Zhao Xiaowan glanced at Hong Ying and raised her eyebrows, her lips trembling as though she were speaking.
Lu Qianjiao had her back to Zhao Xiaowan, so she heard nothing.
Hong Ying, however, heard her with absolute clarity. Zhao Xiaowan had spoken two words: "The shadow."
The one running toward them was Li Banfeng's shadow.
Sharing years of tacit understanding, Hong Ying immediately caught Xiaowan's drift.
Lu Qianjiao stared anxiously across the Boundary and asked in a low voice, "Is that Li the Seventh?"
Hong Ying suddenly looked toward the mouth of the valley and shouted, "Someone's coming!"
With Li the Seventh's fate still unknown, Lu Qianjiao felt guilty and constantly looked for ways to make amends. Hearing Hong Ying say someone was coming to the valley entrance, she hurried after her, eager to pitch in for a fight.
Hearing someone was coming, the driver grew nervous as well. Unable to pull the carriage any farther, he scurried off into the distance to hide.
Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Xiaowan fired the Dark Bridge Cannon, and the shadow instantly stepped onto the dark bridge.
More than halfway across the dark bridge, the shadow suddenly froze and peered beyond the bridge. He felt as though something was stirring within the shadows.
Was his vision playing tricks on him, or was someone really there?
The shadow wanted to observe a little longer, but time was running out.
The Dark Bridge Cannon was in poor shape, and the dark bridge was unstable; he could feel what seemed like fissures running across its surface.
The shadow sprinted off the dark bridge and handed the key to Zhao Xiaowan.
Clutching the key, Zhao Xiaowan gestured for him to hide first.
Lu Qianjiao circled the ravine entrance several times with Hong Ying and asked, "Didn't you say someone was coming? Where are they?"
Hong Ying looked all around. "Someone was definitely here just now. Maybe they were only passing through and took another detour."
Lu Qianjiao studied the footprints in the snow, then looked toward the slope ahead. "There might be an ambush on that snowy slope. I'll go check it out."
"You can't go over there!"
Before Hong Ying could finish, Lu Qianjiao had already dashed up the slope. She stepped right onto the camouflage curtain Zhao Xiaowan had spread out, nearly tumbling among the jagged rocks.
Lu Qianjiao snarled, "Which bastard set a trap here?"
Hong Ying snapped back, "Who are you cursing? There was a fierce battle here just now. That curtain was meant to conceal the battlefield!"
Lu Qianjiao paused, taken aback. "Using something this fine just to conceal a battlefield? You folks really spared no expense."
While the two tidied the curtain outside the ravine, Zhao Xiaowan wiped the key clean, praying that Li Banfeng would come out soon.
The companion dwelling gave a cough and said, "We have arrived."
As the peddler pushed his cart toward the door, Li Banfeng asked, "Senior Brother, can that old grudge between you and my wife ever be resolved?"
The peddler shook his head. "Little Brother, that's far too easy to say. Back then, two armies slaughtered each other, and all our hands were stained with blood. If a sentence or two could resolve it, how could it be called a blood feud?"
"So that means... this will have to be settled sooner or later?" Having spent some time inside the dwelling, Li Banfeng had gradually regained his senses and began to worry about what lay ahead.
The peddler fell silent for a moment before saying, "Not necessarily. The grudge between Yao Xin and me has been put to rest."
Those words brought Li Banfeng a great deal of relief.
Yao Xin had been one of his wife's top generals, and the peddler had even had Xu Han help Old Yao defend his territory, which showed that the animosity between the two had indeed been resolved.
The peddler added, "Zhao Xiaowan was the supreme commander of an army, so my grudge against her can't be resolved overnight. But Huang Yuxian and I were comrades-in-arms; that bond of brotherhood can't be forgotten either."
Who is Huang Yuxian?
Isn't Huang Yuxian the Yin Performer?
"What does Huang Yuxian have to do with my wife?"
The peddler grinned. "You'll have to ask your lady about that."
The companion dwelling opened its doors, and the peddler pushed his cart outside. Zhao Xiaowan knitted her brows. "Has my husband changed his habits? Bringing an outsider into our home, of all things."
The peddler snorted. "Younger Sister-in-law, that's hardly fair. Coming to my junior brother's place counts as a friendly visit, and I only had two cups of tea. When he came to my place and burned my house down, I didn't even hold it against him."
"What burned house?" Zhao Xiaowan was utterly baffled.
Li Banfeng stepped out of the companion dwelling. "I went to visit Senior Brother, and a fire accidentally broke out."
