The Wheel-Turning Master.

Chapter 14 Changes
It was getting dark, at the foot of Tianlang Mountain.

"Have you found out the origins of those two people?" The middle-aged man in green looked at the man in gray who saluted respectfully.

The young man in gray bowed his head and replied, "We have checked. The boy's name is Lin Bai, and he makes a living by selling straw sandals in Huaxi County. The girl's name is Zhong Xiuxiu, and she is the granddaughter of a doctor in a pharmacy."

"Why is the straw sandal seller hanging out with the people from the pharmacy?" the man in green asked again.

"Replying to the elder, Lin Bai fell seriously ill not long ago. After he recovered, he sold straw sandals and read medical books. He was very famous in the market at the north gate of the city. He said that he wanted to save people." The man in gray replied.

"He is ambitious." The middle-aged man in green nodded and asked, "That young man knows how to advance and retreat. If he has the opportunity in the future, he will be able to achieve something. Has he been to the mountain recently? Is there anything unusual?"

"We have checked and found no experience of going up the mountain." The young man in gray hesitated for a moment and said, "However, Lin Bai has a nickname, Lin Zhuanlun."

"Zhuanlun?" The middle-aged man in green frowned and asked suspiciously, "How can a mat weaver and shoe seller have a nickname? What does zhuanlun mean?"

"This one……"

The young man in gray smiled and said, "Elder, I don't know who spread the word that Lin Bai's... that thing can move the wheel and make it turn, so he got the nickname Lin Zhuanlun. Most people use this nickname to make fun of him. Every time someone calls him that, he gets angry."

The expressionless face of the middle-aged man in blue finally showed a smile, and he said disdainfully: "Even if he has practiced boy's skills since childhood and has extraordinary talent, I'm afraid it would be difficult for him to turn the wheel. Most of them are just rumors spread by ignorant people."

He waved his hand and said, "Don't pay attention to him. Have you found any useful clues in the city?"

The man in gray lowered his head and said, "That person was very alert and left no trace. Although we arrested some people, they were all mistaken."

The man in green turned away his sleeves in displeasure.

When Lin Bai returned home, it was already dark.

Doctor Bai invited Lin Bai to dinner in the evening. Lin Bai pretended to be polite, but finally, after Xiuxiu's quiet request, he happily ate the meal.

After bolting the door, Lin Bai returned to the house. Without lighting the oil lamp, he fumbled with the bamboo board in his hand.

On the way back, Lin Bai heard Mu Zhen talk about an interesting story.

It is said that a poor man from the north city suddenly became rich, and went to a brothel in the south city for three days, and was finally taken away by people from the county government.

Mu Zhen's words imply that good men should not visit prostitutes, because not only is it costly, but it may also lead to syphilis.

But Lin Bai felt that this matter was still related to the Tianlang Mountain incident. Prostitution was not against the law, and it was mainly because the poor man "suddenly became rich".

Lin Bai collected a lot of silver bills in Tianlang Mountain that day, but he didn't dare to spend them because he was worried about this.

Now it seems that the people investigating the case were indeed very careful and did not miss any unusual things.

Lin Bai had a strong sense of crisis at this moment. The connection with Xue Ba had been cut off, and others mistakenly believed that Xue Ba died in the fight between the Axe Gang and the Qinglong Gang.

But nothing is absolute. If you are determined to investigate further, you might end up getting implicated.

Moreover, the man in green that we met today had a unique temperament and was unfathomable. He was most likely the person in charge of pursuing Pei Wuyong.

"But why can I feel that thorn in my back in advance? Does this count as foreseeing a fatal crisis?"

Lin Bai thought about it for a long time and could only attribute it to the stone plate.

As for whether it really has a warning effect, there is no way to verify it. We can't go there again, right?

Fortunately, he did not attract the attention of the man in green. Of course, Lin Bai thought that the other party would check his identity a little.

But it doesn’t matter. Although I can’t withstand deep digging, all the people who can dig are dead.

After another night of hard training, Lin Bai washed up, ate, and went out to sell.

During this period of time, nothing must go wrong, and just do things according to the usual habits. Arriving at the city gate market, Lin Bai endured the morning market, but found something wrong.

Just as I was about to pick up my load and leave, I suddenly saw a bald man.

It was Niu Er who came. The white cloth tied on his head was stained with blood, and the bare part in the middle was very shiny.

People at the market all called him "Er Ye", and Niu Er was extremely proud, as if he was an old dog who had returned as a king and was inspecting his territory, and he was just about to lift his leg to pee.

Lin Bai was very confused. He didn't hear Niu Er say he was coming to the market yesterday at Baicaotang. Why did he suddenly come today?

"Why did you leave so early? Did you see me coming and want to avoid me?" Niu Er was eating a melon, and when he saw Lin Bai picking up his load and leaving, he asked.

"How dare I?" Lin Bai put down his courage again and asked with a smile: "Second Master, why are you here today? I remember that the Qinglong Gang was helping the county government search for missing people, right?"

"The commotion upstairs is over, and we've all gone to work." Niu Er looked relaxed.

"Calling for the day?" Lin Bai fanned Niu Er with his bamboo hat and asked curiously, "Did the county master find the driver and the concubine?"

"Bullshit!" Niu Er stopped eating melon and whispered, "It has nothing to do with the county lord. It was someone called Elder Tong who gave the order... Forget it, you won't understand even if I tell you."

"Who is Elder Tong? Why haven't I heard of him? Is he from the temple?" Lin Bai asked.

"How should I know? He's a big shot anyway!" Niu Er looked impatient.

Lin Bai had an intuition that the middle-aged man in blue clothes whom he met yesterday was Elder Tong.

Then what sect does this Elder Tong belong to? Why can he make the county government obey his orders?

And why did he suddenly leave? Did he not want to investigate Pei Wuyong's case?
Lin Bai felt that how could Elder Tong, who had made such a big fanfare and searched the entire city, end up with nothing?

"If I were Elder Tong, and I still couldn't find the person after mobilizing the forces of both the black and white worlds in Huaxi County, I could come up with two guesses."

"First, the person who burned the corpse got something and fled Huaxi County in advance and hid somewhere else."

"Second, the person who burned the corpse got the stuff and is still hiding in Huaxi County, but he is extremely alert and has not revealed any flaws."

Lin Bai pondered for a moment and then made a guess: Elder Tong probably didn't leave, but just pretended to leave to make himself relax.

In other words, Elder Tong left, but he left some people lurking in the dark.

Of course, it may be that I am overthinking...

Lin Bai feels that he should still be cautious and continue to improve his strength.

"Why are you in a daze? Did you take to heart what I told you yesterday?" Niu Er was eating the melon and spitting the seeds on the ground.

"What happened yesterday... I haven't thought about it yet." Lin Bai came back to his senses and wanted to say that he couldn't last long, but he couldn't say it.

After all, I have lived two lives. Throughout history, I have heard of people defiled themselves, but I have never heard of a man defiled himself like this!

"Don't even think about it!" Niu Er frowned and threw the melon to the ground. "Come on! Follow me to a place and let me test your abilities!"

"Measure?" Lin Bai was stunned.

"Don't worry, she's been a brothel owner for many years. She will know whether you have the ability or not after just one test!" said Niu Er.

What is a long-time madam?

"..." Lin Bai was terrified. It was a hot day, but he felt like he was falling into an icy cave.

Lin Bai regretted it very much. He should have made Niu Er's head explode that night! Otherwise, he wouldn't have forced her into prostitution now!
(End of this chapter)