Dual Transmigration: Starting from being captured and brought to the Hehuan Sect!

However, before they could even exchange words, the servant who had first discovered the jar collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

Then came the second, the third, and the fourth. The torches slipped from their hands, the lanterns rolled to the ground, and people fell in swathes like harvested wheat, without any warning or struggle.

Their eyes were still open, their mouths were still agape, but they had stopped breathing.

In his final moments before collapsing, Master Wang finally saw the fallen servants. He tried to run and shout for help, but all he felt was a strange sense of suffocation. He didn't take a single step before his obese body crashed to the ground, his forehead hitting the bluestone steps. Blood seeped from his temple, looking somewhat eerie and terrifying in the moonlight.

He died without ever understanding what had killed him.

The drone's high-definition camera transmits all of this back to the remote control screen in real time.

The manor was littered with people lying haphazardly; the main house, side rooms, kitchen, stables, front yard, and back yard were all filled with corpses.

The servants and maids who had been looking up just moments before were now all lying on the ground, silent, as if the entire manor had been muted by an invisible hand.

One hundred and eight people—less than ten minutes have passed since the poison gas was released, and not a single one is left.

Lin Mo stared at the screen, remained silent for a moment, and then let out a soft breath.

"In your next life, don't work for Master Wang."

These servants and maids may not have committed a capital offense, but they ate Wang Yuanwai's food and took his money. They were the beneficiaries of the Wang family's domineering rule in Lianhai County.

They enjoyed the profits that Master Wang squeezed from the common people, so they had to bear the consequences of their choice.

The drone turned back, its camera sweeping over the silent manor one last time.

The once brightly lit and bustling mansion is now deserted, with only the wind blowing through the empty corridors and corpses lying on the ground, never to move again.

The sea breeze was strong and fierce, and the gusts of wind carrying the salty smell poured into the county town from the sea, blowing away the nerve gas that had been lingering over the Wang family manor.

Just as dawn was breaking, the drum used for reporting official matters at the entrance of the county government office, covered in a thick layer of dust, was struck loudly.

The man beating the drum was Old Chen, who was in charge of collecting chamber pots for the Wang family. When he stumbled into the county government office, his wrinkled face was completely drained of color. His lips trembled for a long time before he managed to utter a single incoherent sentence: "People have died in the Wang family. There are corpses everywhere. I haven't seen a single survivor."

Liu Si was slurping his porridge when he heard this. The bowl of porridge in his hand crashed to the ground with a loud thud, shattering into several pieces, and rice soup splashed all over his trousers.

He stared at Old Chen for several breaths with his cloudy old eyes, his legs trembling uncontrollably.

He had a vague guess in his mind what had happened at the Wang family's manor last night.

Last night, the county magistrate released that buzzing black lump from the lookout tower, and it flew around the west of the city. Now, someone in the Wang family has died. Moreover, it was Old Chen, who collects night soil, who reported the death to the authorities. That can only mean one thing: everyone in the Wang family is dead!

He dared not think any further; the more he thought about it, the weaker his legs became.

One hundred and eight people, all gone overnight. This isn't a county magistrate, he's a living devil.

He beckoned to a servant who was sweeping, and asked him to take Old Chen to the side room to make a statement. He then lowered his voice and instructed him, "Ask carefully, don't spread rumors." Then, he lifted the hem of his robe and walked quickly toward Lin Mo's bedroom.

When he reached the door, he raised his hand to knock, but stopped mid-air.

There was no sound from inside the house. The county magistrate had been busy all night and was probably fast asleep now.

Even if he had ten times the courage, he wouldn't dare to wake this living Yama from his dream. Liu Si may not have achieved much in his life, but he still has some sense of perception.

He withdrew his hand, obediently retreated to the side of the pillar, found a sheltered corner to squat down, hugged his knees and curled up like a loyal old dog.

The sun rose from the sea, casting a thin layer of golden light on the dilapidated eaves of the county government office.

The children were already up, and the sound of reciting lessons could be heard from the backyard. Long Qingxue was giving them a morning lesson in the main hall, reciting the multiplication table.

As Liu Si listened to the clear, crisp voices of the children, his heartbeat gradually calmed down.

When the sun was high in the sky, the bedroom door finally creaked open.

Lin Mo came out and saw Liu Si squatting at the door. He raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What's up?"

Liu Si quickly stood up, bent over, and recounted in detail how Old Chen had reported the matter to the authorities.

After saying that, Liu Si secretly raised his eyelids to glance at Lin Mo, trying to glean some clues from that roguish handsome face.

Lin Mo nodded slightly, without any expression:

"Is the person who reported it to the authorities alright?"

"It's nothing. Old Chen didn't stay at the Prince's Mansion last night; he only went there this morning. He's perfectly fine."

Liu Si quickly replied.

A hint of surprise flashed through Lin Mo's mind. It seemed that the sea breeze last night was indeed strong enough to disperse the poisonous gas overnight, saving him the trouble of sending people to seal off the scene.

He stretched as he walked down the steps:

"Pass down the order to seal off all the gates of Master Wang's manor, front and back, and forbid anyone from entering or leaving."

The official statement was that a plague had broken out in the Prince's residence, and the entire family had died from the disease.

Anyone who approaches without authorization will be treated as having violated the plague ban.

Liu Si's heart skipped a beat, and he bent down even lower:

"Yes, sir. I'll take care of it right away."

He took three steps back, turned around and strode quickly out of the courtyard, his steps much more agile than when he came.

He had thoroughly witnessed the master's methods, and from now on, he couldn't afford to make a single mistake while serving this master.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and shouted at the top of his lungs for Zhang Tie and Wang Laonian:

"Zhang Tie! Wang Laonian! Gather everyone, copy the seal, and head to the magistrate's mansion!"

Around noon, Long Qingxue returned from the courtyard where the children were eating and found Lin Mo in the study, looking through a topographical map of Lianhai County.

She sat down in the chair next to Lin Mo:

"Lin Mo, attribute the death of the Wang family mansion to the plague. According to the rules of the court, we need to submit a plague report to the prefectural government of Hezhou."

According to the laws of this dynasty, anyone who fails to report natural disasters or other events that should be reported shall be punished with eighty strokes of the cane.

Reports must be submitted every five days, with the number of deaths reported at each level from the epidemic, from the city, prefecture, and county levels upwards.

Although Pei Ziyu is one of our people, we should handle official business strictly. Failing to submit the documents would only give others cause for criticism.

Lin Mo put down the topographic map in his hand and nodded.

People from official backgrounds are different; they know the rules and regulations of officialdom by heart, far superior to old officials like Liu Si who only know how to kowtow. If it weren't for Long Qingxue's reminder, Wang Yuanwai's matter might have become a disaster later.