"Caught a man—"
The constable yelled at the top of his lungs, and the dozen or so people pulling the net suddenly pulled their hands together. The moment the thin net tightened, the Taoist priest, whose body was covered in black blood, was entangled and fell to the ground, struggling to pull at the iron net.
A constable knocked down with the handle of his knife, hitting him on the head with a bang.
"Be honest!"
Then, he turned around and saw the chief constable approaching, holding his knife and clasping his hands: "Chief constable, the man has been caught."
Zuo Zhengyang had someone bring a rag, held down the dizzy Taoist priest, and wiped the blood off his face. When his face was revealed, he snorted and threw away the bloodstained cloth.
"It's not Lu Liangsheng..."
When he came here, he had already set up an ambush. Not only here, but his men were also guarding the streets outside. Once someone came out from here, no matter who it was, they could be captured easily. But he felt a little regretful to see the person trapped in the net.
"Captain Zuo, I didn't expect to see you here."
Suddenly, a sound came from the Crescent Gate, and the surrounding constables drew their weapons with a clang. Zuo Zhengyang stood up and looked over there.
A scholar in a blue robe walked through the crescent-shaped gate and picked up a pair of copper bells from the ground. They were the warning bells set by the detectives.
After shaking it twice with ding-dong sounds, Lu Liangsheng returned it to a constable next to him and bowed to him.
"Lu Liangsheng has met the Chief Constable."
His gentle attitude and sincere expression and words made the surrounding constables have a favorable first impression of this scholar. Zuo Zhengyang also waved his hand at the right time: "Put away the knife!"
"Yes!" Everyone sheathed their swords.
Looking at the scholar in front of him, Zuo Zhengyang felt somewhat emotional and bowed to return the greeting.
"It's a bit emotional to see an old friend from Fushui County in Hegu County, but it's not an accidental encounter."
Lu Liangsheng understood the implication of this and thought that he was probably spotted by the other party and was chasing after him when he came over.
"The wind is biting cold at night, and there are evil people who take advantage of the night to cause trouble."
By saying this, Lu Liangsheng frankly told the truth and thanked Captain Zuo and his group of detectives for capturing this evildoer.
The constables around him straightened their backs unconsciously after hearing the praise and kicked the Taoist who was caught in the net.
"Bah! Zhou Zhen is a great writer in our county. You actually committed evil in his house and harmed people. Beating you to death would be the least of your punishment!!"
"Give me another basin of black dog blood. I want to soak this Taoist in it..."
"… Maybe there's more at my brother's place outside. Wait a minute, I'll go get it!"
"Come back and I'll tell you."
…
The expression on Zuo Zhengyang's face also relaxed. When he ordered his men to tie up the evildoer, his deputy suddenly leaned over and spoke.
"Captain, this Taoist priest was able to cause trouble to Zhou Zhen's family from such a distance. This reminds me of the case of Mr. Chen's family in Fushui County three years ago... Could it be that this Taoist priest was also responsible? After all, if there is one, there will be two."
"Take him back to the yamen and interrogate him!" Zuo Zhengyang glanced at the scholar next to him and waved his hand outside.
Taoist Yangming, who had just woken up, heard these words vaguely, his eyes widened and his heart began to panic.
"Bullshit, I've never been there... Woo!"
The bloodstained rag was stuffed into his mouth, and the constable slapped him in the face: "Shut up!"
"Woo woo woo..."
The Taoist priest held the cloth in his mouth and shook his head repeatedly, looking at the scholar and the chief constable on the other side with a frustrated look, as they were getting further and further away.
The sobbing and depressed voice faded away, and Zhang Dongming from the mansion was also brought here. On the way, he learned about what happened in Zhou's mansion from the constable. He looked at Lu Liangsheng tremblingly, then at the majestic and solemn Zuo Zhengyang, and bowed quickly.
"Master... Captain Zuo, I am truly wronged. That Yangming said he could cure my son, but I never thought he would harm Zhou Rong. After all, she is my son's wife-to-be."
"Whether you know it or not, I will find out. However, considering your advanced age, you should stay at home for the time being and not go out. If the government summons you, you will come at any time!"
Zuo Zhengyang thought it was a bit too much to put him in jail awaiting trial at his age. Moreover, he still needed to go to Zhou's house to find out the whole story.
The matter was temporarily settled, and he sent some detectives to take the Taoist back, while he left the house with the scholar.
The two men were old acquaintances, and they chatted as they walked, with several constables following them.
Walking on the street late at night, the occasional barking of dogs could be heard in the distance. Lu Liangsheng also had complicated feelings about what Zhang Dongming had just said.
The chief constable, who was walking beside him with a knife on his back, saw his expression and laughed.
"I'm in the government office, handling these cases, and I'm used to encountering this kind of thing. By the way, you're here for the autumn examination, right?"
Lu Liangsheng nodded.
