After Waking up Beside the Villain - Chapter 197

    Jiangnan Beautiful Land, Jinling Imperial State.

    Wandering green water, handing over the Zhulou.

    The horses’ hoofs flew out of the drizzle and the mud, and out of the mountains, the front is open plains and rolling hills.

    Chu Yunsheng urged the horse to move forward, and if you look at it from a distance, you can see the misty rain, the sky is blue and the river is going east. Between the vertical and horizontal fields, there are large paddy fields stretching green and green, and there are also faint strands of curling smoke, scattered into the sky and rain.

    With such scenery, you can tell at a glance that you have entered the boundary of Jiangnan.

    After half a month of trials and hardships, I finally arrived.

    At first glance, the Jiangnan in Daxia is not much different from the Jiangnan in Chu Yunsheng’s impression.

    It covers the fertile soil of Huaiyang, Suzhou and Hangzhou, and merges Jiangzhou and Huaizhou. The rich and beautiful scenery can be found in all seasons, and the remnants of the famous ancient temples are still there.

      , attracting attention.

    “After Shanbai County, which is ten miles away, is Jinling. After entering Jinling, it is truly Jiangzhou and Jiangnan.”

    The two horses walked side by side, Xie Chengyun raised the hat on his head, looked in front of the gradually widening road, and said.

    The sound of the hooves subsided.

    Chu Yun said: “It will be late, if you hurry up, you may be able to reach the county seat. However, Shanbai County is quite close to Jinling, and although the Ning family is a Jinling family, they are unable to manage the Baili water. Shanbai County within the scope of the gang, but there is no guarantee that there will be no hidden forces in the county.”

    Xie Chengyun glanced at Chu Yunsheng with a smile, and said, “Chu Chu is an old man’s words, not like a stunned young man who walks the rivers and lakes for the first time.”

    “The Ning family is only a second-rate family in Jinling City, but they have disagreements with the Zheng family in Jiangzhou and the Baili Shui Gang. They just voted for my Xie family. The forces of the Zheng family have penetrated, and Shanbai County is no exception. This time I came to investigate the Ning family, be careful, first find a nearby village or post station to rest, change clothes, inquire about news, and then be him Argument.”

    Chu Yunsheng nodded slightly.

    He was not surprised that Xie Chengyun made this decision.

    The time spent getting along has allowed him to thoroughly understand Xie Chengyun’s temperament. Although Xie Chengyun is a gambler, and his sword is unexpectedly slanted, most of the time, he still acts cautiously and carefully, taking three steps at a time.

    The investigation of the Ning family as mentioned by Xie Chengyun was the main purpose of the two of them rushing to Jiangnan.

    The Ning family is an aristocratic family in Jinling, but its power is limited to Jinling City. It is completely incomparable with the Zheng family who occupied most of Jiangzhou and the Qingshan View that controls the entire Huaizhou, nor is it comparable in strength Although it is not strong, the sphere of influence is huge, and the Baili Shui Gang is connected with the Daxia court.

    According to the usual practice, the Ning family should be like many small forces in the south of the Yangtze River.

    But the head of the Ning family had a very bad relationship with the Zheng family and the Baili Shui Gang due to some grievances and hatreds when he was young, and he did not agree with the rules of Qingshanguan, so he and some other people Like the side branches, they chose to vote for the Xie family in Shangjing and became a vassal of the Xie family.

    The head of the Ning family is named Ning Tiancheng, nicknamed “Lengyue Handao”, half-step Dingdan, in charge of a famous sword Lengyuedao on the weapon spectrum, he can also be regarded as a well-known master in Jiangzhou .

    His eldest son, Ning Shouduo, was attacked with injuries and fell into a coma after a competition a few days ago.

    The Ning family’s search for a doctor was unsuccessful, and they had nowhere to go, so they sent a secret letter from thousands of miles away, asking the Xie family to send a famous doctor in Beijing for treatment.

    This letter may not be anything in isolation, but when placed together with the assassination of Xie Chengyun, it is a bit special, and one cannot help but think about it.

    Especially, before Chu Yunsheng left the capital, he heard the Xie family’s investigation of the assassination from Xie Chengyun’s mouth, and felt that this secret letter from the Ning family was not a coincidence.

      come on an adventure.

