ALL NOVEL chapter 23
When Wei Changtian pushed open the courtyard gate with a old hen in hand, the two chickens in the courtyard suddenly let out a loud clamor, welcoming him with great enthusiasm.
“Ah! Young master, you’ve also bought a chicken?”
Ying’er dodged the flying chicken feathers and quickly walked to Wei Changtian’s side, her tone curious.
Wei Changtian asked with a stunned expression: “No, you tell me, where did these two chickens come from?”
Ying’er replied truthfully: “One was brought by the young mistress, and the other was bought by the madam this morning.”
Wei Changtian was surprised: “Was it bought by Lu Jingyao?”
“Yes, the madam said she was afraid the young mistress would blame you for cooking her chicken, so she wanted to buy one.”
Ying’er looked at the chicken in Wei Changtian’s hand and covered her mouth to stifle a laugh: “You’re thinking the same thing, right?”
“Hmph, it doesn’t seem to matter now that I have this one.”
Wei Changtian exhaled through his nose and casually tossed the hen to the ground: “Now they can all play ‘fighting the landlord’.”
“‘Fighting the landlord’?” Ying’er blinked.
“Cough, it’s a small game to pass the time. I’ll teach you how to play it later.”
Wei Changtian laughed awkwardly and walked into the house.
Wei Qiaoling had lost interest in learning to write and was now sleeping on the big ghost’s back.
Lu Jingyao was sitting at the table reading a book, and when she saw him come in, she closed the book and asked softly: “You’re back later than usual today.”
“Oh, I’ll be back at this time from now on.”
Wei Changtian casually replied: “I found someone to teach me martial arts, and I practice for an hour every day.”
“Is that so…”
Lu Jingyao was still thinking about how to turn Wei Changtian into a literary giant, but now that she heard he was using his limited writing time to practice martial arts, she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.
However, she couldn’t use her “wife” identity to make demands on Wei Changtian, so she could only try to probe softly: “About the writing practice you promised…”
“I’ll do it when I have time.”
Wei Changtian didn’t realize the complexity of Lu Jingyao’s thoughts and simply responded casually, preparing to change his clothes.
Just then, Wang Er suddenly rushed in from outside, his expression urgent: “Young master, the old master wants you to go over right away, saying it’s about Xiao… cough.”
When he saw Lu Jingyao on the side, he suddenly became a bit tense and closed his mouth.
Wei Changtian also glanced at the former, seeing Lu Jingyao with her head down, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, as if deep in thought.
The room fell silent, with only Wei Qiaoling’s snoring sounds echoing back and forth, similar to a pig’s.
Wang Er: “Oh no, oh no! This is terrible! We’ll definitely be blamed by the young master later!”
Wei Changtian: “Look at this, it seems like he’s still thinking about Xiao Feng. Hmm, why doesn’t it seem quite right?”
Lu Jingyao: “What can we do to make the lord give up martial arts and take up literature? It’s so frustrating…”
…
“Tell us the whole story again!”
In the dark room, Wei Xianzhi and Wei Changtian sat in separate chairs, with a guard standing beside them.
“Yes, Lord Wei!”
The guard responded and bowed his head towards Wei Changtian.
“We found Xiao Feng’s trail in the village of Houqiu, north of the city, Lord Wei.”
“According to the villagers, Xiao Feng was injured and wandered into Houqiu village several days ago. He’s been living with an old man named Liu, who’s been taking care of him with the help of his granddaughter.”
“Ah, Houqiu village doesn’t have a village head, so the old man Liu makes all the decisions.”
“Wait a minute.”
Shen Wang interrupted, asking, “Several days ago? Exactly how many days? And what’s the name of the old man’s granddaughter?”
“Replying to the lord.”
The guard replied in a low voice, “It was seven days ago, in the evening. The girl’s name is Liu Yingying, and she’s twelve years old.”
“Good, continue.”
“Yes.”
The guard paused for a moment before continuing, “At the time, four brothers from the Sticky Pole Sect went to investigate, but I was worried that we might not be a match for Xiao Feng, so I sent someone back to the sect to ask for reinforcements. Meanwhile, I had two people keep an eye on the Liu family’s movements.”
