Chapter 12: The True Face of the Lustful Thief

  Qian Datong hesitated for a moment and said, "Do you still remember that civil unrest two years ago?"

  Qian Yiqun nodded blankly. The first two years were the sixth year of Tianqi, when Wei Zhongxian sent the Dongchang cavalry to Suzhou to capture Zhou Shunchang, a civil servant. Who knew that Zhou Shunchang had a good foundation among the people, and tens of thousands of people gathered to protect him. Where did the Dongchang have kind men and believing women? They were arrogant and violent, used to beating people, but in the end they were killed by the angry crowd.

  At that time, the governor Mao Yi flew to Beijing and said it was a rebellion. It seemed like a big case was about to happen, but five righteous men took the blame instead. The five of them were later buried on the side of Tiger Hill, with a tombstone reading "Tomb of Five Men". Qian Yiqun personally experienced this event, and also had an impression from his past life's burden of Zhang Pu's "Inscription for the Tomb of Five Men" in "Ancient Prose Masterpiece", so it left a deep impression.

  "What's the relationship with your uncle's family?" Qian Yiqun still didn't understand.

  "Your cousin, was the one Old Wei rescued from the chaos back then." Mother Qian let out a sigh, "He used to be a gambler, but also because of this matter, your uncle asked someone to help him get a job in the government and he received a salary."

  "But... why would Uncle suspect it was him?"

  "It was just last month," Qian Datong's hands trembled slightly, "that Wei Xiaoniang, who raised silkworms in Zhangjia Village, died. The coroner said it was sudden death and even Wei Laogou wasn't allowed to see the body before it was cremated."

  "Ah!" Qian Yiqun was speechless. Over the past nineteen years, he had become more and more like a Ming dynasty person in his thinking, taking the matter of having no place to bury one's bones very seriously. As soon as Father said this, he knew that there must be some trickery involved, with Zhang's family being bribed, and after some thought, he suspected that Weijia's daughter had also died a terrible death, not even leaving behind a decent corpse.

  Qian Mu's whole body felt cold, she closed her eyes and turned the prayer beads continuously, reciting "The Inconceivable Merit of Taiyi Savior of Suffering Heaven".

  Qian Datong suddenly slapped the table: "No wonder both cases were committed during the day, because that old guard dog Wei has to check the cells at night!"

  "Is he a prison guard?" Qian Yiqun asked, and suddenly shouted: "Father, the Wei family case, we are not involved, are we?"

  "My family has a tradition of integrity, how can I join them in doing such a despicable thing?" Qian Datong said displeased.

  Qian Yiqun finally breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that Wei Lao Gou was also a pitiful person, and after obtaining the divine power, he thought about revenge, which is a common human emotion...

  "Save me! Someone come!" A shrill quacking voice pierced the quiet night scene of the alley like a eunuch whose foot had been trodden on.

  Everyone else looked bewildered, but Qian Yiqun was very familiar with that voice - it was the fox's!

  There are countless things that can make a timid fox cry out for help, but at the moment, there is only one thing that fits the bill: Flower Thief!

  Qian Yiqun glanced around the hall and didn't see Xiaoxiao, so he grabbed his sword and sprang up, dashing towards the rear residence in a flash.

  Fortunately, the Qian family's house was not large, and after passing through a small moon gate, they reached the backyard where the family rested. In the darkness, two green lights shone, which were particularly eerie. Qian Yiqun's heart skipped a beat, and he almost slashed out with his knife.

  "It's me!" The fox shouted loudly, looking around at the blurry figures and chaotic footsteps, but couldn't be bothered to conceal his identity.

  Qian Yiqun immediately stopped in his tracks, not daring to follow the two foxes, and ran towards his sister's boudoir. In a small household like theirs, there weren't many rules, and the brother and sister's rooms were just in a row, one at each end, only about a dozen or so steps apart. A hunched black figure was emerging from his sister's room, looking around cautiously, as if searching for an escape route.

  "Die, you lecher!" Qian Yiqun shouted loudly and charged forward with his knife.

  Qian Datong closely followed Qian Yiqun, shouting in his heart: Ah, ah, you shouted the two words "lustful thief" so loudly, what if the neighbors on both sides heard it, how can your sister be a person in the future?

  Qian Yiqun never expected that, Xiaoxiao was two years younger than him and he had watched his little sister grow up since childhood. The brother-sister relationship was extremely good. Seeing the scoundrel slowly coming out of his sister's room, he didn't dare to imagine what happened inside.

  The licentious thief was startled by Qian Yiqun's loud shout and slowed down his footsteps. He took another look at Qian Yiqun, who was chopping with his knife, and quickly dodged to the side. With a flick of his hand, he slapped the ground, and a "pa" sound was heard, followed by a burst of black smoke that rose into the air, completely enveloping him.

  The black smoke dispersed, and the figure of the scoundrel was gone too.

  Qian Yiqun's knife, which had just been raised, suddenly became unable to be used, and he could only go to his sister's room first to take a look at the situation. Just as he took two steps out, his ears were pierced by a sharp cry, which turned out to be a fox letting out a shrill howl.

  "The water level is higher than when we arrived!" the fox shrieked.

  "What?" Qian Yiqun was taken aback.

