Chapter 61: The County Magistrate Does Not See Him

  Before Li Wenjun asked, Sun Baicao took the initiative to talk about another matter.

  "Wen Jun, I'm really sorry. You asked me to help find news of your parents, but until now there's still no news at all. We haven't printed any fewer missing person notices, nor have we asked fewer people for help, but the effect isn't very obvious." Sun Baisuo said.

  Li Wenjun's expression turned gloomy, and he asked: "Uncle Sun, don't you have any news at all?"

  Sun Baicao shook his head and said, "In the county town here, there are more than 300 people who often go out to run rivers and lakes and do business. I have visited each of them, and they all told me clearly that there is no news."

  "Nothing's happened, has it?" Li Wenjun muttered.

  "Xun Bai Cao hastily said: "Wen Jun, don't worry for now. In the vast crowd, it's like looking for a needle in the ocean to search for a few people without any clues. The possibility of finding them in a short time is very small. However, good fortune will come to those who are destined, as long as we don't give up and keep searching, one day we'll find your parents and siblings."

  Li Wenjun nodded and said, "I'm from a drought-stricken area. The suffering is really unbearable for humans. I hope it's true what you said, that good people have their own destiny."

  "It will definitely be fine." Mr. and Mrs. Sun comforted in unison.

  "I hope so." Li Wenjun forced a smile and said, "By the way, Uncle Sun, I have another favor to ask of you."

  "Go on," said Sun Bao Cao hurriedly.

  Li Wenjun said: "I'd like to ask Uncle to help me pay attention to the hundred-year-old medicinal herbs again. If there are any older medicinal herbs, that would be even better. Please pass on a message for me, as long as the medicinal herbs are genuine, the years are sufficient, the quality is good, and the price is negotiable, I will only offer a higher price than the market price, not lower."

  Sun Baicao nodded, last year Li Wenjun had asked him to find a hundred-year-old medicinal herb, but Zhang Tao, also an herbalist, found one and was forced to sell it to Wu Xue Mei, the county magistrate's daughter. Sun Baicao didn't know what happened afterwards, nor did he know that Li Wenjun had his Wild Mountain Spirit taken away again.

  Sun Jianing interrupted: "Wen Jun, I found that the things you asked us to do, none of them seem easy to accomplish."

  Li Wenjun smiled and said, "If it's easy, I would have done it with a flick of my wrist. Why bother Uncle Sun? Jianning, do you have time now? If you do, come with me to take care of something."

  Sun Jianing had been cooped up in the medicine shop for days and was getting fed up. As soon as she heard there was a chance to go out, she eagerly asked: "Great! Brother Wen Jun, where are you planning to take me? What's the matter?"

  "Let's go to the county government. Brother, I've done something earth-shaking and I want you to be my witness." Li Wenjun said with a smile.

  "What's going on? Did you find me a sister-in-law, Wen Jun?" Sun Jianing's question was quite off the wall.

  Li Wenjun smiled and said, "It's not that I want to marry a wife, but I killed someone. The notorious thief, Wang Yonggui, do you still remember? He's dead, and it was me who killed him."

  The Sun father and son looked at each other in disbelief, their eyes wide with astonishment as they stared at Li Wenjun.

  "Wen Jun, this is no laughing matter." Sun Baisuo said.

  "It's not a joke. Uncle Sun, it's almost dark, hurry up and close the door. After closing the door, you and Jianing come with me to the county government office to see the county magistrate," said Li Wenjun.

  Sun Baicao was skeptical, but if it weren't for the impression Li Wenjun had given him as being very calm and composed all along, he might have raised questions. However, skepticism aside, Sun Baicao still followed Li Wenjun's orders and closed up shop with Sun Jianing.

  It was about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, and Sun's father and son jointly closed the door of the pharmacy and locked it. Then, the two accompanied Li Wenjun and walked towards the county government together.

  Sun Jianing was excited, just about to shout loudly, to help Li Wenjun yell a couple of times, Sun Baicao grabbed him and shook his head at him. Sun Baicao had his own considerations, yelling for people to watch the excitement was easy, but if everyone gathered around and the person's head that Li Wenjun brought out wasn't Wang Yonggui's, then Li Wenjun would become a laughing stock.

  If it wasn't Wang Yonggui, then there was a very real problem: murder is against the law. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, if the head that came out wasn't Wang Yonggui's, then Li Wenjun had killed someone else, violating the king's law, and the county magistrate would have to investigate thoroughly, which would be a big deal.

  If there were no outsiders present, he could still maneuver a bit, bribe the county magistrate more, and maybe the matter would be passed over. If there were many outsiders watching, there was no room for maneuvering.

  Li Wenjun ignored Sun Bicao's small movements. The fact that he killed Wang Yonggui, whether it is publicized now or a few days later, will not make much difference in effect, just a matter of one or two days.

  The county town of Sanshan County was not big, and Li Wenjun and his party didn't take much effort to arrive at the gate of the county government.

  The sky had darkened somewhat, and lanterns were lit at the entrance of the county yamen. Two constables with swords stood guard under the lanterns.

  Li Wenjun was about to step forward and talk to the bailiff, but Sun Baicao pulled him back and said in a low voice: "Wenjun, you are the master of the house, with your status, you must be dignified. Let me handle this trivial matter."

  "Then trouble Sun Dazu." Li Wenjun stopped in his tracks, not because he thought his status was higher than Sun Baicao's, but because he knew that his experience in dealing with officials was far inferior to Sun Baicao's. He just wanted to get things done smoothly and didn't want to cause any extra trouble.

  Sun Baicao walked towards one of the bailiffs, who rebuked him, "Hey, what are you doing? This is a county government office, no loitering allowed."

  "This official, I am Sun Baicao. Originally, I made a living by collecting medicinal herbs. Before the Spring Festival, I just opened a medicine shop. At that time, I went to the county government office to handle the procedures. The one on the side is our shop owner Li Wenjun, Li Gongzi, and next to him is my son Sun Jianing. Today we have come to see County Master with something, please report it."

  "Can't you see what time it is? Even the old master needs rest after a hard day's work. Besides, he's a man of high status, not just anyone can meet him." The yamen runner said with a smirk.

  "I understand, I understand." Sun Baicao smiled and took out a string of copper coins, putting them into the hand of the officer, "A small token, not enough to show respect, please have a pot of good tea, sir."

  The official picked up over a hundred copper coins, a smile spreading across his face, and said: "Alright, you wait here, I'll go report this."

  After a while, the bailiff came out. The smile on his face was gone, and he said with a straight face: "The master has an order. He has very important things to attend to. No one is allowed to disturb him. Otherwise, break your dog's leg. Did you hear that? Hurry up and leave."