The Heavens of Film and Television: From Serving as a Soldier

Chapter 151 Confrontation

At night, the main hall of the ancient temple outside the city. Jin Mulan screamed and collapsed on the futon. Viper sighed: "I once said that you are playing with fire, but you don't listen to my advice!"

Jin Mulan said tremblingly: "What did Liu Jindu say?"

Viper said: "I haven't spoken yet."

Jin Mulan breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good." She stood up slowly, took Viper's hand and said softly: "What should we do now?"

Viper shook his head: "I don't know. Failure after failure brings Di Renjie closer and closer to the truth!"

Jin Mulan sighed. Viper raised his head: "Mulan, let's give up. It's not too late to give up now."

Jin Mulan raised her head in surprise: "What did you say?"

Viper said: "I said give up."

Jin Mulan's face sank: "You're crazy! The plan I worked so hard on is about to succeed, but you want me to give up! You, you..."

Viper slowly turned around and walked towards the door. Jin Mulan raised her head: "You want to go back?"

Viper nodded: "Go back and get rid of Liu Jin."

Jin Mulan said: "You, you... I completely depend on you."

Viper took a deep breath: "If I die, you promise me to give up this plan."

Jin Mulan said nothing. Viper became a little impatient: "I'm waiting for your answer."

"Okay, I promise!" After hearing Jin Mulan's promise, Viper strode out of the door.

Night, Youzhou City. The night was dark, the streets were quiet and empty. In the back hall of the Governor's Mansion, Liu Jin walked anxiously around the back room. The door rang and Li Yuanfang walked in. He glanced at Liu Jin and shouted in a low voice: "Be honest with me. Sit down!"

Liu Jin smiled coldly and sat down.

At this time, a black shadow passed through the garden like lightning and ran towards the back hall. A pair of eyes appeared behind the rockery, it was Hu Jinghui!

Judge Dee sat in front of the desk in the main hall, meditating quietly. Di Chun rushed in: "Master, he is here!" Di Gong nodded and stood up.

In the back hall, Li Yuanfang was sitting at the table. A gust of wind blew and the door opened with a "flicker" sound. Li Yuanfang stood up alertly and pulled out the light steel lancet. He slowly walked to the door. Suddenly, he screamed and fell heavily to the ground, covering his shoulder with his left hand. Liu Jin, who was in the back room, was shocked when he heard the sound and ran out quickly, but also screamed and fell to the ground.

At this moment, chaos broke out outside the door, and the guards shouted loudly: "Catch the assassin!" Outside the back hall, a man in green robes was surrounded by Hu Jinghui and all the guards in the center. This man was Viper. The viper's long sword stretched and contracted like lightning, and several guards fell to the ground after being struck by the sword. Hu Jinghui roared, and lunged forward with a steel knife in his hand. The sword was shining brightly, and figures shuttled back and forth. Accompanied by a rapid sound of gold and iron clashing, the two of them fought together.

Di Gong, surrounded by Di Chun and other guards, came to the front of the hall. Hu Jinghui and Viper were engaged in a fierce battle, with their swords and swords crossing each other as they jumped up and down.

The guards around him shouted: "Everyone, come forward and kill this turtle grandson!" Dozens of guards rushed forward with swords and guns. Viper was hit by several knives and fell to the ground.

Hu Jinghui stepped forward and shouted: "Catch him alive!" The guards rushed forward and tied the viper with a rope and pushed him to the ground.

The viper suddenly made a "cluck" sound in its throat, its eyes turned white, black blood vomited from its mouth, and it died. Hu Jinghui was stunned: "Why are you dead?"

Judge Dee quickly walked over and took off the viper's mask. Under the mask was a pale and unfamiliar face. Di Gong raised his head and exclaimed: "No!" As he said that, he rushed into the back hall and saw Li Yuanfang and Liu Jin lying in front of the back hall door. Both of them had dark faces, and black blood was flowing from their nostrils, mouth corners and ears. Judge Dee stood in front of the door, watching quietly.

Hu Jinghui and others swarmed in behind him and were shocked to see this scene. Hu Jinghui rushed over, picked up Li Yuanfang and shouted: "Yuanfang! Yuanfang!"

Judge Di said: "Don't touch him." Hu Jinghui quickly put him down.

Judge Dee knelt down and looked carefully. A steel needle as thin as an ox hair was inserted into Li Yuanfang's left shoulder. Judge Dee took out the needle, smelled it at the end of his nose, and sighed softly.

He walked to Liu Jin again and saw a steel needle stuck in Liu Jin's throat. Di Gong stretched out his hand to check his breathing, but he had already died. He slowly shook his head: "I still can't escape the fate of being silenced! If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?"

Hu Jinghui said anxiously: "Sir, I'm afraid Yuan Fang may not be able to survive!"

