Wild cultivation begins with wielding the Taiyin talisman.

Old Ku's door finally opened.

It wasn't that Shi Zhongshan wanted to open it.

It was Han Qingluan who affixed the police station's seal to the door knocker.

She only said one sentence: "If you don't open it, I'll keep it sealed until the city lord returns."

The five clan elders' expressions changed on the spot.

Sealing off the door is more ruthless than searching it.

If the government seals off the back storeroom of the Shi family ancestral hall, the whole city will know tomorrow that the Shi family has something to hide. Once the news gets out, their century-old reputation will be severely damaged.

Shi Chongshan stared at the seal for a long time before finally raising his hand.

"open."

The door hinge rotates.

A whiff of old wood wafted out.

Ning Che walked beside Han Qingluan, his left hand on his sword, but he didn't draw it.

Old Curry is very clean.

It's excessively clean.

Rows of wooden shelves displayed family genealogies, sacrificial vessels, old plaques, and rubbings of ancestral precepts. The floor had been swept clean, and there were no piles of dust in the corners; even the window cracks had been covered with new paper.

The constables flipped through it.

There was no secret account.

There is no prescription.

There is no herb that can cure all ailments.

There wasn't a single word related to the swamp.

Even Shi Mingxin's name only appeared once on a side page of the family genealogy.

Lin Ye leaned against the doorway, his face darkening: "Did they even wipe down their ancestors' graves beforehand?"

An elder roared, "Insolence!"

Lin Ye looked at him and said, "You're older, so I'll let you say three curses first. After that, I'll consider you young."

The clan elder nearly choked on his breath.

Han Qingluan finished turning the last volume and closed the book.

She looked at Ning Che.

This time, she didn't say anything.

Upon investigation, the situation is indeed unfavorable.

The Shi family opened the door, gave you an account, searched their storeroom, and even let you into their forbidden area. If you still can't produce anything, then it will be the Shi family's turn to cry foul.

Shi Chongshan stood outside the old warehouse gate, leaning on his cane.

"Chief Constable Han, Captain Xing, have you finished the investigation?"

His voice was not high.

But all the Shi family members in the courtyard heard it.

Shi Chongshan continued, "I admit the Shi family's mistakes. Shi Mingxuan's recklessness and Shi Mingxin's absconding can all be investigated. But if you all want to say that the head of the Shi family colluded with demons and harmed the mountain guardians, you must provide evidence."

Zhao, the squad leader, immediately chimed in: "That's right. The mountain guard battalion prioritizes evidence in handling cases. Without concrete evidence, we should return to the camp and discuss this further—"

"Zhao Ban Tou".

Ning Che suddenly spoke.

Zhao, the squad leader, frowned: "What now?"

Ning Che asked, "Why are you in such a hurry about the Shi family's affairs?"

Zhao Bantou's face darkened.

Ning Che didn't look at him again, but turned around and walked to the middle of the old warehouse, reaching out to pick up the family tree.

He didn't flip through it quickly.

One page.

Two pages.

Three pages.

Shi Chongshan watched his movements and lowered his eyelids.

Ning Che stopped at the page with Shi Mingxin.

"Shi Mingxin, a member of a collateral branch of the Shi family, joined the pharmacy three years ago and traveled with the clan's traditional Chinese medicine team to the Nanqu and Caixia Village areas six years ago."

He looked up.

Why is this sentence still there?

Shi Chongshan said, "What's wrong with recording people's resumes in a family genealogy?"

"Perfect."

Ning Che closed the genealogy book and picked up a thin booklet next to it.

The investiture document contained two characters.

Family property.

This is not an official account.

It wasn't the medicine store's cash flow either.

This is something the Shi family recorded for their ancestors.

Ning Che flipped through a few pages and suddenly laughed.

Shi Chongshan stopped using his cane.

Han Qingluan immediately approached: "Is there something?"

Ning Che handed her the booklet: "There is no evidence of guilt."

The elders of the Shi family breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Che added, "But there is land."

Han Qingluan looked down.

Ning Che pointed to one of the lines.

"The Dongpo medicinal herb field, thirty mu in size, was acquired by the Shi family eighteen years ago. The person who recorded the merit is Shi Chonghai."

The courtyard fell silent.

The old debt that Song Changgeng gave was a "borrowing".

In the Shi family's property register, it is listed as "entered".

