My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Seeing Jiang Li and the others riding horses and carrying guns, Tu Long was very nervous, but he did not panic. He pretended to bow and said, "I wonder why you stopped me, sir?"

Seeing that the person behind him hadn't caught up yet, Jiang Li pretended to be stupid and asked him, "What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"And who are those people behind you, jumping around like that?"

Seeing that Jiang Li and the others seemed to have just bumped into them by chance and were not out to catch them, Tu Long felt relieved and explained, "I am a disciple of Mount Mao, and my Taoist name is Tu Long. I was driving corpses here today and disturbed the military commanders. I hope to atone for my sin. I will leave now."

As he said that, he wanted to take people away. Jiang Li was just trying to delay time, so how could he let him leave easily?

So I asked curiously, "Master, you said you were driving corpses. Could it be that the row of people behind you were all dead? Why are the dead moving?"

Seeing that he couldn't leave for the time being, Tu Long had to patiently explain, "General, you don't know, I have a secret method in Maoshan that can manipulate corpses after casting the spell. I use this method to bring those who died outside back to my hometown for burial, and do some good deeds to accumulate some merits."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Li continued to ask Tulong about some knowledge about corpse-driving with great interest. He was surprised to see that he answered fluently. It seemed that this guy might really be a disciple of Maoshan. It seemed that he would have to interrogate him carefully later.

Just then, there was a sound of chaotic footsteps from behind the street, obviously the infantry had arrived.

Seeing this, Jiang Li immediately called on the Taoist soldiers to draw their pistols and pointed them at Tu Long and the others, saying, "I know exactly what you are doing. Now put your hands on your heads and lie on the ground, or I will beat you into a sieve."

Tulong and his companions immediately became a mess and wanted to run to the back, but later they saw twenty or thirty black gun muzzles on the street, which immediately made them give up the idea.

So everyone almost instantly chose to follow their hearts and surrendered by lying on the ground with their heads in their hands.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Jiang Li ordered his men to tie them all up, confiscate all the stolen goods and money, and finally take them all to the church for detention.

When Uncle Jiu got the news and came to the church, he was stunned when he saw Tulong, because he recognized this man. He was the Taoist Tulong, whom he had met once before.

When Tu Long saw Uncle Jiu, his eyes lit up, and he was even more surprised to hear Jiang Li call Uncle Jiu Master.

So he struggled and shouted, "Fellow Daoist Lin, please help me beg for mercy because we are both disciples of Maoshan. I just took the wrong path because of a momentary thought. I will sincerely correct my mistakes and never make the same mistake again in the future."

Hearing this, Jiang Li curiously asked Uncle Jiu, "Master, is what he said true? Is he also a disciple of Maoshan?"

Uncle Jiu frowned and nodded, "I did meet him once when I was traveling in my early years. He said he was a disciple of the Three Ghosts Sect, so he is indeed a disciple of Maoshan."

Jiang Li frowned and asked, "Master, do you think he might be trying to deceive you?"

Uncle Jiu shook his head and said, "From his skills and methods, he is undoubtedly a branch of Maoshan. If he really wants to use the name of Maoshan, he should just say that he went to Maoshan. There is no need to mention the Three Ghosts Sect, which is not a very famous branch."

Jiang Li thought it made sense, so he said to the Dragon Slayer, "Since you are from the Maoshan branch, I will not kill you, but the law of the country cannot be abolished."

"According to the Qing Dynasty Code, opium trafficking is punishable by 30 strokes of the cane, three years' imprisonment, and exile of 800 miles."

"Since you are also a fellow disciple, I will spare you the exile, but you will still be punished with caning and imprisonment. However, if you behave well during your imprisonment, I can give you an appropriate reduction in sentence."

Tu Long was dissatisfied when he heard this and said, "It's already a certain time now. The Qing emperor is dead and gone. How can you use the Qing Dynasty Law to punish me? You are clearly trying to rob me!"

Jiang Li heard this and said in a deep voice, "Your trafficking in opium is against the law of nature. Whether I am the county magistrate of Teng Teng County or a disciple of Maoshan, I should hold you accountable."

"'As for what law you use to punish your crime, even if there is no Qing Dynasty, Ming Dynasty laws or even Han Dynasty laws, I am not wrong to act according to the law. As for the saying that black robs black, it is nonsense."

Seeing Jiang Li's quibbling, Tu Long immediately said, "You still say you are not quibbling. I traded opium with the mayor, but you only arrested me. If it's not your selfish motive, what else could it be?"

Jiang Li was puzzled when he heard this, "Aren't all your opium in these fake zombies? When did you trade with the mayor?"

Tu Long heard this and said, "He was the one who asked me to transport opium. I went to find him as soon as I arrived in the town, but he said that a new county magistrate had closed down the opium den. He then gave me 100 silver dollars and sent me away.

"He still has a hundred dollars' worth of goods at home. If you really catch him, I, the Dragon Slayer, will admit defeat today!"

Jiang Li heard this and said to everyone, "Then follow me and go see if Mayor Li is really involved in this matter."

To be honest, Jiang Li really wants to find fault with these local tyrants. By pulling one down from power, he can replace one of his own people with the new one. This will be of great help to regional stability and the issuance of orders.

...

He brought a group of people to Mayor Li's house, asked a Taoist soldier to climb over the wall and open the door, and led the group into the inner room. Mayor Li, who was sleeping soundly, was pulled out from his concubine's bed without any preparation.

After his father Wanshi fell asleep, Li Renjie quietly went to the room of his father's other concubine and did back and forth movements.

He was frightened by the sudden intruder and almost fainted, but he didn't care about that at the moment. He hurriedly climbed out the window and tried to escape.

Because it was dark, he came here secretly without turning on the lights and could not see who the person was. However, this did not prevent him from leaving through the escape route he had planned long ago. As long as he was not caught in the act, he still had room for excuses.

And because it was dark and the soldier was unfamiliar with the terrain, he was forced to run back to the room.

When he returned to his room trembling with fear, he couldn't help but think, "Could it be that Dad discovered something and sent someone to catch the adultery?"

Before he could figure it out, the door was opened again. Li Renjie forced himself to remain calm and shouted, "What are you doing in the middle of the night? Can't you let me sleep?"

As he said that, he took out a match and lit the candle. He saw two soldiers in uniform. When they saw Li Renjie, they said directly, "The county magistrate asked us to invite Mr. Li to the main hall. He said he has something to tell you. Please come with us!"

Li Renjie was full of questions when he heard this. If they were catching an adulterer, they wouldn't inform outsiders, otherwise it would be a huge loss of face.

But this was not the time to think about these things. He immediately said "wait a moment" and started to put on his clothes. Then he went to the main hall with the two of them.

But as soon as he arrived, he saw his father smiling with fear and trepidation at Jiang Li, while several opera singers were tied up beside him, and the leader was none other than the Dragon Slayer Taoist.