Chapter 55 Chapter 55 Cutting the Grass at Its Roots
The dungeon had been renovated before and looked much better than before. Both sides of the corridor were filled with people.
When they saw someone coming, they all stared at him with their red eyes, which was very scary.
The man in the cell in front stretched out his hand and brushed the hem of Hezhou's clothes. In the flash, only a loud shout was heard.
The man covered his hand and rolled on the ground in pain.
He pursed his lips and leaned aside in disdain: "You go guard the front! I know where it is."
"Yes, sir, just go ahead." Yamen responded respectfully and turned back to the front.
A small short knife slipped out of Hezhou's sleeve and tapped his leg.
At the end of the cell were two compartments used specifically for interrogation. They were dark, claustrophobic, and damp.
It's a great place to torture people.
I remember that he was scared when he first entered.
He stood in front of the door and could vaguely hear screams and the sound of whips.
Hezhou's eyes flashed, and his heartbeat was not so nervous now. He gently pushed open the door.
"I am coming."
Zhao An sat at the table, his legs on the bench, one hand holding a melon seed. "Come here? Want some?"
"No, no, how can...?"
A strong man was tied to the cross. There was almost no good flesh on his body and his face was pale and dripping with water.
The rope was not tied to him properly, he was just off the ground, but not leaning on the board, so he could only try his best to touch the ground with his toes.
A yamen official was standing next to him, holding a whip in his hand. He picked up a bowl of water, drank it and sprayed it on the man's face.
"I'm asking you again, do you admit your guilt? Was there someone who instructed you to do this?"
The whip lifted his chin, and the man turned his head, his eyes tilted towards Hezhou, and a mocking smile appeared on his face: "You are so timid, and you also come to watch the interrogation?"
"At least I'm not tied there." Hezhou coughed awkwardly and sat next to Zhao An.
Zhao An laughed and handed him a bag to comfort him: "Are you really afraid of these?"
"It's okay, I felt the same the first time." Xu Feng agreed with a smile.
He pointed at the person in front of him: "You came at the right time, are you looking for you?"
"Looking for me?" Hezhou picked up the melon seeds and stuffed them into his mouth. "I'm here. Tell me, what's going on?"
"Are you... the county magistrate... sir?" The man forced himself to change his posture and smiled.
"It's me, I can tell you."
"You let...them leave..."
Hezhou glanced around and everyone's eyes were focused on him.
He shook his head: "That won't do. If you have anything to say, let's talk about it now."
"No!" the man suddenly became angry. "I'm the only one who knows about the treasures on the mountain. If you let them go, I'll tell you. I... won't tell you who ordered them to do it!"
He spoke quickly and hastily, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes gradually began to turn red.
“Bang!”
The sound of the whip echoed in the room, and the bailiff snorted coldly: "As expected of a wild dog from the mountains, you still have the energy to do this..."
"Do you think I'm the most senior official?"
Hezhou raised his eyes lazily and looked at Xu Feng: "It's useless to look for me."
"If we don't leave, will you stop talking?" Xu Feng clapped his hands slowly and said, "There are so many brothers outside. If you don't talk for a day, I will kill ten of them..."
He smiled playfully: "I think there's still my wife... and little kids on the mountain? They... you just don't care about them anymore?"
"Bandits are hard-hearted." The man remained unfazed, staring at Hezhou. "There's clearly a more convenient way. Don't you trust them?"
His eyes fell on Hezhou, who was still peacefully eating melon seeds. The smell of blood was a bit strong, making people feel uncomfortable.
"Master He?"
"Hmm?" Hezhou picked up the melon seeds on the table and stuffed them in one gulp: "Let's see you guys!"
"Hey! My melon seeds..." Zhao An looked at him with hatred, and the melon seeds in front of him had already been swallowed by the other party in one gulp.
Xu Feng was silent for a while, then stood up and knocked on the table: "Let's go..."
The people in the room left one after another, and when the bailiff left, he put the whip in front of him.
Hezhou shook himself but continued to crack melon seeds until the door was closed for a while before he slowly stood up.
People left without saying anything...
He placed the knife on the table, walked to the cross, and swept over the man, the wound still dripping with blood.
"Does it hurt?"
The man smiled palely: "Sir...you have to save me?"
"Me?" Hezhou pointed at himself in surprise, glancing at the door. "They are higher-ranking officials than me, can't you see that?"
"Then ask Lord Xie to save me!" He lowered his voice, grabbed the thick hemp rope with both hands, and pulled out a trail of blood.
He stepped forward as hard as he could and lowered his voice: "I let him go! He should have saved me..."
"I know."
Hezhou looked at him coldly, as if he were looking at a corpse: "Anything else to say?"
From the moment he knew this sentence, this person was destined to die.
"Official seal! I still have his official seal." The man breathed his last: "He promised me at the time. I know these people belong to another master! Three days! I must be out in three days... Otherwise, no one will be well!"
After saying this, he breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a lot.
Hezhou nodded: "I will tell him, next time don't be so excited, I will handle it myself, later you confess your crime and give up the Chen family, I will protect you."
