Minglong

Chapter 41: The Magic of Seizing Yuan
In the afternoon, the setting sun shines on the endless fields along the river.

The wheat in the fields had been harvested, the straw had been burned and rapeseed seeds had been sown, and a faint burnt smell could be smelled in the air.

Yang Dabiao and several yamen runners were digging in the fields with hoes, and halfway through they said:

"You guys are really good! Burying someone alive is a serious crime. According to Daqian law, the principal offender will be sentenced to death, and the accomplices will be caned 100 times and exiled 3,000 miles..."

On the edge of the field, four gambling thugs squatted on the ground with their hands on their heads, their noses and faces swollen and blood oozing from the corners of their mouths, and they kept shouting:
"Master Yang, I really don't know what you are talking about. Please stop digging. This is the Li family's land..."

"What's wrong with me helping the Li family loosen the soil? Are you afraid I'll actually dig something up here..."

……

Xie Jinhuan also took a hoe and literally dug three feet into the ground, searching for the body in the vast fields, in order to find out what happened to the Li family, highlighting his tireless work!
Linghu Qingmo followed behind with Niao Niao. He saw that Xie Jinhuan did more work than four yamen runners. The yamen runners took two breaks, but Xie Jinhuan didn't rest. He felt a little distressed:
"Jinhuan, why don't you take a break? Let me take over. You've already dug almost two acres of land. Even the landlord's oxen wouldn't be used this way..."

"I'm a man, there's no reason for me to let a girl take over. You just need to take a rest."

"Ah~"

Linghu Qingmo couldn't snatch it away, so he could only take out a handkerchief and help Xie Jinhuan wipe the sweat from his forehead.

As a martial artist, Xie Jinhuan was not tired at all to dig two acres of land. What's more, what he was digging was not the corpse buried alive by the Li family, but his own future!
Because of his strong driving force, Xie Jinhuan's hard work and perseverance made the young ladies washing clothes by the river marvel:

"I just thought he was a city boy, but I didn't expect him to work so hard in the fields. He looks like someone who can do big things..."

"Tsk tsk, whoever marries into this family will enjoy a lifetime of bliss. No wonder such a beautiful young lady follows him around..."

"Look at that captain. He's tall and strong, but he doesn't work honestly at all..."

?

Yang Dabiao, who was taking a break, felt a little embarrassed when facing the "heroic competition" of his good brother. He coughed twice and started to dig the soil with a hoe again.

Hu San, the thug in charge of collecting debts for the Li family, squatted on the ground with his head in his hands. Seeing the officials gradually approaching the burial place, sweat had soaked his back. While he was quibbling in vain, he kept looking towards the official road, hoping that someone from the Li family would come to deal with the situation.

But unfortunately, before the Li family arrived, shouts were heard from the fields:
"Boss, it might be here."

When Xie Jinhuan heard the sound, he immediately picked up a hoe and went to the constable Xiao Wang with the yamen staff.

It was during the crop rotation period, the fields were plowed, and straw was burned the day before, so there were basically no traces left.

But where Constable Xiao Wang pointed, there was a rotten hemp rope half buried in the soil.

Hu San's face turned pale when he saw this, and he quickly smiled apologetically:
"This is the rope used by the oxen to pull the plow. Maybe one of them broke accidentally..."

"Is the rope for your plow so thin?"

After cursing, Yang Dabiao asked the men to step back, spat on his hands twice, and then picked up a hoe and started digging.

chap——

chap——

But after a dozen or so hoe blows, a large hole half a person deep was dug out in the field, and the scraps of clothes and white bones appeared in the soil.

Seeing this, Hu San was disheartened and tried to argue:

"Who the hell buried someone in my field? Sir, this has nothing to do with me. Someone must have framed me..."

Linghu Qingmo saw the expected corpse and his face darkened:

"Report this to the government office immediately and have County Magistrate Zhang come over."

"Yes."

The bailiff immediately ran back to report the incident.

When Xie Jinhuan saw that the body was found, he was originally prepared to wait and see the fight between the Li family and the Wang Palace.

But the ghost wife who was always following him suddenly whispered in his ear:

"There's something wrong with this body."

"Ok?"