Zhao Xiaowan called out, summoning Hong Ying and Lu Qianjiao back. Seeing Li the Seventh and the peddler, Hong Ying and Lu Qianjiao were overjoyed. Lu Qianjiao threw her arms around the peddler and kissed him over and over. Hong Ying wanted to kiss Li Banfeng too, but Zhao Xiaowan held her back.
"Yingying, we're respectable folks. We can do our kissing after we get home."
Lu Qianjiao scoffed, "Kissing your own man—what's not respectable about that?"
With everyone reunited, it was time to bring the three-headed people to Sheqiao Village.
"Where's Che Wushang?" The peddler searched around before finally digging the driver out from under a snowdrift.
The driver got up and dusted the snow from his clothes. "I just found a spot to rest my feet. I can't haul this carriage anymore. I ran too hard just now and haven't caught my breath."
"No rush, I've got good stuff right here." The peddler mixed a bowl of grape-flavored fruit syrup for the driver, who drank it down while it was hot.
Once he finished, strength surged through the driver's body, and he hauled the carriage out of Qingshuigou.
All the way into the newland, the driver was exhausted once more. Hauling such a heavy carriage all the way to Sheqiao Village was simply too daunting. Pushing his merchandise cart, the peddler traced a circle in the snow around the Haichi old carriage.
Lu Qianjiao was stunned. "You're opening a Peddler's Path?"
The peddler nodded.
"Can that many people really be sent through?"
"One by one, slowly." The peddler opened the door to the Haichi old carriage's compartment and slipped inside.
No one knew what he did to the three-headed people within, but when he emerged, they began stepping down from the carriage one after another. Their eyes were closed, their expressions vacant, as though trapped in deep slumber.
Forming a line, they walked around the circle drawn in the snow; upon returning to the starting point, their figures vanished in the blink of an eye.
Zhao Xiaowan whispered in Li Banfeng's ear, "Husband, now that these people are on the Peddler's Path, as long as the peddler didn't botch the heading, they will reach Sheqiao Village very soon. Quickly tell our people to receive them."
Li Banfeng immediately contacted Luo Zhengnan, and Luo Zhengnan contacted Lu Chunying and Xiao Yeci. The two quickly mobilized hands to prepare food and lodging.
An hour later, the three-headed people began appearing one after another. Muddled and groggy, they wandered into the village, but before getting very far, they collapsed onto the snow, falling soundly asleep.
"What's going on here? Why are they all sleeping here!" Xiao Yeci went forward to check their breathing; they were indeed all still alive.
Xiao Yeci hurried to instruct her subordinates: "Carry them into the houses to rest."
Her men looked troubled. "Three or four of us brothers can barely lift a single one of them. If we have to carry ten thousand, won't we work ourselves to death?"
Lu Chunying frowned. "You fool! Go get the other three-headed folk to carry them! They're fellow countrymen—would they refuse to lend a hand?"
The Peddler's Path could only take in one person every ten seconds. To take in all ten thousand would require more than a full day and night.
Sitting beside the peddler, Li Banfeng asked, "Why didn't you draw a circle back on Mount Zhouzi and send them straight to Sheqiao Village?"
The peddler shook his head. "Their cultivation is inadequate. Even inside the Peddler's Path, they wouldn't be able to cross the Boundary."
"There's a Boundary inside the Peddler's Path too?"
"The Boundary is always there. While there are indeed ways to cross the Boundary within the Peddler's Path, those aren't techniques they could ever master. By going from this newland, we can skirt around into Green Water City's newland. Walking this way avoids passing through the Boundary, though it means I have to suffer quite a bit."
Sweat beaded on the peddler's forehead. Constantly maintaining the Peddler's Path took a heavy toll on him.
"Why not just send the Haichi old carriage straight into the Peddler's Path instead of ferrying them one by one?"
The peddler gave a wry smile. "The Peddler's Path can only take one person at a time. If it could take ten thousand at once, I wouldn't have to waste so much thought and sweat on so many things."
It wasn't until late the following night that every last one of the three-headed people had been delivered through the Peddler's Path.
Li Banfeng and the driver returned the Haichi old carriage to the cave, swapping it back for the driver's own carriage. The peddler sat up from the snow, having recovered a good deal of his strength.
Lu Qianjiao grumbled, "Was it really worth pushing yourself to the brink for these people? By the reckoning of the Inner States, they're Inner States royalty!"
