Shangguan Lingyun frowned slightly and murmured as he looked at the figures going away.
"It looks like they were rounded up and taken somewhere."
Ye Xiaoxiao glanced at the victims walking away again, then whispered.
"Is there some kind of mine here? They're forcing disaster victims to work for them or something like that."
Shangguan Lingyun shook his head, "Let's go into the city first, and then slowly explore."
Ye Xiaoxiao had no other choice but to nod, and everyone entered the city at the urging of the officers and soldiers.
Wang Xiao and Tian Xuan had already found a place to park the carriage, and then they pretended to go shopping and came to meet them.
However, before they could come into contact with Shangguan Lingyun and others, they saw a group of officials suddenly rushing out of the city.
They quickly came to the victims and shouted at them.
"Where are you from? Tell me your name."
Dalin glanced at Shangguan Lingyun, who nodded. Dalin then stepped forward to negotiate with the group of officials.
"Sir, we are villagers from Donglin Village. Our family suffered a famine, so we came to the city to seek refuge with our relatives."
The officer looked at everyone impatiently and then scolded them coldly.
"Nonsense! Are all of you here to seek refuge with your relatives? I think you are just bandits."
"Come here, arrest them and take them back for interrogation."
Dalin wanted to explain, but the officers didn't give them a chance.
They surrounded all the victims with their swords in hand. The children had never seen such a scene before and they started crying non-stop.
"Shut up, everyone. If you keep crying, I'll drag you out and chop you up."
The adults were so scared that they immediately covered their children's mouths, fearing that they would be caught and chopped to pieces by the officials.
Some of them had already begun to regret following back and begged for mercy.
"Sir, we are not bandits. Please be kind and let us go."
"We're going back now. We won't stay with our relatives anymore."
It is human nature to be afraid of death. Dalin did not blame them, but the officials did not intend to let them go.
"Stop talking nonsense. Whether you are a bandit or not, you will know it after you see the adults. Take him away."
Wang Xiao was a little anxious and was about to step forward when he was stopped by Shangguan Lingyun's eyes.
In desperation, Wang Xiao had to let Shangguan Lingyun and others be taken away by the officers.
Ye Xiaoxiao narrowed her eyes slightly and made a gesture towards Tianxuan. Tianxuan immediately understood and nodded at her.
After everyone was taken away, Wang Xiao immediately ordered the secret guards in the dark to follow.
He followed Tianxuan to find the contact point of the nearby Tianxia Diyi Village.
They walked around the street for a while and soon found a tavern called Tianyi.
After bringing Wang Xiao in, a fat woman came to greet them.
"My two guests, what would you like to drink?"
"What's the shopkeeper's name?"
The plump woman smiled and said, "Everyone calls me Shopkeeper Sun. What are your instructions?"
"I don't deserve your advice, but we have come from far away, specifically to seek refuge with our distant relatives and friends. I wonder if the shopkeeper recognizes this jade pendant."
Tianxuan said this as he handed his steward jade token to the other party. The other party took a look and immediately nodded respectfully.
"It turned out to be the Xiao family's sister. Please forgive my poor eyesight for not recognizing her."
"Sister, you came all the way here, but what difficulties did you encounter?"
Tianxuan glanced at the guests in the tavern, who were sitting in groups of three or four, and then asked in a low voice.
"Shopkeeper Sun, there have been a lot of arrests of disaster victims in the city lately. Do you know why?"
Shopkeeper Sun smiled and took Tianxuan's hand.
"Sister, you have come a long way, and I, your sister, am sorry for not hosting you well. Come with me to the backyard and rest."
"Waiter, please greet the other guests for me. I'll be back soon."
After Manager Sun finished speaking, he took Tianxuan and Wang Xiao to the backyard.
The tavern in front is not very big, but I didn’t expect the backyard to be quite spacious.
There were several men brewing and moving wine inside. Tianxuan could tell at a glance that they were not ordinary waiters.
Shopkeeper Sun saw her looking around and said with a smile.
"Manager Xiao has good eyesight. They are all from our No. 1 Village in the World."
"The steward seemed a little anxious just now, but is there anyone important among the victims?"
Since a woman like Manager Sun can become the leader of the entire branch, she must be quite capable.
Seeing that she had guessed it, Tianxuan did not keep her in suspense.
"I'm sure Shopkeeper Sun has already known about the Emperor and Empress's incognito visit."
Shopkeeper Sun nodded, then looked at Tianxuan in surprise.
"Are you saying that the masters were captured by those officers and soldiers?"
Tianxuan nodded, and Shopkeeper Sun immediately frowned and began to pace on the spot.
Tianxuan suddenly felt something was wrong and immediately asked, "Boss, is there something wrong?"
Shopkeeper Sun calmed himself down and then sighed.
“It’s not that there’s anything wrong with that, but after learning that the Emperor and Empress were on an incognito visit, the city guards decided to arrest the victims.
"On the one hand, they were afraid that the emperor and empress would be involved, and on the other hand, they were afraid that the emperor and empress would find out the cause of the flood."
"So, all those disaster victims were dragged by them to dig the river."
"I heard that it's like a hellish ashram. No one who goes there will ever come back alive."
Wang Xiao was puzzled, "What does the shopkeeper mean by this?"
Shopkeeper Sun smiled awkwardly, "You two should stop asking so many questions."
"Masters are very delicate and we cannot afford any mishaps. You should go to the river first."
Wang Xiao wanted to ask more, but Tianxuan had already thanked Manager Sun and took him away.
Before leaving, Tianxuan also took away a copy of all the information about the Lincheng City Guardian.
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