax at the end of the year, Pei Xuan had no grain to pay and had to borrow it from a neighboring county. As a result, every household ran out of food the following year.