"Zhang Jieyu, even your death is not the result."
"You killed the patrol inspector. This is a serious official status. Daxu was first established. It was the time to establish authority vigorously and resolutely. No matter how many connections you have, I just want to kill you and take your head to sue the official. Not only are you dead, you are The forces in this county will be uprooted, and even your family will not be able to escape."
Hearing Pei Ziyun's words, Zhang Jieyu's face changed drastically, but as soon as he changed, he lied: "No, I fell into this beast's heart attack plan!"
In the early stages of Taoism, one's mind is the most serious. There is no intention to fight, and the backlash immediately pounces. Pei Ziyun pounces forward, with a flash of sword light in his figure.
At the critical moment of life and death, Zhang Jieyu stood up, his sword flashed suddenly, he advanced instead of retreating, and charged forward to kill.
"If you want me to die, you will die too!"
In an instant, sparks flew continuously, and the speed of the two people was dizzying. However, with only one breath, the figures separated. Zhang Jieyu's left ribs shook, and blood spurted out as if he had been struck by lightning.
"No, you can't kill me. I am a disciple of the Holy Prison Sect. If you kill me, you will be retaliated."
"Save me, I can still save you!"
Before he finished speaking, there was a flash of sword light and a sword pierced his heart. Zhang Jieyu spurted blood from his mouth, making a gurgling sound. He pointed at what he wanted to say, but he couldn't catch it in one breath and suddenly died.
Pei Ziyun looked at the corpse, laughed, turned and left.
Woniu Village
When Pei Ziyun returned to the village, the thieves had all escaped. They were all killed before they had time to escape. There were corpses everywhere on the roads in the village. The blood had solidified on the ground, and a strong smell of blood hit his nostrils.
Archers could still be seen inspecting the bodies in the village. When they saw the corpses, they stabbed them with a knife. When they saw that they were motionless, they cut off their heads and piled them together. These were all thieves. Killing the thieves was considered a meritorious service.
But even these archers felt heavy in their hearts. The patrolman died, and half of his brothers died as well.
These are still archers who have been converted from the military, and the Xiangyong are even more unbearable. After the battle, many Xiangyong woke up after being excited, and they were all sitting on the ground collapsed, and many of them had a blank mind.
Some local warriors even ran away when they saw the archers cutting off their heads. Killing is one thing, but cutting off heads is another. Some were trembling with fear, and some were timid and couldn't bear it anymore. They hid on one side and vomited. , as if bile was about to be vomited out, and there was bitterness in the mouth.
Pei Ziyun looked around and saw that not only were the thieves, but also the corpses of some villagers were placed horizontally and vertically. Some were village heroes, and some were ordinary villagers who had no time to escape.
The village chief stared blankly, the flesh on his face couldn't help trembling, and he didn't know what he was thinking in his heart. A village hero was seriously injured and was no longer alive. When he saw Pei Ziyun coming, he shed tears: "Jie Yuangong, my family There are also old mothers, wives and children..."
Pei Ziyun felt sour in his heart and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, as long as I, Pei Ziyun, are here, they will not suffer any hunger, cold or hardship!"
After hearing this, the man suddenly died, with a longing for life in his eyes when he was dying.
The surrounding villagers began to cry, and Pei Ziyun sighed. A village hero was hugging Cao San. Cao San was also injured in the attack just now, but fortunately he was not seriously injured.
Seeing Pei Ziyun come in, Cao San stepped forward and whispered: "Master Pei, we have killed all the thieves who escaped."
"Both thieves have been killed. You send people out to drag the bodies in. But don't cut off the heads of these two." Pei Ziyun said, remembering that Zhang Jieyu's corpse was of great use: "Especially the heads of the thieves, don't cut off the heads as well." If you lose your head, you will have to prove your true identity in the future."
"Zhang Dashan." Cao San shouted. He was there just now, but he disappeared after a while.
"Here!" Zhang Dashan came over with a gourd and wiped his mouth. It turned out that he had gone to get wine. He had just killed the thief and his hands were still shaking a little. However, Zhang Dashan was much braver than ordinary country warriors and did not vomit. , I was just flustered, so I went to drink to calm down the panic.
"Good fellow, you have courage. In the old days, you would have been a soldier."
"There are two corpses outside. You can take someone to drag them in." Cao San made arrangements. When he saw Zhang Dashan, he turned around and left, shouting: "Keep the wine for me. I'll take a few sips to heal the pain." .”
After saying that, he snatched it from Zhang Dashan's hand. When Zhang Dashan didn't react, Cao San kicked it and said, "Hurry up and go."
Only then did Zhang Dashan react and asked two village warriors to leave the village entrance and drag Zhang Jieyu's body back.
Cao San took two sips of wine and felt the pain on his back eased a little. He approached Pei Ziyun and whispered: "Master Pei, so many people died tonight, what should I do?"
"I just took a look, and the thieves here are extraordinary. One group is a monk from Yinlong Temple, and another is a thieves from the state capital. I saw one of those monks when I went to burn incense. I have heard about these He is involved with the government and the state, so we should kill him, lest someone come to take revenge in the future."
After checking the faces of these thieves, Cao San found that these people were all connected. If he killed them this time, they would inevitably cause trouble in the future.
