Page 327
"Run away! Run away!" The woman began her performance again. "You can run away today, but I wonder if you can run away tomorrow!"
Thanks to the government's recent incompetence, the townspeople have long lost their trust in it.
Coupled with long-term oppression, the people have formed a stereotype that the local government "exploits the people".
The woman's words hit the nail on the head, and the effect was outstanding. The townspeople felt as if they were filled with lead, unable to move their feet any more.
They turned back slowly, their eyes filled with hatred for the rulers.
Ye Ming, who had retreated to the back, knew something was wrong and hurriedly urged the five people: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and do it!"
Luo Xiling broke free from her confusion, and together with the other four, used all her strength to propel the flying swords to stab the woman.
The townspeople had escaped some distance, and were now walking back, but their movements were slow.
By the time they arrived, the woman would probably have died.
So she pretended to be frightened, got up, and ran towards the crowd screaming.
"You wish!" Luo Xiling glared, her gestures changed continuously, and the Yueming Sword blocked the two sides like lightning.
The cold light reflected from the sword passed across the woman's face. She was obviously stunned, wondering if this sword was not what a new disciple should have.
The battle is changing rapidly, how can she be distracted?
During this moment of daze, four flying swords finally arrived and pierced the woman's vital points from behind.
Despite being seriously injured, she did not fall to the ground directly. Instead, she endured her injuries and tried to bypass the Yueming Sword.
Of course Luo Xiling would not let it go, and controlled the Yueming Sword to stab straight into the chest.
The woman gritted her teeth, as if she was determined to fight to the death, but the speed of the Yueming Sword was too fast. As soon as she moved, the sword moved forward and backward, leaving a transparent sword hole in her chest.
The gushing blood poured cold water on the angry crowd.
It turns out that this is death.
They were terrified, and the courage that had just risen in their hearts was shattered, and they all retreated unconsciously.
Suddenly, someone noticed that the body of the woman who had fallen backwards had changed.
It seemed as if there was a living creature struggling inside the corpse. The skin bulged and sank everywhere until it reached its limit and then exploded.
Everyone covered their faces in a hurry, and after hearing no movement for a long time, they put them down.
On the ground, a large insect with a hole in its chest was lying on its side in a pool of blood.
"Monster!"
Although the tiger was obviously dead, people were still frightened and ran towards the street corner desperately.
The crowd was congested and everyone was pushing forward so recklessly that it was inevitable that some people would fall down and be stepped on by countless feet.
Luo Xiling, immersed in the joy of completing the task, immediately became anxious: "Don't push, people will be stepped on to death!
The evildoer is dead, don't be afraid!"
Amid the panic shouting, her weak voice was of no use.
She searched every corner of her mind but couldn't think of a solution. There was no technique for amplification in the sword manual, so she could only worry.
After a long time, the townspeople finally finished running away, and Caishikou suddenly became quiet, as if the first scene was just an illusion.
But there were dozens of townspeople lying on the ground, their lives unknown, proving that everything was real.
Luo Xiling jumped off the execution platform and patted their faces one by one with an expectant look on her face, but there was no response.
Half an hour later.
She walked back to the execution platform with her head down: "Not a single one left..."
Ye Ming smiled and patted her head: "It's okay, you have tried your best."
Hearing his consolation, Luo Xiling's hunched back suddenly straightened up, her eyes shining: "As long as we try our best, it won't be our fault?"
"No, you will be deducted points."
Her face turned dull. She seemed to have not expected that Ye Ming, who was usually serious, would tease her.
He wanted to express his anger, but was interrupted by the county magistrate and the captain of the police who came over.
The county magistrate, wearing an official hat and official attire, came over with a slight bow: "Captain Xing has explained it clearly to me. Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen."
Getting rid of evildoers and being admired by others is exactly what Luo Xiling has been looking forward to for a long time.
This was finally realized. She didn't even care about the frustration of being deducted points. She was ready to speak modestly with a smile, but then she felt that this didn't fit her fairy temperament, so she put on a stern face:
"It is our duty to eliminate evil spirits. We must abide by it and praise it."
The county magistrate was stunned and thought to himself, I didn't intend to praise him.
Aren't you the secret department of the imperial court? If I spread the news everywhere, wouldn't that be courting death?
He felt confused, but a higher rank can crush a lower rank, not to mention the six people in front of him who were who knows how many ranks higher, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions and smiled apologetically:
"Your Excellency is devoted to the country and does not seek fame or fortune. I will take you as a role model and emulate you."
Luo Xiling was so happy that she could hardly hold back her smile. Ye Ming was worried that she would embarrass herself, so he stepped forward to help her out: "Now that the evildoer has been eliminated, we still have official business to attend to, so we'll take our leave first."
