Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

Pain, intense pain.

Not in the head, but in the abdomen.

Fang Zheng Yi had already woken from his coma, but his head was covered by a black hood, obscuring his vision, and his hands and feet were bound.

He was lying across a horse, which was galloping non-stop, and he had no idea how much time had passed.

With each step the horse took, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen.

Stimulated by the pain, Fang Zheng Yi's mind began to clear.

He didn't know what time it was or where he was, but the only thing he could judge was that a very long time must have passed.

Otherwise, his stomach wouldn't be hurting so much!

Fang Zheng Yi secretly lamented in his heart.

He wondered how Zhou Tie was doing; that guy was really unreliable!

A wild goose hunter all his life, today he'd actually had his eyes pecked out by a goose!

Who the hell were these people anyway? Remnants of the Lu family?

Damn it, he really had been living too comfortably these past few years... How could he have been kidnapped? He didn't even have his dagger or gun with him...

Lost in thought, he didn't dare to speak, fearing another blow to the back of his head.

However, these people must not be planning to kill him, otherwise they could have done it already.

After another unknown period of time, Fang Zheng Yi began to smell a fishy odor in the air.

The sound of the horse's hooves beneath him also began to change.

The sea... it was the sea!

Before he could think further, he felt someone lift him off the horse and begin walking.

The sound of the waves became clearer and clearer, and he was now 100% sure that he was by the sea.

Soon, the person carrying him entered a space that felt like indoors, because he could no longer feel the wind.

Fang Zheng Yi was placed on the ground, still hooded.

After a long while, there was still no sound around him. Fang Zheng Yi took a deep breath and asked, "Which heroes have invited this official here?"

"What courage."

A slightly familiar voice came, accompanied by applause.

Fang Zheng Yi was trying to figure out who it was when the hood was suddenly removed. He instinctively looked up towards the source of the voice.

He saw a familiar figure sitting at a table, looking him up and down, with several guards on either side.

"Lord Fang, long time no see."

"Uh, this humble official greets the Prince..."

Fang Zheng Yi felt his mind buzz, as if he were about to short-circuit!

Prince Wu!

How could this guy be here? Was his information that good?

Prince Wu wore a faint smile on his face: "How is the salt merchant case coming along?"

"Your Highness is brilliant, I admire you."

Fang Zheng Yi only hesitated for a moment before answering directly.

In this situation, playing dumb was useless.

After hearing this, Prince Wu sighed softly: "I knew it. Untie him."

The guards stepped forward and began to untie Fang Zheng Yi's hands and feet.

Fang Zheng Yi got up, rubbed his wrists, and sat down opposite Prince Wu expressionlessly.

Although his face was expressionless, he was panicking inside.

Prince Wu didn't speak, and he didn't know what to say either, as his life was now completely uncertain.

After a moment, Prince Wu spoke first: "You must have many questions in your heart, but today we can talk openly and honestly."

"I'm tired. Please allow me to rest for a while, Your Highness. And is my subordinate still alive?"

Fang Zheng Yi felt pain all over his body, and his mind was a bit chaotic. Now was not a good time to talk business, so he could only try to stall.

Hearing this, Prince Wu smiled and said: "Alright, I have plenty of time to wait for you. Your subordinate has also been captured, and his life is not in danger. Men, take Lord Fang to the bedroom to rest..."

"Wait, I want to see my subordinate first."

"Very well. Take him over there, and don't neglect him."

Seeing that Prince Wu was so easy to talk to, Fang Zheng Yi felt a little relieved.

It seemed that Prince Wu wanted something from him, so he should be safe for the time being.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Soon, Fang Zheng Yi followed the guard to the room where Zhou Tie was being held. The room had no windows, and only two oil lamps were lit inside.

There were also many guards stationed outside the door, one every few steps, the guard was extremely tight.

At this time, Zhou Tie was still covered with a black hood. Fang Zheng Yi stepped forward and directly tore off Zhou Tie's hood.

Zhou Tie slowly opened his eyes, first glanced at the guards in the room, and then looked at Fang Zheng Yi, immediately showing a surprised expression.

He exclaimed: "Master, you, how did you... Who captured us? Did they make things difficult for you?"

"It's Prince Wu. Let's not talk about anything else, how are you?"

Zhou Tie didn't answer, and tried hard to signal Fang Zheng Yi with his eyes.

Fang Zheng Yi understood and said to the guards on the left and right: "You go out, I have something to say to him."

"No."

The guard replied coldly.

Before he could continue speaking, Fang Zheng Yi quickly walked to the wall and slammed his fist hard against it.

Blood immediately flowed down the cracks of his fist, and he wiped it on his face.

Fang Zheng Yi smiled and looked at the guard: "If you don't go out, I'll tell Prince Wu that you're abusing me."

"This room is sealed on all sides, and there are so many people outside. You can just guard the door, we can't run away."

The leading guard frowned, exchanged glances with the people around him, and then said: "One incense stick's worth of time. After one incense stick, Lord Fang, please return to your room to rest with us."

"Thank you."

Seeing the guards close the door, Fang Zheng Yi turned sideways, glanced at Zhou Tie, and sighed: "If Zhang Biao were here, I should be sleeping at home right now."

Zhou Tie's face was flushed, and he said in a low voice: "How could Zhang Biao be stronger than me! Master, it's not that I'm not good, the knife was already against your back, and there were three people behind you, I could only pretend to be no match."

"Otherwise, with just those few people, I could have dealt with them with one hand!"

"But don't worry, I pretended to be unconscious and got away with it, and I've already left marks along the way, and the brothers will come looking for us when they find them."

"What did you use to make the marks?"

Fang Zheng Yi asked curiously.

Zhou Tie stretched out his hands. The ropes tied behind his back had already been untied at this moment.

Then he untied the ropes on his ankles, stood up and loosened his muscles.

Then he spread out his outer robe, revealing the dense array of throwing knives and small tools inside...

"....."

Fang Zheng Yi looked strangely and said: "Are you imitating Zhang Biao?"

Zhou Tie originally had a smug look on his face, but when he heard this, his expression suddenly collapsed: "Tch! Me imitating him? Tch! He was taught by me... Tch!"

"Stop with the 'tch's. What if the brothers can't come? Can we two escape from here?"

Zhou Tie stomped his feet and frowned: "This is a ship. I could hear at least a hundred people along the way I was sent into the room."

"I don't know what the situation is outside, we can only wait for people to come and meet us."

"Moreover, we've only just arrived. After a while, someone might come to search me, and these things on my body might not be able to be hidden."

Fang Zheng Yi nodded helplessly: "You stay here and rest. If there are any accidents, you can run by yourself, don't worry about me."

"Master, I..."

"Looking at Prince Wu's attitude, I should be fine for the time being, don't worry."

After saying that, Fang Zheng Yi picked a throwing knife from his clothes and hid it in his boot. After re-tying Zhou Tie, he turned and went out.

After that, he was sent to the bedroom.

An hour later, Fang Zheng Yi was brought before Prince Wu again.

However, this time he was in a larger room. The room had windows, and he could see the sea outside.

Prince Wu stood in front of the window with his hands behind his back. When he saw Fang Zheng Yi coming, he asked with a smile: "How was your rest?"

Fang Zheng Yi shook his head, then pointed to the guards beside him.

"Your Highness, they're abusing me!"

......