In one of the alchemy rooms, Taoist Lan Ke was doing something unknown, and the sound of surging flames could be heard from inside.
"Master Brother!" A soft voice called out from behind him.
Shi Hao looked back and saw Du Yuejiao, wearing a Taoist skirt, walking towards him.
In the square in the distance, the disciples who were practicing martial arts gathered in a group and shouted in unison.
The flower-scattered Taoist skirt on Du Yuejiao fluttered as she moved, like the wings of a butterfly, swaying gently.
"Master!" Du Yuejiao floated down beside him, raised her head and looked at his face, "I remember that last time you went to the Chuanjinbao Pavilion, you wanted to buy the Great Cold Peony Buds and the Water Moon Wonderful Lotus. I wonder if there is anything else you want besides these?"
Shi Hao thought for a moment and said, "In addition to these two, we also need three pieces of Lihuo Tianye. In addition, there are more common herbs such as borneol, northern wild chrysanthemum, and ice stone. Bai Shao's courtyard has them all. What's the problem?"
Du Yuejiao said happily: "That's good! I remember that last time, when you went to buy the Great Cold Peony Fairy Buds and the Water Moon Wonderful Lotus, I made things difficult for you for no reason."
At this point, she lowered her head with a guilty look, rubbing the corner of her clothes: "So, these days, I have also been thinking about how to compensate my senior brother. It just so happens that there is a Donghan peony fairy bud in the medicinal garden of Luling in the east of Mingkun Temple, which is in full bloom in the cold water.
"The Moon-Water Wonderful Lotus can be found in the medicinal garden of Luling. As for the Fire-Free Heavenly Leaf, there are more than ten of them in my master's room. If you want it, I can send a letter to Luling in my master's name and ask them to send a Great Cold Peony Fairy Bud and a Moon-Water Wonderful Lotus. If I send someone to deliver the letter now, it will be delivered the day after tomorrow morning.
"As for the Lihuo Tianye, I will just ask Master for three pieces when the time comes."
Shi Hao almost held the girl's face and kissed her enough!
What a good girl she was! How could I have the heart to abuse her
He took the girl's hand and said softly, "Yue Jiao, thank you so much!"
The girl blushed slightly and said softly, "It's nothing. Brother Shi, you have helped me so much, and I also hope to be able to do something for you."
"Oh, there's one more thing!" Shi Hao looked at Du Yuejiao and said, "I hope you can go to the Marquis' Mansion with me."
Du Yuejiao asked in surprise: "Brother Shi, are you going to see Junior Sister Li Tong?"
Shi Hao was surprised and asked, "How did you know?"
Du Yuejiao lowered her head: "Brother Shi, I know you also saved Li Tong, but..."
"What are you talking about?" Shi Hao said, "It's about the case we talked about last time. I need to go meet the daughter of Yue Ketai family."
"So it's that case!" The girl breathed a sigh of relief.
Therefore, Du Yuejiao first sent a letter to Luling in the name of Weixiang Pavilion of Mingkun Temple, asking for the Great Cold Peony Buds and the Water Moon Lotus.
Because the Great Cold Peony Fairy Buds can only be stored for seven or eight days at most after being picked, and even within six days, they must be used for alchemy, otherwise the spiritual energy will gradually dissipate and the efficacy will quickly weaken to nothing, so she confirmed with Shi Hao again.
Then, they took a horse-drawn carriage from the temple, left Mingkun Temple, and went into the city.
When I arrived at the Marquis' Mansion, I met Yueyaer and County Lady Litong in the back garden.
They sat down in the pavilion.
Shi Hao looked at Yueyaer, who was wearing a flowery dress, and said, "I have already checked it out. The gang that kidnapped the child is the Shuhu Gang. The Shuhu Gang is a local gang in the Western Shu Province. In the past, they mainly engaged in the business of smuggling salt and smuggled goods.
