Private Detective 70

  Although the situation was much more severe than expected, the law master still strolled around the town in the afternoon and had a deeper experience of the strange atmosphere in the town.

  The villagers' clothes were tattered and they didn't say a word. After being rounded up by the Serbian army, it was to be expected, but looking into a few of their eyes, something seemed off.

  That's not just plain fear and hatred, it seems to carry something else with it.

  Especially those townspeople who did not come out to greet them.

  Xien's mind was shrouded in heavy suspicion, but these townspeople clearly had no intention of communicating with the ruling lord. As Xien approached, they all scattered like ghosts, leaving him completely at a loss.

  "Oh, if someone in the mainland dared to treat the noble Lord Red Cloak like that, our knights would catch them and brand them with hot irons, selling them into slavery in the north." Lijit appeared beside Xien: "Actually, it's not difficult to get a batch of new townspeople from within the country, Xien."

  "You scared them off." Penny pointed at the backs of the townspeople who had heard Lijit's words and fled in disarray, their faces pale. "Lijit, this method... uh, really, I don't like it."

  "Give up, if you expect to tame these wild guys, it's purely a waste of time." Lijita said disdainfully: "Do you think we have so much time to waste? We are mages! The most concise and efficient way is the choice we should make."

  "Not bad." Xien raised an eyebrow: "But you should also know that doing so is just treating the symptoms, not the root cause. Moreover, I think our superior won't give us this kind of help."

  "Oh, actually, things have become quite clear. As long as Sernai can't handle those bandits on the mountain, the troubles here will never be resolved. I just looked through some past government documents...". Lijitata sighed and continued, seeing that Panni was listening: "Although the terrain in the eastern mountains is not good, it has a good climate and rich resources. Many Mulan, Tukan, Sernai's refugees, and pirates from the Fallen Sea have gathered there to rob and plunder. As for the number, you also saw those lions and eagles we encountered on our way here... Hmm, so it seems that there are still many lions and eagles living in these mountains. Oh, I don't know if this is good news or not..."

  Pan Ni's expression was solemn, and it wasn't easy to train a large batch of lion eagles. The craftsmanship required to make those special saddles was extremely rare, and taming the lion eagles wasn't as simple as feeding horses. Being able to bring out dozens at once, without even considering the number of people in this bandit group, was a testament to their impressive organizational power.

  What's even more chilling for Xi'en is that the bandits, who are so complex in composition, absolutely cannot be from the same camp. With this inference, the number of thieves in the mountains is quite frightening.

  "Due to the complex terrain, even if we send out troops with all our might, it's just a game of hide and seek in the mountains. Moreover, the Mulan people from the south cannot sit idly by while we resolve this trouble..." Lijitao said slowly: "So the problem of Xiluo region has been dragging on like this."

  "So we should just stay here and do nothing until the term ends?" Xien furrowed his brow: "Sounds depressing."

  "Hmm, if you want to die a heroic death for the country, Hughes and I don't mind leaving you and those dwarves behind to try to solve this problem from the root. Lijita smiled evilly: "Let me remind you, most dwarves keep their promises, but they won't be foolish enough to go to their deaths knowing it's dangerous, especially these grey dwarves. Oh, although their beliefs and ways of doing things are a bit special, that specialness represents a deeper uncertainty."

  "Not bad, not bad." Xien nodded, without feeling any anger in his heart. This was the way Red Cloak did things: "But I'm not that stupid either. Actually, I feel like this town isn't as simple as it seems, maybe there are some gaps to exploit."

  Xien observed the townspeople deliberately avoiding the red robes, with his hand under his chin and rubbing his cheek, his eyes showing a deep observing expression: "Let's observe for a while longer."

  "What are you observing? Observing their non-violent non-cooperation?" Rekha sneered and turned back to the mansion.

  Xien thought for a moment, shook his head and turned around too.

