Chapter 92 Sweeping Them All
The powder took effect quickly, and the two men soon entered a state of weakness and inability to exert any strength.
The man who was no match for Jiang Yuan was quickly knocked unconscious by him with a stick. The man who had initially had a slight advantage was out of sorts, and Wang Yuzhi seized the opportunity to strike him between the legs with a stick.
The man was hit in a vital spot and immediately let out a scream. He was so frightened that he didn't go out to check the lights. The surrounding residents, who had already fallen asleep, rubbed their eyes and got up, carefully leaving their rooms.
Fortunately, Jiang Yuan quickly struck him on the back of the neck with a stick, stopping his inhuman, pitiful screams.
Xie Wanniang was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing.
Wang Yuzhi looked embarrassed and said, "I...I didn't mean to."
Xie Wanniang patted her, "Whether it's intentional or not doesn't matter. As the saying goes, strike the snake at its seven-inch mark. When fighting someone to the death, you have to go straight for the enemy's vital points."
Jiang Yuan, who hadn't felt uncomfortable at first, became uneasy after Xie Wanniang's words.
He pretended not to hear Xie Wanniang's horrifying words and waved to the few constables who were peeking out of the alley.
Upon receiving the signal, several constables immediately rushed over, swords in hand and ropes on their shoulders.
Meanwhile, the neighbors around the dilapidated courtyard had also checked their own narrow courtyards and found no one of unknown origin. As they breathed a sigh of relief, they all turned their attention to their own courtyard walls.
They were very curious about what was happening outside, but only a few dared to open the door or climb the wall to find out.
Most people simply hid cautiously behind their own gates, straining their ears to listen for the subtle sounds coming from the alley.
Jiang Yuan and his companions heard the slight noises coming from the various houses and noticed half a head peeking out from under the door and over the wall, but they all pretended that they hadn’t heard or seen anything.
After handing over all the kidnappers, as well as the abducted girls and boys, to the yamen runners, Xie Wanniang and the others were about to leave together when Wang Yuzhi, Zhao Yueniang, and the other rescued people surrounded the three adults and one child.
The group first bowed and kowtowed, expressing their gratitude to Xie Wanniang and the others. Then they asked for their names and addresses, saying they would bring generous gifts to visit them after reuniting with their families.
Hao Yu, Jiang Yuan, and Xiao Yang remained silent, unanimously handing the stage over to Xie Wanniang.
Xie Wanniang smiled and returned the greeting, "We appreciate everyone's sincerity, but there's no need for thank-you gifts. Everyone had a tough night, so please keep the gifts to calm your nerves."
After saying that, she walked towards the door, saying, "If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving now."
"Hey—wait a minute—" Before she could even walk through the crowd to the main gate, one of the constables who had been busy tying people up put down his work and came over to stop her.
“You can’t leave yet. After we tie up all these kidnappers, all of you,” he raised his hand and drew a circle, including everyone including Xie Wanniang and the others, “will have to come back to the county government to give statements.”
Xie Wanniang: ......
She also wanted to catch the tail end of the lantern festival to try some other snacks and buy another pretty lantern that she liked.
The yamen runners didn't care what Xie Wanniang thought. With such a major incident in Tang County, not only the yamen runners, but also their county magistrate, county lieutenant, county assistant, and others had all rushed back to their posts. How could Xie Wanniang and the others, as victims, go home and sleep soundly?
The constables figured that the traffickers must also really want to find all the human traffickers, so they probably wouldn't mind staying up all night.
Xie Wanniang, who couldn't leave, was a little depressed, but the girls who were reluctant to part with her couldn't help but smile.
Her excellent medical skills and Wang Yuzhi's superb martial arts skills truly gave the girls a sense of security tonight.
Soon the constables tied up all the traffickers, and in order to facilitate the transport and avoid alerting them as much as possible, they also asked the yamen to send a carriage over.
All the human traffickers, bound hand and foot, were thrown into the carriages by the yamen runners. Xie Wanniang and the others, as the victims, were accompanied by Jiang Yuan, Hao Yu, Xiao Yang, and one of the yamen runners, and boarded two oxcarts that the yamen runners had somehow acquired.
The vehicle moved slowly forward, taking them together to the main hall of the county government office, where the gates were tightly closed, but several lamps were lit inside, and everyone was on high alert.
As the person who made the greatest contribution to this anti-trafficking operation, Xie Wanniang was fortunate enough to be personally questioned by the county magistrate.
Xie Wanniang was polite but not at all shy. She explained in detail that she smelled an odor and subconsciously held her breath. Then she used the trick to let the kidnappers drag her away, which led her to their hideout. Finally, she cooperated with the constables, Jiang Yuan, and Hao Yu to capture all the kidnappers involved in the operation.
The young girl was articulate and spoke concisely and logically about what had happened. Most importantly, she was not at all reserved in front of him, the county magistrate, which made the magistrate very curious.
However, his top priority right now is to find out the other hideouts and accomplices of these traffickers as soon as possible. There is simply no extra time for him to investigate the background of a little girl.
After sending Xie Wanniang away, the magistrate had Wang Yuzhi summoned.
After personally questioning the two most important victims, the magistrate went to the jailer's quarters where the kidnappers were being dealt with and squatted down.
He, along with the county magistrate, the county constable, and his own legal advisor, needed to break down the kidnappers' defenses as quickly as possible and find out their other accomplices and hideouts before dawn.
As for Xie Wanniang, after meeting up with Hao Yu, Jiang Yuan, and Xiao Yang, who had already been questioned about what happened, the four of them bid farewell to the other victims and returned to Hao Yu's house in the county town.
After all that running around, the four of them were exhausted and hungry, especially Xie Wanniang, who had done a lot of work tonight.
After hastily eating two pieces of walnut pastry and drinking most of a bowl of warm water, Xie Wanniang quickly finished washing up and went back to her room to catch up on sleep while holding Xiao Yang.
Hao Yu, Jiang Yuan, and Xiao Yang also ate first and then washed up. The four of them slept on the warm earthen bed until the sun was high in the sky, and then at about the same time, they were forced to open their eyes and get up because they were too hungry.
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