I picked up skill fragments in the demon world.

Chapter 88 False Accusation
Zhang Chen looked at the vixen's back as she walked away excitedly and couldn't help but shake his head secretly. He felt that the vixen would return disappointed.

He and the nerd have been together for seven or eight years, and they already know each other well. How could he not know the nerd's personality?

I’m afraid that nerd has already reported the matter to the authorities!

Moreover, the nerd's character is very stubborn, and even the vixen might find it difficult to change him.

"Logically speaking, Zhang Chen was at the scene at the time. Even if the authorities noticed the explosion, they should have regarded Zhang Chen as the biggest suspect." Zhang Chen thought to himself.

Zhang Chen had only walked halfway when he suddenly stopped and saw seven or eight figures wandering in the woods in the distance.

It was the village chief and the Feng Shui master. Behind them were a few ruffians from the village, such as Wang Gouzi and Chen Li, who were carrying flags and some strangely shaped ornaments and following the Feng Shui master.

Zhang Chen saw the Feng Shui master, and of course the Feng Shui master also saw Zhang Chen. The Feng Shui master looked at Zhang Chen and waved to him from a distance to say hello, which made Zhang Chen stunned for a moment, and he also waved in response.

"This Feng Shui master is so strange, and I don't know him." Zhang Chen muttered, and then continued to walk forward with his head down. After walking a few steps, he suddenly remembered the Feng Shui formation of the Imperial Daughter's Tomb. He suddenly stopped and turned around abruptly to look at the Feng Shui master. He saw that the Feng Shui master looked to be in his forties, dressed like a scholar, tall and strong, and did not look like an ordinary person.

Zhang Chen's eyes flashed with golden light, and he saw that there was no "qi" lingering around the Feng Shui master, and it was obvious that he was just an ordinary person.

"How strange! Maybe I'm overthinking it. The Feng Shui master is just an ordinary person. How can he be qualified to shake the tomb of the emperor's daughter? But we can't take it lightly. We have to monitor him secretly. We must not let anyone dig into our backyard." A thought flashed through Zhang Chen's mind.

Zhang Chen walked away, and Mr. Feng Shui said to the village chief beside him: "Is he really just an ordinary child in the village, not the son of some powerful noble? That fair skin and that spirit and bearing are not something that ordinary families can cultivate."

"I watched him grow up. His family was poor, so I was surprised that he became like this. But it's true that his family was poor. He was like this a few months ago. He became so pale in just one month. If he walked outside, I wouldn't dare to approach him to recognize him." The village chief also said with curiosity, "But this kid has been in trouble recently! People from the government came to the village several times just to look for him."

"Oh? What kind of trouble could a mountain boy like him get into?" Mr. Feng Shui showed a hint of surprise when he heard this.

"The two houses at the entrance of the village were burned by lightning from the sky. You should have witnessed it with your own eyes, right?" said the village chief.

Mr. Feng Shui nodded and said, "That scene was very strange. There have been thunder and lightning in the past, but this is the first time that such a horrific scene has occurred."

"So there's something weird about this! Plus, his neighbor is a poor scholar who went to the government office to beat the drum to complain about murder. He's in big trouble now! As long as it's related to human life, even if he doesn't die, he'll be skinned alive." The village chief chattered on, his voice full of gloating.

Hearing this, Mr. Feng Shui was stunned: "What a pity!"

As they talked, the Feng Shui master and the village chief walked through the forest. The village chief looked at the Feng Shui master and said, "Mr. Chen, are there any water veins around here? Can we still get water?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen took out a compass from his sleeve and fiddled with it casually. Then he scanned the terrain in front of him and shook his head: "The water vapor here has dried up, and there is not much water vapor underground. Even if we dig a well, I am afraid we won't be able to get much water. It's just a waste of manpower. Now that we have encountered such a thing, we can only look for a place where water veins converge. Only by finding a place where water veins converge can we have a glimmer of hope to get water."

"Do you think there is a place where water veins converge nearby?" the village chief asked quickly.

"I don't know! We have to look for it slowly. It's not that easy to find dragon veins. Just bring your people and follow me. If you find a water vein, I will naturally ask you to dig a well! If you can't find a water vein, even the king of heaven can't do anything!" Mr. Chen scolded impatiently, causing the village chief to quickly lower his head and respond. He was as obedient as his grandson, not daring to disobey or disobey in the slightest, and there was no sign of his domineering attitude in the village.

