Facing each other
"No, I did go out last night to see my in-laws. But! But I was only there to discuss something with him, and it took less than half an hour. Before I left, he was still alive and well. Besides, didn't you say you had collected all the weapons? What could I use to kill people?"
"Do you have any witnesses?"
"How can I have any witnesses? All my relatives are dead! You won't accept the confessions made by the people I brought with me. Anyway, I came back from my relatives' place last night and went to bed. I didn't go anywhere! No matter how much I dislike my son-in-law, I won't kill him and make my daughter sad!"
In a state of urgency, the leader of Fusong Village simply threw in the towel and asked, "Does anyone here have witnesses? Well, tell us all. When I saw you, how many of you could explain yourself? And how many of you don't have witnesses? Let's start with me and tell our stories one by one."
The atmosphere suddenly grew tense, each one aware that no one besides their own could testify. The Hedong Village leader arranged for everyone to stay together, with at most two extra cabins allocated for larger groups. No one would mix up.
After everyone finished speaking, the leader of Fusong Village laughed heartily, gloating: "How many people in this room have witnesses? How many? Those who don't have evidence are just like me, suspects."
"We are different from you. The murder weapon is your knife."
"You're right. The murder weapon is my family's knife, but only the people in Fusong Village have no knives. The knives are all in the warehouse of the leader of Hedong Village. If I want to kill someone and leave him alive, would I use the knife from my own village? Why don't I steal weapons from other villages? Besides, stealing is not as easy as unlocking the door and taking things yourself. I'm not targeting you, Leader Liu. If you have doubts, I have doubts too."
After a round of interrogation, everyone present was more or less suspected. Suddenly, someone asked, "Jiwang Valley's Gu is famous. Don't you have that Gu that can make people tell the truth? Now that so many people have died, you have become suspects too. Why don't you use it to identify the real culprit?"
Cha Suxun, who was asked about this, hadn't even realized what kind of powerful Gu the other person was asking about. He couldn't help but think: How come I didn't know that Jiwang Valley had such a good thing? I had heard that the outside world said that Jiwang Valley's Gu was magical, but I didn't expect it to be so outrageous.
"Yes, Master Chi, don't be stingy with your treasures now. You must quickly catch the murderer. If the murderer is not found, more people may die. Life is more important. I, Liao, am willing to pay fifty taels of silver to buy myself a chance to clear my name."
As soon as Liao, the village chief, said this, many other village chiefs added that they were willing to pay silver to buy it, with prices varying.
Cha Suxun said with an embarrassed look, "It's not that I don't want to take it out, it's just that I don't have the thing you're talking about."
"I heard that the imperial court entered Jiwang Valley three times, each time carrying dozens of boxes. There's even a rumor that your young master was previously engaged to a powerful figure in the capital. The third time, they brought back a coffin, and everyone said it belonged to the young master. Could it be that all this good stuff... went into the imperial court's pocket?"
There has always been hostility between the bandits and the imperial court. Since he was involved in collusion with the imperial court, everyone looked at him strangely, with hostility and vigilance.
"This village chief is actually aware of the imperial court's movements, even knowing how many boxes they have brought. I think you seem to be more familiar with the imperial court than we are."
"How can a bandit survive if he doesn't keep an eye on whether the imperial court has any plans to suppress bandits? It seems that the leader of the Chi Village is still too young and inexperienced. He doesn't even know the basics."
Cha Suxun was about to speak, but when he saw everyone in the hall staring at him, ready to speak, he finally shut up. Realizing something was wrong, Cha Suxun stopped talking, but the other party continued to incite him, forcing him to argue in both overt and covert ways.
After observing the situation, Cha Suxun took the initiative to intervene and said, "As for Jiwang Valley, that's what happened after we left Hedong Village alive. But right now, I also have a question I want to ask Village Master Liu."
"You ask."
"My cousin's mother-in-law happens to be a skilled shaman, so she's learned a bit from them. When we first arrived yesterday, we noticed some issues with the feng shui of the courtyard we were assigned. And we did have some strange things happen last night, so we're worried there might be some evil spirit at work. My cousin knows how to consult spirits, so why not let her try asking the victim directly who the murderer is?"
"I invited a famous Feng Shui master to carefully examine the Feng Shui of my courtyard and modified it according to the good Feng Shui layout of a wealthy family. Asking for information about spirits and talking to spirits are just tricks used by fortune-tellers to fool people. Don't take them seriously, don't take them seriously."
As soon as these words were spoken, the other village chiefs all echoed them.
After being rejected, Cha Suxun said, "Whether it's true or not, we have to try it to know the conclusion."
After asking, as expected, the leader of Liu Village rejected the proposal again.
Cha Suxun got straight to the point, "I'm very curious, how did Village Leader Liu get involved with the evil spirits? Don't you know that raising those things will shorten your lifespan and harm your virtue? Village Leader Liu has gone to great lengths to trap us in this maze..." Cha Suxun laughed as he spoke, paused, and continued, "Low-level magic? How about I let Village Leader Liu see some of the world?"
After saying that, Cha Suxun glanced at the Ox-Head and Horse-Face standing in the corner.