Zhao Xiaowan sighed. "And by the reckoning of the Outer States, they've been made into sinners."
The peddler rose to his feet. "Santoucha is territory of Puluo Province, so it must follow the rules of Puluo Province. And according to Puluo Province's rules, they are human beings. Since they are human beings, they deserve to live like human beings."
His words were not long, nor was his voice loud, yet every syllable fell with resolute weight before everyone present.
Zhao Xiaowan looked at Li Banfeng. He had gained immense profits in the Outer States, yet he had poured a substantial portion of those gains into purchasing freedom for the three-headed folk. Though separated from the peddler by countless generations of seniority, he had always treated him as an equal brother—perhaps this was the very reason.
Hong Ying murmured in Zhao Xiaowan's ear, "On the matter of the three-headed folk, Seventh Brother and the peddler might be the only two in the entire world who see eye to eye."
The peddler stretched his limbs, as if suddenly remembering something. "What day is today?"
Lu Qianjiao replied, "Yesterday was the twenty-ninth of the twelfth lunar month. It's already the night of the thirtieth."
"The thirtieth already?" The peddler walked over to his cart and pulled out a calendar poster.
The calendar poster answered loudly, "It really is the thirtieth!"
Hearing how sweet the voice sounded, Lu Qianjiao huffed, "And which little wench is this now?"
Setting the calendar poster aside, the peddler retrieved a crate of canned food and a jar of liquor from the cart.
"It's the New Year. Let's have a New Year's Eve dinner." The peddler handed a can to everyone, brought out bowls for each of them, and poured the liquor.
Zhao Xiaowan and Hong Ying spread out the curtain to erect a canopy, and Lu Qianjiao built a fire in the center. Crowding around the blaze, the group ate canned food and drank liquor.
Lu Qianjiao glanced at Hong Ying and laughed. "Sitting side by side like this with you, we don't look like enemies at all."
Hong Ying gave a cold scoff. "Do you mean that?"
Lu Qianjiao sneered, "Of course not! Once this meal is done, we'll go right back to fighting to the death!"
Hong Ying eyed Lu Qianjiao. "Not that I'm looking down on you, but while I genuinely can't beat your man, if it were just you alone and I truly fought to kill, how many rounds could you last?"
Lu Qianjiao sprang up. "Then don't hold back! Let's go right now—show me how you fight to kill!"
The peddler opened a can for Lu Qianjiao. "No squabbling during the New Year. Back when two armies were at war, didn't they call a three-day truce for the New Year too?"
Hong Ying rolled her eyes at Lu Qianjiao. "I really can't be bothered with you. I'm off to drink with Seventh Brother!"
Zhao Xiaowan saw Li Banfeng downing bowl after bowl without stopping and hurried over to caution him, "Husband, don't overindulge. This liquor packs quite a punch."
"Packs quite a punch, doesn't it?" Li Banfeng patted the wine gourd.
The gourd swayed and said, "Fine liquor, absolutely full of flavor! I'll let them all have a taste in a bit."
Beside them, the driver said, "Since you can drink so much, it's all yours. I won't drink—I've got fares to haul in a bit."
Lu Qianjiao asked, "During the New Year, who's going to ride in your cart?"
The driver smiled. "At times like this, plenty of people want a ride—and they're all folks with urgent business."
A sudden thought struck Li Banfeng: if Boss Lu rode along with the driver for a couple of days, he might be able to write plenty of great stories.
Once the cans were emptied and the liquor jar scraped bottom, the peddler packed up his cart, rattled his pellet drum, and set off.
"Brother, I'll come look for you in a few days. I promised to give you something good, and I keep my word. I'll leave the rest to you. The Outer States will definitely demand an explanation, so make sure you hold your ground!"
Li Banfeng was already prepared; he reckoned Liao Zihui would come looking for him within two days.
Even if he did, Li Banfeng wasn't afraid. He had plenty of ways to deal with him.
Lu Qianjiao accompanied the peddler to sell goods, while the driver picked up his cart and returned to the properland to find work.
Li Banfeng escorted his lady and Hong Ying back into the companion dwelling. Once inside, Zhao Xiaowan, utterly exhausted, quickly slipped into the gramophone's body. The glove brought out liquor jars and cans, and the family continued feasting and drinking.
When the drinking reached its peak, Mengde stepped down from the calendar poster and sang a rendition of "Blooming Flowers and the Full Moon" to entertain everyone. Shedding her armor, Hong Ying donned a cheongsam and danced along to the music.
