"Sir, you cannot say that. We are all mortal, but those people are different!"
The old man replied earnestly.
"No matter how different, can they still come out and fight with their heads chopped off?"
Seeing his gritted teeth, the old man showed no fear.
"Sir, do you know why Li Mao'er and the others could cause so much trouble?"
The old man asked mysteriously.
"Ah?"
Pang Yue was stunned.
This question had truly stumped him.
Li Mao'er's case was not an isolated incident; such bandits were everywhere in Hebei. Pang Yue understood why they were causing such a stir.
However, many things could be done but not said!
For a moment, he truly didn't know how to answer.
"Sir, you don't know, but Li Mao'er is like an evil ghost escaped from hell, and his several top generals are also demonic spirits like ghosts and monsters! That's why the imperial army finds it so difficult to capture them!"
What nonsense?
Seeing the old man's smug expression, Han Mo's eyes widened.
What was all this!
Han Mo was taken aback, let alone Pang Yue.
For a moment, he didn't know whether he should kill this old man.
What the hell was this!
Wasn't this spreading seditious rumors?
"Who told you this!"
Pang Yue looked at the old man with a grim face and murderous intent.
He was ready to explode as soon as the old man revealed Han Mo's name.
After all, although the crime of spreading seditious rumors was not punishable by death, it was enough to tarnish Han Mo's reputation for a lifetime.
"It was the immortal Wang who said it! He also said that the imperial army could win this time because he performed rituals in the Divine Firmament Longevity Palace! I was thinking, perhaps Wang Xingye sought revenge this time, which is why immortal Wang faced this calamity!"
"Pfft—"
Before Pang Yue could speak, Lu Ying burst into laughter.
Fortunately, he was standing far away, and Pang Yue had no time to attend to him, so he didn't get into trouble.
However, this was too ridiculous!
Although he had hired people to spread some rumors before, these were too far off from what this old man was saying!
"Daoist Wang, is this true?"
Pang Yue gritted his teeth and looked at Wang Daolu, his face showing a hint of killing intent.
Although Han Mo was not well-liked, the matter of suppressing the bandits was a fact.
Moreover, the transfer of the five thousand imperial guards also had the involvement of the Transportation Department, and they had reported their achievements for this great victory.
This old brat pulling this stunt was essentially snatching food from their mouths!
People were fighting for their lives on the front lines, and you wanted to take all the credit with just a few words. This damned Daoist was too unconscionable!
"Th-this..."
Wang Daolu shivered all over. It was a means for him to accumulate wealth, intended to sell more talismans and the like.
But he never expected that he would be repaid now, which was truly a sign of heavenly retribution!
Just by looking at his current expression, Pang Yue knew that this matter was more or less true.
Therefore, after taking a deep breath, Pang Yue made up his mind.
At this moment, he had to draw a line between himself and this fellow.
"It seems this case does not need to be investigated further!"
The meaning was clear: he was washing his hands of the matter!
"Sir is wise!"
Han Mo also smiled and cupped his hands towards Pang Yue.
"Someone, arrest this Daoist Wang who is spreading seditious rumors! Send someone to investigate if this fellow has assumed a false identity! Mr. Yuan Miao's Taoist arts are profound, how could he have taught such a seditious villain!"
Since Pang Yue was not going to meddle, Han Mo directly waved his hand, signaling Lu Ying to take the man away.
As long as this fellow was in prison, the subsequent matters would naturally be taken care of.
This old scoundrel had been plundering and oppressing people in Neihuang County for so many years, and it was time for him to disgorge some of it!
No matter how miserably Wang Daolu screamed, no one cared at this moment. As for the disciples who followed him, they naturally scattered.
Seeing them all fleeing, Han Mo did not have anyone arrested in public. Instead, he winked at Lu Ying and then looked back at Pang Yue.
"It seems this whole thing was a misunderstanding!"
With everyone gone, Pang Yue coughed dryly and said somewhat awkwardly.
"Since it was a misunderstanding, it's fine now that it's cleared up. It's almost noon, how about inviting Sir to the county's posthouse to rest?"
With the conversation reaching this point, the fellow still showed no sign of leaving, which made Han Mo very wary.
"Let's do that!"
Pang Yue coughed dryly and then followed Han Mo's suggestion.
"Your subordinate has a lot of matters to attend to today and will not accompany Sir!"
Han Mo forced a smile onto his face, not wanting to linger with him any longer.
"Lord Han, please help yourself!"
All of Pang Yue's plans had fallen through, which made him very frustrated.
He had originally planned to deal with Zhou Ding's matter tomorrow. After all, if he could suppress Han Mo today by using Wang Daolu's incident, Zhou Ding's matter could be put aside for now.
Although he had promised Wang Fu, Han Mo indeed had a powerful backer.
If he was someone so easily provoked, the people from the Directorate of Surveillance would have already acted, and it wouldn't have been his turn as the Judge of the Transportation Department.
Zhou Ding's matter was, after all, unfounded. If Wang Fu miscalculated and the matter escalated, they would all suffer.
Someone like him was typically someone who wanted to both have his cake and eat it too, so at this moment, the situation was quite awkward.
While he was in an extremely awkward situation, Han Mo had no time to pay attention.
After leaving someone to guide him, he rode back to the county yamen.
"Second Brother!"
As soon as he entered the back courtyard, Chun Tao rushed to greet him.
"Why didn't you say anything when you came? This Hebei region is not peaceful!"
Looking at the little girl's rosy cheeks, Han Mo reached out and patted her little head.
"This wasn't my idea; it was my grand-uncle's intention. The court was sending a batch of grain tribute to the Damng Prefecture's Garrison, so we came along with the tribute ships!"
Before the little girl could speak, Zhe Yourong, who had changed into a gauze dress, poked her head out of the window.
"You all! Right, are you hungry?"
Since it was Han Jiayan's idea and they had already arrived, Han Mo could not say anything further.