In an elegant room of the inn, Zhu Li sent away the doctor who was delivering tea, and then he stared at Lu Yongzhi fiercely and said, "Tell me, what's going on?"
"My dear, I..." Lu Yongzhi looked a little hesitant, but still unwilling, and seemed to want to argue. However, in Zhu Li's eyes, he was naturally evasive and evasive.
He narrowed his eyes and immediately gave up asking the other party directly. He turned to look at the two guards and said coldly: "It seems that it is better to listen to your words first."
"No, my lord..." When Lu Yongzhi saw Zhu Li turn to ask the two guards, he immediately became anxious. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Zhu Li again: "Shut up, I asked you to speak, but you didn't. Now it's not your turn to speak, stay away."
The two guards looked at the trembling Lü Yongzhi, then looked at each other, as if they were ready to risk their lives. One of them, who was a little braver, saw Lü Yongzhi's miserable face and quickly turned around and bowed to Zhu Li, saying, "Sir, my brother and I were originally guards in Taoxie City, serving under the command of Captain Lü. Yesterday evening, he called us brothers to his mansion and asked us to help him do something. He gave us one day to help him capture a virgin of fifteen or sixteen years old, no matter what means we had to use, even if it meant robbing."
"We dared not disobey the captain's order. Today we happened to find this father and daughter begging on the long street. The girl looked to be of the right age, and we managed to trick the gentleman into admitting that his girl was still unmarried. Her age and conditions were both right, so we let go and kidnapped her." The guard did not dare to hide anything and explained the whole story honestly.
When the other guard saw his companion confess, he also quickly echoed, "Sir, my brother said everything truthfully. I dare not lie in any way. Please understand, Sir."
They were now forced into a desperate situation. Judging from Lu Yongzhi's expression just now, even if they obeyed Lu Yongzhi and retreated immediately, there would probably be no good result.
The fact that this superior was obviously able to intimidate Lu Yongzhi gave them hope. Although they knew that it was very dangerous to rebel against Lu Yongzhi, they now had no choice but to give it a try.
Besides, Lu Yongzhi was usually arrogant and domineering, looking down on everyone. It was a rare opportunity for them to meet a superior who even frightened him. How could they miss this opportunity
Zhu Li did not speak after hearing this, but turned to Lu Yongzhi again and said gloomily: "Lu Yongzhi, if you have anything else to say, I advise you to be honest. You are not the only alchemist around Gao Pian."
Zhu Li's threat is self-evident.
Lu Yongzhi was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a plop, his expression horrified and desperate, his panic evident in his words. What did Zhu Li mean by this? Did she mean that if he continued to hide the truth, the other party would give up on him without hesitation? He didn't dare to take the chance.
"My dear, I, I admit that I ordered them to do it, but I was also forced to do it. In order to facilitate the meeting between you and Gao Pian, I promised Gao Pian that I would help him get rid of Tian Lingzi. My dear, I am just a Taoist priest. I can do some small tricks and sleight of hand, but how can I...
I have no choice but to offer him a plan." Lu Yongzhi said with a trembling body and a frightened heart.
"Offering suggestions? Humph, based on your ability, what kind of bad ideas can you come up with?" Zhu Li looked at Lu Yongzhi with disdain.
Lu Yongzhi did not dare to take Zhu Li's disdain to heart. Being controlled by others, he might lose his life at any moment, so why should he care
"When I was practicing Taoism with my master, I accidentally saw such a record. It said that if you mix a person's birth date, hair, nails and other body parts together to make a carrier, and then smear it with feces, urine, virgin menstrual blood, and heart blood, and curse that person with needles and fire every day, then the cursed person will not live long."
"I told Gao Pian this method, but I didn't expect that Gao Pian would adopt it immediately after hearing it. He also said that it is better not to trouble two masters for one thing, so he ordered me to capture a virgin for him to obtain her menstrual blood and heart blood. I, I have no other choice." Lu Yongzhi no longer dared to hide anything at this time, and told the whole thing in a very frank manner. He now only hoped that Zhu Li would show leniency.
Zhu Li looked grim when he heard this. It happened that he had seen similar records of this method before. It was a kind of witchcraft called "Ya Sheng" (the technique of suppressing victory). It was extremely evil and vicious, but it was simply superstition. Lu Yongzhi actually used it to deceive Gao Pian, and Gao Pian actually believed it. It had to be said that Gao Pian was really hopeless.
And this Lu Yongzhi, who was spreading rumors and misleading the people, was unscrupulous and was simply a villain. However, this person's identity would still be useful for a while. Although Zhu Li wanted to kill this bastard with a knife immediately, he still suppressed this impulse.
