The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 301 Seven Star Begonia
After listening to Li Miao's words, Zheng Yi stood there in deep thought.

Cao Hanyan and Yin Suqin exchanged a glance, looked at the pitiful remains, and felt they couldn't stand idly by. So they came over and talked with Zheng Yi, wanting to discuss the matter together.

Zheng Yi glanced at Li Miao and, seeing that he didn't object, told the two of them what she could say, and the three of them discussed their next move together.

Suddenly, Cao Hanyan raised her head.

"Storyteller! It's haunted!"

The other two looked up at the same time.

Cao Hanyan quickly said, "Gentlemen, first of all, let's make one thing clear: there are no ghosts or gods in this world. Ghost stories are either fabrications or lies told by people with ulterior motives to cover up the truth."

"Xue Bangzhu has been dead for several years, so the ghost story couldn't have been her doing—it's most likely the murderer, and the disappearance of the merchants should also be the work of the same person."

"Then there are two breakthroughs in this matter: one is who spread the rumors of ghosts, and the other is who committed the disappearance of this merchant!"

Cao Hanyan took a few steps, paused for a moment, and then turned to look at Yin Suqin.

"Brother Yin, do you remember the storyteller who told us about the ghosts? How old did he look?"

Yin Suqin pursed her lips, recalled for a moment, and said, "She must be about sixty or seventy years old, with gray hair and sunken cheeks."

Cao Hanyan clapped her hands.

"That's it! There's definitely something fishy about this person!"

“He’s about the same age as Xue Bangzhu, so it’s entirely possible that he was involved in what happened back then!”

"Moreover, even Lord Li had to check the case files of the yamen to find out what happened back then. How could he know so much about it? Even if he had only heard about it, he would have had to make a point of asking around! Besides, if you want to spread rumors about a ghost, wouldn't a storyteller be the best candidate?"

"Kaifeng Prefecture is so big, and we were just wandering around aimlessly. How did we happen to run into someone who knew the truth?"

"I'm afraid he came here on purpose to tell us the news!"

Cao Hanyan quickly walked to Li Miao's side and bowed.

"My lord, since Brother Yin and I are already involved, and this matter involves several lives, we cannot remain uninvolved. May we accompany you for a while to investigate and resolve this matter?"

Yin Suqin also stepped forward and bowed with one hand.

Li Miao smiled and nodded.

"can."

"In that case, let's not delay any longer. Since there's something fishy about that old storyteller, let's go find him now."

After saying that, he placed one hand on Yin Suqin's shoulder and took off his waist tag from his waist with the other and threw it to Zheng Yi.

"Xiao Yizi, take this 'beep beep boy' to the local government office and have him tell them where he was seen and what his characteristics are, and check his identity."

Yin Suqin felt a warmth in his shoulder, followed by a pain that almost shattered his reason, but thankfully it only lasted a moment. When Li Miao lowered his hand, he shook his shoulder and found that the injury had healed.

Just as he was about to express his gratitude, Li Miao waved his hand to stop him.

Yin Suqin knew that Li Miao didn't like his mouth, so she stopped talking, bowed and turned to leave, but was grabbed by the collar by the impatient Zheng Yi.

"Aunt Zheng, ahhhhh—"

Swish!
Her words were cut short by a scream as Zheng Yi lifted Yin Suqin high into the air, and with lightning speed, she disappeared from sight in an instant.

"Let's go."

Li Miao smiled at Cao Hanyan.

"Since the storyteller told you the news, he must know your purpose. Whether you stay or leave won't take long. Where did you meet him? Let's search for him first."

Cao Hanyan nodded in agreement, but as soon as she looked up, Li Miao had disappeared.

Then the collar tightened, and both feet left the ground.

Thinking of what Yin Suqin had just experienced, he understood what had happened, immediately shut his mouth, and mentally prepared himself to "fly away".

But what he didn't know was that being lifted up by Li Miao was not the same as being lifted up by Zheng Yi.

The scene before my eyes suddenly blurred!

