The Imperial Guards, like Yama, slaughtered until the Empress cried out for help.

In the days that followed, the news of the imperial court's plan to establish a martial arts alliance continued to simmer, and the entire martial arts world of Yongning County began to stir with undercurrents.

Qingshan Sect.

The atmosphere inside the sect's main hall was extremely oppressive.

"Oh dear, what should we do? Why did we have to provoke the Embroidered Uniform Guard at this critical juncture? They even want us to go to the Hundred-Household Office within ten days."

"What should we do?"

Six Swords Manor.

An elder slammed his hand on the table and shattered it.

"Damn it, after joining that Martial Alliance, can we still call ourselves the martial arts world?"

The same situation was playing out in various sects and gangs, with everyone arguing and worrying.

Meanwhile, the Red Cloud Sect...

Inside a quiet courtyard, Sect Master Su Zhen looked at his daughter Su Jiudie with some helplessness.

Su Jiudie kept picking out clothes in the wardrobe. After careful consideration, she took out two dresses and looked at Su Zhen excitedly.

"Father, do you think I should wear this white dress or this red dress when I go to see Lord Shen?"

......

Luoshui City West City Hundred Household Office.

Shen Qing lay on a recliner, basking in the sunlight, reading a book and enjoying the leisurely afternoon.

The scholar was organizing information on the martial arts sects of Yongning County.

"Boss, here's all the information about these sects."

"Should we do something?"

"Recently, the martial arts world has been buzzing with rumors, and a few sects have been making a lot of noise about it."

"These two are the loudest. One is the Qinglin Sword Sect, who says they would rather jump off Qinglin Cliff than join our Martial Alliance."

"The other one is arrogant. His name is Shuangjue Sect. He said we have to go to them in person to beg them."

Shen Qing put down the book in his hand and began to speak leisurely.

"No rush."

"The Twin Sects? Let them keep dancing for a while longer."

Yongning County is not that big, but it has hundreds of sects of all sizes.

There's no use in being anxious.

When the scholar heard Shen Qing say there was no rush, he felt relieved. If his boss wasn't in a hurry, he must already have a plan.

Shen Qing took a sip of the green tea beside her and covered her face with the book.

"Hey, scholar, we haven't paid any attention to that white tiger these past few days. Has it run away?"

The scholar's expression turned somewhat strange when this was mentioned.

"Boss, we don't need to worry about White Tiger."

"At first, I had to bring him two pigs a day to feed him. When I got there, there weren't many people at the west gate. I was afraid that the white tiger would run into the city through the north and south gates."

"But when I went there a couple of days ago, something started to go wrong."

"Some people have discovered that the white tiger doesn't actually harm anyone; it just bares its teeth to scare them, so they're no longer afraid."

"Then the absurd things started. People said that the white tiger was an auspicious omen from heaven and could bring good luck, so some people went to worship it and even offered tributes, using the finest beef and pork."

"Until this morning, when I brought over a pig, that white tiger was still gnawing on beef, eating better than me. He didn't even glance at the pig I brought."

Shen Qing removed the book from her face, her eyes looking somewhat strange.

This reminded him of a story: in his past life, there was a wild wolf who lived a life of hardship and sleeping in the open until one day he ate an egg yolk pie thrown away by a passerby. After that, he stopped hunting and started to wait for egg yolk pies by the roadside.

It seems the white tiger is also showing signs of this.

The white tiger, who was squatting at the city gate, couldn't help but burst into tears. "What a miserable life I used to live! I worked so hard all day and all I got was tough and unpalatable wild boar meat. Now I can just squat down anywhere and people will bring me food."

Bailuze? What place is that? You must not be familiar with it.

Even if Shen Qing kicks it, it won't leave.

Shen Qing smiled and said, "As long as no one was hurt, it saves me the trouble of raising them myself."

The scholar chuckled and said, "I was worried that the White Tiger would cause trouble in Luoshui City, but now it seems that the White Tiger is quite humane."

