Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 66 Confession
The wind blew, causing the courtyard gate to sway gently and make intermittent groaning sounds.

There were still traces of blood on the ground, leading all the way to the deepest part of the mansion, with no end in sight.

Liu Taozi stood at the gate of the courtyard. Yao Xiong, Kou Liu and Tian Zili stood behind him respectively. All three of them held knives and looked left and right vigilantly like civet cats with their fur standing on end.

Liu Taozi's gaze followed the bloodstain all the way to the deepest part, and her face was exceptionally calm.

"Walk."

Liu Taozi strode into the yard, and the other three hurriedly followed him.

As soon as they walked in, they smelled a bad odor.

It was a disgusting smell. The three of them had experienced a lot, but at this moment they could only cover their noses with one hand. The smell was a bit pungent.

Peach was unmoved.

When we walked in, we saw two bodies.

The knife was chopped from the neck, and the head was almost cut off and hung on the torso.

Walking further in, I saw half a person, an old man, with only half of his body, maintaining a forward-moving posture.

When Taozi opened the door.

A group of naked bodies were piled together.

There were about seven or eight people, deliberately piled together, all naked, with blood and flesh intertwined.

Kou Liu almost vomited.

Taozi started searching everywhere.

Several people stood there stiffly, completely unsure of what to do.

The wind blew again, bringing with it a strange sound. The three men's hair stood on end, and the hands holding the knives changed color from using too much force.

"Yao Xiong, Kou Liu, the two of you stay here to protect the scene."

"Tian Zili, follow me."

Liu Taozi always called these three people by their names, and they never thought there was anything wrong with it.

Kou Liu's face turned pale, and just as he was about to speak, Yao Xiong grabbed him and said, "Don't be afraid. Why should you be afraid of the dead? The living are the ones that are scary!"

"I'm not afraid. Who is afraid?!"

Kou Liu forced himself to cheer up, his lips turned pale, but he still stood where he was.

Liu Taozi took Tian Zili away. Tian Zili shook his head and said disdainfully: "The ignorant Xianbei people believe in ghosts and gods the most."

"Don't you believe it?"

Liu Taozi rode on the green lion and turned around to ask.

"Do not believe."

"If ghosts and gods really exist, Yecheng will probably become a deserted city."

Tian Zilie also mounted his horse, and the two of them galloped towards the county government office.

When the two men arrived at the gate of the county government office, Xu Laoli walked forward with a smile, ready to talk, but Liu Taozi walked away from him quickly, not giving him a chance to speak.

They soon arrived at the north courtyard, and the soldier guarding the gate took the reins from Taozi and let them go.

Taozi walked into the yard and saw Lu Qubing sitting there waiting for them.

Seeing Liu Taozi and the others, Lu Qubing quickly stood up and asked, "What's going on? What happened?"

"The patrolling county soldiers found Lecturer Lu covered in blood and took him back to the county government office, but he said nothing and we couldn't get any information from him. So I took the soldiers to his residence, the Cao Mansion."

"I found out that someone massacred Cao's family, and thirteen people died."

"I'll let Yao Xiong and Kou Liu guard over there."

When Lu Qubing heard this, his whole body began to tremble.

"Thirteen people?"

His lips trembled for a long time, but he couldn't utter a word.

Looking at the stiff Lu Qubing, Liu Taozi spoke, "Don't worry, Mr. Lu. I will go ask Lu Zhanshan now to see what he has to say."

"it is good"

Lecturer Lu was sitting in the side room of the Youjiao Mansion, which was a place specially reserved by Liu Taozi to receive people who came to report to the authorities.

There were several clerks busy in the courtyard.

In the past, the Youjiao Mansion was quite idle, and it would summon scattered officials only to go out on inspections and let them follow behind to demonstrate the strength of the county government.

But now the Youjiao Mansion has become very busy. It has to record the cases that have been handled and make summaries, and it needs the help of the scattered officials.

There are eighty-eight vacancies for clerks in the county government. This number sounds like a lot, but if you spread them across a county, it would not be enough.

When Liu Taozi came in, everyone stood up and saluted. An official stepped forward and reported, "Sir, that man still hasn't spoken."

Liu Taozi nodded and led Tian Zili into the room.

Lu Zhanshan was sitting in the house, the blood on his body had already coagulated, and a doctor treated his wounds.

