Unparalleled Evildoer

Chapter 144: How to judge the mystery
Dong Zhong knelt on the ground and replied: "Although we were far away and it was raining, his eyes were emitting a cold light, which was very conspicuous. Sir, I really saw his eyes!"

The soldier also echoed: "We have seen it all. They are all the ghosts of the Qin people who died unjustly!"

Yao Jia said: "Shut up, the laws of our Great Qin are fair and just, there are no unjustly dead souls, it must be the remnants of the six kingdoms pretending to be gods and fooling the people!"

Wuzhan asked calmly, "How many Skeleton Cavalry did you see?"

"About a thousand, all of them wearing Qin armor!" Jiang Xin replied.

Wuzhan continued to ask: "You described earlier that you heard a roar like a mountain torrent, and then you saw their horses' hooves not touching the ground, galloping past. If the horses' hooves did not touch the ground, how could there be a roar?"

Jiang Xin knocked his head on the ground and said, "Sir, everything I said is true. I beg you to look into my mind!"

"It's not that I don't believe what you said. I just want to confirm your statement again."

Yao Jia asked, "What do you think, my two censors?"

Feng Jie stroked his silver beard and said in an old voice, "It's hard to say now. We need to search this place carefully to find any clues!"

Yao Jia sighed and said, "I'm afraid all the traces here have been washed away by the heavy rain!"

Jiang Xin said: "After the Skeleton Cavalry left, I was afraid that the scene would be destroyed, so I gathered all the survivors together and waited for the adults to come and investigate. I also sent someone to report the case to the Supreme Court."

Wuzhan said calmly: "Once something happens, it will leave traces, it's just a matter of whether it can be discovered."

The three men walked side by side along the valley and searched carefully. A dozen officials of all ranks also followed behind them to check carefully. The dead soldiers had wounds, and were either stabbed to death by spears or lances, or hacked to death by long swords. Their eyes were wide open, and they were obviously frightened before they died. They did not put up any resistance. The horses were also stabbed to death. The wooden carts were either chopped off or smashed by heavy machinery. Broken wood pieces and wheels were everywhere. Rainwater formed streams flowing on the surface of mercury, and the wheel tracks and horseshoe prints were washed away. There were occasional shallow puddles, and the edge contours could not be seen clearly.

Yao Jia asked Wuzhan: "Looking at this scene, do you believe their statements?"

"Looking at the way the deceased and the horse died, they must have been attacked by cavalry. Moreover, the deceased had their eyes wide open, and they must have seen something terrible. It is certain that the accounts of Jiang Xin and others are true. However, whether it was done by the undead remains to be verified." Wuzhan said calmly.

At this time, Feng Jie pointed at the broken shaft and asked, "Look what this is?"

Yao Jia and Wuzhan hurried over to take a closer look and saw a spear head stuck in the broken part. The spear head was rusty and very old. It must have been broken when the spear hit the shaft of the cart. Feng Jie ordered someone to take it down and hand it to him.

Feng Jie took it in his hand and looked at it carefully, and suddenly exclaimed: "Look at the words engraved on the spear head!" He quickly gestured to Yao Jia and Wuzhan. Although the words engraved on it were a little blurry, it was certain that it was the word "Qin".

Yao Jia was surprised and said, "This is the weapon of the old Qin soldiers. Bronze is brittle and easy to break, and has now been replaced by iron. My Great Qin has long stopped using it in weapons. Where did they get this weapon? Could it be that the Qin soldiers who died on the battlefield?"

"Sir, there is a broken halberd here!" A man from the Supreme Court picked up a piece of bronze from the mud and handed it to Yao Jia to see.

After a while, three more broken bronze weapons were found. Most of the people present began to panic and did not believe most of the statements made by Jiang Xin and others.

Feng Jie said, "If what Jiang Xin said is true, a thousand cavalrymen suddenly appeared outside Xianyang City. I don't think it was done by the remnants of the six kingdoms. They don't have the strength and courage to do so now. Moreover, I don't think it is necessary to start such a big war and brave the heavy rain to destroy the mercury chariot and leave these eight words."

Yao Jia asked: "Does your Excellency believe that this was done by the dead?"

"I have never believed in gods and ghosts, but I really can't explain why this was left by a living person."

Wuzhan pointed at the large characters on the cliff and asked, "From what you two adults said just now, it seems that this handwriting is the same as that of Wu Anjun?"

Yao Jia said, "I have sorted out memorials from past dynasties, and I have seen Wu Anjun's handwriting before. He is used to writing the waist of the character '人' straight, and this font is written in this way, so I was very surprised just now. However, I cannot rule out the possibility that someone deliberately forged it. The font alone cannot prove anything."

Wuzhan turned to Miaoxin behind him and asked, "Miss Miao, I want to ask you a question. In order to infuse true energy into the weapon and split this cliff, what level of cultivation do you need to reach?"

Miao Xin looked at the cliff and replied, "At least one must be at the state of harmony with the Dao. But even Master may not be able to fly so high and leave writing without the help of external forces."

"We can use ropes to pull people up, but it's dark and others can't see clearly." He turned to Jin Xingzi and said, "Jin Xingzi, go around the cliff and see if there are any marks on the trunk of the tree?"

After seeing Jin Xingzi climbing up the mountainside, Wuzhan asked, "Sir, where did this mercury come from?"

