Her guards

The manhunt begins in Chapter 17.

The night gradually faded.

The guard who had been standing on the city gate for almost a whole night without sleep felt a sudden dizziness. He saw the corpse on the ground move, and his numb mind jolted awake, almost making him cry out.

Fortunately, his companion reacted quickly and covered his mouth.

"It's the Commandant of the Guards," his companion whispered in his ear.

The startled guards then came to their senses. Yes, yesterday, Wei Jiao came to the city gate and sat among the corpses, saying he was waiting for the murderers to continue killing. In order not to disturb the murderers, he not only prevented the government officials and soldiers from patrolling, but also slept among the corpses himself...

What kind of heartless person could sleep peacefully amidst a corpse?

The guard watched as the figure among the corpses sat up, stretched, and his jet-black hair fell across the red lining of his robe, which was exposed through the fabric. As he stretched, it resembled a flower slowly blooming.

Amidst the surrounding corpses and the increasingly intense stench of decay, the flower bloomed in a bizarre and horrifying way.

The soldiers standing on the city wall couldn't help but hold their breath.

Fortunately, four embroidered women quickly stepped forward, breaking the suffocation.

One of the embroidered women moved behind Wei Jiao to comb his hair, while another embroidered woman lay prone on the ground, with Wei Jiao supporting himself on her arm as he sat leaning against her.

"No one died?" Wei Jiao asked, his brows furrowing slightly.

The two embroidered-clothes standing in front of him nodded: "Even the night watchman stopped last night to make it easier for him to do his thing, but nothing happened all night."

Wei Jiao pursed his lips.

"You're not going to kill me?" He looked into the city, his eyes, which had been somewhat languid after waking up, instantly turning icy cold. "Then I'll come and kill you."

.......
.......
The inn was bustling again in the early morning.

The morning light dispelled the fear, but it also brought anxiety back.

"I didn't dare to sleep all night!"

"Aren't we allowed to leave today?"

When exactly will they be allowed to pass?

"Since the culprit is in the city, why isn't a search and arrest being conducted? Are we just going to stand by and watch innocent people suffer?"

Yang Luo led Mo Zheng in. The shop assistant, who had been pretending to be asleep amidst the noise, opened his eyes and greeted her, "What would you like to eat, Miss? I'll have the kitchen prepare it."

Yang Luo said softly, "I've already eaten."

The shop assistant's gaze then fell upon the guard standing quietly behind the young lady, and he chuckled, "That's right, Ah Sheng is here."

Mo Zheng nodded to him: "I specially made some soup and rice to clear heat and ward off evil spirits this morning. There's still a lot left in the kitchen. Young man, go and have a bowl in a bit. Don't overeat and ruin your health."

The shop assistant thanked him repeatedly. He smelled the medicine on Mo Zheng and knew that this guard knew medicine and that he had made the calming soup himself.

“My young lady is frail and has to travel a lot, so I have to be careful to nourish her,” he had said before.

This young guard was truly capable of anything, and the young lady was also very generous, even remembering them. The shop assistant quickly told them, "There was no unusual activity in the city last night."

Mo Zheng looked at Yang Luo: "I guess the government is going to hunt down the criminals."

Just as Yang Luo was about to say something, it seemed that many people were running in the street, and the ground was shaking.

"The Embroidered Robe Bureau is investigating a case; no one is allowed to move without authorization."

Shouts came from afar and grew louder as they approached.

The people inside the hall had already rushed to the door to look outside, and saw that in the distance, soldiers were pressing in like dark clouds.

"Police were mobilized?"

"The Embroidered-Robe Envoy possesses a tiger tally, which allows him to mobilize the garrison."

"The entire town of Zhao County is under siege!"

"The Embroidered-Robe Envoy led his soldiers to search the city inch by inch."

.......
.......
Breaking down doors and pushing down walls, digging three feet into the ground, Magistrate Huang couldn't help but gasp in astonishment as he watched the actions of the embroidered-robed soldiers in front of him.

Previously, it was thought that Wei Jiao sitting in the county government office, arresting and imprisoning officials and local tycoons, and displaying their corpses at the city gate was already a major undertaking, but this was a huge mistake.

So this is what it looks like when the embroidered clothes actually move.

The county town was surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, making it impenetrable. Inside, layers of soldiers gathered, forming a dense net that sifted through the county town from south to north.

People were interrogated, and every house, tile, blade of grass, tree, cellar, and secret room was searched. Amidst the barking of dogs, several stag dogs ran around, and if anyone disobeyed orders and ran, they would immediately pounce and bite.

"With such foolproof methods as Commandant Wei," Magistrate Huang turned to look at Wei Jiao, who was riding beside him, and praised him while suppressing his fear, "that villain has no chance of escaping."

