The Case of the Stolen Warehouse Solved

Seeing Song Ankang's actions, Qiushi was first taken aback, then hurriedly grabbed a hardwood stick as well and began tapping the ground.

Jiang Yunhe silently picked up a hardwood stick too and began tapping around the area. Then Hao Jiyong's wife and children, who had been standing nearby all along, joined in...

Several people silently held hardwood sticks, tapping every inch of the Qinggang Stone floor in hopes of finding something unusual.

Meanwhile, Hao Jiyong worked with all his strength to move the grain and Medicinal Herbs, doing his utmost not to damage anything.

Seeing this, some Tenant Farmers who had been discussing Song Ankang and Hao Jiyong and did not think highly of them were stunned. Soon, some of them also picked up hardwood sticks and helped tap the floor.

If possible, these Tenant Farmers hoped Song Ankang could prove that Hao Jiyong was not the thief. After all, Hao Jiyong was righteous and honest, and he had helped quite a few people over the years.

Moreover, in this terrifying world where foreign races invaded and Demonic Creatures and Ghosts ran rampant, the Human Race had become more united than ever before—from the entire Human Race of the Xia Kingdom down to every village, manor, and family...

Because only through unity could the Human Race survive!

If Hao Jiyong was not the thief, that would naturally be for the best. But if he was, no one would show him mercy. If Hao Jiyong had truly stolen those precious Medicinal Herbs, he would have been driving everyone toward a dead end.

According to past practice, part of those precious Medicinal Herbs would be used to make up this year's tax shortfall, allowing the Tenant Farmers to keep more grain. That grain was life-saving food.

Never mind Hao Jiyong—even Liu Yuanqing, Steward Wang, or Song Ankang himself as the manor lord would be denounced by the Tenant Farmers if they did such a thing.

More and more people joined the tapping, until Hao Jiyong's wife struck a section of Qinggang Stone flooring with her hardwood stick. "Thud, thud..."

That muffled sound changed both Jiang Yunhe's and Song Ankang's expressions. At nearly the same time, they looked toward Hao Jiyong's wife.

"There's something wrong with this piece of Qinggang Stone!"

Jiang Yunhe leaped up and landed beside Hao Jiyong's wife.

Song Ankang quickly walked over as well, tapping it with the hardwood stick, which was as hard as an iron rod. "Thud, thud, thud..."

As he tapped, he examined it with the utmost care. Only after a moment did he discover the anomaly: one corner of this piece of Qinggang Stone was clearly loose.

Song Ankang pried at it with a tool and uncovered a hole dug along the seams between the Qinggang Stone slabs. The cover had followed the seams between the slabs, while the rest of the hole had apparently been dug by some unknown method, making it even narrower than the gaps between the stones. Song Ankang and Jiang Yunhe had passed this spot several times before, yet neither had noticed anything unusual.

Another reason was that the warehouse had been in use for a long time, and the Qinggang Stone floor was covered in a layer of grime. The hole's cover was only the size of a fist, making it extremely difficult to spot.

Had they not struck it with hardwood sticks as tough as iron bars, this tiny hole would have been exceedingly difficult to discover.

As they looked at the deep, shadowy hole leading to who knew where, the surrounding silence lasted only a moment before the crowd erupted into uproar.

"There's actually a hole dug by a demonic creature here, and it even left a cover after digging it. No wonder it was so hard to find."

"Are demonic creatures really this intelligent? It has practically become a spirit! Cool Leaf Grass was piled over this section of the floor before, and no one dared move it carelessly. Could that demonic creature have known even that?"

"It's unbelievable. Such a formidable demonic creature actually set its sights on the warehouse of our Chaoyun Manor. If not for the manor lord's keen insight, when would we ever have discovered it?"

"Hao Jiyong really was wrongly accused. But without the manor lord, who could have found traces like these? What should we do now? How do we deal with this demonic creature?"

"If the manor lord had not discovered this demonic creature, who knows how many precious Medicinal Herbs our warehouse would have lost in the future. This year, most of the Tenant Farmers probably would not have survived. Thank you, Manor Lord!"

The Tenant Farmers were simple and honest. Upon discovering that they had wronged Song Ankang and Hao Jiyong, they immediately apologized in shame. At the same time, they bowed to Song Ankang and thanked him for solving The Case of the Stolen Warehouse, allowing more Tenant Farmers of Chaoyun Manor to survive this year.

In particular, discovering this enormous hidden danger would undoubtedly prevent the warehouse from losing even more precious Medicinal Herbs in the future, and might even avert bloodshed.

Nearly all the Tenant Farmers were deeply grateful to Song Ankang. Hao Jiyong's family wept as they embraced one another, celebrating the clearing of their names. The only unhappy person was perhaps Liu Yuanqing.

The discovery of the demonic creature's hole undoubtedly proved that Song Ankang had been right, while Liu Yuanqing had been completely wrong—and had nearly wrongfully killed Hao Jiyong.

Even knowing that Hao Jimeng's words were untrue, he had still wanted to torture a confession out of Hao Jiyong and reduce his own responsibility as much as possible. Every action he took had been utterly selfish, and he had not shown the slightest regard for Song Ankang, the new manor lord.

Now that the truth had come to light, Song Ankang would not let him off, nor would the higher-ups of the family.

He was now the primary person responsible, and the sort who had erred again and again.

Once the cheers gradually died down, Song Ankang looked toward Jiang Yunhe.

Jiang Yunhe understood what Song Ankang meant and said with a smile, "I've already sensed the aura within the hole. It should belong to some kind of Demonic Beast, but I'm not certain which kind."

"However, although this Demonic Beast is astonishingly intelligent, it isn't very powerful. It should not be above the Outer Forging Fourth Layer, so dealing with it will not be difficult. I also have an Earth Cage Talisman here. It can even capture alive a Demonic Beast comparable to the Inner Refinement Fourth Layer, so it will be perfect for handling this Demonic Beast."

"Then I'll have to trouble Instructor Jiang." Song Ankang nodded and looked toward Hao Jiyong and the others. "But to be safe, please return the grain and Medicinal Herbs to their original places. You have all seen how intelligent this Demonic Beast is. If it notices anything unusual inside the warehouse, it will likely refuse to take the bait."

Hao Jiyong was the first to nod. "All right, Manor Lord. Rest assured, we'll have everything restored in no time. Besides, it had to be done sooner or later."

Song Ankang nodded as he watched all the warehouse hands and Tenant Farmers enthusiastically carry the grain and Medicinal Herbs back to their original places. Jiang Yunhe also finished setting up the Earth Cage Talisman at the entrance to the hole.

By the time everything was done, night had fully fallen. Song Ankang glanced at Liu Yuanqing, who was still standing blankly at the warehouse entrance, and frowned. "Liu Yuanqing, from now on, you are no longer in charge of the warehouse. Hao Jiyong will take over as warehouse manager. If you have any objections, you may report them to the family."

"I..." Liu Yuanqing opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head. "I have no objections. I will follow the manor lord's orders."

Seeing that Liu Yuanqing knew when to yield, Song Ankang did not punish him further. He instructed the Tenant Farmers to return home, while he, Qiushi, Jiang Yunhe, Hao Jiyong, and several capable warehouse hands remained nearby, waiting for the Demonic Beast to appear.