946 Barricade

“That is the least we could do,” Miao Qingfeng said.

The chief had specifically told them to cooperate with Yang Guanfeng and the others as best they could. The cases were getting increasingly out of hand, and the effects the cases had on the village were getting increasingly severe. They had been in a place hidden in the mountains and secluded from the world. What happened on the outside had thoroughly exposed them. Worse still, they had become known for incidents that were negatively attributed to them. It was very bad.

With the situation at hand, it was vital to catch the culprit. To them, that culprit was none other than Miao Tianchuan. Those who came from the Valley of Thousands of Medicine knew that he had to either be apprehended or killed before they all could put all of these matters behind them. As for the remaining ones, they were likely not able to do much on their own. However, the most important thing was to find Miao Tianchuan.

He had no friends or relatives. He was practically a nomad. Everything he did was for the sake of revenge. There was no line that he would not dare cross.

Qushan County was a small place. All manners of basic facilities were rather outdated. However, the authorities had recently added quite a few surveillance cameras because of what had happened in He County, which was next to Qushan County. The incidents there had attracted the attention of the authorities, so the surveillance equipment was put to good use.

The authorities discovered a man near the crime scene who had his face hidden.

“This looks just like that guy from the previous case!” Lu Xiufeng was able to tell from one look that that person was someone they saw in He County.

“Are you certain?” Yang Guanfeng asked.

“My intuition has never betrayed me,” Lu Xiufeng replied. “Furthermore, I take it that you’re feeling the same.”

“That is the case.”

“Well, we best get our guy to work overtime and get the montage done. We’ll get it to the higher-ups and arrange for that guy to be listed as wanted.”

They acted quickly because the case had caught a lot of attention from people in Jing. The bounty set for that wanted person was very high. Now, they were specifically out to capture Miao Tianchuan, Miao Chengtang, and Miao Qingshan.

The bounty was hundreds of thousands of dollars all, which would motivate quite a few people.

In the King Pharmacist’s Villa, hundreds of miles away…

“Is this your doing?” Miao Chengtang was reading a news article on his phone. He was thoroughly astonished.

“Gosh, you’re insane.”

He felt a chill throughout his body. It felt more intense than what he had experienced the last time he saw Miao Xihe, which had been during his escape from the village.

“No, I’m definitely not doing this.”

He quickly made up his mind.

In Qushan County, hundreds of miles away…

“Hey partner, get over here,” Lu Xiufeng excitedly said.

“What’s up?” Yang Guanfeng asked.

“It seems like our undercover is sending us a text,” Lu Xiufeng said.

“Is he with Miao Tianchuan and Miao Qingshan?”

“Yep, and he has taken photos in secret,” Lu Xiufeng replied.

“This is great!” Yang Guanfeng clapped in excitement.

“They are at the King Pharmacist’s Villa,” Lu Xiufeng said.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get to it!”

In the villa, hundreds of miles away, Miao Chengtang had grown increasingly afraid while lying in bed. He was reminded of Miao Tianchuan right after he saw the news. The words he said before he left were etched in Miao Chengtang’s mind. When he correlated what happened at that time with what happened before, Miao Chengtang became sure that Miao Tianchuan had something to do with the murder cases in He County. He was likely the one who had done those terrible things. Miao Tianchuan wanted to frame Miao Xihe for all of it. Those cases involved nearly 30 people. They had been 30 living, breathing people and not livestock. One was able to easily figure how severe the cases were. It had quickly caught the attention of the authorities, and those people were keeping a close eye on the situation. It was just as he speculated. All three of them were wanted people, and the bounty was a staggering amount.

Miao Tianchuan was out to exact revenge at all costs. There was no line that he would not cross to achieve his goal. He had truly become a lunatic.

Leaving the village meant, at most, that Miao Chengtang lost the place he had once called home. If he continued sticking around Miao Tianchuan, he would become a wanted criminal throughout the country. They would become like rats that everyone wanted to eradicate. As such, he needed to steer clear of Miao Tianchuan as quickly as possible. From the beginning, he had not known about the crimes the other man had committed, and he had never been a part of anything that Miao Tianchuan had done.

He did not tell Miao Qingshan about anything. He simply remained laying on his bed anxiously waiting.

“What kind of broken road is this?” Lu Xiufeng mumbled throughout the trip.

