The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 378 - 234 Stirring up Trouble_2

Chapter 378: Chapter 234 Stirring up Trouble_2

"Frame the court officials, collude with rebellious bandits, you cannot bear any of these crimes!"

By now, both sides had completely torn faces with each other.

Song, the head of the academy, also showed no courtesy and said coldly, "You know very well the good deeds you’ve done after you came to Zigui County!"

"You’ve run the mountain assembly, not only trafficking salt with government-granted salt licenses, arbitrarily raising prices, making it hard for the common people to afford salt but also secretly selling salt to Tusi City, fostering a suspiciously close relationship..."

"The mountain assembly is also lending money everywhere, demanding exorbitant interest rates of fourteen percent on top of the principal, forcing so many common people to ruin, selling their fields and daughters to repay debts, some of whom went to Yunyang Prefecture to sue, only to be intercepted and murdered by you on the way..."

"Shut up!"

County Magistrate Wu was enraged, his face flushed red as he shouted loudly, "Bring me these thieves!"

"Yes!"

Seeing the atmosphere turning sour, a group of government officials outside the hall had been ready and, upon hearing the command, rushed in wielding truncheons and ropes.

Just then, a roar arose from outside.

"Wu, the dog official, shall not die a good death!"

"Capture him and flay him to lighten our lanterns!"

"We can’t live like this anymore!"

The incident had drawn a large crowd of onlookers, who, though blocked at the door, could hear the quarrel inside the hall.

Remembering the oppression they had suffered over the years, and now seeing even the head of Danyang Academy about to be taken down, their fury soared to the sky.

"A rebellion, a rebellion..."

Seeing the public outrage escalating, County Magistrate Wu Dehai also felt panic, his complexion turning pale, at a loss for what to do.

He hadn’t expected these mud-legged peasants to truly dare to storm the county office.

"Don’t move, do you all want to rebel!"

Just then, a thunderous shout rang out from afar.

It was a blue-robed official riding on horseback, accompanied by over a dozen riders, who looked like battle-hardened soldiers, clad in armor and wielding iron spears, each exuding a terrifying presence.

At a glance, it was clear they were veterans who didn’t blink an eye at killing.

Though there were only a dozen or so of them, the sound of their horses thudded heavily, shaking the entire street as if a force of thousands were upon them.

The common people, who were impulsively enraged, were intimidated by the soldiers’ momentum and retreated in fear, no longer daring to make another remark.

The red-robed official wore a black gauze hat, a round-collared blue robe, embroidered with a pattern of egrets on the chest, his dark complexion and three long beards fluttering in the wind. Mounted on his horse, he conveyed an imposing presence.

He glanced around and said in a deep voice with a bow, "I am Prefect Zhou Kai from Yunyang Prefecture, dispatched by the governor with special orders to handle the cases in Zigui County."

"The court has its own laws. If you have grievances, I will stand for you. But if you attack the county office, it is tantamount to rebellion, and you shall be executed without mercy!"

"Please, sir, stand for us commoners!"

"Please stand for us!"

Many among the crowd knelt down.

"Do not worry."

Prefect Zhou Kai nodded slightly and, after dismounting, gave a covert sign.

A few of his soldiers immediately held spears at the county office’s gate, while the rest followed him boldly into the county office’s main hall.

This commotion, of course, did not escape the notice of the people inside the hall.

County Magistrate Wu Dehai also hurried down from the hall, bowing with respect to the visitor, "Prefect Zhou has been seen."

The rank of a prefect was slightly lower than that of a governor, but with the authority to supervise the governor and report directly to the Emperor.

Naturally, he was far beyond a mere county magistrate.

"Prefect Zhou has been seen."

Many scholars in the hall, along with academy head Song Mingshu, also bowed in unison.

"Humph!"

Prefect Zhou Kai was also very annoyed.

His secret visit to Zigui was initially to appease those watching Tusi, to prevent unrest here while Jing Chu Mountain was yet to be pacified.

Yet, before he could address this, chaos had already broken out here.

With a cold snort and a flick of his sleeve, he sat down in the hall and ordered in a stern voice, "Close the doors!"

With a thunderous sound, the doors to the county office were immediately shut.

Many people were simply joining in the excitement and had no real intention of rebellion.

Seeing the gates of the government office closed, those who were just there for the spectacle began to leave first, and the rest, intimidated by the tiger-like soldiers, also dispersed.

Meanwhile, in the county government’s main hall, Prefect Zhou Kai coldly glanced at County Magistrate Wu Dehai, clearly very disappointed with him, then finally said in a deep voice,

"Speak one by one, what is going on!"

The academy head Song Mingshu naturally understood the importance of taking the initiative and immediately clasped his fists, explaining the whole story, attributing all the chaos in Zigui County to Wu Dehai...

Wu Dehai also became anxious and argued that the people from the academy had disregarded the bigger picture, intending to stir up public unrest, and were even colluding with evil spirits...

Both sides threw accusations around with increasing hostility, looking as though they were about to come to blows.

"Silence, all of you!"

