Swords emerge from the human world

Chapter 45: Confession and Signing, Bloodshed Imminent

Qingsong Daoist was shocked and cried out, "My lord, what did I say wrong? You want to arrest me!"

Magistrate Yang sneered: "Let me make it clear to you that no one in my household, regardless of gender, is sick; furthermore, I have hated cats all my life and have never owned a cat since I was a child."

Upon hearing this, Qingsong Daoist was in a state of utter confusion, unsure of where things had gone wrong.

My first thought was whether Magistrate Yang was deliberately lying to test me.

Or perhaps, by saying these things in public in court, you have damaged the other party's reputation, causing them to become angry and ashamed.

Finally, there is another possibility: the crow might have misunderstood the information.

Thinking about it, the red-eyed crow's behavior these past few days has indeed been somewhat abnormal, disappearing from sight all day long.

I initially thought it was someone spying on my private affairs, but now that I think about it, something just doesn't feel right.

Magistrate Yang stood up, stepped down, and stood in front of him, looking down at him, and said: "Qingsong, I will give you another chance. Let me tell you whether you will suffer a bloody disaster today. If I predict it correctly, I will spare your life."

Master Qingsong was sweating profusely, finding the question extremely difficult to answer. Saying "yes" wouldn't work, nor would saying "no," because the final decision rested with Magistrate Yang.

Magistrate Yang, with sharp eyes, shouted, "Speak! Is there any bloodshed ahead?"

There was no other way. Qingsong Daoist gritted his teeth and decided to take a gamble: "Yes."

Magistrate Yang suddenly laughed: "Good, you've got it right."

Turn around and sit down.

Just as Qingsong Daoren was overjoyed, Magistrate Yang pulled a token from the divination tube on the table and threw it on the ground: "Guards, give him thirty lashes!"

The Taoist priest was greatly alarmed and cried out, "Didn't you say that I was right?"

Magistrate Yang smiled enigmatically: "Indeed, because you calculated correctly, this bloodshed is inevitable. Beat them!"

The two constables, dressed in black, received the order and each took a board, and began to beat the victim mercilessly.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!
How could the Green Pine Taoist endure it? He was beaten until he cried out in agony, his excrement and urine flowing freely.

Zhang Sen watched coldly from the side.

He would not sympathize with Qingsong Daoren. There's a saying...

"When others think you're a master, you'd better be one."

Otherwise, once exposed, they will end up in a dead end.

At the same time, Zhang the clerk was even more envious of Magistrate Yang's impressive methods.

This is what officials are like!

When one holds power, one can decide a person's fortune or misfortune, even life or death, with a single word.

In fact, the government had been keeping an eye on Qingsong Daoren for a long time.

During the Great Qian Dynasty, the imperial court had its own regulations regarding monks and Taoist priests. Simply shaving one's head and wearing a Taoist robe did not automatically make one a monk or nun. Approval from the relevant government department and obtaining a certificate of ordination were required.

Strictly speaking, people like Qingsong Daoren follow the path of charlatans and sorcerers. If they had stayed honestly in the countryside, deceiving villagers, the government would have had little jurisdiction and would have turned a blind eye.

But his greed was insatiable. He came to the city and, with his ability to "predict the future," became a guest of honor in many wealthy households. His reputation and influence grew.

The government has been slow to act, firstly because it hasn't yet figured out the details of the situation, and secondly because it lacks an opportune moment.

until today.

Magistrate Yang first posed a question to test the waters, hoping that if the Taoist priest could give a satisfactory answer, they might be able to discuss it further. However, the Taoist priest's words were completely nonsensical and incoherent, immediately revealing his true colors.

Snapped!
Magistrate Yang slammed his gavel again and shouted, "Confess now! Tell me how you lied to me!"

After being beaten thirty times, Qingsong Daoren's buttocks were bruised and bleeding, and he was in excruciating pain. Knowing that he could not escape this time, he quickly confessed his guilt.

But he knew that some sins could be spoken of and others could not, so he concealed the existence of the divine raven and the murder of the Taoist boy. He only spoke of the less serious crimes, saying that he was a fraudster who mainly relied on secretly gathering information and observing people's expressions and expressions.

Zhang Sen immediately wrote a confession and had the Taoist priest sign and affix his seal. Magistrate Yang pronounced the sentence, ordering the Taoist priest, Qingsong, to be paraded in shackles, and to confiscate all property from the Taoist temple, to be executed immediately.

Immediately, two constables took out a pair of shackles, put them around the neck of Qingsong Daoist, and then dragged him out.

Then Zhang Sen brought along two minor officials, one of whom carried a gong and led the way, banging it as they went to expose and announce the fraudulent activities of Qingsong Daoren.

As dusk approached, there were still many pedestrians on the street. Upon seeing this, they were immediately in an uproar.

After all, the name of Qingsong Daoren was known not only to the wealthy and powerful, but also to ordinary people.

Many people sold their possessions just to hear a few words from Master Qingsong.

I never expected that the other party was a scammer.

At this point, the crowd erupted in a frenzy, throwing all sorts of things at Qingsong Daoist: rotten vegetable leaves, stones, mud, eggs, duck eggs...

If it weren't for the yamen runners guarding the area, Master Qingsong would definitely have been crushed to death.

The master said that he would spare the Taoist priest's life, but he couldn't afford to have an accident during the public display.

Upon arriving at Qingsong Temple, Zhang Sen gave the order to begin ransacking the house. They turned it upside down, dug up every inch of the ground, and looted everything.

Upon seeing the large box full of valuables, Master Zhang smiled with satisfaction.

The mission was accomplished. The Taoist priest was released from his shackles, and he was ordered to have the box carried back to the yamen to report.

The half-dead Taoist priest lay on the empty ground, unable to shed a tear.

Soon, he gritted his teeth again and hissed, "Crow, Crow, where are you? Get out here now!"

Fluttering.

A red-eyed crow appeared, landed on the crossbeam of the Taoist temple, and looked down.

The Taoist priest Qingsong stared intently at the bird, wishing he could strangle it to death. If he hadn't listened to it, how could he have dared to spout such nonsense in front of Magistrate Yang, only to end up like this?
"Was the information you gave me correct or incorrect?"

"What do you say?"

The Taoist priest nearly jumped up: "I fed you and raised you, and you dare to betray me?"

The red-eyed raven said calmly, "But I also helped you do so many bad things and made so much money."

The Taoist was speechless, and couldn't help but ask again, "Why? Why exactly?"

The crow said, word by word, "You shouldn't have killed Ah Feng. I've already become friends with him."

Upon being exposed for his evil deeds, the Taoist priest flew into a rage: "You're just a hairy beast, what kind of friend are you?"

The crow said coldly, "You always consider yourself a master divination, but did you foresee that you would die today?"

Qingsong Daoist shuddered: "What, you want to kill me to avenge Ah Feng?"

The crow shook its head: "No matter what, you once raised me. But I've already repaid what I owed you... The people who want to kill you are here!"

"Who? Where?"

The Taoist priest was terrified and hurriedly looked up.

"He's inside!"

"Drag him out and beat him, you damn liar!"

"Money back!"

Amid the commotion, a group of angry people rushed in and quickly overwhelmed the Taoist priest.

The roof beams were empty; the red-eyed crows had vanished.

(End of this chapter)