A Major Case Arrives

The courtroom block was also called an awakening block, a square ruler, or a palm ruler.

It was a rectangular piece of hardwood, angular and edged.

Raised and slapped against the table, it served to intimidate criminals.

Sometimes it was also used to vent frustration, silencing the idle onlookers below and creating an atmosphere of stern authority.

The hall had originally been quiet. When the courtroom block struck and County Magistrate Chen bellowed, the old man kneeling below shuddered, thoroughly frightened.

"My lord, this humble one is the village chief of Clear Stream Village, Wang Shuan. I have come this time to report a major matter."

Frightened by the courtroom block, the old Village Chief Wang Shuan did not dare conceal anything.

He quickly revealed his identity and explained the purpose of his visit.

"My lord, overnight, every child in my village vanished. This humble one searched through the entire night but found nothing."

"With no other choice, I came to the county office and beat the hall drum. This humble one knows the hall drum cannot be beaten carelessly, but this matter concerns the whole village."

"If my lord wishes to punish someone, then punish this humble one. But please, you must help the village find those missing children."

He laid out the truth of the matter one point at a time, and everyone present understood.

Zhou An stood to one side with a blank expression, but he was carefully considering the situation.

Every child vanishing overnight—this was a major case.

And it was a major case that had appeared at such a time.

Beating the hall drum over something like this was not really a problem, but the timing was rather wrong.

Zhou An glanced at County Magistrate Chen. Sure enough, County Magistrate Chen's expression had turned ashen.

The Surveillance Division was conducting inspections right now. If they learned something had happened here, the consequences went without saying.

When the time came, if he could not even pass the first round, then no matter how strong he was in the written examination, he would have no chance of being selected.

County Magistrate Chen's face grew increasingly livid. By the end, his anger was plainly visible, and the beard on his chin trembled slightly.

Master Xu stood nearby as well. Though he had received twenty strokes of the paddle, he endured the pain and remained standing when something as serious as the hall drum being beaten had occurred.

And after hearing the village chief below speak, Master Xu naturally had his own thoughts.

His private acceptance of gifts had already offended the County Magistrate. Though the County Magistrate had merely punished him with the paddle, there was inevitably some resentment between them.

This was precisely his chance to prove himself.

"My lord, since this is the inspection period, why not have Constable Captain Sun and these constables go investigate first?"

Master Xu was a clever man. How could he fail to understand County Magistrate Chen's intentions at a time like this?

He had been paddled earlier, but had not been removed from office. Constable Captain Sun was still the Constable Captain.

The meaning was simple. Since they were short of people and the matter was already settled, they would continue as they were.

Now was the time when they needed manpower. The County Magistrate could hardly go to Clear Stream Village to investigate in person.

Master Xu's suggestion would allow him to make amends for his mistakes.

County Magistrate Chen pondered for a moment and said, "Very well. Select some constables and investigate Clear Stream Village. Find out exactly who dares cause trouble in An Ding County."

Master Xu hurriedly acknowledged the order and walked over to Constable Captain Sun. "What are you standing around for? Hurry up and choose some men. Come with me to Clear Stream Village!"

Constable Captain Sun stood nearby, baring his teeth in pain, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Upon hearing Master Xu, he hurriedly nodded and prepared to select men.

Some constables had to remain behind. This was only an investigation, so there had originally been no need for too many people.

But the case covered too much ground, so Constable Captain Sun selected half the constables and had them stand by nearby.

Seeing Constable Captain Sun grimacing in pain only irritated County Magistrate Chen further. He waved a hand and told them to hurry up and investigate.

Constable Captain Sun did not waste any words, nor did he dare say much. He ordered two constables to support Village Chief Wang from the ground, and they left the county office.

Coincidentally, Zhou An was not chosen for this matter.

When Constable Captain Sun selected people, he thought that since they were going to investigate, he should choose smarter ones.

Zhou An was usually very low-key, so among the constables, he was the sort of person nobody noticed.

He only occasionally chimed in when everyone chatted and joked around, so Constable Captain Sun naturally overlooked him.

Zhou An was happy to have the leisure.

He felt that uncovering the truth of this matter would not be simple.

What kind of place was a village?

In Great Chu, villages were rather peculiar places.

Though villages were small, everyone knew their neighbors, from one end of the village to the other.

Some villages were very united. If trouble struck one household, help came from every direction. If something happened at the village entrance, even those at the far end would come to help.

So many children had gone missing from Clear Stream Village. It was not merely someone else's interests that had been harmed; everyone's own interests had been harmed too. How could they search for an entire night and find nothing?

To put it more seriously, it was not even certain how the children had disappeared.

Zhou An felt that this investigation would probably amount to nothing more than the moon's reflection in water, a flower in a mirror.

"Old Zhou, I'm leaving." Yu Hang looked helpless.

Zhou An had not been selected, but he had.

Constable Captain Sun knew Yu Hang spent his days preparing for the Imperial Examination.

Someone capable of taking the Imperial Examination had to be more useful than martial men like them, so he brought Yu Hang along as well.

Zhou An waved him off. After Constable Captain Sun led the others away, he returned to the kitchen to grind proficiency.

He did not continue grinding Butcher the Ox Knife.

After reaching Level Four, he needed to switch things up.

He planned to grind both Soaring Dragon Steps and Object Juggling to Level Four first, then return to Butcher the Ox Knife.

He already had an idea for developing a new skill, but he still needed to refine it.

He now had offense, speed, and strength.

But upon careful thought, there were still many things he lacked.

What he lacked most now was a defensive skill.

His Golden Finger was different from the others.

In novels from his previous life, he had seen protagonists who learned anything quickly.

For defensive skills, they would choose cultivation methods like Golden Bell Cover and Iron Shirt.

But his would not work that way!

He had to choose a life skill.

"What life skill could count as defense?" Zhou An had an idea, but choosing exactly what it would be gave him quite a headache.

"I'll grind first and think while I grind."

Having made up his mind, Zhou An headed to the kitchen and began practicing Object Juggling.

There's practically someone living in my liver.

Zhou An thought as he juggled the iron wok.

While Zhou An was grinding proficiency, Yu Hang and the others arrived at Clear Stream Village.

Clear Stream Village was not far from An Ding County.

After passing through a stretch of wilderness, they reached their destination in just one hour.

It was a small village.

At this hour, cooking smoke would usually be rising from the chimneys, but when Yu Hang arrived, he felt a bleak desolation blanketing the entire village.

Before they even got close, they could faintly hear crying.

Village Chief Wang was already frail with age. Sorrow filled his eyes as he sighed. "Without the children, everyone is deeply grieved. My lords, please follow me."

He led the way ahead.

More than ten constables filed in after him.

The moment Yu Hang entered, he inexplicably felt a chill.