Yao Jia said, "There is a wealthy woman in Ba County named Qing. After her husband died, she inherited the family business. Her wealth is as rich as a country. This mercury was purchased from her. Your Majesty has donated money to the Qin Dynasty many times because of her loyalty and named her a 'chaste woman'." Wuzhan heard this and said, "She is really an extraordinary woman, but why did Your Majesty buy so much mercury?"

Yao Jia shook his head and sighed, "Your Majesty, in order to seek immortality, listened to those Taoist priests and built the Lishan Palace. It was a waste of money and labor, heavy taxes, and the people suffered terribly. There were starving people everywhere. If this was done by the dead, it should be those who died of labor service, not the ghost of the old Qin."

"The Chief Justice is truly a good official who cares about the suffering of the people!" Wuzhan exclaimed.

"I can only sigh, but I cannot advise Your Majesty. I can only watch the people suffer."

"I have previously built the Great Wall in Shangjun. The corvées wore clothes made of cattle and horses and ate food made of dogs and pigs. Hundreds died every day."

"Whether it is feudal fiefdom or county system, the core is the people's will, not the strength of the city or the sharpness of the weapon. When the people are safe and the country is prosperous, the people will rebel when they are dissatisfied. This has never changed."

Wuzhan bowed and said, "I am grateful for your advice!"

At this time, Jin Xingzi had climbed to the top of the cliff and shouted to Wuzhan below: "It is just as the young master said. The bark of this tree has fallen off. Someone must have tied a rope on it. I will cut off the roots and push it down. Come and see!" As he said that, he swung his right palm and chopped down at the root of the trunk. With a 'click' sound, the basswood tree with a diameter of one foot was chopped off and slid down the cliff to Wuzhan and others.

Everyone was amazed at Jin Xingzi's magical power, which was indeed well-deserved. After taking a closer look at the fallen tree, they found a circle of bark falling off in the middle of the trunk, which was obviously the mark left by the rope.

Yao Jia said: "It is just as the censor expected. It seems that this Wu'an Jun must be disguised. I wonder if you have come to a conclusion?"

"They destroyed the mercury chariot with great difficulty, leaving behind these eight words. On the surface, it seems that the remnants of the six kingdoms did this, and judging from the weapons they used and the statements of Jiang Xin and others, it seems that the undead are causing chaos. However, I think that both of these arguments are untenable. As the censor has said, it is impossible for so many cavalrymen to suddenly appear outside Xianyang without being discovered by our Great Qin. Where did the old weapons of the Great Qin come from? It seems suspicious and needs further investigation. The possibility of the undead causing chaos is not very high either. First, the undead will not appear on a rainy night, and their souls will be scattered and will not have such great strength. Second, there has never been a large-scale battle here in history, and Wu'an Jun did not die here, so how could he travel hundreds of miles to come here to cause chaos."

"If it's not these two, then what kind of person could it be?" Feng Jie asked.

Wuzhan leaned over and picked up a piece of red porcelain and held it in his hand, saying calmly, "It's hard to tell. Including the surviving soldiers, perhaps what we saw was an illusion. They wanted to confuse us and cover up their purpose through such actions, so that we have no way to start. This must have been carefully planned, and powerful cultivators were mobilized. This may just be the beginning."

After hearing this, Yao Jia looked at the porcelain piece in Wuzhan's hand and said, "What's suspicious about this porcelain piece?"

"The broken edge of this porcelain piece is new, so it must have been left by them!" Wuzhan replied.

At this moment, someone behind me exclaimed, "Oh no! Someone's dead!"

Wuzhan and others looked back and saw that among the soldiers kneeling on the ground, two soldiers were lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth and twitching in their limbs. Then several more soldiers fell to the ground and died suddenly.

Everyone immediately panicked, all kinds of stories about gods and ghosts flooded into their minds. Yao Jia and others hurried over to check, but after checking, they found no wounds on the body and suspected that he died of poisoning.

Wuzhan leaned over and carefully observed his pupils, complexion, and nails, then asked the other anxious soldiers, "Do you feel anything strange in your body?"

One of the staggering soldiers said, "I... I feel dizzy and having difficulty breathing. A dark shadow has come in, and I..." He fell to the ground and died before he could finish his words.

"They are here to take our lives again. We can't escape!" The soldier kneeling on the ground said in fear, trembling all over.

As soon as these words were spoken, the gloomy weather suddenly became terrifying, and the timid people hurriedly looked around.

Yao Jia shouted angrily, "How dare you talk nonsense? How can there be ghosts in broad daylight!" He turned to ask Jiang Xin, "What did you eat?"

Jiang Xin said in panic: "After what happened last night, we were so frightened that we didn't eat any food!"

After hearing this, Yao Jia's face was filled with sorrow. He said to the guards of the Imperial Court, "Take Jiang Xin and others back to the Imperial Court for further interrogation!" He then said to Feng Jie, "I beg the censor to send people to block this area and strictly check the people passing by!"

Feng Jie immediately issued a blockade order, which was sent by express horse to all fortresses, asking nearby residents and searching for suspicious traces.

At this time, Jin Xingzi had already gone down the mountain. Wuzhan whispered a few words in Jin Xingzi's ear and handed him the official seal. Jin Xingzi put away the seal, jumped on his horse, and rode away.

When Yao Jia saw Wuzhan ordering Jin Xingzi to leave, he asked, "What does your Excellency want him to do?"

Wuzhan said calmly: "Order him to search for the souls of the dead."

(End of this chapter)