The gramophone praised, "Say what you will, you look truly stunning in a cheongsam."
Hong Ying shook her head. "Stunning or not, it's just too tight. It pinches my hip bones terribly. That little madwoman looks quite pretty in this dress too, though."
Lady Nine fumed, "Who are you calling a madwoman?"
The gramophone stroked Lady Nine's cheek with its stylus. "Is this the puppet Honglian made for you? It really looks just like you used to."
Honglian nudged the clock pendulum. "Envious, aren't you? I can make a puppet for you too. Do you want one?"
The clock pendulum snorted. "Third Mistress, don't tease me. Asking you for a favor surely comes at a price."
"The price is negotiable..."
Hong Ying's persistent habit of calling Lady Nine a madwoman reminded Li Banfeng of something. "Who exactly was the Mad Craftsman?"
The gramophone chuckled. "You'll have to ask Hong Ying. She's the only one who calls them that."
Hong Ying said, "The Mad Craftsman is Old Train, the Mad Wife is her mother, the Female Mad Craftsman is her older sister, and the Little Madwoman is her!"
Lady Nine leaped up. "I'll fight you to the death!"
The two women tangled into a scuffle while the Tang dao tried to mediate between them: "It's the New Year—let's not fight! Lady Nine, really, she called your entire family lunatics; how could you just take that?"
After having a scuffle, both felt considerably refreshed. Hong Ying poured Lady Nine a cup of wine. "Little madwoman, seeing you reminds me of some old things. Back then, your family was always draped in mystery. Whose side were you really on in the end?"
Lady Nine knitted her brows and glared at Hong Ying. The gramophone nudged Hong Ying, so she dropped the subject.
Looking at Lady Nine, the gramophone also recalled many memories; even the City of Fools, which had once been only a vague recollection, gradually grew clearer.
Li Banfeng recalled the roomful of shadows. Another matter crossed his mind: "Lady, there seemed to be someone inside the wormhole."
The gramophone pondered for a moment. "Husband mentioned that quite a few people are researching the Boundary. It could be someone whose attempt went awry, leaving them trapped in the wormhole."
"Regardless of who they are, we'd best find an opportunity to take a look. Our dark bridge has to pass through that wormhole. If someone tampers with it, using the bridge next time could be dangerous."
The gramophone checked the Dark Bridge Cannon. "Husband, that will have to wait a few days. The cannon exerted too much power this time, burning out quite a few components. While the equipment was still hot, it could barely function, but now that it's completely cooled down, firing it up again will be rather difficult."
Since the Dark Bridge Cannon couldn't be activated, the matter could only be shelved for now.
Li Banfeng embraced the gramophone and asked softly, "Darling Lady, are you Zhao Xiaowan or Huang Yuxian?"
Chhh, chhh—
Spurting steam, his lady chuckled.
"Oh, Husband, do you prefer a renowned general, or a renowned performer?"
Li Banfeng stroked the gramophone's belly. "Whichever my lady is, that is the one your husband loves!"
The gramophone giggled. "Whichever Husband loves, that is who this humble servant shall be!"
As she spoke, gongs and drums struck up, and the gramophone sang an aria:
"Husband Li treats me with a hundred kinds of tenderness,
Sharing joys, tending illnesses, keeping loneliness at bay,
Only now do I know such sweetness in the mortal realm,
Making this second passage through the world well worth the stay!"
Inside the wormhole, Du Wenming lay flat on the ground, covered in moss. Curled into a tight ball, he blended flawlessly into his surroundings; even if someone stood right before him, they would hardly spot any flaw.
Though he appeared entirely motionless, he was in fact moving nonstop, rapidly flexing every single muscle along his back. Just a little more, and the character "Forbidden" branded onto his spine would be ground away.
Other people had been passing in and out of this wormhole. Though Du Wenming couldn't see them, he could sense them.
He absolutely could not let them discover him. Whoever they were, Du Wenming saw them as a grave threat to his life.
He rubbed his back vigorously against the ground and felt that it was finally done—the final stroke of "Forbidden" had been worn away.
He pushed himself up, balanced on the tips of his toes, and executed a light gliding step. His lithe, graceful dance posture had returned. Clasping his hands before his chest, he spun dozens of times on the spot.
All the surrounding worms stood upright, twirling along with him.
Even these worms could be drawn into dancing?
Du Wenming was ecstatic. This was an irresistible Dance Cultivator technique.
Irresistible meant a Heavenly Unity technique.
He possessed a Heavenly Unity technique!