  ……

  Late at night, the lights in the small town had long been extinguished. Inside a large house, it was equally dark and gloomy. Several people dressed neatly sat together, very close to each other. On the table under a faint candlelight, a white paper had dense lines of text written on it. These texts did not belong to any language system. In fact, these cryptic symbols combined with the gestures and facial expressions of these individuals formed a sufficiently secretive communication method - capable of preventing some magical eavesdropping and snooping.

  Oh, to some extent, these people know how to fight against the Red Robe Master.

  In fact, if translated into a common language, it can be known what these people are talking about, for example:

  "Haha, Xildos, these Red Cloaks are just a bunch of young whippersnappers. Look, scare them a bit and they'll behave."

  "Yes, they don't dare move against us, but Langtort, we can't move against them either at the moment, uh, you know, it's best if we don't provoke Sel's army for now."

  "Not bad, just keep each other in awe and that's enough. They need taxes, and we can also give them some in moderation." The old man in the middle said with a flicker of his eyes: "Don't provoke them easily, let them get through their term and leave on their own."

  "Alas, unfortunately, I hope they won't come to provoke us either." A middle-aged man shook his head.

  "There are no fools under the red robes; secretly inform those townsmen that if possible, to some extent they can also show proper obedience."

  There was a moment of 'silence' in the small hut, when suddenly someone 'spoke':

  "But those townspeople didn't even fully obey our words."

  "So, it's best to be at peace now. Only then can we grasp the main power in our hands." The old man's eyes flickered and he suddenly looked puzzled again: "By the way, what about Salento?"

  "He... must have been scared out of his wits." A middle-aged man chuckled: "He was still quite brave this morning."

  "Oh, let him rest for a while then..."

  ……

  In the middle of the night, Xien was sleeping when he suddenly heard a strange noise at the door. He rushed out and saw a Ser knight with his sword pointed at a disheveled person, next to whom was a hidden exit from an underground tunnel.

  "What's going on?" The three red robes were startled and walked out of the room. Xien looked at the person who was caught, it was the middle-aged gentleman who was in charge of receiving guests that morning, and his doubts grew even more.

  "This man emerged from the ground hole, saying he wanted to secretly meet with several adults." This person named Dichi was a Sel knight belonging to Hughes, a silent and stern warrior who shaved one side of his head, looking very unconventional. However, this hairstyle was not unusual in Sel, as the people of Sel had been influenced by barbaric styles to some extent due to historical reasons: "We thought he was an assassin."

  "Oh?" Xien walked to the side of the pit, observed for a while, and frowned at the intruder: "Say, what brings you here."

  Is there such an idiot assassin in the world?

  The middle-aged man suddenly opened the left half of his clothes, revealing a mark. The expressions of several Sel people became serious, and they took this person into Penny's room.

  "Are you a spy sent by the Intelligence Bureau?" Lijit didn't even have time to sit down before she asked, "You jumped out without identifying yourself in the morning, aren't you afraid we'll kill you?"

  "If I hadn't done that, there wouldn't be an opportunity for me to come now." The middle-aged man closed his clothes and saluted the three red robes: "Investigator Salento Comm meets several adults."

  "Huh? Xien, Ligit, do I need to step aside for a moment?" Hughes suddenly interjected, as Ser's intelligence organization now belonged to the Vras family, and as an outsider, he felt it necessary to ask.

  "There's no need, we're partners." Xien shook his head and didn't see the look of surprise on Hughes' face, then said to Sir Diche: "Let him go."

  Dyke inquired with his eyes and Hughes retrieved his long sword.

  "Do you have anything to say?"

  Several red robes pulled out chairs and sat down, Xien scrutinized this spy, his heart full of curiosity, perhaps some doubts could be resolved.

  As for whether this spy would play tricks, Xien wasn't too worried, because Lijita had already cast the spell 'Detect Thoughts', and as long as the spy's thoughts showed even a slight abnormality, the Red Robes would understand.

