Yinshan Record

Chapter 337 Wildfire Has Begun, Wen Ning Will Be Trapped
At first, the wildfire was not enough to burn everything.

At first, they were just sparks that no one paid attention to, and they were just fleeting red dots of light that dissipated into the air.

Once it encounters withered grass and the parched air, it will transform into a ball of fire. When this fire begins to roll across the grassland, it will become a wildfire that burns everything.

Even if rain were to fall from the sky, it would probably be of no use.

Zhang San and Lao Niu were sent to the prison in Wenning County.

"Gentlemen, we have no past grievances or recent enmities."

The jailer smiled and said, "The reason you ended up in our hands is because someone else arrested you. We're just following the rules of the imperial court."

"We can save money, we can all save money."

Old Niu was laughing and joking, but Zhang San remained silent.

He was originally a yamen runner in Shanyin County, so he knew very well what was going on in prison.

Without saying a word, they would strike him twenty times; this was called "warming-up sticks."

After those twenty lashes were considered a warm-up, the jailer would demand money, which had a special meaning called "toll money." If you agreed, then there was no further discussion.

If they don't give it to you, there are twenty more blows called "rule sticks".

If someone promises to return the money but fails to do so, they will receive thirty strokes of the cane, known as the "memory stick."

The water and fire sticks in the prison are round on top and flat on the bottom, with the flat end holding iron. If you hit someone hard, twenty blows can take away half your life.

After receiving twenty strokes of the rod, he was considered imprisoned, and the jailers would have endless tricks up their sleeves for him to play in the days to come.

In short, if you have money, you're a god here; if you don't, it won't be long before you're meeting a god.

When Zhang San was a yamen runner, he was just an observer and didn't think much of it. But now that this same approach was being used on him, he felt nauseous from every pore on his body.

I felt even more disgusted with my past self, and my appearance was wretched.

"Please forgive my rudeness, but according to the rules, prisoners must be given twenty strokes of the rod before entering the prison."

The jailer raised his hands towards Jiankang and said, "These are all the Emperor's rules. Please don't blame me. Men, give these two brothers a break."

Twenty strokes it is.

Zhang San thought to himself, "How I treated others back then is how they're treating me now. I've heard this is called 'self-destruction,' which makes sense."

"Wait a minute."

Old Niu raised his hand: "May I ask, brother, is it absolutely necessary to administer these twenty strokes?"

"Of course we have to fight."

"How about this? My brother is weak," Old Niu said, pointing to Zhang San. "My mother injured her womb when she gave birth to him, and he was born with a weak constitution. Could you take his twenty and put it on me instead?"

The jailer stared intently at Lao Niu and Zhang San. One was a towering giant with a horse on his shoulder and a boat on his chest, while the other looked only slightly stronger than a little chicken.

"Are you two brothers?"

Old Niu grunted twice and said, "To be honest, elder brother, we are half-brothers, though we share the same mother."

The jailer looked at them for a long time before shaking his head again: "These are the rules of the imperial court, not my rules. If you violate them, you will be punished by your superiors."

Old Niu's eyes darted around a bit: "Oh dear, if you're willing to spend some money, I wonder if you could make an exception?"

"You have money?"

"Look at what you're saying, brother. My younger brother is a Taoist priest with a certificate of ordination. He has accumulated some wealth over the years."

"Real gold and silver?"

"We must not deceive you, brother. These are not iron coins; they are all pure gold and silver."

"well."

The jailer smiled slightly: "But who sent you two here? You're not from this area..."

"Alas, all the gold and silver are with my brother's mistress." Old Niu chuckled. "Brother, have you ever heard of Widow Liu at the Fire God Temple in the east of the city? She's quite a charming woman."

He also has a lover, who is a widow. How wonderful!

The jailer was secretly delighted, thinking that he might be able to gain both money and women today.

“This is probably not a good idea. How can a woman like her trust me? We need some kind of token.”

