Red Dust Daqian

More than a month ago, Zhou Sen, who had been running around for many days, found the county magistrate Shangguan Wuhou. He explained to Shangguan Wuhou that there was a traitor in the county government, who assisted the dog and wolf monsters to kidnap unmarried girls and children in the county.

The county magistrate Shangguan Wuhou did not believe at first that someone from the county government was involved in the dog-wolf monster robbery case. Zhou Sen had to promise to catch the monster first and not collect the reward for the time being. Shangguan Wuhou half-believingly agreed to set up this trapping strategy to lure the bandits into action. Because they did not know how many people were involved in the robbery case, Zhou Sen and Xiangcao almost went to every victim's home and seconded many warriors and guards to participate in the trapping and encirclement. Even the Shen family's daughter went up the mountain to pray for blessings and returned late this time, which was arranged by Zhou Sen. If it were not for the Shen family's legitimate daughter who was kidnapped before, it is estimated that the Shen family would not agree to arrange for their daughter to travel again, but it took Zhou Sen a lot of effort.

County Magistrate Cui Qi regretted and cursed: "Bah, no wonder when I asked the idiot county magistrate that day why the Taoist priest did not accept the reward money, he actually told me that the Taoist priest is compassionate and not greedy for worldly wealth. He hopes to use the reward money to benefit the people of Changnan County. Damn it, I actually believed it." Cui Qi muttered inwardly with regret. County Magistrate Shangguan Wuhou gnashed his teeth in hatred, grabbed Cui Qi's collar and angrily scolded: "I treated you well, why did you commit such a serious crime and murder my only son." Cui Qi replied angrily: "I have worked diligently in this county for several years, and finally waited until the previous county magistrate retired. The higher-ups didn't even arrange for me to succeed, and sent this unlearned idiot from Kyoto to be the county magistrate. Since I can't be promoted anymore, the only way left is to make money. As for your son, it's because you are an idiot and incompetent that even the dog-wolf monster can't stand it and came to punish you. That was the dog-wolf monster's doing, and it has nothing to do with me." Shangguan Wuhou said angrily: "Cui Qi, wait, you assisted the monster in harming the people of this county. I will petition the Ministry of Justice to have you executed by slow slicing."

Zhou Sen asked Cui Qi again: "Only some of the abducted girls and children were found in the ruined temple behind the mountain. There are other abducted girls." Cui Qi laughed crazily and said, "You will never know. Ha~ha~ha~" Cui Qi's craziness and curse angered Shangguan Wuhou. Shangguan Wuhou, who was angry and embarrassed, tortured Cui Qi with various tortures such as tiger bench, whipping, and pinching fingers. In the end, Cui Qi died in pain under torture. He did not wait for the official document from the Ministry of Justice, nor did he reveal the whereabouts of the other abducted people.

As for the interrogation of other participants. They only knew that most of the girls who were no longer there were sold to brothels, and the rest were those who had not been sold yet. They had no idea where they were sold to, which brothel, or who they contacted. All the contact matters were handled by the county magistrate Cui Qi himself, and no one else was allowed to ask. Most of the children were taken away by human traffickers, who traveled all over the country. It was possible that the children were sold to any place, and it was even more difficult to start. Fortunately, there were still a few abducted children who had not been taken away in time.

The next day, early in the morning, Xiangcao came to the county government office with many rescued girls and children, and brought back the criminals' tools, a large amount of drugs (used to stun followers, guards, etc.), puppet lanterns for making ghost shadows (used to create the afterimages of dog and wolf monsters to scare people), steel claws (to make blood claw marks to confuse the people), etc. Xiangcao secretly leaned over to Zhou Sen's ear and whispered, "Mumu, no matter how you persuade her, a girl said she didn't want to report to the county government office, and she refused to leave. She said she must thank you for being arranged in our yard by me." Zhou Sen was very confused, why did she have to see me. But during the handover of the case, things were chaotic, so he didn't ask in detail.

The county government office was soon surrounded by the victims' families and the public who rushed to the scene after hearing the news. Everyone expressed their gratitude to Zhou Sen, Xiangcao and other rescuers, especially Zhou Sen and Xiangcao, who were praised as living immortals who slayed demons and saved people from suffering. Those whose children were found were grateful and took their children home with peace of mind. However, some children were not found this time. These families were kneeling in the county government office and begging Zhou Sen, Xiangcao and the county government office to help them find their families. Zhou Sen had no choice but to promise that he would help them continue to find their families.

After everyone left, Zhou Sen found Shangguan Wuhou, the county magistrate, who was immersed in the success of solving the case and was praised by the people. He asked, "Shangguan, the dog demon king and the other little demons, the assistant county magistrate Cui Qi and other participants have been either executed or captured. The case has been closed. Do you think the reward can be redeemed now?" Shangguan Wuhou replied cheerfully, "Of course it will be redeemed." Then he ordered the yamen runners to bring 500 taels of silver and presented it to Zhou Sen. Zhou Sen took the 500 taels of silver and asked in confusion, "Shangguan, it's not right, this is only 500 taels. It was said at the beginning that there should be 1000 taels left."

Shangguan Wuhou knew that he still needed 1000 taels of silver. He realized that the Heavenly Masters Zhang Mumu and Zhang Xiangcao still had some skills. It would be good for them to stay in the county for a while. If they encountered monsters again in the future, they could ask for their help to solve some difficult cases. How could they leave so easily? They would definitely delay it for a day. He replied with a purpose in mind: "Don't worry, Heavenly Master. Didn't we agree before that it would be a period of half a year? After half a year, if there are no new cases of the dog-wolf monster, the county will pay the remaining 500 taels of silver." Zhou Sen wanted to argue, but Shangguan Wuhou refused to give it. There was no way, as he had said so before. Zhou Sen could only accept it helplessly and stay in Changnan County for another half a year.

On the way back to the residence, Xiangcao, who was worried about the girls who had not been found, asked Zhou Sen: "Mumu, how can we find those girls who were sold? Their parents are so pitiful." Zhou Sen also shook his head helplessly, thinking how to find them, even in the future world of the 21st century, with such advanced technology, there are still so many missing and abducted cases, and the children cannot be found. In this era of such backward technology, it is difficult to rely entirely on manpower. Zhou Sen said hypocritically: "There is no good way. We just need to remember their information, recognize their portraits, and pay more attention in the future. One day we will find them." "Is it just a matter of paying more attention?" Xiangcao looked at Zhou Sen disappointedly. "At most, I will work harder. In the future, I will go to the local brothel wherever I go. I will visit more brothels and maybe I will get something." Zhou Sen, who comforted Xiangcao, felt a burning pain in his ears instantly. There was infinite murderous intent in Xiangcao's eyes, and her fingers twisted mercilessly on Zhou Sen's ears.