“Are you an official?” Jiang Liu looked at the petrified officer.
The officer was terrified and dared not refuse to answer, “I am not an official, just a civil servant. I have never harmed the villagers of Wu Village. I was only sent by the prefect to invite Wu Qigu to the wedding banquet...”
"Are you an associate of Liu villain?" Jiang Liu flashed a brilliant insight.
The officer was confused: "Liu villain? Who is this Liu villain?"
Jiang Liu didn't explain and pressed on with his question, "Why does the prefect want to invite this scoundrel to a wedding banquet? You must speak everything you know!"
The officer dared not to conceal it.
He immediately told everything.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu was puzzled: "How is it that after all these bigwigs achieve success and glory, they all want to marry beautiful wives? And they all want to throw grand banquets as if they're afraid that others won't know about it."
This is the case with the wolf, who is unscrupulous.
The traitor Liu is also the same.
However, this traitor Liu is even more extravagant than the wolf. He has already married countless concubines, and he leads a life of luxury and charm in his everyday life.
The money for the banquet of that scoundrel must also have been obtained through preying on the people and forcing the people to give up their tax revenues.
It's this scoundrel who has stolen his Jiang Liu'er's life as an official's son!
"You, take us to Liu villain's private office." Jiang Liu stated decisively.
The officer wanted to cry but had no tears left: "I don't know the traitor Liu!"
"It's the prefect himself!" Jiang Liu said.
"But the prefect's surname is Chen..." The officer was shocked.
Jiang Liu's eyebrow shot up.
The officer's face turned pale, and he hurriedly changed his words, "The prefect is the traitor Liu! It's Liu villain! Please don't kill me, I'll lead you to the traitor's private residence!"
As they walked out of the mansion with the lifeless official, they saw many villagers gathering.
Seeing Jiang Liu holding his sword, his clothes stained with blood, and his fiery demeanor, they guessed that he had killed Wu Qigu, praising Jiang Liu highly for killing him.
Jiang Liu immediately said, "Don't talk carelessly. If you haven't seen me kill him with your own eyes, don't say it was me."
Killing someone is punishable by beheading.
Jiang Liu is cutting the Karma, not people.
Some villagers wept with gratitude, calling out that they finally waited for the just judge to come, as they had been oppressed by Wu Qigu to the point where they dared not straighten their backs.
Some villagers begged Jiang Liu to stay, worried that without Wu Qigu, there might be a Wu VIII.
Jiang Liu has a grudge to settle, how can he stay?
Jiang Liu said, "I am not some just judge. I am also a citizen of the Tang Dynasty. I am only a little braver than all of you uncles and aunts, daring to wield a sword to seek justice for others. If all of you were brave enough to wield swords for justice, scoundrels like this would have long since disappeared."
Some villagers sighed and asked, "What if we can't beat him with a sword?"
Jiang Liu said, "Then don't fight alone. Pull ten brave people, and the evil henchmen are not to be feared. Pull one hundred brave people, and the evil person will be scared away. If there are one thousand people, the official house will decide to kill the evil person before you start."
The villagers could not help but exchange glances with each other.
The official was about to wet his pants. "This young lad seems to be teaching people how to rebel!"
Qing Shou understood the first two sentences, but couldn't grasp the latter ones. So he asked, "Why will the government kill the scoundrel if a thousand people gather?"
Jiang Liu explained, "If they don't kill the scoundrel to calm the public's anger, then it will be the officials who die."
Qing Shou was shocked all at once, "Brother, your knowledge is indeed profound. I am enlightened."
Jiang Liu sheathed his sword and said, "I just thought it myself. If one day I also become an official, if I lose my original heart and bully the people, causing similar public anger, I can use this plan to save my life."
Qing Shou didn't believe it: "Brother, you draw your sword to cut off the karma when you hear of a scoundrel harming others. With such a determined heart, how could you bully the people?"
Jiang Liu felt a bit uneasy.
He had really thought about becoming a monk, but if he couldn't, he wanted to be a dog official like the county magistrate.
After politely refusing the villagers' gifts, the two, along with the fox, and the villagers together disposed of the crime scene where "due to an unknown reason, nearly a dozen family members had their heads separated from their bodies."
