Catching Monsters

Chapter 660 Chase After Them!

Inside the prison of the Hongjiang Prefecture government office, Zhou Hanshan and Chen Qilang were already imprisoned, and the place was personally guarded by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

As for the Zhou family's manor, it had already been thoroughly searched by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, and there was no trace of any missing Embroidered Uniform Guards. Of course, this also included the hundreds of people who had gone missing in the city, who were nowhere to be found.

Later, Jiang Yun sent several Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) with excellent swimming skills to dive underwater and investigate.

That's how we got a clue.

Beneath that lake lay hundreds of skeletons.

The city's inhabitants, including the Imperial Guards, naturally mingled among them.

At this moment, in the sweltering prison, the fire pit where the branding iron was burning occasionally crackled with the sound of firewood exploding.

The soldering iron was already glowing red-hot.

Jiang Yun sat on the wooden chair with a gloomy expression, looking at Zhou Hanshan and Chen Qilang inside the prison.

"Kill me or torture me, it's up to you." Zhou Hanshan looked at Jiang Yun with a threatening look in his eyes, but he closed his eyes and made the decision decisively.

He knew he was going to die; more than twenty Imperial Guards had died because of the monster in his mansion.

He accepted his fate when he fell into the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Chen Qilang, standing to the side, was dumbfounded. He quickly said, "Lord Jiang, Lord Jiang, calm down. I only accepted a bribe and fell for Zhou Hanshan's trick."

"You must let me atone for my crimes by doing good deeds."

"I have an elderly mother to care for, and a wife and children to raise."

Dong Qiaofeng glanced at him, snorted coldly, and said, "To gain merit?"

Jiang Yun stroked his chin, looked at Zhou Hanshan curiously, and asked, "Zhou Hanshan, that female demon has been following you?"

"Or did you two reach some kind of agreement? You're helping it catch people?"

"Logically speaking, its cultivation level shouldn't require the use of human essence to cultivate."

Upon hearing Jiang Yun's question, Zhou Hanshan turned away, refusing to speak.

Unexpectedly, Chen Qilang slapped his forehead and hurriedly said, "Lord Jiang, I know, I know!"

"I knew it! This week, everything Han Shan does in business is going smoothly and bringing him wealth."

"The result was that they invited this monster to take charge."

"He initially sold smuggled salt, but later changed careers and became involved in many other industries."

"His competitors either died mysteriously or sold off their businesses to him at a low price."

He monopolized many industries in Hongjiang Prefecture.

Jiang Yun said calmly, "That female demon killed so many of our Imperial Guards, she must die."

Dong Qiaofeng whispered from the side, "Sir, the female demon has escaped. Who knows where she went? How are we supposed to find her?"

Jiang Yun's gaze fell on Dong Qiaofeng. He stroked his chin and slowly said, "Of course, we have to rely on this Mr. Zhou Hanshan."

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Yun slowly said, "I suspect that the relationship between Zhou Hanshan and that female demon is unusual. Our Embroidered Uniform Guard has arrested quite a few people, didn't you sense that?"

Upon hearing Jiang Yun's reminder, Dong Qiaofeng slapped his forehead: "That's right!"

Such cases of humans colluding with demons to plunder and kill are indeed not uncommon, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard has dealt with quite a few of them.

But the monster escaped, and the people were captured.

In order to save their lives, those who are captured will first reveal the whereabouts of the monster or honestly confess what happened.

Zhou Hanshan's reaction was somewhat unusual, but the Embroidered Uniform Guard had handled a large number of cases and had encountered similar situations before.

In this situation, it is highly likely that the person involved and the monster have developed a deep emotional bond.

This feeling is not necessarily romantic love; it can also include friendship, etc.

Back when Dong Qiaofeng was still a junior officer, he handled a case involving a street thug who was starving to death when he encountered a rat with meager magical powers.

This rat is the least powerful of all demons, having only just begun to develop spiritual intelligence.

The two conspired to steal money in the capital.

This allowed the once impoverished hoodlum to buy a house in the capital, get married, and have children.

Later, the rat demon broke into the home of a high-ranking official, and a considerable amount of valuables were stolen.

The case ultimately fell to Dong Qiaofeng for investigation, and he eventually captured the rat demon.

The case could have been closed at this point, since the thieving monster had been caught and, according to the rules, should have been killed.

Unexpectedly, after learning about this, the scoundrel spent a fortune trying to rescue the rat demon. When he realized he couldn't, he went to the East Town Governor's Office and claimed that he was the one who committed the crime.

He wanted to exchange his own life for the rat demon.

