Volume 3: Evil Ghosts Eat People Chapter 205: Duty and Gamble
What!?
After hearing Xu Zun's words, Zhao Yu and Tao Lang were both dumbfounded.
"Are you crazy?" Tao Lang stared at Xu Zun and said incredulously, "Without the Suanni ghost, there will be no more chances!
"Xu Zun, do you still not believe in my identity?" Tao Lang pointed to his sleeve, "I have the token of the inner guard in my pocket, and Yan Sen and I are both under the orders of the Holy Queen Mother.
"If you still don't believe it, then go to Yunlong Mountain, which is 20 miles northwest of here. You can ask General Jinghui in person..."
"Prefect Tao," Xu Zun waved his hand and said, "Don't get me wrong, I completely believe in your identity and everything you said. Because apart from the reasons you said, I can't think of anyone else who could do such a thing.
"But there is one thing you may not have figured out," Xu Zun said, "I also came to Yonghui to investigate the case under the order of the Empress Dowager!
"Moreover, your secret order comes first, and my imperial decree comes second."
Xu Zun's words were very simple, but to Tao Lang, they were like a bolt from the blue.
"You...what do you mean?" Tao Lang asked in surprise, "I have already told you the truth, do you...want to go against the will of the Saint Queen Mother?
"Xu Zun, the head on your neck no longer belongs to you. If you can't make the right choice, your family and subordinates will all be buried with you!"
Tao Lang's words were so heavy that Zhao Yu shivered. He quickly ran over and fumbled inside Tao Lang's sleeves.
After a while of groping, he finally took out the inner guard token.
"Master Xu," Zhao Yu said to Xu Zun while holding up the token, "He didn't lie! Master, you should think twice..."
"Zhao Yu," Xu Zun said sternly, "Are you going to disobey me now? Didn't I make my words clear? Burn the Suanni ghost, and burn this place as well!"
"Sir...you..." Zhao Yu knew Xu Zun's character very well. Xu Zun never took risks without absolute certainty.
So he immediately took out his flint and prepared for action.
"Stop!" Tao Lang's eyes bulged out and he shouted anxiously, "You are really a bunch of lunatics. You know who you are against, but you still want to..."
"Prefect Tao," Xu Zun said solemnly, "Before Wanqi Feng died, he gave me a piece of advice: Smart people don't live long, especially those who are smart.
"This sentence is so true!"
"You..." Tao Lang looked at Xu Zun suspiciously, as if he understood something, but also seemed not to understand it very well.
"I, Xu Zun, am the chief judge of Tangzhou, and I have come to Yonghui to investigate the case of evil spirits eating people under the order of the Holy Empress Dowager!" Xu Zun stood tall and said sternly, "This is my mission in Yonghui, and it is also my responsibility to find out the truth of the case.
"Now, my mission is complete! The truth of the evil ghost cannibalism case has been revealed. You are the mastermind of the case. You planned all of this.
"So, I can go back and report now!"
"What!!? You...you..." Tao Lang was shocked and looked incredulous.
"What are you still standing there for?" Xu Zun turned to face Zhao Yu, "Do it! I will be responsible for all the consequences. It has nothing to do with you."
"Yes... yes..." Zhao Yu no longer hesitated, and immediately went behind the props of the Suanni ghost and started to light the fire.
"Xu Zun..." Seeing the fire, Tao Lang was extremely desperate. He stared at Xu Zun and said fiercely, "You know what the Holy Queen Mother is going to do. Even if you kill me, the Queen Mother will not forgive you!
"You are delaying our national policy! You will become a sinner!!"
"Don't worry," Xu Zun said nonchalantly, "I'm here to investigate the case. I won't kill innocent people. You are the mastermind of the evil ghost cannibalism case, so I will naturally let you live to face the trial."
"you……"
As he spoke, Zhao Yu had already ignited the Suanni ghost prop. Since the prop was also coated with white phosphorus, the fire quickly grew larger, thick smoke billowed out, and crackling sounds were made, as if it was about to explode.
"Sir..." Zhao Yu ran out of the fire and shouted to Xu Zun, "Let's go quickly! This thing burns very quickly..."
So , Xu Zun and Zhao Yu pulled Tao Lang out of the secret room and returned to Tao Lang's bedroom.
“No…no…”
At this moment, TOMRA had collapsed and lay helplessly on the ground, unable to believe that the grand plan he had designed for two years was burned to the ground so easily.
"Zhao Yu," Xu Zun ordered, "Take Magistrate Tao away and send our people to take good care of him. Don't let anything happen to him.
"And... the words just now..."
