I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

After the supplies were inventoried, Chen Chong had them moved to the backyard of the county government office.

Swords, spears, bows, and arrows were piled up on the ground, along with two hundred taels of silver and thirty shi of grain.

Meng Da squatted on the ground counting the silver, and after he finished counting, he looked up at Qi Shan.

"Boss, according to the rules, half of the captured supplies must be handed over to the county government, and the rest can be divided among the brothers."

He paused, then added.

"We were able to take down Black Dragon Stronghold's stronghold this time entirely thanks to you, leader, who charged in all by yourself. We brothers just happened to get a free ride. You take the lion's share of the silver, and we'll just have a small portion."

The other constables nodded in agreement.

Wang Tiezhu, the man with the scar on his face, grinned.

"Brother Meng is right. Boss, you single-handedly took down more than twenty ruthless bandits. We brothers are impressed. You take one hundred taels of silver, and we'll split the rest."

Qi Shan waved his hand.

"Rules are rules. The captured supplies will be distributed per person. I won't make exceptions for anyone."

He picked out ten taels of loose silver from the pile and put them in his pocket, then pushed the rest in front of everyone.

"You can divide these among yourselves, each of you will get a little over three ounces. As the county magistrate wishes, all the grain will be distributed to the refugees outside the city."

Meng Da was stunned, and Wang Tiezhu was also stunned.

The dozen or so constables looked at each other in disbelief, none of them expecting Qi Shan to make such a division.

Chen Chong leaned against the door frame, squinting at Qi Shan, and the corners of his mouth slowly turned up.

This kid is interesting.

Meng Da's Adam's apple bobbed, and he spoke in a deep, muffled voice.

"Boss, what's going on...?"

"Stop talking nonsense, divide the money."

Qi Shan interrupted him, turned around and walked to the pile of weapons, squatted down and rummaged through them.

The knives and spears were ordinary items, but they were in good condition. He picked out a handy short knife and tucked it behind his waist, then picked up an iron-framed bow and tested the string.

The bow's strength is about eight stones, which is far inferior to the family's heirloom hunting bow, but it is lightweight and suitable for carrying around.

He accepted the bow as well.

As Meng Da watched Qi Shan's retreating figure, who had only taken ten taels of silver, his admiration for him surged even higher.

He had seen too many leaders who extorted money and bribes, leaving their men with nothing but scraps. This new constable, however, was different. He only took a small portion for himself and distributed the rest to his men.

It's worth following someone like that.

Wang Tiezhu leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"Brother Meng, our new boss is different from the previous ones."

Meng Da glared at him.

"Nonsense, I saw it coming a long time ago. If anyone dares to say another word against the boss, I'll be the first to tear their mouth apart."

Qi Shan ignored the whispers behind him as he flipped through the documents and letters that had been seized from Black Dragon Village.

Most of them were account books and extortion letters, which were of little value.

But one letter made his eyes narrow.

The envelope was addressed to "Chief Zhao" and stamped with the seal of the border army commander at the bottom.

Li Long's seal.

He pulled out the letter and scanned it quickly.

The letter was very straightforward. Li Long ordered Zhao Wuji to lead men to massacre several villages around Qingyang County. After the deed was done, the stolen grain and silver would be split 40/60, with Li Long taking 40% and Heilongzhai taking 60%.

He also specifically instructed that it must be done cleanly, leaving no survivors.

After reading it, Qi Shan handed the letter to Chen Chong with a blank expression.

"Take a look at this."

Chen Chong took a look and his expression immediately changed.

After reading the letter, his fingers trembled, and his lips quivered before he managed to utter a single sentence.

"That beast!"

Qi Shan leaned against the wall, his voice calm.

"Li Long is a border army battalion commander. Why would he collude with bandits to massacre a village? What benefit would it bring him?"

Chen Chong gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot.

"What good could come of it? The imperial court has been delaying the payment of the border troops year after year. These sons of bitches are just trying to make money on their own. They massacre villages and steal grain, then shift the blame to the bandits. This way, they can legitimately ask the imperial court for money to suppress the bandits. They can eat from both sides."

