Chapter 21: Three Thieves

  Hualang also knew that Wu Jun was wrong, but he didn't mind and continued to say: "Brother Wu's anxious and eager desire for Bai Butong to be punished is understandable. However, in the entire Tianchang County, if Zhou Siping doesn't deal with Bai Butong, who can control him? So, Brother Wu, if you want to avenge yourself, it's better to wait until a clean official comes to Tianchang County before making plans."

  Wu Jun now believed Hualang, but he also had his own urgency and asked: "But... when will the Tianchang County official come to clear up this case?"

  Seeing Wu Jun like this, Hualang smiled calmly: "It should be soon!"

  What Hualang said was affirmative, and Wu Jun couldn't help but believe it. However, how could Hualang possibly know about the appointment of court officials?

  Wu Jun was puzzled in his heart, but Hualang couldn't explain it either, because for Hualang it was a historical event, but for Wu Jun it wasn't.

  As Hualang knew, in the third year of Jingyou in Song Renzong, the first clean official of the Great Song Dynasty, Bao Zheng, began his brilliant life in Tianchang County. If there was an official like Bao Zheng sitting in Tianchang County, would there still be unjust cases?

  Hualang couldn't tell Wu Jun the truth, so he could only explain the pros and cons to him, asking him to be patient for a moment. Seeing that Hualang was genuinely concerned about himself, Wu Jun eventually accepted his suggestion and temporarily did not accuse Bai Butong, the head of the household.

  With Wu Jun's consent, Hua Lang was overjoyed in his heart. He then wanted to help Wu Jun back home to tend to his wounds. Just as they had just walked a short distance, Hua Lang suddenly heard the sound of rapid footsteps behind him. However, upon hearing these footsteps, Hua Lang did not worry because from the footsteps, he could tell it was Yin Wuchuang.

  Identifying people by their voices is a detective's most basic skill. Huā Lang had also been somewhat famous in the past, and he still possessed this skill.

  So Hualang didn't turn around and asked: "Did Brother Yin find out anything?"

  As soon as the words fell, Yin Wuchang flew to the front of Hualang. He glanced at Wu Jun and said: "Isn't this the person who was beaten by Zhou Siping?"

  Hualang nodded: "He's been wronged again, I want to help him. For now, let's send him back home to recover from his injuries. Brother Yin, why don't you first tell us what you've found out from your investigation?"

  Yin nodded slightly and said, "After I infiltrated the county government office, I searched around and didn't find any suspicious places. However, in one of the inner chambers, I found a heavily made-up woman who was throwing things in anger."

  Hualang smiled faintly and said: "That woman should be Zhou Siping's daughter, Zhou Ting. I don't know if Brother Yin can find out why Zhou Ting is angry?"

  Yin shook her head slightly: "I know a bit, that Zhou Ting got angry because the imperial envoy sent to select the princess didn't come as scheduled, making her wait anxiously."

  After listening to Yin Wu's words, Hua Lang sneered and said: "A person who is eager to curry favor with the powerful and only thinks of flying high like a phoenix is really laughable."

  They came to Wu Jun's home, which was not wealthy but had several rooms and a maid. After sending Wu Jun back home, Hua Lang arranged for the maid to take care of him, and after everything was settled, he followed Yin Wucheng away.

  At this time, it was already past noon, and the two of them felt a bit hungry, so they went to have lunch at an inn in Tianchang County. After arriving at the inn, they found that Wen Meng was also there. When Wen Meng saw the two of them, he hurriedly waved at them. After Hua Lang and Yin Wuque sat down, Wen Meng spoke up: "I've already asked friends from the jianghu to investigate, I believe we'll have news soon."

  "Has your sister's portrait been shown to those people in the jianghu?" Hu Lang asked opportunely.

  Wen Meng nodded: "I've seen your sister before, so I naturally showed it to them."

  As they spoke, Wen Meng placed a portrait on the table. The woman in the portrait was elegant and refined, with a hint of heroic spirit, bearing a 70% resemblance to Hua Yu'er. Yin Wu picked up the portrait and examined it for a long time, her face subtly flushing red. However, neither Hua Lang nor Wen Meng noticed, as they had never thought about that aspect before.

  After lunch, the weather was so hot that they returned to Wenfu to wait for news. During this period of waiting for news, Yin Wuchuang seemed a bit anxious, more anxious than Hualang and Wendeng, and his sweat was wiped again and again.

  At this moment, Yin Wuchuang suddenly had an idea and said: "I think it's too slow for our Jianghu friends to find her like this. Why don't we kidnap Zhou Ping's daughter Zhou Ting and use her to exchange for Hua...Hua Yu'er."

  "This method is indeed quick, but Hua Lang hurriedly opposed: "This won't do, using this method to rescue Hua Wanyan will only make Zhou Sipeng not give up easily, and it will also give him a reason to deal with us. Think about it, the crime of kidnapping the county lord's daughter is enough for them to bother us."

  "What are we going to do then?" Yin Wuchang was obviously getting anxious, which made Hualang a bit puzzled. However, Hualang smiled calmly and said: "This is not something to worry about. Zhou Siping wants to use my sister to control me, so I'm sure my sister won't be in any life-threatening danger. And now, no matter what, Zhou Siping is still the county magistrate, he wouldn't dare to openly intervene in this matter. As long as we find out where my sister is, those bandits won't have the help of the county government, and rescuing her will not be a problem."

  Waiting is an agonizing thing, but before they get any news, all they can do is wait.

  Fortunately, in the late afternoon, they finally had news.

  That was what a friend from the jianghu found out. After that friend arrived at the Wen manor, he immediately began to say: "We've heard that yesterday evening, three big men took a man wearing coarse cloth clothing and left the city gate for the suburbs. According to people who saw the man in coarse cloth clothing, although he had some heroic spirit, he was also too handsome, just like a woman dressed as a man. I showed them the portrait, and they all said it looked very similar."

  "Could they have gone out of town?" Hu Lang hastily asked.

  That rivers and lakes friend nodded, saying: "Five miles outside the city gate, there is a Taoist temple called Xianban. Inside this temple, there are many Taoist priests who know martial arts. Those three big men and that woman dressed as a man are in Xianban Temple."

  After hearing what his friend from the rivers and lakes had said, Hua Lang hastily said: "In that case, let's hurry to Xian Bàn Dào Guān and rescue my sister."

  It's better to be quick, so the sooner the better. Before Flower Lang and his men set off, Wen Meng invited several masters from the mansion and then asked that Jianghu friend to gather a few more good hands to help.

  After finishing all this, they set off and hurried to Xianbanshan Taoist Temple.

  On her way to Xianbantao Temple, Wen Meng explained why she wanted to hire more people.

  "Those three big men are nothing to worry about, but I've heard that there's a skilled knife user in the Xian Bàn Dào Guān. To be on the safe side, it's better to ask for more help."