    The plain female snake and the rouge tiger have secret techniques, and they escaped without getting too many clues, but it can be seen that they are different from Yudan, and they did not receive a reward.

    And the reward in the black market is not to take Xie Chengyun’s life, but to demand that he be severely injured, and then when he is unable to resist, he will take the opportunity to feed him a pill.

    The Xie family found the pills from Yudan, summoned a family physician, and carefully studied it, and found that it was just a common tonic, as if nothing special.

    In the end, the Xie family found clues in Jackdaw Pavilion, which claims to be omniscient and omniscient. Turning ordinary people into puppets and putting them at the mercy of others is quite strange and vicious.

    It’s just about the origin of this pill and the secret method, as well as more clues about assassination and bounty, but it can’t be traced.

    At this moment, a secret letter from the Jinling Ning family arrived at the Xie family.

    The situation of the young master of the Ning family, Ning Shou, is somewhat similar to the transformation of the puppet described by the secret method.

    Therefore, when the famous doctor and Xie Jiadingdan went down to Jiangnan by boat, Chu Yunsheng and Xie Chengyun went overland, disguised themselves, avoided eyes and ears, and came to Jiangnan in secret, wanting to investigate secretly.

    Since it’s a secret investigation, it’s not a good idea to startle the snake.

    Shanbai County was in sight, the two of them did not plan to enter the city immediately, but rode their horses slowly, heading in the direction of the smoke from the kitchen, looking for a place to stay.

    The drizzle continued and the trail was muddy.

    The two of them walked less than a mile, and they saw a village built by the river in the misty rain and twilight.

    The village houses are low and low, the eaves and the thatch are continuous, and the sound of **** crowing and dogs barking can be heard in the distance, which is a very ordinary farmhouse scenery.

      More people set up fires and stoves, and there were no villagers who had returned from work in the fields at the top of the village. The village was so large that it seemed unreasonably empty and deserted.

    This village is near the official road, the fields and crops are growing very well, and it cannot be an empty village. But for a while, it seemed to be sparsely populated and quite strange.

    “Something’s wrong.”

    Xie Chengyun frowned.

    Chu Yunsheng reined in his horse and held down the short knife on his waist.

    Gradually, as the two approached, the sound of silk and bamboo playing faintly floated in the fine wind and rain, as if they were singing on a stage.

    “Singing on a rainy day?”

    Xie Chengyun was slightly surprised.

    The two of them rode their horses to turn around a few households at the head of the village, and followed the sound to the river bank.

    The field of vision suddenly widens, and the vocals gradually become louder.

    At a glance, I saw a simple high platform built on the river bank. Several people wiped their faces and wore masks, singing loudly and dancing on the platform. On the edge of the stage, there are dwarfs playing and singing, and there is a big drum with two blood-red patterns on the bottom.

    Under the platform, hundreds of villagers gathered in a disorderly manner.

    Around these villagers, there were actually more than ten yamen guards surrounding them.

    This is a big show, but it is a strange sacrifice. The demons dance wildly on the stage, and the stage is solemn and depressed.

    Seeing this, Chu Yunsheng and Xie Chengyun dismounted to a corner and looked at the river bank.

    Soon, the big show on the stage was over, a slender old woman wearing a black and red cloak, leaning on a snake-head crutch, walked to the stage step by step, looking like a goddess.

    After standing still, the goddess raised her hands and let out a loud roar in an old voice. Immediately, the strong man beat the big drum, and the loud sound shook the river bank, and the rushing and flowing river seemed to roar and splash. Big waves.

    The humming of the audience fell silent, and the villagers bowed their heads more deeply, as if in awe.

    “July 25th, offer sacrifices to the God of the River!”

    The goddess waved her hands and crutches excitedly, knelt down facing the river, and shouted loudly.

    As soon as this sound came out, the crawling villagers couldn’t hold back, and there was a heart-wrenching cry.

    Amid the cries, the masked people on the stage jumped down one after another, and tied the dozen or so kneeling villagers down.

    The dozen or so villagers, old and young, hug each other and cry, calling their father, mother, grandson, like a big family. Among them, a strong man wanted to resist and escape, but was caught by the side. The yamen was kicked down with a kick, a knife was placed on his neck, and he dared not move.

