Chapter 93

Ling Xiaoyu found a wooden box inside the carriage. The wood was of good quality, looking rather precious and quite heavy. Ling Xiaoyu could hardly hold it with one hand and had to use both hands to lift it.

"Oh? What kind of box is that? Take it out and let's see!" At that moment, Wei Shan, who was interrogating Gu Yong, walked over and saw Ling Xiaoyu holding the box. He immediately perked up and said.

Su Peng sighed inwardly. Since Wei Shan had noticed, he couldn't do anything about it. He said, "Xiaoyu, bring the box over and let's see what's inside."

"Okay." Ling Xiaoyu nodded, took out the wooden box, and handed it to Su Peng.

Su Peng pulled off the lid on top. Inside the box, half of it was filled with gold, and the other half with a whiteish-green powder, which seemed to be some kind of medicine.

"It's gold!" Wei Shan exclaimed loudly upon seeing it. Huang Yanjun, Long Jun, Ji Ming, and others, except for Sun Shijia who was controlling Gu Yong, all walked over.

Su Peng reached in and took out all the gold from the box. There were more than ten gold ingots, each about five taels, making a total of eighty taels of gold.

"Haha, it was absolutely right not to let this carriage go. This will at least double our earnings!" Wei Shan couldn't help but laugh out loud at the sight of the gold.

"Your name is Su Peng, right? I've seen you in the company cafeteria. Since you organized this, how do you think we should divide the gold?" The man named Long Jun asked Su Peng.

Su Peng looked at the gold. He wasn't actually short of money, but with the benefits in front of him, not taking a share would make others suspicious. After some thought, Su Peng said, "Everyone worked hard this time, and it's hard to say who contributed more. There are eight of us here, and eighty taels of gold. Each person gets ten taels, and the gold will be evenly divided."

"What?" Hearing Su Peng's words, Huang Yanjun, who was holding his injured arm, seemed dissatisfied. He looked up at Xie An and Ling Xiaoyu and said, "These two NPCs also get a share of the gold?"

Su Peng listened and looked at Ling Xiaoyu and Xie An. Seeing their puzzled expressions, it seemed they didn't understand what Huang Yanjun was saying. He knew the system had processed the real-world-related words into coded language, which made him feel a bit more at ease. He said, "This game is extremely realistic. Since they participated, they naturally deserve a share."

"Lao Huang, let it go this time. We've already had a good harvest. After dividing the gold, we can sell the weapons and horses. Each person will get at least seventeen or eighteen taels of gold. In the Dragon Tooth Group, a month's worth of tasks is equivalent to twenty taels of gold. This time, we've gained a lot, so let it be."

Wei Shan, standing behind Huang Yanjun, tried to console him. Huang Yanjun, who was in a bad mood due to his injury, wanted more compensation. But since his old partner Wei Shan had spoken, and seeing that Long Jun, Ji Ming, and others seemed to agree with Su Peng's distribution method, he couldn't make a fuss and just grunted, saying nothing more.

Seeing that everyone had no objections, Su Peng divided the eighty taels of gold into eight portions, giving each person two small gold ingots. He then looked at the box and saw a ledger under the gold. He took it out and found it contained records of human trafficking transactions, which could be used as evidence. He put it away. The remaining half of the box contained a whiteish-green powder, which he didn't dare taste. He said to Ji Ming, "Go ask that Gu Yong what this powder is."

Ji Ming nodded and walked over. Huang Yanjun, still feeling unsatisfied, raised his left hand with a bamboo sword, seemingly wanting to cut off more of Gu Yong's fingers. Su Peng quickly stopped him. Gu Yong only had three fingers left, and if any more were cut off, he wouldn't be able to do anything with his hand.

Gu Yong was already a pile of mush, ready to answer any question. Ji Ming quickly brought back the answer.

"What? This is Wu Shi San?" Hearing Ji Ming's words, Su Peng and the others couldn't help but focus on the powder in the box.

"That's right. This is like an ancient soft drug or hallucinogen. Many scholars and officials enjoy it... According to Gu Yong, many people in the Gu Jian Manor and some of the old master's friends like this stuff... It's more valuable than gold, actually five times the value of an equal weight of gold. It's said that the old master of Gu Jian Manor uses it to control his subordinates and make friends with the wealthy."

Ji Ming looked at the whiteish-green powder in the box and explained to everyone.

"Hey... Brother Su, hearing what Brother Ji said, I really want to try this Wu Shi San... In real life, I wouldn't dare take drugs for fear of damaging my health, but in the game, it should be fine, right? I'm really curious about what makes it so addictive."

Sun Shijia looked at the whiteish-green powder in the box, sniffing it, and said to Su Peng.

"You'd better not try it. Drugs are addictive, mainly due to psychological addiction. Even if there are no adverse effects in the game, if you want to try it in real life, it could be disastrous." Su Peng said to Sun Shijia, then closed the lid of the box. "This can also be used as evidence. It's illegal to use Wu Shi San anywhere. Handing it over to the county office will add another charge."

