Kidnapping Case

What is a Jianghu gang? They are definitely the kind of people who don't reason with you and just start fighting if you disagree. Now, the Little Knife Society is so cowardly that they don't dare to fight back when bullied at their doorstep. They're even asking for help from a constable like Xiang Yang. It's embarrassing to even talk about it.

The young man at the head heard Xiang Yang's words and shook his head with a wry smile. The seven or eight men behind him also frowned deeply. Xiang Yang's words were too dismissive of their Little Knife Society.

"It's not that we're afraid, but the Giant Bear Gang's strength has indeed completely surpassed ours, the Little Knife Society, and the Green Wolf Gang. If we hadn't joined forces to resist the Giant Bear Gang during this period, we would have been swallowed up without a trace long ago. If we had fought just now, we would have been the ones at a disadvantage.

By the way, I still don't know the officer's name? You look unfamiliar, are you new to the yamen?"

The young man's expression dimmed for a moment before he reacted and asked. He basically knew all the constables in the county yamen. He might not know their names, but he was familiar with their faces. This young man, however, was someone he had never seen before.

"Yes, my name is Xiang Yang. Today is my first day on patrol. I advise you, if possible, to get out of the Little Knife Society as soon as possible. If you continue like this, I see you either ending up in prison or being killed by the Giant Bear Gang. It's simply not worth it."

Xiang Yang was being a bit too forward, but it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. In his opinion, being in a gang wasn't necessarily without prospects, but at least it should be a true major Jianghu sect, like the Azure Dragon Society, the Power Gang, or the World Society in martial arts novels. The ones in the county town were just a group of local ruffians gathered together. If the government were to crack down on them, they would surely die miserably.

The crowd was speechless. The words were simple, but achieving them was as difficult as ascending to heaven. Gangs were not charities; you couldn't just join or leave as you pleased. There were rules. You could leave, but you had to pay a price.

A flicker of hesitation crossed the eyes of the leading young man. In fact, they had had this idea for a long time – to leave the gang and honestly run their blacksmith shop. They wouldn't become rich, but they could at least maintain a decent living. However, how easy was that?

But looking at Xiang Yang in his constable uniform and the skills he had just displayed, the young man struggled for a while, stopped Xiang Yang, who was about to leave, invited him into the small courtyard of the blacksmith shop, and then closed the shop from the outside. The group gathered in the small courtyard, staring intently at the leading young man and Xiang Yang.

Anyone else might have been scared stiff by the scene, their legs turning to jelly and their mouths babbling. However, Xiang Yang, with his superior skills and bold heart, held his Wild Goose Feather Saber steady, remaining as firm as a mountain, and even curiously observed the simple courtyard.

"If you have something to say, just say it. If I can help, it's my duty, and I won't shirk it. However, if it involves other matters, I'm afraid I'll have to decline."

Xiang Yang saw at a glance that the leading young man had something to tell him but was hesitant, likely something not good. So, he spoke first, laying down the harsh reality. After all, helping them deal with the Giant Bear Gang was impossible.

The leading young man nodded, glanced back at the big men behind him, saw their faces full of trust, and then, with a solemn expression, revealed some secrets and his plans to Xiang Yang.

At first, Xiang Yang was a bit distracted. Things like the Little Knife Society's leader starting as a human trafficker, then expanding his business and gathering a group of capable fighters to form a gang, and having connections with certain forces – Xiang Yang didn't pay much attention to these trivial matters. However, what the young man said later piqued his interest.

"Constable Xiang, the other constables in the county yamen are currently investigating a major case. I mean, if we can provide you with clues and help you solve the case, can you let us off the hook afterward? We were forced into it back then."

Xiang Yang's heart stirred. A major case, a significant case, must be the one Wang Ying was handling. But did this leader of the Little Knife Society have the ability? It wasn't that he looked down on these people, but if solving the case were that easy, Wang Ying and his men wouldn't be in such a passive situation.

After inquiring in detail, Xiang Yang learned that the so-called major case was a kidnapping case involving at least a hundred missing children and women. The incident was triggered when a child from a wealthy family, who was visiting Anyuan from Qingjiang Prefecture, went missing and was reported to the county yamen.

"My goodness, the only son of Mr. Lan, under the Prefect of Qingjiang Prefecture, has been kidnapped. What is going on? No wonder Magistrate Li and Wang Ying looked like that this morning. If they can't find any results, it's not impossible for both of them to be dismissed. Magistrate Li is quite composed."

The Prefect of Qingjiang Prefecture was the nominal head of Qingjiang, and he greatly relied on and trusted his subordinate, Mr. Lan. Many of his administrative and governance strategies came from Mr. Lan, much like the relationship between a ruler and his strategist. Therefore, when Mr. Lan's only son was kidnapped in Anyuan County, Magistrate Li Zhizhi, the local county magistrate, and Constable Wang Ying were held accountable.

For ordinary people, this would not be a big deal. Kidnappings happened every day, didn't they?

However, Mr. Lan had direct access to the Prefect of Qingjiang Prefecture. In the eyes of the higher-ups, Magistrate Li was incompetent at best, and at worst, he was lax in governing the territory. How could he be the county magistrate? Kidnapping occurred, and he didn't crack down on the crime. This clearly showed that he was taking the court's salary without doing his job.

The news revealed by the young man from the Little Knife Society was that most of the kidnapping in Anyuan was carried out by the Little Knife Society's leader, Boss An. Even the burly young men in the courtyard had participated in several transactions. They suspected that Mr. Lan's son might also have been abducted by Boss An.

"To be honest, we all know this is a life-threatening business, but once you join the gang, you have no choice.

Now that Boss An has provoked people he shouldn't have, and the Giant Bear Gang is pressing us, we are truly desperate, which is why we came to Constable Xiang for help."

As for the reason they didn't report to the authorities, Xiang Yang knew without being told. It was nothing more than not trusting the old foxes like Wang Ying. They feared that after helping them solve the case, they would turn around and arrest them. If anyone understood these constables best, it would be the gang members.

And in their eyes, Xiang Yang was young, kind-hearted, and easily swayed. Coupled with the fact that he had just helped them out of a difficult situation, they decided to take a gamble and inform him. Of course, if he refused, these people probably wouldn't let him leave, as indicated by the men holding steel knives behind him.

Xiang Yang wasn't too worried, but he still had many questions. For example, Boss An was the leader of the Little Knife Society, and his origins were not clean. Didn't Wang Ying and the others investigate this? It was likely that once the kidnapping case broke, the county yamen would first target Boss An and the Little Knife Society.

Also, these people only said that Boss An had participated in kidnappings in the past, but was Mr. Lan's son among them? If not, barging in so rashly might not yield good results.

The reason this case had escalated into a major case was that Mr. Lan had exerted influence from behind the scenes. To put it bluntly, if Mr. Lan's son hadn't gone missing, Anyuan County might not have even handled such a kidnapping case.

This was reality, and if he were to get involved, his primary objective would definitely be to help Mr. Lan find his son, and only then would it be about eliminating evil and rescuing the innocent.

It wasn't that he was fawning or flattering, but that was the reality. If he were to act against Wang Ying's arrangements and get involved in the case without achieving any results, and then offend the Little Knife Society, it would be all sacrifice and no gain.

Xiang Yang did not possess the spirit of selfless dedication. In essence, he was not a sage who cared about the country and its people. He had a bit of cleverness, was a bit selfish, and was mostly considering his own benefits and losses.