He pointed toward the woodshed.
"There are more than twenty children inside. Go count them, especially the seven listed in the case files. Not one can be missing."
Only then did Wang Meng come back to his senses. He hurried to the woodshed door, pushed it open, and saw a group of children inside.
He turned to Su Fei and gave him a thumbs-up.
"Lord Su, you're incredible. It hasn't even been a full day, and you've already found the missing children."
"But why are there more than ten extra children? Besides Qingzhou Prefecture City, children must have gone missing elsewhere too. They were all imprisoned here."
At those words, Su Fei's heart stirred. He still had not received the system notification indicating that the mission had been completed.
It seemed the mission was not truly complete yet. These people were merely thugs. The black hand behind the scenes had yet to be caught.
"Find a flatbed cart in the village that can carry people. Move all the children onto it. We must return to the Qingzhou Prefecture Thousand Households Office before dawn."
In a corner of the village, he found a battered old flatbed cart.
They carried the children onto it one by one.
At first, the children were still terrified.
It was not until Wang Meng and Su Fei told them that they would take them home.
Only then did the children finally relax, sobbing softly.
Su Fei searched the courtyard and found the alchemy furnace the Golden Saber Society used to refine Qi and Blood Pills, along with the leftover medicinal dregs.
They piled everything onto the flatbed cart and headed back to the Qingzhou Prefecture Thousand Households Office.
Their speed slowed considerably.
By the time they reached the gates of the Qingzhou Thousand Households Office, dawn had already broken.
It was still before the time to report for duty. Only two Strongmen were on night watch at the gate, yawning.
When they heard footsteps approaching,
the two Strongmen saw Wang Meng pulling the flatbed cart, with Su Fei and a group of children seated behind him.
All drowsiness vanished at once.
"Wang Meng, what's going on? What were you doing out so early in the morning?"
Wang Meng paused, then loudly told them.
"The missing children case in the west of the city has been solved by Lord Su. These children are all the ones we found."
The two Strongmen stared in shock. The Missing Children Case had been causing an enormous uproar lately.
It was not as if they had not heard of it.
But the case had only been handed over to the Imperial Guard two days ago. How had it already been solved? This Squad Leader Su's investigative ability was far too formidable.
Outside Captain Li's office,
more than twenty children huddled together.
Su Fei leaned against a corridor pillar with his eyes closed, resting his mind. His Spring Embroidered Saber hung diagonally at his waist, and the bloodstains on it had long since been wiped clean.
Wang Meng paced back and forth, occasionally glancing toward the door, his face unable to conceal his excitement and nervousness.
Footsteps came from the far end of the corridor.
Captain Li, dressed in casual clothes and accompanied by two clerks, walked in. At a glance, he saw the room full of children and the alchemy furnace and medicinal dregs piled on the ground. He froze.
Captain Li's brow furrowed tightly. His gaze swept over the children, and some guesses arose in his heart, but in the end, his eyes settled on Su Fei. His tone carried a trace of surprise and uncertainty.
"What happened to these children?"
Su Fei opened his eyes, straightened up, and cupped his hands.
"Lord Li, I did not fail my mission. I have found the seven children missing from Qingzhou Prefecture. As for the additional children, they should have gone missing from other places."
"They were hidden in Boulder Village outside the city. That place is a Golden Saber Society stronghold. These children were all victims abducted by them. The alchemy furnace on the ground is evidence that they used children's vital essence and blood to refine Qi and Blood Pills."
He then briefly and concisely recounted how he discovered the shadow-puppet performer, tracked him to Boulder Village, and killed the traffickers.
The more Captain Li listened, the stranger his expression became.
He gained a new understanding of the abilities of the subordinate before him.
Captain Li asked,
"Are you certain the Golden Saber Society did this?"
Su Fei presented a token he had found on the Bearded Man, engraved with the words "Golden Saber Society Hall Master Token."
"This was carried by the leader I killed. There were also Golden Saber marks on the sleeves of those people."
Captain Li picked up the Golden Saber Society Hall Master Token and examined it closely, his expression shifting between light and shadow.
The Golden Saber Society had operated in Qingzhou for many years, its influence tangled and intertwined like roots. Wan Mengchang had always enjoyed a good reputation. Who would have thought he would commit such a monstrous, heaven-damning deed?
Captain Li had a headache.
Who could have imagined that a missing children case would implicate the Golden Saber Society?
After pondering for a long while, Captain Li gave orders to the clerk.
"This is no small matter."
"Have Zhao San and Qian Liu head to Boulder Village immediately to investigate. They must confirm the situation there beyond doubt."
Zhao San and Qian Liu were renowned within the Thousand Households Office for their lightness skills and were also adept at investigation.
While they waited for confirmation,
Su Fei took the initiative to distribute some dried rations and water to the children. The little ones accepted them timidly, swallowing in small bites. Their gazes toward Su Fei gained a little more warmth.
About an hour later, Zhao San and Qian Liu returned to report, their expressions grave.
"My lord, there are indeed traces of the Golden Saber Society's presence at the Boulder Village stronghold. Those who were killed were indeed members of the Golden Saber Society."
"We also found the corpse of Golden Saber Society Hall Master Li."
Captain Li made up his mind. Using children's vital essence and blood to refine Qi and Blood Pills violated a great taboo.
This was a major case.
Catching the culprit in this case would be no small achievement. At that thought, the way he looked at Su Fei grew gentler still.
"So it truly was the Golden Saber Society. This matter cannot be separated from Wan Mengchang, their society leader. Su Fei, your merits will be discussed later."
He gave orders to the clerk.
"Go gather every man under my command that I can mobilize. Assemble at the training ground in half an hour. To prevent anyone from tipping them off, do not tell them the purpose yet."
Wang Meng was startled.
"My lord, are you going to move against the Golden Saber Society?"
Captain Li's tone was forceful.
"To keep the Golden Saber Society from noticing anything unusual, there is no time to report to the Thousand Households Officer now. We will first go to the Golden Saber Society headquarters and bring Wan Mengchang back for questioning. If there is resistance, kill without mercy."
Su Fei's heart stirred. He stepped forward and said,
"My lord, this subordinate is willing to accompany you."
Captain Li glanced at him, recalled Su Fei's accomplishments last night, and nodded.
"Very well. Your skills are not bad. If you do not need rest, come along."
Half an hour later, at the training ground of the Qingzhou Imperial Guard Thousand Households Office, more than two hundred Imperial Guard Strongmen, over twenty squad leaders, and five banner chiefs had all assembled.
Spring Embroidered Sabers hung at their waists as they stood in neat ranks.
Captain Li said nothing. He simply swung himself onto his horse and swept his gaze over everyone.
"Everyone, follow me. Set out and carry out the mission."
The sound of hooves shattered the morning stillness as the group, led by Captain Li, galloped toward the Golden Saber Society headquarters.
Su Fei rode beside Captain Li.
Once they arrived before the gates of the Golden Saber Society stronghold,
Captain Li finally told everyone what the Golden Saber Society had done.
When the Imperial Guard saw the alchemy furnace before them and heard Captain Li's words, rage surged through every one of them.
The Golden Saber Society used children's vital essence and blood to refine pills!
Quite a few of these Imperial Guards already had families. If their own children were captured and used as materials to refine pills,
it would be simply unimaginable to them.
More than two hundred Imperial Guards dismounted and formed ranks.
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