That’s right, it means “holding”, the kind that means tying up tightly!

Liu Sheng took a deep breath, his expression filled with shock and doubt: "Madam, how can you be so rude to the master?"

Madam Xi sneered and threw the Taoist-dressed swindler to the ground amidst the supplies with a thud. "Master, we were hunting geese, but they pecked our eyes. We've fallen for this scumbag! If it weren't for the Su family's young lady's alertness, our little capital would have been swindled away!"

"But... my legs are indeed getting better." Although he knew that his wife would not speak nonsense, Liu Sheng really felt that his legs were no longer numb and weak as before.

After hearing what Liu Sheng said, Mrs. Xi was a little skeptical.

The liar, who was lying on the ground, saw that Xi Niangzi and Liu Sheng, the two leaders, began to waver. His eyes lit up and he was about to stand up to make sense of it.

However, his hands were now handcuffed behind his back and tied tightly, so he could only crawl on the ground like a worm.

He looked up and was about to say something when Su Qingluan's voice drowned him out: "Uncle Liu, I don't know what's wrong with your leg. It's best to let the doctor from Huichuntang treat it. But this guy is definitely a liar!"

As she spoke, she took out the "talisman paper" that had been dipped in lye water and turned bright red. "This paper has been tampered with. When it comes into contact with things like lye water, it will turn into this color similar to blood. Plus, he just played tricks, and he will be fooled if you are not careful!"

As Su Qingluan spoke, she pulled the peach wood sword off the liar's back and touched it. There was still a relatively damp part on it, so she scraped the part of the talisman in her hand that was not stained by the lye water against the peach wood sword.

In an instant, a thin red mark appeared on the place where the peach wood sword had scratched, as if it was stained with blood.

Su Qingluan sneered, "Sure enough, seeing how vigorously you danced with the sword just now, I'm afraid you sprayed the peach wood sword with something like baking soda! This way, whenever the peach wood sword slashes or stabs the talisman paper, it will create the effect of the talisman paper being 'cut and bleeding'. Of course, this is not something that can be accomplished easily. You really worked hard to deceive me!"

Unable to resist a sarcastic remark, Su Qingluan continued, "It's a pity that except for the two talisman papers I took away, you burned the rest. Otherwise, you could have tried using the others."

The con man began to sweat as he heard Su Qingluan's slow, measured words. But he was a seasoned veteran, and he had a certain amount of shamelessness. So, he remained stubborn and shouted, stiffening his neck, "Nonsense! I clearly purified that evil spirit!"

"Purification?" Su Qingluan sneered, "If what you mean by purification is to restore the talisman paper to its original yellow color—"

Su Qingluan brought in the bowl of white vinegar water and alkaline water that she had put aside to prevent them from spilling, and the three members of the Liu family sat in a row like elementary school students with a strong thirst for knowledge, waiting for the prizes of the "Little Sunflower Science Lecture Hall" to be announced.

Su Qingluan felt a little cute for a moment, but she quickly collected herself, picked up two bowls filled with clear liquid, and moved closer to smell them.

Well, the pungent thing is the white vinegar water.

So she dipped some white vinegar in water and dropped a few drops on the red talisman paper.

Soon, the red color on the talisman paper that was dripped with white vinegar gradually faded, revealing its original yellow color.

Su Qingluan looked up at the liar with a half-smile: "How is my 'purification' skill? Is it okay?"

Speaking of which…" Liu Yunniang suddenly realized, "This master… Ugh, this liar did just spit water on the talisman paper again!"

"I don't know how you changed the sprayed liquid, but the talisman is here, and the stolen money is also in your arms. Why don't we go see the officials together? The county magistrate is a great judge, he will definitely help us get to the bottom of this matter, right? Oh, and why did Uncle Liu's leg suddenly get worse? It must be your fault, right?"

How else could such a coincidence happen? Uncle Liu's legs were numb and weak, and this scammer "just happened" to come to him; now this scammer "just happened" to exorcise the evil spirit, and Uncle Liu's legs have healed.

How could a cure be so quick? Even if it was poison, it would take an hour or so to take effect, right?!

Unexpectedly, the liar played dumb and said, "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Don't know?" Su Qingluan sneered and took something out of her arms, "You'll know soon."