“Killing and robbing for wealth? The most heinous of crimes?”
“As long as you all die, who would know what happened at the Gan Tang Inn?”
“I, Su Yun, am innocent!”
County Lieutenant Su Yun’s eyes were fierce, his expression arrogant.
Su Wu Ming pointed angrily and scolded: “You, Su Yun, are a disgrace to the Su surname. As a law enforcement officer, you break the law, your crimes are even greater.”
“Go ahead, curse me all you want. Soon you’ll have no chance to speak anymore!”
The sky had already started to brighten, the east was about to turn white.
Su Yun didn't want to waste time, he waved his hand: “Kill all these people, leave none alive!”
The surrounding Gan Tang officers and guards, armed with swords and weapons, charged towards the crowd.
Without Wei Ming's command, Lu Ling Feng, wielding a long spear, leaped into the crowd, like a tiger entering a sheepfold.
Wei Ming instructed Xue Huan to protect Pei Xi Jun and the others, while he walked up to Su Yun: “Can you tell me about the late or nonexistent monthly salaries?”
Su Yun was speechless: “At a time like this, is there any point in talking about this?”
“You're going to die soon anyway.”
Wei Ming smiled faintly: “Even a dead man should die knowing the truth, tell me. As an Imperial Censor, investigating corruption is my duty.”
Su Yun hesitated for a moment, seeing that the battle was in full swing and the outcome was unclear, he said: “Actually, there's nothing much to it. The monthly salaries are deducted at every level, starting from the State Administration.”
“By the time it reaches our small county of Gan Tang, there's hardly anything left. We work all year round, at most, we can receive three to four months of salary.”
“Don't even mention the petty officers like Liu San, even I, the County Lieutenant, struggle to support my family with my monthly salary.”
“As for who is embezzling the salaries? Haha, from top to bottom, all levels of the state administration, who knows how many there are?”
After listening to Su Yun's account, Wei Ming had a clear direction for his investigation, which was the core objective of his official duties in the Shan Nan Xi Dao region as an Imperial Censor.
He was going to investigate corruption!
He wouldn't neglect detective work either, he would handle both simultaneously.
After their conversation, Lu Ling Feng finally proved his superior strength, defeating all of Su Yun's officers and guards.
However, Su Yun was only slightly surprised, showing no sign of panic.
“As expected of a big shot from Chang’an, your martial arts skills are truly impressive. But sadly, no matter how strong you are, you can't withstand the myriad offspring of the Serpent Mother!”
“Liu Shi Qi!”
“Yes, sir!”
During the previous melee, Su Yun's men had rescued Liu Shi Qi while the chaos ensued.
“I will not pursue the matter of your concealing stolen money. You know what to do next, right?”
“I understand, you just watch!” Liu Shi Qi pulled out a whistle from his bosom and grinned at Wei Ming and the others.
Lu Ling Feng was about to stop him, but the whistle had already blown.
Rustling sounds, the group of pythons that were hidden in the rafters and roofs, attacked again.
Guided by Liu Shi Qi's whistle, they surrounded Wei Ming and the others.
Liu Shi Ba was in a panic, he shouted to Liu Shi Jiu: “Little brother, hurry, don't let Liu Shi Qi commit another atrocity, stop him!”
Liu Shi Jiu obeyed his elder brother, and let out a loud roar.
“Hiss!!”
The group of pythons that were approaching the crowd were puzzled, they stopped and swayed hesitantly in place.
“Woo-woo-woo…”
“Hiss!!”
Liu Shi Qi cursed viciously: “You little beast, shut your mouth!”
He was about to raise his knife and charge forward, but before Lu Ling Feng could react, Wei Ming stepped forward and kicked Liu Shi Qi to the ground.
“This Imperial Censor has never seen a villain like you. You even attack your own father and brother, you are utterly devoid of humanity.”
Then, he stepped on the whistle and broke it.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“I, Lao Fei, thought I was going to be swallowed by snakes.”
“These pythons are all sentient beings, they have surpassed the category of ordinary wild animals, they are all refined spirits.”
“Don't worry, you've forgotten, we all have the amulets our junior brother gave us.”
“Yes, we all have amulets, we don't need to be afraid at all.”
“But does this amulet really work? Maybe it was just a coincidence last time.”
Su Wu Ming and the others held the yellow amulets tightly in their palms, forming a circle, looking vigilantly at the hundreds of thick pythons surrounding them.
County Lieutenant Su Yun, however, sneered and roared: “Liu Shi Jiu, as the son of the Serpent Mother and the disciple of the Serpent Immortal, how dare you betray the Serpent Immortal? Are you not afraid that the Serpent Immortal will kill you?”
Liu Shi Jiu was stunned, fear and terror flashed in his crimson vertical pupils, and his whole body involuntarily trembled.
Liu Shi Ba hurriedly said: “Little brother, little brother, wake up! You are Liu Shi Ba's brother, not the Serpent Mother's son, and certainly not the Serpent Immortal's disciple!”
Serpent Mother? Serpent Immortal?