How did borrowed items become part of the family property?

Ning Che turned another page.

"The medicine transport route in the South Canal was protected by the Shi family fifteen years ago, and later the tax collection was handled by the pharmacy."

He looked up at Shi Chongshan.

"Master Shi, your ancestors were more honest in keeping accounts than your accountants."

Lin Ye was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "Good heavens, my ancestors betrayed me, I'm so filial to them."

The elders' expressions changed drastically.

The clan elder who led the way rushed forward to snatch the booklet.

Han Qingluan raised her hand, and the copper ruler pressed down on his chest.

"If you move again, arrest the person as if you were stealing evidence."

The clan elder froze.

Shi Chongshan remained silent for a long time before saying, "The clan property register is just an old record of the clan and is not used as official evidence."

Ning Che nodded: "Then let's see the official documents."

Shi Chongshan's eye twitched.

Ning Che looked at Han Qingluan: "Chief Constable Han, do we need to go to the Shi family's residence to check land deeds?"

Han Qingluan understood.

She turned and ordered, "Two clerks, go to the land registry office and retrieve the land records for the medicinal herb fields on the eastern slope for the past eighteen years. Also, send someone to the southern canal to summon the herb farmers, the village head, and the tax collectors. Go now."

"yes!"

The two constables quickly left.

Shi Chongshan finally spoke: "Chief Constable Han, things have already gotten out of hand big enough today."

Han Qingluan looked at him: "Not enough. The dead man hasn't spoken yet."

After those words were spoken, no one in the courtyard dared to respond.

Ning Che placed the family property register on the table and gently pressed his finger on the line of text.

"Master Shi, you actually did a very clean job."

"The official accounts are clean, the medicine storehouse is clean, the witnesses are gone, and Shi Mingxin has also run away."

"But some things can't be washed off."

He raised his head.

"The field is there."

"The pharmacist is there."

"The extra money paid by the South Canal every year is also there."

"You can kill an accountant, drive away Shi Mingxin, and change a book of accounts, but you can't move thirty acres of land, you can't take back fifteen years' worth of medicinal tax, and you can't shut up all the herb gatherers in Feihu City."

Shi Chongshan looked at Ning Che.

For the first time, the detached air of an elder looking at a younger person was gone from his eyes.

Zhao Bantou said coldly, "Xing, you are investigating a land dispute, not the Rat Swamp Demon case."

Ning Che turned to look at him: "Where did the Hundred-Cure Herb come from?"

Zhao, the squad leader, remained silent.

"Caixia Village"

"How do we get the grass from Caixia Village into the city?"

Zhao Bantou's face turned even uglier.

Ning Che finished speaking for him: "Take the South Canal Medicinal Herb Road."

He picked up Shi Mingxin's portrait and slapped it next to the family property register.

"Shi Mingxin was a pharmacist in charge of the medicine route along the South Canal. He forcibly collected Bai Jie Cao (a type of medicinal herb) and sent it to the rat swamp to breed miasma."

"The medicinal fields on the east slope belong to Huichuntang, the medicinal tax in the south canal was collected by the Shi family, the herb of Hundred Solutions was forced by Shi Mingxin, and the one who died in the rat swamp was the mountain guard."

"Zhao, say it again, these things are not related."

Zhao Bantou's lips moved slightly.

He didn't utter a single word.

The faces of the Shi family members in the courtyard also changed.

Not everyone knows about the Rat Swamp.

But they knew about Dongpo's medicinal herb field.

I know about the drug tax in Nanqu.

They know where the extra money in the clan has come from over the years.

Shi Bingzhu stood by the door, his grip on the iron mace tightening.

He didn't speak.

But he took a step closer to Ning Che.

This step was witnessed by all the Shi family members in the courtyard.

Shi Chongshan closed his eyes.

After a moment, he spoke: "The Shi family can return the Dongpo medicinal herb field."

Several clan elders became anxious at the same time.

"Master!"

"That's family property!"

"Cannot be returned!"

Shi Chongshan slammed his cane down heavily.

"Shut up."

The area in front of the old warehouse fell silent.

Shi Chongshan looked at Ning Che: "The medicine tax in Nanqu will be suspended from today. Over the past fifteen years, the Shi family has contributed 30% to compensate the pharmacists and another 10% to the free clinic."

A commotion arose from outside the crowd.