Catching Monsters

Chapter 536 Sacrificing the Entire Family

The Imperial Guards acted swiftly. Upon receiving Jiang Yun's orders, they immediately arrived at the Lü residence and arrested the Western Region woman, imprisoning her in the imperial prison.

Jiang Yun understood that His Majesty was extremely concerned about this matter, so he rushed to the Imperial Prison immediately. Inside the cold and damp Imperial Prison...

A beautiful woman from the Western Regions was bound to an iron pillar in the imperial prison. Nearby, many skilled executioners from the Embroidered Uniform Guard were preparing instruments of torture.

"My lord." Qi Da greeted Jiang Yun quickly as he entered, and asked in a low voice, "Shall we proceed with the torture?"

Jiang Yun's gaze fell on the woman. He slowly walked forward and asked, "Can you understand me?"

Upon hearing this, the woman from the Western Regions subconsciously raised her head. Jiang Yun said in a deep voice, "It seems you understand. Lü Zhiling died because of you. He was a third-rank official in the imperial court."

"Would you rather be honest and confess why you killed Lord Lü, or suffer in prison first?"

Upon hearing Jiang Yun's question, the woman from the Western Regions simply closed her eyes, refusing to say anything.

"Use torture." Jiang Yun turned around and said to Qi Da, "Everyone says that the torture in our Imperial Prison is severe, but since I came to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, I've only encountered tough nuts to crack. Very few people have actually gotten a result through torture."

"Zida, no matter what methods you use, you must get her to talk before nightfall, understand?"

Upon hearing this, Zidane nodded repeatedly.

Soon, Jiang Yun returned to his study, awaiting news of Qi Da's interrogation.

After waiting for about half an hour, there was a knock on the door outside the study. Jiang Yun thought it was Zidane, and thought to himself that Zidane was really efficient this time.

But to everyone's surprise, when the door was opened, standing outside was the monk Wuhui.

At this moment, Monk Wuhui put his hands together in prayer. After seeing Jiang Yun, he said, "Amitabha, Lord Jiang, have you captured a female attendant brought by Master Hongguang?"

"Did Master Hongguang send you?" Jiang Yun smiled and gestured for Wu Hui to come inside and sit down.

After Wu Hui sat down, he spoke in a deep voice: "Master Hongguang went to see my master, and my master specifically asked me to come and ask what's going on."

"Let's see if Lord Jiang can release this female attendant."

"After all, she is Master Hongguang's person..."

Jiang Yun narrowed his eyes slightly. This Master Hongguang was indeed well-informed. How long had it been since he brought this woman from the Lü residence, and he had already received news of her?

They even sent Wu Hui over as an intermediary.

Jiang Yun said in a deep voice, "It's not that I don't respect Master Hongguang and Abbot Yunwu, it's just that this woman is related to the death of Minister of Justice Lü Zhiling."

"Ah." Wu Hui was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting that the reason this woman was arrested and taken to the imperial prison would be for this reason, involving a high-ranking official like the Minister of Justice, who was of the second rank.

This is not something that can be resolved simply by the White Dragon Temple saying a few words.

Seeing this, Monk Wuhui could only get up and take his leave, heading back home to inform his master that he could not release the person.

To Jiang Yun's surprise, soon, people from the five major Buddhist temples, including Puji Temple and Lingshi Temple, were also sent to the Eastern Garrison by their respective abbots.

They wanted to ask Jiang Yun for their missing persons, hoping he would release them.

The arrival of representatives from the five major Buddhist temples was not unexpected for Jiang Yun. Out of respect for Master Hongguang, the temples had to express their gratitude upon hearing about the matter.

To Jiang Yun's surprise, after he firmly refused and sent the people from the five Buddhist temples away, officials from the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and other places sent people to plead for his release.

This is somewhat surprising.

However, after Jiang Yun saw all of these people off, not long after, an acquaintance arrived.

"Brother Jiang, busy?" Qian Buchou asked with a smile as he pushed open the door.

Seeing this, Jiang Yun slowly stood up, looked Qian Buchou up and down, and smiled, "Brother Qian, why don't you come and sit here for a while?"

After entering the house, Qian Buchou smiled. Previously, Qian Buchou did not hold a high official position and was embarrassed to interact with Jiang Yun too frequently.

