In the thirteenth year of the Tianbao era: I became Yang Guozhong's eldest son.

With the first sum of cash distributed, the county government was immediately filled with an unprecedented vitality.

The former constables, having received their back pay, worked with renewed vigor.

Those yamen runners who were originally hesitant have now completely and wholeheartedly sided with the new magistrate.

Pei Zhao, along with Lu Cheng and others, carrying heavy silver notes, began to frequently appear in the villages and black markets around Yaozhou, looking for desperate criminals to recruit.

Cui Shen changed into civilian clothes and, with Afu by his side, quietly visited the old craftsmen in the city who had been suppressed to the point of being unable to hold their heads high.

The entire county government office, like a machine filled with lamp oil, began to rumble and run at high speed.

however.

When wealth is exposed to the light of day, it inevitably attracts the greedy gazes lurking in the shadows.

late at night.

The important warehouse in the backyard of the county government office.

Chen Ye, holding his spear, leaned against a stone pillar outside the warehouse and dozed off.

Although everyone was excited about receiving their pay today, the fatigue from the past few days still made him unable to keep his eyelids closed.

A night breeze blew by, stirring up a few fallen leaves on the ground.

Suddenly, Chen Ye's ears twitched slightly.

As a scout from the Fengxiang Army, he was usually a bit impulsive, but his intuition for danger was exceptionally sharp.

He suddenly opened his eyes, but without making a sound, he silently hid his body in the shadow of the stone pillar.

On the high wall to the side of the warehouse, a dark shadow resembling a gecko had appeared out of nowhere.

The shadowy figure moved extremely lightly, making almost no sound.

He was like a drop of ink blending into the night, silently sliding down the wall, his gaze fixed on the heavy iron lock that had just been installed in the storeroom.

Inside was the cash that the county government had just deposited into its treasury that day.

In the shadowy figure's hand, a strangely shaped short blade was held upside down. The blade was coated with a matte finish that did not reflect any light under the moonlight.

This is no ordinary petty thief.

Chen Ye's heart started racing instantly.

He gripped the spear tightly, his breathing becoming extremely slow.

After confirming that no one was around, the dark figure, like a nimble cat, crept along the wall and approached the warehouse door step by step.

Ten steps.

Five steps.

Just as the shadowy figure reached out to touch the iron lock...

"who!"

Chen Ye emerged from the shadows like a cheetah, his spear transforming into a venomous snake-like afterimage as he thrust it straight at the shadowy figure's back!

This shot was swift and ruthless, sealing off all of the opponent's escape routes.

However, the shadowy figure reacted with astonishing speed.

He didn't turn around, but instead twisted his body to the side at an incredible angle, barely avoiding the spear tip.

At the same time, he flicked his short blade and actually sliced ​​through Chen Ye's spear shaft!

"when!"

A crisp metallic clang rang out, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Chen Ye felt a numbness in his hands, and the gun barrel almost flew out of his hands.

He was terrified; this man's strength and moves were definitely those of a master from the military!

"Thief! Catch the thief!" Knowing that he might not be able to win quickly by fighting alone, Chen Ye immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.

This shout instantly alerted the entire county government office.

Pei Zhao, who was sleeping fully clothed in the side room, heard the noise and rushed out without even putting on his shoes, carrying a horizontal sword.

Lu Cheng and Dou Ping followed closely behind.

The shadowy figure realized that its scheme had been exposed and knew it would not succeed tonight.

He glanced coldly at Chen Ye, showing no intention of continuing the fight. He pushed off the ground with both legs and leaped up like a bird, directly scaling the courtyard wall, which was about ten feet high.

"Trying to leave?!"

Pei Zhao roared angrily, and threw the horizontal sword in his hand, which turned into a shooting star and went straight for the back of the dark figure.

The shadowy figure twisted its body forcefully in mid-air, using the short blade in its hand to parry.

"clang!"

The sword was knocked away, but the dark figure also lost his balance and fell heavily into the alley outside the wall with a muffled groan.

When Pei Zhao and Chen Ye climbed over the courtyard wall and chased after them, the dark alley was already deserted.

Only a few drops of bright red blood remained on the bluestone slabs on the ground.

"Brother Pei, he got away!" Chen Ye stomped his foot in frustration.

Pei Zhao didn't speak. He squatted down and picked up something that the person had dropped while running away.

By the moonlight, it was a waist tag about half the size of a palm, cast from pig iron.

The words "折冲" (zhéchōng) are engraved on it in a somewhat blurry way.

Pei Zhao's pupils suddenly contracted.

"A military license plate from the Zhechong Prefecture..."

He stood up, looked into the boundless darkness deep in the alley, and his expression became more solemn than ever before.

"Go back and tell the young master," Pei Zhao's voice was as deep as iron, "that this sum of money has attracted more than just the powerful figures in the city. There are also military personnel hiding beneath the waters of Yanjing County."

The joy of receiving the first cash payment was completely shattered at that moment.

......

The night was as dark as ink, so thick it seemed impossible to see through.

In the backyard of the Yanjing County Government Office, Chen Ye was carrying a windproof lantern and pacing back and forth in the open space outside the warehouse.

His eyes were wide open, like copper bells, staring intently at the heavy wooden door of the warehouse.

Tonight, the warehouse is piled with three thousand five hundred strings of cash.

This money was painstakingly extracted from the mouths of the Tian and Hu families by Yang Xuan using his life and his schemes.

"Chen Ye, stop spinning, it's making me dizzy." Lu Cheng leaned against a stone pillar, idly playing with the thick-backed longsword in his hand. "Didn't my lord say that since the thief is already frightened, he probably won't come back tonight?"

"Brother Lu, you don't know," Chen Ye lowered his voice, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, "that thief was too fast, he was like a ghost. If I hadn't been fast asleep, he probably would have picked the lock on this warehouse long ago."

Pei Zhao sat on the steps under the eaves, holding a tattered cloth in his hand, carefully wiping his sword.

Upon hearing Chen Ye's words, he stopped what he was doing, raised his head, and gazed intently into the darkness in the distance.

"He will come again." Pei Zhao's voice was soft, but it carried an undeniable certainty.

"Brother Pei, how did you know?" Chen Ye asked, puzzled.

"Because he's unwilling to give up." Pei Zhao sheathed his cleaned sword. "Since he dared to infiltrate the county government office alone, it shows he has absolute confidence in his skills. Moreover, the military token he left behind proves he's no ordinary thief. Such a person won't give up easily because of one failure."

More importantly, Pei Zhao had a vague feeling that the thief was probably trying to steal more than just money.

Although 3,500 strings of cash was a huge sum of money, it was not enough for those powerful figures who were truly pulling the strings in the shadows to risk openly breaking with the imperial officials by sending a skilled military officer.

The thief seemed to be testing the waters.

To test the county government's defenses, to test Yang Xuan's bottom line, and to test just how capable this new county magistrate really is.