      After the seedlings were planted, whose house was raining and leaking, and I didn’t go to help lay the tiles? Today-today, you want to harm my whole family, lose your conscience, and your mother’s conscience!”

    “What a **** goddess, **** river god, they are all cannibalizing monsters!”

    “Let go of me! Let me go, you are all bad people, you can’t die well, you can’t die well!”

    “Second grandpa! Second grandpa save Nannan, Nannan doesn’t want to go to the river!”

    “I, Li Dabao, have a clear conscience all my life, I have done good deeds and accumulated virtues, this river **** is blind, this God is blind!”

    In the shrill cries and curses, many villagers could not bear it, but they could only bury their heads deeper, trembling as they watched the big family tied into zongzi be escorted to the river bank .

    There was a small boat moored there, and several people in masks threw the men, women and children onto the boat one by one, stuffing the boat full. Two other people acted as boatmen and boarded another slightly larger boat, pulling the boat to the middle of the river.

    The drizzle made the middle of the river thick with fog. After the boat arrived, the two men in masks pulled the ropes apart and left the boat parked in the river, while they rowed the boat back to the shore.

    Chu Yunsheng slowly pressed the two knives tightly.

    “It was a human sacrifice.”

    Xie Chengyun stared at the boat floating on the river, and said coldly: “The Daxia court and the furniture of various sects forbid this method of sacrifice, I didn’t expect that in a village so close to Jinling City , there is such a tradition. Not only did the government not come to stop it, but instead dispatched yamen to help Zhou and kill him!”

    Having found out the situation on the shore, and seeing that the big boat on the river was about to pull back slowly, neither Chu Yunsheng nor Xie Chengyun planned to wait any longer.

    Xie Chengyun took the lead in flying up and out of the blue.

    “What!”

    “Someone, someone’s flying over!”

      The two masked people saw a flash of blue shadows, and before they could react, they suffered a pain in their necks, and they all fainted.

    Withdrawing the knife and holding the oar, Chu Yunsheng quickly turned the bow of the boat, rowed toward the center of the river, and came to the vicinity of the boat again.

    On the boat, the Li family, who was already hopeless and helpless, could no longer even cry, their eyes widened in astonishment, staring at the big boat that came back through the fog, dazed and frightened .

    The rain was so heavy that they didn’t see everything that happened on the big ship, and they didn’t know why the big ship came back suddenly.

    Suddenly, a timid and hoarse child’s voice sounded on the boat: “Mother, no, it’s not a monster, it’s a fairy, it’s a fairy brother…”

    When these words sounded, the other people on the small boat had already seen the people coming from the big boat through the fog.

    That person was not the faces or masks they were familiar with, but a stern young man in blue clothes, a mink hat, and a pair of swords on his waist.

    “What immortals? Grandpa Wang said that apart from officers, soldiers and bandits, those with weapons are heroes who walk the rivers and lakes! This gentleman is so handsome, he is definitely not a bandit officer, he is a hero, definitely a hero Hero, hero is here to save us!”

    A sturdy young man who had obviously heard too much storytelling lit up, with a big smile on his nose and tears, and shouted: “Master! We are here! We are here!”

    The children in the family rejoice, but the adults dare not easily believe that someone is really coming to rescue, and they are all vigilant.

    Chu Yunsheng didn’t care about the reaction of the people on the boat. When he reached the vicinity of the boat, he directly transported the light work and swept it to the bow of the boat. A sturdy rope.

    The rope fell to the ground, and the family regained their freedom, and finally believed that Chu Yunsheng was indeed the hero who came to save them. On the boat, he was about to kowtow to Chu Yunsheng: “Thank you hero! Thank you hero for saving your life!”

    True qi floated, Chu Yunsheng stopped the family’s worship, and said, “The river is rushing, the rain and fog are getting bigger, you can’t stay here for a long time, row the boat ashore quickly.”

    The invisible force stopped the legs that were about to bend. The Li family was even more in awe, and dared not say anything more. The paddling paddles, working together to hold the big boat to the shore.

