The first step in protecting the dragon veins was to deal with Sun Jian and his faction, and to put the Imperial Advisor in his place.
The next day, as dawn broke,
Liu Ce galloped towards Hetou Village.
At this moment, Chen Xiaobei and Cui Hongyu were applying medicine to the tigers.
Through days of interaction, the three tigers had let down their guard around Cui Hongyu. When they saw her, they would even affectionately wag their heads.
This showed that tigers were intelligent creatures.
They could sense whether people were kind or cruel to them.
Of course, Cui Hongyu could get close, but others couldn't. Even Chen Xiaobei, when he got too close, the tigers would slightly arch their bodies and let out low growls, as if warning him not to approach.
Alright, Chen Xiaobei had to stand his ground and hand the herbs he was holding to Cui Hongyu.
Cui Hongyu walked up to the most severely injured male tiger. The tiger obediently lay down, as if to say, "Please, do as you please."
Cui Hongyu first cleaned the wound with fresh knotweed juice, then applied the herbal medicine, and carefully wrapped the wound with cloth strips.
As she was working methodically, the young tiger suddenly let out a series of meows towards the village entrance.
Turning to look, it was Liu Ce. Because he came so often, the village defense team no longer bothered to report his arrival or accompany him, letting him enter on his own.
But this made Chen Xiaobei frown. Just because he came often didn't mean they should be perfunctory. How could they even forget the simplest courtesy of accompanying him into the village? This was a bad sign.
Chen Xiaobei nodded to Cui Hongyu and then rose to meet Liu Ce.
Upon meeting, there were no pleasantries. Liu Ce immediately asked, "Brother Xiaobei, do you know where Yang Zhi and the others are staying?"
"Yes, they are just outside our village. I'll take you there."
As they walked, Liu Ce inquired about the progress of the suspension bridge.
Regarding the suspension bridge, Chen Xiaobei could only tell the truth, "The progress of the suspension bridge is going smoothly. I've been down here for two days, and I don't know the current situation. I plan to go up and see tomorrow."
As they were walking, they suddenly heard someone shouting from behind, "Brother Xiaobei, Brother Xiaobei, something's wrong, something's wrong."
Chen Xiaobei turned his head.
Chen Xiaowen ran over unsteadily, "Brother Xiaobei, on the mountain, on the mountain, Chen Ping, Chen Ping is dead."
What? Chen Xiaobei was bewildered. Chen Ping, dead on the mountain? Where did this kid come from?
Chen Xiaobei apologized to Liu Ce, "I'm sorry, I can't go with you. I have to go into the mountain first."
With that, he hurried away with Chen Xiaowen.
As they walked, Chen Xiaobei couldn't help but sigh. Chen Ping had really had a rough life. His grandparents had just passed away not long ago, and now he had died suddenly in the mountains.
By the time he reached the mountain, several village defense team members were already gathered there. Seeing Chen Xiaobei arrive, they parted to make way.
"Who found him first?" Chen Xiaobei asked.
"It was Sanqiu. Sanqiu went into the mountain early this morning to pick wild eggs. But a short while later, he ran down and told us Chen Ping was dead here. We came up and found him like this."
Chen Xiaobei squatted down to examine the body closely. There was a long bloodstain on the ground, a clear sign of crawling.
Following the trail, it led out from the nearby woods.
There was no new discovery in the woods. Chen Ping only had a few copper coins on him and nothing else.
Chen Xiaobei's brow furrowed tightly. He looked at the people present, "Have any of you seen Chen Ping these past few days? Do you know where he was staying recently?"
Everyone shook their heads.
Chen Xiaobei frowned. It was clear that Chen Ping had been stabbed to death, but who was he with, and why had he come to the mountain? All of this was unknown.
At this moment, Chen Xiaowen spoke up, "Brother Xiaobei, let's report it to the authorities. Let the government investigate."
Chen Xiaobei thought about it. Reporting it to the authorities was indeed the safest course of action, as it was a murder.
He ordered people to secure the scene and not to touch anything, then he quickly went down the mountain and took a donkey cart to the town.
According to regulations, he had to report the matter to the township head, Zhao Chunqiang, first, and then Zhao Chunqiang would report it to the county.
Meanwhile, in Qingniu County town.
Seeing Zheng Ke chasing back again, Liu Rumei appeared very helpless.
With a hint of pleading, she said, "Uncle Zheng, I have an urgent matter right now. Can I return with you after I've handled this?"
Zheng Ke smiled slightly, "Since there's an urgent matter, why didn't you just give the order? I, Zheng Ke, am under orders to protect Miss's safety. How can I stand by and do nothing?"
Hearing Zheng Ke's response, Liu Rumei couldn't help but show a hint of joy. With Zheng Ke's men, dealing with Sun Jian would be a piece of cake.
Liu Rumei explained their plan to move against Sun Jian. Zheng Ke listened and nodded slightly, "Sun Jian has committed many evils. It's time to settle the score, and it will also serve as a warning to the Imperial Advisor."
Liu Rumei nodded, "Yes, I'm more curious about our hidden agents among them. We haven't received any news for so long."
Zheng Ke cupped his fists towards Liu Rumei, "I'll take my men to stay in that inn. We'll cooperate from the inside and out then."
This was exactly what Liu Rumei wanted to say. Before she could even speak, Zheng Ke had taken the initiative to volunteer. He was indeed a loyal subordinate who had followed her father for many years, knowing what needed to be done next.
At this time, Chen Xiaobei had arrived in the county town, accompanied by Zhao Chunqiang.
Upon hearing that a murder had occurred, Magistrate Hu Fan did not dare to delay and immediately led He Dali and others to Hetou Village.
Arriving at Qingniu Mountain, the coroner examined the body and confirmed that the victim had indeed been stabbed in the abdomen with a sharp weapon. Chen Ping might have tried to save himself by crawling out of the woods, but he died from excessive bleeding.
Hu Fan turned to Chen Xiaobei, "Village Chief Chen, did no one in your village see Chen Ping when he returned?"
Chen Xiaobei cupped his fists, "I'll go and ask them one by one again to see if I can find anything."
With that, Chen Xiaobei called the village defense team and ordered them to question every household to see if they could find any clues.
The village defense team immediately dispersed, but Chen Xiaobo lingered at the back.
Seeing him like this, Chen Xiaobei frowned. There must be something he wanted to say.
"Brother Xiaobo, do you have something you want to tell me?"
Chen Xiaobo stammered, "Brother Xiaobei, yesterday, yesterday I was returning from selling vegetables in Xiaojia Town, and I met Chen Ping on the way. He rode my donkey cart for a while."
Chen Xiaobei stamped his foot in anger, "Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I, I thought Chen Ping wasn't favored by you anyway, so it wouldn't matter if he died. I didn't expect you to report it to the authorities."
Chen Xiaobei grabbed Chen Xiaobo and brought him before Hu Fan.
"Lord Hu, this is Chen Xiaobo. He saw Chen Ping yesterday."
Hu Fan nodded, "Oh, quickly tell me the details."
Chen Xiaobo recounted the entire story from meeting Chen Ping on the way and giving him a ride to the village entrance.