Chapter 508

Qing County has a nest of heretics!

Qin Feng stepped forward, drew close to Qin Feng, and lowered his voice to speak.

"A heretical sect? You just made that up on the spot?" Chen Wuji raised his eyebrows, full of doubt about Qin Feng's words.

What comes out of this kid's mouth is just something he says off the cuff.

"What do you mean I made it up? It's fact; I brought the files—take a look later." Qin Feng said, "If I weren't busy with something important, how could I have delayed until now?"

"Whenever you were tangled to the death with Gui Zhi lately, when wasn't it official business?" Chen Wuji asked, "Old Qin, we've worked together so long—don't you think I don't know what kind of person you are?"

"If there really is a heretical sect, why didn't you mention it even once in your previous letters?"

"I didn't mention it?" Qin Feng blinked in surprise.

"Think hard about when you ever mentioned it." Chen Wuji raised his horizontal knife, his eyes wandering over Qin Feng, pondering which little bit to chop off.

Qin Feng raised his hand to press down on Chen Wuji's knife, then used his left fingernail to scrape the blade's edge and trim his nails, saying, "First take this little bit, and let me properly explain what's going on."

"You bastard!" Chen Wuji exploded in anger.

Qin Feng pinned down Chen Wuji's knife, "This is also a trifle—you don't go back on your word, nor do I, right? This heretical sect is hugely implicated; among the populace it's nearly reached the point where it could easily overturn the locality."

"Do you know what's most hateful? Under their bewitching, even women and children become fearless Death Soldiers. They believe death makes them a god, and for that obsession they'll do anything. Although I still haven't figured out how they manage it, the fact remains."

"Just now I was joking a bit; the reason I truly didn't mention this in my letters is that I feared leaking the news. Qing County Magistrate Lu Jing is also involved, but I've protected him."

Chen Wuji was somewhat puzzled: "The messengers are all our own people—how could the news leak?"

"These people are sinister; they have a means of controlling hearts. Even our own people might not escape being controlled." Qin Feng said solemnly.

"Over the past month or so, I and Little Runzi have truly suffered; at night we dare not close our eyes in peace, we must keep watch."

Chen Wuji looked at Li Run sitting quietly to the side: "Is that so?"

Li Run nodded: "Those people really have uncanny methods, impossible to guard against."

"Qing County has already been infiltrated by them to an airtight degree; we people in Qing County are like a few bright lamps, every move of ours under their surveillance."

"The strange part is we can't even tell who's watching us—it could be any child seen in the alleys, or a vegetable-selling old man on the street, or any porter we might run into."

Chen Wuji knocked away Qin Feng's hand that was trimming his nails, passed the horizontal knife to Chen Li behind him, and said, "Tell us the details of this matter, and what's the deal with Lu Jing?"

"Lu Jing is deeply implicated, but our investigation found he was actually unwittingly drawn into these affairs." Li Run said.

"He has two concubines who are the leaders of this heretical sect; they deliberately approached Lu Jing to leverage his authority, deliberately creating an encounter with him and then offering themselves to his bed."

"These two are extremely clever; the things they do by whispering pillow‑wind to Lu Jing have no direct link to the sect, yet indirectly they're working for it."

Qin Feng immediately followed up: "We've repeatedly confirmed that Lu Jing truly knows nothing about those matters."

"I'm deeply impressed by how well this sect understands people; they've infiltrated virtually the entire Xianya like a sieve, yet they haven't managed to win over Lu Jing and the few individuals inside the County Assistant's office."

"Lu Jing appears smooth on the outside but inside is a man of strict principles; his deputy is a stubborn lump who'll throw fists at the slightest disagreement with Lu Jing! These few people, the sect hasn't provoked, yet they're indirectly using them."

Chen Wuji pieced together the information from Qin Feng and Li Run's words: "From what you're saying, it sounds like virtually the whole of Qing County has been wiped out?"

"Pretty much." Qin Feng said, "Even someone as carefree as me has been worn down to near losing my temper; if Little Runzi hadn't happened to arrive in Qing County, I'd doubt I could endure."

"What about the files? I'd rather just look at them; your bits and pieces are making my head spin." Chen Wuji said.

Li Run took the files from the bundle at his side and handed them to Chen Wuji.

Chen Wuji, while reading, asked: "How was it finally handled?"

"Come to think of it, the reason this could be resolved so quickly is thanks to the few orders you recently issued." Qin Feng laughed, "Namely, tax reduction, and letting those who reclaimed wasteland keep the land."

"We issued a notice offering rewards for reporting sect members to the Xianya, and penalizing those who privately hid idols or concealed sect members by reducing their tax exemptions, etc. A few simultaneous blows finally managed to settle the matter."

"The sect ran rampant in Qing County—five or six out of ten households had Buddha images, burning incense and chanting morning and night. If it weren't for your two orders that affect their own interests, we really wouldn't have wrapped this up so quickly."

Chen Wuji threw in a remark: "I didn't expect we'd still be coordinating from afar; I've roughly finished reading the files, and now I suspect you haven't yet eradicated this heretical sect root and branch."

"Send the troops over and plow Qing County thoroughly; this sort of thing can't leave a trace—once found, we must pull out its roots."

Chen Wuji closed the files, glanced at Qin Feng and Li Run, and said: "You two are pretty damn capable, yet with the situation hard to crack and fear of leaks, why didn't you send a trusted aide to ask for help? With my army pressing the border and you holding the fort, couldn't this have been easier?"

"You brute!" Qin Feng shouted, "This is an investigation, an investigation—we need to investigate!"

"I think my brute‑force method is simpler." Chen Wuji said.

Investigating a case—he still understands the principle.

But an army pressing the border has its own effect.

"Throwing military might into the balance, brandishing a bright banner to suppress the heretical sect—would they panic? Would the folk who believe in the sect panic?"

"Gu Wenjie's precedent of slaughtering villages and strongholds lies before us, bloody and stark; Chen Wuji just doesn't believe that, at this juncture, the populace would rally to protect the sect and rebel."

"Although Chen Wuji wouldn't do that, wouldn't they, in panic, throw their own ranks into disarray?"

"Aren't you afraid of a popular uprising?" Qin Feng asked, "I just said—five or six out of ten households in Qing County have Buddha images at home; they're his followers."

"Have you forgotten I'm a rebel? Dealing with the sect is no different from war—you have to use slaughter." Chen Wuji said.

Qin Feng:???

Li Run:!!!