The strong wind rushed into my collar, making my clothes stand up!

Like being launched by a cannon! Each landing was accompanied by a deafening roar that echoed in all directions! And a massive amount of earth and rocks were sent flying! In an instant, they traversed dozens of meters!
On the vast, dark field, Cao Hanyan, who had remained calm and composed since their first meeting, finally couldn't help but let out a scream.

"Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah--"

Following this was Li Miao's mischievous laughter. ————————

"vomit--"

Cao Hanyan leaned against the wall, her face pale as she vomited for a while before wiping her mouth and turning to look at Li Miao.

Li Miao was looking at him with his hands behind his back, a mischievous smile on his face.

Cao Hanyan understood that he did it on purpose.

Now, Cao Hanyan had completely understood Li Miao's character. This man had no qualms about bullying the weak and actually enjoyed making people look foolish.

Judging from his attitude towards himself and Yin Suqin, the more he valued someone, the more he enjoyed teasing them. He was more likely to take direct action against those he disliked, without any preamble.

It's unclear what kind of environment this Lord Li grew up in to develop such a wicked personality. Yet, given his status and martial prowess, there's probably no one in Da Shuo who can reason with him.

The fact that such a person became the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard is truly a scourge to the entire martial arts world of Da Shuo!

Cao Hanyan shook her head, forcibly swallowed her inner complaints, and got down to business.

"Sir, the storyteller was sitting here last night. Brother Yin and I noticed he was old, so we came over to inquire about him."

"Judging from how the people around him talk to him, this person must be a frequent visitor here, or at least not a stranger."

Li Miao nodded, and without checking the traces, casually strode forward.

With his keen hearing and sense of smell, he didn't need to lie down and look closely. He could just walk around the village and any suspicious things would naturally come to light.

Cao Hanyan followed behind, pondering as she walked.

The two wandered around the village for a while, when Li Miao suddenly stopped and turned to look at a house on the side of the road.

Swish!
Just as Cao Hanyan was about to ask a question, Li Miao disappeared in a flash.

He quickly scaled the wall and leaped into the courtyard. As soon as he landed, he smelled a strange fragrance. The smell was neither pleasant nor unpleasant; it was faint yet pungent, and he had never smelled anything like it in his life.

Looking up, one could see the main door of the house wide open, with Li Miao standing inside with his hands behind his back, looking towards one side of the house.

Cao Hanyan hurried over, and the closer he got to the main house, the stronger the smell became. Only after he stepped over the threshold did he suddenly realize that some of the smells had been masked by the fragrance.

It smelled of rust and the stench of excrement.

Cao Hanyan turned her head following Li Miao's gaze and was immediately stunned.

Just then, the sound of footsteps approached from outside the door. With a whoosh, Zheng Yi appeared beside him.

A moment later, Yin Suqin came running in, breathless, one hand on her knee and the other waving a piece of paper.

"Sir, you've found him! He's the resident here. We found his address and came over!"

"He's not going anywhere, is he?"

He took a few breaths, and the strange smell entered his nostrils. Yin Suqin was startled, turned her head and saw a figure sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), head bowed, motionless.

Li Miao's voice rang out.

"They've stopped running."

"But there's no way we can get any information out of him."

He rubbed his nose, slowly walked to the side of the person sitting on the kang (a heated brick bed), and pushed him away.

puff.

The man then collapsed onto the kang (a heated brick bed).

Li Miao raised his hand and with a single palm strike, his true energy pushed open the window from a distance, allowing moonlight to stream in and illuminate the corpse of the old man, who was bleeding from all seven orifices and urinating and defecating.

The wind blew into the room through the window, spreading the smell emanating from the corpse.

Li Miao had smelled this scent before.

Back in Hengshan, the old man from Yingzhou who came to deliver the invitation had this poison hidden in his teeth to commit suicide. Later, An Ziyang examined it carefully and explained the name and origin of the substance to Li Miao.

"Seven Stars, Begonia".

Li Miao twirled his fingers and said softly.

(End of this chapter)