193: Put more cumin and less salt, I can't eat too salty

Taking the best-looking candied haw from the target stand, Bailu ate it and said, “The Guo Bei County Magistrate has been brought. If you have any questions, just ask him yourselves!”

After speaking, she raised her hand.

A chair was pulled by an invisible force behind her, and she slowly sat down, waiting for Chu Mo and the other to perform.

The Guo Bei County Magistrate was lying on the ground, but he showed no reaction, as if he were dead.

“Is this the Guo Bei County Magistrate? Why does he not look like a man? Is his skin that good? Also, he wasn't beaten to death by you, was he?!” Li Tian Ce looked the Guo Bei County Magistrate up and down. Seeing that he had no movement, he couldn't help but ask Bailu if she had hit him too hard.

Bailu shook her head with the candied haw in her mouth: “I always control my strength very well. He will definitely not die.”

Beside them, Ning Caichen muttered in his heart: “Yes, you control your strength very well. The first punch you threw sent this magistrate flying dozens of feet away. If you hadn't used that bottle of green liquid to rescue him, he would have probably been sent to reincarnation.”

“This guy took medicine!” Chu Mo saw through the magistrate on the ground at a glance. He must have taken Ning Haocheng’s potion.

However, he didn't care.

“Clap!”

Suddenly, he grabbed the gavel and slammed it down.

“Are you dead or not? If you’re not dead, make a sound. If you’re dead, drag him to the mass grave and bury him!”

“No, not dead…”

Upon hearing that he was to be taken to a mass grave, the magistrate immediately reacted, quickly got up, and knelt down to beg for mercy.

“Your Excellency, Your Excellency, spare my life! This official… no, this humble one is not dead yet. There’s no need to take this humble one to the mass grave. This humble one is doing quite well like this.”

The magistrate’s pig-like face had softened a lot by now, finally looking somewhat human. Presumably, Ning’s potion had played a restorative role.

However, judging by the effect, it should be the initial version of the potion.

The side effects were quite strong.

His voice had even become finer.

Li Tian Ce covered his mouth, almost bursting into laughter: “The effect is quite good, isn’t it? In the future, give a bottle to the little eunuchs in the palace. This sounds much better than those goose voices.”

Chu Mo glared at him, annoyed: “Old Ning doesn’t have an unlimited supply. With so many eunuchs in the palace, how much would you have to order from him to be enough?”

“I have to spend money too! Then forget it.” Upon hearing that he had to spend his points, Li Tian Ce immediately dispelled this idea. Deep in debt as he was, how could he afford to spend?

The conversation between the two fell into the magistrate’s ears, but being able to thrive in the chaotic land of Guo Bei County, he was no simple character.

Hearing about giving medicine to eunuchs, he immediately judged that Li Tian Ce was from the palace and was very short on money.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The magistrate kowtowed three times in quick succession and said to Li Tian Ce: “If Your Excellency encounters any difficulties, this humble one might be able to help. Although Guo Bei County is not a rich place, it has a lot of grease. Those bandits and robbers often disturb the people of Guo Bei County. If they are eliminated, it can not only solve Your Excellency’s urgent needs but also save the people of Guo Bei County from suffering.”

As he spoke these words, his gaze kept glancing at Bailu, not with aggression, but with fear and observation.

Since he determined that the other party was an Immortal-like existence, there was no need for those small thoughts.

If he was going to do something, he would do something big.

If he could curry favor with a big shot in the palace, would he still fear not having a chance to rise in power in the future?

Moreover, this woman had Immortal-like abilities, so her background must also be significant. Perhaps she was a Disciple of the current Imperial Advisor.

The current Imperial Advisor was a favorite of the Emperor. His words were more effective than those of all civil and military officials.

His status, needless to say.

“Clear out Guo Bei County? No, no, no, I want you to subdue all these bandits and robbers.” Li Tian Ce stared at the magistrate and said with extreme seriousness: “If you cannot complete this task for me, then there is no need for you to live.”

His voice was icy cold.

The magistrate felt as if he was being stared at by a fierce beast.

Li Tian Ce continued: “My subordinates can be greedy for money, and they can be lustful, but you must maintain absolute loyalty and have the corresponding ability to maintain a status commensurate with your power. Otherwise, you know the consequences!”

“Yes.” The magistrate buried his head between his legs, and the clothes on his back were soaked with sweat.

However, at this moment, he dared not move. Li Tian Ce gave him too much pressure, like facing a monarch who held the power of life and death.

“Remember! I only give you three days. Don’t think about escaping in these three days, and don’t expect me to take action. I don’t need trash, understand?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

“You may withdraw!”

Li Tian Ce waved his hand, signaling that the magistrate could leave.

The magistrate shakily got up. Just as he was about to leave, he was called back again.

“Wait.”

“What else does Your Excellency need?” The magistrate’s legs were trembling, but he still forced a fawning smile at Chu Mo.

“Yan Chixia, the Ruthless Judge who is famous throughout the twenty-six provinces of Guan Dong, do you know him?”

“Yan… Yan Chixia?” The magistrate was clearly stunned when he heard this name.

“I wonder why Your Excellency is looking for Yan Chixia…”

The magistrate appeared nervous.

Yan Chixia was no ordinary person either. He was a ruthless individual who dared to live in Lan Ruo Temple. That place, Lan Ruo Temple, was originally a Buddhist temple, but suddenly one day, all the monks inside died, and all passers-by who sought lodging at Lan Ruo Temple at night also died without exception.

Over time, news spread that demons lived in Lan Ruo Temple.

And Lan Ruo Temple was regarded as a place of great evil by the simple folk of Guo Bei County.

Even if occasionally someone went to Lan Ruo Temple, they were some foreign bandits and robbers who didn't understand the local situation.

Anyway, if you went, you died.

The magistrate had a thousand objections in his heart regarding Lan Ruo Temple.

Seeing the magistrate so nervous, Chu Mo knew that Yan Chixia truly existed and was indeed in Lan Ruo Temple.

“Since Yan Chixia is in Lan Ruo Temple, then there’s nothing more for you here. You may go!”

Chu Mo waved his hand, signaling that the magistrate could leave.

This Guo Bei County Magistrate was just an ordinary person. Even if he were told to bring Yan Chixia to the yamen, it would be difficult for him to complete the task.

Yan Chixia chose to resign and live in seclusion, changing his name, precisely because of corrupt officials. Now, if a corrupt official were to call him, he would be lucky not to be beheaded.

Let alone bringing Yan Chixia here.

After the magistrate left, the entire county yamen fell into an eerie silence again.

Bailu continued to eat candied haw, acting as if it had nothing to do with her, completely unconcerned.

Anyway, she could help with tasks, but anything that required thinking was out of the question!

Ning Caichen was still the same, playing the role of a subordinate, but he also got candied haw as a reward.

However, the candied haw that should have been sweet tasted unusually bitter in his mouth.

This was all his money!

.........

.........

The moon was bright, and the stars were sparse.

Tonight’s moonlight was not very bright, but fortunately, there were fireflies dancing in the grass, providing a little light.

On the roof of the county yamen.

Chu Mo and Li Tian Ce sat knee to knee, leisurely sipping tea. Beside them were Ning Caichen, fanning the flames, and Bailu, constantly urging Ning Caichen.

“Put more cumin, less salt. This old lady can’t eat too salty.”