Chapter 30

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After washing off the blood and dirt from his body in the cold wind, Li Wenjun came out of the water, dried himself with a towel, and put on clean clothes. This time, to snatch the wild mountain spirit, Li Wenjun was well-prepared, bringing almost everything he could think of. With a storage bag, he didn't have to worry about carrying too much, which might affect his movements.

He took out some food, sat by the fire, and while eating, he threw the clothes, gloves, beard, and the towel used for bathing into the fire to burn them. Soon, all the evidence that might expose him was completely destroyed.

After the items were burned and his hair was still wet, Li Wenjun added some dry branches to the fire and sat by it, drying his hair while taking the opportunity to practice. The spiritual energy here was still thin, and after about half an hour, Li Wenjun stopped practicing, and his hair was also dry. He then took out another set of makeup tools and dressed himself up. After identifying the direction, he followed the map he had memorized and headed towards the nearby village.

After half an hour of practice and a large amount of food, he felt less weak. At least, he no longer needed to use a stick as a cane when walking.

Upon reaching the village, Li Wenjun bought a horse and rode it to the county town. He was now in another county, which was a neighboring county of San Shan County, called Shao Wei County. Shao Wei Mountain extends from the northeast of Shao Wei County, runs through the entire county, and then leaves from the south, entering San Shan County.

In the county town of Shao Wei County, Li Wenjun found a bathhouse and soaked in it for half a day, thoroughly washing off any remaining blood. After that, he replenished some supplies and left the county town of Shao Wei County, preparing to return to the county town of San Shan County.

Returning to San Shan County definitely carried some risks, but Li Wenjun was confident that he had left no traces. Even if he met Kong Yishi again, it was highly unlikely that he would recognize him. Therefore, returning to San Shan County was basically safe.

Of course, there was a very practical reason for Li Wenjun to choose to return to San Shan County. The several herbs needed to refine Qi Gathering Powder were all collected on Wu Feng Mountain. The last time he entered Wu Feng Mountain, he had limited time and collected a limited amount of herbs, which might not last him for a long time.

Li Wenjun was young, inexperienced, and had traveled to few places. He was not familiar with the geography of the Song Kingdom. If it weren't for the great drought, he might have spent his whole life in his hometown, never having the chance to travel. He was not familiar with San Shan County, Shao Wei County, or the Ming Chuan Prefecture where these two counties were located. He had no idea where to go to collect herbs like Moon Cliff Grass once he left San Shan County.

For him, if he wanted to rely on Qi Gathering Powder for practice, he had to stay in San Shan County. Only then could he collect herbs nearby.

Li Wenjun spurred his horse and headed towards the county town of San Shan County. He traveled day and night, not stopping outside. He hoped to gain time and return to the county town ahead of schedule.

To avoid suspicion, he deliberately took a large detour, not entering from the north gate of the county town, but from the west. When he was a few miles away from the county town, he found a place where no one could see him, dismounted, patted the horse's buttocks, and let it run away. With the vast sky and open land, he let it go.

Back on the official road, Li Wenjun walked towards the county town.

What Li Wenjun didn't know was that he almost returned to the county town of San Shan County at the same time as the constable who was chasing him and Kong Yishi.

As soon as Li Wenjun entered the city gate, he saw a constable riding a fast horse galloping towards him. The constable held a token in his hand and shouted, "The master orders the city gates to be sealed, only allowing entry, not exit."

Li Wenjun's heart raced, and he hurriedly quickened his pace, heading home.

About half an incense stick later, the county magistrate's daughter, Wu Xue Mei, and her brother, Wu Yiming, led a group of people out of the county office, heading towards the herbalist Zhang Qi's house.

Wu Xue Mei was indeed domineering, but she was also very smart. She deduced that the person who had taken the wild mountain spirit might be among those who had tried to buy it. No one knew these people and their identities better than Zhang Qi. Of course, Wu Xue Mei also suspected Zhang Qi. If Zhang Qi had sent someone to take the wild mountain spirit, she wouldn't be surprised.

Wu Xue Mei quickly rushed to Zhang Qi's house, where Zhang Qi was scolding his son. He had sold his property and begged for loans, finally managing to raise a thousand taels of silver to redeem his son from the gambling den.

When Wu Xue Mei and her group burst in, Zhang Qi trembled. He remembered the young lady who had forcibly bought the wild mountain spirit for ten taels of gold.

Without much effort, Wu Xue Mei obtained a list from Zhang Qi. She then left her brother, Wu Yiming, to continue questioning Zhang Qi while she personally led a group to search for the bandits and their accomplices.

For a while, the county town of San Shan County was in chaos.

