Chapter 229 Want to catch the murderer and send him to the yamen to collect the reward
Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli exchanged a smile and agreed to Li He's request.
The three of them left the dilapidated temple together.
Before going home, Li He went to a place not far from the dilapidated temple, took out the one hundred taels of silver that he had hidden not long ago, and then entered the city.
The dilapidated temple was outside the south gate of the city, and his home was outside the north gate, so he had to cross the county town to get home.
The three passed by One-Eyed Dragon's roast chicken shop and happened to run into Constable Sun and several constables who were shutting down the shop.
As expected, Constable Sun spotted them.
"stop!"
"Head Constable Sun shouted with a dark face."
Li He greeted him with a grin, "Oh, isn't this Officer Sun? What brings you here?"
Seeing Li He's grinning face, Constable Sun was furious.
According to the arrangement made last night, he should have received fifty taels of silver, and then the case should have been closed with Li He as the murderer.
But when I went to the government office this morning, I learned that everything had changed.
Li He became a hero for eliminating the scourge and was released without charge.
No matter what he said to the magistrate, the magistrate insisted that the case was closed and that was the end of it.
Therefore, the fifty taels of silver he was so eagerly anticipating would naturally never come.
"You little brat!" Constable Sun grabbed Li He by the collar, gritting his teeth, "You dare to play me for a fool?"
Li He chuckled and said, "Officer Sun, you're exaggerating. I wouldn't dare to mess with you, let alone anyone else."
Constable Sun shook him off and ordered several constables to surround Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli.
Xiao Qidi glanced at it indifferently, "What do you mean by this?"
"What do you mean? I want to know what you mean too!" Constable Sun's face was ashen. He walked up to Xiao Qidi and stared straight at him. "I saw with my own eyes you beat the one-eyed man to death and kill his wife. Li He took the blame but was found innocent, and you, the real culprit, are still at large! Tell me, what tricks did you play!"
Li He quickly came over and grabbed Constable Sun's arm, "Calm down, calm down, let's talk in private."
Constable Sun glared at Xiao Qidi, then walked away with Li He, his face stern.
Before Li He could say anything, he warned in a low voice, "You little brat, don't think this matter is over. As long as I'm still working here, you won't have an easy time from now on. And those man and woman, I'll keep a close eye on them and they won't be allowed to leave Ting County!"
Faced with the threat, Li He showed no fear whatsoever, winking at Constable Sun, "Going through all this trouble will only tire you out. I know, Constable Zhao, you're not one to enjoy trouble either..."
As he spoke, he took out fifty taels of silver from his pocket.
Upon seeing the silver, Constable Sun's expression softened instantly. He narrowed his eyes and asked, "Boy, what does this mean?"
"No matter what, I promised you, Officer Sun, I won't shortchange you a single penny," Li He said with a smile, stuffing the silver into Officer Sun's pocket. "Look, we've gotten the money we're owed, and the case has a result that satisfies everyone, isn't that a win-win situation? So... hehe..."
Li He had figured out that Constable Sun's nature was all about money.
Since that's the case, just give it to him.
Sure enough, Constable Sun immediately beamed with joy. "Good lad, you're quite sensible. Alright, it's ultimately the magistrate who decides to close the case, so of course I'll listen to the magistrate."
"Then... Officer Sun, you won't cause us any more trouble, will you?" Li He asked.
Officer Sun patted him on the shoulder, "You've gone to such lengths, do you think I'd still bother you? Wouldn't that make me seem less sensible than you, little brat? Based on your performance, not only will I not cause you any trouble, but I'll also protect you from now on. If anyone offends you, I'll take care of them for you!"
Li He secretly breathed a sigh of relief and quickly flattered him, "Officer Sun is righteous and a true man. I admire him! I will definitely remember Officer Sun when I get something in the future."
"Don't give me that crap!"
Officer Sun laughed and scolded.
Although he was cursing, he was secretly pleased with the patting.
Overjoyed, he put his arm around Li He's shoulder and said, "Kid, there's still plenty of wine and food in that shop. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll treat you to a meal!"
"Such a good thing? Then thank you very much, Officer Sun!" Li He agreed without hesitation, and then asked if he could invite his friend along.
Officer Sun agreed.
Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli didn't want to waste their time here, but they couldn't resist Li He's strong invitation. He even said that although the one-eyed couple had a bad character and had done a lot of bad things, their roast chicken was absolutely delicious.
