Chapter 694: Charges

Tang Zhao saved the woman and used his words to stabilize the situation, but he was in a very bad mood.

Just a moment ago, the spraying blood had drenched a Town Guardian, reminding him of a scene from his memories.

That was a scene of another Town Guardian bathed in blood.

That time, too, someone had voluntarily stepped toward a sword's edge, and it was also in front of a Town Guardian. But the difference was that, that time, the Town Guardian himself had stepped toward the sword's edge, whereas this time, it was a strange woman stepping toward the sword's edge of a Land Inspection Division Town Guardian. They were both equally resolute, facing life and death head-on, not avoiding blade or sword; it was just that the Town Guardian could still be healed, while that woman had staked her life on it.

Later, Xing Ji said he wanted to prove whether he was evil in the eyes of the Xiezhi Sword; what was that woman trying to prove by risking her life?

It could only be to prove that Che Lin was truly evil!

Tang Zhao did not know Che Lin at all, so of course he did not know if Che Lin was righteous or evil, or perhaps he was like most people in the world, having both good and evil in him, neither a good man nor a pure villain. But he simply hoped this proof was not a true demonstration that Che Lin was unforgivably wicked; after all, he still held the title of Land Inspection Division Town Guardian.

The middle-aged woman, upon being asked by Tang Zhao, found it exactly to her liking and said coldly, "Che Lin, what have you done? Do you dare to tell this lord and the old and young present here? Or do you need me to say it for you?"

If she had asked this question within half an hour ago, no matter how harsh or aggressive she was, she would only have received a cold sneer from Che Lin: "What have I done? This official's body is upright and does not fear a crooked shadow. If you have the ability, say it plainly; if not, stop playing mystery and trying to scare people here!"

But after the repeated stimulation from that old man and the woman who had sought death, Che Lin was actually stunned, muttering, "What have I done? What have I done? I..."

He was in chaos himself, which in the eyes of others was no different from a confession, and the hearts of the crowd naturally tilted to the other side.

The woman cried out, "Think for yourself! If you had a conscience, you should be able to remember. Or have you, or your Land Inspection Division, committed so many sins that you can't even tell anymore?"

Che Lin stared at her blankly.

Beside him, Che Laotaiye could not bear it any longer and pushed him, saying, "Da Lin, don't think about it; she is bluffing you. Think about what you have done all these years—aren't you ten times better than that county magistrate or City Guardian? These kinds of unruly people only know how to extort..."

Che Lin shook his head and said, "Being better than them counts for nothing..."

The woman continued, "Fine, you have committed many evils, so I will give you a hint: Songling Mo Ku."

Tang Zhao did not know of this Demon Cave, but the other locals all did; it was the largest Demon Cave in history near Kuan Cheng, and in Youzhou, it was second only to the legendary Yantai Mo Ku that had swallowed A City.

That Demon Cave occurred three years ago; at that time, Che Lin had just become a Town Guardian and was immediately faced with such a massive Demon Cave. Of course, this was something he could not handle alone, so in truth, this Demon Cave was suppressed by the combined strength of the entire Bei Yang Prefecture.

Naturally, Che Lin contributed quite a bit, which could be considered one of his great merits; even if he was not the one in charge, it did not stop him from always being proud of it and even recalling it often.

Now, hearing that it concerned the Songling Mo Ku, he was even more stimulated and shouted, "What about the Songling Mo Ku? When that Demon Cave first came with such momentum, if it weren't for me... if it weren't for our Land Inspection Division, the thirty miles around would have been swallowed long ago; where would Kuan Cheng's current prosperity come from?"

The woman sneered, "So you are the great savior of Kuan Cheng? Then how many people did you save? Is there still any human presence within thirty miles of the Songling Mo Ku today?"

Che Lin recalled the words of the old man from just before, and a realization dawned on him: it was likely another similar story. These two women were probably people who lived near Songling, and the Land Inspection Division had likely forcibly driven them away, leaving them homeless...

This kind of thing certainly didn't happen just once or twice. If everything followed procedure, Che Lin could well say it was to save lives, and one must choose between worldly possessions and life. But there was no shortage of the Land Inspection Division robbing, extorting, and occupying property; their actions were by no means fair or selfless. Even Che Lin himself often had extra income...

Every time there was a Demon Cave, the people of the Land Inspection Division would make a fortune; could this be false?

If those people had personally suffered the oppression of the Land Inspection Division, it was hard not to hate the Land Inspection Division.

He could not help but shake his head and say, "Just like that old man..."

The woman stared intently and said, "It's not the same! His family was only indirectly killed by you, but A Yuan's father was killed by your own hands! Your Land Inspection Division surrounded the town and said everyone had to get out within an hour, or they would die when the Yin Calamity arrived. Her father represented the townspeople and came out to ask for a delay—even one day—because going outside was also death. Then..."

"The people of the Land Inspection Division killed him with one sword, and the blood splashed all over her face; at that time, her face looked just like your face does now! Weren't you there? Your Land Inspection Division truly protects the common people; to keep the people from dying at the hands of the Demon Cave, you let them die at the hands of the Land Inspection Division first—truly very considerate. And you were also afraid that if the people died, their property would have no one to inherit it and would be wasted, so you specially collected it for them. Consideration upon consideration—what a considerate 'parent official'!"

At this time, Master Che said, "Find whoever killed him; it wasn't my son who killed him. Why don't you go find the real culprit? Are you afraid to go? Is it because you see my son is kind and easy to bully?"

Che Lin waved his hand, signaling him to stop talking.

