"How do you know it was a demon?" Yang Bin asked.

Lu Ren handed the withered and dead seedling to Yang Bin, pointed at the root and said:

"You see, these rhizomes have obviously been eaten, which makes it impossible for the seedlings to absorb water and nutrients from the soil normally, so there are large-scale dieback symptoms."

Yang Bin nodded, not quite understanding:"But the problem is, don't demons like to eat raw flesh and blood?" This is the first time he has heard of demons that eat plant roots and rhizomes.

The reason why Lu Ren is so sure is because he remembers that Bai Yu once mentioned something to her predecessor.

Not all demons are carnivorous.

She mentioned a species at the time, which was a field mouse that became a spirit. It liked to roam around and gnaw the rhizomes and seeds of grain crops for fun.

This kind of demon is timid and generally weak in strength. It usually acts in groups.

For mortals who make a living by farming, this kind of herbivorous spirit is more harmful than man-eating demons.

Demons are terrible, but they only harm a few people after all.

More people are lucky and pray that they will not become the next target of demons.

But demons like field mice are different. They harm the lives of the people in a certain area. A plan for survival.

With food crops destroyed and people cut off from food supplies, they will sooner or later starve to death.

This kind of damage is comprehensive. Except for a few powerful people who don't have to worry about food shortages, the rest of the ordinary people at the bottom will all be seriously affected.

After listening to Lu Ren's analysis, Yang Bin went to check the conditions of several adjacent fields in succession.

Sure enough, all the rhizomes were damaged to varying degrees.

Such an obvious clue, why didn't Wu Xin find it when he came, and didn't report it to Captain Liao and Mr. Shen?

Just when Yang Bin was puzzled, a farmer couple came over not far away.

They were still talking and laughing, trying to have fun in misery.

But when he saw Yang Bin standing in the field in a constable's uniform, his face suddenly changed, and a hint of numbness flashed across his eyes.

"Humph, a bunch of hypocritical villains pretending to be righteous."

Hearing the low curse from the man, Yang Bin's face was not very good.

But he knew that this incident was the fault of the government, so he was naturally unable to refute it, let alone pursue anything.

In his heart, he felt more guilty for the villagers.

"Big brother, can I ask you about the situation in Heitu Village?"

The farmer glanced at Lu Ren coldly, and said with a fake smile:"We are just a bunch of lowly people, how dare we trouble the officials to worry about us."

After that, the man dragged his wife and walked quickly through the fields to go home to prepare lunch.

In order to catch up with the harvest, these seedlings must be planted and planted as soon as possible.

Otherwise, when the tax payment period comes, it will not be able to be handed in on time and in the right amount. The county magistrate will be held accountable, and no matter whether Heitu Village has its own difficulties or not, they will be severely punished according to the law.

Those"officials" in the town who are in dog skins and do nothing will only eat and drink enough, and save up enough energy to beat these poor people.

Because Heitu Village has a good reputation for its rich real estate, the amount of tax payment is also increasing year by year.

It is true that the village has a high yield, but what finally falls into the hands of farmers is pitifully small.

The principle of distribution is to ensure that they They won't starve.

As for which family wants to save some surplus food, it is almost impossible.

Because of this kind of robbery, the villagers have long been dissatisfied with the government.

In addition, this strange incident that happened without any reason, and the failure to get an effective response after two reports, made the villagers completely give up.

How could they have a good face for people like Yang Bin and Lu Ren who came from the government?

Looking at the backs of the couple who left angrily, Yang Bin felt very uncomfortable.

As soon as he turned around, he found that Lu Ren didn't even say hello and walked straight into the village.

Yang Bin hurriedly chased after him:"Lu Ren, didn't you see their attitude towards us? You dare to take the initiative to enter the village. Aren't you afraid of being beaten to death?"

"What are you afraid of?" Lu Ren said without hesitation:"Whoever runs slower will be beaten!"

After that, he ran away and left Yang Bin far behind.

Seeing this scene, Yang Bin was a little amused.

It seemed that he saw the shadow of Lu Ren in his childhood.

"Slow down! If you get beaten to death, I won't collect your body!"

He took a deep breath and ran all the way to catch up.........

The scene in the village surprised the two.

It was almost noon, but there was no smoke rising from the houses.

Along the way, they occasionally saw a few passers-by, but they were all in a hurry.

It was very quiet everywhere, no one could hear people talking, not even the sound of chickens crowing or dogs barking.

All of this revealed a strange color.

"Don't they need to light a fire to cook?" Yang Bin muttered softly.

Lu Ren stopped with a serious expression, and a baby cried from a simple house on the right.

He turned around, was silent for a while, stepped forward, pushed open the half-closed wooden door, and walked in.

Yang Bin couldn't persuade him in time, so he had to bite the bullet and follow.

The yard was very small, and the ground was all rugged yellow mud. It would be bumpy and difficult to walk when it rained.

Perhaps because she heard the sound of the door opening, a thin woman with a yellow face came out of the house.

She was lowering her head to adjust her half-open collar, and a glimpse of a barren scene could be vaguely seen inside.

It seemed that she was just feeding her child.

"You're here so early today........"

The woman's voice suddenly stopped. She looked up and saw two strange men standing in the yard. Her eyes widened in alertness and she shouted hurriedly,"There's a thief! Someone come!"

While shouting, the woman hurriedly retreated back to the house and closed the door.

At the same time, the baby inside cried even louder.

"We are almost broke, we have nothing to give you!"

The woman yelled to the outside while coaxing the child.

Yang Bin was somewhat helpless, so he went forward and knocked on the door gently, stating his identity and purpose.

"Don't be afraid, sister-in-law. We are the town's detectives. We heard that something strange happened in your Heitu Village, so we came here today to investigate. Please open the door, and we will find out more about the situation from you."

There was only the woman and a baby in the room, so she didn't dare to open the door easily.

Lu Ren thought of something and stepped forward and said,"Do you know Wang Fugui? He asked us to come here."

Hearing this name, the woman's uneasy heart calmed down a little.

"Do you know my husband?"

Lu Ren and Yang Bin looked at each other, somewhat shocked and surprised. They randomly selected a family, and unexpectedly it happened to be Wang Fugui's family.

It's really a coincidence!

"Of course I know him. Brother Fugui is busy farming, so let's go home to visit my sister-in-law first."

Hearing this, the woman's guard was completely dispelled, and she opened the door with a somewhat restrained look.

"Come in and sit down."

The woman poured them a bowl of water.

The bowl was made of yellow clay, the workmanship was rough, and the shape looked a bit awkward.

"My two lords, my family is very poor and we have nothing to offer you."

""No problem." Lu Ren picked up the bowl and took a sip, showing no disdain.

This action instantly made the woman like him much better.

Not being fussy about trivial matters and respecting each other, this is what she imagined an"official" to be.

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