Volume 2 Chapter 36: Loyalty to the Holy Dynasty
Cai Shaobing continued to cry and yell, "Why are you pretending to be a good person? You were the first one to ..."
But the white-clothed man's sleeves moved slightly, and Cai Shaobing could no longer speak, but just opened his mouth. Yuan Xingjian knew that he must have been mute-pressed by this strange white-clothed man. Although he struggled desperately, he was still dragged down the hall. After three drums, an executioner strode into the hall and shone the steel knife in his hand, which was covered in blood. He couldn't help but sigh softly: "Wu Hong is the beloved son of King Liang. How can he be easily exterminated? It was not easy to kill Cai Shaobing this time. We should really look at Xie Xun with new eyes."
The man in white bowed to Inspector Xie and led Wu Hong away calmly. Wu Hong also changed his arrogant look and followed the man honestly. For some reason, the crowded crowd became silent and stopped making noise. Instead, they automatically made way for each other.
Yuan Xingjian thought to himself, "He doesn't seem to be familiar with the people here, why is he so scary?" After thinking about it, he finally realized that there was only one possibility. This person has extremely high martial arts skills. If he deliberately emits murderous aura, ordinary people who don't know martial arts will feel inexplicably uncomfortable and dare not approach him, even though they don't understand that they are oppressed by murderous aura. Thinking of how Lin Jianlan seemed quite surprised by the appearance of the man in white, he turned around and asked, but saw Lin Jianlan stand up , frowned for a moment, and then used Qinggong to chase in the direction where the man in white was walking.
The defeated servants of the Wu family had been waiting not far from the Suzhou government office. When they saw Wu Hong, they hurriedly put him into the sedan chair. The man in white said, "Mr. Wu, please go back first. This time is so dangerous. There won't be a second sign to save you next time. For your father's sake, you'd better endure it for a while." Wu Hong felt unbearably depressed, even more uncomfortable than when he faced the inspector in the hall just now. He couldn't wait to leave him and nodded quickly to lower the curtain of the sedan chair.
The man in white watched Wu Hong leave, then slowly turned around, still with his face covered. Lin Jianlan felt that the murderous aura on him instantly disappeared, and a smile appeared in his eyes. However, Lin Jianlan still shuddered and asked in a trembling voice, "Senior Luan-Luansong, why did you save him?"
Luan Song narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "I've only met you once, and you actually recognized me."
Lin Jianlan shook his head and said, "It's not just one side. When the Yukou Division attacked the Kuangyi Gang headquarters, wasn't it Senior who traveled thousands of miles to various sects to report the news? I originally felt that Senior's voice seemed to have been heard somewhere in the forest at that time. After thinking about it later, I suddenly felt respect for Senior, but..." Lin Jianlan gritted his teeth for a moment, suddenly raised his voice, and said loudly: "That Wu Hong did all kinds of evil, why did Senior protect him?"
"Luansong" seemed to know that he would definitely ask this question, so he just smiled lightly and did not answer. Then he heard Lin Jianlan angrily say: "Senior, you were full of murderous aura just now, wasn't it because of Wu Hong?"
"Luansong" looked solemn, and after thinking for a while, he said, "Yes, if I kill this man who relies on power to bully the people, it will be like killing an ant. But, in your opinion, how many evil people can be killed and how many people can be saved? Even if you spend your whole life, you can't kill all the unforgivable criminals, and you can't save all the people in dire straits!" Seeing that Lin Jianlan couldn't answer, he said slowly, "This sentence was said to me by your father in Guanlian Tea House. Although he did something wrong to Xu Gong later, some of his words are still very reasonable when I think about it now."
Lin Jianlan had been stunned in the same place for a long time. His scars were opened again, and he felt uncomfortable. But he was more reminded of what Lin Longqing had said to him that day: "Repaying enmity and doing whatever one wants are just the rules of the martial arts world. People in the martial arts world are generally unwilling to clash with the government, because once a conflict is caused, the government naturally dare not do anything to the people in the martial arts world, so they will vent their anger on ordinary people. What they lost from us, they will do everything possible to take back from the people, and in the end, the people suffer." He thought to himself: "Why do they say the same thing? People in the green forest cannot kill innocent civilians, but can't they kill bullies? Do they want to put the blame on the court and the government? What's the use of them?"
And he seemed to hear Lin Longqing saying earnestly: "You know, the favors bestowed by the martial arts world are only to help the poor. If the court and officials are honest, then the people of a county or even a state will benefit. Therefore, honest and upright officials are admired by all of us in the martial arts world. Even so, these are not as good as a fair court and a good monarch."