Di Gong stood up: "Di Chun, get the needle and help immediately!"

In the backyard morgue, the body of "Viper" was lying quietly on the couch. When the door rang, a black shadow jumped in. Under the moonlight, people saw clearly that it was Di Chun. He walked quickly to the feet of the dead body, took out something like a shoe from his arms, and kept gesticulating. It turned out that this shoe pattern was the footprints someone left on the ashes of vegetation in Judge Dee’s room that day!

Li Yuanfang screamed and vomited two mouthfuls of black blood. Judge Dee let out a sigh of relief: "Okay, it won't be a problem anymore. Starting tomorrow, I'll cook the medicine according to the prescription, and I should feel better in a few days."

Hu Jinghui breathed a sigh of relief: "Sir, he won't be poisoned again like Li Er, right?"

Judge Dee gave a wry smile: "Life and death are determined by destiny, it's hard to say!"

Hu Jinghui said: "What a poisonous hidden weapon! I didn't expect this guy to be so fast. As soon as I saw him appearing in front of the back hall door, he had already attacked the people inside."

Judge Di nodded: "The poison poisoned by Yuan Fang is exactly the same as the poison poisoned by Li Er. Who is this assassin?"

A guard came over and handed something over: "Sir, this was just found on the assassin."

Judge Dee reached out and took it. It was a white lake silk handkerchief with a small viper embroidered on the lower left corner. Judge Dee was startled, then reached into his arms and took out an identical handkerchief. Judge Dee compared them: "This assassin is the Viper."

Hu Jinghui was surprised: "He, he is the 'Viper'?"

Judge Dee nodded: "The lake silk handkerchief is his trademark."

Hu Jinghui said: "It seems that Liu Jin is really important to them, otherwise, he would never have sacrificed the Viper to silence them."

Judge Dee said softly: "These people can't sit still anymore. It seems that we are not far from the truth!" His tone was unpredictable.

Mr. Di was talking to Chang Shi in the main hall. Judge Dee praised: "Well, you did a good job on several things, and I am very pleased with you."

Chang Shi said: "Your Excellency's love for the people deeply moved the officials in Youzhou, and they admire you from the bottom of their hearts even though they are humble."

Judge Dee smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you are serious."

Before he finished speaking, Hu Jinghui rushed in excitedly: "Sir, all the refugees in Daliushu Village have returned to their fields. Now, under the leadership of Zhang Laosi, we are kowtow in front of the gate to thank you for your life!"

Judge Dee stood up and said, "Seriously!" With that, he hurried out of the lobby and walked towards the door.

Zhang Laosi led three to four hundred villagers to kneel in front of the governor's mansion. When Zhang Laosi saw Di Gong, he shouted loudly: "This is our savior Di Shijun, everyone kowtow!"

All the villagers shouted loudly: "Lord Qingtian, please accept the obeisance of the little people!"

Judge Dee was extremely excited and said loudly: "Fellow folks, please get up! Please get up!"

The villagers kowtowed repeatedly and then stood up. Di Gong said: "A few days ago, the officials failed to govern, which made the villagers suffer! Di is here to apologize to everyone!" As he said this, he bowed to the ground.

The villagers shouted: "We gathered to rebel, and it was the adults who acquitted us! It should be us who apologized to the adults!" The villagers knelt down one after another.

Tears filled Di Gong's eyes, and he shouted loudly: "Get up! Get up! Everyone, please get up! Thank you villagers for their deep friendship to Di. All this is a gift from the emperor. If the villagers have any difficulties after returning to the fields, they can be Come to Di. Di Renjie will do his best wherever he can!"

"Thank you, sir!" everyone shouted. Zhang Laosi shouted: "Master Di is busy with official duties, let's leave now! Let's invite Master Di to Daliu Shu as a guest next autumn!"

Judge Dee raised his fists and shouted, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The villagers laughed and slowly dispersed. Zhang Laosi walked up to Judge Di and looked at Hu Jinghui beside him. He seemed to want to say something, but he hesitated, and his eyes suddenly filled with tears. He whispered: "Sir, I'm leaving. You...you have to be more careful!"

Di Gong was startled, his eyes looked into Zhang Laosi's eyes like lightning. Zhang Laosi's eyes showed fear and he slowly lowered his head. Judge Dee grabbed his hand and patted it gently: "Don't worry, old man, I can do it."

Zhang Laosi knelt down, kowtowed to Mr. Di, turned around and left with the villagers. Judge Dee looked at his back and fell into deep thought.

Chang Shi said: "I haven't seen this kind of scene for many years. It really makes my blood boil!"

Hu Jinghui said sincerely: "Your Excellency, this official is like an official!"

Judge Dee smiled: "The common people's requirements are not high, as long as they have land to grow and food to eat. If we officials can't even do this, then we should take off this black gauze hat as soon as possible." Chang Shi nodded repeatedly. .

