Beichen Sword Sect's Headmaster's Secret Records

Chapter 386 All living beings suffer
When Huangfu Yi opened his eyes, the sun was already high in the sky, and the scorching sun burned his face. He tried to raise his hand, but found that he still couldn't move. At first, he thought the drug hadn't worn off yet, but then he realized that he was nailed to a prison cart, his neck and shoulders were shackled, and only his head was exposed. He was locked up face up, and his hands and feet were pierced by wooden nails, so he could only stand upright.

"Water, water..."

"Shut up!"

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, a loud bang came from his left ear, and a whip like a python lashed his lips, instantly tearing Huangfu Yi's skin open, causing blood to spurt from his mouth and nose, and his entire face to lose sensation. He almost fainted from the pain.

Huangfu Yi was in excruciating pain from the whipping, unable to speak, and his whole body felt weak and powerless. He could only grit his teeth and swallow mouthfuls of the rusty-tasting blood.

At this moment, someone on the right spoke up.
"Boss, capture him alive, and you'll get 100,000 strings of cash."

"Hmph, give him water!"

Then, as if a gust of wind were blowing behind him, a dark figure flashed by and stepped onto the prison cart with a "thump".

Huangfu Yi squinted and saw a pair of thin-soled boots in front of him, with daggers and arrow sheaths hidden on their calves. Looking up, he saw a young warrior wearing a black robe with arrow sleeves, a bronze beast-shaped belt around his waist, a repeating crossbow hanging from it, and an embroidered spring knife slung across his shoulder.

Damn it, it's the Six Doors again... 100,000 strings of cash, could they have mistaken him for someone else again...?

The constable took the silver gourd-shaped water pouch from his waist, grabbed Huangfu Yi by the hair, and poured water on his face.

Huangfu Yi drank deeply, his blood and sweat mingling, but he hadn't had his fill. He had only moistened his throat when the constables took his water pouch, swung their scabbards, and struck him in the face. His head lolled to the side, and he fell silent.

"Hey! Ten thousand strings of cash!"

"fainted."

The young constable checked Huangfuyi's pulse, then darted away. Huangfuyi continued to pretend to be unconscious with his eyes closed, carefully discerning the sounds and breathing around him.

Three men and eight horses; judging from the sun's position, they were probably escorting him in a prison cart, heading southwest...

Just then, the sound of clear hooves came from ahead. The three constables around immediately heard it, nocked their crossbows, and drew their swords.

As the sound of hooves drew closer, the men at the front whistled twice. Recognizing that they were their own men, the constables responded in kind and sheathed their swords.

"Squad leader, there are scouts ahead!"

"Tsk, are there any other ferry crossings?"

"Yes, but it's an eighty-mile detour."

“We can’t go that far with him. The Qian army is approaching, and the elite cavalry are spread out everywhere. We will definitely be caught up.”

"Then we'll lie in wait until nightfall, and cross the river after this scout has passed. There should be a place to hide nearby."

There is a temple to the south.

"Walk."

So the four constables continued to escort the prison cart south, while Huangfu Yi continued to feign death in the bumpy cart.

No one knows what big crime Zhang San committed that the Immortal Palace offered a reward of 100,000 strings of cash and sent so many henchmen all the way to Qianzhou to capture him.

And if you're going to arrest someone, fine, but why do you always put them in handcuffs when you don't even recognize them? It's ridiculous...

However, every cloud has a silver lining. Although he suffered some physical pain, being put in a prison cart at this time might not be a bad thing for Huangfu Yi, because he found that he was still in the 'recovery' stage.

The vacuum lotus seed in his heart, the immortal marrow and spiritual seed between his eyebrows, the sweet medicinal wine in his stomach, the demon core he had just eaten, the potent poison all over his body, the colorful and chaotic true qi in his dantian, all sorts of rare and precious herbs were thrown into his body and stewed together like a hodgepodge. How could he possibly digest all of this in just one night? Even now, Huangfu Yi's internal organs are still churning, his whole body is weak and powerless, and he is burning with fever and excruciating pain. If it weren't for these constables guarding him, even a wild dog could probably devour him.