Thinking of this, he could not help but frown and said, "Didn't the elders gather together for the sake of the people? Now that there is an honest official who can punish the evil, why stop him?"
"Luansong" shook his head and said, "You are wrong. We gathered to restore the Li family's kingdom. Whether the emperor surnamed Li is enlightened and can benefit the people is not our consideration." At this point, he said with a slightly sarcastic tone, "People always have their own reasons. After the failure, I was in a desperate situation. King Liang took me in. He dared to take in a traitor. I knew he had a rebellious heart. I followed him and became an ordinary staff member. It was only in recent years that I have come to understand the suffering of the people. How shallow we thought at that time, we never took the suffering of the people to heart, and we were just ridiculously loyal to the word "Li"!"
Lin Jianlan thought to himself, "It turns out that King Liang once took him in. No wonder he wanted to rescue Wu Hong. No wonder he tried to hide his true identity when interacting with his friends in the martial arts world. It would be very bad if he was recognized. Alas, maybe I am biased. Even if King Liang didn't send him, he would have sent someone else."
"Luan Song" laughed and said, "He who brings trouble upon himself will suffer the consequences sooner or later. I am not just repaying a favor. If I want to accomplish anything, I need to rely on others and plan slowly. During our conversation that night, Master Lin should have known my intentions. I just wonder if Master Lin still feels the same as before?"
Lin Jianlan's face flushed, and he felt even more uncomfortable, "My father betrayed them, so what reason do I have to question him? He just wanted to kill Wu Hong. Killing him would be great, but for the sake of a bigger thing, it's even more precious." Thinking of this, he was speechless for a moment. Seeing that he didn't answer, Luansong stepped forward and gently patted Lin Jianlan on the shoulder and said, "Your swordsmanship has improved a lot these days. If you practice hard, maybe I won't be your opponent in the future."
Lin Jianlan said in panic: "Senior, you are too kind. Where did you see my swordsmanship?"
"Luansong" said: "I have carefully watched the battle between you and the 'Pouch'. I am afraid that the two of you fought in mid-air around the curtain. There were countless holes on the curtain, but none of them were cut by your sword skills. On the contrary, the clothes on the 'Pouch' corpse were cut by your sword at all the key points of different sizes. It can be seen that your sword skills have reached the extreme, but..."
Seeing his frown, Lin Jianlan bowed and said, "Please give me some advice, Senior."
"Luansong" waved his hand and said, "It's not a matter of advice. There's nothing wrong with your sword technique. You always have kindness in your heart, so your moves are always targeted at the enemy. You always take the word 'innocent' into consideration. If you face the enemy in chaos, the more you fear hurting innocent people, the less you can do your job. If you want to accomplish great things, sometimes you have to sacrifice the weak. Only when you let go of this, can you move to a higher level." After saying this, he turned around and left leisurely.
Lin Jianlan was just confused. He felt that what he said made sense, but he also felt that it shouldn't be like this. He slowly walked back to the Suzhou government office, still thinking a lot in his mind.
The crowd in front of the government office had not yet dispersed, but clerk Su had already recorded the land deeds in a book and was returning them one by one to those whose land had been annexed from their homes. Gao Deshun was feeling very uneasy, and the sweat on his face never stopped, one drop after another .
Seeing everyone holding the land deeds with satisfaction, Inspector Xie showed a little smile on his face. Lin Jianlan didn't like him in the morning, so he didn't look at the appearance of this young inspector. Now that he was closer, he saw that he had a fair complexion, clear eyes, and was quite handsome. Although he was not as handsome as the clerk next to him, he had a sense of calmness and determination. He said in a clear voice: "There is still the dirty silver that Wu and Cai tried to bribe our court just now. After our court compiles a list overnight, it will be distributed one by one for the purpose of relief, Lord Gao."
Gao Deshun bowed and stood up quickly. His bulky robe could be seen shaking slightly. He was so frightened that he heard Xie Xun's words: "Do you admit your guilt?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Gao Deshun fell to his knees with a plop and stammered, "Your subordinate..."
Xie Xun said: "You are colluding with the powerful and bullying the people. What use is there for you? You don't need to come to Suzhou government office anymore. Go home and listen to the report!"
Gao Deshun collapsed to the ground all of a sudden, and remained silent for a long time before he slowly got up and squeezed out of the crowd covered in dust. He did not have that fierce murderous aura, and when the people saw him end up like this, they cheered in their hearts and kicked and beat him secretly when they were in the crowd. He did not dare to make a sound, and by the time he squeezed out, he was already in a mess, and there was a lot of booing behind him.