Behind him, several constables followed from a distance. Zuo Zhengyang took a look and lowered his voice: "Since you are here to take the exam, don't use your magic anymore. I know that you committed the case of Mr. Chen. Lord Shuhua and Lord Min are upright people who hate evil. The fact that they are willing to protect you shows that you are a good person. But the law is the law. You can't break one but not the other."
They stopped walking and stood together in the middle of the street. Lu Liangsheng did not avoid the chief constable's gaze, his eyes were calm and clear.
"Captain Zuo, do you think what I did was right or wrong?"
“Yes, but also wrong.”
Zuo Zhengyang looked dignified, and after saying this, he shook his head: "You and I have different positions. When you pass the imperial examination and become an official in the future, perhaps you will understand what Zuo said."
“Now, I understand.”
Lu Liangsheng continued walking forward, glancing sideways at the lights still on in the nearby buildings.
“On the path of cultivation, you will always have doubts when you meet people and encounter things. Some people keep their original intentions, some lose themselves, and some are negligent... Just like the matter between the Zhou and Zhang families, Zhang Dongming was cruel enough to do such a thing for his son, which is understandable. The two families were originally relatives... But because of his eagerness to save his son, a Taoist's selfish desires ruined the marriage of the next generation, and the two families will definitely have deep conflicts in the future. The cause and effect in this world is really hard to guess.”
As he spoke, he laughed and bowed to Zuo Zhengyang: "I was just feeling emotional for a moment. I'm sorry to make you laugh, Captain Zuo."
"No problem."
Zuo Zhengyang waved his hand and smiled: "Zuo has heard that people who practice Taoism are pure-hearted and have few desires, but today I saw one who is greedy and the other who is sentimental. Haha, well, I should turn around and go back to the government office. I will go to Zhou's house to inquire about this matter tomorrow. Farewell!"
"Goodbye!"
Lu Liangsheng bowed, turned around and walked to the side of the street.
The captain of the police at the fork in the road did not leave immediately. He held the reins and looked at the receding figure. Someone approached with confusion.
"Captain, what are you looking at?"
"nothing."
Zuo Zhengyang smiled at the constable, jumped on the horse and shook the reins.
"Go back and interrogate that Taoist overnight!"
Then, he shouted, "Gee!" and urged his horse to gallop down the street.
…
When Lu Liangsheng returned to Zhou's house, it was already late at night and the house was quiet. He quietly descended from the courtyard wall. Hong Lian had returned early and greeted him at the door of the main hall. She covered her face with long sleeves and her eyes were curved into crescents.
Curiously asked, "What's wrong?"
Hong Lian suppressed her smile, stretched out her jade finger and pointed into the room. Inside, the Toad Taoist was standing at the head of the bed, waving his flippers.
"I told you not to move. If you move again, I'll beat you to death!"
**, Sun Yingxian was wrapped in bandages, lying there straight, with only a pair of eyes exposed.
"Mmmmm... Old... Toad... Try hitting it again!"
There was a pile of burnt Taoist robes on the ground. It seemed that the Taoist had been injured by the evil Taoist during the fight.
The toads entangled him in circles, and from time to time, they slapped the Taoist's forehead with their webbed feet: "So what if I hit you? You are a disgrace to your master because you are not good enough in your skills!"
Hearing footsteps, he turned around and saw Lu Liangsheng coming in, and threw the remaining bandages over.
"Let him get caught up... I still have important things to do."
"Um... Master, the spirit under this room..."
Before he could finish the word "medicine", the toad jumped off the bed, stuck its butt out, and crawled under the bed again, waving its flippers outward: "No more."
Well…
Lu Liangsheng sighed and sat down beside the bed with the bandage. Sun Yingxian said through the bandage, "Quickly loosen that thing in my nostrils. I can't breathe."
"Young Master!" Nie Honglian came over, picked up a bowl from the table and looked inside, then turned around and said with a smile, "It seems that Master Toad didn't apply medicine to Taoist Sun..."
"Ah!! This old toad, he must have done it on purpose."
Ignoring the Taoist's screams, Lu Liangsheng was the one who was groaning in his heart. He pushed him back to lie down, and asked Hong Lian to come over to help. He untied the bandage again, applied medicine, and wrapped it again. When he was done, Sun Yingxian had already fallen asleep and was snoring.
The scholar was also very tired. The feeling of fatigue was like a tidal wave that overwhelmed everything.
"well… "
Hong Lian went over, took a piece of clothing and put it on him, then floated to the window frame and gently blew out the candle.
She just sat quietly beside the man, looking at his profile, the dimples on his cheeks, and gently swinging his feet.
Hum a tune softly.
“Apricot blossoms are blooming on the branches… The crescent moon is outside the window, and the scholar is inside the window…
One sound after another, the knowledge in the book becomes... Have a drink and listen to the joyful voice... "
Outside the window, the moonlight is hazy.