Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 485 The mastermind appears
When everyone entered the backyard of Gongcao Yamen, they saw a guy covered in blood, lying on the ground, howling in a very miserable voice.

It was the person who tortured Zhu Quan in the dark room before.

When this guy got the news and knew that Shang Lu was coming to take people away, he took out the extremely poisonous Ji Le Dan and wanted to feed it to Zhu Quan.

As a result, he was ambushed by the copper ants hiding on Zhu's body and was blown out of the dark room, leaving him covered in bruises and blood.

The strong men guarding in the backyard were shocked by this sudden scene and drew their swords.

Some people stood beside the executioner and asked him about his situation, while others rushed straight to the dark room to kill people.

Before this group of strong men could reach the door of the dark room, they were swept away by a gust of howling wind.

In an instant, the knives in the hands of several strong men broke into pieces with a clang, and the people were blown away by the strong wind. They fell on the executioner like a pile of human figures, and almost crushed him to death.

Shang Lu stepped into the backyard with the strong wind, and did not take the knife-wielding warriors in the yard seriously at all. He shouted coldly: "Well, you dare to kill officials without authorization. Who gave you the courage? Shen Tu, tie up all these people! Anyone who dares to resist will be killed without mercy!"

The door of the dark room had already been broken down by the executioners. Shen Tu, who followed Shang Lu into the backyard, saw Zhu Quan, who was tied up and covered with bruises.

Even with the suppression of the magic weapon and the residual spirit, the anger in his heart suddenly surged. He immediately responded loudly "Yes", and strode forward to meet the steel knife in the hand of the strong man.

The strong men in the backyard originally wanted to take action, but after hearing Shang Lu's accusation, they were all horrified.

They cannot afford the charge of killing an official without authorization.

Even though they do this kind of thing, they actually do it quite a lot.

"We didn't kill the officials without permission!"

"He was the one who injured our people!"

"The torturer Ma was beaten out of the dark room by him, his body covered with wounds..."

If it were in the past, these strong men would definitely scold Shang Lu for talking nonsense.

But at this moment, under the influence of Shang Lu's eloquence and sophistry, they fell into self-affirmation.

Many things, once they start to prove themselves, become passive.

Shang Lu raised his hand, and a stream of energy rushed into the dark room, rolling up Zhu Quan. However, he did not break the shackles on Zhu Quan, but rolled him out of the dark room with the torture instruments.

Just at this time, Gongcao Li and people from other departments who came to watch the fun rushed into the backyard.

Shang Lu pointed at Zhu Quan, who was tied up and covered in wounds, and asked coldly, "You said he injured the torturer? How could he have injured the torturer in this state? In my opinion, you clearly wanted to beat him to death, and then mutilate and slander him!"

Zhu Quan was also smart. When he saw Shang Lu coming to rescue him, he wanted to express his gratitude. However, after hearing this, he immediately tilted his head and acted as if he was dying.

The blood-covered horse torturer had no time to cry out in pain. After finally pushing away the strong man who was pressing on him, he hurriedly denied Shang Lu's accusation, but was secretly shocked in his heart: How could this guy know all this?
This group of people have actually done things like beating people to death and then mutilating themselves and slandering others.

But this time, they really didn’t do it!

Ma the torturer and his group of strong men used to feel good when they framed others.

Especially for those who were framed, the more panicked and cried out for injustice, the more their abnormal psychology felt refreshed. But now, it was their turn to be framed, and there was no feeling of comfort, only fear and panic.

Especially the officials from various departments who followed in to watch the fun, after seeing this scene, were still talking and accusing each other, which made the horse torturer and the strong men feel despair.

They knew very well that no matter what the outcome of today's events would be, this group of people, as well as the clerk who had just said the wrong thing in the front yard, would definitely be treated as abandoned pawns in order to appease the dissatisfaction of the various government offices.

Not only them, but the Gongcao officials were also shocked at this moment.

He never expected that things would not go according to his plan. The good situation turned upside down and out of control after Shang Lu came.

Seeing that Shang Lu and Shen Tu were really going to take Ma Xingli and the group of strong men away, he also panicked.

It would be fine if it was Li Shi, but if the torturer Ma was taken away and confessed the frame-up, he would be in trouble.

At that time, the Discipline Department will definitely intervene in the investigation.

Although he has acquaintances and relatives in the Discipline Department, it is not easy to pass through safely, and he will have to pay a huge price.

If this kid finds out some other problems, things will be even worse.

In horror, Gongcao Li's hatred and anger towards Shang Lu reached its peak in an instant.

There is a mysterious force stirring up the hatred and anger in his heart, causing him to act impulsively!
This "human disaster" was not only aimed at Shang Lu, but also at all the people involved.

"I wonder who dares to arrest people from our Gongcao Yamen!" the Gongcao official roared.

Not only did he stop Shen Tu from arresting the men, he also shouted, "Catch these two thieves from Cao's office!"

This Gongcao official still retained a bit of rationality. After giving the order, he did not forget to frame and accuse the person.