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Tu Heng opened his eyes on a straw mat. Beside him, Tu Min and Tu Mang had long since awakened and were looking around.
They saw a three-headed person: one head belonged to a young woman, one to a young man, and the third was a child.
The person handed Tu Heng a bowl of dumplings. "Eat. It's the New Year."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Juanzi, from the City of Sinners."
"Where are the others?" Tu Heng struggled to sit up. "Where are my brothers and sisters?"
Juanzi said, "They all have shelter, with plenty to eat and drink."
"Where is this place?"
"This is Sheqiao Village, Lord Seventh's territory."
"Lord Seventh? Li the Seventh?" Tu Heng was stunned. "Li the Seventh was willing to take us in?"
Juanzi looked at Tu Heng with a grave expression. "You were brought out of Santoucha by Lord Seventh in the first place, and wherever you go, you follow Lord Seventh. Say that to anyone you meet from now on, and don't reveal anything else."
Tu Heng nodded repeatedly, then asked, "Where is Lord Seventh? We haven't met him yet."
"Lord Seventh just returned to the village. Eat your dumplings first, and I'll take you over."
Juanzi brought Tu Heng to the village entrance. Li Banfeng was currently preparing a performance with Ma the Fifth; he wanted to hold a singing concert in Sheqiao Village, but in this abandoned village, finding a suitable location to erect a stage was difficult.
Tu Heng glanced at Li Banfeng and lowered his voice: "I've seen this man before. He's Lord Seventh's friend..."
Juanzi looked at Tu Heng. "You say he's Lord Seventh's friend? I think you haven't fully woken up. Why don't you go sleep some more?"
Tu Heng shook his head. "I have to ask him. You know Mount Zhouzi, right? We came down from Mount Zhouzi. Back then, he told me he was Lord Seventh's friend."
Mengzi gave a chuckle. "Quit talking nonsense. That is Lord Seventh. Look all you want, but don't go asking questions if there's nothing important. Lord Seventh is quite busy."
Li Banfeng was indeed very busy. He was also preparing to have new sets of clothes made for the three-headed people. But with over forty thousand of them, each possessing such a massive frame, securing enough fabric alone was no easy task.
A flock of fabric merchant bosses had descended upon Sheqiao Village. The deal was simply too lucrative; even on the first day of the New Year, they had rushed into this abandoned village to compete for the business.
Xiao Yeci was in charge of procuring the cloth. As she met with each merchant in turn, one person caught her eye.
"Miss, you're the boss of the Yu Family Cloth Store?"
Yu Nan nodded. "It's a newly opened store in Green Water City, so our reputation isn't very well known yet. Ma'am, the quality of our fabric is beyond reproach. We've brought plenty of samples for you to see, and our prices are definitely reasonable..."
"Boss Yu, we've met before..." Xiao Yeci still remembered Yu Nan.
Yu Nan didn't bring up the past. She continued discussing business with Xiao Yeci in earnest, to the point that she didn't even notice Li Banfeng standing beside Xiao Yeci.
She couldn't be blamed; Residence Cultivators possessed an innate knack for being overlooked.
Yu Nan had been running the cloth shop in Green Water City for three months, hitting walls at every turn, and the capital she had brought from Yaowanggou was nearly exhausted.
If she had sought out Li the Seventh just once—or without even visiting him, if she had merely invoked Li the Seventh's name a single time—her business could have stood at the very forefront in Green Water City. Yet she had never uttered his name. She was just that proud and unyielding.
Li Banfeng told Xiao Yeci to give all the fabric business to the Yu Family Cloth Store and to hire tailors through Yu Nan as much as possible.
Matters like these were easy to handle; what proved harder to manage were the local land spirits.
A crowd of land spirits from the newlands came to offer New Year greetings to Li Banfeng once again. They all brought generous gifts and auspicious pleasantries, yet their eyes never strayed from the three-headed folk.
Wanting the three-headed folk was fine, but they had to sign a covenant deed with Li Banfeng, the crux of which remained two core conditions:
The three-headed people were only loaned to them for labor; they remained Li the Seventh's people.
In the future, they had to obey Li the Seventh, and certain matters had to be decided by him.
With Rong Sijiao having disappeared recently, these land spirits understood the weight of this covenant deed. Things they couldn't figure out could be pondered slowly, but if anyone dared play dirty tricks behind his back, they would pay a price.
That day, two land spirits signed covenant deeds.
One was Dou Jiyan. Qianliangfang was strewn with corpses, leaving no survivors, and had already turned into oldland. She was now managing newland and desperately needed manpower for land reclamation.