“We were always on high alert, but we didn’t notice anything unusual.”
“After the experts from the sect arrived, we raided the Liu family together, but aside from two pieces of Xiao Feng’s clothing, we didn’t find anyone. It’s likely that Xiao Feng had already left before we arrived.”
“I’m sorry for my incompetence, Lord Wei. Please forgive me!”
The guard stood up straight, not saying another word, while Wei Changtian thought for a moment before asking, “Did you bring back Liu Yingying and her grandfather?”
“They’re being held in the prison.”
“Have you interrogated them?”
“We’ve had a simple interrogation, but we haven’t used torture yet. Both of them claim they don’t know Xiao Feng.”
“Good.”
Wei Changtian turned to look at Wei Xianzhi: “Father, I want to go take a look.”
…
Xuanjing Bureau, Xing Prison.
The Xuanjing Bureau’s duties included investigating cases and executing criminals. Long-term imprisonment was the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, so the bureau only had a small prison, mainly used for interrogations.
In the damp and narrow corridor, torches flickered, and Wei Changtian looked at the person beside him, feeling a sense of familiarity.
“Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”
The black-clad guard hastily replied, “Lord Wei, I’m Guo Ying. I had the honor of crossing paths with you on the battlefield a few days ago.”
“Ah, I thought so.”
Wei Changtian nodded: “Brother Guo, where are the two prisoners being held?”
“Replying to the lord, the older one is in cell A2, and the younger one is in cell C3.”
Guo Ying was delighted to be called “Brother Guo” and showed a flattering smile: “Which one would the lord like to interrogate first?”
“Let’s start with the older one.”
Wei Changtian thought for a moment before whispering a few words in Guo Ying’s ear.
“……Are you clear about that?”
“Yes, I’m clear.”
Guo Ying’s face flashed a hint of surprise, but he quickly recovered.
A few minutes later.
The iron door of Cell No. 2 creaked open, surrounded by various torture devices, an old man with white hair was tied to a chair, unable to move.
“Lord Wei, Lord Guo.”
Two guards hurriedly stood up, then were dismissed by Guo Ying with a wave of his hand.
“You can leave.”
“Yes!”
*Creak*
The iron door closed with a loud bang.
Wei Changtian glanced around, then walked calmly to the old man’s side, his face resolute, and spoke softly: “About Xiao Feng’s matter, tell me everything you know.”
“I don’t know Xiao Feng!”
The old man’s gaze was firm, clearly indicating that he knew something, but would rather die than say it.
“Why won’t you talk?”
Wei Changtian muttered to himself: “Let me guess… according to the usual melodramatic plot, he must have saved your lives, right?”
“……”
The old man’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, confirming Wei’s guess.
Wei Changtian smiled, patted the old man’s shoulder, and said: “You’d rather die than betray the person who saved your life. You do have a sense of loyalty.”
“But don’t forget, you still have a granddaughter.”
“Do you know what will happen to her?”
“……”
The old man’s face turned pale, but he still refused to speak.
Just then, Guo Ying suddenly took a step forward, his face twisted with a sinister and lustful smile.
“Lord, that little girl is quite pretty!”
“Hehe, we’ve been cooped up in this dark prison for so long, our mouths are watering just thinking about it!”
*Slobbering sounds*
“You don’t need to interrogate her, brothers. We can’t wait anymore!”
“……”
Watching Guo Ying’s over-the-top performance, Wei Changtian was speechless.
This guy must be a natural-born actor.
He thought to himself, but his face remained calm, following the “script” as he said: “In that case, let’s give her an amnesia potion and erase her memories.”
“You can take turns playing with her for a few days, and when you’re done, make her a prison prostitute.”
Looking at the old man, who was trembling all over and on the verge of fainting, Wei Changtian added one more sentence.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk, old man.”
“You’re harming your own granddaughter like this. Don’t you fear that she’ll become a vengeful spirit after she dies and come find you?”
“……”
“Devil, devil…”
“You’re all devils!”
“I’ll say it! I’ll say everything!!”
“Please spare my granddaughter! Spare my granddaughter!!”