"Shang Zeicao, someone reported to us that you forced innocent people to become thieves, killed innocent people to take credit, and even harmed your colleagues. You killed another thief, Cao Chen Li, to seize power! Since you have come to my Gongcao Yamen today, please stay and accept investigation!"

He knew that he could not defeat Shang Lu, so as he said this, he quickly stepped back and plunged into the crowd of officials from various departments.

In fact, Gongcao Li was hoping that Shang Lu would take action, and even more so that Shang Lu would kill someone, as long as he didn't beat him to death.

Once Shang Lu breaks out of the Gongcao Yamen or kills someone, he will be convicted and even the Discipline Department will not be able to protect him.

However, what the Gongcao Li did not expect was that Shang Lu not only did not take action after hearing his frame-up, but he did not even get angry. He just looked at him with a half-smile and coldly asked: "Who reported it? Where is the person? Call him out for confrontation."

There is no such person at all, how can we call upon the Gongcao Li?

He shouted guiltily: "Don't worry about who they are or where they are, just stay here and accept our investigation!"

"It's false, right?"

Shang Lu sneered, ignored the strong men who were surrounding him with swords drawn, and turned to bow towards the porch in the backyard.

"My fellow masters, you all heard this, right? You all participated in the case of catching the mountain ghost and the rice thief. Please help me prove my innocence!"

When Gongcao Li heard this, he was shocked again.

He hurriedly turned his head and looked towards the back porch, and saw Xu Shan, Yan Tao and several other witch officers from the Discipline Department standing there with gloomy faces. He didn't know how long they had been there.

Gongcao Li's face instantly became extremely ugly.

He wanted to deal with Shang Lu, so he had done some research in advance. He knew that Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others had all made contributions and benefited from Shang Lu, so they would definitely stand on Shang Lu's side. His original plan was to cut the Gordian knot quickly, and before these people could react, he would first convict Shang Lu of a crime, so that these people would be unable to save Shang Lu even if they wanted to.

But he never expected that Shang Lu would have gotten Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others here so early.

In the past, officials who were dealt with by their Gongcao Yamen, especially those without any connections, would either pay money to beg for mercy or find ways to prove themselves when they were first dealt with.

How could this kid overturn the table as soon as he arrived? Was he really not afraid of offending the Gongcao Yamen and completely cutting off his path to promotion?

Or did Shang Lu know that this time they were targeting him not simply to extort money, but to kill him? Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!
While the Gongcao officials were panicking, Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others all sneered and said:

"Shang Lu has just made a great contribution, but you want to frame him. You are so bold!"

"Forcing a good person to become a thief? Who do you think is the good person who is forced to become a thief? Is it the evil believer who believes in mountain ghosts and even kills his own relatives as sacrifices? Or is it the wheat thief who grows people as wheat and practices evil methods? You regard these people as good people, but you have connections with them, are they accomplices?"

"Come with us, let's go to the Discipline Department and explain everything clearly. Who asked you to murder the meritorious official? And who are you in league with?"

Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others not only questioned Gongcao Li, but also chanted incantations and used witchcraft to summon a group of ghost soldiers, riding on the black wind to capture Gongcao Li and his men and bring them back to the Discipline Department.

Gongcao Li did not want to enter the Discipline Department, but he did not dare to resist. Once he resisted, wouldn't it be tantamount to confirming the crime of "harming a meritorious official"?

He originally wanted Shang Lu to fall into this dilemma, but he didn't expect that Shang Lu was fine and he fell into it instead.

Seeing the ghost soldiers rushing towards him with black air, Gongcao Li gritted his teeth and neither ran away nor resisted.

At this moment, a shout like thunder exploded in the backyard of Gongcao Yamen:
"Who is making a noise in my Gongcao Yamen?"

Then a figure flashed and waved his hand to release rays of witchcraft light, blocking the evil soldiers released by Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others.

"Gong Cao!"

"Gong Cao!"

When the people from the Gongcao Yamen saw this man, they saluted him with their arms folded, as if they had seen a savior. Some even knelt down, crying loudly and begging him to give them justice.

The person who came was none other than Gongcao Yuan Li Hong.

When he appeared, his brows were furrowed and his face was full of surprise.

After looking around, he ignored the people in Gongcao Yamen and just bowed to Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others and said:

"These days, I have been practicing in seclusion at home, and I have asked several deputies to handle the affairs of the government office. Just now, a minor official came to my house and said that something happened in the government office, so I had to leave in advance. What happened? Why did it alarm several senior brothers?"

Although Li Hong came from a family of cultivators, he had also attended a witch academy, so there was no problem for him to call Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others "brothers".

As the saying goes, don't hit a smiling person. Xu Shan, Yan Tao and others also stopped and said in return: "We also want to ask what Senior Brother Li wants to do! Shang Lu has just made a great contribution. It would be fine if you, the Gongcao Yamen, did not help him report his merits and ask for rewards. Why do you want to slander him for forcing good people to become thieves and killing good people for credit? You even accused him of harming his colleagues?"

"What? Is there such a thing?"

