Chapter 213 The Old Turtle's Revenge
Dongfang Qi looked around, trying to find a way to get in.
At this moment, the old turtle's voice floated out from the umbrella: "The official sitting on the high platform is the county governor Li Wei who framed me back then!"
At that time, Li Wei was about thirty years old. After serving as a county governor for several years, he was transferred back to Luocheng. Now, he is a missionary ambassador appointed by the imperial court and holds the rank of third grade.
The so-called missionary work is actually the dissemination of the teachings of Guiyuan Sect. Occasionally, they will come out to inspect whether the people are devout to the Holy Sect.
At this moment, the missionary ambassador was sitting on the platform, observing everything around him with cold eyes.
After today's offering ceremony was over, he took the booklet handed to him by his subordinates and began to look through it.
Lin Qingyue looked up and saw that the minions of Guiyuan Sect were whispering to each other through the distance and the crowd.
The noise around her was too loud, affecting her hearing, so she closed her eyes and used only her spiritual sense to perceive everything around her.
She tuned out the noisy voices, and the voices of the two officials on the podium reached her ears clearly:
"Have you settled the matter of the boy and girl?"
"It's done. When the people heard that the boys chosen would be able to practice cultivation with you in the future, and after achieving enlightenment, their entire families would be able to practice and ascend to heaven, they all rushed to grab the spots. According to your request, a total of 52 boys and girls have been selected. We just need your approval, sir."
"After I review it and confirm that it is correct, you can be sent to the temple to serve the gods today."
"Yes, sir!"
"Just send it to my residence first, and it must be delivered after noon."
"Yes! I'll do it right away!"
…
Lin Qingyue narrowed her eyes slightly: "Since he is Old Turtle's enemy, let's settle both the old and new grudges at once."
Noon, Li Mansion.
Li Wei, wearing a majestic official uniform, sat in the living room of his home and looked up. He saw dozens of boys and girls kneeling below.
These boys and girls were dressed simply and it was obvious that they came from ordinary families.
The youngest was two or three years old, and the oldest was just over ten years old. They all had delicate features and were quite pretty.
The younger child was timid and frightened by the serious atmosphere around him. He sobbed softly and cried, "Mother, Mother."
The older ones are already sensible. They heard that if they are selected to join the temple, they can serve Guiyuan God and live a carefree life of cultivation from then on.
If one is gifted and favored by the gods, he or she may even be enlightened and become an immortal. Therefore, these older children are full of anticipation.
Li Wei asked, "How many people are under the age of six?"
The official in charge of the selection said, "Your Excellency, there are 20 boys and 20 girls under the age of six."
Li Wei said, "Take all the children under six years old away, bathe them, change their clothes, and then send them to the temple."
"yes!"
Once the 40 boys and girls left, the remaining 12 were all girls around 11 or 12 years old.
When they heard that they were not selected, their dreams of becoming immortals were completely shattered and the girls started crying.
Li Wei asked, "Why are you crying? Do you really want to enter the temple?"
The girls nodded in unison and knelt down again, begging the adults to give them another chance.
Li Wei said, "There will be a selection for divine servants in a while. Since you all want to join so badly, why don't you stay by my side and serve me first? If you perform well, I can make an exception and allow you to enter the temple without taking the test."
After hearing this, the girls all burst into laughter.
One of the girls, who was a bit more cautious, asked, "Are you serious, sir? How are we supposed to serve you then?"
Li Wei smiled and said, "You will understand soon. Go downstairs, take a shower and change clothes first, and then come back to serve me later."
Luocheng is full of shabby things, but the Li Mansion is extremely luxurious.
The courtyard here is modeled after the Jiangnan water style of the Central Plains Dynasty.
Inside, there are small bridges and flowing water, black tiles and white walls. Even the window screens are made of silver silk purchased at a high price from Qi State. Every inch of it is worth one gold and is extremely expensive.
But these are nothing to Li Wei.
In his early years, when he was a local official, he was extremely greedy and always found various excuses to extort money from the people.
Later, he joined the Guiyuan Sect, and wealth became even more readily available to him.
