Chapter 0022 Whipping
There was a sudden buzz of discussion all around.
Song Minghua and the other two's faces changed drastically.
Instead of feeling any joy at having escaped unscathed, they looked at Li Chengkong with worry on their faces.
Li Chengkong stared at Qin Tiannan.
Qin Tiannan looked down at everyone with an indifferent look.
A middle-aged man standing on both sides of the platform shouted, "Silence!"
Like thunder in the ears.
Everyone shut up.
"Let's execute him." Qin Tiannan waved his hand.
The middle-aged eunuch beside him stood up and said slowly, "I am Han Pingchuan, the Imperial Sword Master. This matter was decided by me and Chief Qin together. Do you disagree?"
Li Chengkong learned about the structure of the imperial court from Old Wang. The Imperial Sword Master was an internal official, affiliated with the 24 yamen of the inner court, similar to the Supreme Court Minister of the imperial court, and was responsible for criminal litigation.
"Master Han, isn't the sentence too light?" A young man said loudly, "Killing someone means paying with one's life. This is the rule of our Xiaoling Mausoleum and also the law of Dayue."
Li Chengkong glanced and saw that this was one of the three young men around Zhou Wangchuan.
Han Pingchuan said in a deep voice: "Killing someone means paying with one's life is the law of Dayue, but Dayue's law has a rule of manslaughter and a rule of killing in self-defense. Zhou Wangchuan relied on his identity as a Xiaoling Guard and his martial arts skills to use the excuse of simulated reenactment to try to deceive people and get away with it. He is so arrogant and bullying the weak. Am I blind?!"
The young man hurriedly said, "Brother Zhou has no intention of deceiving anyone."
"Nonsense!" Han Pingchuan shouted, "How did that wild boar break into Li Chengkong's courtyard? Not to mention that the three of you in the Liyuan realm and one in the Mufeng realm can't handle a wild boar!"
The young man's face flushed.
"Step back, execution begins!" Han Pingchuan flicked his sleeves and sat back in his chair.
Four middle-aged men holding purple sticks floated from the platform to Li Chengkong.
Two purple sticks hit Li Chengkong's armpits, and the other two hit the outside of his thighs.
His legs felt like they were electrocuted and he lost consciousness due to numbness.
With the pressure from the first two purple sticks, he fell to the ground with a bang.
Four sticks poked the acupuncture points on his back at the same time.
Li Cheng was like a deflated ball. Everyone could vaguely hear the sound of his internal energy leaking out, and their faces were solemn.
This will ruin your cultivation!
Two middle-aged men in black stood ten meters away, each holding a black grinding wheel.
They shook it lightly, and the black millstone spread out into a long whip. They shook it lightly again, and the long whip swam to Li Chengkong like two snakes.
"Snap!" The tip of the whip exploded in the air .
Everyone around secretly shuddered.
They had witnessed the power of this whip more than once, and when they thought about Li Chengkong having to receive twenty whips, they all shook their heads secretly.
They said they would spare his life, but in fact, it was just a nice thing to say. Twenty lashes were enough to beat him to death.
Song Minghua and the other two were worried but there was nothing they could do.
Sun Guiwu especially knew the feeling of being whipped. His face was wrinkled and he glared at Qin Tiannan angrily with gritted teeth.
"Snap!" A long whip flew in the air and hit Li Chengkong's back with a crisp sound.
"Ah——!" Li Chengkong screamed.
There was a tear in his shirt, and the scraps of cloth dug into the flesh of his back.
Everyone shuddered.
Li Chengkong felt his body was smashed into pieces, as if it was not a whip but a huge hammer that smashed him into a meat paste.
This miserable howl burst out of the mouth. It was the body's instinctive scream, beyond his control.
"Haha, he peed!"
"Yes!"
"He can't stand being whipped. He shits and pees all over the place! Hahahaha..."
The three young men around Zhou Wangchuan laughed loudly.
But the people around didn't laugh.
It was obvious at first glance that the man wielding the whip had intended to beat Li Chengkong to death!
"Ah——!" Sun Guiwu tried to pounce but was held down by Song Minghua and Hu Yunshi.
If you act recklessly at this time, you will be intentionally causing trouble and will end up half-dead if not dead, which is a futile effort.
"Snapped!"
"ah--!"
"Snapped!"
"ah--!"
"Snapped!"
"ah--!"
…
All the clothes on Li Chengkong's back were smashed into his flesh, not a single piece fell out, and turned red and black.
He was screaming and trembling at first, but after ten lashes, he was motionless, as if he had died.
"Snapped!"
"Snapped!"
"Snapped!"
…
There was dead silence all around, with only the sound of whipping.
Everyone watched in silence with gloomy faces, even the three young men who were noisy and mocking shut their mouths.
The two middle-aged men in black seemed to have no emotions. The interval between their whips was the same, neither fast nor slow, calm and indifferent, as if they would go on beating forever without stopping.
After twenty lashes, they flicked their wrists.
The two dark brown whips were like snakes coiled together.