After hearing what Xu Shan and Yan Tao said, Li Hong was shocked at first, and then he said earnestly: "I really don't know about this matter! If I knew, I would never allow it to happen!"

Then he bowed to Shang Lu and apologized.

Shang Lu sneered in his heart and did not believe a word of what Li Hong said.

You are a Gongcao official. Without your authorization, the Gongcao officials would at most threaten and extort bribes. How could they dare to throw dirty water on me and torture me to death?
What do you mean you really don't know? Do you really think I'm ignorant? I've seen this kind of trick many times!
Not to mention anything else, just take the "Journey to the West" that I watched when I was a child. On the journey to the west, every monster with a background, and the gods and bodhisattvas behind them, all said this.

But which of these monsters was not released by them on purpose?
Shang Lu had no evidence and could not kill Li Hong at this moment, but if he could force him out, this trip would not be in vain.

At this moment, Shang Lu was acting with Li Hong, pretending that he believed his lies, hoping to relax Li Hong's vigilance so that Tong Yi could eavesdrop on more clues and evidence.

After Li Hong apologized to Shang Lu, he turned his head and looked at Gongcao Li and Ma Xing Li and others. He first scolded them harshly, and then asked, "Tell me, why did you slander Shang Zecao?"

When the executioner Ma heard this, he subconsciously denied it.

But the Gongcao official in the crowd knelt down and began to admit his fault: "It's my fault. I saw that the merchant thief Cao had made great contributions, and I was jealous. I wanted to extort some benefits from him, so I blocked their documents for applying for pensions and reporting their merits and rewards. As a result, the benefits they sent were too little, so I thought of intimidating them so that they would give more benefits..."

I have to say, this guy was able to become a Gongcaoli because his brain worked much faster than Ma Xingli. Not only did he take all the responsibilities, he also said that he did it to extort benefits.

Although extortion and bribery are also crimes, they are much less serious than slandering and framing a witch official from the Discipline Department who has just made great contributions and trying to torture him to death.

Moreover, once this reason was given, everyone present, whether they were officials from various departments or witches from the Discipline Department such as Xu Shan and Yan Tao, actually believed it.

On the one hand, similar things had been done many times by the Gongcao Yamen in the past.

Among these officials present, which one had not been manipulated and extorted by the Gongcao Yamen for promotion or assessment? Which one had not had a few percent of the "fire consumption" taken away by the Gongcao Yamen after performing meritorious service and receiving rewards?
On the other hand, they did not know and did not believe that the people in the Gongcao Yamen wanted Shang Lu to die.

If Shang Lu hadn't known that the group of people in Gongcao Yamen had connections with Zheng Quan and even the Black Wind Gang, and had overheard Gongcao Li's words through Tongyi, he would probably have thought that the purpose of this group of people was to extort benefits. But he accidentally took things too far.

Li Hong strode to the front of Gongcao Li, kicked him over, snatched the scabbard from the hand of a nearby strongman, and slapped Gongcao Li several times, scolding him, then threw the scabbard to the strongman next to him and ordered:
"Strip him of his official robes and throw him in jail! And those few people, throw them in jail as well and interrogate them thoroughly!"

After the Gongcao officials were dragged away by the strongman, Li Hong turned to Shang Lu and said, "Shang Zeicao, don't worry, we will punish these bastards severely and give you an explanation! As for the application for pension and reward for the Zeicao Office, I will have someone verify it and report it to the county governor!"

Then he apologized again, saying that he was not strict with his subordinates, which led to such a mess. If Shang Lu was not satisfied, he would accept any beating or punishment.

This positive statement made people who were not aware of the situation feel more favorable towards Li Hong.

If Shang Lu didn't know the inside story, he would probably think that Li Hong was a good person, but was deceived by the evil officials under his command.

Unfortunately, Shang Lu has not yet obtained the evidence, so it is not the time to reveal the real intention. He can only pretend to be still angry but helpless, and said with his hands folded:

"What are you talking about, Li Gongcao? Since the fault is not yours, how dare I beat you or punish you? I just hope that Li Gongcao will control his subordinates in the future and don't let similar things happen again. It's not easy for our brothers in the Thief Cao's Office to get some credit. They all risked their lives for it."

I'll let you live for a few more days. Once I find evidence, I'll kill you!
Li Hong didn't know what Shang Lu was thinking, he just bowed in response.

After the incident was over, the officials from various departments who had come to watch the fun dispersed one after another.

Xu Shan, Yan Tao and other witch officers from the Discipline Department also felt that the matter had been resolved and returned to the Witch Academy.

Shang Lu asked the people from Gongcao Yamen to remove Zhu Quan's shackles, and called the butcher to come and carry the wounded Zhu Quan back to Zeicao's office.

On the way, he released the Devil to heal Zhu Quan's injuries, but his attention was actually focused on a few copper ants.

Shang Lu's prediction was correct. Just after everyone left, Li Hong, with a gloomy face, turned around and walked into the cell where the guilty officials were held, and found the Gongcao Li who had just been brought in.

(End of this chapter)