"That's right. Since I came here with you, of course I will try my best to get water. If I can get water, would I fool you?" Mr. Chen nodded with satisfaction and said to the people behind him, "Take the weapons, let's go to the next place. I don't believe that such a big village doesn't even have a water vein."

Zhang Chen returned to the village. It was just dawn and the villagers were going to the mountains to dig wild vegetables while the sun was not too high.

When the people passing by saw Zhang Chen, they all had strange expressions on their faces, as if they had met the god of plague, and they avoided him from a distance.

Zhang Chen knew that these people were afraid of being implicated, so he was not surprised.

It is human nature to seek benefits and avoid harm.

Zhang Chen came to the ruins of his home, wanting to find the scroll of "Western Ascension Sutra" that the fox spirit had obtained in the past, but who knew that there was no trace of the remaining scroll. He was not in a hurry, and he would wait for the fox spirit to come back and then ask it to be done.

As for the silk and supplies that the cheap sister had sent, they were all turned to ashes in the flames of the explosives.

Zhang Chen walked around for a while, then came to his stepmother's house carrying a basket on his back. Looking from a distance, he saw many unfamiliar faces among the neighbors, and his stepmother was sitting in the yard with a sad face.

Zhang Chen hesitated for a moment, but walked calmly into the yard: "Mom, I'm back!"

He had caused all these things himself, he couldn't let his mother and younger brothers and sisters take the blame! A real man should have his own responsibilities!

Zhang Chen's words startled his stepmother, who suddenly sat up and rushed to Zhang Chen. She looked him up and down, her eyes full of joy: "I'm glad you're okay! I'm glad you're okay!"

After nagging for two sentences, Zhang's mother grabbed Zhang Chen's hand and pushed him out the door: "Go quickly! The government has set up surveillance in the village and put the three of us under house arrest, waiting for you to come back and fall into the trap. While the people in the government haven't reacted yet, you should go far away quickly, and it's best if you never come back! Hide in the deep mountains and forests, and don't worry about us!"

A powerful force erupted from somewhere in Zhang's mother's skinny body, and she actually pushed Zhang Chen and made him stagger. However, Zhang Chen held her steady: "Mom, don't say anything. I know everything. Now that I'm back, I have a solution in mind! I can't let you get implicated."

Zhang Chen closed the door and put the backpack in the corner: "Here is some dried meat. It's the venison I hunted in the mountains. I've made it into dried meat. It's enough to eat for half a month."

Looking at Zhang Chen's calm expression, Zhang's mother was stunned for a moment and didn't know what to say.

Zhang Chen took the opportunity to come into the house, looked at the empty water tank, and directly filled the tank with water.

"Big brother!"

At this time, the two little ones rushed over, seeming to sense that the atmosphere was wrong, and their voices were full of sorrow.

"Don't be afraid, big brother will be fine!" Zhang Chen stroked the two little ones' heads and made them laugh.

Zhang's mother came over at this time, her voice full of seriousness: "You have to think carefully, the government office is a den of wolves and tigers, once you go in, it will be difficult to get out."

"Don't worry, mother. I can easily resolve this crisis." Zhang Chen's voice was full of calming power, which made Zhang's mother gradually put her heart at ease.

After talking with Zhang's mother for a while, Zhang Chen saw that the official had not made any move, so he said goodbye to Zhang's mother, thinking that he should go to Cui the blacksmith's house. He wanted to make more gunpowder in the future, so he should upgrade his tools. However, Zhang Chen had not walked far when he saw seven or eight people appearing around him. One of them seemed to be the leader and shouted, "Is that person Zhang Chen?"

A villager looked over upon hearing this and hurriedly said, "Sir, that's Zhang Chen!"

"stop!"

Upon hearing the villagers' confirmation, the officer rushed forward and shouted.

Zhang Chen stopped and looked at the group of people in front of him with surprise: "Sir, what can I do for you?"

"Zhang Chen, you're in trouble! Your neighbor Zhang Chen has accused you of murder. Come with us quickly." The officer took out a chain and locked up Zhang Chen.

"Sir, have you made a mistake? I have been hunting in the mountains. How could I go about murdering Zhang Chen?" Zhang Chen's face was full of innocence.

"Whether it is true or not, just go to the government office and have a confrontation in the lobby and then you will find out." Without further ado, the officer locked up Zhang Chen and escorted him down the mountain.