As a Town Guardian, he was indeed responsible for leading people to clear out the surrounding common people; if he were to push all these responsibilities away, it would only invite ridicule.

"Actually, at the beginning, she wanted revenge. But she couldn't do it; your Land Inspection Division covers the sky with one hand, and whether it was appealing for justice or taking revenge personally, you manipulated everything so tightly that not a drop of water could leak through. What could she do? She could only ask you to kill her and splash you with her blood."

"When a common man is enraged, blood splashes five steps; she is just a small woman, but her blood is also hot. Che Lin, your body is already covered in the blood of the common people; perhaps adding this day's worth doesn't feel like much, but you must remember, these bloodstains are curses that will entangle you forever and ever, and sooner or later you will be entangled by a Phantom and die!"

By the time she finished, her expression had turned ghastly, and her long hair hung down, blocking half her face, looking quite terrifying.

At this moment, the old man who had already been dragged to the corridor suddenly shouted, "Well said, well said! The Land Inspection Division, from top to bottom, will sooner or later be entangled by Phantoms..." Before he could finish, he was dragged away.

Che Lin let out a breath and pointed at the woman, saying, "You... take her away too..."

Several Land Inspection Division members moved to seize her, but the woman suddenly said, "Wait, what crime have I committed?"

The crowd was stunned in unison.

That's right, what crime had she committed?

The old man just now had genuinely stolen quite a few jewels and was taken down on charges of theft; this woman hadn't stolen anything, she had just shouted "The Land Inspection Division kills people" and pointed at Che Lin to accuse him—could she just be arrested for that?

In the past, it would have been possible.

Not to mention that the Land Inspection Division was the government, even a rural landlord could arrest a tenant just for cursing him a few times; having power and the ability to kill or spare was the most common thing in the world. But in the current situation, Che Lin had just been accused of persecuting good citizens, preying on the people, abusing power for personal gain, and seizing property...

In this situation, should they arrest the victim?

If Che Lin were determined to throw away his face and be completely shameless, he could certainly do it, but he couldn't do it now.

Che Lin was stunned for a long time, then waved his hand powerlessly and said, "You have no crime; you may go."

The woman wanted to leave, but she couldn't. Because there was still a sword pointing at her.

It was Tang Zhao's sword. He had saved the woman, but he also held his sword at her neck.

The woman didn't mind; if Tang Zhao hadn't supported her, she couldn't have said so much. Now that Che Lin had backed down, what obstacle could Tang Zhao have? She said politely, "My lord, I am leaving."

Tang Zhao said, "Oh, can you leave?"

The woman said, "Che Lin just said with his own mouth that I have no crime; today I shall walk out openly. If I am killed after I go out, then that is the murder of an innocent person, and it must be the work of a villain."

Tang Zhao said, "He said you have no crime? Then let me give you a charge."

At these words, there was dead silence.

The crowd did not expect him to say such a thing and were all stunned, all thinking: Which side is he actually on?

Tang Zhao did not allow them to react and raised his eyebrows, saying, "Heaven Descends Moon God!"

As soon as the four words were out, the woman's fist tightened!

This was part of the ritual before calling upon the Moon God, raising one's fist toward the sky to call the name of the Moon God.

The woman clearly controlled herself, not raising her fist or shouting, only slightly clenching her fist as a reflex; this was a very small movement, and one would not notice it unless one were specifically watching.

But Tang Zhao was watching her.

This reflex confirmed his suspicion, so he waved his hand, and the light whipped out like a fist—

Bang!

The woman was struck hard and fell to the ground with a thud; Tang Zhao reached out and took her necklace.

This was an Art Tool, which Tang Zhao had sensed long ago. This type of Cunshu Art Tool is relatively high-grade; not only can it carry high-level items like swords, but it is also very concealed, and ordinary people would not discover it. However, Tang Zhao knew just by glancing at it, and such Art Tools are generally encrypted, unlike Dharma Artifacts in cloth bags that can be poured out directly; unless one is the Master, one cannot retrieve the items inside at all.

But this was still ineffective against Tang Zhao; he used light as a blade to lightly slash across the Rune Formula on it, drawing a Termination Talisman.

The necklace immediately disintegrated, bursting out a large pile of items.

There was gold and silver, clothing, and also some miscellaneous odds and ends.

But there was no sword.

The high-grade storage equipment was there, yet there was still no sword.

But to arrest her, he did not need her to have a sword for the charge.

Those four words were enough.

All the Land Inspection Division members had reacted, surrounding her together and shouting, "Demon Sect evildoer! How dare you cause chaos!"

The woman's eyes were splitting with rage, her ferocity fully exposed; it looked like she either wanted to kill or commit suicide, but she could do nothing, as she was bound by Tang Zhao's light, already tied up securely.

Even Che Lin woke up as if from a dream, catching up half a beat late to command the crowd to firmly control the woman.

At this moment, his head and face were covered in cold sweat; thinking back to the confusion just now, he was truly terrified. Just a moment ago, he had a feeling that the past was meaningless and the future was bewildering; even if he wasn't inclined toward self-destruction, he had wanted to resign from his post, return to farming, and close his doors to avoid the world.

He said repeatedly, "Many thanks to you for exposing this conspiracy and saving my life and reputation. So it was a Demon Sect conspiracy, using glib tongues to disturb my mind and nearly leading me into a ditch. How dangerous, how dangerous! These two wretches..."

Tang Zhao was calm and said, "In my view, there is only one evildoer here, and that is the one still alive. The woman who just committed suicide was certainly used by the Demon Sect, but it is not necessarily the case that she wasn't willing. Think carefully: were the words she used to accuse you just now fabricated out of thin air?"