Xie Jinhuan frowned, squatted down beside the pit, and carefully examined the body.

At this moment, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from the official road:
"drive--"

Hoof-tapping hoof-tapping...

Everyone turned around and saw three Chilin Guards coming from the direction of Danyang, followed by a luxurious carriage, and on both sides of the carriage were the accompanying legal advisors and guards.

Linghu Qingmo asked someone to notify Yang Ting to come over immediately because he knew that the Li family would definitely intervene in the case of burying alive.

At this time, the people from the Red Scale Guard came running over. With the chief officer away, Yang Dabiao couldn't handle it, so Linghu Qingmo could only step forward and bow:

"Guard Linghu Qingmo, is this the Captain of the Red Scale Guard, Lord Zhou Hezhou?"

Zhou He arrived at the field and dismounted halfway, his expression solemn:
"Exactly. I just heard there was a case here. What exactly happened?"

The Chilin Guards obeyed the emperor directly and their authority was almost limitless.

However, Linghu Qingmo was able to have Princess Changning and the head of Zihui Mountain sleep with him in bed. He had a strong background and was not afraid of a centurion. He responded directly:

"This case occurred in Danyang County and should be investigated by the local government..."

"That's natural."

Zhou He didn't show any arrogance or domineering in his demeanor. Facing these unwelcome words, he said calmly:

"Zhou had just been invited to a banquet by Master Li, and upon hearing about this, he hurried here to avoid suspicion.

"If the Li family has indeed committed crimes, and the county government doesn't dare to investigate, I, the Chilin Guard, will investigate. If the county government doesn't care about arresting anyone, I, the Chilin Guard, will arrest them! The Chilin Guard has been entrusted by the Emperor to supervise all officials. Miss Linghu, please don't regard us as partisans of the Li family."

"?"

Do you think I'm a silly girl?
How could Linghu Qingmo not know the relationship between Li Gongpu and Chilin Guard? He didn't want to pay any attention to this dog official who was lying with his eyes open.

Zhou He came here to settle things. He came to the edge of the pit to check and asked in a cold voice:
"Li Zixian! Explain to me, what's going on?"

"It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!" Li Zixian had just been helped off the carriage by his attendants. He was now walking quickly across the field, holding his robe, explaining along the way:
"These people are all gamblers who owe gambling debts..."

Linghu Qingmo's eyes turned cold: "Can a gambler be used for lynching and burying alive?"

"Miss Linghu, I misunderstood. This is not burying alive."

Li Zi first came forward and bowed to the officials with a friendly expression and apologized:
"This group of people couldn't pay back their debts, and I had no choice but to make them work in the fields as farmhands to pay off their debts. Three of them fell ill during that time, and the doctor died without being able to cure them. Even though I owed them a debt, I couldn't let their bodies lie exposed in the wilderness, so I buried them in the fields..."

Yang Dabiao poked his hoe and pointed at the skeletons with their hands tied behind their backs in the pit:
"Master Li was buried like this?"

Li Zixian came up to take a look, turned around in anger and said:

"Hu San, I asked you to wrap me in a mat and bury me. What would you do?"

Hu San was able to work as a debt collector under the Li family, so he must be smart. He quickly explained with a bitter face:
"I thought they were just gamblers who sold their wives and daughters and were not worthy of a straw mat, so I just tied them up with a rope and buried them. I didn't dare to say anything just now because I was afraid the police would misunderstand."

"You are such a jerk! What's there to be afraid of when it comes to honest matters?"

"I admit my mistake, I admit my mistake..."

Several people sang in unison and explained the cause and effect very clearly.

Linghu Qingmo knew it was difficult to shake the Li family's powerful background, but he still tried his best to enforce the law impartially:
"Empty words are useless, and there is no evidence to prove it. Will the government believe what Master Li said?"

"I have proof."

Li Zixian waved his hand and asked the master to bring over a few contracts and handed them to Linghu Qingmo:

"These are the IOUs from three people. They owe a total of two hundred and seventy-six taels and seven qian of silver. This is the agreement between the three of them to pay off their debts with work, and they all have their fingerprints on it..."

Linghu Qingmo frowned, took the contract to examine it, and pressed a dark red handprint with his finger:
"This handprint is really fresh."

