PNB Chapter 500 - 139: Making the Most of One’s Remaining Use Before Death Isn’t So Bad_2
Chapter 500 - 139: Making the Most of One’s Remaining Use Before Death Isn’t So Bad_2
...
The next day.
When Ye Liuyun and his group walked out of the restaurant, they saw the County Magistrate and several others waiting obediently outside.
As soon as they saw Ye Liuyun come out, they hurried over to greet him.
"My lord!"
Looking at the approaching County Magistrate, whose smile couldn’t be any wider, Ye Liuyun raised his eyebrows slightly.
He might as well have written the word "toady" on his face.
"You came just in time!"
Still, Ye Liuyun didn’t bother with pleasantries and spoke directly.
"I happen to be preparing to investigate that gang of water bandits. It’s perfect to have the County Magistrate himself lead the way!"
The waterways here crisscross endlessly; having a local guide really would be better.
"Uh..."
The County Magistrate was obviously stunned, clearly not expecting Ye Liuyun to get down to business so quickly. Wasn’t he supposed to at least take a break and line his own pockets first?
This doesn’t match up with the Embroidered Uniform Guard he’d seen before.
But of course, the County Magistrate only dared to think this and not say it out loud.
There were so many Embroidered Uniform Guards here, all staring him down—he wouldn’t dare refuse,
"Rest assured, my lord. I’ve been the County Magistrate in Lishui City for over twenty years now. I know the waterways here like the back of my hand! Wherever you wish to go, I can take you there!"
"Is that so? So by that logic, you also know where the water bandits’ hideout is?"
"Of course!"
The County Magistrate answered without even thinking.
Upon hearing this,
The smile on Ye Liuyun’s face grew even wider.
"If that’s the case, then why is it that each time the imperial court sent people to suppress the water bandits, they came back empty-handed? It can’t be that the water bandits could tell the future and knew in advance that the authorities were coming, right?"
On the way here, Ye Liuyun had already gone through nearly all the intelligence about these water bandits.
When he saw that,
...the court had sent people to clear them out so many times and failed every single time,
Ye Liuyun immediately understood—there was an insider.
And judging by the current situation, the insider was clearly this County Magistrate standing before him. No wonder he’d managed to make so much money in such a poor place—nothing surprising about it now.
"Uh... uh..."
Meeting Ye Liuyun’s gaze,
The County Magistrate was starting to panic.
He tried to explain, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of what to say for a moment.
Cold sweat started forming on his forehead.
"Ma-maybe those water bandits are just too cunning. After all, they’ve always lived on the water, and I simply can’t match their grasp of things on the lake!"
He stuttered for half a day, barely managing to cobble together this excuse.
"Is that so!"
Ye Liuyun raised his eyebrows, pretending to buy it.
In reality, it wasn’t yet time to deal with the County Magistrate—better to leave him for later; it wouldn’t make any difference to clean house at the end.
"Whew!"
The clueless County Magistrate, seeing Ye Liuyun drop the subject, naively thought his explanation had passed muster.
His expression immediately relaxed a lot.
"This way, my lord!"
He was worried the more he said, the more mistakes he might make, and Ye Liuyun would catch onto something,
so now he didn’t dare say much—he obediently led the way for Ye Liuyun instead.
The group set out in imposing fashion.
They boarded the boat the County Magistrate had prepared in advance.
The water bandits all lived on the lake; if you wanted to find them, you had to go by boat.
...
They called it a lake, but basically you couldn’t see the end of it at a glance.
And the lake surface was overrun with weeds—some even taller than a person—making it impossible to see very far.
If you weren’t intimately familiar with this place,
searching for someone out here was really no easy task.
"Governor!"
At the prow, Ye Liuyun was scanning the surroundings with a keen gaze.
The County Magistrate, guiding the way beside him, hesitated for a while, then whispered softly to Ye Liuyun.
"These water bandits are murderers to the core—ruthless and merciless. I believe there’s no need to capture them alive. Cutting them down on the spot is actually the best course!"
"Hmm?"
Cut them down right away?
Isn’t that just openly trying to silence them?
Looking at this County Magistrate, Ye Liuyun couldn’t hold back a laugh.
Did he really think his little scheme was so well hidden?
That’s why, the ones who take others for fools are truly the biggest fools themselves.
"We don’t even know the all details about these water bandits yet. Why don’t you tell me? If they’re really that ruthless, killing them on the spot wouldn’t be a problem!"
Might as well give the County Magistrate a sliver of hope.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Sure enough,
As soon as Ye Liuyun said this, the County Magistrate’s eyes immediately lit up.
He started rambling on endlessly.
In the County Magistrate’s view, as long as these water bandits died, then all the sneaky things he’d done would stay hidden. With that in mind, he would, of course, paint them as horribly as possible!
"My lord, you have no idea. These water bandits are truly inhuman! They don’t just steal money—they kill, burn, loot—they’re as wicked as can be! The common people of our Lishui City have suffered under them for far too long!"
"Now that you’re here, my lord, our people are finally saved! With you here, the sky over Lishui City might finally clear!"
There’s definitely a reason he managed to become County Magistrate.
Even if it’s not obvious in other things, his bootlicking skills clearly outshine even Si Nan’s.
As he said all this,