A life of two souls traveling through time

Chapter 299 Night Suppression of the 9 Rivers

Jiangnan Famous Li's shop in Yujiang City was rebuilt ten days after Manager Li rushed back to Qile City. Since the goods were already prepared, it was reopened soon. Jiangnan Famous Li, who already enjoyed a good reputation, launched a price reduction event on the opening day, which attracted a large number of customers and made the shop crowded. For several days in a row, the shop was packed with people.

After Jiangnan Mingli regained his reputation and reopened, the Shuiliu Cloth Shop across the street gradually became deserted. The shopkeeper watched his customers gradually leave and could not help but hate Jiangnan Mingli. But even though he was anxious and helpless, how could Shuiliu Cloth Shop be a match for Jiangnan Mingli in an open fight?

Mu Liang stayed in the cloth shop for another half a month after it opened. He was completely relieved when he saw that the new shopkeeper Lu Zhi was doing his job with ease.

"Old Zhou, come and sit in the wine shop next to Shuiliu Cloth Shop later."

In Yujiang City, in the side room of Dongyue Inn, Mu Liang suddenly smiled and threw ten taels of silver to Lao Zhou and gave instructions.

"Oh, Manager Mu is so generous today?" Seeing the unfathomable smile on Mu Liang's face, Lao Zhou knew that this fox had other intentions, so he weighed the ten taels of silver in his hand and asked with a squinting eye.

"Don't worry, you can drink as much as you want today. By the way, tell others the route of our return to Qile City tomorrow. It would be best if the people in Shuiliu Cloth Shop hear it." Mu Liang lowered his head, smiled, and continued.

"Why?" Old Zhou frowned slightly, looking puzzled.

"Old Zhou, if you were Master Shen Shi, what would you do now that you have been defeated miserably in Yujiang City?" Mu Liang sat aside, poured himself a cup of hot tea, and then asked in return.

"This...I need to think about it carefully..." Old Zhou leaned against the window sill, stroking his beard and thinking seriously.

"Don't forget, you still have the Jiuhe assassin organization on your hands."

"Yes, we have to use them when we are at our wits' end." After Mu Liang's reminder, Lao Zhou patted his thigh belatedly, but then his mouth twitched slightly, and he looked at Mu Liang sideways: "Manager Mu, you are not going to take a risk, are you? No matter how powerful I am, two fists cannot beat four hands, and a hero cannot stand up to a large number of people, not to mention that the other party is nine assassins with high martial arts skills!"

"We have known each other for such a long time, do you think I would easily put myself in danger?" Mu Liang burst out laughing, and after looking up at Lao Zhou, he continued, "I deliberately revealed the itinerary because I communicated with You Zhizhou, with the purpose of luring Jiuhe out, so that You Zhizhou could catch them all in one fell swoop."

As early as half a month ago, Mu Liang guessed that Master Shen would definitely use Jiuhe as a knife to commit crimes again. Qile City is the capital of Jiangnan, and Jiuhe would not dare to directly break into Li's mansion to cause trouble. His own smooth and tactful style of doing things in Yujiang City has made the owner of Shuiliu Cloth Shop resentful. In addition, Shopkeeper Yang, who has always been jealous of him, is likely to have already defected to Master Shen.

Since they couldn't do anything to his adopted brother, they would naturally attack him, the adopted son of the Li family. After Mu Liang thought of this, he hurriedly asked Magistrate Qi to send a message to You Zhizhou on his behalf. His adopted mother and brother were still waiting for him at home. He couldn't let Jiuhe kill him like this, and he couldn't tolerate Master Shen using him to threaten his brother.

"I see." After hearing Mu Liang's words, Old Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief, and praised: "Manager Mu is really a master of strategy, fortunately you really love Master Li, otherwise he..."

Before Lao Zhou could finish his words, Mu Liang gave him a warning look, so he quickly shut up and started grinning again.

"Sir, Master Shen went to Yangquan Valley again early this morning. I think he has learned the return route of Shopkeeper Mu."

In the government office of Qile City, Zhou Bing hurried back and reported to the prefect You Zhiji.

"Very good. Has everything been arranged with General Miao?" You Zhiji nodded with satisfaction. After casting the net for so long, it was finally time to reel it in.

After receiving a letter from his schoolmate and friend County Magistrate Qi on behalf of Mu Liang more than half a month ago, Prefect You ordered the general stationed outside Qile City to secretly dispatch troops to assist the prefecture government in encircling Jiuhe.

"Please rest assured, sir. General Miao has sent thousands of people to ambush ten miles away from Yangquan Valley. No matter how powerful Jiuhe is, he can't escape this time." Zhou Bing continued with confidence.

"The Jiuhe killer organization has been hiding in Jiangnan for several years. Although they haven't committed many crimes, each one is horrific. The people in the community have long been in panic. If I can bring them to justice and eliminate this cancer during my term of office, it will be considered as getting rid of harm to the people." You Zhiji sighed with a rare smile of satisfaction.

"Your Excellency has always been selfless and dedicated to serving the public during the three years you have served in Qile City. The people of Qile City have long regarded you as their parent." Zhou Bing also saluted and echoed with a smile.

You Zhiji smiled but said nothing about Captain Zhou's flattery. In two years, his term of office in Qile City would be over and he would have to return to Beijing to report on his work. He couldn't help but feel emotional. He had worked diligently in the past three years and felt that he was worthy of the black hat on his head and had not let down the court and the people of Qile City. However, he felt reluctant to leave Jiangnan in two years.

"Sir, once we catch Jiuhe, can we first inform Magistrate Qian about the arrest of Master Shen Shi?" Zhou Bing asked.

"Tomorrow this official will personally go to Yaocheng to visit Prefect Qian. You just need to continue to keep an eye on the Yangquan Valley." You Zhiji waved his hand.

"Yes, sir." Zhou Bing responded and turned to leave.

At midnight that night, there was a sudden sound of horse hooves in Yangquan Valley, and six masked men in black rode out of the mysterious valley. They had received a call for help from Master Shen Shi and wanted to go out of the valley to kidnap Mu Liang, the shopkeeper of the famous Li family in Jiangnan. However, they did not expect that there was already a tight net laid by Prefecture You outside.

Several men in black were ambushed less than ten miles away from the valley. Their horses were caught off guard and fell to the ground, screaming sharply. The men on horseback had martial arts skills and naturally reacted quickly, but as they jumped away, the officers and soldiers hiding around raised torches and surrounded them. In an instant, the shadows of fire flickered in the wilderness, and the flashes of swords and sabers were heard under the dark moon and strong wind, with screams coming one after another.

At dawn in the morning, You Zhiji was awakened from his sleep by his subordinate, Captain Zhou. The matter of Jiuhe was of great importance, so he did not go home that night but stayed in the government office waiting for news.

"Have the nine people from Jiuhe been completely wiped out?" You Zhiji, wearing a cloak, asked Captain Zhou anxiously.

"Your Excellency, five were killed and three were captured, but... one escaped." Zhou Bing lowered his head nervously and reported.

"What? Escaped?" You Zhiji became furious when he heard this.

"Please rest assured, sir. We are still searching everywhere, and we have also sent more people to keep an eye on the Shen family villa." Zhou Bing said hurriedly.

You Zhiji frowned and turned around to quickly get dressed and wash up. Although the Shen Family Villa was already under his control, in order to prevent any further complications, he had to go to Yaocheng to find Prefect Qian as soon as possible.