Chapter 354 Monster Hospital (Fifty-three)
"You said that he had a miserable end in every life. Was it because of his fate or because he lamented 'the injustice of heaven' at the beginning?"
Nan Huan was a little curious. Only two lives had passed, and he didn't know if it was because of the man's fate, or because of his previous sigh, that he always had a bad end. Nan Huan had not yet recovered his memory in this regard, but from the sporadic images shown to them by the system, they could not make out anything.
While she was curious, she didn't want to think too much, but she also felt that things couldn't be that simple. Although there were many people with miserable lives, it was not unusual for it to be like this for two consecutive lives.
"His fate is like this, so he is destined to lament the phrase 'the heaven is unfair'," Bei Xi figured out some meaning from Tiandao's words. "What I care more about is why the system shows us the lives he has experienced?"
"In order to make us make a choice," Nan Huan had never forgotten the side quest, "and this choice is likely to be related to the other party. The pictures we are seeing now are firstly my previous choices, so that I can be influenced by them. Secondly, the system may be interfering, or it may be to give us clues so that we can make the right choice when we face the choice later. Of course, I have reason to believe that this standard is just what the system thinks is 'striving for'."
Bei Xi touched Nan Huan's head and said, "Then don't think too much. Treat those scenes with a normal mind."
Soon, the scenes of this life disappeared from their eyes along with the last extinguished flame. The ups and downs of life wandered around. They didn't know how much time had passed before the scenes in front of their eyes finally slowed down and froze on a fiery red firecracker.
The crackling sounds, carrying blessings, were scattered among the shouts of the crowd.
"The county magistrate has taken office..."
Following a shout, the man riding a horse and wearing a red silk robe appeared at the city gate. His face had changed many times, but the black marks on his arms were as clear as ever.
Different from Nan Huan's complaints just now, at least this time, he was not born in a war-torn era, and did not have a very bad background and beginning. At least from the current situation, the other party has become a county magistrate, and can be considered a promising young man.
It was just this feeling, as if Nan Huan and Bei Xi were watching a movie that was destined to be a tragedy. They knew the ending of the story in advance, and when they looked back at the glorious mission, they always felt that there were huge hidden dangers behind this festive day.
But no one knew whether the system delayed the time intentionally or to create a sense of contrast at the climax, so the county magistrate's career was not too eventful, but he could indeed be called diligent and fair.
In this small county town, most of the things that had to be brought to court were petty thefts and trivial matters, but everyone was a neighbor in the same county, and in order to not offend each other, he still tried his best to mediate and strive to solve the problems. He also set aside one day every month to take officials from the government office to repair the houses of the lonely and helpless elderly.
Less than two years after taking office, his working style that takes the people into consideration has spread by word of mouth, and Dongyang County is also thriving. The county is not big, and life is not rich, but people have enough food and clothing, and they are harmonious. If nothing unexpected happens, Nanhuan and Beixi both think that there is nothing wrong with the other party living a peaceful life in this life.
But there are always exceptions. After some time, rumors came from outside the city that horrific murders had occurred in several surrounding counties. The victims were all women in secluded rooms, and the methods were cruel. Those women showed signs of being humiliated before they died. For a time, people were in a panic, and even the residents of Dongyang County closed their doors as soon as it got dark to avoid being affected.
At this time, the Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue happened to be on his way to inspect various places, and the next stop was Dongyang County. The county magistrate was afraid that something would happen at this time, which would inevitably endanger the people and disturb the Assistant Minister, so he arranged for the yamen runners to take turns to guard the city gates and patrol after nightfall every day. At first, everything was peaceful, and the people thought that they might be imagining things and were scared by a few groundless words. Besides, Dongyang County was so small that the tofu seller in the east and the teahouse owner in the west were all related by marriage for three generations. They were all relatives who saw each other every day. How could there be such a cruel person?
Besides, those horrific murders were reported from other places. As long as the city gates were closed and irrelevant people were not allowed in, there would be no danger. What's more, the county magistrate sent people to guard the city gates and patrol every day, so everyone gradually put their minds at ease. But who knew that an accident happened at this time.
When the county magistrate was woken up from his bed, he was completely dazed. He pinched himself twice before he could hear clearly what the master had just said, "The proprietress of Nanyue Inn was murdered. The murderer was the boss. He was caught on the spot, and he was caught red-handed. Now he is in jail."
He was shocked when he heard this, because the government office was old and it was not convenient to accommodate the Minister to stay, so they simply arranged for him to rest in Nanyue Inn. He had been staying there for so many days without any problem, so how could something happen suddenly? Besides, the owner of Nanyue Inn, Ms. Sun, and his wife, Ms. Sun Wang, were very loving and were a legend in the surrounding area. How could Mr. Sun kill someone?
The county magistrate was still catching his breath when he asked, "Did I disturb the Minister?"
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by the master, "The Minister, he, he, he... just got up at night and saw Boss Sun killing someone. The Minister's guards were all witnesses to the murder and are waiting for you..."
