Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 176 Like Smoke Discusses Crimes
Chang Ping'an didn't speak, but counted the number of people in the cell; there were seven in total.

When the seven people saw someone coming, most of them rushed excitedly to the iron fence, opening their mouths wide, but could only make hoarse "ah ah" sounds, as if they had been poisoned and rendered mute.

"What's going on with them?"

Chang Ping'an tilted his head slightly, looked at the yamen runner, and asked with an unfriendly gaze.

The constable shuddered and humbly protested, "My lord, please understand! This was Zhou's idea. He wanted to invite the two immortals to the mansion, and he was afraid they would make a ruckus, so he gave them a drug to make them mute. It really...it really has nothing to do with me!"

Chang Ping'an frowned and looked around carefully again, discovering that all seven people were men, with not a single woman among them.

If I remember correctly, the escort team that passed through Bailuquan Village should have had at least ten people.

"I have some medicine here. Share it with everyone and cure the muteness first."

As Chang Ping'an spoke, he took out several bottles of pre-packaged Kudzu Root Soup from his Qiankun Bag.

Then, he cupped his hands in a gesture of reassurance to the crowd, saying, "I am Chang Ping'an, a disciple of the White Stone Immortal Sect. This Pingding County is the fiefdom of my junior sister, Princess Xing. The princess has sent people to take over and deal with the chaos here. Magistrate Zhou has fled in fear of punishment, and the demon has been subdued by my White Stone Immortal Sect. Please rest assured, this matter will be thoroughly investigated to give you all an explanation!"

The first middle-aged man to drink the kudzu root soup first made two "ah ah" sounds, then touched his throat and finally regained his ability to speak. He hurriedly stepped out of the cell, knelt down with a thud, and bowed:

"Thank you so much, Master Chang, for saving my life! But my sister was taken away by them a few days ago, and we don't know where she is now. I beg you, Master Chang, to find her and save my sister!"

The one speaking was none other than Chief Escort Gong, the leader of the Golden Toad Escort Agency team.

In fact, several months ago, after the White Stone Martial Arts Tournament at the Sword Casting Manor, the name "Chang Xiao Shenxian" and "White Stone Immortal Sect" had spread throughout the martial arts world.

He defeated the renowned Grandmaster Mu in one move, and later, during the Immortal Destiny Conference, he was also rumored to be the first disciple of the White Stone Immortal. As a person who had been traveling the martial arts world for many years, Gong, the镖头 (bodyguard), had heard many rumors about him.

When Gong Biaotou saw that the young man in front of him, who was called "Immortal Master", not only had an extraordinary temperament, but could also "conjure" "immortal medicine" out of thin air and instantly cure everyone's muteness, he thought that with such ability, plus his self-proclaimed "disciple of the White Stone Immortal Sect" and also called "Chang Ping'an", he could only think of the famous "Little Immortal Chang".

Upon hearing Chief Escort Gong mention "Little Immortal Chang," everyone suddenly realized what was going on and knelt down one after another. Some even wept uncontrollably, crying out, "That damned Magistrate Zhou took my wife and daughter away, and their whereabouts are still unknown. We beg Little Immortal Chang to do us justice!"

"He stole all five hundred strings of cash worth of my goods!"

"He also seized a cartload of iron swords from me!"

Hearing everyone recounting Zhou Wenfang's wickedness, Chang Ping'an looked at the constable again and questioned, "What's going on here?"

The constable trembled with fright and knelt down with a thud, his teeth chattering as he said, "It's...it has nothing to do with me! I've only heard that some women were indeed assigned to the county to be married off, but I...I don't know the details!"

As he spoke, the constable's face grew even more mournful, and he lowered his head, not daring to look at Chang Ping'an, saying, "I was only responsible for guarding the place. All the important matters were handled by that Zhou's cronies! Please, Immortal Master, see the truth!"

Chang Ping'an knew this wasn't the time to punish the constables, so he took a deep breath and pressed on, "Where are his cronies?" The constables hurriedly replied, "Most of them escaped through the secret passage with that Zhou fellow, but one of them isn't on duty today, so he's probably still at home!"

Chang Ping'an's face turned cold: "Lead the way!"

After the constables responded, Chang Ping'an turned back and cupped his hands before leaving, instructing everyone, "We don't know how chaotic things are in the county right now. You are all witnesses and victims, so please bear with us and stay here for now. I will find some men and come back to help you in a while!"

Head镖公 readily agreed, patting his chest and guaranteeing, "The previous attack was caused by that demon. Since the demon was subdued by Immortal Chang, and the 'immortal medicine' restored our true qi cultivation, we have nothing to fear. Immortal Chang, rest assured, I, Gong Laosan, will risk my life to protect these people!"

"Ah."

Chang Ping'an nodded and hurriedly left the dungeon with the constables.

As soon as the two left the county government office, the chirping of birds began again overhead. Chang Ping'an looked up and saw that it was indeed the paper puppet bird that his master had given him, circling above his head.

Seeing that Chang Ping'an had noticed him, the paper puppet bird landed and fluttered its wings in front of him. Then, a familiar sound came from the paper puppet bird's beak—

"Senior Brother, I have obtained the Emperor's decree and borrowed two thousand Shuntian troops from General Heshilie to surround Pingding County. We have also captured more than a dozen suspicious people. Please come to the government office as soon as possible!"

Chang Ping'an rarely heard Murong Ruyan speak in such a serious tone. He was stunned for a moment, and only when the paper puppet bird turned back into a paper bird and floated down did he suddenly realize what was happening. He hurriedly put the paper puppet bird away and rushed to the front yard of the government office with the yamen runners.

Upon arriving at the main gate, they indeed saw Murong Ruyan, dressed in an unusually luxurious palace gown, accompanied by several guards, who were watching over a group of more than a dozen people with unpleasant expressions.

The giant hammer she was standing on the ground clashed with her pink outfit, making her look rather strange.

Seeing Chang Ping'an rush over, Murong Ruyan nodded slightly as a greeting, then pointed to the group of people who were tied up and left at the entrance of the county government office and asked, "Senior brother, can you identify this person as the county magistrate?"

Chang Ping'an looked closely and sure enough, among those who were tied up was Magistrate Zhou!
"That's him! This scoundrel is extremely vicious and must not be let off lightly!"

Chang Ping'an said bitterly.

Murong Ruyan nodded: "Alright, we'll decide his crime later, let's start with the lesser offense!"

Chang Ping'an was somewhat puzzled: "A minor offense?"

Murong Ruyan curled her lips and replied, "Where there's a generous reward, there will be brave men. I'll order the people of the county to expose each other's crimes, reward them with a thousand taels of gold, and allow them to move to the newly established Baishi County at the foot of Baishi Mountain. They'll naturally start fighting amongst themselves!"

Chang Ping'an scratched his head in bewilderment, finding the argument utterly strange: "The people of this county... are they guilty?"

Murong Ruyan's eyes turned sinister as she said, "Otherwise what? Can the county magistrate act so recklessly on his own? I think these people are all fat and bloated. Killing them all might be a miscarriage of justice, but killing every other one will only result in some escaping!"

(End of this chapter)