"Hey..." The county magistrate stopped the men and said enthusiastically, "Since it is a rare occasion for you gentlemen to come here, how can you not allow me to show my hospitality as a host?
Jinxianglou is setting up a banquet, are you all invited?"
Ye Ming wanted to decline, but he caught a glimpse of Luo Xiling's face which said "I want to go", and he himself had some doubts in his mind, so he simply agreed.
The county magistrate ordered the captain of police to deal with the mess at the scene, and then led the way, and the group came to the most prosperous restaurant in Jinshui Town - Jinxianglou.
This seems to be a place of entertainment.
On the balcony on the second floor, girls dressed in fancy clothes wave their long sleeves to attract customers. Every guest who comes in is greeted by a girl dressed in cool clothes and escorted to their seats.
The county magistrate is the highest official in the local area, so the restaurant naturally dare not neglect him.
As soon as the seven people stepped through the door, the middle-aged madam immediately came over quickly, waving a round fan.
After some flattering words, they walked into an elegant box.
Soon, a woman came in holding a zither, and the madam enthusiastically called a row of girls and several handsome men for everyone to choose.
Luo Xiling was amazed. She never expected that Jinxianglou's business would expand so extensively.
After taking a quick look, she waved her hand in boredom to send the man away. The madam came over and asked if she was not satisfied with this batch, as she still had some in stock.
"She and I don't need it."
Hearing her say this, the madam felt relieved.
Then Luo Xiling turned her head and stared at Ye Ming. He was a little confused: "What are you doing?"
"Help Sister Xiao Miao keep an eye on you."
"Go away." Ye Ming had no habit of drinking wine, so he said to her and didn't say anything more.
As for the three young disciples, they seemed to have never seen such a scene before. Their faces turned red and they were a little nervous.
The county magistrate wanted to help the three people, but Ye Ming stopped him: "We have rules."
The mountain gate does not have any strict rules, but several of them are also employees of the Abnormal Investigation Bureau and are official Chinese staff. They have all taken an oath and naturally cannot violate the discipline.
Since everyone was sitting alone, the county magistrate did not dare to highlight himself and raised his hand to send the girl and the brothel owner away.
When the fragrant food is served, you can enjoy a meal and a drink to your heart's content to the elegant and leisurely sound of the piano.
Later, the county magistrate wanted to invite everyone to travel and enjoy the scenery, but Ye Ming refused on the grounds that he had important matters to attend to.
After leaving the restaurant, the county magistrate returned to the government office to deal with the follow-up of the monster case, while Ye Ming led a few people to wander around Jinshui Town.
Not aimless.
He asked the chief constable for a list of recent victims, visited each of them one by one, and asked his neighbors for information about the victims to ensure that their answers were truthful.
Walking out of a victim's home, Ye Ming flipped through the list to decide where to go next.
Luo Xiling put her hands behind her back and looked at the line of life on the page from his side: "Isn't the monster already dead? What is there to investigate?"
"Hmm..." Ye Ming said vaguely, without explaining the confusion.
He didn't know whether he was right or wrong now, and the mountain sect's new disciple manual did not specify whether he could interfere in matters other than the mission.
Coming back to his senses from his thoughts, Ye Ming saw Luo Xiling staring at him curiously, so he said, “I suspect there are still evildoers hidden in Jinshui Town.
It seems... it has been here for quite a long time, and probably never did anything evil, so it has never been exposed."
"Ah?!" The five people looked at him in shock, "And more?!"
"Yes, that's right..." Ye Ming scratched his head in distress, "Logically speaking, the evildoer must be killed, but if he doesn't harm anyone... I don't know how the mountain sect usually handles this kind of situation."
After thinking hard for a long time, he felt that there seemed to be reasons for killing or not killing.
do not kill.
Immortal Xu once said, "Those who cause harm to the human race are monsters." So if it doesn't cause harm, then it's not a monster, right?
kill.
Even if there is no chaos now, there is no guarantee that there will be no chaos in the future.
Those who are not of my kind must have different hearts. To prevent disasters before they happen, we should prevent the residents of Jinshui Town from being harmed in advance.
The latter seems far-fetched, even outrageous.
But if you are a citizen of Jinshui Town and are in a high-risk environment where you could be abducted by evil spirits at any time, who would care about justice?
As long as the threat can be eliminated, no one will care whether a monster is wrongly accused.
The most important thing is that Ye Ming felt that the evildoer hiding in the dark was probably wanted for committing crimes elsewhere and was forced to seek refuge in the remote Jinshui Town.
If it does not do evil here, it is not because it is kind, but because it is afraid that the news will get out and it will be hunted down.
Perhaps understanding Ye Ming's dilemma, Luo Xiling patted her chest and said, "Leave it to me."
"Do you have any idea?"
"I have no idea."
"Then what are you bragging about?"
"Master has a solution!"