Deputy General Sun then made his request to the judge, who was always a reasonable person. Soon after, two yamen runners carried up the storyteller, who was still motionless with his eyes closed.

The judge nodded in acknowledgment, and the two bailiffs placed the stretcher carrying the person on the ground.

Deputy General Sun went over and checked the man's breathing; it was perfectly normal. He then felt the artery in his neck, which was also beating strongly and rhythmically.

He couldn't help but curse inwardly at this man's pretense, but then a thought suddenly struck him. Deputy General Sun, feigning concern, rubbed his hands together and said, "Oh dear, this person's symptoms seem ordinary, but he actually suffers from a hidden ailment..."

"Is he like this now because you beat him?"

The judge leaned forward, looked at the person on the stretcher, and asked, "Do you have a way to wake them up?"

"What a coincidence! My family has been practicing medicine for generations. This is a case we can give it a try. If the person wakes up, it will clear my name."

Deputy General Sun also started spouting nonsense, looking completely confident.

The storyteller, who was pretending to be unconscious, heard all of this clearly. He couldn't help but wonder what Deputy General Sun was up to, that he actually claimed to have a hidden illness.

Thinking of this, the storyteller couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Could it be that he really had some kind of illness that the storyteller had discovered?

But then he quickly dismissed the guess. Didn't he know whether he was sick or not? That person was clearly talking nonsense and was just trying to stall for time.

No, I've given the orders from above, and I've already taken the money. I have to get things done no matter what.

The storyteller secretly made up his mind that no matter what the other person did, he had to hold on and absolutely could not wake up!

Just then, he heard Deputy General Sun ask the judge to prepare a few things for him. He asked for a piece of cloth and a basin of clean water.

Now he was even more puzzled, wondering what the man wanted these things for, but he was too lazy to think about it. So he closed his eyes even tighter. Anyway, he couldn't see his surroundings now, so he could only take it one step at a time.

Soon, Deputy General Sun had prepared everything he needed. He walked over to the storyteller, squatted down, rolled up his sleeves, picked up a piece of cloth, soaked it in water, wrung it out, folded the half-wet cloth twice, and placed it on the storyteller's face.

The storyteller felt a sudden chill on his face, and his body trembled involuntarily. Although it was a very subtle movement, it still did not escape the eyes of Deputy General Sun.

This person was indeed faking death!

Deputy General Sun was overjoyed, but then became somewhat annoyed. He had been completely fooled by this man and even treated like a criminal during interrogation. It seemed he would have to teach him a lesson!

Thinking this, Deputy General Sun reached out and folded the piece of cloth again. The cloth was originally thick and stiff, and after being folded several times, it became a square piece of cloth.

Lieutenant General Sun picked up the piece of cloth, wet it with water, and then placed it over the man's mouth and nose.

The storyteller first felt a lightness on his face, then felt something blocking his nose and mouth, making it difficult to breathe, and water slowly flowing into his nostrils.

Now he could only keep exhaling, trying to keep the water from flowing into his nostrils, but because of the cloth covering him, he could only exhale but not inhale, and soon he couldn't stand it anymore.

As he watched the face of the person on the stretcher turn from normal to purplish-red at a visible speed, Deputy General Sun couldn't help but smile to himself. It seemed the time was almost up.

Meanwhile, the storyteller was suffocating, feeling that if he didn't breathe soon, he would really be going to meet the King of Hell, and his body was trembling involuntarily due to lack of oxygen.

Everyone stared intently at the movements of Deputy General Sun, unable to understand what was going on. Could a piece of cloth and a basin of water really revive someone?

The answer is obviously no, but for someone pretending to be dead, these things are enough.

The person on the stretcher suddenly moved. With a wave of his hand, he threw the cloth covering his face far away, then straightened up halfway and gasped for breath. His face, which had turned purple from lack of oxygen, gradually returned to normal.

He's finally alive!

The storyteller greedily inhaled the air, realizing that all that money he had received hadn't been for nothing; he had actually suffered so much!

Everyone present, except for Deputy General Sun, was shocked and stared in disbelief at the storyteller who had regained consciousness, feeling as if it were all a magic trick.

The judge was the first to react. He slammed his hand on the table and said sternly, "Zhao Cai, do you know what has happened?"

Zhao Cai was the storyteller's name. When he heard the judge's question, he was taken aback at first, then he knelt on the ground, nodding and saying, "Greetings, Your Honor! I know everything, but I beg Your Honor to grant me justice!"

Looking at the sycophantic man beside him, Deputy General Sun felt a surge of disgust, realizing he had been too lenient and should have punched him a few more times.

"Since you want me to make the decision, then tell me what exactly happened?"

After receiving a response, Zhao Cai recounted the key points of what had happened in the teahouse.

The so-called key point was to exaggerate the atrocities committed against him by Deputy General Sun, turning himself into a complete victim. When he got excited, Zhao Cai even pretended to cry and plead his innocence. He was truly a storyteller who made a living by telling stories, and he acted so well!

"I'm just a storyteller, I don't know what I did to offend him, he beat me half to death, and I just woke up..."

To emphasize the seriousness of the situation, Zhao Cai specifically explained that he had genuinely fainted.

"You're talking nonsense! You were faking it all just now. If I hadn't cut off your lifeline, you probably wouldn't have woken up until next year!"

After hearing Zhao Cai's words, Deputy General Sun was furious. This man was really lying through his teeth without even thinking!

"Fine, so you really are using this as an excuse to settle a personal score. You're using the pretext of waking me up to try and smother me with a rag. That way, you can get away with it because there's no evidence against you!"

After saying this, Zhao Cai started to cry again, begging the judge to help him and to severely punish the person who committed the poison.

Upon hearing these words, Deputy General Sun almost burst out laughing. This Zhao Cai was truly clever all his life but foolish for a moment. He was too eager to convict himself, and as a result, he sold himself out.