Jiang Wang carefully watched Lei Zhanqian.

At this moment, he stood there, hunched over, hair disheveled, with a rather bitter expression on his face.

"Do you really know about Lin Youxie’s situation?" Jiang Wang asked.

"Recently, several groups of people have come to Deer Frost County, and those Qing brand catchers have sifted through inside and out several times. Of course I wouldn’t be completely unaware." Lei Zhanqian explained, "When I saw Madam Marquise of Bowang today, I knew that the two Marquises must have come for the matter of Arrest Officer Lin..."

He said with great helplessness, "But I really don’t know what happened to Arrest Officer Lin or where he is."

"Brother Lei, you are a smart person." Zhongxuan Sheng said slowly, "But I really don’t quite understand your words; you might as well sit down and explain slowly."

Lei Zhanqian half sat down again and cautiously said, "I saw Madam Marquise of Bowang on May 9th. Later, I heard that Arrest Officer Lin also disappeared on that day, and it was in that forest... coupled with the fact that the Imperial City Inspection Mansion has been investigating for days without results, I thought Marquis Wu’an would certainly come to the door."

Zhongxuan Sheng did not speak, only using his eyes to tell him to continue.

Lei Zhanqian said, "The old forest that Madam Marquise of Bowang went to at that time is called Ye People Forest. It’s rare for anyone in Deer Frost to go there. However, Ye People Forest is the main production area of Yuanqi mushrooms, so our Lei Family sends people there several times each year... Oh, Yuanqi mushrooms are one of the raw materials for brewing Luming wine."

"Luming wine is very precious, so Yuanqi mushrooms are also quite valuable..." Zhongxuan Sheng asked, "But shouldn’t it be unnecessary for you to personally pick them?"

"Of course, these matters, I usually don’t interfere with." Lei Zhanqian said, "Mainly during that period, Yanchiemy appeared in Ye People Forest, and several of our Lei Family’s mushroom-picking teams disappeared in the mountains and forests..."

He said somewhat bitterly, "To be honest, after the Eleventh Prince’s incident, more than half of the offerings of the Lei Family left. Luming wine is now almost the pillar industry supporting our family... I had no choice but to make a trip myself."

"I was very surprised to meet Madam Marquise of Bowang in Ye People Forest that day. But thinking there wouldn’t be any interaction, I left without saying anything."

According to the "Records of Foreign Beasts" in Qi, "In the Eternal Youth Spring, there is an evil giant called Yanchiemy. It has eight arms, an ape face, a long black hairy body, and webbed three-toed feet. When angry, it laughs loudly like a human, its mouth devours sunlight, and it eats bones for clarity. If a person sees it, they become weary and wish to die.

Eternal Youth Spring is a mythical place, which we won’t discuss here. This Yanchiemy is a quite vicious foreign beast with clear records.

Zhongxuan Sheng, after listening, only said, "I’ve never known, speaking of it, why is your Deer Frost County’s Ye People Forest called Ye People Forest? In this day and age, are there still savages hidden there?"

Lei Zhanqian answered very properly, "A long time ago, this place was a miasmal land, plagued by insects. There were indeed some people who, to escape war, hid in the old forest, having lived for generations and becoming almost no different from savages. After Daqi’s multiple campaigns, today’s borders were formed, including this place. At the beginning of the Emperor Qi’s reign, there was a special task in internal affairs called ’Governing Noxious Land.’ Lou... the Seven Thieves once cleared the miasma here, using great power to break the evil of heaven and earth, turning this old forest into what it is today, without any harm. But the name Ye People Forest continued."

The so-called ’Seven Thieves’ in Qi Country typically referred to Duke Loulan.

Back then, Emperor Qi personally attacked Duke Loulan, condemning seven offenses, denouncing him as one of the Seven Evil Thieves.

Later, when people mentioned Duke Loulan, they rarely spoke directly, using this as a reference instead.

Zhongxuan Sheng, after listening, again said, "The Yanchiemy type of foreign beast is extremely rare. I’ve only seen it in books, unexpected that it could appear in Ye People Forest."

"What the Marquis says is true, I am also very puzzled, but thinking that Ye People Forest is vast and ancient, apart from the Seven Thieves, no one has truly understood it. Some curiosities are not impossible..." Lei Zhanqian said, "I have killed that Yanchiemy because it was rare, I brought the body back. It is still kept in the basement, would Marquis Bowang like to take a look?"

This was probably just a polite offer.

But Zhongxuan Sheng stood up immediately, "Then I would trouble you."

Lei Zhanqian was stunned for a moment, then said, "Please follow me, everyone."

The group then followed Lei Zhanqian to a different place.

As the leading family in Deer Frost County, the Lei Family ancestral home covers an extensive area, nestled amidst mountains and water, with exceptionally beautiful scenery.

The "basement" Lei Zhanqian mentioned was built beneath a lotus-leaf-covered pond, with the entrance hidden among the jagged rocks beside the pond.

"For storing wine, our Lei Family has built many basements. This particular basement was passed down from my ancestors, now it belongs solely to me. It holds some special vintage wines, and many of my personal collections, including the corpse of the Yanchiemy..." Walking in the corridor, Lei Zhanqian explained as he led the way, "The temperature underground is very low, specifically controlled using arrays..."

Every three zhang or so on the basement dome, there was a luminous pearl embedded, the light not very bright, keeping the entire basement in a state resembling dusk.

This was likely due to the Lei Family’s meticulousness in wine storage.

The sides of the basement were polished very smoothly, but on the wall, two feet above the ground, there were rectangular, clean and fresh stone niches, not too deep, arranged at intervals like hanging paintings.

And an urn of old wine was set in each. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

At a glance, it resembled viewing a shrine.

The exterior of these wine urns was also very smooth, almost like a copper mirror, able to reflect one’s shadow, evidently having someone specifically responsible for cleaning them.