Now that he has become a principal officer in the Ministry of Personnel, he has no such worries.

On the other hand...

"I do have something I'd like to ask Jiang Yun for help with today," Qian Buchou said, rubbing his nose as he sat down. "Brother, it's like this. Last night, I met a girl from the Western Regions at the Yihong Pavilion. Just now, she suddenly came to my door."

"They claimed that one of their sisters was accidentally captured by you and taken to the Eastern Garrison Command, and asked me to come and take a look."

"I was just thinking that since it's Brother Jiang's place, I might as well come and sit for a while today."

"Of course, whether you release him or not is up to you. I mainly came here to see you, brother."

Qian Buchou spoke very tactfully, and Jiang Yun, upon hearing this, said, "What else did your girl say to you? Tell me."

"Um." Qian Buchou thought for a moment, then said, "I didn't say much..."

"Lord Lü of the Ministry of Justice is dead," Jiang Yun said in a deep voice. "It's related to her sister."

Upon hearing this, Qian Buchou's pupils contracted slightly, and he was somewhat surprised. His expression changed, and he quickly stood up and asked in a low voice, "No way, murder?"

"Not sure." Jiang Yun shook his head. In fact, Jiang Yun didn't believe it was the so-called murder.

After all, yesterday, the women that Master Hongguang brought with him basically went out to find high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital, probably using a honey trap.

It's probably just a coincidence, after all, Lord Lü is over seventy years old, which is indeed quite old.

Just then, Qian Buchou twitched slightly and suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Jiang Yun was stunned and quickly squatted down next to Qian Buchou. Qian Buchou clutched his chest and said, "Brother Jiang, Brother Jiang, there's something in my chest."

Jiang Yun ran two fingers across his eyes, instantly opening the Netherworld Path. Looking at Qian Buchou's chest, Jiang Yun was surprised to find a strange worm about half a foot long inside. This worm was slender and had wrapped around Qian Buchou's heart.

Gu worms? Or something else?
After a while, Qian Buchou finally recovered. He slowly sat up, touching his chest, still unsure what had happened. He hesitated and said, "Strange, Brother Jiang, what's wrong with me? My chest hurt terribly just now."

Jiang Yun's heart sank, and he slowly asked, "What did you do with that woman from the Western Regions last night?"

"Nothing happened, just normal..."

Jiang Yun asked, "Did you eat anything she gave you?"

"Hey, who has the time to eat at a time like that?" Qian Buchou waved his hand, but then, remembering something, he hurriedly said, "By the way, before I left, that girl fed me a few pieces of pastry. What? Was there something wrong with those pastries?" Jiang Yun glared at Qian Buchou: "It's the girl who's the problem."

Upon hearing this, Qian Buchou curled his lip. What serious problem could such a beautiful girl have...?

Jiang Yun frowned deeply. An exception?
It's unlikely. Qian Buchou was just an ordinary clerk in the Ministry of Personnel, and Master Hongguang wouldn't have taken action against him alone.

In other words, the girls that Master Hongguang brought last night, and the high-ranking officials they sought, probably all had such strange poisonous insects inside their bodies.

“Lie down on the ground, lift up your clothes, and let me examine you,” Jiang Yun said.

Upon hearing this, Qian Buchou said, "Hey, Brother Jiang, I don't care about men."

“Me, Xing?” Jiang Yun said, ignoring Qian Buchou’s objections, and pushed him to the ground. Then he took out yellow talisman paper, pen and black dog blood from under the desk.

After dipping a brush in black dog blood, he began drawing a talisman to expel the Gu worms from Qian Buchou's chest, near his heart.

After finishing the drawing, Jiang Yun pointed with both hands and exclaimed, "Exorcise evil spirits!"

Instantly, the drawn black dog blood shimmered with a faint red light, and at the same time, the Gu worm inside Qian Buchou's body slowly tightened.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Yun's expression changed, and she quickly wiped away the talisman.

If the spell continues, this strange worm might destroy Qian Buchou's heart.

"Brother Jiang, what's wrong with me?" Qian Buchou gasped for breath, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. "Just now, I... I seemed to see my great-grandfather..."

"It's alright, sit up." After Jiang Yun helped Qian Buchou sit up, he made a hand seal and chanted in a deep voice, "Thunder rumbles, fierce official true lord. By order of the summons, quickly descend your mighty spirit. Raise clouds and exhale mist, hurry to the altar."