"It's such an unexpected disaster." Zhang Chen's voice was full of innocence at this time.

"Whether it is an unprovoked disaster or not, the county magistrate will know after questioning." The officer said in a gloomy tone.

Zhang Chen said nothing more. At this time, an officer came forward and began to search Zhang Chen, but unfortunately he found nothing, not even a penny.

"What a poor bastard." The officer muttered in dissatisfaction, his words full of complaints.

The county seat is more than ten kilometers away from here. How many soles of his shoes would it take for him to run back and forth?
The officers searched Zhang Chen but found nothing useful on him, and felt very unlucky.

Shoes these days are not sturdy. They are all hand-sewn with thousand-layer soles, but they cannot withstand wear and tear. After a round trip of more than 20 kilometers, a pair of shoes will probably be ruined.

The iron chain was very heavy, probably more than ten pounds, which made Zhang Chen frown, but he didn't say much.

"Let's go!" The officer glanced at Zhang Chen as if he was looking at a fat sheep.

No matter if he is a criminal or not, as long as he falls into their hands, his family members need to bribe him with money, otherwise they will be skinned alive.

"Come on!"

An officer pushed Zhang Chen in dissatisfaction with his slap, using so much force that Zhang Chen staggered.

"Officer, I'm not a criminal! Why are you treating me like this?" Zhang Chen looked at the officer.

"Haha, once he falls into our hands, it's not up to you to decide whether he is a criminal or not." The officer smiled coldly.

Zhang Chen looked at the officer and couldn't help but frowned, then he took a breath and was too lazy to argue with the officer. Now the situation was stronger than the man, and a wise man would not suffer a loss in front of him.

However, he had already taken note of the other party in his heart and decided to let the vixen bring disaster to his family from now on.

But before they had gone far, Zhang's mother in the yard heard the noise, opened the door and saw Zhang Chen in shackles. She immediately rushed over and stood in front of the official with an excited look:

"Why did you arrest my son?"

"Your son has committed a crime and the county magistrate is summoning him. Why don't you get out of the way?" said the leading officer with a fierce face.

"Oh? Captain Liu said he is the criminal. Do you have any evidence?" Although Zhang's mother was skinny and as small as a little monkey in front of a group of burly men, she did not back down and asked.

"With the victim personally identifying him, can't we confirm it? His neighbor, the scholar Zhang Chen, personally accused him of murder and robbery, can't that be used as evidence?" Captain Liu asked with a gloomy face.

"Haha, can the accusation of a poor scholar be counted? Do you have physical evidence? Did you catch the man red-handed at the scene?" Zhang's mother refused to give up: "I said you wanted to murder the poor scholar. I saw it with my own eyes. You were the one who set off the explosion!"

"You... are simply making a fuss!" Captain Liu was so angry that he pointed at Zhang's mother with one hand and was unable to speak because of the other party.

"First, you have no witnesses, second, you have no physical evidence, and third, you haven't caught the person at the scene. Yet you want to take the person away based on a poor scholar's false accusation. No matter what you say, this is absolutely not right." Zhang's mother was like a chicken protecting her calf.

Captain Liu shook his head when he heard this. "I won't argue with you, woman, even though you are so sharp-tongued. I am only following the orders of the master. If you dare to obstruct the enforcement of the law, I will take you back with me."

After saying this, he signaled his officers to step forward and push Zhang's mother away.

Seeing that Zhang's mother was trying to stop him, Zhang Chen said, "Mom! Let me go!"

No matter how Zhang's mother tried to stop it, she couldn't change the general situation. His original intention of coming forward was to remove Zhang's mother from the involvement, not to let her get involved.

Upon hearing this, Captain Liu glanced at Zhang Chen and nodded in appreciation: "You are a sensible person."

Then he looked at the short mother Zhang and said, "Since you want to save your son, I will show you a way. Remember to bring three hundred taels of silver to the government office tomorrow to make arrangements."

After saying this, a group of people took Zhang Chen away.

Zhang Chen smiled at Zhang's mother, then followed the official out of the village and walked towards the county town.

To be honest, this was the first time Zhang Chen left the village. As far as the young boy could remember, he had never traveled far away.

Just as Zhang Chen reached the village entrance, a vixen with a dejected face came over. Seeing Zhang Chen tied up, she was so shocked that she lost color: "What's going on?"

With Zhang Chen's ability, could a mere group of officers detain him?
(End of this chapter)