After the immortal disappeared

Every breath people took in the early morning was like standing in a paradise, and all their pain and fatigue were driven away. Even after taking the spiritual juice, they were no longer hungry, and their desire for food was greatly reduced.

However, Tu Shanfang's night attack had to be interrupted, and during the day, Guo Baiyu would often attack.

The war and the spiritual rain made this miraculous half month something Fan Shuang would never forget.

That afternoon, as soon as he got home, Father Fan pulled him aside and whispered:

"There's something wrong. Can you help me with some advice? You know that I have a good relationship with Liu Jixu from the county government, right?"

"Yes, what's wrong?" Liu Jixu's real name is Liu Honghua. He writes notices and notes for Huang Xianshou in the county government, doing clerical work. Both of them are educated people and are of similar age. He and Fan's father get along well and always eat and chat together. In the past, when food was not scarce, they often went to have a drink after get off work.

"Sometimes we would talk about some secrets in the county that ordinary people don't know. Two nights ago, Liu Jixu got a jar of wine from somewhere. I hadn't drunk for a long time, so I drank two glasses with him and chatted for a while."

"What's wrong with this?"

"They were all happy to talk about other things. When the jar of wine was almost finished, Liu Jixu casually mentioned the city beast, saying that the city beast accounted for at least 70% of the credit for Miancheng's survival until now."

“That’s true.”

"It's a pity that we've suffered a lot of damage to the city beasts during the days of fighting against Guo Baiyu. Two of them were broken, and no one in our city knows how to repair them. If this one breaks, it will be troublesome."

Fan Shuang nodded. "Ten days ago, when the Guo army attacked the city, a city-guarding beast came out from the wall and bit someone. It was attacked by three strange-looking monsters. Although it killed two of them, its own neck was broken. Since then, Miancheng has been very careful when using city-guarding beasts."

These are secrets that ordinary people don't know. They work in the county government, so they can get some inside information.

Father Fan continued, "Liu Honghua then told me that County Magistrate Huang mentioned that these city beast pots were called 'Zhuoqing' and were transported from Mangzhou in Yao State. They were originally guarding the Zhengda Gate in Mangzhou and were treasures left over from the Middle Ages. After Bai Tan's rebellion, Mangzhou was also attacked. I don't know who took these city beasts away, smuggled them out of the country, and then they were bought at a high price by the Yangshan Chamber of Commerce and installed on the city walls of Miancheng."

Mangzhou was originally the second largest city in Yao State. It had been peaceful for nearly a hundred years and was prosperous. Xue Zongwu's father-in-law lived in Xiaotao Villa in Mangzhou. So it became the killing place of Emperor Jiuyou.

"Father knows?" Fan Shuang had also been to Mangzhou, but had never noticed the city beasts, because they rarely showed up.

I heard that more than a hundred years ago, the driving talismans of the city beasts had to be painted on the stone walls, which made them very easy to be destroyed. With the exquisite craftsmanship of the past hundred years, the talismans of the city beasts can be integrated with the city walls, making them almost invisible, which greatly improves the safety and makes the city beasts themselves more concealed.

"Yes! I once followed Lord Wang to inspect Mangzhou, and at that time I climbed up to the top of the city wall to see the city beasts. The city beasts of Mangzhou have lion heads and lion claws, which are very different from the Zhuoqing beasts in appearance. And the number is wrong too. There are a total of eight city beasts in Mangzhou."

Fan Shuang's heart skipped a beat when she heard this: "Wait, did you say the same thing to Liu Jixu?"

"Ah, yes." Father Fan lowered his voice, "Then Liu Jixu asked me naturally, 'It's different from here?'"

"I just said 'no', then suddenly remembered what you said before, so I swallowed the rest of the words." My son had said before, don't mention the city beast to anyone, anyone!

He held up five fingers and said, "There are so many guardian beasts in Mian City."

"I've been feeling uneasy these past two days. Thinking back, even after work, Liu Honghua would often intentionally or unintentionally bring up personnel and secrets in the county government." Father Fan laughed at himself, "Have you ever seen a normal clerk who would enthusiastically discuss these things after work?"

"...Really not." They were all working as clerks, and no one wanted to smell like a clerk after work. Fan Shuang asked again:

"Does he often ask about the county accounts?"

Father Fan thought for a moment and said, "Now that I think about it, it seems that... we have talked about it two or three times unintentionally."

Really?

"What is the origin of this Liu Honghua?"

"It seems that he is from Miancheng, otherwise County Magistrate Huang would not have employed him."

Fan Shuang said seriously, "Father, you are very alert. There is something wrong with Liu Honghua. I will go talk to Captain Tu."

The reason why he wanted to find Tu Shanfang was that the father and son would most likely have to go through Liu Jixu to see the governor of Huang County.

Tu Shanfang was frowning at a list. When he saw Fan Shuang coming, he waved and said, "Can you help me see what these two words are?"

He has learned a lot of words over the past year or so, but he still scratches his head when he encounters unfamiliar words.

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Fan Shuang lowered his head and saw that it was a prescription. The two words he pointed to were "Xiong". "This herb is used to treat internal injuries, swelling and pain, and headaches."

Then he pulled Tu Shanfang into the alley and told him in a low voice about Fan's father's suspicions.

"Liu Honghua, right?" Tu Shanfang's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he hummed, "I know."

In the evening, Tu Shanfang found Fan Shuang and told her:

"Liu Honghua is a spy."

It was indeed the case! Fan Shuang was slightly surprised: "Whose spy is he?"

"The leader of the eastern group is Ran Hao, who has now joined forces with Guo Baiyu." Tu Shanfang pointed to the west, "Liu Honghua is a devout believer in Miaozhantian, and therefore hates the Dragon God. The task assigned to him by Guo Baiyu is to collect all kinds of information about the city-guarding beasts! This secret is not recorded in the county account, but he knew that on the day when Miancheng received the city-guarding beasts, your father also went to the inspection, so he deliberately asked questions. His method of questioning was rather obscure, and no one in the mansion noticed it, except your father. Therefore, he really got a lot of secrets out of him!"

Fan Shuang was horrified. The city beasts were now the main means of defense for Miancheng. If Guo Baiyu found out, the consequences would be disastrous.

"When we caught him, he had already collected a lot of information in the city, and was going to secretly hand it over in two days! If he and Guo Baiyu succeed, the defense of Miancheng will be even more passive in the future!" Tu Shanfang patted his shoulder, "Brother Fan, you and your son have done a great job!"

Fan Shuang breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that we caught him, and it's good that the information didn't leak out!"

Sure enough, the next day, Miancheng County Magistrate Huang praised the father and son of the Fan family in public, gave them thirty taels of silver, and promoted them on the spot.

Amid the admiring and envious gazes from both inside and outside the county government, the father and son straightened their backs.