Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 161 Showing Goodwill
The magistrate returned to his seat and said to his guards, "Stop biting his tongue. It's not easy to bite it, but it will make it difficult to speak clearly and answer questions."

The guard said nothing, took out a piece of cloth and stuffed the man's mouth tightly.

The county magistrate held up the medicine bottle and explained to the crowd, "The elixir my friend concocted isn't poisonous, and it's not lethal at all... Taking it has only one effect: itching. It will itch everywhere, inside and out. The duration of the itch varies from person to person."

The magistrate paused, then continued, "But I've never used it on anyone before. I only used it on an evil demon before. That demon was so itchy that it couldn't help but take out its own heart, liver, and lungs to scratch the itch."

Li Zhao, who was standing next to him, felt his scalp tingle and couldn't help scratching his arm.

Judging from the effect of this pill, it is even more terrifying than some tortures.

The county magistrate saw everyone's different expressions and smiled, saying, "My generation of scholars has a literary aura and recites the classics of sages, so we don't have to worry about such pills..."

The county magistrate said no more and just looked at the scarred man quietly with a cold gaze.

The big man was forced to kneel there, and he felt a strange power filling his body.

Soon, it seemed as if countless ants were crawling inside and outside his body, making him extremely uncomfortable.

The man's eyes widened and he couldn't help but tremble. He wanted to stop the strange feeling in his body, but he couldn't suppress it.

"Woooo..."

After a while, Scarface made a sound of pain and struggled hard on the ground.

Two bodyguards pinned the man to the ground, making him unable to move.

The county magistrate's eyes were calm as he said leisurely, "To deal with such a wicked man, you must be even more wicked than he is. Being kind won't do... If I didn't have to keep him for questioning, I wouldn't have let him off so easily."

After a while, the man lay on the ground motionless, sweat all over the floor, his eyes dull, like a dead fish.

It was only a short quarter of an hour, but the man felt like it was a year.

I can endure the torture of pain, but I cannot endure this kind of torture.

The county magistrate stroked his beard with one hand and couldn't help saying, "He can hold on, but it's a little short. Pry his mouth open and feed him two more pills."

A personal guard pulled out the cloth stuffed in the man's mouth.

The man said quickly: "I'll tell you everything..."

He was not a death warrior trained by the Wu State, and he really could not bear such punishment.

The county magistrate said calmly, "You seem to be quite strong. Don't worry. I have plenty of time."

After saying that, the county magistrate fed the man two more pills, increasing the dosage.

Just like before, the man suffered from endless itching.

This feeling made him feel worse than being cut into pieces.

When the effect of the medicine wore off, the big man looked dazed, his eyes were dull and lifeless, and he looked like he was out of his mind. He had been tortured beyond recognition, but he did not suffer any internal or external injuries.

The county magistrate raised his hand to signal, and the guard next to him fed the big man a pill to replenish his energy.

Then the county magistrate began to question him.

The big man was in a daze, as if he had lost his consciousness. He answered whatever was asked without hiding anything.

Next to them, an official was writing quickly to record the questions and answers.

Li Zhao was amazed and whispered, "This method really works well."

The county magistrate glanced at Li Zhao and threw the medicine bottle to him.

Li Zhao took it steadily with his hand and put it away with a smile.

After some interrogation, everyone learned some new information, but it was not very important.

Those equipments were bought by Hanzi from various black markets, and were not provided by the State of Wu.

There has been really no contact between them and the State of Wu over the years.

As for the general who sent them here, these Wu people did not know his true identity.

The man also had no idea about the other soldiers who might be sent to other countries to cause trouble.

The county magistrate was somewhat disappointed, but he still decided to detain these people and ask them to provide more information about the Wu army, preferably by drawing the appearance of the soldiers they thought might be lurking.

The county magistrate ordered his men to keep a good lookout for the four Wu men, and then went to check on the other victims and bandits.

When the victims saw the county magistrate in person, they became excited again and accused the bandits of their evil deeds.

The county magistrate tried to calm everyone down with some kind words.

It was almost evening, and it was unrealistic to bring so many people back to the county town.

The county magistrate decided to rest here for one night and give orders on what needed to be done.

The entire village was bustling with activity.

The bandits who were beheaded were buried, and only their heads were kept to be taken back as a warning to others.

The county magistrate felt his mood fluctuate as he looked at the various supplies piled up in the yard.

This time we suppressed the bandits and gained quite a lot.

But this matter has little to do with him. It was all done by Lu Zheng and his five men, oh, and a little grass spirit.

He didn't even know how Lu Zheng and his men subdued so many bandits, but the process was no longer important.

"You guys did a great job!"

The county magistrate looked at Lu Zheng and his companions with a friendly smile and said, "There should be rewards!" He asked someone to record the military exploits of Lu Zheng and his companions, and gave them gold, silver and other valuables, allowing them to distribute them among themselves.