Lin Jianlan couldn't help but smile, and then he heard Inspector Xie say, "This court will sit here for three days to sort out the old cases. If you have any complaints, feel free to report them here. In addition...this court has something else to inform all the elders."
Everyone was silent when they heard his solemn tone. He only heard him speak softly, "The emperor heard about the suffering in Jiangnan and ordered this court to inspect Jiangnan. One is to relieve the suffering of the people, and the other is to atone for the past years of negligence. In the past dynasties, the people were forced to rise up because they could not survive due to heavy taxes. Otherwise, who would be willing to be displaced or even fight in the battlefield? I would like to ask all the elders, if there are acquaintances in Taihu Lake, please tell each other for me. The taxes in Jiangnan Road have been reduced, and all the land has been returned to the original owner. If you are willing to return to your hometown to farm, the emperor has ordered this court to provide you with the cost of returning home and settling down according to the number of people in your family. No matter what happened in the past, I will not ask you."
Everyone was in an uproar, not knowing whether what he said was true or false. Lin Jianlan was also confused. He looked up and saw Yuan Xingjian squatting on the roof, staring at Inspector Xie, but he couldn't see his expression clearly. He thought to himself, "Since Wu and Cai committed evil here, many people have indeed gone to Taihu Lake. Although Inspector Xie didn't say it clearly, the gathering of heroes in Taihu Lake is no different from rebellion. The fact that the imperial officials can easily say that they will not investigate is tantamount to appeasing the Taihu righteous army. Although the Kuangyi Gang has helped many times, if the people can really live and work in peace, wouldn't it be a thousand times and ten thousand times better than bloodstained yellow sand and broken families?"
Just as he was thinking, he saw Inspector Xie put his hand down, and the surroundings became quiet again. He suddenly looked up and said, "Heaven has its own way, and ordinary people cannot replace it." Lin Jianlan looked up and saw Yuan Xingjian suddenly stand up from the roof and look down. The two of them looked at each other for a long time before Inspector Xie continued, "This is all I have to say. It's getting late, so I'll leave."
The crowd slowly dispersed, and the yamen runners moved very quickly, and in a short while, they had emptied the yamen and cleaned up everything. Lin Jianlan saw Yuan Xingjian standing on the eaves in the sunset, with a gust of wind blowing, and his clothes rustling. He looked back at the yamen, as if nothing had happened. There were only two stone lions guarding the door with ferocious faces. He sighed secretly and was about to go up, but he saw a figure at the door, slowly walking out, raising his arm and pointing his finger directly at Yuan Xingjian, saying: "My master wants to see you, my dear man on the roof." It was Su Wenshu who had been busy just now.
Lin Jianlan had always wanted to see this strange inspector again. Seeing that Su Wenshu acted without following the rules, he liked him very much. He couldn't help but smile and looked up at Yuan Xingjian and shouted, "Brother Yuan, come down! Don't you want to meet this inspector?"
Su Wenshu was surprised and asked, "Why? Is his last name Yuan?"
Lin Jianlan nodded and said, "Yes, is there anything wrong?"
Su Wenshu shook his head in panic and said, "No, no, since you are his friend, come along." Seeing Yuan Xingjian flying down and coming in front of him in an instant, he was slightly surprised, then made a gesture of invitation and led the way. Lin Jianlan pulled Yuan Xingjian and followed him in. He was not too surprised by Xie Xun's move. In the morning at Wu Yuan Temple, the Xun had already intended to make friends with Yuan Xingjian. Now he was just taking advantage of him. Thinking of the stories about the governor who went incognito to punish traitors in ancient times, he couldn't help but feel a little happy. He just didn't know if he could win the beauty. Speaking of which, that Xiaohui girl had a good impression of him...
While he was daydreaming, he heard Su Wenshu say, "We're here." Lin Jianlan suddenly looked up and saw that a table of food and wine had been prepared in front of him. There were not many kinds of food and wine, and they looked light. There was a jar of wine next to it, which had not been opened. A man was standing by the window opposite him, fanning himself with a folding fan. He turned around when he heard the noise, and his face suddenly lit up. He hurriedly came forward and said, "Brother Yuan, please come in. Sir, may I ask your name?"
Lin Jianlan said hurriedly, "My last name is Lin." Turning back, he saw Yuan Xingjian bowing slightly to Xie Xunan and sitting down beside him, but his expression was still quite heavy, so he also chose a place to sit down. There were four chairs around the round table, but he didn't know who else was sitting there. Xie Xunan said, "Su Shuwen, you sit down too." He smiled at the two of them and said, "Su Shuwen and I are like brothers. We usually eat and live together."
