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Chapter 381 Corrupt Officials (Three-in-One)

Shiyang Village is a large village with several hundred people, including men, women, and children.

If they all become "beginners, no better" martial arts practitioners... Xu Yuan's expression changed drastically after hearing Wan Yun's words.

These villagers pose little threat to those above the eighth rank.

However, under normal circumstances, ordinary captains would disperse and stay overnight in villagers' homes.

If a family were to suddenly rise up, one or two ordinary captains would probably be no match for them!
Not to mention the villagers, who, influenced by the evil spirits, may even undergo further bizarre changes at night.

Xu Yuan waved to the old village head.

The old man waited cautiously not far away.

The poor village head was actually very dedicated, and his actions in handling various situations were quite appropriate.

It was originally a meritorious deed.

But who can stop the surging greed in the hearts of the masses?
"Sir." The village headman hurriedly stepped forward.

"Let's tidy up the village ancestral hall; we'll stay there tonight."

"As ordered."

The old man hurriedly went home.

At this point, there was no one else to rely on, so the task of cleaning up the ancestral hall had to be done by his own family.

He went home, called his two sons and daughters-in-law, grabbed brooms and other tools, and headed to the ancestral hall.

Halfway there, the second daughter-in-law couldn't help but complain in a low voice, "Everyone else took some, but you won't let our family take any, even though you're the village head..."

The old village head glared: "That's an evil spirit! Look, even the exorcism department has come. Anyone who takes it will have to hand it over. Those who refuse will get a beating for no reason, and might even be thrown into jail!"

The daughter-in-law whispered, "What are we going to pay? They only paid one yuan out of the three that fell down, and only two yuan out of the five..."

Some people simply took the gold and fled the village.

The village head glanced at his daughter-in-law and said, "That's someone else's business, I can't interfere. I can only manage our own family."

Xu Yuan dismissed the village head, but suddenly a group of people appeared on the path at the entrance of the village.

They could be seen from a hundred or so feet away, wearing the official robes of the Grand Canal Administration.

The leader was in his early forties, tall and thin with a slight hunchback and prominent ears.

When Xiang Qinghuai saw them, his heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.

Yu Yunhang hurriedly stepped forward, exchanged a few words with a smile, and led the man over: "Sir, this is Lord Zhao Xianze, the patrol commissioner of the Grand Canal Administration."

Xu Yuan bowed slightly: "Lord Zhao..."

Zhao Xianze waved his hand, saying, "Lord Xu, gather your troops and come back with me now."

Xu Yuan frowned: "What does Lord Zhao mean?"

"The meaning is clear. Lord An ordered you to be on standby at the yamen at any time, but you abandoned your post and came here without a word." Zhao Xian looked around and sneered, "What case is more important than the Crown Princess's matter?"

After Xu Yuan left, the sergeant naturally embellished the story, telling An Chengyuan all sorts of bad things about Xu Yuan.

An Chengyuan had reservations about Xu Yuan.

Of course, everyone in the Grand Canal government had opinions about the Purification Department.

It's just that An Chengyuan is particularly dissatisfied with Xu Yuan because of recent events.

The root of this dissatisfaction is actually because: yesterday's interrogation revealed that the Crown Princess had twice sent people to assassinate Xu Yuan.

This made An Chengyuan very embarrassed.

In this awkward situation, some people might feel guilty and try to make amends to Xu Yuan in some way.

However, some people might hold a grudge against Xu Yuan because of this.

An Chengyuan is a case in point.

So even though he knew that his subordinate was definitely stirring up trouble, he still immediately sent Zhao Xianze to deliver the order for Xu Yuan to return immediately.

The captain wanted to volunteer to lead a squad of soldiers himself to go with Zhao Xianze.

If Xu Yuan doesn't obey, I'll bring my men and bring him back!

It's good to show off in front of that kid.

As a result, he was slapped by An Chengyuan and kicked out.

He also lost his job guarding the main gate of the government office.

These ordinary soldiers are stupid, but An Chengyuan is shrewd.

Sending people to capture Xu Yuan would be going too far, and it wouldn't be justified.

If the Bureau of Purification is pushed too far and questioned, An Chengyuan will find himself in a very passive position.

