Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

The sound was extremely short, stopping abruptly as soon as it began, as if it had been abruptly cut off. It was so fast that Zhou Wenqing and the others almost thought they had misheard.

But when the group exchanged glances, they all saw the same solemnity in each other's eyes—it wasn't an illusion, nor was it a hallucination.

There were still people on the streets after the curfew?

Could it be a thief?

Li Yi instinctively took a step forward, firmly protecting the three gentlemen behind him. His hand was already on the hilt of his sword at his waist, and his gaze was as sharp as a hawk's, fixed on that dark corner.

Although this was inside the city, having suffered such a terrible attack, he dared not be careless in the slightest.

There was a rustling sound coming from over there, like something being dragged, or like clothes brushing against the wall.

Zhou Wenqing frowned, a vague unease creeping into his heart.

Their outing tonight was a spur-of-the-moment decision, without any premeditation, and it is unlikely that it was a trap set in advance by someone.

If I heard correctly, the voice sounded like someone was shouting for help.

His heart sank, and he raised his hand: "Someone, go and check it out, be careful."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bodyguard appeared out of nowhere, responded, and vanished around the corner.

A few short, sharp sounds of fighting rang out, but soon things quieted down.

The guards turned back, one hand dragging a lean man, the other carrying a child in their arms.

With a dull thud, the man was slammed hard onto the cold, hard bluestone pavement.

Before he could struggle, the guard had already stomped heavily on the back of his neck where it met his spine.

The man instantly became like a turtle whose shell had been flipped over, kicking his limbs in vain, his whole body pinned to the ground, making muffled "hoarse" sounds from his throat.

But nobody paid attention to him; everyone's attention was on the child.

She was about seven or eight years old. Her little face was covered with a layer of dust, her messy hair was tangled and stuck to her cheeks, and there was a ring of purplish-blue finger marks around her neck. Her eyes were closed, her head was limp and hanging down, and she was lifeless. It was unclear whether she had fainted or was already...

Zhou Wenqing's heart clenched suddenly.

Li Yi quickly stepped forward to take the child, checked his breathing, felt his pulse on the side of his neck, turned to Zhou Wenqing, and whispered, "Sir, he's still alive."

Zhou Wenqing breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at the man who was being trampled on the ground, and then looked at the guards:

"What's going on?"

The guard clasped his hands in a fist salute and reported in a deep voice:

"Sir, when I rounded the corner, I saw this man tightly covering the child's mouth and nose, trying to drag her into the shadows. Fearing she would suffocate, I immediately subdued him and brought her back. However, the child's breathing was weak, and she had already fainted."

"I'm afraid it's someone who's been overlooked."

Upon hearing this, Han Fei blurted out, his face turning ashen, staring at the man on the ground as if he were a filthy bug.

This person has been kidnapped.

He had always despised such petty scoundrels who trampled on the law and schemed for personal gain. He immediately took a few steps forward, and the guards quickly stepped back, watching as Han Fei kicked the man who was trying to get up, knocking him to the ground once again.

"Speak! What exactly did you do to this child?!" Han Fei's voice was as cold as ice. "And why are you here? How many accomplices do you have behind you? How many children are you kidnapping?!"

The man groaned in pain as he was kicked, but remained silent.

Oh dear! He's a tough nut to crack.

Yao Jia was already annoyed and frustrated by the commotion in the middle of the night, and now seeing that this villain was so unyielding, his anger surged even higher.

He stepped forward, raised his foot, and stomped hard on the man's ankle!

"Snap—!"

A sickeningly soft cracking sound of bone breaking was heard and then vanished in an instant.

"ah--!"

A piercing scream of pain finally broke through the man's throat; his whole body convulsed violently, and beads of cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.

"Speak!" Yao Jia leaned down, staring down at him with a chilling, oppressive gaze. "You can't escape. Confess honestly, and maybe I'll spare your life!"

The man clutched his feet, tears streaming down his face, his mouth agape, making muffled "ah ah" sounds, but unable to utter a single word.

"that……"

Zhou Wenqing, who had silently retreated behind Li Yi while the two were aggressively fighting, seemed to have noticed something and weakly spoke up:

"This person's jaw... looks like it's been removed."

Han Fei and Yao Jia were both taken aback. They looked down at the man rolling on the ground, tears streaming down his face, and then turned to look at the guards beside them.

The bodyguard hurriedly stepped forward, his face showing a hint of guilt:

"Gentlemen, this fellow just now uttered foul language, some truly obscene and offensive words. I was afraid of offending your ears, so I dislocated his jaw to prevent him from barking again. We will put it back in place now so as not to affect the interrogation."

He really didn't do it on purpose. It's just that these two gentlemen attacked too quickly. He only had time to dodge and didn't even have time to say anything!

Han Fei: "..."

Yao Jia: "..."

I got angry and couldn't hold back.

While the guards were busy, Zhou Wenqing didn't have time to pay attention to them. He looked down at the child in Li Yi's arms and saw that she was breathing weakly, her face was pale, and her brows were tightly furrowed.

"Let's take him back for further questioning. It's important to let Physician Lü examine the child."

"No!"

Han Fei and Yao Jia refused in unison, their voices so clear and crisp that they startled Zhou Wenqing, who looked at them with surprise and suspicion.

"What's wrong?"

Han Fei first glanced disdainfully at the man on the ground, then said:

"This man must have accomplices nearby; we must not let him go."

"I'm innocent!"

The man's jaw was finally put back on, and he sat on the ground, wailing and crying out for justice:

"Innocent! Utterly innocent! I am not some heinous human trafficker, but merely a servant helping my master capture runaway slaves!"

"That little slut escaped from the master's estate. I was only ordered to capture her and bring her back. You can't falsely accuse an innocent person. Release me now, or I'll sue you! Sue you!"

"Still not behaving yourself."

Yao Jia ground his fist into the man's ankle several more times, listening to his piercing screams, and said coldly:

"Runaway slave? You're quite the concoction concoction! What runaway slave is so well-proportioned, with healthy skin and a face covered in dust but without any scars, dressed in simple clothes, clearly from a respectable family?"

"Furthermore, Luoyang has strict laws. If a servant escapes, the master must report it to the authorities for arrest. How can you possibly drag and rob someone in the middle of the night during curfew? Who do you think you can fool with this nonsense? You'd better confess honestly, or don't blame me for being even more ruthless!"

The man on the ground continued to stubbornly protest his innocence, but the panic in his eyes was impossible to hide. He also repeatedly tried to pressure the government by mentioning it in his words, attempting to intimidate the crowd.

Zhou Wenqing watched this scene with a cold eye, feeling only disgust.

He had noticed it early on: the child's hands were slender and fair, without any calluses from working. Clearly, the child was the apple of his parents' eye, yet he had suffered such a great injustice.

These human traffickers are truly despicable!

"Zicheng." Han Fei suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhou Wenqing beside him, his expression becoming increasingly solemn. "Take this child back first, and then send more people over."

He glanced up at the empty streets and alleys, his brows furrowing even more deeply:

"We haven't encountered a single patrolman on our way here. We didn't notice it at first, but now that we think about it, Luoyang has a strict curfew, so this shouldn't be the case. It's likely that someone is colluding with these scoundrels and doing this on purpose."

"Such a long and complicated process couldn't possibly involve just one child; there must be accomplices. They're probably planning to move under cover of night, either outside the city or at a ferry crossing. We need to get them to talk as soon as possible."

Zhou Wenqing was taken aback, and his heart sank.

He was so worried about the unconscious child that he overlooked this point.