The authorities split up. Some took the usual routes while some approached the flanks. The police officers were all heavily armed. Miao Qingfeng and Miao Changhong were also tagging along. The old man who had come with them left once he was done treating the dozen or so victims. He returned to the valley alone.

“We need to be careful with this. They are all capable of using poisons, and they are willing to cross any line. They’ll do whatever it takes to get what they want.” Before the operation commenced, Yang Guanfeng briefed the armed police who participated in the operation. If there was a need for it, the armed police were allowed to use lethal force.

the ones they were out to get were too formidable with poisons, which made them troubling targets.

“Why do these people like hiding in remote spots?” Lu Xiufeng asked.

“Alright, stop grumbling,” Yuan Guanfeng said. “We’re almost there.”

They arrived at the outer fringes of the location several hours later. They formed a barricade around the place. Since the case was so serious, there was a large number of armed forces mobilized.

“Huh!?” Miao Tianchuan smelled something strange.

“Someone’s coming.”

“Someone? What do you mean?” Miao Qingshan asked.

“I’m not sure,” Miao Tianchuan said. “Maybe it’s someone from here, or maybe it’s the cops. We need to get out right away.”

“What about Chengtang? He’s still not healed!”

“We’ll take him with us,” Miao Tianchuan said without hesitation.

“Huh?”

The two men went to where Miao Chengtang was resting.

“Chengtang, we need to leave,” Miao Tianchuan said.

“Leave? Now? Why?” Miao Chengtang asked, feeling surprised.

“I just feel that something is wrong,” Miao Tianchuan said. “This place is no longer safe.”

“Did Miao Xihe send someone?”

“I don’t know,” Miao Tianchuan said. “I do know that it’s not safe. We need to leave right away.”

“But, look at me,” Miao Chengtang said in a troubled manner.

“How about this? You two leave first. I’ll stay here for two more days. I’ll look for you guys when I’m patched up. By the way, could it be that your senses are playing tricks on you?”

“I’m not wrong,” Miao Tianchuan confidently said. He had relied on his mystical sixth sense throughout the years to evade countless incidents that would have otherwise killed him.

“I really can’t leave as I am,” Miao Chengtang said. “I’m just too weak to go far. If you take me along, I’ll end up being a burden anyway. Trust me.”

Shusshh. Miao Tianchuan heard the faint noises of people congregating.

“It’s not people from here.” His expression changed.

The noise was most likely the police. He wondered how they had managed to find their way there.

“Let’s go.”

He took Miao Qingshan and left the house. They headed straight for the mountains.

“Target spotted. I repeat, target spotted.”

“Freeze!”

Tat tat tat tat… Gunfire was soon heard.

The armed police officers were no match for the likes of Miao Tianchuan in the forests. As such, the authorities quickly lost them.

Back in the Villa…

The King Pharmacist of Miaojiang was frightened. He had lived there for many years. This was the first time his place had been surrounded by armed police officers. He quickly realized what had happened.

“That guy is a lunatic!” He sighed after being silent for quite a while.

“What else do you know?” Lu Xiufeng asked. He was acquainted with the old man before him.

“Qingshan’s grandfather was the previous chief,” Wu San said. “He was a good kid. Furthermore, he had lived in the village all of his life. He wouldn’t have had too much to do with why you all came here. Miao Tianchuan, on the other hand, is something else. His parents died in an accident. They were out to find herbs in the mountains. They were on the same team as Miao Xihe. However, Miao Xihe returned alone from that trip. Miao Tianchuan thought his parents must have been killed by Miao Xihe from then on out. He has held a grudge against the chief until this day.”

“I have not been there for quite some time, so that is pretty much all I know.”

It had been quite a long time since he was last in the Valley of Thousands of Medicine. Although he knew a thing or two, he didn’t have much more recent information.

“Tell us about Miao Xihe.”

“Ah, he is an extraordinary figure. When I was still learning the art of medicine from the previous chief, he once said that Miao Xihe was the most talented one to have emerged from the village in the past 150 years.”

“Is he more capable than you are?”

“Yes, he is.” Wu San nodded. He was not the type to lower his head easily. In truth, few people throughout the past few decades had managed to earn his approval. He could have counted them with one hand. Miao Xihe was one of them.

“Are you saying that he could have been the one behind all of this?”

“No, he couldn’t have been,” Wu San honestly replied.