I am Master Maoshan

Chapter 2230 Revenge?

Liu Jun stood up, his face cold: "Want to die? How can it be that easy?"

His slender fingers took out a small celadon bottle from his sleeve. The bottle looked ordinary, but it made Li Wancai and Mo Huaiyuan, who were kneeling on the ground, shudder at the same time.

"Open their mouths and feed one to each of them." Liu Jun's voice was neither hurried nor slow, but it was chilling.

The guards took the porcelain bottle, and two yamen runners immediately held down Li Wancai and Mo Huaiyuan. Li Wancai's fat body twisted desperately, and his brocade clothes were rubbed on the ground and covered with dust; Mo Huaiyuan's face was pale, and his narrow eyes were full of fear.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please spare my life!" Li Wancai's fat face flushed red. "I am willing to confess, I am willing to confess!"

Liu Jun raised his lips with a cold smile: "Want to recruit now? It's too late."

Mo Huaiyuan struggled to raise his head, his voice trembling: "Your Majesty, you can't--"

"Can't what?" Liu Jun leaned forward, his dark eyes staring directly at Mo Huaiyuan, "Private punishment?" He suddenly chuckled, "City Lord Mo, when you and Li Wancai were doing all kinds of bad things, why didn't you think about the laws of the Divine Realm?"

The guards had already opened the porcelain bottle, and a faint sweet and fishy smell wafted out. Mo Huaiyuan smelled the smell and suddenly struggled violently, his eyes full of fear: "No! No! This is a "green earthworm!"

Liu Jun raised his eyebrows: "Oh? City Lord Mo is quite knowledgeable."

When Li Wancai heard the name, his body suddenly stiffened. As the confidant of the city lord, he had certainly heard of this poison - a secret medicine that was said to be used to control prisoners. After taking it, life would be worse than death, and an antidote had to be taken every month to prolong life.

"Your Majesty," Li Wancai said with a changed tone, "I am willing to testify against all the crimes of this old man Mo Huaiyuan. Please—"

"Shut up." Liu Jun interrupted coldly, "Are you scared now? When you were embezzling taxes, did you ever think about the people who died of hunger and cold?"

The guards had already pried open the two men's mouths. The guards poured out two green pills, which were only the size of mung beans, with strange patterns on the surface, and glowed ominously under the candlelight.

The pill melted in the mouth and slid down the throat into the stomach. Li Wancai and Mo Huaiyuan both retched at the same time, but could not spit out anything.

At first, the two of them were fine. Li Wancai even breathed a sigh of relief, thinking it was just an ordinary poison and the worst that could happen was death. But soon, his expression froze.

"Ah——" Li Wancai suddenly let out a scream that was not like a human voice, and his fat body twisted wildly on the ground. Under his skin, blood vessels squirmed and bulged like living things, forming a terrifying network of patterns on his pale skin.

Mo Huaiyuan was not much better. He curled up into a ball, digging his fingers into the ground, unaware of his broken nails and bleeding. At his temple, a dark blue blood vessel twisted like an earthworm, as if it would break through the skin at any time.

"Does it hurt?" Liu Jun looked down at the two of them, his voice frighteningly soft, "This is just the beginning. The poison will flow through your blood vessels throughout your body. Wherever it reaches, it will be like millions of ants gnawing at your bone marrow."

Li Wancai was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, and saliva flowed uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth. Mo Huaiyuan barely raised his head, his eyes full of pleading: "Your Majesty, please..."

Liu Jun took out another small white jade bottle from his bosom and waved it in front of the two people: "The antidote is here. As long as you tell the truth, you will get one pill every month to ensure your life is safe."

He signaled the bailiff to help the two men up, and he sat back in the armchair, slowly adjusting his cuffs: "Now, starting with the tax and silver embezzlement case, tell us everything you know. Remember, if you tell even a single lie..." He glanced meaningfully at the blood vessels still moving under the skin of the two men.

Li Wancai had collapsed, his face covered with snot and tears: "I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything! I did deduct the tax silver, but... but 70% of it was given to the city lord Mo Huaiyuan as a tribute!"

Liu Jun's eyes flashed with a gleam of light: "Oh, Mo Huaiyuan, you took all of this 70%?"

Mo Huaiyuan endured the severe pain and added with a gasp: "Your Majesty, no, I have also distributed a lot to several masters in the Divine King City."

"List." Liu Jun said coldly, "I want a list of all the participants."

Li Wancai trembled as he took out a booklet from his arms: "Write it all down here."

Liu Jun took the booklet, flipped through a few pages, and sneered, "Very good." He signaled the guards to give the two of them pills to relieve the pain, "But this is just the beginning."

After Mo Huaiyuan took the pill, the blood vessels under his skin gradually calmed down, but the memory of the pain that penetrated deep into his bones could not be erased. He asked weakly, "Your Majesty, what do you want?"

"I don't want anything, just want to clean out the termites." Liu Jun threw the booklet to the captain of the guard beside him.

The captain of the imperial guard understood what he meant and immediately began to arrest people according to the list in the book. Some people who were not on the list, even some big figures in the Divine King City, were also arrested by the imperial guards who came to support them. Two days passed quickly. Although more than half of the officials in Hezhou City were arrested, the small city was indeed in chaos for a while. The documents in the government office were piled up like a mountain, and the patrol officers on the street were also reduced by half. The merchants in the city were a little nervous at first, fearing that this sudden change would affect their livelihoods.

But the common people in the city felt extremely happy. In the teahouses and restaurants, people could be heard clapping and cheering everywhere. Many families even set off fireworks and firecrackers at their doorsteps. The crackling sounds came one after another, shrouding the entire Hezhou City in a festive atmosphere.

