Headless Immortal

Chapter 27 The Demon Arrives
The smaller man picked his teeth and looked at the larger man, asking, "Why did you stay?"

Big Mouth chuckled: "I don't feel comfortable leaving Three Legs here."

“Sanjiao asked for it himself, and besides, the boss trusts him.” The short guy shrugged, then turned to the burly man: “And why did you stay?”

Zhuangzi fiddled with the sifting sieve cup that gleamed in the moonlight: "I'm hungry, I need to eat."

Big Mouth retorted, "Why don't you leave?"

"Um... well, I won't say anymore. It's no fun going back. I can't play with them." The little guy stubbornly made up an excuse, his eyes darting around before settling on Old Cat. He asked with a beaming smile, "Brother Cat, why did you volunteer to stay here and keep watch for the night?"

"Meow."

The small figure indicates that the big mouth is translating.

He said: "There is a reason for this."

The little guy exhaled a breath; he had genuinely thought Big Mouth could understand cat language the last few times.

Lu Xun, the black cat, lay comfortably on the blanket, wanting to roll around in it.

He intended to keep watch over things secretly, but several of his brothers stayed with him, so he decided to be more open about it.

We can't just leave Zhao Jia tied up here.

The task of investigating the monsters still fell to him. He also had to go to the constables of the prefecture and county, interrogate the monks of Qingquan Temple, and visit other families.

It doesn't make sense to put the most capable person here.

So the old cat did it for him.

"Drink tea."

"The night is long, how about we play a couple of rounds?"

"Play!"

……

Liu Hong sat in the room, looking at his wife on the bed.

That beast is ruthless; it tormented a perfectly healthy person into this state.

Dr. Chu said that since the patient was deficient in qi and blood, herbal medicine was only an aid; the only good solution was rest.

Now that the constables have confiscated my money, if I attract any more trouble, I might lose my life.

Judging from the show of force the constables put on, they must have lost a lot of money.

He had heard that the county magistrate's brother-in-law was robbed by a monster while escorting tax silver, and that hundreds of people couldn't stop him. Could those three yamen runners really handle the situation?
Even if tonight passes, so what? If they catch the monster, fine. But if they don't, and the prefecture and county are pressing them hard, there's no guarantee the magistrate won't arrest them to take the blame. In that case, they'll be sentenced to death, and they won't be able to speak out.

Let's hurry up and go.

If we go to Liuhe County to seek refuge with our uncle, we will have a place to stay.

The candle was not lit, and only a dark, shadowy figure could be seen.

Liu Hong took his wife Chen's hand and made a decision. He immediately instructed the steward and servants to pack their valuables and, before dawn, take a boat across the river to Jiangdong to seek refuge with relatives.

The mansion was busily being prepared.

……

The county government office was brightly lit.

Zhao Jia shoveled his food into his mouth, a small notebook on the table and a freshly moistened brush beside him. As he ate, he asked, "When did the toad monster appear in the temple? Did it come on its own, or did someone bring it here? Tell me, monk, just tell me the truth."

"This old monk has no idea what kind of toad monster it is..."

The old monk still had blood on his face, clearly indicating that he was not treated kindly during the arrest.

Zhao Jia sneered and put down his chopsticks. "I have long heard that Master Yuji is a master of Buddhism and the foremost debater in the hundred miles."

"I've been living a long and sensual life, and I've read quite a few scriptures."

"Come on, monks chant Buddhist scriptures, constables chant criminal laws. Everyone, take out your weapons and debate with Master Yuji to see whether Buddhist teachings or criminal laws are superior."

At Zhao Jia's command, all sorts of weapons, including the tiger bench, splints, crowbars, and branding irons, were brought up at once.

"Execution!"

Zhao Jia didn't have time to waste words with them.

The screams pierced through the county government office. The supervisor, the guest master, the steward, the head of the yamen, and others who were being held down were all trembling like quails. Some of them were so frightened that they wet themselves on the spot and hurriedly urged the head of the yamen to confess.

They couldn't withstand that severe punishment.

Zhao Jia ignored him and continued eating. He was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground, all in order to find out the origin of the Five Gods and recover the stolen tax silver. Anyone who resisted or disobeyed was defying the law.

