…
The casual cultivator's reaction was really beyond Wang Shouzhe's expectations, and his face immediately became gloomy: "It seems that what you committed in Yingxiu is not a small matter."
"My lord, it's my fault, I'm greedy." The casual cultivator cried bitterly and confessed, "The few of us are traveling merchants traveling together. When we passed by Yingxiu, we saw a rich merchant's family was getting married. Originally The few of us were about to leave after begging for a glass of water and wine. Unexpectedly, we found that the dowry was very rich, with hundreds of dry gold alone, and two century-old ginseng plants that were worth a lot. Sneaked into the rich merchant at night to steal..."
After some confession, Wang Shouzhe's face became darker and darker. This group of casual cultivators were too bold. After the theft was discovered, he even dared to kill people and steal wealth.
Fortunately, those casual cultivators had internal strife because of greed, and in the end this casual cultivator had the last laugh. It's just that he was very unlucky. He was caught by Wang Shouzhe and his party when he was dealing with wounds in a sparsely populated dense forest.
"My lord, as long as you swear to spare my dog's life." Sanxiu begged for mercy, "I am willing to tell you where the stolen goods are hidden, and I will enshrine everything to you."
This casual cultivator seems to know the behavior style of some Xuanwu families very well. If Wang Shouzhe swears in front of several generals under his command, he will definitely not go back on his word.
Otherwise, if a majestic patriarch can even break his vows at will, how will these patriarchs feel in their hearts? Can you still believe the words of the Patriarch in the future
Wang Zhong and other generals also cast their eyes on Wang Shouzhe, with some hope in their eyes. The value of the stolen goods is not small, if it can be obtained, it can alleviate the situation of Wang's lack of money.
Wang Shouzhe just thought for a while, then got on the horse: "Take him and hand him over to Yingxiu Lu."
"Yes, Patriarch." Wang Zhong was taken aback for a moment, then faithfully fulfilled his mission, gagged the mouth of Sanxiu, and threw him onto the horse no matter how he screamed and struggled.
"drive!"
The coachman Wang honestly flicked his whip, and the two horse-drawn carriages moved slowly on the rough and muddy road.
After walking for a while, Wang Zhongcai rode his horse up behind Wang Shouzhe, and asked in a low voice, "Patriarch, do we really want to give up that batch of stolen goods? If you are afraid of getting your hands dirty, let the subordinates deal with them. Just give me some time and keep them safe." He spat out where he hid."
"Our time is precious, and we don't have time to play treasure hunting with a mere rogue cultivator." Wang Shouzhe said calmly, "And Wang Zhong, as a Xuanwu family, has to take a long-term view. There is no impenetrable wall in the world. If Therefore, if we hate the Lu family, our loss will be ten times, a hundred times the stolen money! The most important thing is, if we corrupt the stolen goods and let the thieves go, how can we be worthy of Zhou Xuan, who opened up the territory and established the family? Patriarch? How can you be worthy of Patriarch Longyan who has guarded the family for decades with his own strength?"
This is the issue of family beliefs. The biggest belief of most families is the ancestors who opened up the family.
Wang Zhong's body shook, and he was ashamed and said: "This subordinate understands, it is this subordinate who was blinded by interests."
"Human nature is greedy, but how to restrain greed is very important." Wang Shouzhe said indifferently, "It's like the group of casual cultivators who couldn't control their greed and joined forces to commit crimes, and then couldn't control their greed and fought with each other. Such a lack of self-control Self-discipline, if you are lucky enough to escape this time, can you escape the second or third time?"
"Patriarch, if those rogue cultivators escaped once, wouldn't it be okay if they don't commit crimes again?" Wang Yong rode up and said.
"There may be such people, but they must be very few." Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, "Imagine that you can't even resist the first temptation, let alone the second temptation that has already tasted the sweetness? That kind of greed will come sooner or later. Let them be destroyed. It's not that I don't want the stolen money, but I simply don't dare to, because I'm afraid that I won't be able to control my greed and gradually bring the family to ruin."
The generals were all lost in thought, their eyes showing respect for Wang Shouzhe.
Wang Zhong said with emotion: "Patriarch, my subordinates have a premonition that our Ping An Wang family will surely rise in the hands of the Patriarch."
"Hehe, although your flattery is rough, but this patriarch is very useful."
"Patriarch, I'm not flattering, I really think so."
"That's right, Patriarch, we think so too." The other generals echoed their agreement.
at the same time.
Inside the carriage, Wang Luojing, who had already woken up and witnessed and heard all of this, had bright eyes and thoughtful thoughts at the same time. With my fourth brother, I always feel so at ease and at ease.
Not for anything else, even if it's just for the fourth brother, Luo Jing, Luo Jing, you must work hard to share the burden on the shoulders for the fourth brother.
…
In less than half an hour.
Wang Shouzhe and his party came out of the woods and walked onto the wide avenue.