Old man Li from the south of the city even took out some old wine that he had collected for many years and distributed it among his neighbors. A rare happy smile appeared on his wrinkled face.

"Thank God!" Old Man Li raised his wine bowl, his voice choking with sobs, "The officials who have bullied us all these years have finally received retribution!"

The officials who had been bullying the government for years were swept away. The tyrannical tax collectors disappeared, and the excessive taxes and levies were stopped. The vendors in the market no longer had to pay the "stall tribute" in fear, and the farmers no longer had to worry about the taxes on their one-third acre of land.

Normally, Liu Jun should feel a sense of accomplishment after the corrupt officials were swept away. He went on a secret visit this time and caught a total of 27 corrupt officials in Hezhou City. It can be said that he did a great thing and should be happy.

But now, he was obsessed with the lawsuit. Liu Jun sat in the temporary study of the government office, and the tea in his hand had been cold for a long time. The sound of celebration outside the window kept coming, which made him even more upset. On the table was Jin Yueyue's petition, the handwriting was beautiful but the force was so strong that it could be seen through the back of the paper. Every word seemed to jump out of the paper and bite him.

The door of the Dog God King's room was suddenly pushed open, and Jin Yueyue rushed in in plain clothes, with a short sword on her waist. Her eyes were red and swollen, and she had obviously cried for a long time, but at this moment, she was burning with the flames of anger.

"I want to kill you and avenge my brother!" Jin Yueyue glared at Liu Jun, her hand already on the hilt of the sword.

Liu Jun sighed and put down the petition in his hand. He had expected this to happen, so he had withdrawn the guards at the door. This stubborn girl had been causing trouble at the government office for three consecutive days.

"No, you are sick." Liu Jun's face was dark, but he didn't mean to call the guards. "Your brother did something wrong and took so much bribes. I didn't kill him, but sent him to the frontier. Isn't that right? Why are you seeking revenge on me?"

Speaking of which, this matter is somewhat related to Prime Minister Jin Xuan of the Divine King City.

Jin Yueyue and her brother Jin Shirong are both from the Jin family's side branches. Jin Shirong has a certain connection with Prime Minister Jin Xuan, so his career is relatively smooth.

But this person was greedy, and the number of God King coins he had verified alone was as much as six million.

The key to this matter was that it was Prime Minister Jin Xuan who presided over it. It was Jin Xuan who put the interests of the country above his own and gave all the evidence of Jin Shirong's crimes to him, and he was sentenced to exile to the frontier.

"My brother was greedy for money, but he never killed anyone!" Jin Yueyue's tears burst out, "Do you know what the border is? He went there for less than a month and..." She was choked with sobs and couldn't speak, but the sword in her hand was shaking.

Liu Jun's expression was stern. He did receive the news that Jin Shirong died of illness during exile, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon. Looking at the grief-stricken girl in front of him, he felt a little guilty, but he quickly suppressed it.

"Miss Jin," Liu Jun slowed down his tone, "The laws of the divine realm cannot be abolished. Your brother violated the law and should be punished. I am very sorry for his death, but it cannot be blamed on me."

"If I don't blame you, who else can I blame?" Jin Yueyue suddenly drew her sword and pointed the tip of the sword directly at Liu Jun. "If you hadn't meddled in other people's business, my brother would still be a general now! Our Jin family wouldn't have..." Her voice choked again, but the tip of the sword didn't move at all.

Liu Jun looked at the tip of the sword in front of him and suddenly felt extremely tired. In the past year, he has investigated and punished countless corrupt officials. It was always like this, he was clearly eliminating harm for the people, but there were always people who held a grudge. He couldn't help but think of the last high official in the God King City who was investigated by him. That person's old mother knelt at the gate of the God King Palace and cursed him to die a bad death.

"Bang" the door was pushed open again, Xu Baoer walked in with a cold face and slapped Jin Yueyue in the face.

This slap not only stunned Jin Yueyue, but also stunned Liu Jun. Is this still his gentle and lovely godsister?

"What? Do you feel pain now? You know how to love your brother, so why can't I love mine? He obviously did nothing wrong, why should he be blamed by you?" Xu Baoer said in a bad tone, pointing out the window, "Do you know? The people of the whole city have been celebrating these past two days, and you are the only one who came to seek revenge on my brother. Do you think my brother is easy to talk to? You are taking advantage of me? No matter what, my brother is still a dignified God King. According to the laws of the God Realm, your behavior deserves the execution of all nine generations of your clan!"

Jin Yueyue was stunned, her face pale, the tip of the sword drooping slightly. The faint laughter outside the window was in stark contrast to her grief at the moment.

"Did your brother die unjustly? What about those common people? How many of them had their families broken up by your brother?" Xu Baoer's eyes were like sharp blades, staring directly at Jin Yueyue. Every word was like a heavy hammer, hitting Jin Yueyue's heart.

Jin Yueyue's sword fell to the ground with a clang. Her body seemed to have lost all support, and she staggered back two steps. Her face instantly turned pale, and her lips trembled slightly. She seemed to want to say something, but she couldn't utter a word.

"I, I..." Jin Yueyue finally collapsed on the ground, tears pouring out like a spring, she covered her face with her hands, and finally burst into tears. The cry was full of pain, regret and despair, as if she wanted to vent all the pain in her heart.

Liu Jun stood aside, bent down to pick up the fallen sword, gently wiped the dust off the sword, and then placed it gently on the table.

He wanted to say something else, to persuade or comfort her, but looking at the girl who was breaking down and crying, he felt an indescribable sympathy and helplessness in his heart. In the end, he just sighed deeply and turned to the side.