……

Xiang Qinghuai hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over: "Lord Zhao, it's getting dark soon, and we can't leave today no matter what. Let's stay in the village for the night."

Zhao Xian sneered, "Who are you?"

Xiang Qinghuai then introduced himself, and Zhao Xian finally gave Ma Tianshou some face: "Arrange accommodations for this official."

Xiang Qinghuai said, "We've already asked the village head to clean the ancestral hall. Let's all squeeze in tonight..."

Zhao Xian frowned and asked, "Aren't there any wealthy families in the village?"

Xiang Qinghuai quietly explained the strange case in the village to him, but Zhao Xianze still said, "You can stay at the village head's house too."

How big could the ancestral hall in this village be? There were dozens of people from the exorcism department, and he also brought four subordinates with him.

It must be uncomfortable for everyone to be crammed inside.

Zhao Xian was unwilling to suffer this hardship.

"This..." Xiang Qinghuai hesitated. To be honest, they could stay at the village head's house, but Xu Yuan and Xiang Qinghuai had never considered this option because they both knew that the village head's house was not necessarily safe.

If the villagers act strangely at night, then everyone should gather together to resist and defend, in order to ensure safety to the greatest extent.

Since the village head's house couldn't accommodate so many people from the Exorcism Division, Xu Yuan and Xiang Qinghuai never considered the option of living separately from the beginning.

Xiang Qinghuai wanted to explain to Zhao Xianze in a tactful way that living separately was not safe.

Just then, the village head returned with his son and daughter-in-law.

"Sir, the ancestral hall has been cleaned."

Zhao Xianze spotted the village head's second daughter-in-law at a glance.

Although she wore simple clothes and her skin was somewhat dark, she was still quite beautiful.

Zhao Xian then took it upon himself to point at the village head and said, "Go and make preparations. My men and I will stay at your house tonight."

The village head recognized the official robes of the Grand Canal government and dared not refuse.
"Yes, I will obey."

Xiang Qinghuai then stopped trying to persuade him.

Zhao Xian then led his men back with the village head.

Before leaving, Zhao Xian pointed at Xu Yuan again: "Tomorrow morning, you must immediately return with me. Lord Xu knows the consequences of disobeying orders!"

Xu Yuan snorted coldly, watching Zhao Xianze's departing figure, and said coldly, "Does he really think the Canal Administration is our superior to the Purification Bureau?"

Xiang Qinghuai said with a dilemma, "What should we do tomorrow? We can't leave the case in the village unsolved, but An Chengyuan insists on urging you to go back."

He came from the Bureau of Purification, and when faced with a mysterious case, he had to solve it; it was an instinct of someone from the Bureau of Purification.

Xu Yuan sneered, "Let's talk about it after tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'm afraid this Lord Zhao might not be able to urge us to go back."

Xiang Qinghuai couldn't help but ask, "You mean..."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Let's see how things go tonight."

The members of the Purification Division went to the ancestral hall together.

Shiyang Village was poor; the ancestral hall consisted of only one large room with a side room next to it.

It was indeed a bit crowded with dozens of people moving in.

Fortunately, everyone had been following Lord Xu for a long time and was already used to it. The harsh conditions were nothing to worry about; they could only manage for one night.

Without Xu Yuan's orders, his officers first went to check the door gods on the ancestral hall's main gate.

This is all experience.

Then someone thoroughly inspected the ancestral hall inside and out, including the area behind the altar where the ancestral tablets were enshrined.

"Sir, there is no problem."

Xu Yuan nodded: "Let's eat first, then make arrangements for the brothers on night duty."

I went outside and gathered some firewood, boiled some water, and made do with the dry rations I had with me.

……

Zhao Xianze had many demands at the village head's house.

There must be wine and meat, and refined rice.

Moreover, Zhao Xianze always singled out his second daughter-in-law to do this and that, and after several times, his second daughter-in-law became extremely embarrassed.

Zhao Xian then took the opportunity to secretly grope the other person's buttocks.

The second daughter-in-law fled in a panic, while Zhao Xian laughed heartily.

When the Three Secret Agents were out on business, they would stay in the homes of villagers or wealthy local families. If they took a fancy to a woman or two, they would forcibly drag her into their rooms at night for their own pleasure. That was a common occurrence.