Li Zixian quickly apologized and said, "It's been raining lately and the paper hasn't been properly preserved. The contract is absolutely authentic."

Zhou He had been listening in, but now he walked up and interrupted:
"According to Daqian law, if a slave worker falls ill, the master should do his best to treat him. Although most people just give a perfunctory treatment, the Li family's actions have indeed violated the law. According to the law, they should be punished with thirty strokes of the cane and compensate the slave worker's family with silver."

"I accept the punishment."

Li Zixian quickly nodded and admitted his mistake.

Linghu Qingmo and Yang Dabiao fell into silence when they saw this scene.

Anyone with eyes at the scene knew that Li Zixian was confusing right and wrong to cover up his crimes.

But the three dead were indeed gamblers who owed huge debts. Even if they were buried alive and the case was brought to the three courts in the capital, the sentence would not be severe given the Li family's powerful background.

Now that Li Zixian has readily accepted the punishment, received a beating, and then compensated the victim's relatives with money, it is already a very good result.

If the matter is investigated further, the gambler's relatives will not be able to get compensation, and they may even turn around and speak up for Li Zixian, accusing the government of meddling in their affairs.

Linghu Qingmo hesitated a little and looked at Yang Dabiao.

Yang Dabiao had not wanted to handle this case from the beginning, but today he was being framed by his good brothers. He considered for a moment:

"Well... in that case..."

"and many more."

As soon as he opened his mouth, a cold voice came from inside the pit.

?

Yang Dabiao staggered and wanted to turn around and kneel down to kowtow to Xie Jinhuan twice. He thought to himself - My dear ancestor, I know you hate evil and can't tolerate any injustice, but there has to be a limit!

Now the government is looking for the big monster in Zihui Mountain and has no energy to compete with the Li family. They have been beaten and paid money, what else can you do?
Chop the plums first?

When Li Zixian and Zhou He heard Xie Jinhuan interrupting, their faces darkened.

Zhou He thought for a moment and came to the edge of the pit:

"Master Xie, do you have any explanation?"

Xie Jinhuan really wanted to find out something big about the Li family, but at this moment, he was not deliberately fanning the flames.

Xie Jinhuan squatted beside the bones, picked up the skull and examined it carefully, then handed it to Zhou He:

"Captain Zhou is a member of the Red Lin Guard. His eyesight should be better than mine. Take a look at this bone to see if there is anything wrong with it."

Zhou He frowned slightly, took the skull and looked at it carefully, and finally looked inside through the eye sockets.

The results showed that there were tiny traces on the inner wall of the skull, converging towards the Shenting acupoint...

The fields became quiet.

Li Zixian was still counting on Zhou He to settle the matter, but when he noticed that Zhou He looked uneasy, his heart skipped a beat and he asked carefully:

"Master Zhou, is there something wrong with this bone?"

Zhou He has been handling cases in the Chilin Guard for many years. He could tell at a glance that the marks in the skull were from the "Demon Soul Power".

This skill is similar to blood sacrifice, the only difference is that 'blood sacrifice' drains many people at once, and requires at least third-grade Taoism to perform; the threshold for the Yuan-stealing magic is slightly lower, and a fourth- or fifth-grade demon can barely master it. It is not very effective against a single target, but it is concealed.

Since the beginning of the year, mummies have frequently appeared in the capital. So far, there have been seventeen of them, all killed in this way.

The current skeletal traces are definitely not forged, and are likely related to major cases such as the mummy case and the evil spirit case of Zihui Mountain!
Although Zhou He wanted to complete the task assigned by Li Gong, these cases were too complicated. If he dared to press them privately, he would lose his head. After a little consideration, he handed the skull to Yang Dabiao.
"Send this to the palace immediately, and ask an expert to come and perform an autopsy."

"what?"

Li Zixian was confused about the situation when he saw the Chilin Guard suddenly acting impartially.
"Master Zhou, what's wrong with this bone?"

When Linghu Qingmo saw the remaining blood streaks in the skull, his expression suddenly changed:

"How dare you, Li Zixian, collude with the demon bandits in secret! Capture them!"

Several yamen runners immediately stepped forward and pressed Li Zixian to the ground...

(End of this chapter)