However, these constables were so professional that they naturally took precautions against 'Zhang San' going berserk and implemented necessary security measures. They not only used the prison cart to securely lock him up, but also used awls to drive acupoints into his collarbone, shoulder blade, and spine, forcibly blocking the flow of vital energy and giving him no chance to retaliate.

At this moment, Huangfu Yi was also unable to escape, so he could only focus on breathing exercises to relieve the excruciating pain all over his body.

The group arrived at the dilapidated temple. The constables inspected the inside and outside and found that the main hall had a large hole and the shrines and statues were missing. Fortunately, it was still clean and had not been invaded by any evil spirits or monsters. So they parked the prison cart in the courtyard, ate and rested on their own, and took turns keeping watch at night.

The young constable gave Huangfu Yi a couple more sips of water and then left him to his own devices. This continued until the wee hours of the morning when suddenly a voice rang in Huangfu Yi's ear.

"Hey, Zhang San, are you awake?"

With such pain, Huangfu Yi couldn't sleep. He recognized the voice as that of the constable who had shouted "100,000 strings of cash" earlier, and blinked.

Then the constable lowered his voice again and said...
"Would you like something to eat?"

Huangfu Yi frowned, not understanding what this guy meant.

The constable wasn't angry, and asked again.

"Would you like another sip of water?"

Huangfu Yi blinked.

So the constable opened the water bag and fed him a mouthful, not intending to harm him.

Huangfu Yi looked at the man, puzzled for a moment.

The constable said,

"I am from Pizhou."

Huangfu Yi was completely baffled.

The constable explained in a low voice.

"I heard you were the one who massacred the entire family of the Pizhou governor? Good riddance!"

That bastard, relying on being a son of one of the Five Marquises, acts arrogantly and domineeringly every day! He does all sorts of evil things, such as seizing land, taking other men's wives and daughters, digging up graves, and slaughtering loyal and good people!

The entire court officials were counting on the grain from Pizhou and turned a blind eye to his atrocities! Even the censor who impeached him was tied to a cart and dragged to his death, and his wife and daughters were hanged from trees and shot to death, leaving him with a broken family and dead.

"Hmph, these Six Doors officials talk all day about punishing the wicked and upholding justice, claiming to eliminate violence and maintain order, but in the end, they can only kowtow like dogs before bastards like this. Only a hero like you can avenge the people of Pizhou. Thank you very much."

Huangfu Yi fell silent for a moment, as if his throat was blocked.

When the constable realized he didn't want any more water, he put away the water bag and handed him something that looked like a pill.

"This is Wuliangdan, made from five kinds of grains. Eating one will satisfy your hunger."

The palace eunuchs are the most petty; if you kill one of their people, you will definitely be punished according to the law.

"Well, at least I can die with a full stomach."

Huangfu Yi remained silent for a moment, then opened his mouth to take the Wuliang Pill and nodded to the constable from Pizhou.

The constable from Pizhou sighed.
"Heaven has no eyes; good people don't get good rewards."

These bastards don't think about conquering the Central Plains; all they think about is enriching themselves at the expense of the public, eliminating dissidents, suppressing loyal officials, and oppressing the people.

If it weren't for my family to support me, I'd really like to rebel against them.

The constable sat down next to him, shaking his head and cursing, complaining about the various faults of the officials and ministers in the court. He had probably been holding it in for a long time and was hoping to find someone who wouldn't badmouth him to confide in.

Huangfu Yi was chewing on Wuliangdan pills while listening to him.

These constables have seen it all; in fact, they've seen far too much of the dark side of society. Cases like the one involving the governor of Pizhou are countless; you could talk about them for a whole day and night. So the constables focused on the three most representative figures in the Immortal Palace.

The first person was the former General Who Conquers the South. He came from a royal family, was the cousin of the late Empress Dowager, the son-in-law of the previous Immortal Emperor, and was once the leader of the imperial relatives.

Back then, General Wang was ordered to lead a southern expedition, commanding a large army to fight demons and expand the territory of the Li Kingdom. Later, when the northern troops rebelled, he led his army back. It was with the support of the General who led the expedition that the three nobles were able to move the capital to safety and establish a foothold.

