Abandoning literature for martial arts, starting by unleashing the beauty's bow.

Dusk, the back hall of the Qinghe County government office.

"The person hasn't been found yet?" Wu Sansheng, the magistrate of Qinghe County, who was of medium height and had a square face, looked anxious.

Ye Zhengtang frowned and shook his head, saying, "I have searched the entire Qinghe County town with my men, but we still haven't found Lu Fengnian."

Wu Sansheng turned his gaze to the others.

The others also shook their heads repeatedly.

Wu Sansheng's face showed anger. "How could a living person just disappear into thin air?"

The officials from the prefecture will arrive in our Qinghe County in the next couple of days.

If we can't find Lu Fengnian, I won't be able to escape responsibility, and none of you will be able to get away with it either.

"Find him quickly! Keep searching! Dig three feet into the ground, find Lu Fengnian!"

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, then bowed and retreated.

"Chief Constable Ye, you stay here." Wu Sansheng called out to Ye Zhengtang.

After everyone had left, Wu Sansheng asked in a low voice, "Is everything alright with Fang Tong?"

Ye Zhengtang nodded. "I went to Fuyuan Leather Shop immediately and have already explained everything that needed to be explained."

Fang Tong is a smart man; he knows what to do.

Wu Sansheng hummed in agreement. "Is it confirmed that Lu Fengnian has already left the county?"

Ye Zhengtang quickly responded, "Fang Tong said that Lu Fengnian used the water gate."

I went to the water gate. Although the traces have been cleaned up, some clues can still be found. The carriage did indeed leave through the water gate.

Wu Sansheng let out a soft breath, "If it weren't for Lu Fengnian's cooperation, we wouldn't have been able to take down Ma Hui so easily this time."

I hope he can leave Qinghe County safely with his family.

Ye Zhengtang added, "Lu Fengnian is exceptionally skilled, quick-witted, courageous, resourceful, and decisive."

We are currently focusing our search efforts in the county town, and the prefecture is not yet aware of his escape.

He had enough time to escape; he should be able to escape Qinghe County, and even Liuzhou.

Wu Sansheng hummed in agreement. "Hopefully he'll act quickly enough and not cause us any trouble."

At this point, he changed the subject, "As for the search for Lu Fengnian, you only need to do the bare minimum."

Your primary task is to solidify the evidence and pin the blame for Lu Fengnian's escape entirely on Ma Hui.

This time, I'm going to make sure he can never recover.

Ye Zhengtang nodded. "Don't worry, sir. The sleeping potion used by Lu Fengnian was made by Ma Hui's men. The evidence is irrefutable, and Ma Hui can't deny it."

Wu Sansheng hummed in agreement. "But don't be careless. All the evidence must be solidified. Ma Hui has powerful backers in the state."

Ye Zhengtang nodded again, "I will personally oversee this matter, and there will absolutely be no mistakes."

After saying this, he prepared to take his leave.

Wu Sansheng hesitated for a moment, "Chief Constable Ye, we need to make some preparations."

He paused here, his expression clearly serious.

Ye Zhengtang cupped his hands in greeting, "Please enlighten me, sir."

Wu Sansheng said slowly, "If Lu Fengnian and his family were caught and implicated Fang Tong, you, and even me, things would become complicated."

Harboring relatives of wanted criminals is a serious crime.

Ye Zhengtang was slightly taken aback. "Don't worry, sir. Lu Fengnian is alert and skilled. He will definitely be able to escape Liuzhou safely."

His case isn't particularly big, and given the current state of the dynasty, the likelihood of them conducting a cross-state manhunt for him is low.

He just needs to stay somewhere for another year or two, and the storm will pass.

Wu Sansheng slightly raised his eyelids. "I was just saying, what if Lu Fengnian really gets caught?"

Ye Zhengtang frowned but remained silent.

Wu Sansheng continued, "We need to consider the worst-case scenario; otherwise, if something happens, we'll be caught off guard."

Ye Zhengtang hesitated for a moment, "Sir, I think the possibility is extremely low, and it shouldn't happen."

Wu Sansheng smiled slightly, "I'm just reminding you that you have to consider the worst-case scenario."

Of course, I also hope that this won't happen.

After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Go on with your work. I need to get ready here to deal with the people from the state."

Ye Zhengtang hesitated for a moment, then bowed and withdrew.

Once Ye Zhengtang had walked away, the smile on his face vanished, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he said coldly, "Womanly compassion. No wonder that as a second-grade acquired martial artist, he has remained in the position of chief constable for more than ten years without making any progress."

…………

Lu Fengnian rode alone, so his speed was naturally fast. By noon the next day, he had already arrived at the border of Qinghe County.

Once they left Qinghe County, the crisis was basically over.

Once the county boundary is crossed, the Qinghe County constables no longer have the right to arrest people across the border, and they need the prefecture to send a letter to the neighboring county for assistance.

The handover and coordination of cases between counties is cumbersome and communication is inconvenient. By the time they sort things out, Lu Fengnian may have already arrived in the prefectural city.

However, he had two options: first, take the official road and cross the county boundary directly;

However, checkpoints are usually set up on official roads to check passersby. If Qinghe County has already issued arrest warrants, it is very likely that you will be exposed if you take the official road.

If we don't take the main road, we have to take the back roads.

There are no checkpoints on the path, but the mountain road is rugged, and in some places it is deep in the forest. The road is narrow and close to the cliff, which is very dangerous and sometimes horses cannot pass.

If you choose to take the back road, you may have to abandon your horse.

After careful consideration, Lu Fengnian hid his horses as he approached the county border checkpoint before getting close enough to observe the area.

It was discovered that the checkpoints were very strict, and the chances of being exposed were very high if one took the official road.

To be on the safe side, he chose to take a back road to cross the county border.

Aside from hunters, merchants frequently traveled the mountain roads and paths between counties.

To avoid inspections and taxes at county border checkpoints, they often chose to take rugged and difficult mountain paths.

Lu Fengnian found a way in no time.

Following in the footsteps of hunters and merchants, we slowly made our way towards the neighboring county.

The road conditions were complicated, rugged and dangerous. They had just walked a short distance when they came to a narrow path along a cliff. Even if Lu Fengnian were to travel alone, he would have to be very careful and could not bring his horse with him.

Left with no other choice, he had to abandon his horse and continue on foot.

Although the path could bypass the county border checkpoints, it was difficult to traverse and time-consuming.

After walking for more than three hours through the dense forests, Lu Fengnian finally emerged from the mountains bordering Qinghe County and Lin County around dusk, where a small grove of trees lay before him.

After passing through this grove of trees and walking about three miles further, you will see the official road of the neighboring county.

However, before Lu Fengnian could even breathe a sigh of relief, his brows suddenly furrowed.

As soon as he entered the woods, he immediately noticed something unusual: there were four faint breathing sounds coming from within the trees.

Despite speaking in a very low voice, it did not escape Lu Fengnian's ears.