He didn't even need to find any reasons, as devout believers would voluntarily donate their wealth, and some even begged him to accept bribes in order to gain the temple's protection.
And today, taking advantage of the opportunity to select boys and girls for the gods, he also added new people to his harem.
He liked girls around eleven or twelve the most. They were just beginning to mature, tender and flawless, and were the perfect toys.
It doesn't matter if I accidentally kill a few.
Anyway, their families will not pursue the matter. They just think that their children are practicing in front of the gods and even take pride in it.
After lunch, he was ready to take a sweet nap with his fat belly, and taste the new girl at the same time.
With his shirt open, he leaned sideways on the couch. When he felt sleepy, his eyelids drooped heavily.
Suddenly, I heard the door being gently pushed open, and a wisp of refreshing fragrance slipped in through the gap and lingered on the tip of my nose.
Is it the servant who brought the new girl?
He lazily opened his eyelids and saw a woman in a black silk dress walking in with a crimson oil-paper umbrella.
In the backlight, she was surrounded by a hazy halo, her eyebrows and eyes were hidden in the shadows, and her true appearance could not be seen clearly. Only the red umbrella was particularly dazzling.
"Squeak--" The door closed and locked, blocking out the dazzling light, and the true face of the woman in black clothes was revealed before his eyes.
It turned out to be a stunning face that was so beautiful that Li Wei was stunned for a moment.
A moment later he suddenly realized what was happening and sat up abruptly: "Who are you?"
He remembered that the new girls were only eleven or twelve years old. Although they were all pure and charming, they did not have such peerless beauty.
"Someone come! Someone come!"
He shouted loudly, but no matter how he shouted, the servants guarding the courtyard seemed to be dead and could not hear his shouts.
"Why are you so nervous?"
Lin Qingyue smiled gently, and the bells under the crimson umbrella jingled, as if they were also smiling.
"Who the hell are you?"
No matter how beautiful a woman of unknown origin is, you should not take her lightly.
"You don't deserve to know who I am. I'm just here to bring an old friend back to you."
"Old friend? Who?"
"Look for yourself, do you remember him?"
"Ding Ding Dang Dang" accompanied by the singing of the soul-calling bell, a black shadow slowly condensed under the crimson oil-paper umbrella.
The shadow changed from virtual to real, and finally turned into an old man wearing a tattered official uniform and with a slightly hunched body.
Li Wei was so frightened by this scene that he fell to the ground and asked tremblingly, "Is this a human or a ghost?"
"You don't even recognize me?" The old turtle walked forward step by step so that he could see more clearly.
"I am Zhang Ping! Back then, you caused my innocent death, and then colluded with the Guiyuan Cult to murder the entire population of Ping'an Town. Now, the county magistrate actually... doesn't recognize me? Is it because you've harmed so many people and committed so many evil things that you don't even remember this one incident?"
When Li Wei heard the words "Ping'an Town" and looked at the old man under the umbrella, he suddenly remembered: "You are Zhang Ping, County Magistrate Zhang? Aren't you dead?"
"My Lord County Magistrate, I haven't seen you for many years. You are so sinful yet you are still living so well. How can I accept this? I cannot accept this, so I have crawled out of hell to seek your death!"
Li Wei was sweating profusely, terrified, and tried to shirk responsibility:
"The people who harmed you and Ping'an Town were the Guiyuan Sect! It was the Guiyuan Sect! I have no choice but to cooperate, otherwise... otherwise the lives of my entire family will be in danger!"
The old turtle said angrily, "You corrupt officials, it's fine if you're corrupt in normal times. But in the face of this great disaster, the lives of the people hang by a thread, waiting for a bite to survive. How can you have the heart to commit such evil? You are clearly the officials, and these are clearly your people. How can you not see their suffering? You let them die?"
"There are thousands of people in Ping'an Town. I worked so hard to give them a good life, but what have you done?"
"In one night, the entire town was slaughtered! From eighty-year-old elders to newborn babies... You call me a demon, but I've never harmed anyone. And you, the hypocritical people, have blood on your hands and are filled with sin!"
When the old turtle spoke of his sorrow and anger, he felt heartbroken and burst into tears.
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