Chapter 31: Chatting genius

A ladle of ice-cold river water poured on his face, making Abao shudder all over, and he opened his eyes blankly from the coma.

He subconsciously looked around. He was in a low hut. The furnishings around were very simple. The wind blew through the gaps in the roof and walls, making a *woo-woo* sound, which was a bit scary.

And his hands and feet were tied to a chair, and there were several people standing in front of him, all of whom looked like fishermen or grain transport workers, and their eyes were a bit unkind.

Abao was a bit guilty, but he knew that the more he was in this environment, the more he had to stay calm.

"Who are you? Why did you tie me up?"

However, before he finished speaking, he heard a somewhat familiar voice say: "Why? Don't you recognize me?"

Then he saw a familiar figure separate the crowd and stand in front of him.

Seeing that the person coming was Tang Zheng, Abao's expression returned to arrogance.

"I thought it was who? It turned out to be the fake Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander."

He deliberately said the word "fake" very heavily.

"That's right, I am fake." Tang Zheng shrugged his shoulders: "But the River God you guys drummed up isn't real either."

"Unaccountable, I don't know what you are talking about."

"Is that so? Then let me remind you."

Tang Zheng said while kicking the cloth bag on the ground with his foot, which contained the blessing bags that Abao had fished up for worshipping the River God.

"First, play tricks, chisel through the ship under the water to embezzle grain transport by reporting sunken ship insurance, then deceive the common people to worship the River God with silver and money, and then you pretend to be the River God to fish for money under the water. This ring-by-ring design is not bad."

Abao snorted when he heard this,

"You won't admit it? That's fine." Tang Zheng smiled, pointed at the few grain transport workers behind him, and said, "With both human and material evidence present, let's see if you can still keep your mouth shut once I drag you to the government office."

"I think you still haven't figured out the situation, have you?" Abao suddenly sneered. "Impersonating an Embroidered Uniform Guard is a capital offense. While I don't know how you escaped from prison, if you really go back, guess which one of us will die first?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Zheng was stunned for a moment, and then his expression began to turn awkward.

Abao observed his reaction and, thinking he had found Tang Zheng's weak point, continued to sneer, "I'll give you a piece of advice: since you've escaped, stop being a busybody. Meddling in this muddy water won't do you any good. Isn't it better to just look out for yourself?"

"Taking a step back, even if you drag me back, you might not be able to convict me. There are people who will protect me. Besides, we didn't cheat you out of any money, right?"

Tang Zheng did not speak, but his brows furrowed; he was clearly deep in thought.

Seeing that Tang Zheng seemed to be hesitating, Abao continued, "You're still young, not married yet, right? Do you have a sweetheart? Think about what she would think if she knew you were doing something so foolish."

"Think about your parents, too. It wasn't easy for them to raise you, was it? Think about it, if your parents were here, would they want you to do this? I think they would definitely stop you, after all..."

Before Abao could finish his sentence, he heard Tang Zheng suddenly burst into a laugh.

He was stunned for a moment and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"I think you really are a genius at chatting!" Tang Zheng gave Abao a thumbs-up. "I was still a bit hesitant, but after hearing you say all that, I suddenly know what I should do."

As he spoke, Tang Zheng picked up the wooden club again.

Abao's expression gradually turned to terror.

"Don't come over here, I'm warning you, I..."

Before the words were out, Tang Zheng had already struck down with the club again. Abao rolled his eyes and fainted once more.

"This muddy water, I'm damn well going to wade through it!" Tang Zheng threw down the club and muttered to himself.

A grain transport worker behind him asked, "My Lord, what do you intend to do?"

Tang Zheng thought for a moment and said, "The ceremony to sacrifice to the River God is coming up soon. I intend to expose the truth behind the River God scam. Brothers, can you accompany me on this trip?"

"If you aren't afraid of death, My Lord, what do we have to fear?"

"As long as you are willing to plead for the people, we are all willing to follow you, My Lord."

Someone even pointed at Abao and asked Tang Zheng, "What about this guy?"

"He is an important witness; bring him along."

With more than an hour left until the Hour of the Dog, the area around the River God Altar was already dimly lit and crowded with people.

A mighty and ferocious monster image was erected on the altar; it was said to be the Heishen Fashan. Below the altar, it was filled with melons, fruits, and incense, and over a hundred people were kneeling and bowing toward the Heishen Fashan.

And at a spot several dozen meters away from the River God Altar, another high platform had been erected. The top of the platform extended several meters toward the direction of the Grand Canal, shaped like a crane's beak.

It was said that tonight, during the sacrifice to the River God, a major event would be staged here: the corrupt Water Transport Supervisor Commander Su Shanhe would be sacrificed alive to the River God to punish him for his crime of disrespecting the River God.

At this moment, Li Sheng stood alone on the high platform, looking down at the commoners who were kowtowing to the River God statue, a cold smile on the corner of his mouth.

Suddenly, Heipi's panting voice came from behind: "Boss, I'm back."

Li Sheng turned his head to look at him and asked, "How did things go?"

Heipi glanced around and then lowered his voice, "Yagyu Ichiro sent word that everything is ready. Once the sacrificial activities start on our side, we will use firecrackers as a signal. Once they hear it, they will set off from the waterway to Xijindu."

"Good." Li Sheng nodded. "Have the brothers get ready, and then go bring Su Shanhe over to me."

"Yes."

A moment later, Su Shanhe was brought to the high platform, bound hand and foot. His mouth was stuffed with a rag, so although he wanted to shout to those around him, he could not.

And Lin Zuo followed right behind Su Shanhe.

Someone had already spread various rumors about Su Shanhe's crimes beforehand, so the surrounding commoners were all pointing at him, discussing how he had met with retribution because he had disrespected the River God.

"Kneel!" Heipi brought Su Shanhe to the opposite side of Li Sheng and gave him a fierce shove.

Su Shanhe stumbled from the push, but he quickly stood straight, especially his knees, which remained perfectly stiff.

"I think you're looking for trouble, aren't you?" Heipi rolled up his sleeves, appearing as if he were about to take action against Su Shanhe, but he was stopped by Li Sheng.

"Forget it. He's a man about to die anyway; let's preserve some final dignity for Commander Su."

As Li Sheng spoke, he walked up to Su Shanhe, pulled the rag out of his mouth, and asked, "Commander Su, do you have any last words before you die?"

"Was it you who tried to steal my account book earlier?" Su Shanhe stared into Li Sheng's eyes and asked.

"Isn't it a bit too late to be asking this now?" Li Sheng revealed a treacherous smile, which counted as an admission to Su Shanhe's question.

Upon hearing this, Su Shanhe sighed, "I saw long ago that you were a person of crooked intentions; I only regret that I didn't have evidence back then, otherwise I would have brought you to justice myself."

"A pity, save it for your next life." Li Sheng sneered and stuffed the rag back into Su Shanhe's mouth.