  In the dark of night, a black iron ruler suddenly flashed out and slapped Qian Yigun's shoulder. Qian Yigun dodged to avoid it, but his sleeve was torn open by the sharp corner of the ruler.

  "Ge, Ding, Lei Shan, Gui Mei!" The fox shouted loudly again.

  Qian Yiqun's mind was distracted for a moment, and he was hit on the arm by that iron ruler again. The pain made his teeth ache, and he shouted: "Whose side are you on, anyway!"

  The fox cried out twice, running and shouting at the same time, without letting anyone see its position. Seeing that Qian Yigun didn't even know the direction of the trigrams, it thought to itself that it had indeed batted its eyelashes at a blind man.

  Qian Yiqun's side was no longer disturbed by the fox spirit, and dealing with the iron ruler that stretched out in the darkness became much easier. Generally speaking, people with rich spiritual energy tend to have a stronger sixth sense. Moreover, the villain was only hiding and couldn't control the airflow, so there were some signs before he made his move.

  The two men fought with their knives for a while, but the villain saw that more and more people were gathering around, holding various farm tools and knives, and someone even brought a big rooster, preparing to use its blood to ward off evil. Seeing that the situation was unfavorable for the time being, the villain did not linger and fled. He also didn't understand divination or directions, and didn't know that there were people here who could see through his tracks, otherwise he would have run even faster.

  The fox was a vengeful creature, having previously suffered a loss. Seeing that his side had the upper hand, he refused to let him escape and suddenly shouted in the crowd: "He crawled on the ground into the house!"

  Qian Yiqun took a step forward, just about to stab the knife into the ground, but his foot had already stepped on a small leg. All he heard was a "crack" sound, followed by a hoarse and mournful cry.

  To say that this rascal is also bold and reckless, he actually knows that the most dangerous place is also the safest place. If he encounters a novice like Qian Yiqun who has no actual combat experience, he might really think that the enemy has left and rush in to check on his sister's safety without any guard.

  The scoundrel didn't think of it, the Qian family doesn't raise dogs, but there is a fox with a nose that surpasses that of a dog. Moreover, this fox is an ancient spiritual breed, although it can't see through hidden bodies, its sensing ability is extremely strong, and every move it makes "sees" through everything clearly.

  Qian Yiqun saw a thin figure gradually appearing on the ground, which was unclear in the dark, but vaguely seemed to be a familiar shadow. Wu County Gate is so big, he often followed his father to walk around the government office, and must have seen him somewhere.

  "Guard the old dog! Where did my family wrong you?" Qian Yiqun shouted, exposing the lustful thief's identity, and a knife was handed over.

  "Qian Laozei and those scoundrels communicated, harming my family's daughter. How can I let you off!" Wei Laogou completely revealed his figure, leaning diagonally on the ground, with Qian Yiqun's single knife pressed against his neck, his voice shrill.

  "Pah! My father is not that kind of person!" The light in Qian Xiaoxiao's room turned on, and before the shadow came out, the voice had already burst out, loud and clear.

  Qian Yiqun thought to himself: Even if Father knew about this, he would definitely not confront County Magistrate. Although it's said that outside officials don't bully local officials and local officials don't dare provoke outside officials, sometimes the harmonious relationship between officials is just a facade of mutual fear, who would risk getting themselves into trouble for someone unrelated?

  Qian's family motto says: "Publicly cultivate virtues, do not harm the good deeds... In this situation, not to kick someone when they are down is already a great achievement. If one were to stand up for justice and righteousness, our ancestors would definitely be deeply grieved.

  "My father is not that kind of person!" Qian Xiaoxiao was radiant in golden light, holding a lantern, and stepped out of the boudoir. Her clothes were intact, not looking like she had been violated.

  As soon as she stepped out, the golden light burst forth in a dazzling display, overshadowing the oil lamps. Qian Xiaoxiao was already a stunning beauty, and with this radiant aura, she seemed like a celestial being. This grand appearance not only preserved her own reputation but also made the onlookers dare not gaze directly at her.

  Especially that old guard dog.

  The old dog turned his head, not daring to look at Xiaoxiao, and said in a low voice: "I didn't expect the Bodhisattva to protect Miss Qian's family, I'm dead! It's just pitiful my daughter! She's not even fourteen years old yet!" The old dog shouted hoarsely, extremely sorrowful.

  Qian Yiqun saw that his sister was fine, and the stone in his heart had already been put down. His anger gradually dissipated. He also thought of this old man's lonely and bitter life, with only one daughter who was brutally murdered by someone. Indeed, he was a pitiful person, and Qian Yiqun couldn't help but feel a sense of sympathy for him. Qian Xiaoxiao also stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Brother, although this old dog is despicable, he's also pitiful."

  "Seize him!" Qian Datong rushed over, "Go call for people to come and take this thief to the main prison!"

  Qian Yiqun only then discovered that there were not many people around, and outside the wall was even more bustling with voices. His own capture of the thief had already startled the neighbors on both sides. In this era, the neighborhood was especially sensitive to other people's affairs, how could they pretend to be unaware?

  "Give it to me!" A northern accent stood out among the soft Wu dialects, and before everyone could react, a black shadow descended from the sky, and a hand like an eagle's claw reached out towards Old Dog Wei.