Chapter 282

"I, I am called Bei Shouzhen... I, I am a true disciple of the Kongming Sect, and my master is Elder Yunfeng Zhenren. I am the third in line, and the two who died were my senior brothers..."

Bei Shouzhen endured the churning in his stomach, struggling to keep himself from thinking about his left hand and right leg, which had been reduced to bare white bone, as well as the metallic, rusty taste filling his mouth, and said through gritted teeth.

"What was said outside that ruined temple last night about more sect elders coming was actually just my senior brother bluffing. After we set the ambush and wounded Shu Qingyi that day, we actually didn't know which direction he had fled in."

"So we split up to pursue him; only I and my two senior brothers chased him here."

Gao Anyu frowned, looked into the other man's eyes, and said coldly.

"And then?"

Bei Shouzhen hesitated for a moment, and Gao Anyu's long sword was already raised, scaring him so pale that he hurriedly continued.

"We had been following behind Shu Qingyi for a long time, and to catch him, we had laid in ambush for more than half a month. Before we made our move, we even squatted in a latrine for a day and a night. Seeing the duck that was already in our hands fly away, both senior brothers were unable to let it go."

"We initially planned to find our sect first, bring the sect elders, and then come back to find you all... to reason with you."

Li Miao, standing to the side, let out a scoff.

"But while descending the mountain, we happened to run into a woodcutter going up."

"We didn't pay any attention to him, just brushed past him. But at that moment, I... I took a look at him and discovered that his appearance was five or six parts similar to the Shu Qingyi we had just lost!"

"I said, 'All the iron shoes have been worn out in the fruitless search, only to find it without any effort.'"

He said, recalling the events.

"Actually, at first, I just found it funny for a moment, so I let my two senior brothers take a look, just as a self-deprecating joke."

"But unexpectedly, when the eldest senior brother saw the woodcutter's face and heard what I said, he fell silent, and his feet stopped. Consequently, the second senior brother also stopped."

"The woodcutter saw them surround him and was a bit panicked, and his foot slipped. The mountain path was already steep, and it had just rained heavily, making it extremely slippery, so he fell to the ground and slid down the mountain path for several yards."

"The eldest senior brother grabbed him, and the second senior brother helped him up."

"He said thank you."

"He said, 'Many thanks, two great heroes.'"

"Then, then the eldest senior brother smiled and asked him how he would thank them, and with what he would thank them."

"He was stunned for a moment, and I was stunned for a moment, and then I saw the second senior brother draw his sword. Before I could even make a sound, his head had fallen off."

"After that, it was just returning to the Guangxin Prefecture city, collecting the reward money, and arriving here..."

Bei Shouzhen stopped his narration.

Li Miao and Zheng Yi showed no reaction; their expressions didn't change at all. Gao Anyu reached out to cover his mouth, yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

Only Cao Hanyan had a flushed face, his internal energy agitated uncontrollably, and his hand gripped the hilt of his saber so tightly that it made a creaking sound.

He spoke in a hoarse voice.

"You, it seems you've cleared yourself quite cleanly... According to your meaning, this was your first time down the mountain, so you didn't know what the two of them had done before; and this time, it was also them forcing you to do it, and you didn't make a move from beginning to end."

"Is that right?"

Bei Shouzhen nodded hurriedly: "Yes, yes, my lord, I have spoken not a single word of falsehood!"

"I was just coerced... I am innocent!"

"Bullshit!"

Cao Hanyan let out a sharp shout, his face flushing red for the first time, and he cursed with a vulgarity.

There was no need to mention Gao Anyu and Zheng Yi; even Li Miao was surprised enough to put down his teacup, raising his eyebrows as he looked at this usually steady and kind-hearted man.

Cao Hanyan's anger could not be contained; with a clatter, his long saber left its sheath, and he slashed down directly.

A sound of metal breaking rang out, a bundle suddenly exploded, and the reward money collected by the three men of the Kongming Sect flew everywhere.

"You say you didn't participate, you say you're innocent!?"

"Then this money, this money exchanged for the heads of innocent commoners, do you spend it or not!"

