The more cowardly a person is, the more wild they are; I've driven the villainous minister craz

Half an hour ago, at the spice shop.

Yun Shang negotiated with the shopkeeper at the counter.

The spice shop owner was from Dayi and didn't speak Da Zhao Mandarin.

Dayi was a vassal state of Dazhao, and its relationship with Dazhao was relatively good. The two countries had fairly close trade relations. Yunshang liked to learn the languages ​​of various countries when he had nothing to do, and he happened to be familiar with the language of Dayi.

After the Shen family told the shopkeeper what spices they needed, the shopkeeper said that one spice was sold out and they hadn't had time to restock.

He then suggested that the waiter take him to the backyard to fetch it.

Yun Shang turned around and saw Yu Wan sitting on a chair resting. He thought that the backyard was nearby and it wouldn't take long to get some spices. He didn't expect that the shop assistant was clumsy and would spill the spices, which delayed him for a while.

When he came out, Yu Wan was nowhere to be seen.

Yun Shang frowned and asked the innkeeper, "Where did the young lady who traveled with me go?"

The shopkeeper said, "That lady just now helped a pregnant woman out."

Yun Shang frowned even more deeply. He looked at the pile of things on the table and waited for a moment.

However, a quarter of an hour passed and Yu Wan was still nowhere to be seen, and Yun Shang felt a strange unease.

He glanced at the spice shop owner and his employees without making a sound, and his eyes suddenly turned cold.

He got up, picked up his things, and left.

After he left, the spice shop owner and his employees exchanged glances before casually getting back to work.

However, a quarter of an hour later, the spice shop was surrounded by county officials.

The spice shop owner sensed something was wrong and tried to slip away through the backyard, only to bump into Yun Shang and his group, who were waiting there.

The shopkeeper's expression changed drastically.

The guards behind Yun Shang restrained the shopkeeper. Yun Shang stepped forward with an icy expression and asked in a chilling voice, "Where is she?"

The shopkeeper's eyes darted around, and he cried out that he was innocent, "Young master, what are you doing? What 'other person'? I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Is that so?" Yun Shang uttered two words indifferently, then suddenly reached out and drew the knife from the guard's waist, the blade instantly pressing against the shopkeeper's neck.

"I'll give you one more chance. Tell me, where was she taken?"

A sharp pain shot through his neck, and the shopkeeper clearly saw the killing intent in Yun Shang's eyes.

He was shocked.

"I-I don't know."

"Sirs, you can't wrong an innocent man. I'm just an honest businessman; I would never do anything illegal."

Yun Shang had completely lost patience. He moved the knife closer and slashed the man's neck, causing blood to gush out immediately.

"I'll ask one last time, where did you take the person?!"

The shopkeeper's face turned pale, but he still forced himself to say, "It has nothing to do with me."

A hint of ruthlessness crept into Yun Shang's usually cold eyes, and the blade in his hand shifted slightly.

"what--"

If Zhou Shi'an hadn't reached out in time, the knife would have instantly sliced ​​open the man's neck.

Zhou Shi'an grabbed his hand and whispered, "Brother Yun, don't be impulsive."

He removed Yun Shang's hand from the hilt of the knife.

Yun Shang suppressed the ruthlessness in his heart and looked at the shopkeeper with a cold expression. "Just now I asked the magistrate to send people to check the case files of the past few days. We found that several girls went missing after entering your spice shop. Once or twice could be a coincidence, but more than that is not true."

"Just now you lied and said that the spices were gone, deliberately sending me away, and your servant deliberately knocked over the spices in order to buy time."

As he spoke, guards threw the spices they had found in the shop at the shopkeeper, which were exactly the same spices he had lied about being out of stock.

The shopkeeper's face turned pale. "This...this is what we just replenished."

"Is that so?" Yun Shang picked up the spice box and gently wiped it with her slender fingertips, revealing it covered in dust.

"The fact that so much dust has accumulated means that you haven't opened this box of spices for a long time. It's highly likely that you always use the same excuse to get people away, which is why you've left such obvious traces."

The shopkeeper's lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a word of explanation for a moment.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Will you talk or not?"

The shopkeeper met Yun Shang's gaze, then suddenly gritted his teeth and charged straight at the knife Zhou Shi'an was holding.

Zhou Shi'an's expression changed drastically, and he tried to move away quickly, but it was too late.

The shopkeeper collapsed to the ground, and the guard reached out to check his breath before shaking his head at Yun Shang and Zhou Shi'an.

Zhou Shi'an's expression was grim. "He actually committed suicide. It seems this person has quite a powerful background."

"Brother Yun, what do we do now?"

Yun Shang's hands, hanging by his sides, slowly clenched. His face was expressionless as he coldly said, "First, interrogate all the other employees in the spice shop. Then, ask the magistrate to send more men to guard the city gates."

As he spoke, he handed a token to Zhou Shi'an, saying, "With Prince Chen's token here, Magistrate Yang will not refuse."

"Remember to tell them not to make too much of a fuss. All the missing people are women, and making a big fuss will damage their reputation."

Zhou Shi'an accepted the token and agreed to each request.

After he left, Yun Shang returned home.

When Madam Shen saw that he was the only one who came home, and that he had returned empty-handed, she was very puzzled. "Where is Yu Niang?"

Yun Shang met Shen's gaze, hesitated for a moment, and said, "I met Magistrate Yang's daughter while shopping. Yu Niang and she had a very pleasant conversation, so Miss Yang invited her to visit her home."

Madam Shen was somewhat surprised, then said happily, "Really? That's wonderful. I was worried that Yu Niang might feel bored since she doesn't have any close female friends. Now that she's met someone she can chat with so well, she can go and find Miss Yang if she ever feels bored in the future."

Yun Shang nodded slightly and turned to walk towards the main room.

A few years ago, he drew a detailed map of Huicheng County. To find someone, one must have a thorough understanding of the terrain.

Otherwise, it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Prince Chen has already started investigating the suspicious carriages and horses that have been moving around recently. As long as we can find any clues, we can follow the trail...

A dilapidated temple inside the mountains.

With the clanging of chains, the tightly closed door was opened, letting in a sliver of light. Yu Wan lowered her head slightly, looked up, and quickly glanced at the scene outside.

All that could be seen were withered, yellow weeds.

"Dinner's ready." The two burly men put the food boxes on the ground, reminded him gruffly, and then turned and left without saying another word.

Once the two burly men left, the girl who had been squeezed to one side pounced on the food box like a hungry wolf that hadn't eaten for days.

Yu Wan watched silently, but noticed that Er Ya beside her didn't move.

She was clearly starving and kept licking her lips, but she didn't move.

Yu Wan whispered, "Er Ya, why aren't you going to eat?"

Er Ya suppressed her hunger and whispered, "Sister Yu, I suspect there's something poisoned in this food. Every time I eat it, I feel weak. If we want to escape, we can't eat this."

It turned out to be the case.

Yu Wan's expression turned slightly serious.

It seems that these human traffickers were worried that the girls would escape again, so they simply drugged their food to make them unable to run.

Therefore, it seems that she and Er Ya must act quickly if they want to escape...