Volume 2 Chapter 11: Avoiding the punishment but leaving regrets
The four people on the stage exchanged glances and nodded. Qi Fan took a step forward and said in a clear voice: "The Beggars' Gang rules state that all Beggars' Gang disciples must not commit crimes against their superiors or betray their leader. They must be loyal to their master, respect their master and friends, and must not kill each other. Lei Kan violated the second, eleventh, and twenty-second rules. First, his two arms will be cut off, and then he will be beaten to death! After the rules are enforced, his head will be taken as a sacrifice to the leader!"
Four disciples came up immediately, holding sharp blades in their hands, the blades were as bright as snow. Two of them held up Lei Kan's arms, and the other two took a long breath, put the blades on Lei Kan's shoulders, compared them, and then raised them high. With a short shout, two knives fell down instantly, and there was a sound of splitting. Lei Kan screamed in pain. His two arms had been chopped off and fell to the ground, his fingers were still stretching and bending, and his body fell to the ground, twisting and groaning.
Even though the martial arts people who were watching the execution had been fighting under swords and spears for years, they couldn't help but feel a chill down their spines when they saw this scene, and they all admired the strict rules of the Beggars' Sect.
The four disciples finished the execution, showed their blades upwards and walked quickly down. Eight more disciples came up in a moment. Judging from the bells on the long sticks in their hands, they were all people of some status. They raised their sticks high. One of them shouted softly, and the eight long sticks started to hit Lei Kan non-stop, making dull sounds when they hit him.
The disciples who were carrying out the execution were filled with hatred, so they were merciless and used all their strength. The muffled sound slowly turned into the sound of hitting mud. Lei Kan kept shouting in pain at first, but gradually the sound became silent. His back was already covered in blood, and he lay there like a pool of rotten meat.
Qi Fan walked down the steps, bent over, stretched out his finger and gently touched Lei Kan's nose, a trace of satisfaction appeared on his face, and he said loudly: "This thief has served his sentence and died, bring the knife!"
A disciple had already walked over quickly, holding a tray in his hand. Qi Fan rolled up his sleeves, picked up the knife with one hand, and grabbed Lei Kan's hair with the other hand, his eyes showing no hatred. He raised his hand and the knife fell, and a puff of blood "puff" spurted all over Qi Fan's head and face. He just laughed and said, "Boss Nian! Brother Nian! Today the whole gang has avenged you!" But the laughter gradually turned into crying, which was extremely mournful.
Yue Lingfeng and Fang Zheng were sweating all over. They thought Lin Jianlan was going to reveal the truth before the battle, but they didn't expect that he watched Lei Kan die according to the gang rules. They wanted to ask him several times, but he just stared up, and only when they heard Qi Fan crying did the corners of his mouth twitch slightly.
Diao Beidou's face was also extremely heavy. He went down the steps, helped Qi Fan up and returned to the coffin. The disciple with the knife picked up the head and placed it on a plate, then handed it to Tang Zimu. Seeing that his face was as cold as ice, he held the tray and placed it in front of Nian Yongshou's spirit tablet. He then picked up a glass of wine, turned around and slowly sprinkled it on the ground. Two drops of tears instantly fell to the ground with the wine.
Everyone also took the water and wine that had been prepared in front of the mourning shed and poured them on the ground. Tang Zimu said, "Thank you very much. Our gang has prepared food. Although it is simple, we would like to express our gratitude."
Seeing that the memorial service seemed to have come to an end, these people breathed a sigh of relief, but they had no mood to eat. Some of them had come from far away and had already begun to say goodbye. Yue Lingfeng pulled Lin Jianlan into the mourning shed, but saw Nian Xiaoxia staying inside with tears on his face. He asked anxiously, "Brother Lin, what's going on?"
Lin Jianlan wiped Nian Xiaoxia's tears with his fingers and said, "I'm afraid you were frightened by the scene just now."
Nian Xiaoxia shook his head and said, "I'm not afraid. I will listen to you and no longer hate Elder Tang. Can you help me find the person who killed Grandpa?"
Lin Jianlan nodded and said, "Of course, let's make a pinky promise." After that, he picked up Nian Xiaoxia's pinky finger and hooked it. Seeing that Yue and Fang were still anxious, he turned around and said, "Brother Yue, Master Fang, I still need to take care of some things. You go to Tongfu Inn at the east gate of the city first. I will explain everything to you when I come back." The two of them could only sigh at each other and left the spirit shed. Fang Zheng said, "We are all kept in the dark by him now. I just hope that the young master will not mess things up."
Lin Jianlan pondered in silence for a while in the mourning shed before he took Nian Xiaoxia out. He saw that the mourning shed had been removed. Even those who did not leave today had already found other places to live in the city. Only the one belonging to the Kuang Yi Gang was left, and some disciples had come to dismantle it.
