Chapter 94 Why do you force me?
In front of the fortune-telling stall.
The old man's face was full of surprise.
That's not right!
The last time I read this person's fortune, he only had about three months left to live. How come in just over half a month, his life span has more than doubled...
How come you're living longer and longer?
Although fate is not set in stone, the vast majority of people in this world do not have the ability to change their destiny.
Or maybe he encountered some great opportunity in the past half month, which changed his fate.
Or there could be a high-level Yin-Yang master who was willing to sacrifice his own life to change his fate and extend his life by another half a year.
Whichever it was, it made him deeply curious about this young man.
The old man looked at the young man again and secretly memorized that handsome face in his mind.
…
After leaving the Ministry of Justice, Li Nuo returned to the Song family with regret.
After all this effort, Li Yuan was still not brought to justice.
Who would have thought that even after being sentenced to death, he could still take out a golden medal to avoid death.
After Song Yu knew this, he also sighed and said, "I knew it wouldn't be so easy to bring him down. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be the second-class marquis in the future. By then, even if he commits murder again, he can easily be dealt with with his title..."
Returning to the small courtyard with his wife, Li Nuo sat on the stone bench, feeling very depressed.
But he really had no choice.
This is a feudal dynasty, and the existence of a privileged class is inevitable.
To deal with these privileged classes, one must become a higher privileged class.
The vast majority of powerful Legalists fell during this process due to backlash from the privileged class.
Although I haven't entered the country yet, I have already encountered the same problem as them.
Whether it is redeeming a sentence, using a title to atone for a crime, or the existence of a golden medal for immunity from death, it is a huge obstacle on the path of cultivation for Legalist disciples.
Over the years, countless Legalist and Confucian predecessors have worked hard to eliminate or reduce the scope of these privileges and implemented various reforms, but each time with little success.
The group of dignitaries and officials is too large.
The officials in the court are not only the makers of laws, but also the class with vested interests.
There are occasionally individuals who betray their class, but there is no class that betrays its class.
Li Yuan's arrogant face sometimes appeared in his mind.
That night, even though his wife was by his side, Li Nuo still tossed and turned and couldn't sleep.
At the Yunyang Marquis Mansion, Li Yuan was also so angry that he couldn't sleep.
Today's incident seemed like he won.
In fact, he lost miserably.
Not only did he receive a severe beating, but the only gold medal of immunity from death treasured in his family was also used up.
I don't know how Li Nuo hooked up with Princess An Ning. If he falls into their hands again next time, he might really die unless his father immediately passes the title to him, or he lowers his title or gets pardon.
It is almost impossible to get a pardon. His Majesty is obsessed with Taoism. The court officials never see him, and he rarely interferes in the affairs of the court.
Then he could only lower his own title.
In order to reduce the number of nobles and save treasury expenses, the imperial court encouraged the nobles to do so.
But the title is passed down from one generation to the next. If one takes the initiative to downgrade his title, he will lose his privileges more quickly and become a commoner.
Lying in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, Li Yuan began to think about how he had offended Li Nuo.
Prince Ji loves beauties, all kinds of beauties. The more unique, the more he likes them.
He heard that there was a girl named Yuanyang in Yuyin Pavilion who was not only proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also well versed in military strategy. He thought that Prince Ji would definitely like her, so he wanted to present the beauty to please Prince Ji.
However, the woman was unwilling, and someone stood up for him, so he gave him a lesson. He didn't expect that person to be Li Nuo's relative.
They were all children of the rich and powerful, and they had all bowed their heads, but Li Nuo didn't give them face and insisted on taking them to the county government to be interrogated.
Of course he would not go, and according to the law he was exempted from punishment by paying silver, but the process was not very polite, which angered Li Nuo, who beat him up...
Later, he became so angry that he asked his father to join several powerful people in writing a letter to cut off his path to becoming a legalist.
Li Nuo was furious and wanted to use that old case to kill him.
In fact, if you think about it calmly, Li Yuan feels that both of them are wrong.
Li Nuo shouldn't be so unreasonable and he shouldn't speak in a sarcastic way.
This was originally a trivial matter, but it ended up like this, resulting in a lose-lose situation for both parties.
If I have to blame someone, I'd blame that Yuanyang girl.
If she hadn't refused at first, all would have been well.