    When the river bank could be seen far away, the old man named Li Dabao who was holding the oar in the bow showed hesitation and fear, and whispered to Chu Yun: “This son, you are really a river and lake. Are you talking about heroes? Then you have a lot of knowledge, do you know if there are river gods in our river?”

    “No, it’s not that the little old man is afraid of anything, but if there is a river **** to keep us safe and sound, then our sacrifices escaped today and angered the river god, then our village and the surrounding Folks, are you going to suffer… Xiao Lao’er, Xiao Lao’er has never done anything wrong in his life, so we chose our Lao Li family for some reason…”

    “No one, no one…”

    Sweaty hair stuck to the forehead of the old man. He was wearing a patched jacket. In the blink of an eye, it melted into the drizzle.

    He was paddling with the old man on the other side of the bow. Hearing this, he was silent for a moment, and then slowly revealed a gentle smile, saying: “The old man should have heard, there are people who have been killed in this world. The wandering immortals known as the gods of the land exist. Since there are immortals in the world, there must also be gods, but the immortals all grew up from knights in the rivers and lakes. Loyalty.”

    “It’s not far from Jinling, and it’s not far from Huaizhou Qingshan Temple. At your age, have you heard that the gods of Jinling and Qingshan Temple lived by eating living people?”

    “There is no such thing.”

      Demons should be beheaded by people, not sacrificed. Even if they are demons, they can’t control the wind and rain. Instead of asking for it, it is better to ask the Taoist priest of Qingshan Temple, and it is better to ask for yourself.”

    Chu Yunsheng did not open his mouth to deny the existence of gods and immortals, because the peak of force in this world is indeed beyond the reach of ordinary people, and these villagers are confined to one corner, and they are rarely literate. They say that they don’t talk about strange powers and chaos. Immortals and demons are deeply ingrained in their minds. If they open their mouths and deny it completely, saying that there are no gods and no demons in the world, the old man will probably only think that he is a mad and arrogant person, and can’t listen to it. half a word.

    Don’t talk about gods and monsters, just talk about good and bad merits and demerits, it is the appropriate persuasion and comfort.

    “Yes! Hero is right!”

      That is also a monster, a monster that eats people! Immortals are all good gods, how can they eat people, you still don’t believe it!”

    With a long sigh, the old man lowered his head, wiped his eyes, and did not answer.

    This kind of sacrifice is obviously not the first time, but over the years, I don’t know how many innocent people have been killed.

    After a while, the big boat docked, and Chu Yunsheng took the Li family off the boat.

      It was a means of being intimidated by Xie Chengyun’s sword qi, and his eyes were frightened, and he didn’t dare to make a loud noise, but they all stared at the godmother and others with hatred.

    An old man over 500 years old came out and talked with Xie Chengyun, apparently the head of the village.

      , I must worship the River God, lest the River God be really unhappy and cause a disaster.”

    Some of the villagers also responded in a low voice: “The crops have grown well in the past two years and the harvest is sufficient, but it is all due to the Lord River. If the Lord River is angered, it will be a few years ahead. How can you bear it if you make trouble like that?”

    “Look, Li Dabao’s family is back, oh, sin, how can this sacrifice be brought back? Isn’t this robbing the food from the mouth of the river god!”

    “How many people were willing to make sacrifices in the past? But people have also made sacrifices well, aren’t they afraid of disasters for our ten miles and eight townships? This year, it’s our village’s turn, this Li Dabao I’m not happy anymore, if I really want to make trouble, he will be a sinner first!”

    Some people also scolded: “It’s not your family who dare to go to the river as a sacrifice!”

    “The God of the River, the God of the River, I think it’s a monster! The best thing to do is to invite the Taoist masters to kill the demons and eliminate the demons!”

    “This living sacrifice has been gone for a hundred and eighty years, and it has been made again in the past two years. Who knows what An’s heart is…”

    Faced with the whispers and the village chief’s remarks, Xie Chengyun didn’t show any anger, but still smiled gently and politely.

    He didn’t take the village chief’s words, but said: “Old man, since Daxia conquered the world, he has abolished the tradition of offering sacrifices to river gods in various places and made it a violation of the law. , as the village chief, you should not be unaware of this. If the river **** is really angry because of the lack of live sacrifices, then the first one to suffer is the court, and it shouldn’t be you.”