Suddenly, there were sounds of breathing one after another.
The two men bowed towards the platform, then turned around and strode away.
Song Minghua and the other two had rushed to Li Chengkong, but they didn't dare to touch him. Song Minghua squatted down and carefully felt his breath, then let out a long sigh of relief.
"This matter ends here." Qin Tiannan stood up and said calmly: "Don't keep pestering me, otherwise, don't blame the law for being ruthless!"
He clasped his fists towards Han Pingchuan, and Han Pingchuan stood up and clasped his fists. The two of them solemnly left the platform without even looking at Li Chengkong.
Everyone gathered around immediately.
"Don't touch him first!" Hu Yunshi said to Song Minghua and Sun Guiwu, pushing away the crowd and leaving.
Sun Guiwu glared at everyone: "Why are you getting so close? Do you want to see if Lao Li is dead or not?"
Someone asked, "Is he dead?"
Sun Guiwu glared at him angrily: "No! Lao Li won't die! He won't die that easily!"
"Twenty lashes... he won't survive."
"Alas... Even if he didn't die, his internal organs were so badly injured that he would eventually die of illness."
"If you ask me, it would be better to just die and avoid suffering."
…
Sun Guiwu had a gloomy face and his eyes swept over the crowd like spitting fire, but he couldn't scare them away at all.
The whip just now was the best deterrent.
Anyone who dares to take action will be whipped no matter how light the punishment is. Li Chengkong's miserable condition is right before our eyes. I believe no one will dare to do it for the time being.
"Get out of the way!" Hu Yunshi shouted, and everyone made way for him and watched him come in carrying a bed.
"Bang!" The bed was lowered, and Hu Yunshi said, "Put him on it, be gentle."
Sun Guiwu looked at Hu Yunshi with admiration; he himself had never thought of doing this.
The three men carefully lifted up the muddy and foul-smelling Li Chengkong, placed him on the couch bit by bit, and then carried the bed back.
No one followed.
Li Chengkong's fate is already clear. With such serious injuries, even if he doesn't die now, he will not survive tonight.
When the three men carried the body to the gate of their courtyard, Old Wang waved at the gate of his courtyard: "Carry it over here!"
The three hesitated.
Old Wang said, "If you don't want him to die, bring him here!"
"…Let's carry it over." Song Minghua sighed, "We don't have any magic pills, there's nothing we can do."
The three men then carried Li Chengkong to Old Wang's yard.
"What a smell!" Old Wang waved his hands to get rid of the stench on Li Chengkong, and glared at the three people: "Go on your way."
They hesitated and withdrew.
"Old Wang, if Old Li dies, we will settle the score with you!" Sun Guiwu stopped at the door and snorted, "Don't even think about finding such a good partner again!"
Old Wang waved his hands impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense, it will delay your treatment!"
The three of them left the yard and wanted to stay outside. Old Wang shouted in the yard, "Go back to your yard. I don't want others to know!"
They had no choice but to return to their own yard.
"Old Li, he..." Sun Guiwu asked hesitantly.
Song Minghua sighed, "Let's do our best and leave the rest to fate. It all depends on whether Old Li is lucky or not... If I had known this would happen, I should have passed on the Purple Yang Divine Art to him, so that he would have an extra ability to save his life."
Li Chengkong practiced the Zi Yang Divine Art, and now he has at least reached the Mu Feng Realm and can heal himself.
He is not yet at the Mufeng realm, so his internal energy is not very useful for healing.
"Purple Yang Divine Art..." Sun Guiwu and Hu Yunshi had complicated expressions.
"Madam, how is it?" asked Old Wang.
Luo Qinglan was wearing a red shirt, and her jade-like hand was touching Li Chengkong's chest.
Old Wang asked, "Can you save your life?"
"It's quite troublesome." Luo Qinglan's face was calm.
She was as white as jade, and seemed unaware of Li Chengkong's dirtiness and stench.
Old Wang pinched his nose for a while, then released it, as if he had gotten used to the smell: "That means I won't die."
"These guys are trying to kill him deliberately." Luo Qinglan said.
"He has a worthless life. How can we let him live when he dares to kill the Xiaoling Guards?" Old Wang said in a sarcastic tone.
"My cultivation is gone," Luo Qinglan frowned slightly, "If my cultivation was still there, it would be much easier. But now... I have to put in some effort."
"Then I'll leave it to you, Madam," said Old Wang. "I finally have such a smart guy who is knowledgeable and interesting. I don't want to change my companions."
Luo Qinglan took off his boots, got on the couch, and sat behind Li Chengkong. He placed his white jade-like palms on his back and breathed a gurgling warm breath over him.
The dark brown of his back made Luo Qinglan's hands appear even whiter, as if they were carved from peerless jade.
Amid the gurgling warm breath, Li Chengkong's tightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
In a trance, he felt like he was back in his mother's womb, warm and comfortable, peaceful and tranquil.
While drunk, he had a flash of inspiration and began to practice the Kunlun Jade Pot Technique.