"I understand, I understand!" At this point, Zhao Yu could only bite the bullet and nod his head repeatedly, "We are only here to investigate the Yonghui evil ghost, we know nothing else, nothing at all.
"But..." Zhao Yu pointed at Tao Lang and whispered, "What should we do if he talks nonsense?"
"Does it have anything to do with us?" Xu Zun said indifferently, "Let him say whatever he wants. Then we'll see whose clan the Saint Dowager will kill..."
Xu Zun deliberately spoke in a very stern way, meaning to remind Tao Lang not to talk nonsense with others, otherwise you might be the one who would die the worst!
Tao Lang shuddered when he heard that, but still glared at Xu Zun viciously, as if to say, let's see who of us dies first?
After Zhao Yu took the people down, thick smoke came from the entrance of the secret room, and it was obvious that a fire had started inside.
Xu Zun came to the door, quickly found the switch, and closed the stone door at the entrance of the secret passage.
The bedroom was peaceful again, but the corpses on the floor still testified to the bloodiness and cruelty of this murder case committed by an evil spirit.
In fact, as early as when he was at the tavern at the dock, Xu Zun had already thought that this matter might be done by the imperial court, and he had even thought of the supreme ruler of Daxuan.
However, after Tao Lang told the truth, Xu Zun couldn't understand why the empress dowager sent him to Yonghui to investigate the case when she had clearly planned everything?
Isn't this a contradiction?
Could it be that one of the imperial edicts received by Tao Lang and himself was fake?
After careful analysis, this possibility was quickly ruled out.
Without the Queen Mother's order, how could Tao Lang play such a big game?
Moreover, the imperial edict he received could not be false. Even if Cai Kun had great courage, he would not dare to falsely convey the imperial edict.
so……
There must be a deep meaning behind the Empress Dowager sending herself to Yonghui at such a critical moment.
Thinking back, as early as when he was in Shangyuan City, the Governor Li Yan had not received any news, but the Empress Dowager suddenly sent him two secret orders, and directly stated that there was an evil ghost killing case in Yonghui.
Now it seems that there was a reason why the Queen Mother received the news so early.
Xu Zun also knew that there was another important factor behind the evil ghost case, and that was the iron coffin incident!
It was exactly two years ago that Tao Lang started planning the Yonghui evil ghost case, and at that time, the iron coffin incident had just happened.
According to the information he had currently obtained, the national teacher Qiu Dingtian defected to Xiazhou, was killed by the Ruan family of Xiazhou, and then his body was put into an iron coffin and transported back to the Holy Capital.
Unexpectedly, the iron coffin was robbed in Xinye County and Qiu Dingtian's body disappeared.
Therefore, the Queen Mother had reason to suspect that it was the Ruan family of Xiazhou who did something, and perhaps Qiu Dingtian was not dead at all!
If this is true, then the Xiazhou Ruan family may have secretly joined forces with Qiu Dingtian.
You must know that Qiu Dingtian has been the imperial teacher of Daxuan for his entire life, and he knows the court and the country of Daxuan Dynasty very well. Once he joins forces with Xiazhou, he will become a fatal threat to Daxuan.
Therefore, the Queen Mother had no choice but to formulate such a plan. She wanted to send troops to Yonghui under the pretext of the evil ghost of Yonghui, so as to give the Ruan family of Xiazhou a warning in advance.
To this end, she did not hesitate to raze the entire Yonghui and rebuild the city, just to show her determination to the Ruan family of Xiazhou!
But... Xu Zun also knew that the iron coffin case had not been fully solved, and no one knew whether Qiu Dingtian was dead or alive?
Therefore, the Queen Mother herself knew that this huge plan was radical and risky.
If things are not as he imagined, it would mean a complete break with Xiazhou and add a sudden instability factor.
What's more, if someone deliberately snatched away Qiu Dingtian's body and deliberately provoked the relationship between Daxuan and Xiazhou, wouldn't that be falling into the thief's evil trap?
So, when the time came to implement it, the Queen Mother was still in a dilemma.
So... seeing that she was investigating the iron coffin case and had made some breakthroughs, the Queen Mother changed her mind and asked Cai Kun to issue a secret order, asking her to come to Yonghui to investigate the case of the evil ghost eating people.
perhaps……
Xu Zun wondered in his heart, was the Queen Mother gambling with herself?
If Xu Zun cannot figure out the whole story after arriving in Yonghui, then let Tao Lang continue with the previous plan.
But what if Xu Zun really figured out the evil ghost case and was able to stop Tao Lang's plan in time, then ... everything would be different, right?
Of course, without any real evidence, Xu Zun's decision to set fire to the Suanni ghost was also a gamble.
I just don't know if I can win the bet...
