Imperial henchmen? My divine skills are all hacked versions.

"How many days have you been detained?"

"have no idea..."

Yan Jun shook his head, "But I've eaten the porridge three times. Those people said to eat it once a day."

"How did you get out of here?"

"Several older brothers and sisters helped me escape. Two older brothers and one older sister carried me out from the roof of the dark house. There was a small opening in the roof, and because I'm thin, I managed to squeeze through."

Upon hearing that there were children involved, Mr. Xu hurriedly asked, "How many older brothers and sisters are helping you?"

Yan Jun raised her head, her eyes staring blankly towards the courtyard wall.

"There are many dark houses."

He counted on his fingers, but they weren't enough, so he looked down at his toes, then looked up at Xu Xian.

"I can't count them all..."

Xu stood up, placed his hand on the hilt of the knife, and unconsciously tightened his fingers.

Many dark houses.

Many children.

So the missing persons case originated from here?!

He looked down at Yan Jun's blank eyes and said, "Stay here and don't go anywhere. If you get hungry, ask Sister Hua Xi to get you some snacks. I'll help you get home tomorrow."

Yan Jun nodded. "Thank you, brother."

He was about to cook for the two children when he tugged at his sleeve again, "Brother, there are worms in Yan Jun's chest."

Xu Xian paused for a moment, then turned around, squatted down, and lifted Yan Jun's shirt.

The boy's chest was very thin, and his ribs were clearly visible.

A protrusion the size of a grain of rice moved slowly under the skin, from the left chest to the right chest, and then disappeared below the ribs.

He gently pressed the protrusion with his finger, and it slid off his fingertip like a live loach.

Yan Jun shrank back slightly, looked up at Xu Xian,

"Brother, so it was a bug? They said eating porridge helps you grow, but his chest gets itchy every time he eats it."

Xu Xian's expression was complicated. He pulled Yan Jun's clothes down to cover his chest.

"Hua Xi, you stay home and play. Your brother will take Yan Jun to see the bugs."

After saying that, he carried Yan Jun and rushed to the Inspection Department that very night.

...

The commander on duty tonight is Lu Jing. When Xu Xian pushed open the door to the duty room, Lu Jing was hunched over the table, engrossed in reading a sketchbook...

  

Seeing Xu Xian enter suddenly, he hurriedly stuffed his sketchbook into the drawer. In his haste, the sketchbook fell to the ground and opened a page—on that page was a drawing of a graceful lady, with delicate brushstrokes and flowing robes.

Lu Jing swiftly picked up the sketchbook and stuffed it into the drawer, slamming it shut. He sat up straight, his face flushing red and then turning pale.

"Ahem... What brings you here?"

Xu Xian stood at the door, holding Yan Jun in his arms. He looked down at the drawer, then looked up at Lu Jing, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Lord Lu, I didn't expect you to like this kind of thing. I'll find you some with 'illustrations' later, the kind that pops up in 3D when you turn a page."

Lu Jing nearly spat out his tea and quickly waved his hand.

"No need, no need. This is evidence, confiscated from a bookstall. I'm conducting a critical review!"

Xu Xian nodded in understanding, then placed Yan Jun, whom he was holding, on a chair in the duty room.

"This child escaped from a human trafficker's den. There might be a curse on his chest. Brother Lu, please take care of him tonight. I'll come over to question him first thing tomorrow morning. Oh, and please have the pharmacist come over to examine the child."

Lu Jing looked at the boy curled up in a ball on the chair, with something vaguely wriggling in his chest, nodded solemnly, picked up Yan Jun and walked towards the medicine room.

As Xu Xian walked to the door, he turned back and added, "Lord Lu, could you lend me that illustrated book another day so I can critique it?"

Lu Jing stumbled and almost fell on the threshold with the child.

Xu Xian's laughter echoed back from the corridor. Lu Jing steadied himself, took a deep breath, and looked down at Yan Jun, who was curled up in his arms.

The boy was looking up at him with a hint of curiosity in his eyes. Lu Jing lifted Yan Jun up and walked towards the medicine room.

...

The next morning, Xu Xian took Hua Xi to the pastry shop opposite in the west of the city.

The breakfast stalls on the street had just set up their steamers, and wisps of white steam were rising into the air.

Xu ordered a few steamed buns and pulled Hua Xi to sit down by the window.

Hua Xi sat on his lap, holding the tortoise, her two short legs dangling under the table.

A moment later, Zhang Hu arrived, plopped down opposite him, and reached for the steamed buns.

Xu tapped his hand with his chopsticks. "I put you here to keep an eye on people, not to freeload off them."

"I got up early this morning and didn't even have a sip of water."

Zhang Hu awkwardly withdrew his hand, poured himself a bowl of water, and asked, "Brother Xu, is Ji Feng really coming?"

"Shouldn't you be the one asking that? We've been watching him for half a month, and he's never missed a single time!"

Xu Xian broke off half a bun and handed it to Hua Xi. Hua Xi took the bun and took a big bite, her cheeks puffed out.

The vinegar bottle on the table caught her attention. She picked it up out of curiosity and smelled it, then frowned at the sourness and put it down again.

Xu Xian took the vinegar bottle from her hand and put it back on the table. "That's for dipping buns, not for smelling directly."

"But it smells like rotten fruit."

Vinegar is made from fruit.

"Then why drink spoiled food?"

"Who told you to drink vinegar? That's for dipping."

Xu Xian realized that he had been tricked by this girl.

Zhang Hu laughed out loud, but was glared at by Xu Xian.

...

Less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ji Feng turned the corner, walked to the entrance of the pastry shop, looked left and right, and then pushed the door open and went inside.

After a few moments, he came out again, carrying a package of pastries wrapped in oil paper, and headed towards the east of the city.

Xu first put Hua Xi off his lap, then gestured with his chin to Zhang Hu, "You and Zhao Bao continue with Ji Feng."

"What about you, Brother Xu?"

"I'll go in and see what kind of snacks this shop sells that would make people walk half an hour just to buy them."

Zhang Hu finished the soy milk in his bowl in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and went to chase after the monsoon.

Xu Xian led Hua Xi into the pastry shop. A row of wooden shelves lined the wall, displaying various pastries—osmanthus cake, walnut shortbread, sesame candy, and red bean paste cake—all neatly arranged.

A middle-aged man with a sallow complexion stood behind the counter, wiping it with a rag.

Upon seeing Xu enter, he paused for a moment, seemingly surprised, before continuing to wipe, a smile on his face. "Sir, what would you like?"

"What do you have?" Mr. Xu walked to the counter, bent down, and carefully looked at the pastries in the glass case.

"The osmanthus cake was steamed fresh this morning, the walnut shortbread was baked yesterday afternoon, and the sesame candy was homemade."

As the shopkeeper introduced the product, he took a half step back and tapped the counter three times with his fingers—tap, tap, tap.

Xu Xian raised an eyebrow slightly, pointed to the top layer, and said, "Half a pound of osmanthus cake, please."

"Okay."

The shopkeeper turned to get some oil paper. Xu Xian was carefully scanning the room for anything unusual when Hua Xi suddenly reached out and grabbed Xu Xian's sleeve, pointing to the osmanthus cakes on the counter.

"Brother, this dessert is spoiled."

"What's wrong with it?"

There are bugs inside.

Xu Xian's pupils contracted sharply, and he abruptly looked up at the shop owner.

The shop owner's smile vanished instantly, and he abruptly swung his sleeve with his right hand.

A black spider the size of a palm flew out of the sleeve, its eight legs spread out in the air, and a bright red hourglass-shaped mark on its abdomen, rushing straight toward Xu Xian's face.