After the couple died, they could no longer eat it.
Besides, the remaining roast chicken in the shop would be divided up by the constables anyway, so why not eat it?
So the two of them followed them into the shop.
The bodies of the one-eyed couple had long been removed, and the scene had been cleaned up, leaving only a dark red stain on the stone slab floor.
"You all sit here first, my brothers and I will go get some wine and roast chicken." With that, Constable Sun led his men to the inner room behind the shop.
Ning Jinli muttered, "This place really is a case of money making the world go round. Li He, you gave them fifty taels of silver, and now they've become so hospitable, even letting us sit while they go get food."
Li He scoffed and said, "Sister Jinli, you think too highly of him. He's just trying to loot the place first. The one-eyed man and his wife have no relatives, so Officer Sun and his men will naturally not let go of anything of value in the shop. Otherwise, it will be taken by the local people or beggars. Let's wait a while. They'll bring the food over after they've looted the place."
Ning Jinli was speechless and had to admit that in these aspects, fifteen-year-old Li He was more knowledgeable and experienced than her.
At this moment, several burly men cautiously entered the shop.
Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi had met these people yesterday, while Li He was someone they knew before.
That's right, these burly men are all One-Eyed Dragon's henchmen.
"Why are they here?" Xiao Qidi frowned.
Li He grinned, "I also came here hoping to find some valuables."
Xiao Qidi said, "I thought they came to pay their respects."
“Mourning? Heh heh, they have no interest in that,” Li He scoffed. “They were recruited by One-Eyed Dragon to help him. They just do what they're paid for. They have no real affection for One-Eyed Dragon and his wife.”
At this moment, several burly men also noticed the three people sitting in the shop.
The two exchanged a glance.
A burly man exclaimed in surprise, "The murderer is here?!"
The other burly men immediately stared intently at Xiao Qidi.
Before the county government's notice was issued, they naturally had no idea that the case had been closed in a way they could not have imagined.
Xiao Qidi remained calm and didn't even bother to look at them again.
The burly men whispered to each other for a few moments, then suddenly pulled out the machetes tucked into their waistbands and slowly approached.
Seeing that things were not going well, Li He said, "There's no need for this. Take whatever you want, we'll pretend we didn't see anything."
A burly man sneered, "Whether we take anything or not is none of your business. We're here to catch the murderer who killed our brother and caused our sister-in-law's death! If you're with him, then... just like that girl, you're an accomplice!"
"Huh?" Li He asked in surprise, "When did you two develop such deep feelings for the one-eyed couple?"
The burly man sneered, "What feelings are there to be ashamed of! We can get a reward for catching the murderer and sending him to the authorities! It's a freebie that's been handed to us, how can we let it go?"
Li He slapped his forehead and laughed, "Oh, I almost forgot about that. But I have to remind you, the case is closed, and a notice will be posted soon. There's no murderer, so don't bother with yourselves."
The burly men, of course, didn't believe it.
Isn't that utter nonsense?
They witnessed the entire murder yesterday, and there were also officers, including Constable Sun, present at the time.
Case closed? No murderer?
You're trying to fool a three-year-old!
The burly man at the head of the group brandished his machete, grinning maliciously as he approached, saying, "Did you think the constables were busy hunting you down and had overlooked the roast chicken shop, so you sneaked here to hide, thinking you were safe and sound?"
Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli's lips twitched slightly, almost unable to hold back their laughter.
They hadn't thought of it that way; this guy's imagination ran wild.
"I told you so, you can't argue with that, can you?" The burly leader smugly chimed in. "Heh heh, you can only blame yourselves for being so clever! Get down on the ground and don't move! Otherwise, my machete won't have eyes!"
The burly man wanted to capture them alive, since according to past practices of the government, live criminals were more valuable than dead ones.
Xiao Qidi, Ning Jinli, and Li He did not move, clearly not taking his threat seriously.
Li He scratched his head, pointed to the back door, and said to the burly man, "Let me tell you the truth. Constable Sun from the yamen is in the inner room with a few constables. If you really don't believe me, go and take a look, and verify whether what I just said is true. You're just trying to make a living, there's no need to make things get out of control."
The burly man at the head of the group glanced at the back door, a knowing look on his face, and said contemptuously, "You little brat, trying to play tricks on me? Why don't you just say the county magistrate is inside? Trying to trick me into bringing my brothers in so you can slip away, huh? Dream on! I'm not that stupid!"
