Chapter 64: Unfamiliar yet Intimate Strangers

  It's been almost a month since I uploaded it, and there aren't many collections yet. Please ask friends who have already collected to give more support and comfort to the cavalry, haha.

  Wu Qi nodded slightly, and the bailiff opened the cloth package. Inside, a grass ball was revealed, emitting a faint foul odor.

  Li Wenjun killed Wang Yonggui and then waited for a long time at Wufeng Mountain. Even though the storage bag could extend freshness, it was not infinite. Wang Yonggui's head had already begun to rot.

  Wu Qi covered his nose, his body shrinking back with effort. Having been an official for many years, he had handled numerous murder cases, and a foul smell was still distinguishable to him as the stench of a corpse.

  "Open it." Wu Qi pointed at the grass ball and ordered.

  The corpse stank unbearably, and the yamen runners were almost vomiting, but the county magistrate had given orders, so he didn't dare retreat. He could only force himself to endure the foul smell and carefully untie the grass rope.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, inside was a human head. Although some parts had already shown signs of rotting, the face was clear and the features were intact, and it looked almost identical to the portrait of Wang Yonggui on the official wanted poster issued by the government, with no discernible differences.

  At the sight of this head, Wu Qi's eyes lit up. This was Wang Yonggui's head. Even if Li Wenjun had found someone who looked exactly like Wang Yonggui, killed him and cut off his head, he would still have identified it as Wang Yonggui's head.

  "Li Wenjun, this county asks you, why is this human head not fresh? It doesn't look like it was just killed recently, it's a bit rotten. Are you sure Wang Yonggui really died at your hands?" Wu Qi asked.

  Li Wenjun said: "County Master, I met Wang Yonggui in the deep mountains of Wufeng Mountain. After killing him, it took me several days to get out of the mountain. The head is a bit smelly, which should be normal."

  Wu Qi nodded upon hearing this. Wang Yonggui was hiding in the deep mountains, which explained why he had sent out so many yamen runners who couldn't find him anywhere, and also explained why his hair had become rotten.

  "Li Wenjun, Wang Yonggui's case is quite complicated. If it's confirmed that you killed Wang Yonggui, not only will you receive a reward of over 1,000 taels of silver, but the county will also need to request permission from the prefecture to publicly commend you and exempt you from labor taxes. Therefore, the county must handle this matter with caution and avoid any mistakes, lest it become a laughingstock." Wu Qi said calmly.

  Li Wenjun knew some things couldn't be forced, he said: "I can understand."

  Wu Qi smiled and said, "As long as you understand. In that case, you go back home with Sun Baicao first and wait patiently for news. Once I've confirmed the matter of the head, I'll send someone to invite you over and reward you. How does that sound?"

  "Alright." Li Wenjun said reasonably. He didn't think that Wu Qi would hit Wang Yonggui's head, or rather, he wasn't afraid of Wu Qi hitting his head in his subconscious mind.

  "Good, you can speak so well and understand the reason. It's indeed saved this county from wasting a lot of words. This county appreciates young people like you. From now on, this county will treat you as if you were one of its own sons or nephews. Come, I'll personally escort you out of the county yamen." Wu Qi stood up and walked Li Wenjun out of the county yamen.

  The Sun father and son had never been treated like this before, they didn't even dare to breathe loudly, carefully following behind Li Wenjun and Wu Qi as they walked out of the county government office.

  Li Wenjun was very calm and casually chatted with Wu Qi.

  A humble commoner couldn't even put himself in the right position, Wu Qi had a bellyful of anger, but for the sake of the bigger picture, he could only force himself to hold it in, with a smile on his face, and see Li Wenjun and the others off all the way to the outside of the county government office.

  Wu Qi was like a kind elder, holding Li Wenjun's hand and saying with a heavy heart: "This county is older than you by several years, has eaten two more years of salt, and there are some things that this county must carefully instruct you. The government has offered a reward for Wang Yonggui, which you know about. At first, the notice was offering a reward of 1,000 taels of silver. Later, the reward continued to rise, and now it has increased to 1,500 taels.

  This is a large sum of money, enough to let many families live a life of plenty for generations. Such a large amount of money is not available in the county's treasury, and it must be escorted by special personnel from the prefectural city's treasury. If the news leaks out and the silver is stolen by thieves, it would be disastrous. The prefectural city may not be willing to send another batch of silver again.

  For the sake of your own interests, I hope you and Sun Baicao can both keep a tight lip and not leak any information to outsiders. If because of your carelessness, the silver is stolen, even the county government won't be able to help you.

  Xian Qi, Sun Bai Cao, have you two remembered?

  Sun Baicao was different from Li Wenjun, he revered the authorities, and with a sum of 1,500 taels of silver at stake, he dared not speak recklessly, in case Li Wenjun ultimately failed to get the money, he would feel guilty for the rest of his life.

  Sun Baicao pulled Sun Jianing's hand, and the two of them nodded in unison, saying: "Don't worry, we will keep our mouths shut."

  Li Wenjun didn't care about the reward money at all, and he wasn't short of silver either. However, the matter still needed to be confirmed by the government office, and he couldn't just go against Wu Qi, so it was better to cooperate with him for now. So, he nodded slightly as well.

  Wu Qi secretly let out a sigh of relief, standing on the platform, he saw off Li Wenjun and the others until they disappeared into the distance, before the smile on his face faded away. He snorted coldly, flung his sleeve behind him, and turned to enter the county yamen.

  "Pass on my orders, close the yamen gates. Without permission from this county, even if the sky falls down, no one is allowed to open the door for me."

  The gatekeeper hastily retreated back into the county government office and closed the two large black lacquered gates, dropping the crossbar.

  Wu Qi returned to the second hall, only to see that San Gongzi and Jiang Xue had already arrived. Jiang Xue was not avoiding the foul smell, standing beside the desk, staring at the human head. San Gongzi covered his nose with his sleeve, hiding far away, his eyes always avoiding the head. Next to him, a yamen runner was squatting down, holding a rag to clean up a puddle of vomit on the ground.

  Wu Qi knew at a glance that this young master couldn't take it and threw up! It's unknown whether he was scared or stimulated. He secretly despised the third young master, but his mouth instructed: "Quickly take the third young master outside to breathe in some fresh air."

  A yamen runner hastily led Third Master out of the Second Pavilion.

  Wu Qi walked to the side of the public case, and Jiang Xue didn't even glance at him, but instead said: "Based on my experience, I think this human head is real and not fake. However, this matter is serious and needs to be handled with caution. County Magistrate Wu, would you please summon the most experienced coroner in the county to come and examine it?"

  "Alright." Wu Qi nodded and had someone go to the morgue to call over the on-duty coroner.

  Not very tall, an old man with a head full of white hair and a face full of wrinkles followed the yamen runner over. He respectfully kowtowed to Wu Qi.

  Wu Qi pointed to the head and asked Yu Zuo to hurry up and examine it.