Villagers fleeing disaster

"I see."

An Weiyan nodded, roughly understanding the reason. "Then are you only heading to Pingshui City for now?"

Judging by how these people looked, they did not seem to intend to stay here.

The commoners present exchanged glances, their expressions turning somewhat sheepish.

They had originally all intended to go to Pingshui City, because its Earth God and Underworld Administration should still be there.

Pingshui City would certainly be relatively safer, too.

But after they had just arrived here and heard some of what these people said, their attitudes had quietly changed.

They had heard that a county magistrate had come to Linbei County and was spending his own money on disaster relief, and that every commoner here could eat polished rice.

Polished rice.

Had they ever eaten such a thing before?

Hearing the commoners of Linbei County say this naturally filled their hearts with envy.

Thinking it over carefully, even if they went to Pingshui City, they probably would not be able to beg a mouthful of food.

A man standing to one side looked at An Weiyan before him, then gritted his teeth and dropped to his knees before An Weiyan with a thud.

"Your Honor, this humble commoner knows full well that this request is extremely presumptuous. I only hope Your Honor will take pity on my aged mother. I beg Your Honor to let my mother stay in Linbei County and give her a mouthful to eat."

"Ever since I was little, I have watched my mother endure every hardship. I have never been able to let her enjoy a single day of peace or eat a single full meal, and I am ashamed. I only ask that Your Honor give my mother a mouthful to eat. I am willing to serve at your beck and call from this day on."

As the man spoke, he kowtowed with a series of heavy thumps. In an instant, blood flowed from his forehead, staining even the blue bricks on the ground red.

Seeing this, An Weiyan hurried forward to help him up. Yet although the man looked as though he had not eaten in a long time, An Weiyan could not hold him back.

"I never said I was unwilling to give you food. What are you doing?"

Seeing that he was about to kowtow again, An Weiyan hurriedly stopped him.

The fellow looked fine now; he had better not damage his head by banging it against the ground.

Hearing An Weiyan's words, the burly man's face immediately lit up. "Your Honor, is that true?"

An Weiyan did not answer. He glanced at the commoners who had arrived here together, all dressed in coarse cloth and hemp garments, looking as though they could barely walk steadily.

He sighed inwardly.

He looked again at the burly man kneeling before him. He was a filial man, at least.

"The villages you come from are also under Linbei County's jurisdiction. Since you have fled here to escape disaster, I will naturally treat you all equally."

"Thank you, Your Honor!"

Hearing An Weiyan's words, the commoners who had fled here in search of refuge excitedly bowed and dropped to their knees.

There were even some elderly people among them, and they too knelt before An Weiyan.

The sight made An Weiyan's brow twitch. He hurriedly told them to rise, then instructed someone to cook some congee.

"You have gone hungry for too long. You cannot eat solid food right away. You can only drink some rice congee to nurse your stomachs."

After giving his instructions, An Weiyan said this to the villagers present.

The villagers did not understand such things. They only saw that the magistrate was willing to take them in and give them food. Hearing this now, they simply felt that since His Honor had said it, it must be right.

When the commoners of Linbei County heard An Weiyan's words, they suddenly understood why His Honor had first made them drink congee before.

Soon, a pot of congee giving off a rich fragrance was ready. Once everyone had taken their bowls and chopsticks and sat down, rice congee was ladled into their bowls one by one.

An Weiyan counted. There were about a hundred villagers who had fled here.

With that, Linbei County's original population saw a small increase.

An Weiyan checked the storehouse. There were about fifty sacks of rice left inside, which would make it even harder to hold out now.

It seemed he would have to buy some more rice and bring it back.

Outside, the villagers who had fled here drank their piping-hot rice congee, their faces filled with contentment.

A few even shed tears as they drank, as though they had suffered some tremendous grievance.

"Is the fugitive really here?"

Several plainclothes officers looked around, their expressions somewhat doubtful.

"Don't know. The chief said the intel put him here, but he also said the intel seemed a little unreliable."

The young man beside him gave a muffled reply.

Listening carefully to those words now and considering the situation before them, the intel did indeed seem wrong.

At that thought, Zhou Yinghuan waved a hand, preparing to leave with the others.

But just as he was about to leave, a familiar face appeared in the distance.

His body tensed for an instant before relaxing again.

There was no mistaking it. The fellow who had just appeared was the person they wanted to arrest. After all, they had studied this suspect's photograph more times than they could count.

Naturally, they recognized him at a glance now.

Having locked onto their target, he signaled his colleagues with a glance. Someone beside him moved to cut off the man's retreat, while he and another colleague approached him from the front.

Once they got close, the two immediately struck, pinning the man to the ground.

"Don't move!"

"You know why we're arresting you, right?"

Looking at the suspect before him, Zhou Yinghuan barked the question.

The arrested suspect said nothing when he heard this. He had known this day would come, but had not expected it to come so soon.

Soon, Zhou Yinghuan and the others drove back to the police station with him.

Liang Lijian happened to be coming out. Seeing Zhou Yinghuan and the others return with someone in custody, he froze briefly. When he saw whom they had caught, he was even more startled.

"You caught this guy?"

Seeing him, Zhou Yinghuan immediately smiled. "Yes, Chief. We followed the intel you gave us, staked the place out for a little while, and caught him."

Liang Lijian took a deep breath at that. Looking at the addresses he had written down on his desk, he immediately spoke.

"Quick, get a few more people! Head out and arrest the others!"

These people had all committed fairly serious crimes. Now that they knew where they were, they naturally could not let them slip away. Otherwise, if they ran, they would be hard to catch.

At that thought, Liang Lijian hurriedly led a team out.

Yet a trace of doubt rose in his heart at that moment. How did that fellow know where these people were? It was not as though they were all together.

It should have been even less possible that these people had told him themselves.

After all, they were fugitives. It should have been common sense not to readily tell others where they lived.

But after thinking this, Liang Lijian inwardly shook his head.

Why worry about so much? Once they had arrested everyone, couldn't he just call and ask for a clear answer?

After all, once these people were arrested, their bounties would still have to be paid out to him.

Quite a few officers from the police station were dispatched, preparing to carry out arrests based on the addresses An Weiyan had provided.