However, although this man had the merit of supporting the restoration of the dynasty, he was ambitious and wanted to hold the court hostage. He openly and secretly fought with the General of Chariots and Cavalry who guarded the north. So much so that when Shi Jiao was trapped under the city of Suiyang, he was worried that the General of Chariots and Cavalry would gain merit, so he did not send reinforcements and provisions, thus missing a great opportunity to quell the rebellion.

Later, taking advantage of the rebels' temporary chaos and loss of power, this man secretly led his troops back to the capital, seemingly intending to rebel. Fortunately, he died suddenly on the way, whether from serious illness or assassination, it is unknown, thus preventing too much harm. However, due to his involvement, the Wang clan, the head of the four clans, also temporarily lost power.

The second person is the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty. He comes from the Xie clan and is the uncle of the current Immortal Emperor and Empress. He replaced the Wang family and became the new leader of the maternal relatives. He stabilized the court for a time, eased the relationship between the imperial family and the powerful clans, and became the rightful leader of the Immortal Clan. He is quite a capable person.

However, more than conquering the Central Plains, Grand Tutor Xie was concerned with consolidating the Xie clan's power and maintaining harmony within the capital. Therefore, even though Shi Jiao had gone mad and the rebel army was disorganized and fighting independently, giving them a literal advantage, the Celestial Palace never launched a full-scale counterattack. After all, the court was on the verge of bankruptcy, unable to make ends meet, and the war still required spending the Xie family's dowry; they had no choice but to be subservient to others.

Of course, the constable didn't care about General Wang's character or Xie Taifu's governance. He was just a minor official and couldn't overhear what was going on in the Wang and Xie families' homes, but he had eyes and could see what the servants of those two families were doing.

Whether it was a general establishing his own government or a grand tutor ruling the court, the power was held by the powerful clans of the Celestial Palace. Since fleeing to the south, these noble families of the Three Palaces had forcibly acquired properties and settled down in the south to make up for the losses caused by the rebellion. They protected and indulged their servants in extortion and plunder, showing no shame whatsoever and doing whatever they pleased.

Today, General Wang sends his troops to collect taxes, tomorrow Grand Tutor Xie seizes land. They take turns, each using different tricks to plunder the people's property and land, forcibly conscripting laborers to build private gardens, sealing off mountains, lakes, and forests, prohibiting private gathering of firewood and fishing, occupying numerous manors and fortresses, building cities for self-defense, and keeping thousands of slaves and tenants. They also seize tens of thousands of acres of fertile land and mulberry gardens, raising private armies disguised as bandits to rob and kill passing merchants for wealth. Such examples are too numerous to mention. The moral order of the court has been ruined by these powerful families and their protected servants.

As the celestial palace's finances deteriorate and the nation becomes increasingly turbulent, powerful clans can live off the resources of the people, accumulating vast wealth and magnificent mansions. Their wealth grows exponentially, with no end in sight, becoming bloodsuckers parasitizing the common people.

Local vassal states and prefectures dared not offend them, yet they still had to levy heavy taxes to quell the rebellion. As a result, they imposed even harsher taxes on commoners and those of low social status, abusing the people's labor. As a result, the people could not bear the burden and fled to the mountains and lakes to become bandits, leading to a series of uprisings and riots of all sizes.

The watchdogs of the Six Doors (a government agency) didn't bother to investigate the matter. They couldn't afford to offend the corrupt officials in the court, so they didn't dare to manage or punish them. Instead, they focused on bullying ordinary people, driving them to desperation, causing them to kill, riot, or rebel. Then, the imperial guards would go out to arrest the thieves and bring the rebels back to be "punished in accordance with the law to set an example," without ever asking what the cause of the rebellion was.

So now, these constables can only act against their conscience, constantly on the run, chasing after people all the way to Qianzhou to arrest them just to vent their anger for the eunuchs. They know they're aiding and abetting a tyrant, but they're powerless to do anything about it. After all, their family's vulnerabilities are held in someone else's hands.
Fortunately, there is still hope, namely the rising third person.

