The prince is more stable

Chapter 588: Living Sacrifice to the Dragon King
Zhao Xiaoqian came to this village on a whim and completely randomly.

As the prefect of Zhending, he was actually not competent. After all, he stayed in the camp most of the time, and his mind was full of thoughts about the war with the Liao Kingdom and the overall situation in the world.

As for the affairs under the jurisdiction of Zhending Prefecture, it is inevitable that some of them have been neglected. This time, I have finally returned to Zhending City, and it is necessary to make a private visit in disguise.

Only by inspecting with concealed identities can one discover many truths and problems, and know what kind of life the people under his jurisdiction are living.

Objectively speaking, the lives of the people under Zhending Prefecture have indeed become better since they were exempted from taxes for three years. These three years have allowed the people to recover their strength and accumulate wealth. For ordinary people, it can be regarded as an opportunity.

However, Zhao Xiaoqian did not expect that something would actually happen in this randomly selected village.

Sure enough, where there are crowds of people, there will inevitably be excitement, but also trouble.

After several Taoist priests performed a series of pretentious tricks, the villagers became anxious. Of course, the Taoist priests also achieved their goal.

First they attack the victim’s heart, then they add money. They commit crimes in gangs, and there are even fraud parks.

Zhao Xiaoqian immediately concluded that this was a group of swindlers and the so-called Xuanqing Temple was nothing more than a scam den.

Zhao Xiaoqian's brows gradually furrowed as he saw the villagers gathered together to discuss something. Many of them were angry and excited, while others were wiping away tears and crying.

Simply adding money probably wouldn't cause such excitement among the villagers.

So, what other conditions did these scammers add?
Zhao Xiaoqian waved for Chen Shou and Jia Shi to come over, and raised his chin towards the headman who was arguing fiercely with someone in the distance: "Please ask the headman to come over. I have something to ask him."

Before Chen Shou could move, Jia Shi strode over and actually grabbed the head of the village by the back of his collar. Under the astonished gaze of the villagers, he carried the head of the village in one hand like a chicken and brought him in front of Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned and kicked Jia Shi on the butt: "Do you understand what I'm saying? Do you know what 'please' means?"

Jia Shi retreated behind him in embarrassment.

Unexpectedly, after Jia Shi showed this trick, the head of the village actually became very obedient and stood in front of Zhao Xiaoqian and saluted in a flattering manner.

Although Zhao Xiaoqian and his group disguised themselves as businessmen, their temperament could not be deceived. The village head had lived for most of his life, so how could he not see the wealthy temperament emanating from Zhao Xiaoqian?

If this young man were a businessman, the village head would rather dig out his own eyeballs and use them as bubbles to step on.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled at him friendly and said, "The people down there are a little rude, don't blame me, village head."

The village head hurriedly bowed and said, "Your Excellency, I am sorry for your kind words. What are your wishes?"

Zhao Xiaoqian pointed at the Taoist priests who were still waiting for the villagers' response in the distance and said, "Those guys..."

Before he could finish his words, Zhao Xiaoqian saw that the village head had a strange expression on his face, so he had to change the subject: "What did those Taoist priests tell you?"

The village head smiled bitterly: "The Taoist priest said that the village has offended the Dragon King. I'm afraid it will be difficult to overcome this hurdle. The next year will be a disaster."

Zhao Xiaoqian sneered: "You believe everything he says?"

The village head said solemnly, "Of course I believe it. The Taoist priests of Xuanqing Temple are not ordinary people. They know magic and are all immortals who have descended to the earth."

Zhao Xiaoqian became increasingly curious: "What kind of magic? Have you seen it with your own eyes?"

The village head said with a look of reverence, "They can fish out copper coins from a boiling oil pan with their bare hands, catch and kill ghosts, and even pull objects from the air... The villagers nearby have all seen their magic."

Zhao Xiaoqian wanted to laugh. If it were in his previous life, a third-rate magician performing on the third floor of a bath center would know more than them in these tricks.

But in this age of poor information flow, these tricks have become magic in the eyes of ordinary villagers.

The real gods are in heaven with tears streaming down their faces...

Too lazy to explain the authenticity of the magic to them, Zhao Xiaoqian asked again, "How did the Taoist priests respond to the Dragon King's punishment? What conditions did they put forward?"

The village head sighed deeply and said, "The Taoist priest said that calming the Dragon King's wrath would consume too much of his magical power, and the Dragon King's wrath is not so easy to quell. In addition to adding two hundred taels of silver, he also put forward a condition..."

"What's the condition?"

"We need a pair of five-year-old boys and girls... as living sacrifices to the Dragon King."

Zhao Xiaoqian was surprised: "'Living sacrifice' means..."

The village head said gloomily, "They dressed up this young boy and girl beautifully and drowned them in the Taiping River. Now the villagers are arguing about it. Some believe it, some don't. Especially those families with five-year-old children, the parents are going crazy."

Zhao Xiaoqian was stunned, his eyes suddenly filled with murderous intent, and he glanced at several Taoists in the distance.

They could turn a blind eye to the scams, treating these charlatans like psychiatrists. The villagers paid for peace of mind. It was a case of one willing to fight, the other willing to be beaten, and Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't say anything.

But not only do they cheat people out of their money, they also take their lives. That’s unbearable.

Two lives were lost, and they were five-year-old children. They were drowned in the river just to so-called appease the Dragon King's wrath. Is this something a human being can do?