Pei Ziyun could not see his expression clearly under the firelight, and did not answer Cao San's words. Instead, he stepped forward and whispered: "Cao San, people are coming to kill you, how can you not kill you? That's it, let's not talk about it for now. I Let me ask you, if the inspector dies, are you responsible? Do you want to be exempted from guilt, or even get a deputy inspector?"
Cao San was stunned, glanced around, lowered his voice and approached, asking: "How to do it?"
Cao San retreated from the battlefield, was very murderous, and dared to gamble.
"It's not a big deal now. If thieves attack the countryside, they will report it to the officials. These people will make money. They may punish you for your poor protection and inspection and send you to jail." Pei Ziyun whispered in his ear. sentence.
Cao San hesitated when he heard this. The smell of blood rushed into his nose. He touched his back with his backhand and clapped his hands: "Jie Yuangong, I did it."
After the thief was killed, some villagers reported the news. Many people came out to look for their families. There were two people who looked for the old hunter from a distance and carried him over. He didn't suffer much injury and only broke his leg.
I also knew a woman named Pei Ziyun. Not long after she got married, her husband went to the countryside. Looking for her husband, she collapsed to the ground as soon as her feet went weak, and she cried loudly while hugging her husband's body.
Cao San was a little silent. The man was also brave when he killed the thief. He didn't want to be counterattacked by the thief, so he chopped him to death with a knife.
These villagers came out to find their family members. When they found their families, there was continuous crying in the place.
While counting the news, the old village chief's legs were shaking and his face was pale. Pei Ziyun asked Zhang Dashan: "How is the situation?"
"Seventeen of the bandits died, but 21 of us died, one was seriously injured and five were slightly injured. We surrendered more than 20 swords, guns, bows and arrows, and dozens of taels of silver were found on the bodies." Zhang Dashan grieved. He said: "Half of the dead were women and children. They were hacked to death when they hit."
These men in black were all skilled in martial arts and fierce bandits, and they were ruthless. Once Xiang Yong was attacked, there were almost no injuries, and most of them died.
Pei Ziyun was silent for a moment, then stepped forward and said to the village chief: "Village chief, arrange for someone to buy a good coffin. I will pay for it."
The village chief was shocked: "This can't be done. The villagers died to protect the village. The village will compensate them. How can I ask the master to pay for it?"
"So many people died today. I feel sorry for them. I still have something for you to do. There are still people behind these thieves. If they are not removed, this disaster will not be eliminated." Pei Ziyun said coldly.
The village chief glanced at the basket on the ground, which contained all human heads, and agreed.
The men in the village were gathered together by the village chief: "It's daybreak, you go to various villages and towns to buy coffins. Those who have coffins at home can borrow them first and make up for them later. I believe the folks in the nearby villages will give them to me." This face."
What many people don’t understand is that people in ancient times were not taboo about coffins and tombs. Generally, old people with some money prepared their own coffins while they were still alive. As for emperors, they built their own mausoleums as soon as they ascended the throne.
According to historical records, in the 14th year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (AD 1381), Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the construction of a mausoleum for himself, and the Great Xu Taizu of this world ordered the construction of a mausoleum in the third year of his reign.
Therefore, more than twenty coffins can be quickly obtained by scouring nearby villages.
A villager hesitated: "Village chief, no one is selling coffins in the market now. They all went to bed early. Why don't we do it again early tomorrow morning..."
Before he finished speaking, the village chief glanced over and saw that this man was a gangster in the village. He liked to do some sneaky things on weekdays and was lazy.
"Pah!" the village chief slapped him, catching the villager off guard with such force that he almost fell to the ground.
The man was dissatisfied. The village chief glanced at the man coldly. He ran away just now when the thief came, and now he is holding back. How could there be such a stupid person
"Arrest him and beat him, as long as he can't be beaten to death." The village chief became furious and shouted.
One of Xiang Yong's men rushed forward, held him down, and tied him up with a rope. Smiling ferociously: "Zhang Ping, at this time, you still dare to be a fool and you are seeking death."
Xiang Yong had just finished killing the thief, and now he was filled with murderous intent. He stared at the man and did not dare to speak. He listened to the howling of ghosts and wolves and pulled him away. The villagers did not dare to refute, so they took the money and went out.
A coffin cost five taels of silver, and if twenty-one people died, it would be one hundred taels.
Pei Ziyun directly took the silver and distributed it, and then said to the village chief: "So many people have died. They cannot be left in the village. They should be taken to the Earth Temple!"
The village chief discussed it with the family of the deceased and felt that it was right: "Pick it up and put it in the temple. With the gods around, there will be no trouble."
earth temple
There was a shrine in the Tutu Temple in the village, which looked very old. The village chief went up to it, lit incense, kowtowed a few times, and cried: "Lord Tutu, my Woniu Village has suffered a great disaster today. The villagers in distress are temporarily kept here, and when they get through the disaster, they will kill the pigs for sacrifice."
After burning incense and praying to the gods, the village chief arranged for people to carry the bodies in, put them away one by one, and covered them with white cloths. He arranged for people to keep vigil at night. However, family members of the deceased came into the Tutu Temple and were crying. The village chief could not stop him, so he had to Went on.
Seeing that the matter was completed and the inspection horse was still in the village chief's backyard, Pei Ziyun entered the courtyard, mounted the horse, pulled the reins, took a sip of wine, smashed the bowl down, and with a "drive" sound, he heard the sound of horse hooves, and he was straight away. He ran out of the village and disappeared into the dark night.
(End of chapter)