National Division

Chapter 41 Xue Zhihua: Is he directing her?

It wasn't until after noon that Shen Bin managed to clarify the reasons for the two families' demands.

By consulting earlier records, it was discovered that the boundary markers for this land had already been moved as early as the 31st year of the Hongxi reign, making it a rather complex historical issue.

Because the dispute involved the ownership of nearly 300 to 400 acres of land, which was of great importance, the conflict lasted for more than ten years and spanned four county magistrates.

Based on the population changes in Yangji Village and Zhangwangzhuang, the county magistrate at the time allocated more land to Yangji Village, which was in line with the Great Jing Dynasty's policy of strictly linking permanent land ownership with population increases and decreases.

However, neither side was satisfied. Zhangwang Village felt it had been taken advantage of, and then three years later, a rainstorm moved the land boundary marker.

Taking advantage of the situation, Zhangwang Village launched an attack. The then county magistrate believed that Yangji Village's previous act of illegally moving the boundary markers had violated the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty. Furthermore, Yangji Village had relied on force to oppress its neighbors and had repeatedly refused to cooperate during the summer and autumn tax collection.

He then felt disgusted and moved the boundary marker back according to the fish-scale register from thirty-one years ago.

It can be said that it has the typical style of doing things that each term of officialdom has its own characteristics.

Shen Bin pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "The land has been divided in two, and there must be no more disputes over it."

This move seems to be a classic example of the "muddying the waters" approach, where everyone at the grassroots level is equally blamed, but there's actually more to it than meets the eye.

The essence of grassroots governance is to resolve disputes and avoid litigation.

Don't make a big fuss, and don't cause trouble for your superiors.

However, both sides seemed somewhat dissatisfied with how Shen Bin was handled.

Yangji Village, which had created this fait accompli, was somewhat dissatisfied.

Shen Bin shouted, looking at the villagers of Yangji Village, and said, "Don't think I don't know. This boundary marker was moved by your Yangji Village as early as the 31st year of the Hongxi reign. There was a fight at that time. The reason why it was ruled to belong to Yangji at that time was for another reason!"

The middle-aged man from Yangji Village was getting anxious and was about to start arguing.

Shen Bin's face darkened, and he said, "According to the laws of our Great Jing Dynasty, it is forbidden to seize or steal other people's farmland; violators will be sentenced to three years in prison!"

"In the thirty-first year of the Hongxi reign, Yangji Village secretly moved the boundary marker. Later, rain fell from the sky, and the marker was washed away. It was simply that the heavens could not bear to see it, for there are gods watching from above!"

Upon hearing this, the villagers of Yangji Village all changed their expressions, as if they had been choked, and the noise subsided considerably.

In this era of reverence for Heaven and ancestors, the common people held the Heavenly God in great awe and worship.

Not to mention, there really are demons and supernatural powers in this world.

Shen Bin said, "Later, the county magistrate ruled in accordance with the law and reason, following this principle. However, you later relied on force and provoked trouble again. In order to quell the matter, the county magistrate ruled in your favor again."

Shen Bin listed the reasons one by one, his voice, infused with true energy, was extremely stern.

Shen Bin said, "But the laws of the land are glorious. Do you really think that no one can punish you by repeatedly provoking trouble?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers of Yangji Village knew perfectly well that Shen Bin, the county magistrate of Guhe County, had already shown a bias in his judgment.

“Don’t be so ignorant of your place. You have already occupied half of the land, and today you have even led a brawl, which has violated the laws of the Great Jing Dynasty. Those who started this trouble should go to the county government to explain the situation. All the injured must pay each other money!” Shen Bin said.

It just goes to show that if you win, you go to jail; if you lose, you lose money.

The middle-aged man from Yangji Village felt a pang of regret. He spoke with a fierce but weak voice, "I refuse to accept this. This land originally belonged to Yangji Village. Fellow villagers, don't you agree?"

"What, you still want to coerce the people? To resist the government?" Shen Bin asked sternly.

The middle-aged man's expression suddenly changed.

The villagers of Yangji Village behind them were also filled with fear and dared not make a fuss.

Not everyone has the courage to defy the government, and besides, didn't Yangji Village get half of the land?
“Since you dare to cause trouble, you’re a hero in the village, so you should be responsible for what you’ve done! Go to the county government office for half a month first,” Shen Bin said sternly.

He then ordered the constables to take away several pale-faced troublemakers.

