Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Walk, through the darkness, from familiar places to unfamiliar ones.

The vast majority of them never left Xunxian Town in their entire lives.

But on this day, they followed the soldiers and walked along the rugged mountain path, leaving the place that had nurtured them for half their lives and imprisoned them for the other half.

All Chunxing knew was that when they passed a large rock, someone next to her said, "After passing this rock, you'll be out of Xunxian Town."

She felt apprehensive, but even more so, she was filled with anticipation.

Once Meng Changqing led the person out of Xunxian Town, his mission was considered complete.

As she was wiping the blood off her knife, she saw Zheng Jie, wearing a cloak, walking briskly towards her.

Before the other party could speak, Meng Changqing, as the subordinate official, had to speak first, "Lord Zheng, why did you come here in person?"

Once outside Xunxian Town, torches and lanterns could be lit, providing bright light. Zheng Jie naturally noticed the bloodstains on Meng Changqing's knife. "Was the trip smooth?"

Meng Changqing replied, "It went smoothly. We took a secluded path on the way there and no one noticed us, but on the way out we could only take this relatively flat road. We encountered checkpoints and killed people along the way, but fortunately no one on our side was injured or killed."

"Could it be discovered by people from other villages?" Zheng Jie asked again.

Meng Changqing had to consider this question carefully before answering, "Most likely not. When we came out, we had already killed everyone we encountered along the way, so they had no chance to inform us."

Zheng Jie nodded. "Are all the people from Laoman Village here?"

Meng Changqing called over Lao Man, who had just finished counting the number of people, and asked, "The prefect is asking if everyone in your village is here."

Old Man's expression was strange. After hesitating, he said, "Yes, they're all here, not one missing."

Meng Changqing didn't believe Zheng Jie hadn't seen through such an obvious lie, but he still said, "In that case, let's move on to the next step, Magistrate Luo!"

"Hey! Here he comes!" Luo Mao emerged from the crowd, sword in hand. "Magistrate Luo, it's your turn," Zheng Jie said.

"Yes," Luo Mao replied, then added, "Sir, I would like to borrow the old men for a while. After all, they have lived there for many years and know the local terrain very well..."

Before he could finish explaining his reasons, Zheng Jie said, "Just name the people you need."

Luo Mao nodded and pulled Lao Man aside.

They were quite far apart, and with so many people and so much noise, Meng Changqing couldn't hear what they were talking about. But soon, Lao Man pointed out a few young men of similar age to him, and they followed Luo Mao into Xunxian Town.

This time, Luo Mao led his troops in along the same path that Meng Changqing and the others had taken.

Logically speaking, the magistrate would never personally lead the troops to suppress the bandits.

But there was no other way. The prefect had come in person and was keeping watch outside Xunxian Town. The soldiers under his command were borrowed from other county magistrates. Luo Mao had to do something, no matter what.

"Magistrate Meng, this way please." Zheng Jie led Meng Changqing to the makeshift thatched hut. "What's the situation inside?"

Meng Changqing recalled as he spoke, “It was not very clear in the darkness of night. I only knew that there were many trees and bushes, and the villages should be quite far apart. When Lao Man gathered everyone to leave, he made quite a commotion, but no one came to investigate.”

Chu Mufeng passed by the thatched hut and saw Meng Changqing nod at him before moving aside.

"Have you ever seen the traps in Xunxian Town?" Zheng Jie asked.

"No, Old Man led the way and we avoided it all the way."

Zheng Jie rubbed his hands together, "I hope Prefect Luo will return victorious."

Meng Changqing quickly echoed, "Yes." (End of Chapter)