    The village chief was shocked and waved his hands again and again: “How dare you talk about the court!”

    The surrounding villagers were silent, apparently not knowing what laws the court had on offering sacrifices to the river god.

    “Does this mean that the head of the river **** will be beheaded?”

    Someone whispered: “But this river **** was made by the county magistrate!”

    Xie Chengyun glanced at the crowd inadvertently, and said with a smile: “Old man, this was originally abolished by the imperial court, so it’s not enough if you don’t say it. It’s not a crime to sacrifice people and animals. Raiding a house and beheading it is definitely not something like petty theft, if you are accused, you will definitely be in prison.”

    The villagers were horrified, and going to jail is a big crime for those who have been honest and responsible all their lives.

      I came here just to watch us from ten miles and eight villages, and honestly complete the sacrifice of this river god, how can we little people dare not to obey?”

    Xie Chengyun said: “Oh? Is it the river **** sacrifice made by the county magistrate?”

    The village chief nodded, hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth, and said, “You don’t know this son, this sacrifice to the river **** has indeed been abolished long ago. Tuo Village is no exception. It’s just that about two years ago, it rained heavily in the Wenshan area. It didn’t stop for several days and nights. The Wenhe River swelled up and wiped out the crops and the village.”

    “At that time, there were refugees in the vicinity of Shanbai County, and even a piece of bark had to be robbed. It was not easy for the rain to stop, the water receded, and a plague broke out, and too many people died. “

    “When the plague subsided, the county magistrate brought this goddess Jiang to the Wenhe River and called all the villages on both sides of the Wenhe River to tell us that this time the Water, it was the river **** of Wenhe who was angry and sent a divine punishment to punish us. If we want to have a good life in the future, we must sacrifice to the river **** to make the river **** happy.”

    “The goddess Jiang decided that every three months, she would select a family in these five or six villages, even the old and the young, as sacrifices. When offering sacrifices to the river god, If they are tied up, they will be sent to the middle of the river in a small boat, and they will be beaten and sacrificed to the river god.”

    “This is to kill!”

    “We don’t believe in evil, and we don’t want to. The first selected family packed up their burdens and ran away, but they didn’t run far before they were carried back. He died, the body was swollen and drowned. Some people said that they were going to Jinling to file a lawsuit, but they were brought back and drowned. Everyone was afraid and dared not run again.”

    “Slowly, this is settled…”

    Chu Yunsheng listened, frowning slowly.

    The county magistrate of Shanbai County definitely has a problem. But even if this sacrifice to the river **** is successful, what good will it do to the magistrate?

    Besides, Baituo Village is not far from Shanbai County, so the county magistrate is not afraid of discovery by the Ning family, the Zheng family, the Baili Shui Gang or the Qingshan Temple? And this move can last for two years, I am afraid that these parties are either being concealed by someone, or they are not completely ignorant.

    Whether it is the former or the latter, it is clear that this matter is not simple, and it is definitely not a simple sacrifice to the river god.

    Xie Chengyun obviously thought of this, but he did not continue to ask the village chief, the village chief obviously did not know more.

    “Xie Mou and his friends are going to Jinling City, you can take this goddess and sue the county magistrate for you. He also has martial arts skills and is not afraid of intimidation. If you can trust him, Xie can write a written complaint and explain the reason.”

    Xie Chengyun said: “The elderly don’t need to worry about the embarrassment of the county magistrate. I have heard on the way here that the county magistrate of Shanbai County has had some accidents, and they have to be replaced in the past two days. Kung fu to investigate the countryside.”

    These words are thoughtful and appropriate, and they barely kicked the hearts of the villagers of Baituo Village back into their stomachs.

    The village chief also showed a hint of skeptical joy.

    He hadn’t heard of the change of county magistrates, but it was only an hour’s journey from Baituo Village to Shanbai County. It’s easy to tell whether it’s true or false, there’s really no need to deceive them These common people, so he also relaxed more than half of his heart. When he looked at the goddess, the yamen and the others, he no longer had any fear, but was full of resentment and anger.

    The villagers were no longer afraid, and they were no longer afraid of their hands and feet. They rushed up to the goddess and the yamen and beat and kicked them until Xie Chengyun stopped them, and the village chief persuaded them to leave , each went home.

