Help Me Break Someone Out of Prison

Before long, Du Yuanshan came over, carrying the young man.

"You've been following me all this way. What business do you have with me?"

Lin Youwei, who had always been warm and friendly around Shen Lin, now put on the imposing airs of a County Magistrate. He looked quite intimidating.

The man seemed too frightened to speak. He stood there, staring blankly at Lin Youwei.

"The magistrate asked you a question!"

Li's Secretary snapped at him, displeased.

Only then did the man come to his senses. He shuddered, dropped to his knees, and cried, "My lord, please give this humble man justice! My family once had a hundred qing of good farmland, but just because we offended that landlord, he tried to seize it by force. He beat my poor father to death..."

At this, Lin Youwei shot Li's Secretary a displeased look.

Li's Secretary immediately understood. He barked, "Move along! If you want to file a report, go to the Criminal Affairs Office first and explain everything clearly. County Magistrate Lin has a thousand things to attend to. He doesn't have time to personally investigate such a minor matter."

Shen Lin had already been looking for a chance to slip away. His eyes shifted, and he immediately stepped forward, righteous indignation in his voice. "Li's Secretary, you're mistaken. Everyone in Qiulin County knows that Magistrate Lin loves his people like his own children and upholds the law like an iron mountain. Yet under his administration, a murder case like this has occurred..."

He turned and cupped his fists toward Lin Youwei. "Magistrate Lin, it seems we'll have to postpone today's errand. I'll take this man to the Criminal Affairs Office and get to the bottom of this case!"

Lin Youwei's face remained impassive.

It seemed Shen Lin's flattery hadn't backed him into a corner at all.

He gave Shen Lin a long look, then suddenly smiled. "In that case, I'll leave it to you, Brother Shen."

"It's my duty."

With that, Shen Lin turned and took the man straight toward the Criminal Affairs Office.

Watching him walk away, Li's Secretary stood beside Lin Youwei and muttered, "My lord, that fellow is far too proud of his talents. He refused to join your service, and now he won't even do you the courtesy of sharing a meal!"

Unlike Li's Secretary, who was fuming, Lin Youwei showed little anger. Instead, he smiled. "That's only natural. A talent like him would be wasted as a dog. Joining the Demon Suppression Bureau will make him far more useful to me."

The remark was rather pointed; he had all but turned to Du Yuanshan and said, "You're the dog I keep."

Yet Golden Pen Guest remained expressionless, seemingly unconcerned by Lin Youwei's insult.

"Forget it. It takes patience to win over a genius like that."

Lin Youwei shook his head, then turned and continued walking.

"My lord, are we still going to Yanbin Restaurant?"

"We still have to eat."

Lin Youwei seemed not to have minded Shen Lin's behavior in the slightest. Smiling, he arrived at Yanbin Restaurant.

The restaurant's manager had gotten word and was already waiting outside.

The moment he saw Lin Youwei, he hurried over. "It's the greatest honor for our humble establishment to welcome County Magistrate Lin. Today, this little Yanbin Restaurant is graced with glory, and that is..."

"All right, all right!"

Lin Youwei patted his shoulder, cutting off the flattery. Smiling, he said, "I'm a County Magistrate, busy every day, yet my salary for the whole year is only a few hundred taels. How could I live as comfortably as Manager Zhao?"

As he spoke, he rubbed the man's clothes and joked, "That Shu brocade you're wearing would cost me ten years of salary..."

He stopped halfway through and froze. Almost unconsciously, he rubbed the fabric again.

"Does Magistrate Lin like this Shu brocade? I have some at home..."

Manager Zhao had no idea what was going on. He had just started to say more when the County Magistrate's expression suddenly darkened.

Without another word, Lin Youwei turned and left, leaving Manager Zhao standing there in confusion.

Li's Secretary followed Lin Youwei, baffled. "My lord, aren't we eating?"

Lin Youwei slowly shook his head. His voice was grave. "That man just called himself a humble commoner, but did you notice his clothes?"

"His clothes?"

Li's Secretary paused and thought back. Suddenly, his expression changed. "That was... Qingzhou satin?"

"He never said where he was from, or even the name of the landlord who was bullying him..."

Lin Youwei strode quickly. Before long, he was back at the County Office.

He grabbed a constable and asked, "Where's the man Shen Lin just brought back?"

The constable had no idea what was going on and looked nervous as the County Magistrate seized him. "T-the young master Shen just came back, saw Miss Zijing, and left with her right away. I didn't see him bring anyone back..."

Night gradually fell, but Lin Youwei's face was even gloomier than the sky.

Not long before, Shen Lin had been in high spirits after dodging a dinner engagement. He turned to the young man and said, "While we're on the way, go over the details carefully. When we get to the Criminal Affairs Office, explain everything clearly. Understand?"

But the man seemed distracted. After hesitating for a moment, he suddenly said, "Constable, I just remembered there's something I need to take care of at home. I won't file a report today."

"You're not filing a report?"

Shen Lin looked at him in confusion, unable to figure out what he was thinking.

He'd stopped the County Magistrate in the street and cried for justice, and now he suddenly didn't want to file a report?

Before Shen Lin could ask anything else, he spotted a graceful figure by the County Office gates.

Zijing stood there quietly, dressed in purple.

But the way she kept rubbing the back of her hand showed that she was nowhere near as calm as she appeared.

Had something happened?

"Wait here a moment. I have something to take care of."

After giving the young man that instruction, Shen Lin walked toward Zijing.

"What happened? Why did you come here to find me?"

When Zijing saw Shen Lin, she suddenly relaxed. She took a deep breath, glanced around, then flashed him a radiant smile. "Nothing. I just missed you. Let's go home first."

Shen Lin understood that whatever was troubling her wasn't something they could discuss at the County Office. He was about to hand the young man over to someone from the Criminal Affairs Office, but when he turned around, he found no one behind him.

The young man seemed to have truly given up on the idea and left without filing a report.

Shen Lin shook his head, at a loss. "Let's go."

The two returned to Shen Lin's home. The moment he shut the door, Zijing blurted, "Five Meridian Unblocking Pills. Help me with something!"

Faced with such a tempting offer, Shen Lin didn't agree right away. Instead, he asked, "Tell me what it is first."

Shen Lin now had over seven hundred years of demon lifespan to his name, so he wasn't as short on Meridian Unblocking Pills as before.

If all else failed, he could just burn through demon lifespan to force his meridians open.

But Zijing was so frantic this time that whatever was happening had to be serious. He needed to be careful.

After a moment of silence, Zijing said, "One of my people was continuing to steal in the city on my behalf while we were in Baoshan Village. He was unlucky enough to get caught. I want you to help me break him out!"

"Caught?"

Shen Lin raised an eyebrow, seizing on the key point in her words.

Zijing's expression was grim. "Hu Dongxing joined forces with the Opening Meridians Realm retainers of the wealthy families in the county and ambushed my people at the Li residence. They caught him red-handed. Now he's being held in the Criminal Affairs Office dungeon..."

Before she could finish, Shen Lin shook his head and pointed at the door.

Out!

Goodbye!

This woman had gone mad. She actually wanted him to help her break someone out of prison!

But Zijing's next words made his expression change.

"If you don't help me, once he can't hold out any longer and spills everything, neither of us will get away!"