Zhao Xian led four subordinates, all of whom were eighth-rate, while he himself was only seventh-rate.

He felt that it was her good fortune to have fallen for this village girl.

They were also certain that the old village head and his family would never dare to resist.

As for the possibility of strange events happening in the village tonight, Zhao Xian didn't care.

His status as a seventh-rate divine cultivator gave him such confidence.

However, if he had been more gentle and asked a few more questions, he would have learned from Xiang Qinghuai that the villagers had already demonstrated the power of "second-rate" martial arts practitioners when they were robbing the four golden figures during the day.

He might be more rational and stay by Xu Yuan's side, at least he'd have a fifth-rate protector.

The Lao Lizheng family lived a relatively comfortable life in the village.

All that was left was a small bag of fine rice that could be exchanged for salt, and the last piece of cured meat that had been air-dried on the kitchen roof beam. These were all prepared and offered up together.

There was really no other way; we had no alcohol at home, and it was already dark, so there wasn't enough time to go out and buy some.

If you want to buy it, you have to go to a village about seventeen or eighteen miles away.

Zhao Xianze and his four companions ate their meal amidst constant cursing and swearing.

After the meal, the old man personally came to clean up the dishes.

One of Zhao Xianze's officers, observing the situation, suddenly slammed his sword down on the dishes on the table, then grinned maliciously and said, "Tell your second wife to clean up!"

"Ah?!" Old Li took out a tael of silver from his pocket. This was all the savings in the family. He had secretly put it in his pocket before coming in to pack his things.

"Gentlemen, please have mercy, spare us..."

As soon as he handed over the silver, the constable kicked him in the hand, breaking the old village head's wrist.

The silver flew out and disappeared, its whereabouts unknown.

"You're lucky to have taken a liking to my wife! If you dare to mess with me again, I'll throw your whole family out to feed the evil spirits tonight!"

Old Li, drenched in cold sweat from the pain, clutched his wrist and left like a walking corpse.

What else?

If they are really thrown out, their whole family will be eaten by evil spirits, and with no one to testify, who can do anything to these officials?
Even with witnesses and physical evidence, who in this world would risk offending these officials for the sake of their family?

Under the rule of tyranny, ordinary people are not even allowed to struggle or resist.

Zhao Xian then gave his subordinate an approving look.

From inside the house outside, one could hear soft sobbing.

The second son let out a half-roar, but it seemed that the old village head covered his mouth and pressed it down.

After a while, the second daughter-in-law walked in silently with tears on her face and her head down.

Zhao Xian then smiled.

……

Xu Yuan had been thinking about this case.

After dinner, Yu Yunhang arranged for the captains to take night duty.

Xu Yuan called Wan Yun over and inquired in detail about what had happened during the day.

It was later discovered that everything was just the old village head's "one-sided story".

Especially the old man who turned into a golden statue, and his two children, who explained the whole story to the village head.

After Wan Yun arrived with his men, he also considered that the villagers might covet the golden statue. After sending someone to inform Lord Xu, he devoted all his remaining energy to guarding the golden statue.

No one was specifically sent to find the two children and inquire about the situation.

The two children were not found during the subsequent gold confiscation operation.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean that the village headman has any problems. But in Lord Xu's view, there are indeed many suspicious points in this case.

The villagers scrambled to loot the golden statue, and their strength was extraordinary.

It seems that the golden man is not just "gold," but also contains some other tricks that can tempt people to lose their minds.

Xu Yuan got up and went to the two burlap sacks.

Lang Xiaoba, accompanied by two captains, guarded the object.

Xu Yuan asked Xiao Ba, "When you're around this sack, do you ever feel the urge to open it and steal a few coins?"

The two captains were startled and almost knelt down: "Sir, we had no such intention!"

Lang Xiaoba knew that the adult did not mean that.

"I don't feel that way," Lang Xiaoba replied.

Xu Yuan nodded: "Open the bag and pour out the gold."

The two captains were bewildered, but they still obeyed the order.

The pieces of gold gleamed in the light of the oil lamp.

Xu Yuan asked again, "Now, do you have the urge to steal a few and hide them?"

The two captains realized their mistake and stopped trying to distance themselves, instead focusing on understanding their own feelings.