Everyone was astonished, but they realized that behind the Gan Tang Inn, there seemed to be something even deeper and more mysterious, a person or a force secretly manipulating things, their true purpose unknown.
Wei Ming narrowed his eyes, Serpent Immortal? Another Immortal! Could it be related to Bai Yu Jing?
“Hiss!”
Liu Shi Jiu suddenly grabbed his head and wailed, Liu Shi Ba hugged his brother tightly, while Liu Shi Qi laughed loudly: “Serves you right! Serves you right! Monsters deserve to die! Betrayal deserves to die! Hahaha…”
Su Yun glanced at the three Liu brothers, then at the officers and guards who had been knocked down by Lu Ling Feng, and couldn't help but scold: “A bunch of useless trash!”
He then raised his hand, cupped his palm like a drum, and blew a whistle-like woo-woo sound.
Hiss…
Rustling sounds.
Outside the Gan Tang Inn, there was a continuous rustling sound.
When everyone came to their senses, they found that the entire Gan Tang Inn was surrounded by countless pythons.
“My god! This, this, this… how many pythons are there? Thousands, tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands?” Wang Nai Ling gasped.
“It's over, it's over. Now, even if you give me more yellow amulets, I don't feel safe. Poor old Fei, I can't eat chicken anymore!”
Su Wu Ming raised the yellow amulet: “At this point, we can only choose to believe in our junior brother!”
Pei Xi Jun had reached the point of blind faith in Wei Ming, she believed that as long as Wei Ming was there, no matter what happened, they would be safe and sound, and turn danger into fortune: “With Wei Lang here, I believe we will all be safe and sound.”
Song A Mi was filled with terror, but she also looked at Wei Ming in the field with a full sense of worry.
Lu Ling Feng's hand holding the long spear was sweating, he wouldn't be afraid of ten or eight pythons, even hundreds, as long as he fought with all his might, he could escape unscathed, but these thousands, or even tens of thousands… countless pythons, he could only wait for death, and leave it to fate.
On the field, except for Su Yun, Wei Ming was the most composed, with the Tong Tian Lu, he was not afraid of the pythons wreaking havoc, the serpents dancing wildly.
“It is said that Gan Tang County was once a vast swamp a thousand years ago. Later, as time passed and the times changed, the swamp subsided, merging into the underground river, the mudflats became fertile fields.”
“The Records of Strange Beasts records that every vast swamp must have large pythons, such as the Mang Dang Mountain in the Xu Du area, which was also a swamp in ancient times, with pythons gathering, and later, Han Gao Zu Liu Bang slew a white python to revolt, as a testament.”
“Presumably, when the swamp subsided underground, these pythons did not die, but moved with the water to the underground river caves!”
“And Gan Tang Inn happens to be located in the center of a thousand-acre reed marsh, within a radius of ten miles, all are covered in reeds that are taller than a man, this is the strongest evidence!”
“Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, the location of the Gan Tang Inn is the intersection of the ancient swamp and the underground river. It seems that the person who established the Gan Tang Inn knew this, that person must be the Serpent Immortal you mentioned, right?”
County Lieutenant Su Yun suddenly laughed out loud, applauding and praising: “Excellent! Excellent! As expected of the number one scholar in Tang Dynasty, the new champion of the imperial examination, the Imperial Censor Wei Ming!”
“Not only are your talents extraordinary, but your vast knowledge, your astute observation of the world, no one can match you!”
His praise suddenly turned cold: “Yes, the location of the Gan Tang Inn is the entrance to the ancient Qiu Tang swamp, the core area where the pythons hide and roam.”
“As for the Serpent Immortal, I cannot disclose that information, good journey to all of you!”
“Woo-woo-woo…”
Su Yun blew on the hand drum again, ten thousand pythons attacked, everyone panicked and cried out, some closed their eyes, waiting for death to arrive.
Hiss!!!
Wei Ming stood in front of everyone, drawing a talisman in the air, with iridescent light, as the morning light faintly glowed, a mysterious talisman rose up to the sky.
“Beast Control Talisman!”
“镇!!!”
Golden light radiated outwards.
Su Yun's pupils instantly constricted, as if he had seen a ghost: “This is??”
Chite!!!
Wei Ming roared, releasing a large-scale Tong Tian Talisman.
Streams of light flew out, imprinting themselves on the foreheads of hundreds of thousands of pythons.
In an instant, the pythons' eyes became dull, they stood stiffly in place, swaying their bodies slightly, their crimson tongues flicking, with no intention of attacking.
Su Yun was dumbfounded.
“This, this… how is this possible?”
“You, you, you, what kind of sorcery are you using?”
Su Yun had seen the Serpent Immortal, and with the Serpent Immortal's and Serpent Mother's permission, he could control the ten thousand pythons.
But in a blink of an eye, the ten thousand pythons were all controlled by Wei Ming.
He only saw Wei Ming's fingers moving in the air, like drawing a talisman, he roared, and the ten thousand pythons were subdued?
This was too much for him to accept!
This made no sense at all!?