She wasn't worried about affairs in the Inner States because the covenant deed for her newland was intact, and she had firmly resolved to follow Li the Seventh.
The other was Chu Yaoxian.
This person was somewhat peculiar.
"Lord Seventh, when the Eldest Miss of the He Family was reclaiming land in the newland, I sent Madame Silk Moth over to cause trouble. The fault is entirely mine. Lord Seventh, beat me or punish me as you see fit; I only beg that you be generous and magnanimous, and hold no grudge against me in the days ahead."
The shift in her attitude was exceedingly abrupt.
Li Banfeng nodded. "Since the covenant deed is signed, past matters won't be brought up for now."
The busyness continued until the third day of the New Year, when the concert finally commenced. Prominent figures from all walks arrived in Sheqiao Village to show their support.
Just before the show began, Li Banfeng was still coaching Jiang Mengting on singing techniques in private when Manager Zhang hurried over to report: "Lord Seventh, Chief Commissioner Liao has arrived and wishes to speak with you in private."
Li Banfeng had known he would come and was prepared.
They could banter and maneuver however they liked, but regardless of what conditions Liao Zihui proposed, there was no chance he would let him take the three-headed people away.
Liao Zihui had brought two deputy commissioners, Tang Huanjie and Wei Yingsen.
While the two deputy commissioners chatted idly with Ma the Fifth, Li Banfeng and Liao Zihui met privately in a residence.
Being the New Year, neither lacked courtesy; they exchanged auspicious pleasantries first. When it came time for business, Liao Zihui said, "I have something to say that might sound a bit inconsiderate, and I'm not sure if I should speak it."
Li Banfeng smiled. "Speak your mind."
"Brother Li, it wasn't easy for you to return to Puluo Province for the New Year, and you have plenty to attend to here. But Shen Jingye says the fire is singeing his eyebrows, and he pleaded with me to have you head back. He can't even get through his New Year, and I can't just sit by and do nothing. As a favor to me, I'll arrange a train for you—could you see about making a trip to Yuezhou over the next couple of days?"
Sending me to Yuezhou?
Are you trying to get me out of the way?
Li Banfeng shook his head. "I understand the rules of the Outer States, but people get time off for the New Year too. What could be so urgent that I have to go back right now?"
Liao Zihui was genuinely anxious: "This concerns the very future of the Dark Star Bureau! The entire bureau is counting on you this time!"
Li Banfeng laughed. "The Dark Star Bureau's future isn't something I can decide. You should ask your superiors about things like that!"
"We did ask the superiors, but they couldn't be reasoned with." Liao Zihui cupped his hands to Li Banfeng. "Liao will lay his cards on the table: if you go to Yuezhou, I won't play any underhanded tricks behind your back. What happened last year will be treated as though it never happened. Let bygones be bygones."
Old Liao had laid it out in plain terms: regarding the three-headed people, he would treat it as if nothing had happened.
Such a monumental affair, treated as though it never happened?
Li Banfeng was deeply skeptical, but Liao Zihui was full of sincerity: "Brother, I've brought the covenant deed along. I intend to spend my retirement in Puluo Province, so we'll do things by Puluo Province's rules."
For Liao Zihui to go this far, the Dark Star Bureau must have truly run into serious trouble.
On the way back, Deputy Commissioner Wei Yingsen asked Liao Zihui inside the car, "Chief Commissioner, quite a few people in his village escaped from Santoucha. I recognized several of them."
Liao Zihui frowned. "Who did you recognize?"
Wei Yingsen lowered his voice. "That fellow named Tu Heng, their ringleader—I saw him with my own eyes."
Liao Zihui kept a dark face and said nothing.
Beside them, Tang Huanjie spoke up, "Old Wei, your eyes are playing tricks on you. That wasn't Tu Heng."
"How could it not be? I know them—"
Tang Huanjie asked, "You know the peddler, don't you?"
Wei Yingsen paused. "Of course. Who in Puluo Province doesn't know the peddler?"
Tang Huanjie asked again, "You know Li the Seventh, don't you?"
Wei Yingsen blinked. "Certainly. Didn't we just see him?"
Tang Huanjie said, "Since you know those two, do you really still know Tu Heng? Do you absolutely have to drag Tu Heng into this?"
Wei Yingsen pondered for a moment, then glanced at Liao Zihui.
Liao Zihui's face was ashen, unwilling to spare him even a single glance.
Chapter 627