At this moment, dusk gradually deepened, and the weary birds returned to the forest. A large group of them flew into the woods behind the temple. After the noise, there was silence. The black veils were scattered all over the ground, and white flowers were scattered. Except for the low-level disciples who were cleaning up, everyone else had been busy chasing Lei Kan and arranging the memorial service these days. They had all gone to rest early. Nian Xiaoxia felt his hand being squeezed tightly. He looked up and saw Lin Jianlan sighing and pulling him to the back of the temple.
There was already a person waiting in the woods. The shadows under the trees were swaying, enclosing the person in darkness. Only a faint voice could be heard: "Mr. Lin, I have been waiting here for a long time."
Lin Jianlan frowned slightly and said, "Brother Tang, I want to see Brother Lei."
Tang Zimu gave a barely audible bitter smile in the shadows of the trees and said, "Don't you dare trust me? If so, come with me."
Lin Jianlan did not say anything, but followed him slowly, but they did not arrive for a long time, so he picked up Nian Xiaoxia and carried him on his shoulders, and walked in the city for about half an hour before arriving at a house. Tang Zimu went in, entered a few side doors, walked to a house, unlocked the door, stood beside the door and said: "Today is a big sacrifice, he must not be allowed to go out and be seen, so we moved it here, you go in."
Lin Jianlan thought that Tang Zimu was indeed very thorough. He said "thank you" briefly and walked into the house with Nian Xiaoxia. At this time, the sky was very dark. A crescent moon was hidden in the clouds. A person could be vaguely seen pacing back and forth in the house. He was very anxious. When he saw the person coming, he came up and shouted, "Mr. Lin? Is that you ?" Hearing the voice was Lei Kan, Lin Jianlan was overjoyed. He quickly held Lei Kan's arm and looked up and down in the dim light, saying, "Brother Lei, are you okay?"
Lei Kan said, "My injury is not a problem now. Is it because you are holding a grand memorial ceremony for the leader today? Why are you locking me up here? Master Lin, have you investigated clearly? Alas! I am really confused. Since you didn't take me to the memorial ceremony today, you must have cleared my name and captured the real murderer!"
Lin Jianlan didn't know where to start after hearing these continuous questions. He helped Lei Kan to sit aside and said, "Brother Lei, don't worry." He turned around and was about to close the door, but saw that Tang Zimu had already brought a lantern. He reached out to take it and closed the door.
Finally, a light came on in the room. Seeing Lei Kan's expectant expression, Lin Jianlan pulled a chair and sat down. He waved to Nian Xiaoxia and said, "Xiaoxia, do you recognize him?"
Without waiting for Nian Xiaoxia to speak, Lei Kan said, "Mr. Lin, he is blind. He can't see you even if you wave, let alone let him recognize me..." At this point, Nian Xiaoxia walked to Lin Jianlan's side, looked at him, and was suddenly speechless. He stammered, "He...he can see?"
Lin Jianlan said: "Since you said he is blind, it seems that he has seen it. Young man, can you tell us what happened that night again?" The young man nodded and started from the beginning again. When he finished speaking, it was already pitch black outside, and only a flickering light was still on the candlestick in the room.
Lin Jianlan said apologetically, "Brother Lei, the situation is extremely complicated. I am really ashamed to say that I still don't know who the person named 'World Crowning Black Jade' is. Although I believe what the young man said, most people will not believe what a six or seven-year-old child says. As a member of the Kuangyi Gang, if I force myself to speak out, I am afraid that they will think that our Kuangyi Gang has ulterior motives and instructs the young child to make up stories with ill intentions."
Lei Kan said, "So what? Today's memorial service is over. Doesn't that mean I'm not the one who killed the old gang leader?"
Lin Jianlan sighed, "Not only the real murderer, but even Elder Tang's identity is unknown to me. He abandoned his vast wealth and tried his best to help the Beggars' Sect. Who would believe that he has some plans for the Beggars' Sect? The bloody words pointing to you as the murderer were indeed written by the old leader. It would be a pity for you to believe our speculation based on the words of a child!" Seeing Lei Kan hanging his head and not saying anything, Lin Jianlan said softly, "Brother Lei, Lei Kan has confessed his crime and accepted his sentence, but you are still alive."
Lei Kan was a little confused and looked up and asked, "What does this mean?"
Lin Jianlan said, "This is the deal. I'll let you live and find someone to take your place in the punishment. And Xiaoxia and I won't reveal a word of what Tang Zimu said that night."