"I guess this time, someone paid a huge price to 'purchase' a large number of children from the Shuhu Gang. Generally speaking, the Six Gates would not directly participate in such things. They would secretly collect protection fees and then turn a blind eye. This time, they directly intervened. I guess the buyer paid too much money!"
Yueyaer snorted, "The Shuhu Gang? No matter what they originally did, just destroy them."
Shi Hao whispered, "There is a problem here. Even if we destroy the Shuhu Gang, the buyers may still 'purchase' from other channels. If we can't find out who the buyers are, we will only be treating the symptoms and not the root cause. In addition, I heard that the Shuhu Gang has some connection with Mingkun Temple..."
Having said that, he looked at Du Yuejiao.
Du Yuejiao opened her eyes wide: "What does this kind of gang have to do with us?"
Shi Hao said: "I heard that Cheng Kun, the leader of the Shuhu Gang, is the cousin of your temple master."
Du Yuejiao hesitated for a moment: "That can only mean that before the master of the temple practiced Taoism, he was from the same clan as the leader of the Shuhu Gang. Our Chongxian Sect is an orthodox Taoist sect, and the master of the temple should not get involved in such things."
Yueyaer muttered, "This kind of thing is hard to talk about."
Then he smiled and said, "But it doesn't matter. I'll make the decision on this matter. You don't have to worry about those complicated things."
Shi Hao nodded... This is exactly what he wanted!
Ming Kun Temple must have a lot of shameful activities in secret, but openly, they would not get involved in such human trafficking.
After all, Chongxianmen has always regarded itself as the "right path".
Whether it is Mingkun Temple or the local Six Gates, they can only avoid the royal family Yueketai.
Shi Hao said: "The Shuhu Gang has a chief accountant named Gu Shufeng. He can be said to be the chief accountant of the entire Shuhu Gang. As long as we can take him down, we will definitely be able to find out who the 'buyer' behind this big business is. Although I can get the information, I don't have enough experts..."
Yueyaer smiled and said, "This is easy! Just give me the information, and I will naturally have someone to do the work."
Shi Hao looked around the pavilion and saw eighteen warriors of the Jin clan, scattered in high and low positions, inadvertently forming a dragnet to protect the daughter of Yue Ketai.
With An Lei's intelligence network, Yueyaer's identity, and these eighteen Jin clan warriors, it can be said that the Shuhu Gang is doomed to fail this time.
And perhaps he can also take this opportunity to make some good plans!
After discussing some details with Yueyaer and County Lady Litong, Shi Hao and Du Yuejiao rode out of the city together before it got dark and the city gates were closed.
After returning to Mingkun Temple, the two separated. Shi Hao returned to Baishao Courtyard, and after dinner, he found a deserted place and began to practice swordsmanship.
In Yuanshi Cave Heaven, Fairy Shengxuan taught him the Six Immortal Power Styles, but he only mastered three of them, namely "Ice Crystal Fantasy Sword", "Firefly Flying Sword" and "Instant Sword Hua". As he did not have enough power, he put the other three styles aside for the time being.
After practicing day and night for these days, he clearly felt that the power of the Immortal Ice Art in his body had greatly increased.
So I started practicing the remaining three moves.
The sword flashed and the sword energy whistled.
Driven by the gradually growing inner strength of the Immortal Ice Art, the sword moved like thunder. Unknowingly, the remaining three moves were all mastered after a night of practice.
After dawn, I took a nap.
Even in his sleep, the Immortal Ice Art and the Mysterious Charm Art did not stop working.
In the afternoon, he left Mingkun Temple, but did not enter the city.
He changed his appearance and found a small shop in a town outside the city.
After entering the store and giving the code, the owner quickly handed him a stack of information...
—
"This person is Gu Shufeng!"
The night was already dark, but the Jinjiang River that ran through the county town became bustling with activity.
Various kinds of flower boats were wandering on the sparkling river, each one hung with lanterns.
Those lanterns were colorful, purple and red, stretching out in a row, as if to cover up the bright stars in the sky.
