What a lucky world!

Chapter 87 I Have a Heart Lamp...

After leaving the flower hall, Zhang Mu returned to his own courtyard, put down his bag, and then ran out of the escort agency again.

Yes, he ran away again.

But Zhang Mu did go there to do serious business.

He first went to Song Yuanqing's house.

Just now, Zhuang Xiaomeng said that Song Yuanqing almost died outside the city while looking for him, so he naturally wanted to go and visit him. However, just as he was led into the back hall by the old housekeeper, he saw the famous scene of Song Yuanqing and his son kneeling together for training.

Seeing Zhang Mu return safely, Song Yuanqing was very happy. He knelt down and asked his wife to cook a meal for Zhang Mu to welcome him and calm him down. However, Zhang Mu was frightened.

So Zhang Mu made an excuse and quickly left the Song family.

After leaving the Song family, Zhang Mu walked towards Xuan Ji's temple without stopping.

I've been gone for so many days, it's time to go and report to Mr. Ya that I'm safe.

……

"crunch-"

Zhang Mu pushed open the temple's wooden door and saw the mute man sweeping the floor. He smiled and said, "Mute man!"

Uncle Ya was stunned. When he saw Zhang Mu coming back, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face. He let go of the broom in his hand and trotted to Zhang Mu. However, he looked left and right and didn't see Xuan Ji, so he looked at Zhang Mu with a puzzled look.

Zhang Mu smiled and pulled Uncle Ya to sit in the Buddhist hall. Several mice immediately came over with tea leaves, kettles and cups to make tea.

Looking at the anxious gestures of the mute master, Zhang Mu suppressed his gestures and said, "Don't worry, Xuan Ji is fine."

"I have killed that evil monk."

Upon hearing this, the wrinkles on Ya Ye's face relaxed a little, and then he gestured to ask Xuan Ji why she didn't come back.

"Xuan Ji is still a little injured." Zhang Mu said, "But don't worry, it's nothing serious."

"Now she is recovering in a very safe place."

"When her injuries are healed, someone will bring her back."

When Ya Ye heard what Zhang Mu said, he breathed a sigh of relief, then stood up and was about to kneel down in front of Zhang Mu, but Zhang Mu quickly supported him.

"Master Ya, Xuan Ji and I are one and the same. You don't need to perform such a grand ceremony."

Uncle Ya shook his head and kowtowed to Zhang Mu. Zhang Mu had no choice but to give way and did not dare to accept the gift in person.

After Mr. Ya stood up, Zhang Mu said goodbye.

After leaving the temple, Zhang Mu went to the money shop again.

This time when he went down the mountain, the bag that Shisan Niang gave him contained about ten taels of silver and two hundred taels of silver notes.

However, Zhang Mu had tried it on the way, and the silver he received as a gift did not have the white mist he needed.

He planned to try again with the silver note.

But Zhang Mu was not very hopeful.

Because whether it was killing Liu Zuo, getting the reward from Zhuang Xiaomeng, or the thank-you money from Han Wanli, he had to pay a price.

For example, killing people, practicing, checking accounts...

Zhang Mu had previously learned from Lin Jinglong that the white mist on the silver was actually a kind of luck, and the silver itself was just a carrier. So logically, he should have done something to gain the luck, and the silver was just a settlement for this behavior, so it was not enough to just get the silver.

To use an analogy, silver is like a safe, and luck is the money inside. You must pay something to obtain the safe that holds the money. Silver obtained out of thin air is like an empty safe—there's still nothing inside. After you take the money out of your safe, no matter how many times you change the safe, you won't get a penny more.

What happened in the bank later proved that Zhang Mu's guess was correct.

The silver withdrawn from the bank according to the silver bills did not have any white gas.

Under the resentful gaze of the bank waiter, Zhang Mu returned the silver, collected the banknotes, and returned to the escort agency.

……

night.

A quiet little courtyard.

