Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 27 They are coming
"What are you yelling about?!"

Someone shouted and strode into the yard, not paying any attention to the people lying exhausted on the ground, as if he wanted to step right over their heads.

Several people walked up to Yao Xiong and others in a swagger.

"It's your turn, both of you!"

The two officials who were chatting with Yao Xiong stood up hurriedly and said, "But we just took a break."

"The county government is so busy that the nobleman has not even had a rest. Who are you to dare to ask for a rest?! Go now!!"

The two men didn't dare to refute. They got up and staggered out through the side door.

The old officials walked into the house with a grunt.

The two men went out from the side door, walked around for a long time, and finally arrived at the back of the county government office.

There were many soldiers guarding here. After verifying the identities of the two people, they let them in.

When they went in, the door was closed.

There are rows of houses and soldiers everywhere. There is a soldier standing every few steps, looking around vigilantly.

When you walk past these houses, you can hear screams coming from inside.

The door of the first room was wide open.

You can see a person being hung up, with white fat exposed, disheveled hair, and a body covered in red and white, and he smells terrible.

An elderly bearded man sat at the main seat, and several senior officials stood by to report the situation:
"This guy must be really crazy. No matter what you ask him, he just says he wants to eat peaches."

"I've fed him dozens of peaches in the past few days, but he's still clamoring for peaches!"

When the two clerks passed by here, they didn't even dare to raise their heads. They just pretended that they hadn't heard anything and passed by quickly.

They came to the small house on the far left, and a soldier led them in and closed the door.

There was also a person hanging here, and the two of them sat in front of each other.

It was already very late at night, and the Xianbei soldier in charge of the execution was also tired. After closing the door, he threw the whip and other things aside, and took a nap with his back against the wall to rest.

The two officials had to continue their work, one was responsible for asking questions and the other was responsible for taking notes.

"Name!!"

"Fat Yi."

"Tell me! How did you get in touch with the Pseudo-Zhou?"

"Unfair, unfair"

Fei Yi didn't know how long he had been hung up. His head was drooping, his body was covered in blood, and his voice was weak.

Even if you are seeking justice, you cannot do it with confidence.

The two clerks looked at each other, and the one in charge of the interrogation hit the other with a stick.

Fei Yi groaned.

"Who has your master been in contact with recently?"

"I don't know."

The two were continuing the interrogation when suddenly there was a noise outside.

The soldier who was dozing against the wall now woke up.

The two clerks just sat in their seats, not daring to move.

The soldier was not afraid. He walked quickly to the door, opened it and stuck his head out.

"Crack~~~"

A whip came towards him and the soldier had no time to dodge.

"I told you not to close the door! Get everything ready! Interrogate! Interrogate hard!!"

The person waving the whip outside was an official. The soldiers dared not say much and quickly perked up.

For a moment, all kinds of shouting could be heard throughout the courtyard. The two clerks did not dare to stop and continued to interrogate.

A group of people rushed in from the front yard, holding torches. There were more soldiers in the yard, and the whole yard was illuminated.

Then I saw a thin young man walk in.

This man looked to be no more than twenty years old, with a handsome appearance, extraordinary clothing, and a noble air. At this moment, he was followed by thirty or forty people.

Most of those people were old, had beards and wore official clothes, but when they followed the young people, they bowed their heads and looked fawning.

A group of people came in a mighty procession, and no one dared to neglect them.

This young man took the lead and walked in the front. When he met the Xianbei soldiers, he gave them a few words of encouragement, but ignored the officials around him.

He just broke into the room where the two clerks were.

Looking at Fei Yi who was hung up, he subconsciously covered his nose.

"Did you ask?"

He looked at the two officials.

The two of them were standing in front of the young man at this moment, and they felt that they could not stand steadily and their voices were trembling.

"My Lord, not yet."

The young man shook his head. "We have arrested so many people, but none of them died in these days. How could they be afraid if they didn't die? How could they confess?"

"They are just Han Chinese without titles. It doesn't matter if we kill a few of them."

"You need to be more vigorous when you interrogate."

