Yun Shiyi nodded solemnly, "He is a half-human, half-beast monster who survived countless hardships."
Lin Yinan carefully examined the wounds on their bodies, gently tearing open the fur on one of the corpses, revealing that the wounds were already festering and ulcerated.
"So, they died from wound infections?"
By this time, Yun Shiyi's mood had calmed down considerably. He slowly said as if recalling something, "Human traffickers would cut their skin and, while the wounds were still healing, stick animal fur on them. When the wounds healed, the animal fur would be stuck together."
"If they survive, the traffickers will train them to mimic various actions and then travel to towns and cities to perform for money. These modified orcs don't live long."
Lin Yinan: "So, they continued to look for lone children in the towns where they performed."
It turns out that such things existed in ancient times; these corpses clearly did not survive the infection.
She glanced at Yun Shiyi, whose expression remained normal but whose eyes held sorrow, and asked, "Are you alright?"
“When I was little, I had an older brother. He died at the hands of human traffickers who mutilated and cut off parts of my body in an attempt to save me.”
"Then let them go."
Lin Yinan patted his shoulder, got up and walked outside. She could already hear the sound of many people walking upstairs, which should mean that Chen Gu and the others had arrived.
The guards brought a bundle of dry grass and covered the corpses with it.
Yun Shiyi walked over to the unconscious human traffickers and drew his sword to sever their tendons in one by one.
The lady is right. Then we should not let them go. Even if they are lucky enough to survive in the future, they will not be able to do evil again.
As she approached, the children stood trembling at the cell door, all looking at her.
Lin Yinan doesn't know how many of these children have been exposed to the atrocities committed by human traffickers.
In ancient times, there was no diagnosis or psychological counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder. Even if these children had problems, no one would pay attention to them. At most, they would just be given some sedatives.
Three men in black, armed with knives, rushed into the passage. They were Yun Shiyi's bodyguards who had been left outside. The children were so frightened by the sight that they quickly shrank back.
"Madam, Young Master Chen and the county magistrate and his yamen runners have arrived."
Lin Yinan ordered one of his guards to carry out the stones and soil, then called Shan Que and was about to leave when Chen Gu and the county magistrate rushed in with more than a dozen men.
"Lord Lin, have you found the person?" Chen Gu asked, his brows furrowed.
"Found it. The rest is up to the magistrate and Young Master Chen. We'll head out now."
Seeing that she looked tired, Chen Gu did not ask any further questions. He instructed the county magistrate to direct the yamen runners to take the children out and ordered his subordinates to clean up the scene promptly.
A moment later, a subordinate came to report, "Young master, this is the very place where the human traffickers harvested and mutilated the animals. We have discovered the bodies of three children."
"How dare they do this on Chen's territory? Who gave them the guts?" Chen Gu gritted his teeth in anger.
The magistrate dared not breathe and nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, I will certainly interrogate him thoroughly."
"Take all these people back to the yamen and keep them under close guard."
Lin Yinan left the backyard, where the man selling pork in the front yard had been subdued by Chen Gu's men, and the constables were now bound hand and foot and kneeling on the ground.
Hearing someone come out, he looked up and recognized Lin Yinan, saying fiercely, "So it's you!"
"The boss is quite something. He runs a legitimate business on the surface, but secretly he's doing these heinous things. It's a pity he didn't use his clever brain for good," Lin Yinan said disdainfully.
The butcher struggled, shouting, "I'm innocent!"
Yun Shiyi loathed this beastly human trafficker. Seeing his continued arrogance, she kicked him to the ground, knocking out two of his front teeth. Blood streamed from his mouth, but he dared not utter a sound.
Outside the gate, people stood pointing and whispering about him.
All the rescued children were taken to the yamen (government office). Including Shan Que and Shi Tu, there were a total of nineteen children, seven more than expected.
Upon seeing the children being brought back, the parents outside the county government office rushed forward, crying and wailing, all trying to pull their children away.
Some children were so frightened that they instinctively hid when they saw their emotionally agitated family members. Fearing that someone might claim the money fraudulently, the yamen runners promptly stopped the crowd and told them to wait for the magistrate to return before making a decision.
Upon hearing what was happening in the city, Sparrow Girl and Stone Girl, who were guarding outside the city gate, rushed to the county government office without waiting for the secret guards to inform them.
The magistrate returned to the county office and, without even having a sip of water, immediately began court proceedings.
The first thing to do is to let the parents take their children back. The children in Changyi County have not been missing for long and have not been seriously injured. The younger ones have been given sleeping pills and are still unconscious. The doctor has also come to check and there is nothing seriously wrong.
Shi Tu suffered a mild concussion, but fortunately he is alright and has already woken up.
The remaining seven children had been detained for a relatively long time and had suffered a great deal of trauma. Only after asking two of the older children did we learn that they were from counties and towns under the jurisdiction of Nanzhou Prefecture. The other five children looked blank and knew nothing when asked anything.
Finally, the five children were temporarily taken in by the county government, and would be handed over to the local government when the traffickers were transferred to Nanzhou Prefecture.
After resolving the issue with the child, they began interrogating the human traffickers.
The butcher was the first to bring the pork up, and as soon as he did, he started wailing and kowtowing to the magistrate.
"My lord! I'm innocent! I've been wronged!"
He cried with snot and tears streaming down his face. Two of his front teeth had been kicked out by Yun Shiyi, and his face was covered in filth.
The magistrate slammed his gavel, "How dare you! The evidence is overwhelming, yet you still try to deny it!"
The butcher was startled and then said, "Please investigate, sir. Half a year ago, a wandering swordsman rented the courtyard next to mine. He paid promptly, including the deposit and a year's rent, so I rented the long-abandoned courtyard to him."
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