The Strange Affair That Alarmed the Prefecture and Commandery: The Expert of Prison Dragon County

Shen Jiyue felt that she had been suffering every day lately.

A few months earlier, a strange and bizarre incident had occurred in Baihe County.

The impact caused by that incident had been enormous.

At the time, the entire Baihe County had been thrown into a panic. It had even affected the other counties within Yinghe Prefecture, and had alarmed the commandery government as well.

The Great Zhou Dynasty was divided into five great commanderies: East, South, West, North, and Central.

The Southern Commandery had three great prefectures. Yinghe Prefecture was one of them.

Within Yinghe Prefecture were more than a dozen counties of varying sizes.

Prison Dragon County, Baihe County...

They were all among them.

It went without saying that the strange affair from several months ago had caused an enormous impact—enough to shake the prefecture and even alarm the commandery.

And that highly influential strange affair had been assigned to Shen Jiyue, the Squad Leader of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, for follow-up investigation.

The result was obvious.

She could not find out a thing!

Shen Jiyue, her face full of misery, seized a bowl of wine and tipped her head back to gulp down a mouthful. Two empty wine jars already sat on the table in front of her, but there was not the slightest hint of drunkenness on her face.

In her other hand, she held a sheet of paper.

Recorded on it were some minor clues she and her subordinates had painstakingly searched out during this period.

"Alas! None of them have anything to do with that affair!" After casually scanning them, Shen Jiyue crumpled the paper into a ball.

Just then, she suddenly noticed that the atmosphere inside the inn was somewhat off.

It had become far too quiet.

It had been quite lively moments ago.

Shen Jiyue narrowed her eyes.

She looked toward the other parts of the inn and discovered that everyone inside seemed to have their eyes fixed on the entrance.

Moreover, their gazes all carried an expression of shock.

This left Shen Jiyue rather puzzled.

She turned around and looked toward the inn's entrance behind her.

At a glance—

She froze.

Shen Jiyue considered herself quite tall.

Although she was a woman, her naturally large frame meant that in Baihe County, no one taller than her had yet been born.

Whether she was going out or working at the Imperial Astronomy Bureau, she could always see the tops of everyone else's heads at a glance.

Yet now, she suddenly saw someone even larger than herself standing before her.

It was a man.

A burly man!

In all her years, this was the first time Shen Jiyue had seen a man so tall.

She felt that he stood half a head taller than her.

And the man was not merely tall—he was solidly built as well.

Not ordinarily solidly built, either. He was the kind of solid that looked capable of twisting a person's head off with one hand.

"But this man..." Shen Jiyue's brows furrowed. "He has such a dense aura of baleful intent!"

No wonder everyone in the inn had fallen silent all at once.

That baleful intent was so dense that it was enough to affect the people around him!

Even Shen Jiyue felt her heart quail beneath that savage, ferocious presence.

When she looked at the man,

it was like looking at a beast!!

A monstrously vicious beast!!!

"He isn't simple!"

Shen Jiyue reached this judgment, and immediately grew vigilant.

Her professional habits as a member of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau made her want to go over and question him...

But she held herself back.

Under Shen Jiyue's "unobtrusive" observation,

she watched the man find an empty table in the inn and sit down in a broad, imposing manner on the bench beside it.

"Waiter, cut me five pounds of cooked beef, two pounds of cooked mutton with the gaminess removed, two pounds of cooked pork, and some greens. Then bring me a basin of steamed rice. Remember, a basin, not a bowl."

Fan Wu's voice rang out through the inn.

In the utter silence, his voice was especially conspicuous.

The waiter looked at Fan Wu, who was not short even while seated, and secretly clicked his tongue.

Still, he weakly reminded him, "Sir, what you ordered would be enough to fill a whole table... All right, all right, I'll go have the cooks prepare it."

The waiter ultimately could not withstand the immense pressure.

Especially when Fan Wu turned his head and met his gaze, the waiter felt as though his heart had been yanked tight.

He chose to follow his instincts.

Watching the waiter scurry toward the kitchen, Fan Wu slowly withdrew his gaze.

He did not particularly want to eat at this inn.

That was because he knew an Imperial Astronomy Bureau Squad Leader was inside.

But he had only just arrived in Baihe County, and for the moment, he could not find another inn.

Baihe County was so large that by the time he found another inn...

Who knew how much later it would be?

Besides, it was still broad daylight. Even if there happened to be an Imperial Astronomy Bureau Squad Leader nearby, he probably would not encounter any strange affairs.

Therefore,

Fan Wu stayed.

He had already noticed that the Imperial Astronomy Bureau Squad Leader was quietly keeping an eye on him from the shadows.

She seemed to think her attention was well hidden, never realizing that Fan Wu had seen through it long ago.

As for that,

Fan Wu simply ignored it!

Whether the inn's cook was highly efficient or Fan Wu had placed too much pressure on the inn... after waiting only a short while, the waiter began bringing out the dishes.

Five pounds of beef.

Two pounds of mutton.

Two pounds of pork.

Several plates of greens.

A large basin of rice.

The food totaled nearly twenty pounds. If an ordinary person ate it all, they would probably be stuffed to death before finishing even half of it.

But for Fan Wu...

it was just right!

He devoured the various meats like a whirlwind.

Whenever the meat began to feel a little greasy, he shoveled down several large mouthfuls of white rice and several more of greens.

The sight left everyone in the inn staring slack-jawed.

They could not understand how one person's stomach could hold so much food.

Even though Fan Wu looked tall and burly,

it still seemed utterly outrageous!

"He..." Shen Jiyue was equally dumbfounded. She had thought herself quite the glutton, but who would have imagined there was someone capable of eating even more than her?

Her expression turned solemn. "This man has definitely mastered a special body-tempering secret art, and he has cultivated it to an extremely profound level!"

Just then, several more people entered the inn.

The inn, which had been fairly quiet, became somewhat boisterous because of their arrival...

"What a close call! Luckily, I was quick-witted and ran fast just now, so my father didn't catch me. If he found out that I hadn't been studying properly and had instead gone to the pleasure quarters to spend the whole night... wouldn't he beat my legs until they broke?!" one of them loudly complained. "And you lot—weren't you planning to abandon me and run off on your own just now?"

"What? No! No! How could we? Hahahaha!" His companions laughed awkwardly and brushed him off with an excuse. "We were frightened by the fierce look on your father's face too. Ha! Enough about that. Let's have a good meal! It's my treat this time!"

"Good. Since Brother Huang is treating, I won't stand on ceremony. By the way, Brother Huang, I remember there's a decent pleasure quarter in your Prison Dragon County too. Take us there for some fun when you have the time, eh?"

"Hahaha! Of course, of course!!"

"..."

Several extravagantly dressed young men poured into the inn together.

But they soon noticed that the atmosphere inside was very strange.

They had been shouting for quite a while, yet it seemed that inside the inn...

only their voices were noisy.

Silence!

Far too much silence!

Something was wrong!

There were clearly quite a few people in the inn. Why was no one making a sound while eating?

They suspiciously and bewilderedly examined the people inside the inn.

Suddenly...

One of them abruptly widened his eyes. His expression looked as though he had seen a ghost!

"Brother Huang, what's wrong?"

"I..." The man addressed as Brother Huang rubbed his eyes hard, then swallowed. With a stupefied expression, he said, "I think I just saw an expert from Prison Dragon County."

"Ah?!"