After listening, Qi Shan remained silent for a few seconds, thinking that it was probably not that simple.

But then I think of the villages on the back hill that were burned to the ground, the old farmers who were hacked to death on the ridges of the fields, and the women who were violated in the Wang family compound.

No matter the reason, to treat hundreds of lives like grass, is to be condemned to the deepest hell!

This world is a mess.

Qi Shan asked, "Can this letter convict him?"

Chen Chong gave a wry smile, folded the letter, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"It can't be decided. Li Long has connections. His brother-in-law is Liu, the garrison commander of the border army. Even if this letter reaches the county magistrate, he won't dare to touch him."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"As long as Li Long insists that the letter is forged, and his brother-in-law delivers a message, the matter will be dropped. Not only will they be unable to touch him, but the person who delivered the letter will also be in trouble."

Qi Shan remained silent.

He understood what Chen Chong meant. So what if the evidence was conclusive? The other party had connections. What kind of trouble could a mere county constable cause?

But he remembered it.

Li Long's blood debt will have to be repaid sooner or later.

But not now.

Qi Shan patted Chen Chong on the shoulder.

"Let's go back first."

The two left the county government office and had just reached the street corner when a figure rushed over.

The person who arrived was Jia Hui. She wasn't wearing armor today; instead, she had changed into a blue cloth outfit and tied her hair up with a cloth strip, making her look much neater.

Jia Hui ran up to Qi Shan and looked him up and down.

Qi Shan changed into his newly issued head constable's uniform today, black with red trim, a leather belt around his waist, and fast boots. He looked much more energetic.

Jia Hui's gaze lingered on him for two seconds, and she felt a slight stirring in her heart.

Are you alright?

Qi Shan shook his head: "It's nothing, what's wrong?"

Jia Hui said, "I just came back from outside the city. Black Dragon Stronghold spies were lurking around nearby, scouting the area. Although we lost the young master and dozens of bandits this time, Zhao Wuji still has more than two hundred men under his command. He won't let this go."

Qi Shan nodded.

Jia Hui hummed in agreement, glanced at him again, and turned to leave.

Chen Chong watched Jia Hui's retreating figure and clicked his tongue.

"This girl seems to really like you."

Chen Chong, of course, did not recognize that Jia Hui was actually Jia Baihu, since she always dressed as a man in public.

This was also the first time he had seen Jia Hui in women's clothing.

Qi Shan didn't reply and strode home.

Under the old locust tree at the entrance of the courtyard, a woman in red was leaning against the trunk, holding a pot of wine in her hand.

She saw Qi Shan and greeted him with a smile.

"Officer Qi, I am Hongchan. I heard that you have just taken office, so I have come to offer my congratulations."

Qi Shan stopped and his gaze swept across her face.

She looked to be in her mid-twenties, with delicate features and an indescribable allure in her eyes, but her eyes were exceptionally bright, unlike those of an ordinary woman.

She was wearing a bright red tulle dress with a very low neckline, revealing a patch of fair skin.

"Who are you?"

Hongchan smiled and handed the wine pot forward.

"Now that we know each other, I am the owner of Zuichunlou. Constable Qi has done a great job in suppressing bandits and protecting the peace of this area. This pot of wine is a small token of my appreciation."

Qi Shan reached out and took the wine pot.

The instant his fingers touched the wine pot, he caught a glimpse of a flash of blue light through the cracks of Hongchan's fingernails.

It was faint and quick, but Qi Shan could see it clearly.

That was a residue of some kind of poison.

He had seen too many of these methods in his past life.

Qi Shan calmly withdrew his hand, picked up the wine pot, and kept his face expressionless.

Thanks.

Hong Chan smiled even more seductively, her eyes sparkling, her voice so soft it seemed like it could be squeezed to release water.

"Officer Qi, if you have time, come and visit Zuichunlou. I will personally pour you wine."

After saying that, she swayed her hips and walked away.

Qi Shan stared at her retreating figure, his brows furrowing.

"Who is this woman?"

He brought the wine jug to his nose and smelled it.

The aroma of the liquor is strong, but there is a very faint hint of bitter almond flavor underneath.

It really is poisonous!