The sun shines on Xiaolianzi Mountain, and the green mountains stand tall and majestic. There is a secluded hillside at the bottom of the river, surrounded by logs. There are four or five caves under the mountain wall. The entrances are blocked with huge rocks, and water flows continuously from the caves. Several villagers led Lu Dayou and Fa Cao here.

Lu Dayou sniffed and asked, "Why is it so smelly?" Fa Cao said, "Yes, where does this smell come from?"

A villager said that a few days ago, the county government announced that Xiaolianzi Mountain would be closed. He and several young people in the village went hunting in the mountains and discovered this place. At that time, I just smelled a stench, but I didn't know where it came from.

Fa Cao asked what the cave was used for, and the villager shook his head and said he didn't know. Lu Dayou said: "Before the government closed the mountain, I often walked this road. There were no caves like these."

Fa Cao nodded and walked to the cave. The stench intensified. Fa Cao covered his nose, retched twice and said, "It seems to be coming from here."

Lu Dayou said: "Sir, please open the stone and take a look."

Fa Cao said there were not enough manpower. A villager said: "I'll go back to the village and call for help!" As he said that, he quickly entered the village. After a while, dozens of villagers arrived.

There was a loud "bang", and the huge rocks at the entrance of the cave were moved away by the villagers; with a "bang", a stream of turbid water rushed out, and the water was so violent that it looked like a flash flood.

Suddenly someone shouted: "Look, the body!"

Sure enough, several bodies were leaked out of the cave with some bodies in the water. As the water intensified, more and more bodies appeared. Fa Cao was stunned.

The empty field in front of Xiaolianzi Village was filled with corpses. The nearby villagers knelt in front of the corpses of their relatives and cried so loudly that the whole village was shaken. Fa Cao was obviously stunned by the sight in front of him.

Lu Dayou whispered: "These people who died are all villagers who have disappeared from nearby villages in the past two years. Oh, how miserable!"

Fa Cao said: "Didn't you say that most people disappeared in ghost towns?"

Da nodded: "Yes. I don't understand, how could they die here?"

Fa Cao said: "Da You, this matter is not trivial. You should rush back to Youzhou immediately to report to Lord Di!"

Dayoudao: "Yes!"

At dusk, in the main hall of the Governor's Mansion, Hu Jinghui walked in and reported: "Sir, Lu Dayou is back." Di Gong ordered him to come in quickly.

Lu Dayou walked in quickly, and Di Gong asked in surprise: "Dayou, why did you come back so late? Did something happen in the village?"

Da nodded: "Sir, many missing villagers have been found."

Judge Dee was delighted: "Oh? Where is it?"

Dayou said: "In Xiaolianzi Mountain. They were all dead when they were found, and there was no one left alive!"

Judge Dee's heart suddenly sank.

Lu Dayou briefly explained what they discovered. Judge Dee was surprised and asked: "You mean the bodies of the villagers were sealed in caves?"

Lu Da nodded slightly: "It's so tragic. There are many corpses that have been soaked to death and cannot be identified."

Judge Dee slapped the table hard: "Executioner!"

Hu Jinghui asked: "Dayou, what is this cave used for?"

Dayou shook his head: "I don't know. It didn't happen before. Judging from the time, it should have appeared after the mountain was closed. There are as many as five or six caves, which are very deep. After the water dried up, I took a torch and went in to take a look. There were supports inside. Lots of wooden shelves.”

Judge Di said: "It seems that this is the reason why the government closed the mountain."

Lu Da nodded slightly: "I think so too."

Judge Di stood up and said, "We will leave early tomorrow morning for Xiaolianzi Village. Jinghui, please handle the affairs here for me first."

Hu Jinghui said: "My lord, I'd better go with you. The emperor has entrusted your safety to me. If something goes wrong, I can't explain it."

Judge Di patted his shoulder: "Don't worry, I will take the guards away. After the rebellion in Youzhou was over, the mission case was just coming to light, Liu Jin was assassinated, and Yuanfang was seriously injured, and Youzhou City was destroyed. It’s not peaceful! If it weren’t for the urgent civil case, I would never leave. I’ll leave this heavy responsibility to you, so you have to be careful!”

Hu Jinghui said solemnly: "Sir, don't worry."

Di Gong nodded: "You go ahead." Hu Jinghui and Lu Dayou walked out.

Judge Dee sat down on the chair and let out a long breath. After a long time, he stood up, walked quickly into the west room, and closed the door.

……

Zhang Yang is still on his way.

"Letter from Youzhou."

"Go ahead."

"Jin Mulan invites you to meet."

"When?"

"Three days later, he was still in the Chenghuang Temple."

"Let Evil be ready, and the training of your servants must speed up. Our confrontation with Di Renjie is about to begin."

"Yes, Master."

(End of this chapter)