26: The master is kind-hearted and cannot bear to see the people suffer.

"Tsk tsk... hearing you say that, it really does sound interesting." Chen Heguang smacked his lips, "So what's your plan?"

"When I interrogated that man just now, he told me he didn't know anything," Jiang Lan said. "So I'm thinking of releasing him first thing tomorrow morning."

Upon hearing this, Chen Heguang's expression was first puzzled, then he suddenly understood.

"Laying out a line to catch a fish?"

"A fox will always show its tail eventually."

Chen Heguang's face also broke into a smile. "Young people's minds are sharper after all. Alright, I'll send a few men to keep an eye on him secretly."

"No, I'll go myself," Jiang Lan said. "He's probably connected to a big fish, and I'm afraid others might make a mistake."

For a criminal to willingly sacrifice his entire family, the person behind him must not be a simple character.

At the very least, he couldn't be an ordinary person, and might even be a high-ranking member of the Green Lantern Sect.

From the moment he walked out of the Interrogation Room that morning, Jiang Lan had already planned this matter.

That Stealth Technique was something he specifically learned for that 'big fish'.

If it was truly as he expected, then all the better; he might be able to use this lead to uncover a large group of Green Lantern Sect members.

The common people had suffered from the Green Lantern Sect for too long.

Jiang Lan wasn't someone who wholeheartedly cared for the common people, but the things the Green Lantern Sect had done were truly infuriating.

If he could really kill a group of them, it would be considered eliminating a menace for the people.

Of course, these were all just Jiang Lan's guesses.

However, even if he was being overly cautious, he wouldn't suffer any loss; it would just be a waste of a few days.

Chen Heguang frowned slightly, but considering Jiang Lan's strength, he didn't try to stop him. Instead, he said,

"Uncle Chen's words remain the same: protect yourself. If the sky falls, there's always someone taller to hold it up. Never try to be a hero and get yourself into trouble; it's not worth it."

Jiang Lan grinned.

"You also said, 'do everything with a clear conscience'."

Hearing this, Chen Heguang gave him a deep look.

"You..."

Jiang Lan stood up and bowed. "Nephew still has some matters to attend to, so I won't stay here long."

"Go on. You have full authority to handle that prisoner."

"Nephew takes his leave."

Arriving outside Wuwei Hall, Jiang Lan scanned his surroundings and then returned to the squad room.

The squad room was empty.

Jiang Lan didn't mind. He lay down on the somewhat dilapidated wooden bed and closed his eyes for a nap.

There was nothing to do, but everything that needed to be said had been said. He just had to wait until after his shift to go to the blacksmith's shop, and also help Zhang Wen teach a lesson to the hooligan who coveted his sister... In a flash, it was the beginning of the Shen hour (3-5 PM).

Jiang Lan was sitting on a wooden chair, reading the "Great Yan General History."

It was the first book he had seen when he first arrived in this world.

"Knock, knock, knock—"

A knocking sound rang out.

Jiang Lan closed the book, stood up, and opened the door.

Standing at the door was Zhang Wen, with a smiling face.

He rubbed his hands.

"Uh... Chief?"

Jiang Lan glanced at him. "Let's go, let's go see your sister."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Zhang Wen agreed repeatedly, his smile growing wider. His eyes, which were already squinted into slits, were now even harder to see.

The two walked out of the Demon Suppression Division, one after the other.

On the street, hawkers' cries rose and fell, and various stalls lined both sides.

It almost gave Jiang Lan the feeling of being in a tourist area of an ancient city in his previous life.

Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out.

"Handsome young man, come in and play~ I guarantee you've never played anything like it before~"

Jiang Lan looked up at the girl in the pavilion, then walked straight towards the blacksmith's shop next to the pavilion.

"I have something to do, wait for me."

Leaving a sentence, Jiang Lan entered the blacksmith's shop.

Inside the blacksmith's shop, a thin old man was hammering a glowing red iron ingot.

Seeing a customer enter, the old man didn't stop his work, but looked up at Jiang Lan.

Only when he saw the uniform Jiang Lan was wearing did the old man hurriedly stop working.

"Sir! Are you here to buy something?"

Jiang Lan unbuckled his saber from his waist and placed it on the counter in front of him.

"Help me forge a scabbard. I only have one requirement: the scabbard must be heat-insulating."

"Heat-insulating?" The old man looked bewildered. "Sir, you..."

Jiang Lan tossed out a piece of silver.

"Can you do it?"

"Yes, yes, yes!" Seeing the silver, the old man's eyes lit up, and he quickly said.

"Remember, nothing else matters. The most crucial thing is that the heat insulation effect must be good."

Jiang Lan still vividly remembered being scalded last night.

If his reaction had been any slower, he would have probably lost a layer of skin.

"Sir, rest assured, this old man will definitely take care of it for you properly."

"Mm." Jiang Lan said, "Besides the scabbard, also forge me three willow-leaf flying daggers."

Within Yan Capital, there were quite a few martial arts schools, and some of them specialized in practicing hidden weapons.

So the old man was not unfamiliar with things like willow-leaf flying daggers.

"Alright, Sir, rest assured. You can come pick up your items at the end of the Chen hour tomorrow."

Jiang Lan nodded slightly.

Ordinary people ordering custom items at a blacksmith's shop would usually have to wait at least ten days to half a month to pick them up.

This Demon Suppression Guard uniform still had a strong deterrent effect on ordinary people.

"Thank you."

Jiang Lan didn't linger and walked straight out the door.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Zhang Wen, looking up, grinning, and foolishly smiling at the girl in the pavilion.

"Don't you have quite a bit of wealth? Go in and take a look?"

Jiang Lan was in a good mood and made a small joke.

"Chief? You're back?"

Zhang Wen snapped out of it, scratching the back of his head a bit sheepishly.

"No, I can't. My mother said I have to save the money to find a wife."

Jiang Lan's lips curled into a smile.

"Let's go."

According to Jiang Lan's memory, Zhang Wen's sister, Zhang Cui, was an apothecary at the 'Wanfu Hall' pharmacy.

To say she was an apothecary, she was actually just an apprentice, usually dispensing and decocting medicine for people.

And she could only dispense prescriptions for headaches and fevers; difficult and complex illnesses still relied on the master pharmacist in the shop.

The location of Wanfu Hall was about five li from this street.

It wasn't too far; even at an ordinary person's pace, it wouldn't take more than two quarters of an hour.

If Jiang Lan hadn't been accommodating Zhang Wen, he would probably have arrived by now.

The two walked along the way.

Suddenly, a series of 'thump-thump' sounds entered Jiang Lan's ears.

Jiang Lan could distinguish that it was the sound of drumming.

Someone was celebrating a wedding?

But no one celebrates a wedding at this hour.

He and Zhang Wen exchanged glances.

Zhang Wen said,

"It sounds like it's from the yamen? Someone is beating the Dengwen Drum?"

"Let's go, let's take a look!"

Jiang Lan also became a little interested.

It wasn't anything else, but in his memory, this Dengwen Drum was no different from a mere decoration.

Normally, there were yamen runners guarding the drum, and ordinary people, let alone beating it, would be driven away even if they got too close.

After all, the magistrate was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to see the common people suffer.

Beating the Dengwen Drum meant there was an injustice.

Could there be any injustice in the magistrate's jurisdiction?

Moreover, this was the imperial city; the emperor was also here.

If the matter was small, it would be fine, but once it blew up, the magistrate's hat wouldn't be safe.

Not just his hat, but perhaps not even what was under his hat.