He paused for a moment and lowered his voice again: "If anyone else knows about this, tell them to keep their mouths shut."
The man spit out blood from the corner of his mouth and said, "Several night watchmen are dead. Only I know about it, as well as my wife. She is in the mountains and she also knows about the official seal."
"Keep your mouth shut, it's just..."
"Just what?" The man raised his eyes and grinned, "You can't even do this?"
"That's not the case. It's just that with so many people, it's impossible to save them all."
Hezhou narrowed his eyes. It was not that they could not be saved, but that they would all die, not a single one would survive.
Jade pendant...
I should have gone up the mountain earlier, otherwise I wouldn't be in such a passive position.
He breathed a sigh of relief: "Pick a few so I can remember them."
Unexpectedly, the man shook his head and said, "Don't worry about them. As long as my wife and I are alive, sir, you really have to help me. I have a four-year-old child at home. I have wanted to retire from the underworld for a long time, but there are too many ties..."
He raised his eyelids: "Please, sir."
"Hmm." Hezhou sneered in his heart. It was such a coincidence that he wanted to retire after being caught.
I feel scared when a sword is hanging over my head.
He lifted up the man's head and said, "Do you know what to say when someone comes?"
"I know. Master Chen paid me a large sum of money. The gold is in the cave on the mountain." The man laughed in a frivolous manner, as if to seek credit: "Sir, the gold is not in the mountain stronghold."
"You've thought it through. If I hadn't been prepared, you'd have accepted the Chen family's money and lived a carefree life. But if you were prepared, you'd planned this move?"
There was a knock on the door, and Zhao An shouted, "Sir! Why is there no sound? If you feel threatened, just hum twice."
"So, sir, you came at the right time. If you had come a little later, I would have confessed."
Hezhou opened the door: "Come in, you treat me as the boss."
Zhao An looked around, picked up the whip and swung it to the ground: "Didn't use it?"
"I'm a scholar and don't need these." Hezhou made way.
"What did you talk about?" Xu Feng leaned against the door, with no intention of going in.
"Confess. Just have someone come and record it later. Let's arrest Mr. Chen by the way." Hezhou looked at him.
Zhao An embraced Hezhou, was silent for a moment, and then asked with a smile: "Why do you think I'm talking to you alone?"
"Hiss~" He touched his chin and glanced at Xu Feng: "Could it be that I don't look like a bandit?"
Hezhou pushed him away and said jokingly, "When you stand here, you look like a master investigator. Who would dare to challenge you?"
"So why?"
He was just waiting for this sentence. He didn't know if Xu Feng was too arrogant. He didn't even do the most basic separate interrogation and asked him directly in the room.
"Master Zhao should know, right?"
"I don't know shit!"
Hezhou pointed at the man inside: "He thought I was the boss and wanted to live, and... I just happened to owe him a favor."
"I don't understand what you mean. How should I know that you owe someone a favor? You didn't give any gifts for marriage and childbirth?" Zhao An crossed his arms in disdain, and the atmosphere of interrogation suddenly rose.
"Who is arresting people? What's the situation in the county? How could the bandits not know? They only look for you, and there is no sound at all? You know, I don't belong to shepherd's purse."
He stared at Hezhou: "What did you talk about?"
He Zhou shrugged nonchalantly: "Just talking about his business... When Zhao An came, you felt something was wrong, so why not just say what's going on!"
"Why don't you just chat? You said you owed him a favor. If you already have a relationship, why did you ask me to come?"
"In contact." Hezhou snorted coldly: "Killing his mistress's son is called having contact? You know this person, the one who died in the Chen family yard."
"Then why didn't he go to the Chen family instead of looking for you..."
"Isn't this wrong? If I were a man, I would stab the Chen family to death!"
The man on the cross raised his head and a breathless voice came out: "My lord, I'm afraid you have never seen gold. That thing can erase hatred, let alone the child of a mistress and an ex-husband."
"But Lord He...you definitely owe me, right? But Fatty is eating..."
"Shut up!" Hezhou shouted, "We agreed not to mention it!"
"Aren't I helping you get out of office?" He chuckled softly, "The government is just so-so, not much better than us bandits, are they?"
Xu Feng patted the table and said, "Alright, as long as we have a deal, Lord Zhao, don't forget why I'm here. If you want to investigate, bring your people."
He picked up the whip on the table and lashed it at the bandit, hitting the same spot five times in a row. The whip marks were bloody and the bandit's clothes were tangled in them.
Blood flowed down along the traces, and he couldn't hold on for a moment and slid down, but the rope was tightly strangling him, causing blisters on his wrists and ankles.
"Better than you who killed your brothers before you died." Xu Feng rolled his eyes and threw the whip to the ground in disgust: "You'd better behave yourself, or next time, the whip will be soaked with pepper spray."
He turned aside and asked the yamen runners to call for help, to arrest the people from Chen Mansion. Passing by Hezhou, he did not forget to glare: "I don't think you can let him live... According to the law, except for those from Gui'an, bandits must be eradicated completely..."
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