In such a small place, the slightest noise would cause unrest among the whole people. Not long after the murder, all the lights in the whole county were turned on. The county magistrate came to the hall trembling, only to see the covered body of the proprietress and the blood-stained collar of the minister's clothes.
"My Lord, what's going on?"
He steadied his voice and asked in one breath, sweat already breaking out on his forehead. If a murder like this happened while he was on patrol, he might be accused of poor governance. Moreover, the incident happened at the other person's residence, not only disturbing people, but the other person also became a witness. Before he asked anything, he felt cold sweat on his forehead.
"Oh, it's nothing. It was just that the situation was urgent and I happened to know some medical skills. I wanted to see if I could save the young lady, so there were some blood stains on my clothes. But it's a pity..."
Clearly he was asking about the circumstances of the crime and whether the other party was frightened, but as soon as the other party opened his mouth, he started to explain the reason for the bloodstains on his collar, which made the county magistrate a little strange.
After all, ordinary people don't often come into contact with murder cases, and even during his long tenure, the few corpses he had come into contact with were all deaths from natural causes or accidents. He had never seen such a fresh murder case. After entering the court, he only dared to glance at the covered body of the proprietress, but the Minister did not show any fear. He witnessed the murder case but did not feel nervous at all. Could it be because the Minister was a high-ranking official from the capital and was knowledgeable?
But the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue should not be involved in murder cases, right?
"Mr. County Magistrate? Mr. County Magistrate?" The Minister of Revenue raised his voice slightly. Seeing that the other party had finally come to his senses, the impatient look on his face had already subsided. "I got up at night and happened to see Boss Sun killing his wife. The noise was a bit loud at the time. My guards came to stop him and accidentally injured Boss Sun. He has been imprisoned now. Mr. County Magistrate, don't panic. Just close the case as soon as possible."
He didn’t know if the last sentence was the county magistrate’s illusion, but he always felt like he heard something else.
But he still carefully bowed to the Minister, "Your Excellency is frightened, you can go and rest first, it is not appropriate to go to the inn for the time being. I have ordered people to clean up the house in the government office, please make do with it for the time being. I will send the body of the boss's wife to the coroner's room first, and examine the body after dawn. When Boss Sun regains consciousness, I will ask him again. When the time comes, I will trouble you to testify."
Bei Xi, who was watching all this from a distance, sighed, "This is a very perfect statement. Considering his background and vision in this life, it is not easy for him to achieve this."
For the first time, an expression of disgust flashed across Bei Xi's face, as if she already knew what was going to happen next, but because she couldn't skip it, she could only watch things develop in an uncontrollable direction, so she felt a little annoyed.
"If he had the same background as that minister, he would have probably understood the other party's hint just now, but Dongyang County is too small. People here just want to live their own lives. There are no complicated interpersonal relationships, let alone the twists and turns of officialdom, so he doesn't know how to deal with this kind of official."
Nan Huan also sighed. She and Bei Xi wanted to treat everything in front of them as a movie, just watch it easily and not care about anything. However, they could not do that because they knew that the people in the picture in front of them had all existed in real life. Such bureaucrats who existed only to govern the place did exist. In the history books and in the administration of officials, there would not be any record of them, and they did not have any political achievements to sing praises of. However, in the eyes of the people in the small Dongyang County, they were the parents of the government.
"Mr. County Magistrate, do you still need an autopsy?" As expected, after the county magistrate said that, the minister's face looked very ugly, and when he spoke again, his tone was somewhat accusatory, but he was suppressing the anger in his heart. Especially when he looked down at the bloodstains on his collar, he was very annoyed, and there was a flash of displeasure in his eyes.
"Ah?" The county magistrate did not understand the minister's meaning at all. He thought that this was a belated accusation against him for his lax governance. He bowed respectfully and said, "Yes, this murder has occurred in the area under my jurisdiction. I cannot escape the blame. I will investigate it carefully."
He bent his waist and lowered his head, and hurriedly promised, but he didn't notice that as he finished his words, the minister's face became more and more ugly. In the end, he only said in a low voice, "Then I will wait and see what the county magistrate can do."
Before leaving, he did not forget to wink at the guards around him.
“Is there no way to save it?” Nan Huan asked this question while looking at the expression of the county magistrate who had survived a disaster. A thought popped up in his mind. He felt very tired after watching the situation in this third life. How did she watch the things happening in this world every day before? After seeing so much, wouldn’t her heart become harder and harder?
Bei Xi didn't know what she was thinking. Hearing this, he just shook his head silently. "There is no chance. That Boss Sun must have accidentally run into the crime scene of the Minister, so he was spared. He must have wanted to pin all the previous unsolved cases on him. If the county magistrate can notice this, he can pretend to agree and make long-term plans after the other party leaves. After all, he has no advantage in terms of witnesses or physical evidence. The other party is still a Minister with a much higher official rank than him. Even if the other party confesses his guilt, it is his turn to judge him."
Unfortunately, the county magistrate could not hear what Bei Xi said. It was already late at night. When he saw the proprietress's body enter the coroner's room, the white cloth on her face was lifted, and he was met with horrifying eyes.
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