Feng Quan watched his outstretched fingers, his eye corners twitching.
"Four bottles!"
"I..."
"Fine, then forget it!"
"Alright, alright, the brat's grown up, sprouted wings, and doesn't care about this old man anymore. Hah, I shouldn't have picked you up back then, I should have let wild dogs carry you off and eat you!"
The elder cursed and grumbled, venting for a long while before calming down. Feng Quan watched him quietly, letting him vent. He had heard these words no less than eight hundred times. Every time it was the same old tune, he never bothered to think of new phrases.
The old ghost in Feng Quan's words, known as Gui Lao, was expelled from the Medicine King Valley for reasons unknown. He then made his way to the capital and finally rooted himself in the underground black market. Feng Quan was an abandoned infant he had picked up twenty-five years ago.
"Four bottles it is. Old man, I want the Drunken Immortal Wine from Dongpo Tower!"
"Agreed!"
"This person is about seven feet tall, with long eyes, a broad nose, thick lips. On his right cheek, there's a long scar extending from the outer corner of his right eye to his mouth. He has a full beard and looks strong."
"This person isn't from the black market, which is why he left an impression on me."
"What, did this person commit a crime?" Having gotten what he wanted, Gui Lao readily told him everything he knew, and couldn't help but inquire at the end.
Feng Quan said, "Murder!"
"With poison?"
Feng Quan glanced at him.
"What kind of look is that? If not with poison, why would you come to me asking this?"
Feng Quan remained silent for two seconds, then pulled out a money pouch from his embrace and threw it onto the table. "Drink less. Don't let me come back next time to find you buried in the backyard."
"Get lost, get lost!" Gui Lao grabbed a stool and threw it at him.
Dogs can't spit out ivory.
Having obtained the information he desired, Feng Quan left the black market and reported everything to Zou ChengYi.
The most correct decision made by the Ministry of Justice supervisor was to exceptionally recruit Feng Quan. Although he came from the black market and was unregistered, he was forbidden from holding official positions. However, it was precisely because of his background that he obtained much information that the Ministry of Justice could not investigate.
Zou ChengYi hadn't expected that Feng Quan would get such detailed information from just one trip to the black market.
The Ministry of Justice supervisor, as always, had a portrait drawn based on the information Feng Quan provided. Zou ChengYi ordered people to take the portrait to the city gates for inquiries and dispatched another team to investigate near Weian Mountain.
One day later, they received confirmation.
This person had indeed gone to Weian Mountain multiple times.
The case progressed rapidly, and the portrait of the individual was immediately posted throughout the streets and alleys of the capital.
The next day, someone came to report a case.
"Sir, this person lives on Sishui Street."
The Ministry of Justice supervisor immediately led his men to Sishui Street to apprehend the culprit.
The Prince's Mansion also received the news.
"Sishui Street?"
"Which part of Sishui Street?"
"Near the ancestral hall!"
Upon hearing this, Nan Shiying shot up from her seat. "My lord, I'll go take a look!"
Although Poison Elder was currently residing in the Prince's Mansion and was safe, Gouzi and the others were still in Sishui Street. Where else could the culprit hide but Sishui Street? This made Nan Shiying suspicious.
...
Sishui Street.
Gouzi held Ya Dan's head and pulled her behind him. "What are you looking at? Hurry back to the room!"
He told Ya Dan to go back to the room and look after the little ones. He then went out and joined the crowd on the street.
The constables from the Ministry of Justice surrounded the civilian residence near the ancestral hall.
At the Ministry of Justice supervisor's command, the constables broke down the door, only to see a figure vaulting from the roof into the adjacent ancestral hall.
Damn it!
Gouzi cursed and turned to run back.
"Get out of the way!"
The constables from the Ministry of Justice moved faster. Seeing the child blocking their path, one of them pushed Gouzi aside and kicked open the ancestral hall door.
Gouzi fell to the ground from the impact. He rolled over, ignored the pain, and scrambled up to run into the ancestral hall.
Inside the ancestral hall, a burly man had Ya Dan by the neck, lifting her in front of him. With bloodshot eyes, he glared at the constables and shouted, "Get away, or I'll kill her!"
"Ya Dan!"
Gouzi's eyes widened in disbelief as he shouted and ran into the ancestral hall, only to be held back by the constables.
The Ministry of Justice supervisor looked at the man and then at the girl being held as a hostage in front of him. His peripheral vision caught sight of the disabled children inside.
This place...
"What a sin!"
"Ya Dan, it's Ya Dan!"
Everyone living on Sishui Street knew these children. In the past, they would help them when they could. Now, seeing the child held captive by the criminal, their hearts ached.
"I advise you to surrender immediately and not resist!"
"Surrender? Heh, as if! Let me leave now, or I'll kill this child!"
The man said, increasing his grip.
Ya Dan's little face immediately turned red, veins bulging on her forehead. She was on the verge of being choked to death.
"Seize him!"
The Ministry of Justice supervisor sneered and ordered the capture.
He completely disregarded Ya Dan's life.
"You..."
Gouzi's eyes turned bloodshot. He bit down on the constable's wrist. The constable, in pain, let go, and Gouzi rushed forward recklessly.
When Nan Shiying arrived, she saw this scene.
She picked up a small pebble, advanced amidst the chaos, and with the figures in disarray, she raised her hand and threw the pebble. The pebble whistled through the air, aimed at the man's wrist.
Just as the man was about to throw Ya Dan at the constables, he felt a sharp pain in his wrist. His grip loosened, and Ya Dan fell to the ground.
Ya Dan was not a child who had been pampered. While frightened, she wasn't so terrified that she couldn't move. The moment she hit the ground, she scrambled up and ran back with all her might.
The man no longer cared about Ya Dan. He was already engaged in a brawl with the constables.
Gouzi took advantage of the chaos to run to Ya Dan, grabbed her arm, pulled her into the house, slammed the door shut, and blocked the door with his body.
The man was outnumbered. By the time he tried to break free, it was too late. Seeing that he was about to be captured by the constables, he bit down hard on his back molar. The poison hidden in his back molar instantly ruptured, and the toxins entered his throat.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground.
Dead!
Swift and decisive!
"Take him away!"
The Ministry of Justice supervisor ordered the man's body to be taken away. As he exited the ancestral hall, his gaze fell upon Feng Luan standing in the crowd. He paused and walked over. "Young Master Feng, why are you here?"
Feng Luan hadn't expected the Ministry of Justice supervisor to recognize him. He smiled and replied, "I heard some news and came to see the excitement!"
See the excitement?
Was it just a simple matter of watching the commotion?
Thoughts swirled in his mind, eventually settling into calm. The Ministry of Justice supervisor pointed at the dead man and said to Nan Shiying, "The culprit is dead. Master Liu's case is considered solved."
Nan Shiying did not reply, merely smiling.
The body was taken back to the Ministry of Justice by the supervisor. The coroner examined the body.
"Sir, it's not him!"