Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 675 Origin of the Plaque
"This thing again!"

Xiao Ran frowned as she looked at the eight characters above.

From the initial surprise at seeing it on the military flag, to now feeling only disgust upon seeing these eight characters.

"This mark is the same as the one on the back of the mirror."

Huang Le leaned over for a look, then took out a bronze mirror to compare them, and found they were exactly the same.

"hiss!!!"

Upon seeing the bronze mirror in Huang Le's hand, Xiao Ran glanced at the inscription behind the plaque and instantly felt her head buzzing.

He cursed inwardly, "Damn it, that bastard Huang Chao, just how many stamps did he put on his body!"

As Li Xiangyang, that eunuch, previously mentioned, a mysterious person used the Imperial Seal of the State to stamp the Wu King's military flag.

From then on, the King of Wu gained the ability to command the ghost army by relying on the military flag.

Apart from the King of Wu, the other rebel kings also seemed to have an item with a mark, similar to a military flag.

At the time, Xiao Ran hadn't taken it to heart, but now, it would be a lie to say she wasn't panicking.

A broken signboard has caused such a huge mess. Is this guy building one as he goes along?

If so...

Just thinking about it made Xiao Ran feel terrible.

"Put them all away!"

Xiao Ran put the broken plaque into her spatial storage, and she also took the bronze mirror.

Anything that can be marked is quite eerie. I need to study this mirror myself first. If there are no problems, it's not too late to hand it over to Huang Le.

After packing up the things.

Xiao Ran looked at Qi Tongwei and the others, whose expressions were also blank.

The county magistrate is gone, and the plaque was split in two by Xiao Ran, but the imprint on their minds has not disappeared.

Their strong sense of justice left them completely bewildered, their faces filled with confusion.

What's more, there were the townspeople outside the government office, lying on the ground one by one, some dead, some crippled, the best of whom had aged more than ten years in an instant.

Faced with this predicament, Qi Tongwei and his team had no idea what to do.

"Don't be confused. Just live your lives as usual. You are still county government officials, and they are still townspeople. The corrupt official is dead, and everyone has paid their dues. They have all received their due retribution. So what is there for you to be confused about?"

Xiao Ran walked up to Qi Tongwei and the others and said.

"This……"

Qi Tongwei hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

Xiao Ran understood Qi Tongwei's thoughts. With the county magistrate dead and the plaque shattered, the town's invisible constraints had disappeared, and it had also lost the means to protect the people and ensure their survival.

After all, in the past, if anyone encountered any trouble, with the county magistrate acting as a shaman, no one was worried about robbers or evil spirits.

Now that this layer of protection is gone, how will we get through the future?

"A few days from now, a group will pass through here. Treat them to good food and drink. If you want to leave, follow this group to Ruzhou. It's still peaceful there. As long as they don't commit crimes, they'll always have a place to settle down."

"Ruzhou!"

Upon hearing those two words, Qi Tongwei and the others' eyes lit up again.

In this time of great chaos, Ruzhou, an inconspicuous place, has become a rare and blessed land.

I heard that when the locust plague army wreaked havoc across the land, they suffered a great loss in Ruzhou, being utterly routed. Now, Ruzhou is known as a land of peace and prosperity.

If it weren't for the unpredictable nature of their journey and the many variables involved, they would have already perished.

Now that they've heard someone can take them along, they're overjoyed.

"It's almost dawn. I'll leave the cleanup outside to you all. As for this corrupt official's body, I'll take care of it. Although he was a corrupt official, he still served in office and protected everyone in these chaotic times. It's only right that he be given a proper burial."

Xiao Ran pointed to the county magistrate's corpse on the ground and said.

"Ah, Brother Xiao is so kind and righteous, we will naturally follow your orders. The back residence of the county government is empty, you can rest here."

After saying this, Qi Tongwei began to lead the constables from the yamen to clean up the mess.

This day was destined to be the most painful day in the town.

Aside from those who couldn't withstand Xiao Ran's blow, the remaining townspeople all survived, but most of them suffered terribly, wishing they were dead.

Some people went blind, some became deaf and mute, and some became disabled. A strong man who originally weighed 200 pounds became emaciated overnight, with a full head of white hair, looking decades older.

So much so that many people, upon waking up, were completely unable to accept the outcome, either bursting into tears or hurling curses.

Some even cried out that God was being unfair.

The real culprit is that corrupt official, who is now dead. Their wrongdoings should be wiped clean, so why are they still being punished?

Since ancient times, the law has always been that the law does not punish the masses. Even in the case of rebellion, the emperor would have to say that only the ringleader should be killed and the rest should be pardoned.

Why doesn't it work for me?
They couldn't understand it, and some people ran to the outside of the government office and started cursing.

"You really intend to let all these people enter Ruzhou?"

Hearing the wails and curses outside the wall, Jin Chanzi leaned against the door lintel and asked Xiao Ran a question. Xiao Ran didn't look up, her eyes sharp, her silver thread swiftly sewing the magistrate's head back together.

The silver needles on his fingertips glittered, and the stitches were so seamless that there was no trace of injury or stitching. It was an exquisite craftsmanship.