“Before, when you were operating legally, even though I was unhappy, I would still protect you. Now that you have broken the law, I don’t need to be polite to you anymore.”

It's hard to tell how much of it was for the investigation and how much was for personal grudges; in any case, Zhao Jia sat atop the throne like an iron-faced Yama.

"what!"

"..."

"I confess, I confess..."

After the rain, the monk's face turned deathly pale, and large beads of sweat streamed down his bald head.

He had heard about this from Guanglue and Guangfa, and thought that apart from the toad monster, the government had no other evidence. As long as they stubbornly refused to confess, Qingquan Temple's reputation would remain intact. Now it seems that he underestimated the government's determination to investigate the case.

Zhao Jia gestured to the clerk beside him: "Write!"

"explain:"

"What time did you arrive? How did you get here? What proof do you have?"

"..."

"There's also a clay sculpture that was sent as proof."

"Clay sculpture?"

Zhao Jia looked suspicious and waved his hand: "Bring physical evidence!"

Constable A Mao immediately retrieved the clay sculpture.

……

Liu Hong, having packed his belongings, burst into the back room.

This was arranged by him. Originally, it was a Bodhisattva statue, but now it has been replaced with another clay sculpture.

The clay sculpture is about a foot long, soaring through the clouds and riding on the waves of a river. The shape of an ape is vaguely visible, and the Thunder God's mouth spits out sharp fangs, while his rough fingernails are holding some kind of incantation.

As Liu Hong was about to leave early in the morning, he stared intently at the clay sculpture, his heart filled with resentment, anger, and hatred.

Worshiping a monster brought him immense disaster!

Knowing he wouldn't stay long, Liu Hong, driven by malice, snatched the axe from a servant's hand and chopped the clay sculpture's head into pieces. He then ordered, "Crush it and bury it in the backyard. Don't let anyone find it."

"Yes, sir."

The servants cleaned up the remains of the clay sculpture.

……

The old cat, yawning, twitched its ears and suddenly raised its head.

The chill from the fog made his hair stand on end, and his body instinctively arched, his ears, which were pressed against his head, fluttered like airplane ears.

"Meow!"

Big Mouth immediately stood up and grabbed the knife at his waist.

Three-Legged was always like a tiger walking leisurely, handling any unexpected situation with ease, seemingly always relaxed and agile.

He had never heard such a howl from a three-legged black cat before.

"Something's happened!" The little guy jumped up.

Zhuangzi grabbed the thick-backed knife.

The black cat perched on the eaves, gazing into the distance, seemed on high alert.

The thick fog poured down like a waterfall.

A handsome man in purple robes, his face dark and angry, strode into the courtyard, completely ignoring the three constables sitting under the moon and the black cat Lu Xun on the eaves.

The three were also completely bewildered. They thought a monster had arrived, but instead, a man in fine clothes had come instead.

"Meow!"

Lu Xun had to remind them again that what was in front of them was not a human.

Big Mouth was the first to react: "Monster!"

"Damn it, what bad luck!" the little guy cursed. His boss said the monster wouldn't come unless he used a spell, but it still came. Without any hesitation, a flaming arrow shot straight into the sky, exploding in mid-air and creating a dazzling display of fireworks.

"If we can't avoid him, let's try it." Zhuangzi drew his knife and charged.

"Small……"

Bang!
The man in fine clothes took a step forward and unleashed a powerful punch. The burly man, weighing over 200 pounds and wearing inner armor but not heavy armor, was knocked back three or five steps and fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and rolling around. His screams were no less than those of the whistling arrow, and they probably had already pierced through two or three streets.

The smaller one was stunned. The strong man was a master who could hold his own against Zhao Tou'er. He was skilled in martial arts and could not be easily subdued by three or five ordinary people. Yet, he was knocked down by the man in fine clothes with a single punch and could only roll on the ground and wail.

He suddenly lost all his courage and thought of the girls at the Drunken Pavilion.

Every frown and smile is so gentle.

The food was delicious.
The wine was also delicious.

What am I doing here?
"Get out of the way!"

Big Mouth shoved the smaller one aside.

The man in fine clothes was visibly furious, and he raised his fist as if to kill everyone who saw him.

"puff!"

A beam of white light hurtled towards it.

The man paused.

(End of this chapter)