Wu Xue Mei's father, the county magistrate of San Shan County, Wu Tao, relied heavily on her. To help her quickly find the so-called "bandits," he not only assigned his most capable constables to her but also handed over the two key witnesses of the "robbery" — Kong Yishi and the constable — to her.

Kong Yishi was even more eager to find the wild mountain spirit than Wu Tao and Wu Xue Mei. The wild mountain spirit was lost under his watch, and the governor was waiting for it to use as a medicinal ingredient to save his father's life. If the governor found out that he had lost the wild mountain spirit, the consequences were predictable.

Kong Yishi didn't dare to return to the capital city, fearing that the governor would hold him accountable. He hoped to find the bandits and recover the wild mountain spirit to atone for his crime. Therefore, he returned to the county town of San Shan County with the other constable.

After questioning several households, Wu Xue Mei found no useful leads. She had to continue searching, one household after another. Eventually, she arrived at Li Wenjun's house.

Li Wenjun had appeared at Zhang Qi's house, a fact that no one could deny. Although Wu Xue Mei didn't think that someone her age could commit such a major crime, she still brought her people over to check, just to be thorough.

When Wu Xue Mei and her group burst into Li Wenjun's house, Li Wenjun was chopping wood in the yard. He held an axe in both hands, wearing a sleeveless, open-fronted coarse cloth shirt, which was soaked with sweat. Sweat was streaming down his face and chin.

Li Wenjun's shirt was not a short-sleeved one but a style that exposed his shoulders. Seeing Li Wenjun dressed like this, the constable who had been searching for him in vain and had to return to the county town of San Shan County shook his head.

The constable clearly remembered that Li Tou had slashed the bandit with a knife, almost cutting Li Wenjun in half. The wound ran from the shoulder blade to the lower back, cutting through the entire back. Such a severe injury couldn't heal in just a day or two, and it was impossible for him to have the strength to chop wood.

Wu Xue Mei was also somewhat disappointed, but she didn't really think Li Wenjun could have committed the crime, so her disappointment was minimal.

Wu Xue Mei left a constable surnamed Zhao to question Li Wenjun and then left with the others.

Li Wenjun calmly dealt with Constable Zhao. When Zhao left, Li Wenjun took out a string of copper coins and gave them to Zhao, asking him to have a drink and to speak well of him to the county magistrate and the young lady if he had the chance.

Constable Zhao, feeling the weight of the copper coins, which were worth about five taels of silver, smiled and nodded.

After leaving Li Wenjun's house, the constable ran to catch up with Wu Xue Mei. When she asked if he had found anything, the constable, having received a bribe from Li Wenjun, naturally spoke well of him, and indeed, he hadn't found anything useful.

Kong Yishi frowned and suddenly asked, "Did you check Li Wenjun's back?"

"Why do you ask that, Kong Yishi?" Wu Xue Mei asked.

Kong Yishi said, "Young Lady, I suddenly remembered that there are some miraculous healing medicines in the world that can heal wounds in a short time. These medicines are hard to obtain and very expensive. Perhaps the bandit applied such medicine after taking the wild mountain spirit, which is not impossible."

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be impossible for us to find the bandit?" Wu Xue Mei frowned, looking worried.

Kong Yishi said, "Young Lady, don't worry. According to my knowledge, even if these miraculous healing medicines can stop bleeding and heal wounds quickly, they will still leave some scars, which cannot be completely eliminated."

Wu Xue Mei nodded and instructed Constable Zhao, "Go and question Li Wenjun again."

Constable Zhao quickly returned and reported, "Young Lady, I personally checked, and Li Wenjun's back has no scars."

"Young Lady, it can't be Li Wenjun," the constable who returned to report said.

"Why do you say that, Dai Zenghong?" Wu Xue Mei asked.

"The bandit was taller than Li Wenjun and had broader shoulders. These physical characteristics don't match Li Wenjun. Moreover, Li Wenjun's back is clearly unscarred. In our San Shan County, he has no relatives or close friends, and the only person he is close to is the herbalist Sun Bai Cao. Sun Bai Cao injured his leg recently and is still recovering. Sun Bai Cao's son, Sun Jianing, is not as tall as Li Wenjun, so it can't be them."

Dai Zenghong wasn't trying to exonerate Li Wenjun. He wanted to find a scapegoat as soon as possible, but a scapegoat couldn't just be anyone. First, they had to look the part, and second, they had to be related to or familiar with the case.

The county magistrate had mobilized so many people, sealed the entire city, and let his daughter, Wu Xue Mei, lead the search. The main goal was not to catch the bandit but to find the wild mountain spirit. In Dai Zenghong's view, if Li Wenjun wasn't the bandit, making him a scapegoat wouldn't help find the wild mountain spirit, and the county magistrate would still hold him accountable.

Therefore, he needed to find someone who looked more like the bandit to be the scapegoat.