This pile of property is the savings of these bandits over the years, worth tens of thousands of taels of silver.

If a lot of money had not been exchanged for weapons and equipment, there would have been even more money.

However, those equipments naturally cannot be distributed to Lu Zheng and his companions.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng said, "Sir, the reward of gold and silver is too much."

The county magistrate smiled amiably and said, "Your contributions are immense. This little reward is nothing. I will report this to the governor and have him commend you."

This is not an ordinary bandit incident, the county magistrate needs to report this matter.

The credit naturally goes to Lu Zheng and several other young people.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but look at Zhang Bo and the others.

Several people said that other rewards are possible, but all the money here is indeed too much for them.

Zhang Bo knew what Lu Zheng was thinking and said helpfully, "We can just take a small amount. Sir, please distribute the remaining money to the victims. If there is any left, you can use it to help other people."

Lu Zheng had no objection, and Li Zhao and the other two also thought it was a good idea.

The county magistrate smiled at the crowd, stroking his beard as he said, "Yesterday, the Fengcheng County Lord sent money and asked me to build a charity hall in the county, saying it was Lu Zheng's wish... Since you are so willing, I won't say much. In the names of the five of you, I will use this money for charity and accumulate virtue."

Li Zhao couldn't help but add, "Six, including Miss Qingwan."

"Okay." The county magistrate nodded.

Li Zhao rubbed his hands, looked at Lu Zheng, and asked, "Then how much should we take?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "I'm not short of money, you guys can discuss it and take it."

After a few words of discussion, they didn't take more. They each took property worth one thousand taels, and also took some for Lu Zheng and Qing Wan.

Li Zhao held the two heavy pieces of gold and was reluctant to let them go, as they had earned them with their own ability.

One thousand taels of silver would be enough for him to spend for a long time, unless he used it to look for some famous courtesan or buy some treasures.

Of course, they could have taken more, but this ordinary money was enough for them to use, and taking more would be a burden.

Besides, these people all have some family background and are not short of money.

Just take a symbolic amount and donate the rest of the money to those who need it more, which will make them feel happy.

When the county magistrate saw that several people had only taken such a small amount, he couldn't help but feel that they were all young people who did not care about money and would definitely achieve great things in the future.

He could clearly see that Zhang Bo and his companions were influenced by Lu Zheng.

During the conversation, Zhang Bo and the others all took Lu Zheng as their leader.

The county magistrate looked at Zhang Bo again and faintly felt a hint of righteousness emanating from him.

In time, their Changchuan County will also be able to produce a righteous Confucian and Taoist scholar.

The county magistrate said, "You young people have been busy all day. Go and rest up. I'll let you know when it's time for dinner tonight... Leave the rest to us!"

Lu Zheng and his companions knew that the county magistrate and his men still had to clean up the mess, and they were indeed tired, so they took their leave and went to a yard to rest.

Li Zhao played with the gold nuggets as he walked, and said leisurely, "There are also rewards. We have done something remarkable following Brother Lu."

……

On top of Monkey Mountain.

Lan sat in his cave, listening to Bai Fei's story.

His thick brows furrowed, he didn't expect that Lu Zheng and his men could deal with the group of bandits so cleanly and efficiently.

Among those humans, there are many second-level warriors and even third-level warriors, but they are so inexperienced.

Not only that, even the county magistrate brought his soldiers with him, which seemed to be a serious matter.

If it turns around and comes to them, it will definitely destroy these monkeys as well.

Lan inquired, "They didn't leave when you left?"

Bai Fei said, "It's getting late. It looks like they'll be spending the night in the mountains. I saw a few soldiers carrying some things and heading south. There's a county road over there..."

Lan said, "Send some smart ones to keep an eye on the west. If those people make any unusual movements, notify me immediately."

Bai Fei said, "When I first came back, I sent a few people out to guard the hills to the west."

Lan nodded and said, "You did a good job. Go down."

Bai Fei hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Wang, it's so rare to see the county magistrate..."

Lan looked at Bai Fei, "You want me to go see the county magistrate? Do you think those scholars' words are credible?"

Bai Fei lowered his head and whispered, "If the king does not want to conflict with the human race, he should make peace with the county magistrate. I am willing to go in your place."

Lan stared at Bai Fei for a long moment before grinning and saying, "You're right. He's the county magistrate, and we should indeed go and show our good will. I still have an unopened jar of spiritual fruit wine in my cellar. Take it with you and see what the county magistrate thinks."

"Yes, sir!" Bai Fei responded quickly.

After Bai Fei left, Lan looked at him dimly and sighed.

He didn't think that all human beings in the world would be as friendly to them as Lu Zheng and his people.

(End of this chapter)