Chapter 77

It seems that even though his physical condition had improved, it hadn't reached the point where he could drink a thousand cups without getting drunk.

Bu Ye shook his head and focused his mind, finally feeling a bit better. Only then did he go downstairs to settle the bill and step out onto West Street, where the night had just fallen.

At first, he didn't avoid anyone, but when he got near the courtyards, he started to hide his movements.

The villagers of Dongmang Village had been assigned to seven large courtyards. It was clear that the previous owners of these courtyards had been well-off, and now housing over a hundred people, they weren't overly crowded.

Bu Ye didn't specifically look for anyone; instead, he watched the movements of the newly arrived soldiers from the shadows.

After waiting for a while, the soldiers didn't enter any of the courtyards but only spread out to guard the entrances.

To protect the villagers?

Bu Ye didn't think so. He believed it was more likely to be surveillance or house arrest.

However, the soldiers didn't communicate with each other, so Bu Ye's suspicions remained just that—suspicions.

About half an hour later, Bu Ye finally left West Street and headed straight for the government office in the center of the city.

It was now pitch dark, and the moon hadn't risen yet, making it the perfect time for stealth.

The Yuezhi sword, wrapped in gray cloth, was securely tied to his back, not hindering his movements at all.

No one would have thought Bu Ye would be so bold as to hide in Muyuan City, so the security at the government office wasn't any tighter than usual. He easily climbed onto the wall of the back courtyard and then jumped into the garden.

Bu Ye had never been here before, and the maze-like corridors made his still slightly tipsy eyes a bit dizzy. However, relying on his excellent skills, he quickly moved forward from the back garden.

On the way, he encountered two groups of patrolling soldiers, each with only five men, and he easily avoided them.

About ten minutes later, Bu Ye had reached the middle of the government office, where there were many large halls, clearly the administrative area.

At this point, Bu Ye had to be even more careful, sometimes even jumping onto the rooftops to move forward.

Finally, as Bu Ye leaped onto another rooftop, he saw someone hurriedly run into the government office from the front, heading purposefully toward another hall nearby.

Bu Ye took a deep breath, the cold air instantly making him more alert, and he darted out with a "whoosh."

Now that he had a good grasp of the surrounding terrain, he could approach the hall at high speed without being detected.

He leaped down, crouched, and dashed to a large tree, paused briefly, then darted out again, jumped into a corridor, and moved quickly along it, stopping again...

Bu Ye's series of movements were fluid and smooth, and he finally stopped under the back window of the hall. The back window was about three meters off the ground and quite thick, but perhaps for ventilation, it had a small gap.

Bu Ye leaned against the wall, focusing all his attention on his ears, and the sounds inside the hall became clear.

"Magistrate, Commander Wei has arrived."

"Is Magistrate Chai there?"

"Yes, it was Magistrate Chai who instructed me to come."

"What about the villagers?"

"Twenty men have been sent there; not one will be allowed to escape."

"Good."

"By the way, sir, Magistrate Chai said Commander Wei is quite important..."

"Should I go to greet him personally?"

"Yes!"

"Understood, you may go now."

Bu Ye heard the conversation inside clearly and frowned when he heard "not one will be allowed to escape." His anger rose, and the effects of the alcohol quickly wore off.

He wondered who this Commander Wei was and if he was involved in this matter.

The back of the hall was in shadow, and as the moon rose, Bu Ye remained in the darkness. He crossed his arms and waited, deep in thought.

Ten minutes later, laughter and conversation came from the front, and Bu Ye perked up.

A loud-voiced man was exchanging pleasantries with the magistrate, occasionally joined by a gentle voice and the submissive responses of several others.

There were about ten people in the hall, but the main figures were only three, Bu Ye quickly determined.

After the pleasantries, Magistrate Lu Yun took the lead in the conversation: "I never expected such an incident to occur under my jurisdiction, and to trouble Commander Wei to come in person, I am truly ashamed."

Across from Lu Yun, Commander Wei, who was not tall but looked sturdy and agile, reined in his smile and said, "General Yang sent me, and I dare not refuse. Magistrate Lu, I have learned the general situation of last night's incident. How does the magistrate plan to handle it?"

"What does General Xuanwei think?" Lu Yun threw the question back.

"Ha ha..." Commander Wei gave a dry laugh and then said, "General Yang said that Lu Qi and the others are his soldiers, who have distinguished themselves on the front lines. For them to be killed by a villager and for the murderer to escape has truly disheartened the front-line soldiers."

Lu Yun listened with apparent seriousness but inwardly cursed, "What a load of nonsense! Yang Feng has a temper like a cannon and is incredibly arrogant. How could he speak so rationally..."

"Indeed," Lu Yun agreed, though he was cursing inwardly.

"General Yang said that the murderer must be found as soon as possible. However, before the murderer is caught, those villagers..."

As Commander Wei spoke, his mind drifted back to Xuanwei Camp, recalling the moment the news first arrived. He had been in the tent with Yang Feng when they received the unbelievable news.

Yang Feng first smashed the table in front of him, scattering orders and documents everywhere, then cursed, "A bunch of useless fools, to be killed by a mere villager! Wei Xing, you go and handle this. Bring back Bu Ye, alive or dead! And those troublemakers, let them all be buried with my soldiers!"

"Yes!"

Wei Xing didn't say much more, just accepted the order and left the tent.

He was one of Yang Feng's confidants and understood his temper and style of action very well.

Yang Feng's most significant characteristic wasn't his short temper but his deep concern for his soldiers and disregard for officials and civilians. People are naturally protective, and Yang Feng was even more so.

His second most significant characteristic was his short temper, which made everyone fear him when he was angry. However, Yang Feng was also a man who knew how to measure his actions, and his words when angry were often not to be taken too seriously.

In this case, he was ordered to pursue the villager Bu Ye, and he would certainly do his best. But if he failed to catch him, Yang Feng wouldn't do anything to him. A few days later, when he returned to report, Yang Feng's anger would have long subsided.

As for making all the troublemakers accompany Lu Qi and the others in death, while the troublemakers were indeed less important than Lu Qi and the others, it was still too extreme to kill them all. Although Yang Feng despised officials and civilians, he wouldn't go to such extremes.

Therefore, in Wei Xing's view, it was impossible to kill all the villagers, but he couldn't let them all go either. He just needed to find a few of the most influential in the incident and execute them to give Yang Feng a satisfactory response.

At this moment, Wei Xing and Lu Yun were discussing exactly this.

...

In the hall, after a series of discussions, the decision was quickly made: the woman Luo Xiu would definitely be executed, as well as Bu Ye's two assistants, Gao Qun and Chen Qingyan. Then, seven more villagers would be selected to make a total of ten, and the task would be completed.

The executions would take place at noon the next day outside the city.

Bu Ye listened quietly outside the entire time, and his emotions didn't fluctuate much. By the end, he even smiled silently.

However, when he laughed silently in the darkness, the scene was somewhat eerie and frightening.

The decision had been made in the hall, and then Lu Yun said he would host a welcome banquet for Commander Wei. The group left the hall and the government office, heading to the most famous restaurant in the city, Xifeng Tower.

This time, they brought a considerable number of guards, including those from Commander Wei's camp.

Bu Ye carefully followed them for half the way but found no opportunity to get closer. He decided to stop following and turned back toward West Street.

However, halfway there, he stopped again. He knew that even if he went there now, he couldn't save everyone. If he saved Luo Xiu, Chen Qingyan, and Gao Qun, the other side could still kill others to replace them, or even more.

After a moment, he found a small inn in the city, went in, and fell asleep, waiting for dawn.