The 18th year of the Da Yong reign: The beginning of the story involves rescuing revolutionaries.

At noon, the Yazi River reflected shimmering light, and groups of laborers unloaded cargo from the hold to the dock.

The group leader sat in the shed, yawning, with one foot on a bench, looking rather bored.

After hearing about what happened in the city a few days ago, he was terrified of Wang Luoyun, that ruthless man who dared to chop off even Zhou Chu's finger.

Now, more than ten days have passed, and the rebels have not been caught. The provincial government said they would send someone, but no one has come. He couldn't help but become a little lax. He scratched his toes, picked up his glass of cold tea, and took a big gulp.

Meanwhile, the Qingfeng Tower in the city was bustling with activity.

Since the bandits of Shibawu were eliminated, the Yazi River, as the main inland waterway for freight transport, has become even busier.

With the increasing number of travelers, merchants, and itinerant traders, many people would dine at Qingfenglou.

Under Wang Zhi's arrangement, this largest restaurant in the county not only has private rooms and banquets, but also offers many affordable dishes, making its business even more prosperous than before.

Bare-chested porters, water carriers, and farmers who come to the city to buy and sell rice and flour sit in the main hall near the door. In the afternoon, when there is no work, they eat two dishes of cucumber salad and a dish of peanuts with their drinks.

The liquor was low-grade strong liquor, but it was still potent enough that the more you drank, the more intoxicated you became. After eating and drinking your fill, you would sit limply on the stone steps and doze off.

Squinting, enjoying the free sunlight.

The waiter came over wiping a rag, intending to shoo the customer to sit aside and at least leave the door exposed.

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves rang out. Before these people could react, two fast horses galloped past the gate, kicking up dust that covered the shirtless farmers.

The men sobered up a bit immediately, stood up, glared at the departing figures on horseback, and were about to hurl a few curses when the waiter covered their mouths: "Shh, be quiet. You don't want to live anymore. Look closely, those people on horseback are wearing official robes."

The waiter only let go after the man blinked and nodded.

They asked in confusion, "Official robes? What kind of official robes are these? We've never seen them before."

"If I'm not mistaken, he's a provincial inspector. I met him on a long trip with the shopkeeper a few years ago." The waiter's eyes showed a hint of reminiscence.

"What kind of official is an inspector? Is he any more powerful than a county magistrate?" the man asked, even more puzzled.

The waiter rolled his eyes and didn't explain further. He looked down on the group from the bottom of his heart, but if you really asked him to argue, he couldn't really say anything.

They watched as several fast horses galloped towards the Liuzhou County government office, disappearing around the street corner in the blink of an eye.

The two fast horses galloped towards Liuzhou County like the wind, moving at an incredible speed.

Before the gatekeeper, Ma Han, could even ask anything, the only man still able to speak shouted, "Provincial Inspector Ji is here! You all must go and inform the county magistrate immediately!"

People from the provincial government are here!

Ma Han was quite perceptive; a thought struck him—this was a good opportunity for him to show off.

The man's shout, amplified by the martial artist's internal energy, carried far and wide, reaching even the inner sanctum.

Ma Han's eardrums ached from the loud noise, but he dared not delay and hurriedly ran to the yamen.

Without looking at them, the man anxiously helped the unconscious Lord Ji off his horse, then turned around and glared at the other officer who was standing there dumbfounded: "Are you blind, you son of a bitch? Come up and lend a hand."

"Yes, yes." The man took Ji Dinggang from the man's hands in three quick steps.

Only then did the man go to untie Chen Shi from the other horse. The latter was tied to the horse's back with ropes, and his condition looked much worse than that of Lord Ji.

He reeked of blood, with a large patch of blood on his chest, making his already black uniform appear even darker.

There was a deep sword wound on his shoulder, so deep that the bone was visible. The flesh on both sides of the wound was writhing wildly toward the center, but it seemed to be suppressed by the sword wound and could not close up.

The simple act of helping him off the horse made Chen Shi frown in discomfort.

His steps faltered, and he leaned heavily on his colleague. He hadn't taken two steps when, spitting out another mouthful of blood, the blood foam still clinging to the corners of his mouth and dripping onto the bluestone slabs at the entrance of the yamen.

The two men, each supporting the other, went inside. Before they had gone two steps, Zhou An, who was already in the torture chamber, rushed out in a flurry of activity.

He didn't receive a notification from his subordinates, but rather heard shouts from the yamen gate. He waited and waited, as if he were hoping for the stars and the moon, and finally, Lord Ji from the provincial government arrived. He was so excited that he almost lost a shoe while running.

Upon seeing this scene from afar, he was startled and slowed his pace. As he approached, he respectfully bowed and said, "This humble official is Zhou An, the head of the Liuzhou County Public Security Bureau. Greetings, sir. May I ask which one of you is Lord Ji?"

"Lord Ji was attacked on his way here and has fallen into a coma. I am Zhang Zhu, a trusted confidant of Lord Ji and an inspector from the capital. I request that Director Zhou quickly contact a renowned doctor in the city to come to the county office for treatment. Also, I have written a prescription and given my men to fetch some medicine." Zhang Zhu spoke quickly and finished his instructions in a short time.

Although he was an inspector of the capital and a confidant of Lord Ji, the rank of an inspector was very low. Lord Ji was a fourth-rank official, while he and Chen Shi were only eighth-rank officials. In terms of rank, they were equal to Zhou An, but in terms of power, they were far inferior.

Therefore, he did not speak arrogantly.

Of course, only martial artists of the third realm like him and Chen Shi are worthy of being Lord Ji's confidants. There are only a few like them in the entire inspection route. The rest of the inspectors are mostly martial arts masters who have not entered the realm and usually do not even have the opportunity to speak with Lord Ji.

Zhou An has gained some weight in recent years, but his mind is still sharp. He took everything the other party said to heart and quickly extracted a few key points. He personally took Lord Ji from his subordinates' arms. In fact, he had already made a judgment based on the official robes.

Previously, I just couldn't believe that Lord Ji, a dignified fourth-level martial artist, had fainted.

He instructed Ma Han to ride a fast horse to invite Physician Jiang.

At the same time, they led Zhang Zhu towards the inner yamen, where they finally encountered Magistrate Hu, who was dressed in neat clothes.

"I am late, your humble servant is Hu Cangyao, the magistrate of Liuzhou County."

After he finished identifying himself, Zhou An quickly gave a brief account of the situation.

The county magistrate panicked. This Lord Ji was a powerful patron he had finally found, and he couldn't afford for anything to happen to him.

Moreover, if the other party is harmed by petty thieves in his own jurisdiction, then he is truly to blame.

He arranged for the two seriously injured patients to lie down in the inner courtyard bedroom, and then gave Zhang Zhu paper and pen to write a prescription.

One ounce of horsegrass, two mace of ginseng, ginseng... Zhang Zhu wrote as he wrote, "I urge the magistrate to order the immediate sealing of all entrances and exits of Liuzhou County. The villains who attacked Lord Ji are suspected of colluding with rebels. They are a man and a woman, wearing moon-white robes and carrying swords. They are also seriously injured and have fled into Liuzhou County. We must not let them escape."

After finishing the prescription, he handed it to Zhou Chu, who then quickly sent his men on horseback to the clinic to get the medicine.

Another instance of colluding with rebels? Magistrate Hu and Zhou An both had a sudden thought. They exchanged a glance, seemingly having the same idea. It was like a pillow being handed to someone who was sleepy; they could take this opportunity to make a big fuss about the Daxing Gang.

"Now I'll make sure you're dead!" Zhou An touched his severed finger, thinking to himself, "My chance for revenge has finally come."