As the two nodded in acceptance, milky white smoke seeped from the ground, a thick fog obscuring the vision of those in the hall. A rapid, orderly ringing of bells echoed in everyone's ears, and the smell of burning incense, candles, and paper money wafted in. Someone in the white fog cried out in fear, hurriedly asking where they were.
The ringing of the bell stopped, and the white mist quickly dissipated. The light before him was dark, save for a beam of white light slanting down from the bottom of the hall. Looking forward, everyone was still sitting upright in their chairs, the only difference being that they were all bound with red-hot iron chains, unable to move.
The ground beneath my feet had become a dense mass of iron nails, beneath which lay a glowing coal. The slightest movement would cause the nails to pierce further into the soles of my shoes.
Sitting in the hall were the four great judges.
Wei Zheng, the Rewarding Officer, oversees the distribution of good deeds in the underworld. He often wears a green robe and possesses a benevolent smile. He oversees the little ghosts who perform good deeds, and rewards or punishes them based on the extent of their good deeds in life.
Zhong Kui, the Evil Master, is dressed in purple robes, his eyes wide open and his lips tightly sealed. He punishes the wicked according to Yama's "Four No's and Four No's" principle, and then sends them to the Eighteen Levels of Hell to be punished.
Chacha Silu's way, with eyes as sharp as lightning and uprightness, is responsible for finding out the good and evil deeds of the little ghosts in their lives.
Cui Jue, the Underworld Law Officer, wears a red robe, holds the Book of Life and Death in his left hand, and the Soul-Catching Pen in his right. He is in charge of the Underworld Law Office, specializing in granting longevity to the virtuous and sending the wicked to the netherworld.
The four judges were so imposing without even getting angry that the village chiefs, awakened from their confusion, were already terrified. The voice of the inquisitor Lu Zhidao echoed through the air, demanding, "Who is the murderer? If you refuse to confess, your soul will be shattered!"
Although the leader of the Liu village was so frightened that his legs were shaking, and he avoided looking at the four judges, he still pretended to be calm, smiled with feigned contempt, and said, "It's just an illusion, but it's a little deeper than my human nature. Knowing it's false, why should I be afraid! Since I dared to do such evil things, I have already thought about the consequences. I have lived a life that is full of frustration and exhaustion. Who wants to go through it again? I won't be afraid of being torn apart. But I have worked hard in my life to this point, and I will never accept failure here!"
"So, Village Leader Liu is admitting that you are the murderer?"
"I'm the one who killed you! I'm the one who will kill you too! And your families and villages will all submit to me obediently in the end!" Liu Xiangluo laughed crazily and morbidly, like a madman.
When the other village chiefs heard this, they all cursed him, accusing him of wishful thinking. However, Liu Xiangluo said, "Enough! Shut up, you're making so much noise! I'm wishful thinking? You idiots! If it weren't for the sudden movement last night, suggesting something more powerful was entrenched here, none of you would have survived!"
Suddenly, Liu Xiangluo's smile froze, and he looked at Chi Xun fiercely and defensively, "It's you."
"What does Liuzhaizhi mean? I don't understand."
"Name your price."
"What?"
"Money, status, power, women, material desires, as long as you are willing to follow me, if you have the ability, even if it is the throne of the emperor, you and I can sit on it!"
"I never bother to cooperate with fools. Since Liu Village Chief has said he wants to cooperate with me, let me see if you have the courage, insight and strategy to earn my respect. You've done a pretty good job on this matter. Tell me the whole story and let me see if you're qualified."
"Trick me?" Liu Xiangluo shook his head and stopped talking. He continued until the burning pain of the red-hot chains on his body and the burning warmth under his feet made him struggle. The more he struggled, the deeper the iron nails dug into the soles of his shoes.
"I've sacrificed so many lives to you! Why don't you save me? I'm still useful!"
Until the soles of his feet were punctured and no one came to rescue him, he finally shouted for Chi Xun to stop.
The intense pain gradually subsided, leaving only a slight pain as a constant reminder, and Liu Xiangluo finally spoke. To prevent Liu Xiangluo from not telling the truth, Ah Bang conjured up a long face and pressed it against his neck.
Only then did Liu Xiangluo speak the truth and dared not lie.
Liu Xiangluo's father, a student who had studied hard and passed the imperial examination, finished in the middle of the list. Determined to rise to prominence, he faced a difficult career path, lacked wealth and influence, and ultimately chose to rely on women, marrying the daughter of a grain merchant. Of the four classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchant came last. The grain merchant, determined to change the fate of three generations of merchants, spent nearly half his family fortune to buy Liu Xiangluo's father a decent job.
But after three years of hard work, not only did he neglect his wife, but his father-in-law's declining business also turned against him. Accusations, sarcasm, and humiliation were commonplace. Finally, he was about to get a promotion, but then someone who had paid for a job just like him was shoved in to take his position, only with more money.
After that, he never recovered and even had an affair with a prostitute and had a child named Liu Xiangluo.
Even in the seventh year after Liu Xiangluo and his mother were used by the mistress of the house to vent her anger, after his father-in-law mocked him again, he put a knockout drug in the water tank at home and hacked the whole family to death.
Liu Xiangluo and his mother escaped the disaster because the mistress of the house once again refused to give them food.
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