Wei Jiao said, "Not necessarily. Methods are methods, but luck also plays a role."

He raised an eyebrow as he watched the people being searched and questioned inch by inch.

"Now it depends on whether I'm lucky or the thugs are lucky."

Magistrate Huang thought to himself, regardless of whether Wei Jiao or the thugs were lucky, he was definitely the unluckiest. A group of traitors had actually caused trouble in his jurisdiction, leaving him in a very embarrassing situation!

"Investigate thoroughly! Check if they match the records, their recent movements, and where they were on the night of the incident!" Magistrate Huang spurred his horse forward, shouting angrily, "Anyone suspicious, anyone who resists, anyone who tries to escape, kill them on the spot!"

……

.......
The dark clouds drew ever closer, and standing in front of the inn, one could hear cries and screams coming from beneath them, interspersed with barking dogs and screams of agony.

The next moment, several hunting dogs rushed out from the dark clouds, their eyes gleaming fiercely in the sunlight, blood still stained their mouths.

Upon seeing this, the guests who had been gathered at the entrance peering out screamed in fright and retreated in terror.

Is this a search?
This is practically a hunt.

Officials ran down the street shouting, "Everyone stand in the street!" "No hiding!" "No running away!" "Others will be treated as suspects!"

People came out cautiously.

Yang Luo and Mo Zheng were among them. Mo Zheng didn't forget to spread her arms to protect Yang Luo from being jostled or bumped.

Soon the soldiers and their hounds approached. Some soldiers entered the house with their hounds, and sounds of rummaging and rummaging could be heard from inside. Other soldiers dispersed and coldly watched the people on the street. The officers began to question people with their registers in hand.

The inn here is different from others. Apart from the owner and the staff, everyone here is from out of town. Some can produce proof of identity, such as a merchant register, while others can't produce anything and just give reasons like "passing by" or "short-distance grocery shopping."

Soon the officials arrived in front of Yang Luo.

"I'm from Lu County," Yang Luo said, speaking with a Lu County accent. "I'm returning from visiting my aunt in Qi County, and I only brought one servant with me."

Her eyes welled up with tears as she spoke.

"Lu County is very close, could you let me go home first?"

The officials saw that she was a girl of about fourteen years old, and then looked at the teenage servants accompanying her, so they didn't ask any more questions. They just shouted, "Don't cause trouble, don't wander around!" and were about to go over when suddenly a hunting dog ran out of the inn and barked, seemingly having sniffed something.

The people on this side were startled and immediately became agitated, causing the hunting dogs to bark even more.

what happened?

The officials were on edge, and the soldiers all looked over.

Yang Luo huddled next to Mo Zheng. Mo Zheng hesitated for a moment, then threw the cloth bag hanging from her waist onto the ground.

The hounds pounced immediately.

"What is that?" The nearby soldiers stopped the hunting dogs, used their knives to lift the cloth bag, and several pieces of dried meat fell out.

The tension among the officials and soldiers dissipated.

"This is not the time to be greedy!" one of the soldiers shouted at the hunting dog, waving his whip.

The hunting dog, somewhat fearful, shrank back with its head down and tail between its legs.

But just as the officers and soldiers were about to walk over, voices came from behind.

"It smells so strong."

Upon hearing this sound, the officers and soldiers stopped and made way. Yang Luo looked over from behind Mo Zheng and saw a young man being escorted by black-clad guards.

He was riding a horse, backlit, his face somewhat dark.

Mo Zheng heard Yang Luo murmur "Wei Jiao" softly behind her.

Yang Luo had never met Wei Jiao before, but seeing him now, the name immediately came to mind.

When my cousin was telling me about Wei Jiao, she couldn't help but ask out of curiosity, "Just how beautiful is she?"

My cousin giggled, "She's the kind of beautiful woman who's always the prettiest in a crowd."

She was right, the most beautiful one in the crowd.

However, the beauty at this moment does not bring joy, but rather terrification.

Wei Jiao's gaze fell on the hunting dog, then on the dried meat on the ground, and finally on Yang Luo.

Mo Zheng took a step forward, blocking Yang Luo and meeting Wei Jiao's gaze.

Wei Jiao sniffed, looking at the dried meat on the ground: "Does this dried meat need to be marinated with medicine? Or does the person need medicine?"

When do people need to take medication?
Sick, or injured.

Injuried!

The perpetrator killed so many people, so it's highly likely he was also injured.

If there is an injury, medicine must be used.

The embroidered guards stepped forward instantly, and the surrounding soldiers also gripped their weapons tightly.

All eyes were on Mo Zheng and Yang Luo.

(End of this chapter)