    After a while, the river bank was empty and deserted. Except for Xie Chengyun and Chu Yunsheng, there were only the wicked people who were lying all over the place.

    The stage on the bank collapsed and was smashed, and the blood-red drums fell into the mud, no longer mysterious and strange.

    The goddess and the yamen are not hard-boiled, and after a little coercion, they spit out the ins and outs.

    According to what the goddess said, she followed the instructions of the county magistrate. When choosing sacrifices in these villages, the first choice was those rich landlords.

    But after choosing, she did not announce the news, but sent a post to mention the family. The family was terrified and must be willing to spend a lot of money to save the disaster.

      No matter what post they send, these wealthy households will tacitly send large sums of money, just hoping that the number of sacrifices will not fall on them.

      In addition to the above, the rest of the wealthy households can be said to shed a layer of skin every three months.

    In the two years since the sacrifice of the river god, the county magistrate has made a lot of money.

    “It’s only for money?”

    Xie Chengyun asked.

      …was selected and fed the fish in the river, but we can’t blame us, who made them unable to pay for their own lives…”

    “This uncle, you shouldn’t give them a head, it’s just like a grass-roots thing, once you cut a crop, there will be another crop, even if you sacrifice to the river **** every day, but you can’t finish it. What are you worrying about for them?”

    Although the goddess said so, but Chu Yunsheng did not think that it was only for wealth and silk, and the Shanbai County magistrate dared to make such a movement under the eyes of the forces of all parties.

    There must be other secrets in it, but it is not known to the goddess and the servants.

    However, no matter what kind of secrets there are, they can’t hide them.

      Yun Fangcai had already told the villagers in Baituo Village that the county magistrate would be replaced in the next two days, and Chu Yunsheng knew that he was going to kill.

    He didn’t intend to wait for justice from a court that might not come.

    Kill the people who should be killed, protect the things that should be protected, and do the righteousness of the line. Only then is Xie Chengyun’s hero.

     “It will be late, so you should go for a walk to admire the moon, so as to live up to the beauty of Jiangzhou.”

    In the hut, Xie Chengyun lit a candle and said softly.

    Chu Yunsheng stared at Xie Chengyun’s eyebrows under the candlelight, and said lightly, “Aren’t you afraid of revealing your whereabouts?”

    Xie Chengyun leaned over, leaned on Chu Yunsheng’s shoulder, stroked the dark blue belt with his palm, and landed on the scabbard.

    With this low and clear cry, Xie Chengyun laughed and sighed in a low voice: “Afraid, why not? But I am more afraid of being sophisticated than the danger of exposing my whereabouts. Frustrated, ignoring justice for personal gain, the longer the rivers and lakes go, the more they lose their heart. Moreover, it is me who is afraid, not my sword.”

    “As long as you are careful, your whereabouts may not be revealed.”

    Chu Yun said in a low voice: “And the moonlight tonight is bound to be extremely beautiful, it should be rewarded.”

    Xie Chengyun was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and laughed lightly.

    The moon is dark and the wind is high at night, killing people and setting fires.

    When you are angry at injustice, ask the sword in your heart.

    Tonight this month, it is indeed a reward.

    After resting in the house for half an hour, it was completely dark.

    The Li family warmly invited Chu Yunsheng and Xie Chengyun to slaughter chickens and ducks for a treat, lest they be neglected and show their gratitude.

    After drinking and eating, the Li family rested peacefully, and Baituo Village gradually became quiet. Every household turned off the lights and fell into darkness.

    The night was getting darker, and the drizzle stopped unknowingly.

    Chu Yunsheng and Xie Chengyun changed into night clothes, masked, and did not ride a horse.

    Shanbai County has fallen asleep under the night, except for the occasional dog barking and chirping, everywhere is empty and quiet, extremely quiet.

    In the latent shadow of Chu Yunsheng and the two, like two fluffy leaves, they landed in the Shanbai County Government Office.

    When they came, the two had already interrogated the county magistrate’s residence and appearance from the yamen’s mouth.

    But as soon as they climbed over the courtyard wall and entered the small courtyard, the two found that the rest of the rooms in the courtyard were dark, and only the study room was still lit. Not asleep, still in the study.