Prince Ji got the beauty, Li Nuo continued to practice his Legalism, and his own golden medal of immunity from death was still there, so how could it have ended up like this?
It’s all because of that ungrateful bitch!
Li Yuan was so angry that he couldn't sleep. He sat up from the bed and shouted, "Zhao Ji."
A figure ran in from outside and asked respectfully, "Master, what can I do for you?"
…
It's late at night.
Yuyin Pavilion.
What happened in Yuyin Pavilion yesterday involved the sons of two of Chang'an's most powerful nobles. In just one day, the news spread throughout Chang'an's upper class circles.
Before today, Yuyin Pavilion was just an unknown music hall in Chang'an.
It is called a music house, but in fact it is just a more sophisticated brothel.
It’s just that the girls in this kind of place are younger, prettier, and have more talents than those in ordinary brothels.
The guests here can only listen to music and drink tea, and cannot have any further relationship with the girls.
But this is just an appearance. In fact, as long as you are willing to spend money, there is no girl you can't take away.
On the surface, it is an elegant place for listening to music and drinking tea, but secretly it is a place where thieves and prostitutes gather.
But this Yuyin Pavilion is somewhat different from other places.
The eldest son of the Yunyang Marquis family offered a high price of three thousand taels, but failed to successfully take the girl away, which naturally aroused the curiosity of countless people.
This is the first time I have seen a music group with such a bottom line.
This directly resulted in the number of guests coming to Yuyin Pavilion today being several times more than usual.
It was already late at night, just after midnight, and all was quiet.
The lights in the music hall, which was bustling during the day, have been turned off.
At this moment, a figure nimbly crossed the wall of the backyard of Yuyin Pavilion and landed on the ground silently.
This is the backyard of Yuyin Pavilion. In one corner of the yard is a flower bed. The whole yard is filled with a faint floral fragrance.
Zhao Ji took a few deep breaths of the fragrance and walked slowly in the yard without making any noise under his feet.
Soon, he came to a small building, jumped lightly, and flew into the air, climbing onto the window sill of a window on the second floor.
Then he took out a bamboo tube from his arms, poked a hole in the window paper, and slowly blew a puff of smoke into the room.
After waiting for a while, Zhao Ji placed his hand under the window frame and easily opened the window from the outside. He climbed into the window easily and landed silently.
This set of movements was so familiar and smooth because he had done it countless times.
The name of the martial arts he practiced was "Stealing Fragrance and Jade".
The true Qi cultivated by this set of exercises is not known for its strength. He cannot defeat anyone at the same level.
But when it comes to stealing ladies, he believes that even masters of the fourth realm cannot compare to him. He can conceal all his true energy, knock the young ladies of wealthy families unconscious, steal them out of the house, and then send them back quietly after the young master has enjoyed them.
If the young master is not feeling well one day, he still has time to enjoy himself.
He also enjoyed a lot of the so-called prostitutes who sold their art but not their bodies with the young master.
The woman, who was no longer a virgin, woke up the next day without noticing anything.
Even those virgins, after their virginity is broken, will only doubt whether they did it accidentally.
With the help of this skill, he has been able to steal countless beauties over the years and has never failed.
There was a woman lying on the bed in this room, already unconscious.
Zhao Ji walked slowly to the bedside without making any sound. Just as he was about to pick up the woman on the bed, he suddenly felt dizzy, as if the whole world began to spin and his body shook involuntarily.
"Are you feeling dizzy? It's normal to feel dizzy. Relax, it will be fine in a while..."
A voice came from my ear, and the woman on the bed sat up without knowing when.
Before Zhao Ji completely lost consciousness and fell heavily to the ground, he seemed to see her smiling at him in the dark.
…
Song Mansion.
Li Nuo got up very late today.
Because he fell asleep very late yesterday.
He was not a broad-minded person. Those old men had undermined his wife's confidence in studying. More than ten years later, he had to vent his anger for her.
This time he was the one who suffered a loss, and the key was that he had no way to fight back. This made him even more uncomfortable, and he suffered from rare insomnia until the second half of the night.
Song Muer walked in from outside and saw Li Nuo eating breakfast. She asked in surprise: "Brother Li Nuo, aren't you going out today?"
Li Nuo waved his hand and said, "I won't go out anymore. I won't go out every day from now on."