The jailer was smug.

As long as we get some token from those two fools, go to the east of the city to find that widow Liu, and confirm that she has lost her virginity and cheated on her husband, that little vixen will be at our mercy.
Then all the gold, silver, and widows will belong to our family.

He looked at the two "demons" in front of him and said he would find a way to send them on their way. Anyway, a few people "die of illness" in prison every month.

Zhang San just watched Lao Niu perform from the sidelines. The Fire God Temple and Widow Liu were all fictitious.

With a powerful demon like Old Ox around, no matter how high or low you are, you won't suffer a loss.

"Token?"

Old Niu looked at Zhang San. The two of them were almost completely naked, their clothes and everything else stripped off, leaving them shirtless.

His eyes finally settled on the wrists and ankles, on the heavy, rusty handcuffs and shackles.

With a forceful pull, the handcuffs snapped in two. He stretched out his fingers, twisted and tore off a piece of the iron handcuff, and clenched it into an iron ball.

"Here, why don't you give this to her?"

The jailer looked at the scene before him as if he had been terrified, and his face immediately turned ashen.

Yes, these two are "demons." I thought they were just like the fat sheep we caught in the past, but they are real demons.

After hunting geese for a thousand days, today the geese have pecked out his eyes. The jailer's teeth began to tremble involuntarily.

Shouldn't such a ruthless demon be arrested by the Imperial Guards of Jingye? How did he end up in his own prison?

What about the City God?
The jailer seemed to be frozen in fear, staring wide-eyed and silent.

Zhang San watched as Lao Niu raised his handcuffs.

"Brother Niu, what should we do now?"

Old Niu didn't say much. He took the keys from the jailer's waist, flipped through them, and found that he couldn't tell which one was which. So he simply reached out and pried open all of Zhang San's shackles with brute force.

"Let's talk after we get out."

As he spoke, Old Niu stretched out his large, fan-like hands and patted the jailer's body, pulling out a small string of copper coins and a few loose silver coins, which he put directly into his pocket without thinking.

"correct."

As he spoke, Old Niu kicked the jailer to the ground.

"You want to hit me twenty times? I'll give you a discount and only hit you twice."

He picked up the fire-and-water stick next to him and struck the jailer. The stick whistled through the air, and before it even reached the jailer's body, the jailer's eyes rolled back and he passed out.

Useless piece of trash.

Old Niu, still not satisfied, tossed the water-fire stick aside and led Zhang San outside.

Along the way, they found no guards in the prison. When they reached the gate, they found the streets deserted, with the bright moon overhead and a few dark clouds drifting by in the wind.

"Where has everyone gone?"

Zhang San muttered to himself as he looked out at the street.

It looks as clean as if a dog licked it.

The old ox put its finger to its mouth.

"Shh, listen."

Zhang San listened intently to the sound of the wind.

It seemed that the sound of drums could be faintly heard.

"Paying homage to Heaven."

Old Niu looked outside and said, "They are singing a song to pay homage to the heavens."

Countless wildfires blazed outside the city walls of Wenning County, brand-new war drums were struck with drumsticks, and people with white headscarves sang ancient songs under the guidance of propaganda teachers.

"I work at sunrise and rest at sunset, I dig a well to drink from, and I till the fields to eat from. What virtue has the Emperor bestowed upon me?"

"Corrupt officials, heavy taxes, fine clothes and sumptuous meals, they suck my marrow dry. What virtue has the emperor bestowed upon me?"

"He is ambitious and fond of achievements, stubborn and self-willed. He takes every last penny and spends it like dirt. What virtue has the Emperor bestowed upon me?"

Zhang San looked at the dark clouds in the sky.

Wildfires have broken out, and Wenning County has rebelled.

I've had a cold these past couple of days and haven't been feeling well. I'll resume three updates a day tomorrow, and try to update 10,000 words a day two or three days a week. Thank you all for your support, I'm truly sorry.

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(End of this chapter)