Terrifying Heavens: I'll directly worship the Black Law of Fengdu!

Chapter 331 The Judge's Book of Life and Death

Just then, someone shouted, "Officer Lin is here!"

Several men dressed in red and black yamen runners parted the crowd and entered the courtyard. Lin, the head constable, had a square face and bore a slight resemblance to Lin Jiu, but his brows exuded a hint of menacing aura.

Seeing the tragic deaths of Master Tan and Jinlian, Officer Lin felt a wave of bad luck wash over him. He had accepted ten taels of gold from Master Tan in exchange for killing Zhang Dadan, but instead of killing him, he ended up in a miserable state himself.

it's good now.

With Master Tan dead, the hiring of a hitman will remain a mystery...

Wait, where's Master Liu?
Why wasn't Master Liu's body seen at the scene? Master Liu was basically the one who facilitated all of Master Tan's dirty and despicable deeds. If he were to expose these things, Officer Lin felt he could retire.

He didn't care how Master Tan and Jinlian died; since Zhang Dadan had no connections, he could just find some excuse to pin it on him.

Lin, the head constable, quickly made his move and led several constables to Master Tan's residence.

There were several servants in Master Tan's mansion. Just as they were about to stop Constable Lin from barging in, they saw flashes of bright, cold light from the blades and were so frightened that they took several steps back.

Lin, the head constable, sneered, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. He shouted, "Everyone, regardless of rank, gather in the courtyard! Master Tan was murdered at the Changsheng Inn last night, and I suspect the killer is in this very courtyard..."

The mansion suddenly became noisy as all four of Master Tan's wives came out, except for the first wife, who had died a few years ago.

Lin, the head constable, gave his men a meaningful look.

The subordinates understood immediately and split into four groups to search the various rooms for clues. When they came out, their chests and cuffs were bulging, and one fool even showed off a gold chain...

The third concubine realized it was her chain and was about to say, "That's mine..."

Lin, the head constable, drew his long sword and held it directly to the third concubine's neck, saying coldly, "It seems you have something to do with Master Tan's death. Speak your mind if you have anything to say! I... will definitely get justice for you."

The third concubine knew exactly what these soldiers and bandits were up to. Terrified, she stammered, "No, what I mean is, please search as you please, I will fully cooperate with you."

Only then did Constable Lin sheathe his long sword, instruct his four men to watch over the crowd, and go to search the area himself. He only emerged satisfied when every inch of his body was stuffed with silver notes.

This is, after all, Tanjia Town, and there are certain unwritten rules that must be followed.

Lin, the head constable, could take advantage of the chaos to rob some money, but he absolutely could not openly steal boxes and boxes of goods; otherwise, he would be slapping the Tan family in the face.

The few crooked and flawed officials in the government office couldn't withstand the impact from others.

He was just about to leave the Tan family, and he needed to get rid of these silver notes as soon as possible; he couldn't just carry them around on the streets.

Unexpectedly, a man with plasters on his head walked in through the door. It was none other than the missing clerk, Liu. He was overjoyed to see Constable Lin and hurriedly approached him, saying, "Constable Lin, Master Tan is dead. He had a lot of money. Shouldn't we do something to get our hands on that money?"

Lin, the head constable, smiled.

Master Liu thought he had agreed and immediately smiled.

The next second, Constable Lin drew his knife and plunged it into Clerk Liu's abdomen. The white blade went in, the red one came out, blood splattered everywhere. He shouted, "You beast! Master Tan treated you so well, and you actually coveted his wealth and did this! You even dared to attack me, you're asking for death..."

Attacking government officials is never a minor offense; if it's taken seriously, it can lead to execution. Master Liu didn't think he'd said anything wrong; this Constable Lin was no different from Qian Kai—both were money-grubbing bastards…

No, there is still a difference.

At least Qian Kai kept his promise.

The death of Master Liu threw the people in the mansion into chaos.

After Constable Lin left without looking back, the Tan family quickly sent people to inventory the property left by Master Tan and begin the process of taking possession of it...

In Tanjia Town, Li Xuan began inquiring about the Tan family from the crack of dawn.

The common people didn't recognize Li Xuan, and seeing that he was asking about something very important, they all remained silent and dared not speak. Even if they did speak, it was only about trivial matters.

Li Xuan then inquired from a different angle, wanting to establish a charity hall in the town specifically to help the poor, and therefore asked the people if they had any good ideas to offer.

The people were all advising Li Xuan not to do anything foolish.

In Tanjia Town, only the Tan family members can do charity work; outsiders who try to do charity will only face certain death!
Li Xuan was curious about the Tan family's charity work. People explained that during the annual town mayor election, the Tan family would have internal disputes and would use charity as a pretext to campaign for votes in town. Their so-called charity was just a thin porridge with hardly any grains of rice.

He discovered that the vast majority of industries in Tanjia Town belonged to the Tan family, even the meat and vegetable vendors on the roadside all had to pay 70% of their taxes to the Tan family.

Yes, Tanjia Town collects its own taxes, but does not pay taxes to the imperial court.

This has only started in the last few years. Because of the corruption and fragmentation of the Qing government, the Republic of China has been established. Although it seems to be a new era, it is actually still in a predicament of a broken country. Food is scarce everywhere, and disaster victims are like locusts.

To survive, bandits, warlords, mountain bandits, and all sorts of forces rose up in rebellion, fighting fiercely for food and territory. Anyone with a few guns and a small force dared to call themselves a commander-in-chief...

Tanjia Town appears peaceful, but in reality, there are quite a few people who sell their children. Any girl who is even slightly pretty will be chosen by the Tan family and then discarded after they are done with her. There are even some beasts who specifically choose the wedding night of ordinary people, break into the bridal chamber, and claim that everything new in Tanjia Town must be tasted by the Tan family first.

Li Xuan remained calm. While making inquiries, he instructed Tan Baiwan, who was standing beside him, to take notes, specifically noting which members of the Tan family were involved.

Of course, we can't generalize about everything; there are still good people out there.

A small number of Tan family members couldn't stand this practice and secretly helped some poor people, but they all met with terrible ends and were considered to have betrayed the interests of the Tan family.

Li Xuan traveled from day to night, from the east side of the town to the west side.

Tan Baiwan was covered in sweat. The booklet in his hand was filled with text, all of which described the sins of the Tan family. He knew before that the Tan family was profit-driven and unscrupulous, but he never expected them to be so despicable, no different from animals.

He followed behind Li Xuan, watching Judge Li's expressionless face, feeling incredibly flustered, with a vague sense that something was brewing...

This is the calm before the storm.

As night fell, in the Ping An Inn, Li Xuan flipped through the contents of the booklet, circling names one by one with a pen. Some names were marked with 100, some with 200, and some were simply crossed out with a line.

Tan Baiwan wiped the sweat from his forehead with a silk handkerchief. In his eyes, Judge Li's actions, which resembled an audit, were more like a judge from hell snatching souls from the Book of Life and Death...

(End of this chapter)