"And what was the meaning of the tea you poured for those two animals just now!"

"Are you even worthy of saying you are clean!?"

Cao Hanyan stepped forward, grabbed Bei Shouzhen by the collar, his eyes wide with rage, staring straight into his eyes.

"Did you ever look at that head, damn you? When you exchanged that head for money, did you look at that person carefully!"

"His face was full of chaps, his ears were covered in frostbite, and there were wild animal claw marks on his neck! You descended the mountain at the latest by the hour of the Tiger (3-5 AM), and he had already gone up the mountain!"

"Usually, woodcutters go up the mountain in groups at the hour of the Rabbit (5-7 AM), but he came so early just to cut wood sooner, return to the city sooner to sell it, and earn a few more coins!"

"Look at his teeth; he was only in his twenties, but his face already looked like that of a forty-year-old!"

"At his age, he might still have an old mother, a wife, and children at home! The livelihood of the whole family was pressed upon him, and he had to go up the mountain alone at night, risking the danger of being mauled by wild beasts, just to earn a few more coins!"

With a bang, Cao Hanyan slammed Bei Shouzhen onto the table.

"Just to earn a few more coins, he ran into you bunch of animals! You cut off his head and went happily to exchange it for money! And you still talk about 'sudden enlightenment'!"

"You say you are clean!"

"Before he died, he was still calling you 'great heroes'!"

Cao Hanyan's eyes were already red.

He suddenly raised his head and looked at Li Miao.

"Great, no, Uncle, when you were teaching Brother Gao just now, you said that this method of skinning and tearing flesh was only the first set."

"What is the procedure for the second set? Can you teach me?"

Li Miao raised his eyebrows, picked up a chopstick from the table, walked to the table, and poked Bei Shouzhen four times: under the armpit, on the side of the neck, at the collarbone, and at the pelvis.

"Find a few chopsticks and drill them in, then pour internal energy through the chopsticks. The finer the internal energy, the better the effect, and then continue to insert more chopsticks... I thought you didn't want to learn."

Cao Hanyan, with red eyes, slowly shook his head.

"Before, I truly didn't want to learn."

"Before, I would have thought that killing someone was just a matter of a head falling to the ground, and that using such ruthless methods was not the way of the righteous... I was wrong. I shouldn't have thought that the Jianghu was like the stories Brother Yin told."

"You are right, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard is also right. Some people should not die quickly... If punishing evil is not ruthless enough, it is equivalent to suppressing good; only when the wicked suffer more can the good rest in peace in the underworld!"

"Can you wait for me for a moment? And Aunt Zheng, I apologize for the wait."

"Brother Gao."

Cao Hanyan raised his head and said to Gao Anyu.

"You come. You and I, let's study this method together!"

Gao Anyu widened his eyes in pleasant surprise, walked over quickly, and said with a smile: "Brother Cao!"

"You've finally understood! You and I are becoming more and more compatible!"

Cao Hanyan nodded silently, picked up the chopstick Li Miao had left on the table, gritted his teeth, and stabbed it fiercely into the terrified Bei Shouzhen!

Suppressed screams spread along the official road.

A group of Jianghu people were riding horses on their way. The old man leading them frowned and reined in his horse to block a passerby who was coming from the opposite direction with a panicked expression.

"Young man, wait a moment. May I ask what happened ahead? Why are you so panicked, and whose blood is that on the corner of your clothes?"

The passerby had just been resting at the tea stall when he suddenly saw a head fall to the ground, and he had fled in a panic along the official road. At this moment, he was still in a state of shock and unable to speak. Seeing that the other party was wearing a long sword at his waist and had the demeanor of a Jianghu person, he was even more terrified and lost his wits.

The old man dismounted and cupped his hands.

"Young man, there is no need to panic. I am an elder of the Kongming Sect, tracing the tracks of my sect's disciples. I am just passing by and am not a villain of the Jianghu."

"My Kongming Sect is a famous and righteous sect. If you have encountered any injustice, feel free to speak!"

"Punishing evil and promoting good is the duty of my Kongming Sect!"