By the time Cheng Ruyi regained consciousness, it was already noon.
She fainted because of a broken left hand and a deep wound on her palm that caused excessive blood loss. She was under a lot of stress in the cave and didn't even notice that she was injured.
The young man had just woken up and hadn't even had a chance to say anything to his family when Guo Qinglan brought Luo Xiuwei and Xiaoyu to the Cheng family home.
"Greetings, Madam Magistrate..."
Cheng Ruyi tried to get up to greet him, but was stopped and pressed back onto the bed.
"Sister Cheng, we don't need these formalities between us! My surname is Guo, and my given name is Qinglan. If you consider me a friend, just call me Sister Qinglan!"
After all, they had all experienced a thrilling night together, and Cheng Ruyi knew that the magistrate's wife was a straightforward and frank person, so she stopped being coy.
"Then I shall respectfully accept your offer, Sister Qinglan. Thank you for saving my daughter, and thank you for saving so many children!"
"I should be the one saying that! We really owe you a lot this time. Xiuwei is my only daughter. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to her!"
As Guo Qinglan spoke, she took her daughter's hand and exclaimed, "And it's not just you, I also want to thank Xiao Yunle. Xiuwei told me that if Xiao Yunle hadn't bravely used a poisoned dart to injure the thief and generously shared her pastries and candied fruits with everyone, the children probably wouldn't have survived until we came to rescue them! She's such a good child!"
"Sister Qinglan, you're too kind. It's clearly Xiuwei who's taking care of everyone. I should be thanking Xiuwei on Yunle's behalf!"
Watching the two exchange thanks, Xiaoyu couldn't help but interject, "Stop thanking each other! Why don't you thank me? You two wouldn't have won without me!"
"Yes, yes, yes! You're absolutely right! This is all thanks to you, Guo Xiaoyu. We should all thank you! Is that alright?"
The atmosphere in the room was very harmonious, and the friendship between a group of girls with similar personalities and common interests was rapidly growing.
After a bit of playful fighting, Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but ask the question that mattered most to her: "Have all the other children been found? Have they located their hideout? What does the magistrate plan to do with the Zheng family?"
"Don't worry, the children have all been found. The thieves knew something was wrong, so they all split up and fled after a short distance. Xiaoyu found the children in a grove of trees not far outside the north city."
After Guo Qinglan finished speaking, she wanted to take a sip of water, but Guo Xiaoyu couldn't wait to continue: "There were three cars in total, and they didn't dare to take the main road, so they were naturally slow. I caught up with them in a few moments, but unfortunately, all the thieves escaped!"
"As for the Zheng family, they've all been imprisoned awaiting trial. I asked Luo Xian, and he said they didn't find any special evidence at the Zheng family's residence, and the Zheng family patriarch has already confessed and signed the confession. I estimate the case will ultimately end like this..."
She had known Luo Xian for ten years and knew very well that his style of solving cases was to downplay major issues and make minor issues disappear. He was best at whitewashing things, and no matter what happened, nothing was more important than his own future.
After listening, Cheng Ruyi felt that things were not over yet, and the most important evidence was that she had not received any notification that the main quest was completed.
Of course, she couldn't explain all of this directly to everyone, so after thinking for a moment, she said, "Actually, I think there must be a much larger force behind the Zheng family. The Zheng family might just be one link in the chain, and the whole matter may be more complicated than we imagine..."
"Because this is a project that spans a very long period of time and requires a considerable amount of manpower and resources, they must have been looking for a suitable location around our county town for a long time. After finding the underground cave, they decided to buy the most suitable house closest to the north of the town and start digging the tunnel. So it took at least half a year from planning to implementation."
"How much is Zheng Jiacheng's house in the north of the city worth? How much does it cost to open an antique shop? How much did they spend building the lantern mountain and hiring a theatrical troupe? They spent so much time and money just to capture thirty-odd children to sell? How much could they possibly get for them? It's a huge loss-making business! They must have something else in mind."
"Furthermore, the guards of the Zheng family and the people responsible for transporting supplies in the cave are clearly not the same group of people. That scarred man doesn't look like a good person, and given their clear hierarchy, it's highly likely he's a bandit!"
In today's chaotic world, there are many people who have lost their homes and become displaced. Many people have hardened their hearts and become bandits, establishing strongholds and engaging in robbery and murder.
"Speaking of which, what about that scarred man and his men? Have they given anything away?"
Guo Qinglan and Guo Xiaoyu were both shocked by Cheng Ruyi's words and broke out in a cold sweat.
After hearing the question, Guo Xiaoyu was silent for a moment, then said in a muffled voice, "They were all silenced... When I returned to the tunnel, they were already dead. They were all killed with a single blow. He was a master knife user... I guess he was about as skilled as me!"
This time, Cheng Ruyi was shocked. It turned out that there was a master hiding in the shadows all along, but she didn't know why the master hadn't made a move against them.
A sense of crisis washed over her. She was far too weak right now. She needed to complete the mission and use the rewards to improve her strength as soon as possible. Otherwise, she might not always have someone to help her when she encountered danger in the future!
Cheng Ruyi persuaded Guo Qinglan to meet at the county government office two hours later, and then explore the Zheng family and the underground cave again to find more clues.
After resting for most of the day, she had almost recovered her energy, and luckily the injuries were concentrated in her left hand. Although it still hurt, it did not affect her mobility.
