Chapter 318: No Prisoner Found

If he earned a little more, it would be almost enough to make up for the money his caravan earned in a round trip.

"It is true that speculating in silver can make money," Wang Cong said. "I heard that when Emperor Taizu Gao issued a lot of treasure notes, some people made a lot of money by exchanging them for silver. It's a pity that the treasure notes are worthless now, otherwise I could try it."

Pan Yun: "Just play around and then go in."

"The value of Baochao plummeted like a waterfall. First, the imperial court printed it like a fool. Second, some people speculated and used Baochao to collect a large amount of silver and copper coins from the people and the imperial court."

Lao Zhu never liked businessmen, and after this incident, he disliked them even more.

His dislike is reflected in every aspect of the policy. For businessmen all over the world, it means that the previous generation will benefit while the next generation will suffer.

The imperial court is now very disgusted with this kind of silver speculation. If someone like Wang Cong, who has no background, is targeted by others, they will find an excuse to arrest him in a minute.

Wang Cong: "I just keep saying this. This kind of opportunity only comes once in so many years. I think the price of silver will drop soon."

The rise in silver prices has not had much impact on the general public at present. After all, not many people in the world use silver, and even fewer people can notice this change, and even fewer people will spend money to speculate in silver.

Therefore, Wang Cong was quite conspicuous in Guangxin Prefecture. Not only did the owners of the money shops notice him, but the owners of the restaurants, inns, teahouses and silk shops from whom he had received copper coins also began to notice him.

Because he collected so many copper coins, he looked very powerful.

Wang Cong said, "I have inquired about it. The silver price has risen. First, it is because of the failure of the war in the southwest. I heard that the silver mines in the southwest were blown up and cannot be mined for at least two years. Second, the silver mines that were reopened in Fujian and Zhejiang this year are not profitable. The silver handed in is less than 100 taels."

Pan Jun choked on his own saliva and stared, "How much did you hand in?"

Wang Cong lowered his voice and said, "I don't know the exact amount, but the news from the bank is that it is less than 100 taels. I heard that the little emperor in the capital is very angry, but he didn't get angry because the New Year is coming. After the New Year, I'm afraid that Zhejiang and Fujian will have trouble. The little emperor will definitely send an imperial envoy to investigate the silver mines."

Pan Yun was happy to watch the show, as it was none of his business. He sighed, "They are really awesome. They only paid less than 100 taels of silver to the mine. If I were the emperor, I would be furious."

Wang Cong: "I guess, it is to calm the anger of the little emperor. Next, they will try to calm the price of silver. Otherwise, if the price of silver affects the price of goods, I am afraid that the emperor will be even angrier."

Pan Yun glanced at Wang Cong and said, "You don't know enough about the officials and landlords and merchants in the Zhejiang and Fujian areas. Who are they afraid of? I bet they will not control it, and may even let the silver price rise!"

Wang Cong: "But the price of silver has dropped in the past two days."

It was because the price was falling that he took action.

Pan Yun said meaningfully: "Wait and see in a few days."

The junior master seemed very smart, so Wang Cong decided to exchange the remaining copper coins for silver. "In business, you can seize opportunities, but you can't stand out. The first bird to stand out will be shot. We will stop here for this business."

Pan Yun, who was about to persuade him to stop, swallowed his words of advice and praised him, "No wonder you have not become rich or lost money in business for many years, and you have managed Sanqing Mountain in an orderly manner."

Wang Cong smiled proudly and counted out five hundred taels of silver to Pan Yun, "Uncle Junior Master, these should be enough to cover the expenses of the temple fair, right?"

He touched the hat on Pan Yun's head, rubbed the newly sprouted hair and said with a smile: "Little Master, don't worry about money. Based on my many years of experience, there is nothing I can't solve when it comes to money."

Pan Yun and Miao Zhen looked at him with starry eyes and felt that the master's nephew looked tall and majestic at this moment, so they didn't mind him messing up her "hairstyle".

Pan Jun put on his hat to cover his stubble, stood up and said, "Although I have the money, I still have to do it now that the list has been revealed. I don't believe that I can't catch this guy."

Wang Cong said, "He is not a good-for-nothing. He will just stay where he is and wait for you to catch him. He will run away. Moreover, he is a criminal. You don't even know whether he is still in Guangxin Prefecture. How can you catch him?"

Wang Cong advised: "Why not just forget it? I will sell the remaining copper coins tomorrow and then go home."

"I won't," Pan Yun said, "I'll go to the government office again to see if I can find any more clues. I don't believe we can't catch him."

Pan Yun took Miaozhen to the yamen.

The constables from the yamen got a headache when they saw the two of them.

A police chief asked unhappily, "Why are you two here again?"

If he could defeat them, he really wanted to kick these two kids out.

Pan Yun asked, "Captain Zhou, is there any news about the lecherous thief Hua Buliu?"

Captain Zhou: "... Pan Yun, do you think we can't catch him since we have information about him?"

He said, "Just because I can't beat you doesn't mean I can't beat that lecherous thief Hua Buliu. Besides me, there are many capable people in the government office."