"The villagers are ignorant and don't know what's going on with the idea of ​​sacrificing young boys and girls alive. You're the head of the village, and you believe it?" Zhao Xiaoqian's tone gradually became unfriendly.

The village head argued, "They are all immortals. We should believe what immortals say. They know magic."

Zhao Xiaoqian sneered a few times: "You stupid guy, you can't even see through such an obvious scam. You've lived your life in vain!" After being scolded by Zhao Xiaoqian, the head of the village did not dare to talk back. He knew that the person in front of him was probably from a prominent family.

As they were talking, a series of shrill cries suddenly erupted from the distant gathering of villagers. Several young couples collapsed on the ground, weeping uncontrollably, while nearby villagers patted their shoulders and whispered soothing words.

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled, but the village head sighed and said, "It seems that the boys and girls have been selected..."

Zhao Xiaoqian gritted his teeth, the murderous intent in his eyes intensified, and he turned his head and said, "Chen Shou, bring some people over here."

Chen Shou ran towards the village.

Not long after, a dozen disguised imperial guards hurried over. These people had followed Zhao Xiaoqian into the village.

When his men arrived, Zhao Xiaoqian felt a little relieved, and then he led his men to stride towards several Taoists in the distance.

The Taoists had been waiting by the riverbank, all with arrogant and contemptuous looks on their faces, like hermits.

Seeing Zhao Xiaoqian and others coming, the Taoists were stunned. The young man's expression seemed a little unfriendly, and they didn't know what he meant.

Zhao Xiaoqian walked up to the Taoists and looked at them with cold eyes.

After a long pause, Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, "Have you made a deal with the Dragon King? First, you pay a little money and then sacrifice young boys and girls alive. Then there will be no disaster next year?"

The old Taoist priest in the lead stroked his beard and said calmly, "Of course."

"Zhending Prefecture has nine counties under its jurisdiction and a population of over 100,000. How many times have you done this?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked coldly.

The old Taoist's expression changed: "Who are you?"

"He's a busybody, and he doesn't really like to reason."

The old Taoist priest looked at Zhao Xiaoqian with a gloomy face. He saw that Zhao Xiaoqian was dressed in an extraordinary style and must be from a wealthy family. There were more than a dozen guys following behind him who were obviously guards. He hesitated for a moment and did not dare to provoke him and make enemies easily.

Seeing the dispute here, the villagers in the distance also gathered over and looked at them cautiously.

Seeing the villagers gathered around him, the old Taoist priest seemed to have gained confidence and said in a deep voice: "My fellow laymen, I was originally doing this out of kindness. Helping you solve your problems can also be considered as accumulating some merit for myself. But this person blames me for doing this. Now that things have come to this, I have no other choice but to take my leave."

"Everything has its destiny. Human power cannot defy fate. You will have to bear your own calamity."

As he said this, the old Taoist priest turned around and made to leave.

The villagers hurriedly stopped him and asked the old Taoist priest to stay. Some villagers pointed at Zhao Xiaoqian and cursed him, saying that he was a outsider and should not meddle in other people's business.

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed out of anger. What the hell, one was willing to die, and the other was willing to be buried, but they just had to fall into the pit dug by others, and there was no way to stop them.

Looking at the two couples outside the crowd who looked particularly desolate and sad, Zhao Xiaoqian became even more angry.

I don’t care if you are treated as innocent and have been cheated out of your money, but what is the fault of those two couples and that five-year-old child?

Facing the old Taoist priest's smug and provocative gaze and the villagers' accusations, Zhao Xiaoqian smiled, a very bright smile.

"Chen Shou, tie them up!" Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly shouted.

Chen Shou and other imperial guards stepped forward and attacked the Taoists fiercely.

The Taoists are all liars. They use their brains and are even worse than the villagers in terms of physical skills.

The imperial guards quickly knocked down the Taoists and tied them up.

The surrounding villagers were silent, staring at him in a daze, as if they had not expected that Zhao Xiaoqian would dare to attack the immortal. This was simply a rebellion against the Tiangang.

Anyone who dared to attack the immortal must be from a powerful background. The villagers didn't know how to react for a moment.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't bother to pay attention to the villagers' reactions.

According to the routine, he should have asked people to prepare props at this time, such as catching money from an oil pan, beheading ghosts with yellow paper, and all the so-called magic spells performed by Taoist priests, Zhao Xiaoqian knows all of them.

Finally, he shared his own experience, popularized knowledge and literacy for the villagers, and exposed the true face of the liar in public, finally winning praise from the villagers and praising him...

According to the routine, this is what should be done.

But Zhao Xiaoqian was too lazy to follow the routine. I am the prince of the Song Dynasty, commanding an army of 100,000. I finally made a secret visit, and now I am here to explain science to you bunch of ignorant villagers?
Give you face?
I just want to kill a few people. Do I need to reason with you?

After being tied up by Chen Shou and the others, the Taoist priest finally panicked. The old Taoist priest glared at Zhao Xiaoqian and angrily said, "Who the hell are you? Do you know what you are doing? Treating monks like this, aren't you afraid of retribution?"

Zhao Xiaoqian said coldly, "I am your retribution. God is above us. You have done something so evil, and you really think that God can't see it? Look, God has sent me to deal with you."

A flash of fear flashed across the old Taoist's eyes: "What do you want to do?"

Zhao Xiaoqian ignored him and simply walked to the riverside, squatted down, and gently touched the icy water with his fingers. Then he withdrew his hand and murmured, "What a cold water..."

(End of this chapter)