“Brother, Brother, were you hurt by the bandit?”
Xu Siyuan stepped off his horse, walked quickly to Li Miao, held his hands, and scrutinized him from head to toe.
“Look at this mess. The Wu family has been a prominent household in this area for many years. We never saw them do anything out of line, who would have thought they were hiding a Witchcraft practitioner at home!”
“If anything were to happen to Brother, I truly wouldn’t know what to do!”
He received news from his trusted subordinate that morning and immediately rushed to the Wu Mansion. Seeing Li Miao completely unharmed, he finally let out a long sigh of relief and relaxed.
No matter how big the rumors of the Wu Mansion being haunted became, they were ultimately just folk tales and hadn't reached his ears, which was why he felt confident allowing Li Miao to stay at the Wu Mansion.
If something were to happen to Li Miao under his watch, he would be in big trouble.
Witchcraft and Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)—these two terms, taken individually, are sensitive beyond sensitive, representing disaster leading to family annihilation, yet they happened to converge under his jurisdiction.
If a Jinyiwei Commander, perfectly fine, met with an accident in the lodging he arranged, what would the imperial court think?
If a Jinyiwei Commander was harmed by Witchcraft under his governance, what would the Emperor think?
Were you deliberate, or was it an accident?
Being deliberate implies disloyalty, while being accidental implies incompetence and dereliction of duty. No matter how he explained it, he wouldn't be able to escape unscathed.
Even if Li Miao was completely unharmed, as long as the imperial court knew there was a Witchcraft practitioner here, he would definitely suffer a reprimand.
The more Xu Siyuan thought about it, the more he feared, and his fear turned to anger. He glared fiercely at Wu Yuanwai, who was restrained by soldiers in the courtyard.
He secretly plotted in his heart, determined to severely punish this Wu fellow, to make him understand what it meant for a prefect to ruin a family and a county magistrate to wipe out a household.
Li Miao, with a smile on his face, patted Xu Siyuan’s hand: “Brother, it’s just a petty bandit, why worry?”
“For this small matter, I think there’s no need to truly handle it as a Witchcraft case. Let’s both save ourselves some trouble with the paperwork.”
He winked at Xu Siyuan.
Xu Siyuan’s eyes brightened, and he understood: “Brother’s meaning is?”
“Just robbery and murder, then. Brother, have your clerks write up a report, and once it’s done, give me a copy. I’ll revise the wording and submit it. Just frame this Wu fellow, no need to involve too many people, otherwise it’ll be hard to suppress the matter.” Li Miao pointed at the dejected Wu Yuanwai.
“With both sides corroborating, there won’t be any oversights.”
“Oh, Brother!” Xu Siyuan patted Li Miao’s hand: “You’ve lifted a great burden from my heart!”
“Heh, we became Brothers at first sight, why be so polite?” Li Miao responded warmly.
“It’s just…” Li Miao frowned as he continued.
“Last night, during the struggle with that Witchcraft practitioner, I accidentally got some of her blood on me.”
“The travel money Brother gave me yesterday was all stained by that villain’s blood.”
“Oh dear, it was truly an accident… I wasted Brother’s kind intentions…” Li Miao said, his face full of self-reproach.
“Ah? Ah hahahaha…”
Xu Siyuan first frowned upon hearing this, then burst into laughter, saying: “I thought it was a big deal. Brother, you don’t need to worry. I’ll give you another sum later, consider it a token to calm your nerves!”
“Thank you, Brother.” Li Miao was not polite and cupped his hands towards Xu Siyuan.
After the two had a private discussion, Xu Siyuan invited Li Miao to his mansion for a meal, and Li Miao did not decline, leaving together.
By the time he returned that afternoon, the Wu Mansion was already empty, everyone having been arrested by people Xu Siyuan sent.
However, with Li Miao’s words, there was no fear that Xu Siyuan would vent his anger on anyone other than Wu Yuanwai.
At this time, Wang Hai, Xiao Si, and Mei Qinghe were all waiting at the entrance of the Wu Mansion, holding their horses, while You Zi'ang sat dejectedly on the ground.
Li Miao walked closer, pulled a stack of banknotes from his 懷 and handed them to Xiao Si.
Xiao Si took them, counted carefully, and said with a beaming smile: “Master, you extorted this much?”
“That Xu fellow is afraid I’ll report the matter, so naturally he has to offer more.” Li Miao smiled: “I can spend and I can earn.”
“Yes, yes, yes, you are very capable.” Xiao Si, having received the money, said nothing more and happily went to tuck it into her waistband, calculating how much she could keep for her dowry.
Li Miao, however, reached in and took half, handing it to Mei Qinghe.
“Alright, let’s split up.”
“Hai’er, you take Xiao Si to Jinan Prefecture, bring You Zi'ang over, and have the family send people over as well.”
Li Miao’s current mission was, of course, not just for the few of them.
He was planning a public-funded trip, saying he would go ahead with a few people to scout, but in reality, he was stopping and playing along the way, which was why he only brought Wang Hai and Xiao Si out.
He had been out for over two months now, and since he needed to send You Zi'ang to Shuntian Prefecture, he decided to have the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) send the rest of the people over.
He had also taught Wang Hai the method to suppress Xiao Si’s Witchcraft poison. With Wang Hai’s internal cultivation, managing it for a few months would not be a problem.
“You two go east to Jinan Prefecture, and Xiao Mei and I will go south directly to the Mount Tai Sect to take a look.”
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“You wait in Jinan Prefecture for the family to send people over, and once they arrive, come directly to Tai'an to find me.”
Xiao Si was sulking, feeling upset because Li Miao had taken half of the money she had received.
Wang Hai, hearing that it was serious business, straightened his attitude, nodded in agreement, and took Xiao Si and You Zi'ang, mounted their horses, and departed.
Seeing the two of them leave with You Zi'ang, Li Miao then turned to Mei Qinghe and said: “Xiao Mei, I have something to tell you.”
With You Zi'ang present, Li Miao had not told Mei Qinghe about the Plum Blossom Bandit, fearing she might have an extreme reaction.
Now that Wang Hai had taken You Zi'ang away, Li Miao finally revealed to Mei Qinghe the Plum Blossom Bandit’s scheme that he had discovered on You Zi'ang last night.
After listening, Mei Qinghe closed her eyes and pondered for a long time, her hand unconsciously gripping and releasing the sword hilt.
After a while, she opened her eyes and said to Li Miao: “Thank you, Senior, for being honest with me.”
“Did Senior tell me after Brother Wang took You Zi'ang away because you were afraid I would vent my anger on him?”
“That was part of it.” Li Miao spread his hands.
“You have a rigid and extreme personality, and since it concerns the revenge for your mother’s death, I didn’t know how you would choose.”
Mei Qinghe was silent for a moment before saying to Li Miao: “Senior, you worried too much.”
“Back then, when I heard that the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) had already killed the Plum Blossom Bandit, I naturally wished I could have personally slain that villain. But with his death, the debt is settled, and I wouldn’t hold it against unrelated people.”
“However, now that I know his scheme, I will not let him succeed.”
“In the future, if anyone else gains the reputation of the Plum Blossom Bandit in the martial world, I will personally go to their door with my sword. If they are evil, I will kill them with a single strike.”
“If they are merely minor villains, after a small punishment to warn them, I will give them other internal cultivation methods.”
Li Miao nodded: “It’s good that you understand.”
“Then let’s set off now. Calculating the days, the Five Mountains Sword Sect Alliance meeting isn’t far off.”
Mei Qinghe nodded in agreement, and the two mounted their horses, rode out of the city, and headed towards the Mount Tai Sword Sect.