Chapter 35, you must have been scared out of your wits.

The secretary stood outside, gazing at the blood-stained armor drying before the camp gate, his eyes filled with suspicion.

Upon seeing Lin Chuan appear, his expression instantly shifted to one of pleasant surprise:

"Commander Lin! I heard you went to Green Sheep Mountain to suppress the bandits the day before yesterday, and the Magistrate specifically sent me to inquire!"

Lin Chuan leaned against the door frame, wiping his long saber, and chuckled: "A mere trifle. The bandit menace has been eliminated."

"Eli—eliminated?"

The secretary’s smile froze on his face, and the folding fan in his hand clattered to the ground. He hurried to bend down and retrieve it, using the motion to conceal the shock on his face.

"What is the matter, Secretary?" Lin Chuan asked with feigned concern. "You don't look very well."

"Not at all, not at all..." The secretary hurriedly wiped the sweat from his face with his sleeve, forcing himself to remain calm. "Just too excited! A great victory in suppressing bandits is truly a blessing for the common folk!"

"They were nothing but a mob." Lin Chuan sheathed his blade, the sound ringing out crisp and clear.

The secretary forced a smile: "I wonder if there were any spoils? For instance... the missing government grain?"

Lin Chuan shook his head, looking regretful: "Just a broken-down stockade, there was nothing there."

"Nothing at all?" The secretary’s expression fluctuated. "Truly, nothing at all?"

"Aside from some scrap iron, well..." Lin Chuan gestured toward the blacksmith’s shop. "It’s all piled up over there, waiting to be melted down to forge some knives and spears. What, does this need to be surrendered to the treasury?"

"Ah, that won't be necessary, not necessary at all..." The secretary wiped his sweat again. "Is that really all?"

"Hm?" Lin Chuan paused, confused. "Secretary, the way you put it, it sounds like there should be something else? Could it be... that you were hiding some gold or treasures?"

"This..." The secretary’s eyes flickered.

"Then I must investigate this thoroughly." Lin Chuan shouted angrily, "Squad Leader Hu!"

"Subordinate is here!" Hu Dayong ran over from nearby in a few strides. "What are your orders, Commander?"

"Check and see who in the Green Sheep Mountain stockade embezzled silver!"

"Huh?" Hu Dayong looked astonished. "Commander, in that dump? We’ve searched it seven or eight times; there isn't even half a copper coin!"

"Commander Lin, that is not what I meant..." The secretary laughed sheepishly, waving his hands, and asked, "Since the criminals have been brought to justice, what about their heads? By regulation, they should be presented to the county office for verification."

"Oh!" Lin Chuan slapped his forehead hard, feigning remorse. "I was so caught up in the slaughter that I forgot to take their heads! I only thought about getting back to the fortress to sleep." He leaned toward the secretary, lowering his voice: "You don't think this will break the rules, do you?"

"Fo—forgot to behead them?" The secretary’s voice rose sharply, but realizing his lapse, he quickly lowered it again. "This... this is not according to protocol, is it?"

Lin Chuan sneered inwardly but kept his face sincere: "Please, enlighten me, Secretary! Should I send men out overnight to find them?"

"No need!" The secretary waved his hand and took half a step back. "Since the bandits have been suppressed, it is a great merit! A few minor details can, uh, be discussed later..."

He straightened his robes and took his leave with unsteady steps.

Once the secretary's sedan chair disappeared down the mountain path, Hu Dayong laughed: "Commander, that old thing was scared out of his wits!"

"That is exactly the point—to scare them," Lin Chuan said with a cold snort.

"Commander, do you think the Magistrate will believe what you just said?" Hu Dayong asked again.

"Believe it or not, that is up to him." Lin Chuan sneered. "In any case, Magistrate Zhang must be as anxious as an ant on a hot pan right now."

He turned to look toward Green Sheep Mountain. "Now that we have captured Village Head Wang, our middleman, and he cannot find those bandits... what do you think he will make of it?"

Hu Dayong suddenly realized: "He will think that Village Head Wang colluded with the bandits and ran off with the silver!"

"Exactly." Lin Chuan nodded. "The good show has only just begun..."

...

"What?! Lin Chuan is still alive?"

In the back hall of the county office, the teacup in Magistrate Qin's hand shattered on the floor, porcelain shards scattering everywhere. Scalding tea splashed onto the hem of his official robes, but he did not seem to notice.

"Then... what is the situation at Green Sheep Mountain?" The Magistrate’s voice had changed pitch.

The secretary wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and whispered: "Master, that Lin Chuan said all the bandits in the stockade were killed by them..."