As Jiang Liu put it, they were all together covering up the crime scene, and as co-conspirators, they wouldn't betray us.
……
Afterward, they left Wu Village and, under the guidance of the officer, ventured into the most bustling area of Jiangzhou.
However, the place that had been ravaged for twelve years, no matter how bustling it may be, still gave off a feeling of death and lifelessness.
The officials paid no heed to the three gates of the city, allowing people from all walks of life to come and go freely. Even if they encountered suspicious individuals, they would not stop and question them for a moment.
Jiang Liu saw a transformed monster, which had made only a simple disguise, and it strutted confidently into the city with a smile.
On the other hand, those who appeared to be honest and straightforward civilians would often be stopped and questioned by the officials.
Jiang Liu was stopped, and the officers asked them for the entry fee. One person needed thirty copper coins.
Hu Yuyu widened her beautiful eyes: "I'm not blind. Just now, there was a monster entering the city, and you didn't charge them anything. Why do we have to pay thirty copper coins to enter? That's enough to buy a chicken on the ground!"
The officials said, "If you don't pay, you can't enter."
The officer accompanying Jiang Liu almost wet himself in fear. He was well aware that the seemingly innocent young man was a killing monster.
The officer was afraid that angering the city guards might cause him to be implicated.
He quickly stepped forward and said, "Brother, we are together. I have a token from the prefect, granted personally by him."
The officials immediately knew they had hit an iron wall upon seeing the token.
They put on a new face.
They lowered their heads respectfully and let people enter the city.
Hu Yuyu gave the officers a scornful glance, muttering angrily after entering the city: "If this person had been more brave to stand up to Fox Granny, I would have shown him that the foxes in Fenglong Mountain are not to be messed with."
Jiang Liu said, "When the top is crooked, the bottom is askew. There would be so many bad officials if there were not first bad leaders."
Qing Shou frowned and said, "Brother, I can feel the strong presence of evil spirits in the city of Jiangzhou. I have heard that the more corrupt and chaotic a place is, the easier it is for demons and evil spirits to arise. Jiangzhou might be the most chaotic place in Tang Dynasty."
"Now the Tang Dynasty is becoming better and better. Many states are not even visible to a single monster. Places like Wangxi Cave are already very rare, according to the junior apprentice, this place may be even more exaggerated than Wangxi Cave."
Under the trembling guidance of the officer.
They arrived at the private office of the Jiangzhou Prefect.
This private office is indeed magnificent. It is unclear how many people's fat was piled up to build it, nor how much people's blood it stained.
The officer spoke with the gatekeeper with a stiff face, then hurriedly conveyed the message to Jiang Liu: "Young master, Lord Chen... that Liu villain went to visit a mountain and enjoy the scenery with his new concubine who hasn't been married yet. We don't know where he went, but he should be back."
Jiang Liu said, "Don't worry, I have plenty of patience."
The officer saw Jiang Liu biting his teeth, taking out the sword and then putting it away repeatedly, which didn't look like someone who was not in a hurry at all.
"Young master, I've already led you here. I've never harmed anyone. I'm just a lowly official who delivers messages. Why don't you..."
The official summoned his courage, but it was not very big, so he didn't sound very confident in his question.
Jiang Liu waves his hand.
The officer was overjoyed: "Thank you, young master!"
Jiang Liu added, "But I don't know if you will report it to others, Xingqing. You help me keep an eye on him. After killing Liu Zui, there will be no need to keep an eye on him."
Qing Shou accepted the task.
The officer was dumbfounded. "Is this any different from not letting me go?"
"Elder Sir, what are you doing here?" Hu Yuyu suddenly saw Jiang Liu wandering around outside the private office.
Jiang Liu hesitated and said, "Liu Zui is on a mountain outing with his new concubine. This means that he has left the 'wife' at home, which is my mother. I want to see her, but I don't know how to face her..."
He is worried that he cannot muster any filial affection for his mother.
Hu Yuyu said, "Even if you don't know how to face her, you still have to see her. The reason your esteemed master has journeyed here over mountains and rivers is precisely for today."
Jiang Liu came to his senses.
He climbed over the wall directly.
...
...
