The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 34 Teacher-Student Dialogue
When Atu saw the stinky shoe that could kill a rat, he instinctively held his breath.

She covered her nose and exclaimed in disgust, "Ah! Ah! Master, did you fall into a cesspool?"

Gan Minglan said in a serious tone:

"Your Majesty, an opportunity has come for you to display your great power. It remains to be seen whether you can seize it."

The little rascal's eyes darted around, and it crossed its paws over its chest.

"Chirp, chirp! Call me King when you need me, and call me A-Tu when you don't!"

Gan Minglan nodded in agreement:
"King Atu, you should be glad you're still useful! I heard that it snows heavily in the border region during the winter months. If you had a rat-skin scarf, it would be very warm!"

A-Tu was so frightened that he trembled:
"Aww, Master, how could you say such heartless words? Just tell me what you need, and Atu will do it for you!"

Gan Minglan: "."

Why do you have to keep the skin of a perfectly good mouse so tightly bound every day?

Her gaze fell on the glossy fur, and she felt a pang of regret.

A-Tu's short tail bristled again after being scrutinized by her.

He no longer dared to despise that suffocatingly smelly shoe, and slowly moved closer to her.

It was still lying on the ground with its belly exposed.

Gan Minglan doesn't have time to pet the mouse right now.

He quickly sketched the four members of Zuo Wenxuan's family.

Finally, pointing to the stinky shoe, he said:

"Don't worry about the smell. We don't know where these four people have been kidnapped yet. This smell will help you find them."

Atu: "Hmph, just wait until I find these villains who made me smell my stinky shoes."

"Your mission is to find them! Your claws can't be used again until you reach the border. Otherwise, your master and my entire family might be beheaded."

Atu:

This place called Bei is much better than the post-apocalyptic world overrun by zombies. Master must not die!

Sigh, this clean-loving mouse must have nightmares for countless nights just from smelling a stinky shoe.

He was cursing under his breath, but his little short tail was wagging rapidly behind him.
When the officials saw that the pork seller had returned in less than 15 minutes, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Gan Minglan couldn't help but find it amusing.

Her mother-in-law, husband, and son are all here; where else can she go?
He simply nodded to the two leaders, indicating that the other party had accepted the order.

Before the leader surnamed Huang could even grin, the thought that the public funds they had borrowed from Daming Prefecture would soon be reduced by another hundred taels made his mouth droop again.

The pain in my heart is beyond words.

Today's food was absolutely terrible.

One bowl of thin porridge for each person.

The older men frowned:

“Sir, we have to walk fifty miles a day. If we drink this, we’ll just pee ourselves out! We won’t be able to walk if we don’t have the strength.”

The official who served them food glared at them coldly.
"Where are you going? If you don't bring Zuo Wenxuan and his family back today, you can all be executed on the spot! You might even be served your last meal in a couple of days."

What?! A last meal before execution!
Everyone was quite frightened by these words.

Exile was a lesser offense than the death penalty.

Are they going to suffer double punishment?
At this point, let alone thin porridge, even if a feast of fish and meat were placed in front of them, they would not be able to eat it!

Luo held the hand of her daughter-in-law, who had just returned from running errands for the officials.

He asked nervously, "Did they agree?"

Gan Minglan quietly handed her a purslane bun that she had steamed and cooled in the space in the early morning.

They gave another one to Fatty.

He whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, they've already set off to look for them."

Only then did light return to Luo's eyes.

She assumed the steamed bun was a reward from her daughter-in-law for doing favors for the officials.

Holding it tightly in her hand, she whispered, "How many are there?" Gan Minglan rolled her eyes inwardly, "I've saved one for my husband. I'll give it to him when I have the chance."

Leaving aside the Zuo clan members, it's clear how Zuo Wenxuan's family lived in constant fear.

Meanwhile, on King Atu's side...

It was bewildered after being placed outside the post station.

This post station was built at a crossroads, with no towns or villages nearby.

The smell of the owner of the smelly shoes was blown away by a gust of wind in such an open space.

A-Tu was so angry that he waved his rat-like fist in the air.

what!what!what!
The owner is really making things too difficult for the mouse.

It curses her to give birth to a little devil who will torment her!

The pitiful A-Tu wailed repeatedly.

In the end, he had no choice but to release his supernatural perception abilities.

Trying to catch the last trace of human scent remaining in the air.
at the same time.

It was in a small village about sixty miles away from the post station.

The five men, carrying four burlap sacks, quietly entered the best building in the village—the ancestral hall.

They disregarded their fatigue, hastily ate a few mouthfuls of dry rations, and immediately began the interrogation.

Of the four family members who had been drugged, the couple were simultaneously awakened by being splashed with cold water.

When Lady Lü opened her eyes, she witnessed a scene that she would never forget.

Her husband, Zuo Wenxuan, was like a hairless pig, naked and hanging upside down from the beam of the ancestral hall with his legs spread apart.

Its head was three feet off the ground.

Seeing her astonished expression, someone kindly asked, "Madam, your husband is so thin and weak, how can he possibly satisfy you in bed?"

Lady Lü was so frightened that her limbs went limp on the ground, and her mind went completely blank.
After waking up, Zuo Wenxuan quickly realized his predicament.

They also recognized a familiar voice among the group.

He couldn't believe his ears:

"Cao Liu, is Cao Liu here?"

"Hehe, having spent seven days with you, sir, you must find it hard to forget Cao Liu's voice for the rest of your life."

"Since you call me 'sir,' why are you treating me like this? Put me down!"

"The sect leader has given orders, and Cao Liu has no choice but to offend you, sir! I would like to ask you, sir, if you would allow me to complete the mission smoothly?"

"You, what do you want to do?"

"I don't want to do anything, I just want to borrow your family's secret map!"

"Secret map? What secret map? I've never heard of it."

“Sir, Cao Liu advises you to be sensible and hand over your family’s secret map as soon as possible, so that my brothers can let you go back sooner.”

Zuo Wenxuan's head was congested with blood, but he was perfectly conscious:

"Cao Liu, believe me, I really don't know what this secret map you're talking about is!"

"Sir, don't try to fool me. As the only direct descendant of the Zuo clan, who else could your patriarch entrust with such a secret map if not you?"

Zuo Wenxuan hurriedly cried out his innocence:

"My grandfather hadn't seen us for three months before he took his own life. Now our whole family's lives are in your hands, and I wouldn't dare lie to you even if I had the guts of a bear and the gall of a leopard!"

I swear on the ancestors of my Zuo clan for eighteen generations, I truly, truly have no idea what this secret map you're talking about is.”

Cao Liu and the others listened to his curses and oaths for a quarter of an hour.

Patience ran out.

The Life-Taking Sect disciple who assisted the thieves in committing the crime eagerly gripped the knife in his hand.

First, shut the other person's incessant chatter up, then slashed at his thigh.
(End of this chapter)