After a while, Lang Xiaoba spoke first, nodding and saying, "I do have that feeling."

Only then did the two captains dare to speak: "We are the same."

Xu Yuan waved his hand: "Alright, pack everything up."

The three of them put the gold back together.

Xu Yuan clearly saw that when the bag was tied up, the three of them secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Such a strong temptation," Xu Yuan thought to himself, "but it only works if you can see it."

Then Xu Yuan recalled, "When I looked at that gold, I didn't feel any greed."

"Lang Xiaoba is already a seventh-rate cultivator. So the trickery on the gold is not ineffective against high-level cultivators, but because my uninhibited nature has invisibly eliminated the effect of this trickery."

Xu Yuan glanced outside. The villagers had hidden some gold. What kind of shocking events would unfold tonight?

……

Zhao Xianze suddenly let out a shrill scream!
His rapidly advancing and retreating body suddenly collapsed.

A thick stream of blood spurted out between his legs!

The second daughter-in-law, who was pinned down by him, instantly turned into a golden statue.

Unfortunately, his thing was inside the other person's body.

It was squeezed into minced meat.

It's like... being smashed completely with a single, heavy iron hammer weighing hundreds of kilograms.

Zhao Xianze's screams alerted his four subordinates.

They stormed in together, shouting angrily, "You lowly servant, how dare you plot against my master..."

Upon seeing the condition of the bed, the four were stunned.

I initially thought that at most, this village girl was just too humiliated to bear and bit an adult, but I never expected it to be like this...

Zhao Xian covered his groin with both hands, and was in so much pain that he even broke out in a cold sweat.

"Quick, quick, help me out..."

His men rushed forward and helped Zhao Xianze up.

Zhao Xianze said in a trembling voice, "Quick, get out of here! Break through the wall! This family is probably about to undergo some kind of calamity..."

The martial arts practitioners under his command smashed through the wall with an axe, and the five of them rushed out through the hole.

The commotion startled the old village head and his family in the house in front, who had no idea what had happened.

However, none of them resorted to trickery.

……

After Zhao Xianze and his group of five broke out, his alchemists hurriedly fed him several medicinal pills.

But the bleeding is difficult to stop.

Dan Xiu was busy for quite a while.

Zhao Xian's lower body was tightly bound.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief; the medicine had taken effect, and the pain had lessened.

Zhao Xian was so angry that he gritted his teeth and was about to curse when he suddenly looked up and saw that on both sides of the village path, every household had opened their doors and golden figures were walking out!

The Jin people's footsteps were heavy, and in the dead of night, they thumped like drums.

The five men broke out in a cold sweat again.

Can we defeat so many Jin soldiers?

Zhao Xianze's previous confidence vanished.

But the golden figures completely ignored them, walking past them one by one towards the river.

Suddenly, not far behind them, from the hole in the wall of the old village head's house, a golden light flashed, and a golden figure emerged.

It was her second daughter-in-law.

It completely ignored the five people and walked right past them.

At this point, for some reason, Zhao Xianze and the other four were no longer so afraid of this strange situation.

Perhaps it's not that there's no fear, but rather that fear has been replaced by another emotion.

greedy!

These are all pure gold!

Hundreds of golden statues—that's tens of thousands of taels of gold!

The same thought simultaneously arose in the minds of all five: Where did all this gold come from? It was panned from the river.

With each golden statue that passed by him, their greed increased by one point.

The invasion of evil spirits intensified time and time again.

The clarity in the eyes of the five people gradually disappeared.

They stood up, including Zhao Xianze.

They mingled with the Jin people and walked together towards the river.

Zhao Xianze's injuries seemed to have healed, or perhaps he had lost all sensation.

Upon arriving at the riverbank, the golden figures plunged their hands into the water, and their arms automatically transformed into golden basins, where they began diligently washing the river sand.

Zhao Xianze and the other four also put their hands into the water.

It's like holding a wooden basin in your hand, and you start washing it as well.

They should have found nothing, but a ball of gold gradually gathered between their hands, and more and more of it appeared. Then the gold began to spread from their hands, covering their entire bodies.

……

A series of muffled thumping sounds came from outside the ancestral hall, and the officers on night duty immediately became alert.