"Al—all killed?" Magistrate Qin collapsed into his grand armchair, his face deathly pale. "How is that possible..."

The secretary stepped closer and lowered his voice: "Master, your subordinate feels that this man is treacherous and cunning; his words may not be trustworthy!"

Magistrate Qin looked up sharply: "What do you mean by that?"

"First," the secretary held up a finger, "he said he forgot to take the heads. When the border guards suppress bandits, the heads are the proof for requesting merit. How could one 'forget'?"

"Second," he held up another finger, "what kind of people are at Green Sheep Mountain? The Iron Forest Fortress only has twenty combat soldiers; how could they possibly kill them all? And I observed them today; not even one was injured. This is simply impossible!"

"Third," he held up a third finger, "Lin Chuan said there was nothing in the stockade. But we clearly..."

The secretary did not finish, but the two of them exchanged a knowing look.

Magistrate Qin's complexion gradually regained some color: "You mean..."

"Your subordinate suspects the people at Green Sheep Mountain are not dead at all!" A glint of malice flashed in the secretary’s eyes. "It is very likely that Lin Chuan reached some kind of deal with them!"

"Impossible!" Magistrate Qin slammed the table and stood up. "Those men were death-sworn warriors carefully chosen by Master Zhang; how could they..."

He suddenly realized he had spoken too much and quickly stopped.

The secretary pretended not to hear and continued his analysis: "Master, there is one other very unlikely possibility—that Lin Chuan did indeed suppress the bandits but intentionally concealed certain findings."

This statement made Magistrate Qin feel as though he were sitting on pins and needles. He paced back and forth in the hall, his official boots making harsh sounds on the porcelain shards.

"Does Master Zhang know about this?"

"I have already sent someone to report it." The secretary whispered, "Master Zhang immediately sent men toward Green Sheep Mountain. It seems he intends to go and check on that shipment."

"That shipment?" Magistrate Qin suddenly stopped, a flicker of fear in his eyes. "Quick! Prepare the sedan chair! I must go to the Iron Forest Fortress myself!"

"Master, think twice!" The secretary hurriedly dissuaded him. "If you go now, wouldn't that be a confession of guilt?"

Magistrate Qin slumped back into his chair. Indeed, if that shipment was truly in Lin Chuan’s hands, would his own visit as a Magistrate not be tantamount to admitting collusion with the bandit stockade?

"Then, in your opinion..." he asked, his voice trembling.

The secretary gave a sinister smile: "Why doesn't the Master issue an official document ordering Lin Chuan to submit a detailed report on the suppression? If he lies, there will surely be flaws. If he tells the truth..."

"Then it proves the goods are indeed in his hands!"

Magistrate Qin’s eyes brightened, but he immediately grew worried again. "But what if Master Zhang’s men find the goods first..."

"That would be even better." The secretary’s smile grew colder. "Since the goods would still exist, what does the Master have to worry about?"

"But what if it really was a case of the thieves stealing what they were meant to guard..."

"If the thieves have absconded with the loot, what does that have to do with the Master?"

"That makes sense, that makes sense..." Magistrate Qin nodded frantically. "Quick, quick, draft the document and send it over immediately!"

...

Behind the screen, Qin Yanqiu gripped her embroidered silk handkerchief tightly.

Hearing that familiar name, her heart, which had been hanging in her throat, suddenly dropped. However, cold sweat had already beaded on her back, making her moon-white dress feel slightly damp.

"Thank heavens..." she murmured softly.

Pressing her palm to her chest, she could clearly feel her heart pounding violently. Recalling the warning she had blurted out that day and the sleepless night she had spent after returning, it all finally transformed into a sigh of relief.

Moonlight filtered through the lattice window. A soft glow plated her flushed cheeks, though the anxiety in her brow and eyes had not fully faded.

That man with the messy hair and the crookedly worn armor had, after all, allowed her heart to settle.

The handkerchief was crumpled in her grip, and she suddenly realized her own lack of composure. In the distance, the clapper of the night watchman echoed. Qin Yanqiu took a deep breath and smoothed the stray hairs at her temples in the bronze mirror. The reflection’s eyes were slightly red, but her lips held a smile she herself had not noticed.

"Miss, it's time to take your medicine," the maid called softly from the corridor.

"Mm." Qin Yanqiu responded.

Thinking of Lin Chuan’s comment about "sending two jin of pork to Miss Qin," she suddenly let out a soft laugh.

"Who wants your pork!" she muttered.

Outside the screen, her father's panic and the secretary’s whispers mingled together, but they could no longer disturb her peace of mind.

And ten miles away, at the Zhang family estate, Master Zhang was already nearly driven to madness...