There were four people sitting in the hall. In addition to Zhang and Liu, the other two elders of the Sichuan branch, Qi Mingyi and Cheng Lixin, also came after hearing the news.
Among the four elders, Qi Mingyi is the oldest and has the highest seniority, and the other three generally follow his lead.
Hao Siming was woken up by a basin of cold water and felt sore all over his body. His wrists and heels were tied tightly with thick leather bands, making him unable to move.
At this time, two Beggar Clan disciples picked him up and grabbed his shoulders.
Hao Siming slowly raised his head, looked at the four people in the hall, and couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Elder Qi, you came just in time. Elder Zhang tied up his subordinates for no reason, and asked three elders to make the decision for me."
Qi Mingyi wore a shabby beggar's uniform inside to show that he could not forget his roots, and a silk armor on the outside to show his current status. The eight small cloth bags hanging around his waist further show his respectable status.
These eight little cloth bags are extraordinary. In the Beggar Clan, only those with outstanding merits are worthy of this honor. One cloth bag is a miracle, and eight cloth bags are naturally eight miracles.
There are only three eight-bag elders like him in the Beggar Clan.
Qi Mingyi sipped the tea, an expression of indifference on his old face with dried orange peel.
Suddenly, he raised his white eyebrows and took out a palm-sized bronze medal from his sleeve.
He said slowly: "Follow the orders of the gang leader and develop the great cause of this gang. Gang leader Situ gave instructions.
In view of the chaos in Xuannv Palace, we, the Beggar Clan, should unite as one to clear away the weeds, punish the traitors and eradicate the evil, in order to boost the prestige of the Clan.
Brother Hao, it is not easy for you to take the position of the leader of Yibin Hall at such a young age.
The gang leader has high hopes for you juniors. I never expected that you, the boy, are actually members of the imperial court.
Spying on the secrets of our gang first, and deceiving the disciples in the gang later. Such a serious crime should be punished with death according to the gang rules. "
Hao Siming pretended to be calm, glanced at Cheng Lixin and said, "Elder Cheng, everything my subordinates do is under your eyes. They wrongly accused me of being a grandson of the imperial court. You have to speak out for me."
Cheng Lixin looked embarrassed and remained silent. But in his mind, it was like a bright mirror. Since Shangfeng asked Zhang Chengyun to check the door, he had taken it down. Most of Hao Siming's various crimes have been proven.
If I help him speak at this time, wouldn't I be in the same party with him? What's more, it was in front of Elder Qi. Even though he and Hao Siming had a good relationship on weekdays, they must not be confused at this juncture.
Elder Qi stroked his beard, looked at Cheng Lixin and said calmly: "No matter what you say, he is still considered your direct subordinate. Are you unwilling to intercede for him?"
Cheng Lixin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said slowly: "It's not that Cheng is timid. Hao Siming is a secret agent of the imperial court and one of my subordinates. I have already made mistakes, so how can I add more mistakes to my mistakes? "
Zhang Chengyun and Liu Wanting looked at each other and smiled tacitly.
Zhang Chengyun said: "Elder Cheng understands righteousness deeply, and I admire him very much." He turned his eyes and stared at Hao Siming and said, "Since he was appointed, Mr. Qi has sworn an oath in front of the gang leader to eliminate the righteousness within three years. The gang is full of poison, and the gang's reputation is based on the original gang.
Half a month ago, I got his secret order. I have collected a lot of evidence of your crime during the secret investigation. Today, in front of everyone, I will take it all out and convince you to death! "
He walked up to Hao Siming, leaned down, took off his boots, and pointed to the writing on his left foot for everyone to see.
Elder Qi waved his hand and asked all the brothers in the courtyard to come into the hall and take a look. Everyone started talking when they saw the word "Jinyi" written on the soles of Hao Siming's feet.
Cheng Lixin was on pins and needles. He stood up and said loudly: "Mr. Qi, I never thought that this thief is from Jinyiwei. According to the rules of this gang, he should be punished by pulling out his tongue and gouging out his eyes. If Mr. Qi allows it, Cheng will be willing to Execute this person yourself."
Hearing his decisive words, Hao Siming smiled and said: "Haha, I am a member of Jinyiwei. How many of you have the guts to touch me?"
Cheng Lixin walked up to him, slapped him across the face, and shouted: "What a good thief, you still want to show off your power when you are in such a situation."
