Chapter 15 Save the child

Chapter 15 Save the child
Zhuge Jian returned to Buffalo County and sorted out the documents on his desk. He was not satisfied with his job in Buffalo County and had long been prepared to resign from the post of Dianshi. However, as Dianshi, he wanted to keep everything in order so that his successor would be able to smoothly manage the affairs of Buffalo County when he took over.

"Sir, I have inquired about what happened near Huangpo Village and the life of Master Chen Yindu, and have sorted out the documents."

A yamen runner walked into the study quickly, presented a document, and said, "Sir, Huangpo Village is under the jurisdiction of Xinxiang County, not our Shuiniu County. If you interfere in the affairs of Xinxiang County, it will easily cause trouble."

"I understand, you go down first."

Zhuge Jian waved his hand, then thought of something else and said, "Don't mention this to anyone. Even if the county magistrate asks, don't tell anyone."

The bailiff stepped back.

Zhuge Jian opened the document and started reading. His brows gradually furrowed, and the more they furrowed, the tighter they became, like two ropes locked together, forming a knot that could not be untied.

"So many things have happened in this small Huangpo Village, and so many masters have disappeared?"

He gasped. Everything that happened near Huangpo Village could be considered a major case if it happened in Buffalo County!

There are more than ten cases of missing persons alone, and all the missing people are extraordinary figures!

"Li Xian from Quanzhou, He Qinghe from Danjiang, the second young lady from the Zhao family, Lin Feishuang from the Lin family, Xiao Zhu from the Nascent Soul stage..."

Zhuge Jian's scalp tingled. Most of these people had disappeared in the past two years.

"It is rumored that there is a True King's Tomb in Qianyang Mountain. Most of these people were attracted by the True King's Tomb and intended to explore the mystery and search for treasures, but ended up disappearing in Qianyang Mountain. Exploring mysteries and searching for treasures always kills a lot of people, especially the True King's Tomb, which is probably even more dangerous. So it's not too strange. The only question is, why did so many people disappear in the past two years when there weren't so many people disappearing in the past?"

Zhuge Jian's eyes flashed.

"So many people have disappeared in the past two years, which means there is a new demon in the Huangpo Village area who kills all the masters who come here! Could this person be the talisman master Chen Yindu? Does he really have such strength to kill so many masters? Is his purpose to monopolize the wealth of the True King's Tomb?"

He continued to read and from the information he saw, Chen Yindu from Huangpo Village was an ordinary talisman master who made a living by drawing and selling talismans. He was law-abiding and had never done anything out of the ordinary.

He had a son named Chen Tang, who went to the provincial capital to make a living and seldom came back.

Chen Yindu also has a grandson who died a long time ago and suddenly came back to life two years ago. He is naughty and mischievous, and is hated by gods and ghosts...

Zhuge Jian opened his eyes wide and read it several times to make sure he was not mistaken.

It was indeed written on the document that he was the grandson of Chen Yindu and the son of Chen Tang, who had been dead for a long time but suddenly resurrected!
"There are many evil things in the countryside, most of which are evil spirits possessing corpses!"

Zhuge Jian calmed down and whispered, "Evil things are divided into levels of evil, evil spirits, demons, disasters, and disasters. The one that possessed Chen Yindu's grandson should be of the evil or evil spirit level, far from the level of demons, and is not yet a force to be reckoned with. In this case, most of the people who have disappeared in the past two years are related to Chen Yindu's grandson."

He continued reading: "Chen Yindu's grandson is named Chen Shi. Um, Chen Shi, Chen... Honest?!"

Zhuge Jian was shocked and stood up suddenly, almost throwing away the document in his hand.

This Chen Shi was obviously the honest young man who killed Li Xiaoding and nine others, and also the innocent Chen Shi who fished out the skeletons of three children and handed them over to their relatives!

"I said I've never heard of anyone with the last name Cheng. Turns out his last name is Chen, and he and Chen Yin are from the same family!"

Zhuge Jian felt his scalp tingling and at the same time felt strange. If Chen Shi came back to life because he was possessed by an evil spirit, then the villagers of Huangpo Village should have been eaten by him long ago.

Not to mention Huangpo Village, I'm afraid that all the nearby villages and towns, big and small, will be eaten up by him!

However, Chen Shi appeared to be very kind, and it was obvious that he was not possessed by any evil spirit.

He sat down slowly, picked up the document and continued reading.

"The villagers of Huangpo Village said that Chen Yindu died half a month ago... Chen Yindu is dead too?!"