Meanwhile, Shen Xian and Li Yan also rode up on horseback.

Seeing that nothing was wrong, Li Yan and Shen Xian exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

As the waiting crowd gradually dispersed, Li Yancai approached Shen Bin and said, "Big Brother."

Seeing that Li Yan's expression was unusual, Shen Bin, with their years of tacit understanding, knew that something must have happened and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Brother, Mu Zhi has something urgent to discuss with you," Li Yan said, leaning closer to Shen Bin.

Shen Bin's heart stirred slightly. He looked up and met Shen Xian's gaze. He calmly said, "Let's go eat first, and we can talk while we eat."

Meanwhile, Xue Zhihua, who was concealing her figure and aura, was holding a jade Bagua compass, searching for the trace of that demonic aura. Shen Xian saw Shen Bin and, seeing that he was safe and sound, felt relieved and cupped his hands, saying, "Father."

Shen Bin asked, "Um, what brings you here?"

Shen Xian said, "There may be evil spirits secretly harming Father."

Shen Bin paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean? Could it be that three-headed snake?"

Shen Xian said, "It's not that three-headed snake demon, but some other evil spirit. Miss Xue is investigating it."

Upon hearing this, Shen Bin was startled.

If there were still demons in the secret passage at this time, and he was injured, he could easily be ambushed by them if he was not careful.

But which of the two villagers is it?
At that moment, Xue Zhihua had already focused her spiritual power into her eyes. The jade Bagua compass in her hand shone with a faint spiritual light, and as the pointer on the compass spun rapidly, it seemed to sense the demonic energy, locked onto the direction, and trembled violently.

Xue Zhihua's divine sense moved accordingly, and in an instant, she discovered the traces of the golden toad.

A four-star Dao weapon suddenly appeared in his palm, its light flashing, and it stabbed fiercely towards the area where the golden toad was located.

"Whoosh!"

A dazzling light flashed, and the sound of something cutting through the air could be heard.

"Monster, look at the sword!"

Xue Zhihua floated in mid-air, her crimson dress fluttering in the wind, like a cluster of peach blossoms in full bloom.

The golden toad that had been hiding seemed to keenly sense an approaching danger. It darted away, but a sharp pain still shot through its arm.

"what……"

With a scream, the spot where the golden toad stood exploded into a cloud of blood mist, clearly indicating that one of its arms had been severed.

The toad, which had four legs, now appeared to be a three-legged toad!

Mr. Jin was both shocked and furious.

Taoist soldiers...

How could such an important figure exist in such a small county as Guhe?
In the eyes of the crowd who had not yet dispersed, an old man who was originally in the crowd suddenly appeared as a toad phantom amidst the burst of blood mist.

Upon seeing this, Shen Xian exclaimed excitedly, "Miss Xue, capture her alive!"

Sure enough, actions speak louder than words.

Xue Zhihua, dressed in a red dress, stood in the void. At this moment, a red ribbon appeared in her palm. With the help of spiritual power, the red ribbon danced and wrapped around the golden toad.

In no time, the golden toad was tightly bound.

After all, he was a powerful cultivator at the third level of the Immortal Path, the Danxia Realm, and possessed a variety of protective magic treasures. This time, he learned from the previous experience of the three-headed serpent demon's escape.

With a plan of attack against an unsuspecting opponent, dealing with the golden toad is almost like a lion hunting a rabbit.

The golden toad tried to break free, sometimes changing between human and demon forms.

The golden toad's transformed form was a short, chubby little fellow, whose face, instead of having those ugly lumps of flesh, was fair and clean.

But at this moment, pain was already showing on that fair and clean face, clearly as she was enduring the star-fierce power in the Dao weapon, which was eroding her physical body.

"A monster!" Some villagers who hadn't dispersed yet were terrified upon seeing this and scattered in all directions.

"Senior, spare my life! Spare my life!" The chubby boy cried out in alarm as he saw the woman in red raise her weapon.

"So it's just a toad!" Xue Zhihua saw through the demon's true form at a glance and shouted coldly.

Shen Xian called out loudly from not far away, "Miss Xue, interrogate this demon to find out who ordered him to do it?"

A frosty look settled on Xue Zhihua's beautiful face as she snapped, "Speak! Who sent you?"

After saying this, the beautiful woman felt a strange, inexplicable feeling welling up inside her, a feeling that was both novel and intriguing.

Is he directing her?

(End of this chapter)