He lowered his head with a dull look in his eyes until he heard the door open. He was startled and quickly looked forward.

Liu Taozi stood in front of him, examining him with an inexplicable light in her eyes. Seeing Liu Taozi, Lu Zhanshan's expression suddenly became extremely complicated.

I’m afraid Lu Zhanshan can’t even tell what kind of mood he is in at this moment.

In order to defeat the cruel official in front of him, he made a detailed plan.

He was even prepared for the risk.

But he really didn't expect this result.

Lu Zhanshan felt a sharp pain in his chest; he had been stabbed.

He didn't even know why the other party wanted to cut him. Did he just want to see him in pain?

Looking at the dazed Lu Zhanshan, Liu Taozi slowly sat down in front of him.

"Tell me, who killed that person?"

Lu Zhanshan's lips trembled, but he didn't say anything.

Before Liu Taozi could say anything, Tian Zili behind her couldn't help laughing.

This laughter stimulated Lu Zhanshan, and he suddenly raised his head, "What are you laughing at?!"

"I usually thought that those who plow the fields and carry manure were afraid of the powerful and did not dare to speak up for justice easily. I never thought that the rich people in this city were also like this."

Lu Zhanshan was trembling all over. "What nonsense are you talking about. I..."

Lu Zhanshan wanted to explain something, but he found that he had no way to explain it. At that moment, he understood the thoughts of those peasants in the city.

Is there any grievance?!
Yes!! A huge injustice!!
I treated others to good food and drinks, but they ended up killing me. I was lucky to survive!

Do you dare to tell the government?

If you say it, you will die.

Who in the city dares to interfere with the Murong family?
Gao Changgong was only a county duke, while Murong Yan was a county duke!

Even among royal family members, there are distinctions of high and low status. If you were the son of the current emperor, Murong Yan should come over and kowtow to him, but you are only the son of the previous emperor, and your maternal family is not noble.

Lu Zhanshan didn't know whether Liu Taozi would dare to capture Murong Guang if he told her the truth now, but he knew that he would definitely die.

Lu Zhanshan slowly closed his eyes and stopped talking.

Liu Taozi didn't waste any time and took Tian Zili out.

"Brother, there aren't many people in this city who can scare Lu like this."

Tian Zili narrowed his eyes. "He is an official after all. Assaulting an official is a serious crime. Who on earth made him so scared?"

While walking on the road, Tian Zili vaguely felt that something was wrong.

At this moment, a man limped into the mansion.

Changsun Jiaye's face was solemn and he walked quickly to Liu Taozi.

"A major case?"

"Ah."

"Shouldn't it be? How could it be?"

Changsun Jiaye’s brow furrowed. How could anyone dare to commit a crime when there was such a ferocious and cruel official in this city?
Could it be that they are targeting this cruel official?

He immediately spoke up, "I'm going to go in and interrogate him myself. I'm going to pry this man's mouth open. I'll give you one day to find out the whole story!"

"only."

Liu Taozi immediately took his people away from there.

Liu Taozi rode on a fast horse and left quickly. Tian Zili followed on horseback, "Brother? Where are we going?!"

"Lu Mansion."

Taozi ran on the street. The county soldiers seemed to be mobilized. They could be seen gathering everywhere and starting to guard the intersections of the roads.

This means that martial law has begun in the city and no one is allowed to enter or leave.

Liu Taozi went to Lu's house because of the carpenter's matter, and the soldiers guarding the intersection did not dare to stop him.

He rushed all the way to Lu Zhanshan's mansion, jumped off his horse, and before Tian Zili could go forward and knock on the door, the gate of the courtyard was slowly opened.

A short, dark man walked out of the door. He was dressed simply, had a goatee, gentle eyes, and a faint smile on his face.

He looked up and saw Liu Taozi, and greeted her with a smile.

"Liu Youjiao."

After paying his respects, he turned and got into the carriage nearby.

Tian Zili was about to step forward to stop him, but Liu Taozi grabbed him and shook his head.

Liu Taozi and Tian Zilie broke into the mansion. The servant was tactful and did not say much. He took Liu Taozi to the innermost room.

Old Man Lu was sitting in the upper seat at this moment, his face dull.

Seeing the two people coming in, Old Man Lu looked up.

"My son killed him."

(End of this chapter)