  Saronto Komu stood up and bowed respectfully: "Honorable sirs, I have come to report on the situation in this area."

  "Oh, our governing power seems to be having a hard time making an impact here." Xien thought for a moment: "Mr. Kom, can you offer some suggestions on this?"

  "Sir, I believe you've already discovered that the ruling power here is actually in the hands of the nobles who are colluding with the mountain bandits. I was fortunate enough to infiltrate their ranks and gather some intelligence." Salento continued in a calm tone: "In fact, their grip on power is not as stable as it seems."

  "Is it?" A few red robes suddenly came to life: "Tell us more about it?"

  "In fact, within this mountainous area, there are three large-scale bandit groups, each with a scale of hundreds of people, occupying several mountain peaks and forming their own territories. In addition to these small-scale groups, the entire vast mountain range has basically become a large collection of small city-states."

  "Huh......" Hughes was stunned: "Actually able to form this situation?"

  "This is also normal, the terrain here is complex, the climate is good, and the endless mountain range in the east is large enough. Many refugees from all sides gather here, and it's unlikely that any country can form a strong rule here." Xien nodded and asked Salento: "From what you said, it seems that these gangs... don't get along with each other?"

  "Gentlemen, I praise your wisdom." Sarento rose solemnly: "In fact, every gang attaches great importance to this small town and tries to form an effective rule in the town - here is the only overland route from Mulan to Sel."

  "It turns out that all the business taxes have flowed into their hands." Lijita said calmly.

  "It was not long ago that our troops came to quell the riot and had already eradicated the original gang of thieves that controlled this place, and through targeted killings, gave a severe blow to the gang. Of course, it is impossible to completely eradicate them, but they will no longer be able to reach here." Salento continued: "Now taking over here is a large gang from the southern mountains called 'Lion Hawk', they have just intervened, their proxy agents are not yet stable, and the townspeople's support for them is not great."

  "Ha!" Hughes burst out laughing: "Isn't this similar to our situation?"

  "It's far from enough. We don't have a team of lions." Lijita sighed helplessly: "Just look at their names, you can tell they have many lions."

  "In fact, those seventy-eight lion eagles are the entire strength of this bandit group." Salento said: "They rely on these lion eagles to establish their prestige. It is said that the leader among them is a barbarian who has lived in this mountainous area since ancient times and is very good at domesticating such things, and also has some special insights."

  "So they're using their strongest power just to scare us?" Penny raised an eyebrow.

  "It's like this, they also need time to establish their authority and control over the town; however, they are also afraid of a few big shots and don't dare to act rashly. The best way is to intimidate them with a show of force." The secret agent said respectfully: "A few big shots, I have here a list of officials who collude with the Lion Gang..."

  ……

  "Should this be considered good news?" Lijita held the note with a few names written on it between her two fingers: "Before we quit, we can cut off their heads to vent our anger, haha."

  "This guy showed up at just the right time." Xien smiled and seemed to relax a bit.

  "Oh? I don't see any more improvement, Xian." Hughes curled his lip: "You seem to have a good idea?"

  "He told me two things." Penny held up two fingers: "1. At least in the short term, we don't have to be overly constrained. 2. As long as we take out those Griffin Lions, we can establish sufficient authority in this town!"

  "Is this possible?" Lijit and Hughes looked at Penny together.

  The first clause is: How can they kill such a large group of lions?

  "At least compared to having no clue at all, he gave us a direction." Penny's mood became more relaxed: "You know? I've got confidence again now."

  "So please let us know once you have a good plan." The other two red-robed cultivators bid farewell, and just as they were about to leave, Hughes suddenly spoke up: "Don't forget that we are partners."

  "Alright..." Pan Ni saw off his colleague, his eyes gradually sharpening as he began to think of ways to deal with that pile of leopards, several plans emerging in his mind...

  He didn't come here just for fun.