"Hmph, ridiculous. You dare to complain about such a nonexistent thing. You should be thankful that nothing serious has happened this time. I will make note of your mistake for now. Go back and help me sort out the information of all the generals. As for whether you live or die, it depends on your performance. You'd better remember that I will reward those who have made merits and punish those who have made mistakes." Zhu Li glanced at Lu Yongzhi indifferently and waved his hand to signal him to get out quickly.
"Thank you, thank you very much, my lord." Lu Yongzhi thanked him profusely, nodded and bowed, and walked out in a hurry.
After sending Lü Yongzhi away, Zhu Li turned to look at the two guards and said, "Although you were ordered by someone, you have hurt the father and daughter after all. Now you have completely offended Lü Yongzhi, so you deserve it. Go away. I advise you to leave Jiangdu. I can't guarantee how Lü Yongzhi will deal with you."
The two guards' faces darkened when they heard this. They deserved the punishment for being an accomplice to the evil. Who could they blame? After realizing this, they bowed to Zhu Li with a bit of displeasure and said, "Thank you, sir. Shall we leave now?"
"Get out of here, and don't let me see you doing evil things again, otherwise I won't mind sending you to meet the King of Hell." Zhu Li gave them a vicious look. That chilling look made the two of them feel cold in their hearts. They immediately lost their temper and walked out dejectedly.
Only Zhu Li, Yang Zaixing and the father and daughter were left in the room. The man in the coarse linen shirt was looking at everything in front of him calmly. Although he still looked very embarrassed, he tried hard to maintain a demeanor. It should be the kind of demeanor that one would suffer for the sake of saving face.
But the girl was much more cowardly. Even now, she is still scared, like a frightened little quail.
Zhu Li glanced at them, reached out to Yang Zaixing for a silver ingot, gently placed it on the table, and said with some sympathy: "You can use this little money to start a small business. This is probably all I can do for you."
This ingot of silver weighs at least ten taels. If it were an ordinary beggar, he would definitely take the silver with many thanks and leave.
But in the eyes of the man with a bruised nose and swollen eyes, there was no ripple at all. Until now, he was still staring at Zhu Li silently, as if he had made a decision, but also seemed a little hesitant.
Zhu Li's words were undoubtedly to drive him away. The man obviously knew what the other party meant, but he did not reach out for the silver on the table. Instead, he bowed and said, "Your Excellency is so kind that you saved my father and daughter from danger and gave us a new life. I should not have any more extravagant hopes, but I have some doubts in my heart. I would like to ask you to solve my doubts."
Zhu Li was stunned when he heard this. Not only him, but even Yang Zaixing was very curious. To be frank, they, father and daughter, were able to escape from bad luck today thanks to Zhu Li's help, but this man actually asked him to explain his doubts.
However, seeing the other person's horrible appearance, blood on the corner of his mouth, and his ragged clothes, Zhu Li did not argue with him, but said gently: "You're welcome, just say it, if I can help you, I will never refuse."
Zhu Li's good temper seemed to have given the other party a boost of courage. He bowed again and said, "In Jiangdu City, ever since Lü Yongzhi was appreciated by Gao Pian, he has become arrogant and dissolute, looking down on other people. To be frank, apart from Gao Pian, I have never seen anyone who could make him treat me with such respect and trepidation. Please forgive me for being so presumptuous, but I would like to ask, what is your name?"
"How dare you." Before Zhu Li could say anything, Yang Zaixing's face suddenly darkened when he heard the words, and he immediately became furious. Zhu Li was being hunted down, and Yang Zaixing didn't even have time to hide his identity. This man actually dared to ask him in person, how could he not be angry.
His loud shout scared the girl beside the man, who shrank her head. She was a little curious and was about to look up to see what the two benefactors who came to her rescue looked like, but she was frightened by the sudden shout again and hid behind the man, not daring to even show her head.
Zhu Li happened to see this scene. He waved at Yang Zaixing and looked at the man carefully. Although his face was bruised and swollen, his eyes and eyebrows seemed to be still handsome, and he did not look like a warrior wielding swords and guns. Under Yang Zaixing's roar, the man's legs were trembling, but he still held on and did not let himself show fear.
Seeing all this, Zhu Li seemed to have an idea in his mind. This person should be a scholar, and the kind of scholar who would rather suffer than lose face. He should not be a warrior.
After he felt relieved, he said, "Why do you want to know who I am? We met on a strange road, helped each other out of righteousness, and now we are far apart from each other, isn't that great?"
What I mean is that I'm helping you only out of moral obligation, and you don't have to take it to heart. Even if we meet again someday, just nod to each other, and there's no need to know my name.