He was judging cases illegally in the first place, and after being banned by the court, he could no longer go to the county government.
The same goes for the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple. Although Li Nuo believes that his father should be able to allow him to continue to improve the Legalist school in secret, doing so covertly is not a long-term solution.
Fortunately, he had enough time left to live, probably about two hundred and thirty days.
During this period, if he could solve a few more cases, he felt that if he could hold on for a year, there shouldn't be any major problems.
The imperial examination will be held in half a year. If he can pass the exam and become a Jinshi, he will be able to try cases openly.
Butler Wu went to help him prepare materials for the imperial examination. Li Nuo made an appointment with Mu'er to go fly a kite with her later.
Halfway through breakfast, I saw County Captain Wang running into the yard in a hurry.
Before Li Nuo could ask, he panted and said, "Sir, the government received a report today that a tragedy had occurred in the city. A family of six was killed overnight..."
Li Nuo didn't even bother to eat breakfast, he stood up and immediately said, "Let's go!"
Although he can no longer try the case, it does not affect the investigation.
As long as it is a case he solves himself, his life span will be increased no matter who judges the case.
Both the Song Mansion and the Li Mansion are located in the northeast of Chang'an City, which is where the powerful and wealthy in Chang'an gather. The crime scene this time is in the southwest corner of Chang'an. The carriage drove for a long time before it stopped.
Li Nuo couldn't wait to jump off the carriage, and saw a group of dilapidated houses in front of him.
Li Nuo thought that Han Zhuo and Zhou Hao's families were poor enough.
But this place is obviously poorer. There is not even a decent road, and there are only crisscrossing alleys everywhere.
The densely packed houses were in a dilapidated state, and the stinking ditches on the roadside emitted an unpleasant smell.
Several children in ragged clothes and with dirty faces hid far away behind the low and dilapidated courtyard wall, looking at them with curiosity and fear.
When the carriage reached the entrance of the alley, it could no longer go in.
The constable from the county government arrived here first.
The crime scene was located at the deepest part of this neighborhood.
Li Nuo was almost dizzy in the alley. If it weren't for the victim's neighbors leading the way, they might not be able to find the place on their own.
After a while, the group stopped in front of a courtyard gate.
The gate to the courtyard was wide open, and everyone could smell an extremely strong smell of blood just by standing at the door.
An old constable with a pale face stood outside the door and said to Li Nuo: "Sir, there is blood in the yard... please think carefully whether you want to go in."
When Li Nuo stepped into the yard, the first thing he saw was a ground dyed red.
Six figures knelt in a neat row on the ground facing the gate.
They all have no brains.
The heads of two elderly people, a middle-aged couple, and a pair of children were scattered randomly on the ground.
Their faces still retained the expressions of fear before death.
His eyes, filled with blood and tears, stared at everyone.
Li Nuo's body trembled. This time the impact was greater than the last time when the two charred corpses were hit.
He turned his head subconsciously without taking a second look.
Wang County Lieutenant also looked pale, but he still walked forward slowly. After carefully checking the scene, he took a deep breath, and said to Li Nuo with a look of shock in his eyes: "The six members of this family were beheaded at the same time. The murderer only attacked once, and chopped off the heads of six people with one sword...
The cut on the neck is too smooth. This is not something that an ordinary weapon can do. The murderer is a high-level warrior above the fourth level. This is a wound caused by sword energy!"
His face was filled with shock, and he murmured, "This family is just ordinary people. Which martial arts expert would attack such poor people?"
Li Nuo was also surprised. He didn't expect that this was another case involving a high-level warrior.
He had some of the same doubts as County Lieutenant Wang.
Why would a warrior of the fourth realm use such cruel means against a few ordinary people?
He was planning to find the family's neighbors to inquire about the situation and see if they had offended any important person.
At this time, County Lieutenant Wang seemed to have remembered something. He looked at the bodies of several people and suddenly said, "Cut off the heads in an instant. This method seems familiar. I seem to have seen it somewhere..."
After being reminded by County Lieutenant Wang, Li Nuo also felt that this method of killing was very familiar, and he quickly remembered where this familiarity came from.
The charred, headless male corpse of Wang Ma's lover had his head chopped off with a sharp weapon before he died.
Li Nuo once thought that the case was committed by someone sent by his father.