Li He sighed helplessly, "Sigh...you really are...too smart."
"Brothers! Charge!" the burly leader ordered. "If we can't catch them alive, killing them is fine too!"
Several men, wielding machetes, launched an attack, surrounding the group.
Without saying a word, Li He crawled under the table.
He was well aware of his mediocre skills. In the past, when pushed to the limit, he could fight one or two adult men, but against such a group of strong men wielding weapons, he had absolutely no chance of winning.
Therefore, hiding is the wisest choice.
Furthermore, he only needed to hide under the table to avoid being accidentally injured, because he believed that Xiao Qidi, who could kill the one-eyed man with one punch, would definitely be able to handle these people without any problem.
"Jinli, come down and hide!" Li He tugged at Ning Jinli's trouser leg as she crawled under the table to remind her.
Ning Jinli lowered her head and smiled slightly at him, "I don't need it, you can hide yourself."
Bang!
A muffled thud.
The burly man at the head of the group had already brought down his knife, but Xiao Qidi slightly dodged it by sidestepping, and the knife slammed hard onto the table.
Li He saw the burly man's leg right in front of him and kicked it.
Almost simultaneously, Xiao Qidi also grabbed the burly man's wrist and twisted it.
The burly man felt a sharp pain in his knee and lost his balance. He instinctively tried to grab the table for support, but his hand was grabbed. Before he could adjust his body, his head slammed against the table.
"Ah...ah!"
The burly man at the head of the group broke his nose on the spot, his face was covered in blood, and he screamed in agony.
Xiao Qidi, expressionless, flung his hand and threw him two meters away.
Seeing this, the other burly men simultaneously swung their machetes at Xiao Qidi's head.
Bang bang bang!
A series of muffled thuds rang out rapidly.
They only saw a figure flash before their eyes, and before they could even see Xiao Qidi's movements clearly, they were all sent flying backwards.
"He's even more powerful than I thought!" Li He exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the group of people sprawled on the ground. "What...what did this guy eat to grow up like this..."
Xiao Qidi glanced at the people on the ground and said in a low voice, "I have no interest in fighting with you. If you know what's good for you, get out of here and don't let me run into you again."
Li He, who was under the table, chimed in, "Now you've seen how powerful my older brother is, haven't you? Get lost!"
Xiao Qidi kicked Li He, "Who's your older brother?"
Li He chuckled, "I call Jinli 'sister,' so I have to call you 'big brother,' right? How about we become sworn brothers sometime?"
Xiao Qidi's cheek twitched slightly, and he said with a tight smile, "You wish."
“Then I’ll become sworn sisters with Sister Jinli,” Li He said with a grin.
Xiao Qidi sighed and rubbed his forehead.
Several burly men struggled to their feet. Their injuries weren't serious, but after the previous exchange, they were already afraid of Xiao Qidi.
The burly man at the head of the group covered his bleeding nose, both shocked and furious.
He wanted to fight again, but felt he couldn't win.
After a brief moment of thought, he set his sights on Ning Jinli.
This girl has delicate skin and looks fragile. We might as well take her down first and use her life as a threat!
"Arrest her!" the burly man in the lead shouted, pointing at Ning Jinli.
The burly men quickly bypassed Xiao Qidi and pounced on Ning Jinli.
A slight smile played on Xiao Qidi's lips as he crossed his arms, showing no intention of stopping him.
Seeing that the burly men had switched their attack to Ning Jinli, Li He didn't hesitate and quickly crawled out from under the table, shielding Ning Jinli behind him. "Don't touch my sister!"
Before he could finish speaking, and before he could even see what was happening, a woodcutter's knife was already slashing down at his face.
In a flash, Li He's mind went blank, only to see a slender, long hand strike the wood-chopping knife before it could even react.
The seemingly light tap sent the heavy bronze woodcutter's knife flying diagonally from the burly man's hand in an instant.
Just then, Officer Sun, who had heard the unusual noise from the shop, came over to see what was going on. He had just lifted the back curtain and peeked out.
Swish—
The spun wood-chopping knife grazed Officer Sun's cheek before crashing into the door frame with a clang, embedding itself three inches deep!
Officer Sun stood frozen in place, his hair standing on end. Then he felt a sharp pain in his right ear. He raised his hand to touch it and realized that his entire right ear had been sliced off!
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