"I'll tell you the truth. The reason why the government issued a bounty notice for him is because we can't find him. His disguise skills are extremely powerful. Every time he appears, his face is different, so we can't find him."

"To unveil the list means to find the person first and then bring him to justice. Pan Yun, if you don't understand what unveiling the list means, go to the notice board and read the precautions again."

Pan Yun: "Where can I find the criminal in such a vast crowd of people? Can you show me the case file? Let me know more about this lecherous thief." Captain Zhou looked at her steadily.

Pan Yun looked at him eagerly.

Captain Zhou tried his luck and turned around to take her to the archives room. Along the way, he said, "You are not a bounty hunter we often work with. If your background is not clear and your martial arts are not certified by us, you cannot read the case files."

Pan Yun nodded repeatedly and said, "I know. Thank you, Captain Zhou. When I catch the man, I'll treat you to a drink."

Captain Zhou snorted but didn't take it to heart.

Pan Yun's martial arts skills are high, and she and Miao Zhen can even tell fortunes, skills that other bounty hunters don't have, but he doesn't think the two of them can catch the criminal.

To catch a criminal, you must first be able to investigate the case. These two are like children playing house. If they really can't beat them...

Thinking about the "sparring" they had two days ago, Captain Zhou's shoulders still hurt.

Why haven’t I heard of the greatness of Sanqing Temple before?
In the martial arts world, Sanqing Temple has never been very prominent, but no one expected that its disciples would have such powerful skills at such a young age.

I don’t know what the adults in the Taoist temple are thinking. Letting such a young child out, don’t they know that it might hurt passers-by?
Captain Zhou took out a file, slapped it in front of them and said, "Here, this is his file."

Pan Jun opened them and saw five thin sheets of paper with not many words on them. Not even all the words were written on each sheet. There was also a small picture at the bottom of each sheet, and they all looked a little different.

Captain Zhou said, "There are five women who have reported the case, but we suspect there are far more than five victims. These are small portraits drawn based on their descriptions. They are all blurry, but they are all different."

Pan Yun carefully read the description of the victim and asked, "How can we be sure that they are the same person?"

Captain Zhou pointed to the willow branch in the lower left corner and said, "This is left at the bedside of every victim. There is a rumor in the martial arts world that there is a man named Hua Buliu who is ashamed of Liu Xiahui, thinking that he is hypocritical and heartless, and that he has wasted the beauty's heart, so he wants to do the opposite of Liu Xiahui."

Pan Yun: "...So he raped women? What kind of weird logic is this?"

Captain Zhou said expressionlessly, "If I could understand, Taoist Master Pan, I would either be on my way to catch him or in jail now."

Pan Yun memorized the contents of the five pieces of paper, handed them to Miao Zhen, and asked, "Besides the painting on the bedside, did he leave anything else?"

Captain Zhou said expressionlessly: "The victims all said no."

Pan Yun said: "If he left something behind, we might be able to calculate his location based on what he left behind..."

Captain Zhou: "Currently, everything the government has is in the files."

Pan Yun looked at him and felt that their government office was too incompetent. They only had this little information about such a big rapist.

As long as he thought about the fact that there were only five thin sheets of paper recording the five victims, Pan Yun felt that hope was slim, so he asked: "Captain Zhou, is there a reward for suppressing bandits in Guangxin Prefecture? I think I am more suitable for rushing in and killing people indiscriminately, and then bringing back the heads for the bounty. I am not suitable for this kind of meticulous investigation, tracking, and arrest..."

Captain Zhou grinned at her, but when she smiled back, he suddenly retracted his smile and said solemnly, "No, our Guangxin Prefecture is prosperous, peaceful and friendly. How could there be bandits?"

Pan Yun: ...Okay, whatever you say is what it is.

There were bandits in Guangxin Prefecture, but the government did not issue a reward notice, so she would not get any reward if she killed the bandits.

Pan Yun turned around and asked Miao Zhen, "Have you written down everything?"

Miao Zhen nodded, "I remember them all."

"Then let's go." Pan Yun and Captain Zhou said, "Captain Zhou, we will try our best to catch Hua Buliu. By the way, do you have any suggestions for us?"

"For example, when faced with a criminal suspect like this, how do you usually catch him?"

Captain Zhou looked at her steadily, and after a while he said, "I usually don't tell others about this kind of thing, but you... Never mind. Since you beat me, I'll tell you that the most common way we find prisoners like this is to lure them out of their holes."

He looked Pan Yun and Miao Zhen up and down and shook his head, "Unfortunately, neither of you suits Hua Buliu's taste."

Hua Bului likes young women, especially newly married women.

Pan Jun seemed to be thinking about something.

Miao Zhen saw that she didn't move, so she said, "There is no information about the victim in the case file."

Pan Yun: "I know, so I decided to go there secretly at night. After finding the victim's information, I will go to see her secretly. Maybe I can find the other party's information from her."

Miao Zhen's eyes were bright, but her face was serious, "I'll keep watch for Junior Master."

Although Pan Jun didn't need it, she still gave her an approving look.

　see you tomorrow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)