The sounds of music, pipa and women's singing came one after another from the flower boats, overlapping and interweaving together to create a prosperous scene.
The hill by the river is quite lively during the day, attracting many young men and women, poets and writers to play, but it becomes quiet at night.
This is in stark contrast to the Jinjiang River, which seems to be asleep during the day but "comes alive" as soon as dark.
Shi Hao took out a few portraits and handed them to Yueyaer next to him.
Yueyaer didn't even look at it and handed it to a warrior next to her: "I only want this man!"
The portrait was passed around among the Eighteen Flying Riders chasing the Thunder.
At this moment, on the top of the mountain stood Shi Hao, Du Yuejiao, Yueyaer, and the eighteen Jin clan masters who were always there to protect Yueyaer.
These eighteen warriors of the Jin Clan all practiced external martial arts, so they looked tall and strong, with a lot of flesh on their bodies, and quite domineering.
In addition, there were twenty Yingzhao that stopped beside them, also in an orderly manner.
Compared to other mounts, Yingzhao itself has considerable intelligence, but it is difficult to breed and there are not many of them overall.
According to the information given by the Dark Thunder Society, Shi Hao pointed to the surface of the Jinjiang River: "The flower boat with the kingfisher statue on the bow is called Cuiling Tower. Gu Shufeng is a frequent visitor of a woman named Cuidie in the tower. It can be said that at this time every night, he would be in Cuidie's room.
"This flower boat itself is also the property of the Shuhu Gang. Rather than saying that Gu Shufeng is a frequent customer of the Green Butterfly, it is better to say that the Green Butterfly is his 'personal property'.
"There are enough warriors on board, and Gu Shufeng has a dedicated bodyguard protecting him..."
Shi Hao explained them one by one and looked at the Jin warrior who first took the portrait.
The man sneered, "It's just a small matter! The only question is, should we take him down quietly, or should we openly and blatantly tell everyone that it was us who took him down?"
Yueyaer put her hands on her hips, looking very impressive: "We want everyone to know that we did it and arrested the people. The bigger the incident, the better. Especially those people from the Six Gates, who deceived their superiors and concealed the truth from their subordinates. Every time I asked them about their progress, they would just play it safe with me.
"We have to let them know that we are not easy to mess with! Do you hear me?"
The Eighteen Thunder Chasing Riders responded with a bang. If they were to be caught quietly, they would still have a headache, but making a big fuss was what they were best at.
At that moment, four warriors were left here, and the other warriors boarded the Yingzhao and rushed straight towards the flower boat.
Shi Hao and Du Yuejiao looked and saw that the fourteen flying knights, under the attention of the flower boats on the river, flew directly to the Cui Ling Tower without any courtesy.
They jumped from Yingzhao to the flower boat, and someone shouted: "Who are you? What are you going to do..."
Then there was a scream... Even though they were so far away, they could still hear the sound of broken bones.
Shi Hao and Du Yuejiao saw that the flower boat suddenly became chaotic. There were loud explosions, the sound of water breaking when someone was kicked into the water, and the screams of women and men.
There were some loud bangs and bursts of energy from fighting, but they all ended quickly.
Even on the bustling river, such noise attracted the attention of many flower boats in the surrounding area. Some flower boats moved away, while others watched from a distance.
The wooden building on the flower boat collapsed, and someone flew out with screams, drawing an arc in the night sky and splashing water on the river.
The lanterns hanging on the flower boat swayed with the unusual vibration, and one of the lanterns fell down, with the flame spreading along a piece of cloth like a fire snake.
Shi Hao and Du Yuejiao were secretly shocked. Although they didn't mind these people making a big fuss, this was too big a fuss.
I can only say that he is worthy of being a "royal" warrior. He is probably used to abusing his power on a daily basis and does not take this seriously at all.
Police officers from the other side rushed over in droves, but they looked at the flying birds flapping their wings high in the sky and seemed hesitant and uncertain. Some people jumped into the water, climbed ashore, and cried out to them to stop the criminals.