I went to the window and looked outside, and my scalp tingled with fear!

One by one, the golden figures emerged from the village, gathered on the village path, and then headed towards the river.

The commotion outside was so great that everyone in the exorcism department inside the ancestral hall woke up.

They immediately became alert.

Crouching low with his hand on the knife, he quickly rushed to the door.

Someone pressed themselves against the wall, straining their ears to listen to what was happening outside.

Lang Xiaoba and the two captains beside him also craned their necks and peered out the window.

The two burlap sacks beside them suddenly moved.

Then, liquid gold seeped out of the sack.

It was like a sack containing a corpse, seeping blood.

After the golden liquid flowed out, it quickly condensed into four broken bodies.

Then the mangled hand extended forward, transforming into a golden blade that pointed directly at the back of Lang Xiaoba and the other two's heads!
Suddenly, a black curtain descended from the sky, engulfing all four broken golden figures.

Lang Xiaoba and the other two then realized what was happening.

Even though they were wrapped in Pidan, the golden spikes extended from the golden man still stubbornly thrust forward, lifting Pidan up a few inches until it was right in front of Lang Xiaoba and the other two's noses!
The three men, still shaken, said, "Thank you so much, sir."

Xu Yuan waved his hand and pointed outside: "Look."

In the village, streams of golden water flowed swiftly from each household toward the ancestral hall.

The big ones look like poisonous snakes, and the small ones look like tadpoles.

The old village head and his family, trembling and huddled together, stared in disbelief as a pool of golden liquid flowed out of their second daughter-in-law's room...

The second son then remembered that after the villagers ignored his advice and smashed the four golden statues and looted everything, his wife's elder brother from her maternal family came to see her once.

The brother-in-law, feeling sorry for his sister, secretly shared a piece with her, but little did he expect...

The golden water reached the outside of the ancestral hall, but was blocked by the divine light of the door gods.

Unfortunately, these metal and water elements are not complete evil spirits.

There is no complete consciousness.

So they would only follow their instincts and repeatedly try to break through the golden light of the gatekeeper.

Shocked by the golden light, it shattered and scattered, then reformed itself and continued to charge forward headlong.

Finally, the gatekeeper was angered.

Suddenly, the door gods on the right-hand door flashed with angry light in their eyes.

"boom--"

Thunder roared and lightning flashed everywhere.

The area in front of the ancestral hall was instantly as bright as day, so bright that people couldn't open their eyes.

Then, with a whoosh...

Countless pieces of flesh and blood spilled down.

The evil elements in the gold and water were completely destroyed.

They reverted to the flesh and blood of those four people.

Then the flesh and blood slowly dried up, and when a gust of wind blew, it shattered into dust.

Xu Yuan had already retrieved Pi Dan, which had transformed into a giant leather pouch, and was holding it in his hand.

When the golden water from the outside gathered, the golden water inside the skin seemed to sense it and rushed outward with all its might.

But it couldn't break through Pidan.

The golden water outside was destroyed by the divine light, and the things inside the skin also trembled violently, then struggled painfully.

After a while, the skin suddenly returned to complete tranquility.

"Dead?" Xu Yuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

Upon opening the skin, they found that Jinshui had indeed turned into pieces of a corpse.

This was smashed by the villagers during the day.

Xu Yuan understood that these four people had become evil spirits, but they could still be saved.

If the villagers don't smash them and dispel the evil energy from them, they can still return to human form.

Xu Yuan breathed fire into the skin, burning the fragmented corpse to ashes, then put away the skin core and said to everyone, "Open the door."

"what?"

Xu Yuan strode towards the door: "Xiao Ba, come with me to take a look."

"You mustn't take the law! It's too dangerous!" Wan Yun hurriedly dissuaded him, using his body to block Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan smiled and pointed outside: "The evil spirits have all gone to the riverbank, so there is no danger in the village."

Wan Yun suddenly realized something and turned to look outside: "What does Your Excellency mean..."

Xu Yuan: "Besides these golden figures, have you seen any other evil spirits in the village tonight?"

"no!"

Xiang Qinghuai sighed, "Open the door. I'll go with Lord Xu. If this mystery can't be solved, none of us will ever leave this village."

(End of this chapter)