Song Haowen, the county school instructor, was writing furiously when he suddenly heard a noise outside the door. Without even raising his head, he called out, "Come in."

Then, a man in night clothes walked in, knelt on one knee, and said, "Sir, I have checked everything." Hearing this, Song Haowen put down his pen, looked at the man, and said, "Speak."

"Return to my lord."

"The major families in the county purchased grain through the Qingfeng Trading Company, but the Qingfeng Trading Company did not deliver a single grain to Wan'an County."

"The food for each of the major families is supplied by the Wan'an County Warehouse."

"After the demonic disaster broke out, County Magistrate Zhou Yangyou opened his granaries to provide relief, reportedly releasing 23,800 dan of grain."

"But the actual amount of grain released was only 3,000 dan."

Song Haowen threw the brush in his hand to the ground.

"What a great teleportation technique!"

"In the blink of an eye, the imperial granary has become their private vault!"

"Once the disaster relief is over, they will know exactly how much grain they have released."

The night traveler thought for a moment and said, "Sir, there are so many disaster victims. Aren't they afraid?"

Song Haowen sneered: "What are they afraid of?"

"Do you know how many hidden fields and households there are in this county?"

"Do you know why the county initially accepted the disaster victims into the city?"

"I dare to say that when the imperial court sends people down to take a census next spring, the number of people in Wan'an County will be very close to the number on the roster. Zhou Yangyou will be rewarded and recognized as an able official."

"How can such people be capable officials? Sooner or later, the people of the world will be killed by them!" The night traveler spat.

Song Haowen continued with a cold face: "What about other things?"

The Night Walker quickly continued, "Sir, someone is behind the silver tide, encouraging people to hoard silver, but this clue has been lost."

"However, we have already discovered that Zhou Yangyou and the wealthy families in the county have colluded to control both the grain prices and the properties mortgaged during the bankruptcy incident, and they are dividing the profits afterwards!"

Song Haowen flicked his fingers lightly on the table. "Zhou Yangyou will be in office in about two months. He's going to make the most of Wan'an County..."

"What about the demon disaster?"

"We've also investigated it." The Night Walker lowered his head and said, "Those demons were slaves purchased by the Qingfeng Trading Company through various channels. They've been lurking outside Wan'an County under the protection of the county government and the major families in the county for at least half a year."

"The purpose must be to cause a demonic disaster before the autumn harvest."

Song Haowen frowned and said, "I've considered this possibility, but Zhou Yang is from a side branch of the Zhou family and doesn't have such great power..."

Suddenly, Song Haowen seemed to have thought of something. He found a booklet from the pile of documents on the desk, opened it, and suddenly realized something. Then his face became even colder.

"So that's it..."

"Sir, what's wrong?" the night walker asked hurriedly.

Song Haowen threw the booklet on the desk and said, "Apart from Wan'an County, Sanyang County, Wenkou County, Cuiyun County, and Shulan County have also suffered from demonic disasters. I believe the situation is similar to Wan'an."

"The chief officials of these four places are old friends and students of the Zhou family."

"The Zhou family is behind this."

"The Zhou family? What do they want to do?" The night walker was also surprised.

The Zhou family mentioned by Song Haowen, also known as the Boling Zhou family, is one of the five surnames and seven families today, and is one of the top families in the world.

"I don't know." Song Haowen shook his head. "Wan'an County is too small to see the overall situation, but I'm sure if it was Zhou's doing, then the damage would definitely not just affect the five counties of Yongning Prefecture!"

"Do you have any evidence for what you just said?"

The Night Walker hesitated for a moment: "There is no solid evidence, but there are clues to investigate!"

"Okay!" Song Haowen said in a resounding voice, looking at the flickering oil lamp, as if he had made a decision. The tiny light seemed to be planted in his eyes.

The world is in decline, and the road ahead is bleak.

A gentleman in the world has a lamp in his heart.

(End of this chapter)