This man was born into the Huan clan. He was said to be a brave warrior who slew dragons and serpents in the Gen Kingdom. He was skilled in both literature and martial arts and had extraordinary strategies. Although his family had fallen into decline due to war, he was now chosen by the eldest princess as her husband. With this status as a relative of the emperor, he received investment from the imperial family and was appointed as the governor of Jingzhou and the general of Anxi. He took over the remnants of the Southern Expeditionary Army and stationed them in Yunmengze. On one hand, he reorganized the new army, and on the other hand, he swept away the demons and bandits in the surrounding area. He was victorious and his momentum was very strong.

This man's magnanimity was truly extraordinary. Not only was he able to rebuild a new army, but he also won battle after battle. After suppressing the rebellion, he only executed the ringleaders, ignoring the rest and taking them all under his control. What's more, he even received special permission from the Celestial Emperor to establish his own government, recruit soldiers, allocate resources, promote reclusive talents, and recruit scholars from humble backgrounds. The eight provinces under his rule were gradually becoming a place of control.

Moreover, he valued the suffering of the common people, encouraged agriculture and sericulture, improved officialdom, curbed land annexation, and even privately carried out land consolidation, investigated and investigated hidden populations, punished powerful families and relatives, and restricted local strongmen. He was truly a wise and capable person in times of peace and a good minister in times of chaos!
Of course, such behavior would have been tantamount to rebellion in the past, no different from that of the northern warlords and regional governors. However, times have changed. The imperial court is no longer powerful, and there are arrogant and domineering rebel leaders all around. At least Prince Consort Huan has the backing of the imperial family. As long as he nominally obeys the imperial edicts, he should be grateful.

"So set off in peace. Prince Consort Huan is skilled in both literature and martial arts, and is determined to serve his country. One day he will be able to quell the rebellion, recover the Central Plains, turn the tide, and restore order to the world..."

As a result, the constable rambled on for a long time, but dared not release Zhang San to thank him on behalf of the villagers. He could only accompany Huangfu Yi to drink water, eat pills, and chat. He talked all night, making conversation even when there was nothing to say. In the end, all his words were summed up in one sentence.

Just bear with it; perhaps he's different from them.

Huangfu Yi was utterly speechless.

What business is it of his, General Wang, Grand Tutor Xie, or Imperial Son-in-Law Huan? If he could speak, his first words would be, "I'm not Zhang San..."

But I doubt it would make any difference if I spoke; they could just cut out his tongue and that would be the end of it. Perhaps in the midst of the killing, they killed Zhang San, took his staff, and took away the rest of the karma along with him.

In short, this is the kind of world where human life is treated like dirt and all living beings suffer. Who doesn't bully others, and who isn't bullied? Therefore, Huangfu Yi didn't intend to waste his energy arguing or complaining. He simply conserved his energy, seized the time to recover, and looked for a good opportunity to escape...

"Roar--"

"what sound!"

"A demon is cultivating under the moon!"

Suddenly, a loud bang resounded through the night sky, startling everyone awake. Looking up, they saw a line of dark clouds rising on the horizon, followed by a strong wind. The dark clouds obscured the moon, and in the distance, they could vaguely see a dragon, dozens of feet long, breaking through the wind and churning wildly in the sea of ​​clouds, roaring and soaring freely.

"Another powerful demon has ascended to the dragon realm..."

"How many heads are there this month?"

"I really can't stay in the North anymore."

The constables were deeply worried. After all, while the oppressive rule in the South was fiercer than a tiger, and the wealthy and powerful families were even more ruthless, the North was no place for humans to live! These demons and monsters literally ate people! Such a huge dragon, wouldn't it eat a thousand or eight hundred people per meal? One gulp and it's gone! There's really no way to survive!

What can be done? What can be done...?

Before everyone could even sigh in relief, a sudden wind arose, clouds rolled in and out, dark clouds covered the sky, and a torrential downpour began. Then, the distant roar of a dragon suddenly grew louder and closer, hurtling straight towards them!

Uh, it can't be that much of a coincidence... Could it be a Dragon King Temple?
"Hurry up and leave!"

Without a word, the constables spurred their horses and fled! Truly the elite of the imperial court, the capable officials of the Six Doors! In the blink of an eye, they scattered!

Huangfu Yi, who was thrown into the prison cart, was speechless.

(End of this chapter)