Prefect Zhou Kai’s eyelids trembled with anger, then he turned a cold gaze toward Li Yan and said sternly, "Since you took on the City God Temple’s mission, interrogating and exorcising was your duty, so why did you fan the flames and provoke chaos!"

He was an old fox and immediately sensed the meddling by Li Yan.

"You must be joking, sir."

Li Yan’s face remained calm as he spoke, "In Zigui County nowadays, clouds cover and fog shrouds the truth, and someone has deliberately obscured the clues. I am merely trying to clarify the situation, how is that fanning the flames?"

Prefect Zhou Kai snorted, "Sharp-tongued!"

He was, of course, aware of the situation in Zigui County, but some matters are such that they cannot be too explicitly exposed.

Had it been an ordinary official, he would have moved against them directly, but Wu Dehai and the Ezhou Chamber of Commerce were involved, entangled with the salt trade, and had connections with the Tusi.

Armies from various provinces under the court were assembling, and the Ezhou Chamber of Commerce was responsible for gathering resources and arranging the transportation of grain and other matters.

This pacification of the Tusi was also dependent on Wu Dehai’s connections. For the sake of the bigger picture, he often had to turn a blind eye.

Yet Li Yan had lifted the veil of secrecy.

However, these were not matters that could be stated openly.

Thinking this through, Prefect Zhou Kai swiftly changed the subject, his eyes narrowing, "The Academy is a place for reading the sages’ books and nurturing gentlemen’s righteousness, so how have you all become tainted with a demonic aura?"

Dean Song’s heart shuddered and he respectfully said in a deep voice, "We plead on behalf of the people and are likely to have offended someone, cursed by demon art."

"Don’t spout slanderous accusations!"

County Magistrate Wu Dehai immediately broke out into a sweat.

"Silence!"

Prefect Zhou Kai’s temples throbbed as he looked at the two sides, then turned to Li Yan, "Since you’ve uncovered this matter, do you know the cause?"

Li Yan answered gravely, "I still need to inquire further."

He then turned to confront the people from the Academy, "Has the Academy experienced any strange occurrences recently?"

Dean Song spoke deeply, "The Academy is a place of the sages, overseen by the Sacrificial Officer, where students diligently study night and day. There have been no strange occurrences."

The Great Xuan Academy, as well as various Confucius Temples around the country, also held sacrificial rites.

The main subjects of these rituals were the supremely wise Confucius and his Four Correlates: Yanzi who continued his saintliness, Zengzi who represented his lineage, Zisi who provided philosophical interpretations, and Mencius who was considered the secondary sage, as well as all the ten philosophers and disciples known as the venerable scholars.

The rituals varied depending on the circumstance, generally involving the burning of incense, the offering of vegetables, and the libation offerings.

The "Sacrificial Officer" referred to the individual in the Academy responsible for overseeing these rites of sacrifice, usually someone from within the Confucianism.

Li Yan’s eyes narrowed, "Why is the Sacrificial Officer not present?"

Dean Song replied, "Sacrificial Officer Master Liu is elderly and lives year-round in a hut on a nearby mountain and is unaware of this incident."

Li Yan nodded and then used Yang Jue to smell, his brows furrowing as he looked at the vile matter just expelled by a scholar, his voice cold, "What unclean thing have all of you been eating recently?"

Dean Song appeared startled, a flicker of unease flashing in his eyes.

Before he could respond, one of the scholars glanced around and spoke with a trembling voice, "Could it be that red pill?"

"Gentlemen, you’ve also taken it?"

"You... you’ve taken it too?"

"Why haven’t you mentioned it before..."

The crowd looked at one another, their questions overlapping noisily.

Prefect Zhou Kai immediately realized something was amiss and demanded coldly, "What is this red pill? Speak the truth!"

Dean Song’s expression turned sour, and with a sigh, he clasped his hands and said, "Reporting to the authority, the red pill is a kind of secret medicine that greatly enhances one’s spirits and memory upon consumption."

"This old man has become quite absent-minded and forgetful over the years when reading, but after taking the ’red pill,’ there was a significant improvement."

A few scholars sheepishly confessed, "We used it in preparation for the imperial examinations."

Some scholars, however, were visibly angry and grabbed one of the speakers, "Master Lu, didn’t you say the substance was a remnant of Ancient Chu? How has it become tainted with demonic energy?"

Dean Song also turned to look in that direction.

The grabbed speaker’s face turned deathly pale.

Dean Song demanded coldly, "Yuan Feng, when you gave me this substance, you praised it to the skies. How did it suddenly become a Demon Core?"

"I... I..."

The speaker was flustered, at a loss for words.

"Ha! Haha..."

Wu Dehai, who had felt suppressed earlier, now had an opening and jeered scornfully, "Each one of you appearing righteous, but who would have thought the Academy had become a den for filth."

Dean Song seemed to have aged significantly, sighing, "Yuan Feng, although you are engrossed in this practice, you do not have the skill to concoct an Elixir. Tell us, where did it come from?"

The speaker’s face flushed, teeth clenched, as he looked towards Wu Dehai, "Wu, so it was you causing trouble."

"This ’red pill’ is also related to your son!"