Time was of the essence, so she lavishly drank an entire pot of diluted spiritual spring water mixed with Nourishing Meridian Pills. The spiritual energy was so rich it seemed to reach the top of her head! Almost instantly after drinking it, she felt the pain in her wound lessen. No wonder, the effects of products from the cultivation world are just that amazing!
During this time, she also ate a nutritious meal carefully prepared by her family. Of course, she secretly added some crushed fasting pills to it, since she didn't know how long the investigation would take and didn't want to burden everyone because she was hungry and lacked energy.
Afterwards, she mixed and made dozens of rough versions of "moisturizing energy candy pills" with the combination of Nourishing Pulse Pill, Bigu Pill, spiritual spring water and candied fruit for emergencies. Of course, she also brought along life-saving artifacts such as peach wood sword, invisibility talisman, and red thorn poison thorn, and even water-repelling beads!
Before leaving, Cheng Ruyi made a point of checking the current progress of the mission.
Task Details:
Main quest: ??? (Incomplete)
Side Quest 1: Rescue Cheng Yunle (Completion Level: A)
Side Quest 2: Rescue Luo Xiuwei (Completion Level: A)
Side Quest 3: Capture Fan Sheng, the bandit leader of Hungry Wolf Stronghold (Completion: C)
Note: Both side quests and main quests will have a significant impact on the future, so please approach them with caution.
According to the system's description, all the side quests have been completed. Since the bandits have all been silenced, the completion rate of quest three is not high. However, at least she now knows that these people are from Hungry Wolf Village, which is a small gain.
As for the main quest, there are no hints yet. It's likely that, just as she guessed, the mastermind behind the whole thing needs to be found before it can be considered complete.
This task seems extremely difficult, and I don't know if I can complete it successfully.
After everything was prepared, she changed into light and easy-to-move clothes, and amidst the worried and reluctant gazes of her family, she quickly ran out of the house and headed towards the county government office.
It's unclear how Guo Qinglan persuaded Luo Xian, but in the end, besides the three of them, Peng, the registrar, and a group of yamen runners were also among the people who went to search the Zheng family's residence.
Upon arrival at their destination, they split into two groups. Cheng Ruyi and Peng Zhubu led the constables to continue searching the Zheng residence, while Guo Qinglan and her companion went to the underground cave to look for clues.
“I was also present when the Zheng family’s evidence was searched, and there were many guards from the Zhou family among them. Indeed, no special evidence was found. If you hadn’t brought the child directly out of the room through the tunnel, we probably wouldn’t have been able to convict you at all.”
Peng, the registrar, went to Cheng Ruyi's side and told her what happened after she fainted: "Magistrate Luo is not a stupid person. On the contrary, he must have guessed something, so he just wanted to protect himself and stay out of it. If it weren't for the pressure from Master Zhou and Madam Luo, he probably would have closed the case hastily long ago."
Even though Cheng Ruyi had not experienced the ancient imperial examinations, she had at least experienced the modern college entrance examination. She naturally understood that someone who could pass through numerous selections and emerge from thousands of competitors to become a Jinshi could not possibly be a fool.
Does having knowledge alone guarantee one's ability to be a good official?
"Master Zhou's righteousness is truly admirable! I admire him immensely."
As they talked and searched, they unknowingly arrived at the Zheng family's study. As soon as Cheng Ruyi saw the layout, she felt something was wrong.
The study was actually located in the east partition of the second courtyard. Theoretically, it should be the same size as the west partition opposite it, but the study was much narrower than the west partition.
Haha, she knows this trick all too well!
Then Peng, the registrar, saw the woman beside him, who had just been so composed, suddenly rush into the study excitedly, touching everything around her. She would climb onto the cabinet and touch the beams, and then lie down under the desk and tap on the wooden board.
Coming to his senses, he asked with a puzzled look, "Madam Cheng, what's wrong...?"
"Found it!"
Cheng Ruyi noticed a jade lotus flower ornament prominently displayed on the last bookshelf, and her inner radar was instantly triggered.
She walked quickly over, grabbed the lotus ornament with one hand, and turned it clockwise with force. A familiar "click!" sound came from the wall next to the bookshelf.
The TV series is truly amazing, I'm adding another one to the list!
Cheng Ruyi couldn't help but sigh inwardly at this moment!
"This...this is a secret chamber!" Peng, the registrar, was no stranger to such things, and wasn't overly surprised, though his tone was somewhat excited: "Excellent! The crucial evidence must be inside! Men, guard the entrance!"
Without any hesitation, the two quickly entered the secret room one after the other.
The interior was small, only about four or five square meters, and very cramped. The first thing that caught their eyes was the brazier on the ground, which was filled with a thick layer of ashes.
Registrar Peng rushed over immediately and emptied the ashes from the brazier, trying to find evidence that the ashes had not yet burned completely.
Cheng Ruyi then walked to the desk on the other side, and unsurprisingly found the hidden compartment in the usual spot. She gently pushed it open and found a familiar black jade plaque and a piece of paper.
She looked down at the jade pendant in her hand, feeling as if she were being manipulated by fate. Her thoughts were in complete disarray, so she decided to open another piece of paper to see what was written on it.
The huge sheet of paper contained only four short lines of text:
White Lotus Sect
Salvation and salvation
Those who join my faith
One can attain eternal life
...What the hell is this? A legendary cult?
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