"Ah... Okay then." Sun Shijia scratched his head and gave up.

"Alright, we've almost finished cleaning up the battlefield. We have seven carriages, and eight of us. There are enough people to drive these carriages back to Jiangning County. One person can also return the horses. Then, Xiaoyu and I will take the evidence to the county office."

Su Peng looked around the scene, seeing nothing else worth cleaning up. He tied up Gu Yong and threw him on a horse. Everyone drove the carriages towards Jiangning County.

...

On the way, Ling Xiaoyu rescued the female hero who had been locked up. This female hero had a strong personality. After Ling Xiaoyu unlocked her with the key found on Gu Yong, she didn't cry or make a fuss. Instead, she took Ling Xiaoyu's short sword, jumped off the carriage, and cut off the remaining three fingers of Gu Yong. Poor Gu Yong lost all ten of his fingers.

After cutting off Gu Yong's fingers, the female hero, upon hearing the explanation from Su Peng and others, immediately agreed to testify against the Gu Jian Manor at the county office.

After a few hours, they finally arrived at Jiangning County. Xie An, who couldn't enter the city, left first. The rest of them found the county office. Su Peng opened the doors of several carriages, letting the women and children who had been sold get off. Wei Shan, Huang Yanjun, and others drove the carriages away, while Su Peng and Ling Xiaoyu knocked on the drum at the county office.

Before the drum sound faded, a group of bailiffs ran out. Su Peng shouted, "We have a grievance to report to the county magistrate."

...

In the county office, the county magistrate, who had been with his concubine until late last night and still had dark circles under his eyes, yawned as he ascended the dais. Just as he sat down, he saw Su Peng and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's you again! Aren't you... Su Peng?"

"Your Excellency has a good memory. It's indeed me, Su Peng." Su Peng bowed and said. After spending a long time in the Black Water Army, he didn't care much about the county magistrate. "Your Excellency, I have a blood case to report. I beg you to clear my name."

"Truly unlucky, everything involving you is a murder case." The county magistrate muttered to himself. "Do you have any witnesses or evidence?"

...

Looking at the petition Su Peng presented from Xie An, the county magistrate's eyebrows furrowed.

The county magistrate pondered for a moment, then put down the petition. "You're saying... Gu Jian, the master of Gu Jian Manor, is involved in human trafficking, smuggling Wu Shi San, and... organizing a cult and torturing innocent people?"

Su Peng nodded, and the county magistrate's expression turned bitter.

He knew about the human trafficking at Gu Jian Manor and had taken a cut of the profits. Although the world seemed peaceful, it was actually turbulent, with many warlords vying for power. The law, though not completely broken, had many loopholes. Human trafficking wasn't considered a serious crime, so the county magistrate had turned a blind eye. However, organizing a cult and torturing innocent people were serious matters he couldn't afford to handle, especially since Gu Jian and the city lord were from the same school. He didn't know the city lord's stance and didn't dare act on his own.

After much deliberation, he finally realized this wasn't a case he could handle alone. "Wait a moment. I'll write a report and send it to the city lord to see what he says."

Hearing this, Ling Xiaoyu interjected, "If you're going to my uncle, please include my testimony in the report and let him decide."

The county magistrate then realized the young girl was the new niece of the city lord, making the case even more complicated. He decided to follow the city lord's decision.

The clerk quickly wrote the report, and the county magistrate, finding no issues, sent it to the city lord's residence.

Su Peng and Ling Xiaoyu waited for about half an hour before receiving a response from the city lord.

"Su Peng has fifteen days to provide solid evidence. If the case is true, the Gu Jian Manor will be investigated. If not, Su Peng will be severely punished."

The county magistrate read the city lord's order and his frown eased. "Su Peng, I give you fifteen days to find solid evidence of the Gu Jian Manor's crimes. If you fail, you will be severely punished!"

Hearing the county magistrate's words, a task prompt appeared in the lower left corner of Su Peng's vision: "Thoroughly investigate the crimes of the Gu Jian Manor." This was exactly what he wanted. He bowed and said, "Su Peng accepts the order!"

...

Leaving the county office, it was already evening. Su Peng looked at the sky and said to Ling Xiaoyu, "Xiaoyu, you've worked hard today. To investigate the crimes of the Gu Jian Manor, we need to enter the manor. I will soon gather righteous martial artists to thoroughly investigate the Gu Jian Manor. I hope you can join us then."

"Sure, Brother Su. This is a righteous cause, and I will definitely join you." Ling Xiaoyu said. Su Peng nodded, said a few more words, and then parted ways with her.

As soon as Ling Xiaoyu left, Su Peng heard a bell ring in the real world and logged out of the game.

After exiting the game pod, Su Peng got up and walked to the Dark Owl Group's entrance.

At the entrance, Ning Cai was organizing some documents. Su Peng walked over and said, "Team leader, I have a silver-level or higher mission to report..." (To be continued. Search for Piaotian Literature for faster updates and better quality!)