The first thing that catches the eye is the vast and endless Yingxiu Lake. The reflection of the towering Longji Mountain falls in the water, dyeing the lake dark green. The lake wind mixed with water vapor hits the face, and it is cool in this early summer season.
From time to time, on the wide lake, a big fish would leap up and blow up a large splash. In the dense reeds, there are various waterfowl swimming.
There is no doubt that Yingxiu Lake is not only beautiful, but also rich in natural resources. Compared with the magnificence of Anjiang's endless torrent, Yingxiu Lake is more magnificent and graceful.
At this time, a team of knights came galloping in the distance, reined in and stopped in front of Wang Shouzhe and his party.
"Hoo!"
The leader is a well-dressed man in his early thirties, with a strong bow on his back and a sword hanging from his waist, with extraordinary momentum. When I saw Wang Shouzhe, I was taken aback for a moment, and then laughed happily: "Zhe'er, I haven't seen you for a while, and you have become more heroic. It seems that after becoming the patriarch, your temperament has changed."
"Uncle, why bother you to pick it up in person." Wang Shouzhe hurriedly cupped his hands.
This man is Lu Zhengjie, the younger brother of Wang Shouzhe's biological mother Lu Mengxue, who is the pillar of Yingxiu's young and middle-aged generation. Only in his early thirties, he has already reached the eighth level of the Qi Refining Realm, and he is an existence that is expected to break through to the Spirit Platform Realm.
Some time ago, he made a special trip to Ping'an Town to attend Wang Dingyue's funeral. Naturally, he and Wang Shouzhe had only parted ways not long ago.
"It's just to pick you up." Lu Zhengjie's smiling face froze, "A few days ago, a group of thieves pretending to be peddlers killed a wealthy businessman with seven people. We followed the clues and found that they fled to the mountains. Yang Fangxiang is investigating this matter. I have heard the report of your coming to Yingxiu, so you can go see your uncle by yourself, I don’t have time to accompany you back now.”
"It's a coincidence." Wang Shouzhe said with a smile, "I just came from Shanyang, and I happened to catch a criminal on the way. According to the preliminary interrogation, it should be the same group of criminals as my uncle mentioned."
"What?" Lu Zhengjie was slightly surprised.
Afterwards, Wang Shouzhe handed over the criminal to Lu Zhengjie, and narrated the ins and outs of the matter to him: "I will hand over the criminal to my uncle, but he has already hidden the stolen goods. It is inconvenient for me to intervene in this matter. You are on your own." Send someone to interrogate."
"This will save trouble, Lu Yi, and I will leave the rest of the matter to you. Try to recover the property and give an explanation to the survivors of the rich businessman." Lu Zhengjie ordered in surprise.
The Xuanwu family has various privileges in the local area, but they also shoulder the responsibility of protecting the civilians under their jurisdiction.
"Yes, the second in command." A man with a somewhat stern face came out and grinned cruelly, "This thief is so courageous, he dared to commit crimes on our Lu family's territory. If he falls into my hands, I will If you keep him alive, you can’t ask for death.”
Such cruel words made Wang Shouzhe look at him more.
"Lu Yi has a lot of experience in torture." Lu Zhengjie said with a smile, "You can send a general with some qualifications to learn."
Regarding this, Wang Shouzhe was noncommittal.
If it is purely about torture, Wang Shouzhe's "knowledge" is still very rich, and there is a lot of miscellaneous knowledge in this direction. After all, modern criminal investigation dramas, spy dramas... There are too many similar plots, and the methods are quite scientific. of.
He didn't get too entangled in this matter. Now that the task of arresting the fugitives had been completed, Lu Zhengjie personally led Wang Shouzhe back to Yingxiu Lu's main residence.
Compared with the Shanyang Gongsun family who built the main house on the mountainside, it is quite solid. Yingxiu Lu's main house was built on the middle peninsula of Yingxiu Lake, surrounded by water on three sides and guarded by one man.
In terms of pure blood relationship, Wang Shouzhe has a deep connection with Lu Shi, so he will naturally receive high-level hospitality here.
Before entering the door, a girl in red clothes rushed out and plunged into Wang Shouzhe's arms: "Cousin Shouzhe, Xiaoxiao misses you so much."
Lu Xiaoxiao!
The contemporary patriarch Lu Zhengxiong is old and has a daughter, who is the most favored.
But before Wang Shouzhe could speak, Wang Luojing, who was hiding behind him, suddenly grabbed his hand: "Fourth brother, Jing'er is a little uncomfortable."
uncomfortable
Wang Shouzhe was taken aback, and hurriedly took her little hand and said with concern: "Luo Jing is not feeling well, could it be that she was sleeping in the carriage..."
Only halfway through the conversation, the eyes of the two girls met, their hostility was undisguised, and sparks flew everywhere.
…