He paused when he read this, took a breath and continued reading, "On the second day after the burial, Chen Yindu pretended to be dead, sat up from the coffin, ate candles, smelled incense, and slept in the coffin. Since then, livestock in the village often died and were sucked dry of blood. The villagers thought that he had become a ghost and called him: zombie..."

Zhuge Jian's scalp tingled. This Chen Yindu was the evil one!

He calmed himself down. If Chen Yin was possessed by an evil spirit or turned into a corpse, not to mention the livestock, all the villagers in Huangpo Village would have been eaten up long ago!

"In half a month, this zombie has eaten everything in the surrounding area. The first person he wanted to eat was Chen Shi, who was standing beside him. Why didn't he take the first bite?"

Zhuge Jian was puzzled and thought, "Is it because Chen Shi is also a zombie? Or are they both possessed by evil spirits, so there is no killing between the grandfather and the grandson? However, Chen Shi looks like a living person, definitely not a zombie. Then it can only be an evil spirit, but judging from his actions, it doesn't seem like an evil spirit..."

This grandfather and grandson are so weird, it seems that each of them has many secrets.

"Most of the people who have disappeared in the past two years are related to this strange grandfather and grandson. These missing people are often from powerful families, and they will definitely not let it go."

The capital of Xinxiang Province has another name, called the Imperial Hometown and the Imperial City!
Imperial Township, what does this name mean?
Anyone who dares to touch the powerful people in the empire is extremely bold!

Zhuge Jian placed his resignation letter on the desk and was about to leave, but after thinking it over, he turned back.

"Those who enforce justice on behalf of heaven are not sinners."

He blew on the fire stick and burned the documents recording the Chen grandfather and grandson to ashes, muttering to himself, "Whether the grandfather and grandson are related to the disappearance case, Chen Shi is a man who enforces justice on behalf of heaven."

He turned and left.

"If I can't stay here, I'll find another place that will! I don't want to stay in this county office, this Dianshi!"

Li Kefa, the Magistrate of Shuiniu County, had a gloomy face. He tore Zhuge Jian's resignation letter into pieces and said coldly, "Zhuge Jian is just a dog raised by my Li family. He really thinks he is a big shot. If you don't do it, there are plenty of people who will do it!"

He immediately issued an order to recruit more Dianshi, and many people from Shuiniu County responded. Even candidates from more than a dozen other counties around came to take the exam, hoping to get a chance to work as an official.

Li Kefa selected a new Dianshi from among many talented people. His surname was Qu and his name was Ji.

Qu Ji immediately led the Shuiniu County government officials to investigate everywhere. After a while, they found out that on the day Li Xiaoding was murdered, Chen Yin, the talisman master from Huangpo Village, was selling talismans in Yandang Village.

A yamen runner said, "Master Qu, Master Zhuge said that the talisman master who killed Master Li was short, about five feet tall, while this Chen Yindu is very tall, so it is obvious that he is not the one who killed Master Li."

Qu Ji sneered, "Is Zhuge Jian the Dianshi, or am I the Dianshi? At that time, there was no other talisman master in Yandang Village except him. If it wasn't him who did it, who else could have done it?"

He immediately reported to Li Kefa, who gathered the yamen runners and brought along the Li family's masters, about fifty people in total, and headed straight for Huangpo Village.

However, Shuiniu County was hundreds of miles away from Huangpo Village, and one had to go around the foothills. No matter how hard they tried, it was getting dark before they reached Huangpo Village.

"Sir, this country is not like the county town. There are many evil things in the country. It is not advisable to travel." An old yamen runner said hurriedly. Qu Ji laughed and said, "What an ignorant remark. We have 34 scholars and 17 candidates in our group. They have all reached the Divine Embryo Realm, and there are also masters in the Divine Transformation Realm. Moreover, Sir Li is here in person. Let alone a few evil things, even if a demon comes, it will be melted like snow by our divine light before it gets close!"

Li Kefa was eager for revenge and said, "Keep on going!"

The yamen runners and Li family masters continued to move forward, only to see charming moonlight and white mist rising between the mountains and forests.

At this time, the sound of a baby crying was heard in the woods, not far away.

Li Kefa frowned slightly.

Qu Ji ordered, "Li Ying, go and take a look."

A yamen runner said yes, and activated the divine fetus in the shrine. It was as if there was a lantern behind his head, emitting divine light and illuminating the road ahead.

The bailiff Li Ying prepared his magic and took precautions while following the sound of crying into the forest.

After a while, the voice of the yamen runner Li Ying came: "Sir, there are many abandoned babies in this forest!"

Li Kefa and others were slightly stunned.

