Volume 3: Evil Ghosts Eat People Chapter 153: Shangxuan's attack on Yi (Part 1)
At 10:00 p.m. in the South Prison.
"If you want to kill me, just kill me. No need to say more! Humph..." Timur Ani turned her head towards the wall, her will determined.
"Ani," Xu Zun advised, "Don't you understand? Those bandits don't treat you as human beings, but just as tools!
"You have been brainwashed and bewitched by them. You still have a chance. As long as you can tell us everything you know and help us catch the real culprit, I can keep you safe!
"But if the inner guards come in a few days," Xu Zun said with narrowed eyes, "do you know what methods they have? By then, you will speak up anyway, so why would you have to endure the torture?"
Ani remained unmoved and still turned her head to the side.
"I know," Xu Zun said, "Although you are young, you are a senior figure among the bandits. It doesn't matter, as long as you are willing to confess, I will protect you!
"Ani, you are still so young, it is not worth it to ruin your bright future for such a cult organization..."
The reason why Xu Zun speculated that Ani was a high-ranking figure was because she knew Wei Beihui.
In the county government office, Ani and Wei Beihui had obvious eye contact, which shows that her rank must be not low.
"Hmph, stop talking nonsense," Ani said decisively, "It's useless. Just use whatever torture you have. I'm ready!"
"Shangxuan defeated the aliens, and all the gods returned to their origin." Xu Zun sighed, "You are so young, what on earth have you experienced!?"
"Shang Xuan will destroy the dissenters and all the gods will return to their origin. He will cut off the nine gates above and destroy the flatterers below! Hahahaha...hahahaha..." Annie glared at Xu Zun and not only did she continue the conversation like Luo Yu, but she also laughed crazily.
Although Xu Zun could not understand the meaning of this, looking at Ani's confused and crazy appearance, he could vaguely guess that these mantras might be used to control the believers.
The interrogation was fruitless, so Xu Zun had to walk out of the cell and instruct the guards not to torture Ani for the time being.
He always felt that Annie was not a villain at heart, but was just being brainwashed and controlled. Perhaps there was some way to make her sober again?
“My Lord, my Lord…”
As soon as Xu Zun came out, Zhao Yu hurried over and reported in a low voice:
"Your guess is absolutely right! There really was something fishy about the innkeeper Qian. When I arrived, he was already dead! Not only was he murdered, but not a single one of the inn's employees was left alive!"
“Tsk tsk…”
Hearing this, Xu Zun secretly regretted that if he had thought of this earlier, he might have been able to stop Marquis Changping and others.
It was obvious that the people who killed Qian must be those people of Changping Hou. They realized that Qian had been exposed, so they wanted to cut the grass and root it out before leaving!
"The killers also set a fire," Zhao Yu said, "but maybe it was because of the fog, the fire went out by itself!"
"Oh?" Xu Zun realized something and hurriedly ordered, "Since you want to set the fire, you must be afraid that we will find something! Zhao Yu..."
"I know, I know," Zhao Yu nodded, "I have sent soldiers to search the entire inn. If they find anything, someone will definitely send it to the county government office."
"good!"
Just as Xu Zun finished speaking, the head constable Ju Ran came over to report that the governor Li Yan had returned to the county government office and asked Xu Zun to go there to report immediately.
The county government office and the Southern Prison were separated by a wall. After a while, Xu Zun returned to the county government office and saw Li Yan, who was stunned.
As you can imagine, Li Yan's mood at this moment can no longer be described in ordinary language. The old man is on the verge of collapse...
However, Li Yan was not alone this time. He also brought Tangzhou Chief Clerk Dong Wanxing and other provincial officials.
The Chief Secretary was the governor's staff member and his status was equivalent to that of a high-ranking official.
Xu Zun first greeted everyone, and then told everyone the whole story.
However, Xu Zun naturally could not talk about Ku Niang's affairs. He only said that Wei Beihui was killed by everyone.