Lei Kan was at a loss for what to do. He was speechless for a while. He stood up with the help of the table, but knocked over the candlestick. The flame jumped a few times and then went out. The room fell into darkness. He whispered, "Master Lin, Lei Kan is still regarded as a traitor in the gang. I have to live in anonymity from now on, is that right?"
Lin Jianlan was bending down to feel for the lamp. When he heard his sad tone, he stopped and said, "Brother Lei, time is really tight. In just three days, there is no way to track it down. At this moment, this is the best result."
Lin Jianlan took the candlestick in his hand and said, " Little hero go and light it again." But Lei Kan said, "Mr. Lin, it's not necessary. You can go back now."
Lin Jianlan felt very sorry. He stood up and adjusted to the darkness. He pulled Nian Xiaoxia over and heard Lei Kan say, "Mr. Lin, my tone is a little harsh. Please don't mind. You have taken good care of me along the way and helped me find out the truth. I don't have any ability. It's not easy for me to survive."
Lin Jianlan said, "Brother Lei, please don't blame me. Your waist and abdominal injuries have not yet healed, and you should not show up in public in a short time. You can recuperate here for a while. Tang Zimu and I have an agreement that he will not dare to do anything to you." After that, he opened the door, and a cool breeze blew in his face, as if he could finally take a breath after a long period of depression and suffocation. He looked up and saw that the crescent moon in the sky had long disappeared, and was covered by layers of thick clouds, as if there was going to be another spring rain.
Lin Jianlan exhaled lightly and said, "Brother Lei, do you still remember what I said that day? As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood. Let's relax for a while, I will definitely catch him..." Before he finished speaking, he heard a muffled "bang" sound behind him. The sound seemed to hit his heart. Lin Jianlan turned around in shock. The white wall in front of him seemed to have bloomed a dark flower. The color could not be seen clearly under the dim moonlight. The figure under the wall was still saying intermittently: "My name is tarnished, what can I do..."
The candlestick fell to the ground with a clang, which startled Lin Jianlan. He felt unsteady on his feet and ran inside in two or three steps. However, Lei Kan was already dead.
Lin Jianlan opened his mouth, and kept shouting "why" in his heart, but he couldn't say anything. Seeing Nian Xiaoxia's thin figure standing in the night, looking inside with wide eyes, he slowly stood up, but felt like he was stepping on cotton. He didn't know how he reached the door. He gently covered his eyes with his hands . After a while, two warm tears slid through his palms.
After a burst of thunder, bean-sized raindrops hit the ground with a crackling sound. Looking up, Tang Zimu was still waiting in the pavilion in the courtyard, staring at the house with bright eyes. His white clothes were particularly dazzling in the night. Lin Jianlan lowered his head and whispered, "Xiaoxia, wait for me in the corridor first, go ahead."
Seeing that he looked extremely pale, his lips were tightly pursed, and he was still trembling, but his tone was firm and unquestionable, Nian Xiaoxia was a little worried, but he still ran out along the corridor. Lin Jianlan turned around and walked towards the pavilion step by step.
Tang Zimu frowned, thinking about something. Seeing Lin Jianlan coming over, he whispered, "I didn't expect Lei Kan to be so depressed. I will arrange for him to be buried with honor." But Lin Jianlan grabbed him by the collar. A flash of lightning came down. He saw that his face was white, but the corner of his mouth had been bitten by him, and there was faint blood. He said angrily, "In your eyes, he is just a fool who can survive but can't think of it. Do you think a person's innocence and life are as worthless as grass?"
Tang Zimu was not panicked, and said calmly: "Mr. Lin, it was my idea to use the old gang leader's blood words to frame him, but today I have found someone else to die in his place as you ordered, but I cannot clear his name for the time being. I have wronged him in this matter, but I have tried my best to make up for it. I did not expect that he had such a strong personality. It was your mistake."
Hearing this, Lin Jianlan was stunned, feeling frustrated. He let go of her hand and murmured, "Why would you rather switch it than reveal the name of the 'World-Crossing Black Jade'?"
Tang Zimu straightened his collar and said, "The deal we made is that Lei Kan and Nian Xiaoxia's lives must not be harmed, and it does not include handing that person over."
Lin Jianlan said, "As a Jianghu person, chivalry comes first. Even if you cannot save the old leader's life, you must do your best to avenge him. In your opinion, all of this can be seen as a deal that you can profit from."
Tang Zimu smiled and said, "Mr. Lin, don't forget that I am not a man of the Jianghu. Although I envy the pleasure of taking revenge, I also have my own difficulties."
Lin Jianlan shook his head and said, "What's your reason? You can transfer a serious criminal who looks like Brother Lei to take the blame in less than half a day. You can be said to have connections everywhere. What's the point of staying in the Beggars' Sect?"