Although after the [Suppressing Calamity Order] is upgraded, even without stitching up the corpse, one can directly activate Karma Stealing and read the other party's memories.

But Xiao Ran kept his word and sewed the magistrate's head back on. After all, without sewing up the corpse, there would be no energy points, and he would be at a loss if he wanted to exchange for skills from other corpses in the future.

"You stitched up Zheng Hanwen's corpse, rated S-level, and gained 1000 energy points."

As the stitching was completed, 1000 energy points were credited to Xiao Ran's account. Only then did he raise his head and say, "No matter what they did before, their karma has been repaid after I struck them with that knife last night."

“That was before. These people’s hearts have been corrupted to the core, and they can’t be changed.”

"That's a matter for the future; who knows what the future holds?"

Xiao Ran shrugged. These people have already paid the price. If they continue to do evil, they will naturally face other retributions.

Moreover, after this incident, not to mention that some of these people are crippled or disabled, most of them have had their good fortune cut off by Xiao Ran. If they dare to do evil again, the retribution will probably come even faster.

Even without Xiao Ran lifting a finger, these people will likely not have a good ending.

As they spoke, Xiao Ran used the power of the [Suppressing Calamity Order] to shine it on the magistrate's corpse.

Xiao Ran took the county magistrate's memory book and quickly flipped through it.

As the contents were opened, the identity of the county magistrate, Zheng Hanwen, was revealed.

He was originally a down-on-his-luck, impoverished scholar. After the chaos that ensued, Zheng Han was neither good at literature nor martial arts, and had no money, making his life extremely difficult.

Even when this guy went to join the outlaws, the bandits disliked him because he could only eat and couldn't do anything else, so they beat him down the mountain.

Zheng Hanwen was also disheartened and wandered aimlessly into an old temple. He stared at the gods in the temple, first cursing them, and then blaming the heavens.

Just as he was about to recite a poem and prepare to hang himself, Huang Chao appeared.

Seeing Huang Chao's figure in Zheng Hanwen's memory, Xiao Ran couldn't help but frown.

Since the last time he fought Huang Chao in Chang'an, Huang Chao's face was severely injured, which was tantamount to being disfigured again.

But at this moment, through Zheng Hanwen's memories, he saw that Huang Chao's face no longer had any scars.

Not only was his face unmarked, but his posture, demeanor, and even the fleeting glint of brilliance in his eyes were all completely different from before.

He was standing right in front of Zheng Hanwen, but Zheng Hanwen seemed to be blind, unable to see his presence.

If Huang Chao hadn't shown up, Zheng Hanwen probably would never have realized that Huang Chao had been sitting beside him watching him ever since he entered the old temple.

"As expected, this guy has already become a celestial being."

Judging from Huang Chao's condition, Xiao Ran had experienced something similar on Shuang Fei.

However, although they are both celestial beings, Shuangfei is merely a wisp of primordial spirit, far inferior to the living Huangchao.

Zheng Hanwen, being of mortal body, had no idea how terrifying Huang Chao was in front of him.

But Xiao Ran could sense it.

He simply sat there, motionless, yet his aura had already merged with the surrounding world.

It was as if he was omnipresent and omnipotent in this world, and his abilities had long exceeded human limits.

Xiao Ran had no doubt that if she were standing in front of Huang Chao right now, and this guy wanted to kill her, she probably wouldn't have the slightest power to fight back.

The only way for him to kill Huang Chao was to open the scroll and ask Plum Blossom Taoist to do it.

Huang Chao gave Zheng Hanwen two choices: to die immediately or to do what he wanted to do.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Hanwen naturally chose the second option without hesitation, but soon looked melancholy and said that he was useless, had no money or power, so how could he do what he wanted to do?

"So what do you want to do?" Huang Chao asked.

“I…” Zheng Hanwen thought for a moment, then looked up and saw the four characters “正大光明” (upright and honorable) clearly written on the plaque hanging above the old temple. His eyes lit up.

"I want to be an official, a truly incorruptible one!! I want to be upright and honest, and to leave my name in history!"

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Zheng Hanwen's words made Huang Chao laugh out loud: "These are chaotic times. Being an official in chaotic times is not an easy thing."

However, Huang Chao looked Zheng Hanwen up and down and nodded: "You are very much like me."

"Like you?"

"Yes, I used to want to be an official, but I found it was very difficult. You have to give money to your superiors, and the more money you give, the faster you can climb the ranks. But unfortunately, I didn't have any money."

Zheng Hanwen nodded in deep agreement, then asked, almost as if possessed, "And then?"

"Then……"

Huang Chao smiled but didn't say anything more. He just slapped his thigh and said, "Fine, since you want to be an official, then I'll give you one."

Huang Chao then pointed to the pile of straw beside him and said, "There is a corpse inside, and a package next to it. Inside is an official document. Take it and go to your post."

Having said that, he waved his hand and took down the plaque above his head, then took out a jade seal and stamped it on the back of the plaque: "This is for you. With this plaque, you can become as high an official as you want..."

(End of this chapter)