"Qin Gang, feed him that!" A ruthless glint flashed in Fourth Master's eyes. He couldn't afford to hesitate any longer; he had to force them to reveal as many accomplices as possible as soon as possible, otherwise, if something happened later, it might be too late to react. Moreover, with so many worshippers coming in to offer incense at this time, they couldn't completely disregard the safety of the common people.
Without saying a word, Qin Gang immediately took out a small porcelain bottle that he had prepared beforehand from his pocket, then approached the fat man who was preventing "Camel" from confessing, squatted down, grabbed his neck, and pinched his jawbone.
The man looked at Qin Gang in horror, while the lean man next to him, nicknamed "Camel," looked at Qin Gang with even greater fear.
"I'm giving you one last chance. If you don't talk now, I'll force-feed him the medicine!" Fourth Master took in the reactions of the two men.
Qin Gang hesitated for a moment, waiting for the fat man to give in, but he didn't seem afraid. Although his face showed fear, he still didn't seem to want to give in.
"ah!"
Without waiting for them to think it over, Qin Gang poured the medicine from the small porcelain bottle into the fat man's mouth, then covered his mouth and forced him to swallow it.
A moment later, the fat man began to writhe. He felt an unbearable abdominal pain, as if a worm was crawling inside his stomach and eating his internal organs.
The faint sound of a bronze bell being struck could be heard outside, along with the chanting of sutras by monks. In the courtyard with its bluestone slabs outside the main hall, devout Buddhists knelt in prayer.
Unbeknownst to them, the room behind the main hall was a scene of utter devastation. Lying on the ground, one was writhing in agony from abdominal pain, wishing for immediate death, while the other trembled with fear.
"Drag him out. In five minutes, his intestines will rot away, so he won't make a mess!" Qin Gang said to the two guards standing at the door.
After the fat man, who was in excruciating pain, was carried away by two guards, the lean man burst into tears, pleading with the Fourth Master, "I'll talk, I'll talk, please spare me, Your Highness! Spare me!"
The Fourth Prince's cold face curved into a smile as he shouted, "Speak! Who are you people? Are you here to assassinate the Emperor?"
Camel was crying so hard that tears and nose were indistinguishable. He sobbed and cleared his throat, saying, "We are, we are Zhu San Taizi's men. He said that as long as we can assassinate the Tartar emperor, he will give us high-ranking positions and generous salaries. He said that he is the true emperor of the Ming Dynasty."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master understood that this group was once again remnants of the Ming Dynasty. The Qing Dynasty had been established for decades, yet there were still people who dared to dream of overthrowing the Qing and restoring the Ming.
"What, Zhu San Taizi? Where is he?" Fourth Master grabbed the man on the ground with both hands and put his arm around his neck.
"Yes, he said he was the grandson of the former Ming imperial family. But he is connected with the White Lotus Sect." Camel quickly replied, afraid that if he answered too slowly, he would displease the Fourth Master and make him take that kind of medicine that rots the stomach.
The Fourth Master's anger intensified. He stared into the camel's eyes and said sternly, "How many of you are there? Do you have a plan of action? Speak quickly! If I find you wrong in one thing, I'll cut off one of your hands. If you get it wrong in two things, I'll cut off one of your legs!"
Camel had never seen such a ruthless face. Was this "Fourth Prince" really a prince? He was even more terrifying than a demon!
"Qin Gang, bring me the knife! If he dares to utter a single wrong word, I'll chop off his fingers first!" Fourth Master saw the fear in Camel's eyes and was very satisfied with his reaction.
To push his fear to its peak, it seemed he needed to administer another dose of the drug. Qin Gang immediately drew his dagger from his waist and handed it to the Fourth Prince. He was also shocked by the Fourth Prince's ruthless interrogation methods; he hadn't expected the Fourth Prince to be this kind of prince!
When Fourth Master took Qin Gang's knife, Camel had no doubt that he wouldn't cut off his own finger, and hurriedly said, "There are twenty-five of us this time. Twenty of us will enter from the front, back, left, and right entrances of the mountain temple. In addition, there are five more people waiting in the back of the mountain to provide backup."
Fourth Master said, "Be specific! Describe the characteristics and clothing of those twenty people to me one by one! Qin Gang, take notes!"
Before the Fourth Prince could finish his interrogation, the remaining eighteen men were already searching for Kangxi's whereabouts. The Fourth Prince had placed a double next to the abbot, meaning they would all come to the Great Buddha Hall sooner or later.
Because no one recognized their appearance, they were scattered throughout the temple and their whereabouts could not be found for the time being.
Meanwhile, Fourteen and Xi Niu followed the man in the straw hat who was considered a leader among the crowd. He blended in with the people and deliberately headed for secluded spots.
"What is he looking for? Why is he heading to such secluded places?" Ever since Xiniu learned that Fourteen was a "constable," she suddenly felt like she had become a constable herself.
"He's looking for a treasure in the mountain temple; we mustn't let him succeed!" Fourteen reassured him.
"Why don't we just pin him to the ground?" Xiniu said, feeling there was no need to continue like this.
"But I don't want to alert anyone else!" Fourteen also felt there was no need to continue following along.
Xi Niu rolled her eyes and whispered to Fourteen, "I've thought of a way. I'll go up and trip him, and then you can try to knock him unconscious from behind. Is that okay?"
Fourteen thought this was a good idea. Since everyone in front of him was looking towards secluded and deserted places, they could easily knock him out while avoiding people.
"Then how will you stop him?" Fourteen didn't expect that bringing this little girl in would not only not cause him any trouble, but could also help him. He immediately felt more favorably towards Xiniu.
"You don't need to worry about that. Go find a big stick, I'll go trip him up!" Xiniu blinked and said.
Fourteen nodded and immediately said, "Okay, be careful. This guy knows martial arts. He's committed heinous crimes, so try not to make him angry. Hold him off while I get there!"
Xi Niu nodded with a grin and pushed Fourteen to hurry up and find the wooden stick used for hitting people.
Fourteen knew exactly where to find a stick, so he immediately found one that fit his hand and hid it in his clothes.
He retraced his steps to find Xiniu and the others.
"What are you doing! Get out of my way!" The man glared angrily at Xi Niu, who was grabbing his arm, looking at him as if to say, "You're harassing me."
"No way, you heartless man! You're coming with me to see my parents! Otherwise, I'll cling to you!" Xi Niu grabbed the man's arm, while the surrounding pilgrims pointed and whispered about him.
"You crazy woman, who is your unfaithful man!" the man roared angrily.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com