"He has only just arrived in Luoshui City and he has already comprehended the supreme Dao of our human race, the Dao of Lying Down and Complacency."

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the courtyard, and the faint sound of crying could be heard.

Shen Qing had already put the book aside.

The scholar quickly put down the documents in his hand: "Boss, I guess someone's causing trouble again. I'll handle it."

"No need, it's been too quiet these past few days, my hands are itching to get used to it."

Shen Qing straightened his clothes and walked towards the gate of the Hundred Households Office.

.......

At the entrance of the Hundred Households Office.

An elderly woman, around eighty years old, walked nervously toward the Hundred Household Office, but was stopped by two Imperial Guards before she even got close to the entrance.

"This is a key area for the Embroidered Uniform Guard. If you don't have to, stay away."

The Imperial Guards had serious expressions and spoke in an extremely stern tone.

The old woman stopped, hesitated for a moment, and turned around shakily. But after taking only two steps, she turned around again and knelt down in front of the guards at the gate with a thud.

"My lords, I beg you, please save my master! He's disappeared..."

The Imperial Guard frowned.

"Go to the yamen (government office) to report a crime! Why are you coming to the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

At this moment, Old Li came out of the house: "What's wrong? What's wrong? It's so noisy!"

The two Imperial Guards hurriedly saluted. Although Old Li, Scholar, and Black Dog were still captains, everyone regarded them, along with Lin Zikai, as captains, because everyone knew that the four of them were Shen Qing's confidants.

Old Li glanced at the two of them, then helped the old woman up: "Although our words were a bit harsh, it's true. To report a crime, go to the yamen first. If everyone acted like you, then we, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, wouldn't have anything to do..."

The Imperial Guards deal with serious criminals all day long, risking their lives for their rewards. They won't get any reward for solving cases that come to them out of nowhere; in other words, it's a thankless task.

The best way is to go through the procedures at the yamen (government office) and then to the Zhenfu Division (military command).

The old woman, her eyes brimming with tears, gripped Old Li's sleeve tightly: "Sir, the yamen won't take my case. They told me to go find it myself. I really have no other choice."

"My husband is in poor health, and more than a dozen children have disappeared together. The local government won't do anything about it, I..."

Old Li paused for a moment, then asked, "Grandma, how many children are you talking about?"

"There are fourteen children in total, one of whom is twelve years old, and the youngest is only four years old."

Old Li and the two Imperial Guards exchanged a glance, sensing the impending major case.

More than a dozen people have gone missing, and the government is doing nothing about it?

Old Li hurriedly shouted, "What are you all standing there for? Go and call the boss over here!"

"No need to shout, I've arrived."

Unbeknownst to them, Shen Qing was already standing quietly to one side of the gate behind them.

"Grandpa, please tell me the details."

The old woman wiped away her tears, her voice filled with emotion.

"The fifth day... no, the fourth day, it was five days ago. I saw that the Autumn Harvest Festival was approaching, so I wanted to go to the street to buy some wheat cakes for the children. But when I got home, the house was a mess... all the children were gone... the old man was gone too. I really didn't know what to do."

The old woman's cheeks were somewhat sunken, and she had heavy dark circles under her eyes, clearly indicating that she had been frightened. She probably hadn't eaten much in the past few days, and her speech was somewhat slurred. Shen Qing softened her tone.

"Grandpa, don't worry, where do you live?"

"It's on Guyue Street in Xicheng District, the first courtyard you see when you enter the street."

Shen Qing nodded: "Old man, don't worry, I will find the person, and I will also tear down the government office."

Then he turned around and waved his hand: "Take the old man to the court and cook some hot porridge."

The two Imperial Guards quickly escorted the old woman to the Hundred-Household Office.

Old Li: "Boss, shall we head straight to Guyue Street now?"

Shen Qing's expression returned to normal: "Guyue Street? Why go to Guyue Street?"

"Go straight to the yamen, grab that constable and beat him up, and you'll know everything."