After listening to Xu Zun's story, one can imagine the expressions of the state officials. Everyone was shocked and couldn't believe it.
How could a marquis plot rebellion?
However, the facts are before our eyes and no one can doubt them.
"Sir Li," Dong Wanxing immediately suggested to Li Yan after hearing this, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be handled by officials of our prefecture. We should report to the court as soon as possible and send officials from the Ministry of Justice to handle it!"
"Need I say more?" Li Yan pinched his temple and said, "I have sent someone to report to the cabinet, I believe that a higher-level official will come to deal with it soon.
"What I am most worried about now is whether this incident will affect the safety of the Queen Mother and His Majesty!
"Alas! Tangzhou's major cases have occurred one after another, and now they have even spread to the Imperial Palace!
"If the Queen Mother and His Majesty blame us, can you and I still bear the responsibility..."
"Sir," Dong Wanxing, the top think tank of Tangzhou government office, said confidently, "In my humble opinion, as long as the Queen Mother and His Majesty are safe, we have accomplished a great feat! Our newly appointed Xu Tixing has made a great contribution!"
"This..." Li Yan frowned, "What do you mean?"
"Sir," Dong Wanxing said, "It is precisely because the masterminds are the Qinglan Temple Master and the Marquis of Changping that we are not responsible!
“How dare we investigate the Marquis Daxuan and Taoist Qinglan, who was personally appointed by the Queen Mother?
"But now, Lord Xu has seen through everything, exposed their conspiracy, caught the bandits, and reminded the Queen Mother and His Majesty that there might be assassins in the palace. In the eyes of the Queen Mother and His Majesty, have we done a good deed? Or have we done something wrong?"
"Oh..." Li Yan nodded. "Now that you put it that way, I finally feel a little more confident! It's a pity that we haven't captured the Master of Qinglan Temple and the Marquis of Changping yet!"
"That's easy to say," Dong Wanxing said. "When you write your letter, just emphasize the bloody battle at Shangyuan County Office and how our important officials and generals in Shangyuan City risked their lives to bravely kill the bandits. If the two masterminds escaped, wouldn't it be our dereliction of duty?"
"Hmm... makes sense!" Li Yan thought for a long time and said to Xu Zun, "Jiying, I thought Chongtian Temple was the truth, but I didn't expect it was just the beginning. There is such a huge conspiracy hidden behind it!
"I can't even imagine that if we had foolishly returned to Wude City, their conspiracy would have succeeded!
"I can't believe that Shangyuan City would suffer such a huge change overnight. Jiying," Li Yan said seriously, "you are still responsible for the aftermath. You must investigate the case thoroughly so that you can have an explanation when the court sends someone over!"
"Yes." Xu Zun agreed.
"Wanxing," Xu Zun said to Dong Wanxing again, "As for the matter of catching the wanted criminals, I'll leave it to you! Immediately notify all the counties under the jurisdiction of Tangzhou and do their best to search for the Qinglan Temple Master and Changping Hou and other wanted criminals!
"If we can catch them, that would be a real great achievement!"
"Yes!" Dong Wanxing accepted the order.
"My Lords," Xu Zun recalled something and asked hurriedly, "Have you ever heard of this mantra? When the gods defeat the enemies, they will return to their origin?"
"ah!?"
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Dong Wanxing was suddenly surprised, while Li Yan had no reaction at all.
"Master Dong, do you know?" Xu Zun asked hurriedly.
"No way?" Dong Wanxing took a breath and asked Xu Zun, "Where did you hear this sentence from?"
"That's what the bandits said," Xu Zun replied, "and then there's something like 'behead the nine gates above, and destroy the flatterers below', like a jingle."
"This is not just a catchy phrase! Xuanmen has been extinct for nearly a hundred years, right?" Dong Wanxing said in astonishment, "How come it has revived again now?"
"Xuanmen?" Li Yan thought for a moment and shook his head, "Why have I never heard of it?"