He said that he was able to go from a street thug to getting married and having children entirely thanks to Brother Rat, and now that Brother Rat is in trouble, he only asks to exchange his own life for Brother Rat's life.

This incident was shocking even within the Embroidered Uniform Guard at the time. After all, the matter hadn't been traced back to this scoundrel, and if he had simply ignored it and pretended not to know anything...

The case is now closed.

This act of loyalty and righteousness also reached the ears of Li Wangxin, the commander at the time.

Li Wangxin was deeply moved by this act of loyalty and righteousness. It is said that Li Wangxin couldn't help but exclaim at the time, "I never thought there could be such a loyal and righteous person."

Finally, he specially summoned Dong Qiaofeng and instructed him: "Such loyal and affectionate people, when you kill them, be quick with the knife, and remember to bury them together so they can keep each other company in the afterlife."

In short, Dong Qiaofeng narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at Zhou Hanshan in the cell, and asked, "Hey, tell me, are you having an affair with that female demon? That's pretty cool."

Jiang Yun said calmly, "Is there even a need to ask? It's obviously Xu Xian."

Who is Xu Xian?

Jiang Yun: "A snake player."

Zhou Hanshan slowly clenched his fist and said in a deep voice, "Your people are dead, so all you need to do is close the case. Why not just close the case by taking my name?"

Dong Qiaofeng snorted coldly and said, "Is it that simple? The dead were ordinary people? They were our Embroidered Uniform Guards."

"More than twenty brothers lost their lives just like that."

Jiang Yun slowly asked, "Who is in charge of the yamen?"

"The prefect ordered us to lock him up; he must be the local assistant prefect," Dong Qiaofeng replied.

Jiang Yun remained silent for a moment, then said, "Pass down the order: Zhou Hanshan will be publicly executed three days from now."

"Let the news spread."

"Does it need three days?" Dong Qiaofeng scratched the back of his head.

Jiang Yun rolled her eyes at Dong Qiaofeng: "That snake demon was wounded by my sword. She's probably hiding somewhere to recover right now. I'm worried that she might not receive the news in three days."

"Do as I say."

"Yes." Dong Qiaofeng nodded emphatically and quickly went out to take care of the matter.

Seeing that Jiang Yun was also preparing to leave the prison, Chen Qilang hurriedly called out, "Lord Jiang, Lord Jiang, what about me, what about me?"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about you. Prefect Chen colluded with Zhou Hanshan and others. He will be punished along with them and executed in three days."

Chen Qilang was stunned, and then slapped himself. Jiang Yun was about to leave, why did he have to say something like that?

Soon, news of Zhou Hanshan's impending execution spread rapidly throughout Hongjiang Prefecture.

Zhou Hanshan wields considerable influence in the local area.

According to the notice posted by the government, it only stated that Zhou Hanshan colluded with monsters and harmed the lives of ordinary people and imperial guards, committing heinous crimes, and would be executed in the street three days later.

Many people felt it was a pity, after all, Zhou Hanshan had done a lot of work in paving roads and building bridges.

During festivals, porridge is also distributed to poor families.

In the eyes of many, Zhou Hanshan is indeed a great philanthropist.

Dong Qiaofeng was still afraid that this matter would not reach the ears of the hiding female demon.

They also ordered the yamen runners to beat drums and gongs and go to the towns and villages around Hongjiang Prefecture to spread the word.

Try to let as many people as possible know about this.

Jiang Yun then selected the execution site.

Although it is a public execution, in reality, Jiang Yun will not allow too many people to come and witness the execution.

After all, the main purpose of this trip is to eliminate demons. Given the strength of that snake demon, gathering a group of people would only lead to the deaths of those people.

Passersby on the streets of Hongjiang Prefecture, as well as people in roadside shops and teahouses, were all discussing Zhou Hanshan's affairs.

Dong Qiaofeng followed beside Jiang Yun, holding several addresses in his hand: "Sir, we've looked at the two markets ahead, and they both say they're no good. That place is the most suitable for beheading..."

"We need to find a more secluded place," Jiang Yun said calmly.

Dong Qiaofeng frowned. There were quite a few people on the street when a beggar accidentally bumped into him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the beggar quickly apologized.

Dong Qiaofeng wanted to get angry, but after glancing at Jiang Yun beside him, he held back: "Get out, get out, don't you have eyes?"

The beggar lowered his head and quickly left.

Holding the address on the slip of paper in his hand, Dong Qiaofeng said, "Sir, take a look at this..."

"what."

Dong Qiaofeng touched the purse on his body: "Thief!"

"Sir, that beggar is a thief."

Jiang Yun rolled her eyes at him: "What's the point of yelling at me like that? Go after him!"

(End of this chapter)