However, those policemen usually bully the weak and fear the strong. Seeing that the group of people causing trouble were extraordinary, how could they dare to take action rashly
Until the fourteen Jin tribe warriors jumped up from the burning flower boat and leaped onto Yingzhao, one of them even held a crying and begging man with his strong arms.
Those brave soldiers spun around and then flew towards the mountain in an orderly formation.
The warriors of the Jin tribe flew to the top of the mountain, and the ape-like man stretched out his arms and threw the captured man to the ground. The man rolled on the ground twice in pain, his nose and face were swollen, his mouth was full of blood, and he probably lost a few teeth.
"Gentlemen, please spare my life! Spare my life!" the man wailed, then stood up and kowtowed.
Yueyaer laughed and said, "I asked you to arrest someone, why did you fight like this?"
The warrior who captured him said, "After we found this guy, he took advantage of the fact that he was outnumbered and said a few big words, so we gave him a lesson."
Yueyaer said, "Forget it! Take it away!"
There were a total of twenty Yingzhao on the hilltop. Yueyaer rode on one, and Shi Hao and Du Yuejiao rode on another.
The eighteen warriors took the Shuhu Gang's chief with them and flew towards Hongshan...
Chapter 28: The Big Case That Can't Be Investigated
Cheng Kun, the leader of the Shuhu Gang, slammed the table top hard, causing it to vibrate and the marble panel to crack.
Veins popped out of his forehead, and his piercing eyes seemed to be spitting out flames: "Who on earth dares to attack the people of my Shuhu Gang?"
In the hall, the tall candlelight in the two corners of the wall flickered in his roar. Through the open windows, moonlight fell on the ivy that covered the windowsill.
The gang members outside heard the leader's roar and knew that he was in a bad mood, so they didn't dare to get close.
In front of Cheng Kun stood a man, who was the leader of the gang, Hong Youyi, and one of the two eighth-rank fighters besides the gang leader.
Hong Youyi said in a deep voice: "Boss, it is not clear who is behind the attack, but they dared to smash, loot and arrest people so blatantly on Jinjiang River, and they rode on the extremely rare flying cavalry such as Yingzhao. Boss, they are not here with good intentions!"
As they were talking, a gang member hurried in: "Boss, Constable Qiu from the Six Gates is here."
Hong Youyi whispered, "Boss, it seems Qiu Jiangping is here for this matter as well. We will know who captured Gu Zhubu once we ask him."
Cheng Kun said coldly: "Let him in."
The gang leader left in a hurry. Not long after, Qiu Jiangping stepped in: "Gang Leader Cheng! Nice to meet you!"
"Captain of the Police!" Cheng Kun was still furious and snorted, "Captain of the Police, there's no need to be polite. I'm sure you already know what happened on the river tonight. A group of thugs of unknown origin openly broke into our gang's boat, smashed, burned, and looted, and took away our gang's chief clerk, Gu. Is there still law in Jin County?"
Qiu Jiangping said, "Boss Cheng, it's useless for you to get angry at me about this matter. To be precise, those people represent the law. I can't do anything about this matter."
Hong Youyi said from the side: "Captain Qiu, what do you mean by this? Didn't you say that you are looking after the public affairs? How could something like this happen again?"
Qiu Jiangping said: "The ones who took action tonight were the Eighteen Thunder Chasing Flying Cavalrymen who were with Master Chongliang of the Yueketai family. The one who led the Eighteen Thunder Chasing Flying Cavalrymen to Jin County was none other than Master Chongliang's sister Miss Yueyaer. This Yueyaer has an extraordinary background. She is not only the daughter of the Yueketai family, but also a member of the Zutan."
"To be frank, even if we report this incident tonight to the county lord, it will be useless."
Cheng Kun's expression changed slightly: "Why would the royal family Yue Ketai target our Shuhu Gang?"