He gave a few instructions and then led the large group of people away from here and headed to the next house.

The two clerks took a deep breath and began the interrogation again.

Only this time, they obviously used some strength. As the sticks fell again and again, Fei Yi's memory was well restored.

His lips murmured.

"What did you say?!"

The clerk took a few steps forward and put his ear close to him.

"The master of the family sent me to find Liu Taozi from the Law School."

As Fei Yi spoke, blood kept coming out of his mouth.

The clerk heard it clearly, took a step back, and there was some surprise in his eyes.

He looked at the other person, neither speaking.

The soldier couldn't help it. He strode over and snatched the stick from the clerk's hand, "Have you told me?"

"Never."

After hearing the clerk's answer, the soldier stabbed Fei Yi's neck with a wooden stick. Fei Yi's eyes widened and he coughed up blood. The soldier hit him several times, and Fei Yi simply stopped moving.

When the clerk went to report that the prisoner had been beaten to death, the young man was standing in the courtyard, explaining everything to the people around him.

"I've been here all day. I'm tired of playing, so I'm going to go back to sleep."

"When I open my eyes tomorrow, I must see the heads of all the fake Zhou traitors piled up before I can have an appetite when I eat."

"If you can't do it, I'll pile your heads up."

The young man said something horrifying while laughing.

The officials did not dare to refute at all and just nodded.

"Please rest assured, my king, we will definitely complete it!!"

Inside the law school, there was constant crying at this moment.

Liu Taozi was sitting in the middle, and Lu Qubing was comforting a student who was crying loudly.

“My parents are gone. They are gone.”

The rest of the people stood around in silence.

The student started crying loudly after returning to the classroom.

This vacation was his nightmare.

According to him, when he returned home, he found that there were only a few people left in the village, and most of them had been killed.

The few people who survived also ran away.

He found a surviving distant relative, who said that it was done by the officers and soldiers, but they didn't know why they did it.

Lu Qubing tried hard to persuade the student to calm down, and had someone send him back to rest. He also told the rest of the group to go back and rest as well.

When Lu Qubing saw Kou Liu standing in the crowd, there was some surprise on his face.

Lu Qubing and Taozi went into the house.

"I asked around and heard they were trying to catch the fake Zhou spies."

"Cui Mou has also disappeared. It seems that they believe Fei Zongxian has an affair with the Pseudo-Zhou. Since they couldn't reach an agreement, the Pseudo-Zhou decided to kill him to silence him."

"I really don't understand why they think this matter has anything to do with the pseudo-Zhou."

"All those in the county school who were close to Fei Zongxian were arrested, and there has been no news so far."

"There are still people killing people outside the city."

Lu Qubing rubbed his forehead, his face full of pain.

"The government should send important officials to solve these problems. Why haven't they come yet?"

"An important official in the imperial court."

Liu Taozi then said these four words in a very cold tone.

Lu Qubing suddenly said, "Fei Zongxian sent someone to invite you over, and you have met me twice. I'm afraid we will also be arrested and interrogated."

"Brother Taozi, if someone really comes to arrest us, you must not resist."

"I'll find a way to get through this."

Taozi didn't answer, but simply lay down on the bed.

A night of silence.

The next day, Lu Qubing got up very early.

The entire county school was in a panic, and many students and even lecturers had left.

The county school became empty, just like the city itself, and turned into a ghost town.

The men and women who used to play in the gardens are no longer seen.

They all probably wanted to avoid this turmoil. The atmosphere in the county school was particularly depressing and desperate.

But all this disturbance never reached the law school.

At this moment the law school even seemed more relaxed than usual. There were no more noblemen around to disturb them. The old clerk who delivered meals was trembling, and no longer had the energy to shout as usual.

They could even sneak out and move around, almost without running into anyone.

Even if they met someone, they would be the first to run away. No one dared to catch them and question them loudly.

The comfort in the law room was broken only when the heavy armor clashing and footsteps of the Xianbei soldiers could be heard from afar.

They are coming.

(End of this chapter)