After reciting the words, a crackling current instantly appeared on Jiang Yun's right hand fingers. Then, Jiang Yun pointed at Qian Buchou's chest, and the current was not particularly strong.

Yet it was able to accurately strike the Gu worm inside Qian Buchou's body.

Unexpectedly, the moment the Gu worm was struck by electricity, it contracted tightly once again.

It had completely enveloped Qian Buchou's heart, and Jiang Yun could only retract the electric flower. With a solemn expression, he stroked his chin and couldn't help but ask, "What the hell is this thing?"

Qian Buchou, covered in sweat, leaned against the table in the room and sighed, "Brother, what are you doing? Don't bother me anymore. I'm not like I was a couple of years ago; I can't take any more of this."

"You should rest first," Jiang Yun said solemnly.

This is no small matter. If many court officials were cursed with this curse, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He went out the door and called out, "Someone, go to the imperial prison and see how Commander Qi is doing. Tell him to come over here."

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Guards guarding outside rushed to the prison. Sure enough, they returned shortly afterward, accompanied by Qi Da, who was being helped in.

"hiss."

Qi Da, clutching his chest, entered the room and said to Jiang Yun, "Lord Jiang, my chest was aching slightly just now..."

Jiang Yun examined him carefully and, sure enough, Qi Da's condition was exactly the same as Qian Buchou's. This was bad.

Jiang Yun hurriedly went to his desk, quickly wrote a secret letter about the situation, and then found his subordinate and said, "Quickly, send it to the palace immediately and have Eunuch Feng show it to His Majesty."

"Yes." The subordinate accepted the order, picked up the secret letter, and turned to leave.

Jiang Yun then told Qian Buchou and Qi Da to rest in his study, while he quickly headed towards the location of the imperial prison.

Upon arriving at the gates of the imperial prison, they heard the screams of the Western Region woman coming from inside. Pushing open the door, they found the woman covered in wounds and blood.

After Jiang Yun entered, he remained silent with a somber expression. He casually pulled up a chair and sat down, while the numerous Imperial Guards inside continued their interrogation.

The tortures in the imperial prison were no joke; unless one had an exceptionally strong will, they would definitely cry out.

Logically speaking, the woman brought by Master Hongguang shouldn't have such willpower.

Unexpectedly, she stubbornly refused to speak.

Jiang Yun sensed something was amiss, slowly walked forward, lifted the woman's bloodied chin, and examined her closely.

"Such unwavering willpower." Jiang Yun said calmly, "Young lady, I am Jiang Yun from the Eastern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. You are so young; it would be a pity to lose your life here."

"I'll ask you a few questions. If you can answer them truthfully, I'll not only release you, but also have someone send you back to reunite with your family."

Jiang Yun then said, "Master Hongguang instructed you to secretly feed the court officials Gu worms. What were you planning to do? You..."

Before Jiang Yun could finish his question, the woman from the Western Regions unexpectedly started speaking in a language that Jiang Yun couldn't understand.

"What did she say?" Jiang Yun turned his head and looked at the only middle-aged man dressed as a scholar in the prison.

The middle-aged man had a slightly pale complexion; he was a scholar from the academy who studied the culture of the Western Regions.

Since they needed to interrogate people from the Western Regions, they naturally brought him in as a translator.

The scholars were so terrified by the methods used in this imperial prison that their faces turned deathly pale.

However, the translator still stammered, "She means..."

"As long as they do this for Master Hongguang, even if they die, they will be able to follow Master Hongguang into the Buddhist Kingdom and enjoy the Buddha's light after Master Hongguang becomes a Buddha."

"As for her family, she had already sacrificed them to Master Hongguang."

“She personally burned all her family members to death.”

Hearing the scholar's words, Jiang Yun was stunned for a moment, and then said, "Why would she sacrifice her family members to Master Hongguang for no reason?"

The scholar said in a low voice, "This is a special culture in the Western Regions. If you want to serve a high monk, you need to offer your precious possessions to show your determination."

"Normally, it would be a donation of gold, silver, jewelry, furs, cloth, and grain."

"It's quite rare to sacrifice an entire family member like this."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the woman slammed her head backward with a loud thud, her skull cracking open and blood gushing out.

(End of this chapter)