"There are about a dozen babies!" Li Ying shouted.

"A dozen babies?" Everyone was shocked.

Abandoned babies are not uncommon in the countryside. Some girls become pregnant before they get married, and they throw the babies away to avoid embarrassment. Some people prefer boys to girls, so they abandon girls in the wilderness. Others are too poor to raise their babies, so they have to give them away or throw them away.

But they had never heard of such a heartless thing as throwing away a dozen babies at once!

Qu Ji immediately called a dozen people and said, "God is merciful and kind. It's a rare opportunity for me to meet such a person. Go and help Li Ying to bring those dozen babies over."

"My Lord, is there something strange?"

"If you are told to go, then go!"

The dozen or so people followed the crying sound.

Qu Ji complimented him, "You have saved more than a dozen babies in one fell swoop. You are a kind-hearted person. If this matter gets out, people all over the world will praise you."

Li Kefa rarely smiled. It was the first time he smiled since his son Li Xiaoding died.

Saving a baby would not cause any response in Xiniu Xinzhou, but saving a dozen babies in the countryside at night was a legendary act in itself, enough to spread throughout the world and let everyone know about Li Kefa's good deeds!

"The Li family will certainly know what I have done and will use me. I am still young, so I can still marry a few more wives and have a few sons in the future."

As he thought of this, he heard Li Ying's voice: "Sir, we don't have enough manpower, and we need more people to come."

The voices of the yamen runners who had just gone to meet him were heard one after another: "Sir, there are more children here!"

There were more cries of babies in the woods. Just now there were only a dozen babies crying, but now it sounded as if there were thirty or forty babies crying together.

Li Kefa's heart skipped a beat and he felt like something was wrong.

But the moonlight tonight is so charming. How can we see such a beautiful moonlight in the city with all the lights and feasting?
He looked a little dazed.

Qu Ji also frowned and said, "Sir, something seems to be wrong..."

Li Kefa shook his head, putting aside the interference of the moonlight, and shouted in a low voice: "Prepare your magic, use the Ziwu Sword to kill evil! Listen to my orders!"

The Ziwu Evil-Slaying Sword is a spell from the Tianxin Zhengqi Jue. It gathers true energy and divine light to condense into invisible sword energy. It is a set of six moves and is a must-learn spell for scholars.

Everyone prepared their own spells. The air in front of them vibrated slightly, but no sword could be seen.

Qu Ji shouted, "Li Ying, bring the child back first, and we'll go help!"

Li Ying said yes. Then there were sounds of footsteps coming from the forest and the crying of a baby getting closer and closer. Under the moonlight, there were vague figures swaying in the forest. After a while, more than a dozen figures walked out of the forest. They were Li Ying and other yamen runners, each holding a baby in their hands.

Li Ying and the others walked out of the forest two steps, stopped, and did not approach. They just said: "Sir, there are more children inside, please lend a hand!"

Sure enough, more babies crying were heard in the forest.

Li Kefa, Qu Ji and others were skeptical when they saw this situation.

Qu Ji shouted, "Send the child here first!"

Li Ying and others did not move, but urged them to go to the forest to rescue the babies.

Qu Ji was about to say something else when Li Kefa ordered, "Master Qu, go and take a look. I feel like something is wrong with them."

Qu Ji had no choice but to walk forward. Several yamen runners held the baby in one hand and waved to him with the other hand, their gestures somewhat stiff. They said one after another: "Master Qu, come and save the child!"

Qu Ji walked closer and closer, his heart beating wildly. The more he looked at these yamen runners, the more strange they seemed to him. He suddenly stopped and shouted, "Li Ying, send the child over..."

Before the word "come" came out of his mouth, there was a sudden rumbling sound in the forest, and a four-hoofed monster slowly stood up from the forest. It had a neck as long as long hair, slender like a snake, and at the end of its neck were baby-like heads that were crying like a baby.

Many of the babies were in the arms of Li Ying and other yamen runners. At this moment, the babies in their arms also rose from their arms with their slender necks.

The four-hoofed monster let out a rough and loud cry:
"Hurry up and save the child!"

Hundreds of babies cried together, danced in the air, and eagerly grabbed Qu Ji.

Li Ying and the others no longer had babies in their arms, and suddenly they began to lose air and shrivel up.

Qu Ji and others then saw clearly that Li Ying and a dozen other yamen runners had turned into pieces of human skin in just a few moments!

Just now they were holding their children, talking and laughing, but in fact it was just the monster that ate up their flesh, blood and bones, and then blew up their skins to make them swell up, imitating their way of walking and their way of talking!

(End of this chapter)