Later he gradually realized that it must be the person behind Wang Ma who killed her to silence her.
If the murderer behind this bizarre murder case is the same person who killed Wang Ma...
So.
Li Nuo's expression suddenly changed.
It’s broken, it’s coming towards me!
This family murder case was just a bait!
He was fished!
Before Li Nuo could give a reminder, Butler Wu and the four grey-robed old men all changed color at the same time.
They instantly protected Li Nuo in the middle, and the true energy in their bodies surged out, protecting Li Nuo and Wang Xianwei, who was closest to him.
Several sharp sword energies came from different directions.
All the sword energy was blocked by a layer of true energy shield, and Li Nuo and County Lieutenant Wang were unharmed.
But the old constable who was standing a little further away and not within the shield was not so lucky.
He was hit by the sword energy, one of his arms was cut off at the root, and he fell to the ground groaning in pain.
Butler Wu and others had no time to pay attention to him, their eyes were fixed on the seven men in black who suddenly appeared in the yard.
Without exception, all seven of them are warriors of the fourth realm.
Why are there so many martial arts masters here?
This place is located in a slum, far away from the prosperous area of Chang'an. Even the imperial guards will not patrol here. This is a carefully planned attack against them!
There were seven people on the opposite side, and they only had five, so they were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers.
Even though the five of them could fight against these seven people together, the most important thing was the young master's safety.
If anything happens to the young master, they will be held guilty even if they kill all seven of them.
Butler Wu acted decisively, grabbed Li Nuo's shoulders and quickly retreated out of the yard.
The four old men in gray blocked the courtyard gate tacitly to prevent the men from chasing them.
But there were only four of them, and even with their best efforts, they could only stop five.
The other two easily crossed the courtyard wall and chased in the direction where Li Nuo and Butler Wu disappeared.
In the narrow alley, Butler Wu, carrying Li Nuo on his back, could feel two auras approaching quickly from behind.
He was carrying the young master on his back and had difficulty moving, so it was only a matter of time before he would be caught up by them.
Fighting one against two, he could barely hold on for a while, but he definitely couldn't take care of the young master.
He decisively put Li Nuo down, pointed in a direction, and said in a deep voice: "Master, run quickly. After this corner, there is a carriage in front. Get on the carriage and run eastward. You will be safe when you meet the imperial guards!"
Without time to say more, he turned around and greeted the two men.
Li Nuo also knew that he was just a hindrance, so he ran in the direction that Butler Wu pointed.
After running around a corner, I saw a carriage parked at the entrance of the alley.
He ran faster, but halfway through, he slowly stopped.
At the entrance of the alley, a figure in black seemed to be waiting for something.
There’s one more!
Li Nuo's eyelids were twitching wildly, but he had no time to think. He changed direction instantly and ran towards an alley next to him.
After running a few steps, he stopped again.
He looked at a wall at the end of the alley, a look of helplessness on his face.
Damn, dead end.
The wall is not high, even Muer can jump over it easily.
But he is not Muer.
My wife isn't around either.
When he turned around, the man in black had already appeared at the entrance of the alley.
The man in black drew out the long knife in his hand.
As a martial arts master of the fourth realm, he doesn't need any weapons to kill an ordinary person.
He drew the knife only to make it easier to cut off his head later.
Although the employer has never required this, it is a basic quality for a killer.
Watching the man in black slowly walk into the alley.
Li Nuo sighed deeply.
Not long after, two muffled sounds were heard in the deep alley.
Deep in the alley, the man in black leaned against the wall, his eyes wide open, looking up at the sky above his head.
Even though he was dead, his eyes were still open.
His eyes before death were full of confusion and shock.
On his chest, two concave palm prints were clearly visible.
One palm print was covered with frost, while the other palm print was charred black.
Li Nuo leaned against the wall, looking at the killer, and said angrily, "I just want to investigate a case. Why are you forcing me to do this?"
[ps: Some readers are asking why there is one chapter per day now. Let me explain quietly here that the total number of words in one chapter and two chapters per day is almost the same, but sometimes they are published separately, and sometimes they are published together. The number of words updated every day will definitely be more than 5,000, sometimes 6,000 or 7,000, and occasionally 10,000. The number of words in each chapter is mainly determined by the plot nodes, and we will not deliberately stick to a fixed number...]
(End of this chapter)
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