His palm was so heavy that half of Hao Siming's cheek suddenly became red and swollen. He spit out a mouthful of blood, glared at Cheng Lixin and cursed viciously: "Bah! You bastards are not worthy of carrying my uncle's shoes.
Help me up wisely and chop off Cheng Lixin's claws for me. If I am happy, you may be able to avoid your death. otherwise……"
Cheng Lixin was so angry that he grabbed the clothes on his chest and shouted, "What else?" Hao Siming's face muscles trembled, and his eyes gleamed fiercely: "Otherwise, you will be dismembered."
Cheng Lixin raised his palm and slapped it down on the top of Hao Siming's head. Zhang Chengyun had quick eyes and quick hands and palmed him away. Cheng Lixin said: "Elder Zhang, this thief is so rampant, why not let Cheng give him some advice."
Zhang Chengyun crossed his arms across his chest, shook his head and said with a smile: "Elder Cheng wants to kill people and silence them." Cheng Lixin couldn't help but feel embarrassed when he explained his thoughts to him, and said with a dry smile: "Where, where."
At this time, Elder Qi took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Lixin, please sit down. Chengyun, his identity is now known. Let's bring out Hao Siming's other crimes so that all the brothers can see clearly."
Zhang Chengyun clapped his hands, and two people stepped out from the group of beggars and strode towards the back hall. After a while, he carried out a black wooden box and placed it in front of everyone.
Zhang Chengyun opened the box and found various account books inside. He took out a book and read: "In July of the thirteenth year of Wanli, six disciples of the Guangyuan branch abducted fifteen girls and received five hundred taels of silver..."
The scandals of the Beggar Clan were exposed one after another, and the beggars were shocked.
Many of these incidents shocked even Elder Qi. Many of these incidents involved the secrets of the Beggar Clan. Once leaked to the court, the government would pursue the case and the annihilation of the Clan would be inevitable.
He hurriedly ordered Zhang Chengyun to stop reading. He stood up and picked up the account books and looked at them carefully. These account books were not only detailed in date, but also detailed in detail about the people involved and the amount of profits made. It is also related to his disciples.
Elder Qi threw the account books in the box and said: "Chengyun, please destroy these account books quickly to avoid causing trouble. Lixin, didn't you just say that you want to enforce the law? According to the gang rules, this person will be punished by gouging out his eyes and pulling out his tongue." ." He said, sitting back on the chair.
Xiao Yunfan listened clearly on the rooftop and thought to himself: "These beggars and thieves are really cruel and have done many bad things, and now they want to kill people and silence them.
Although Hao Siming is a member of the public family, he went deep into the tiger's den to collect evidence of the Beggar Clan's crimes. His chivalrous heart is extremely admirable. Anyway, I had to save him.
Everyone looked at Hao Siming. Many people had benefited from him, but at the critical moment of life and death, no one had the courage to stand up and say a few words for him.
Hao Siming looked around at the crowd, closed his eyes and said, "Let's do it. If I frown, I'm not a good man."
Zhang Chengyun picked up the oil lamp from the table and threw it into the box. The flame suddenly burned the cover of the account book and white smoke came out.
Cheng Lixin stretched out a big furry hand and first removed Hao Siming's chin to prevent him from biting his tongue and then pulled out Hao Siming's tongue with his thumb and index finger.
At this moment, a loud shout came from outside the house: "The official is taking someone, everyone is shouting."
Everyone was shocked, and the four elders rushed out of the door together and looked into the courtyard. There was no one else but the patrolling disciples.
At this time, the lights in the room dimmed and there seemed to be a noise. The four people shouted: "Not good."
When he turned around and looked again, he saw a dark figure carrying Hao Siming on his back and trying to escape through the window. The four elders took out their palms at the same time, and with a bang, all four palms struck Hao Siming on the back.
The person swayed and picked up the box with his toes. A hail of fire rushed toward the four of them. They just waved their palms to dodge, but they didn't want anyone to break the window and get out.
Xiao Yunfan heard what he heard in his ears: hurry up and chase, don't let them escape. He carried Hao Siming on his back and jumped to the roof. Seeing the beggars chasing him out, he jumped to the backyard and got into a side room.
Hao Siming's vest was leaning against the wall, and he was as angry as a gossamer. The four elders of the Beggar Clan took action, and the power was extraordinary. Now his heart was shattered and he could not survive. Xiao Yunfan saw that he was about to say something, so he helped him connect his chin and leaned close to his ear.
I could only hear Hao Siming saying: "The debt is on me... on my stomach... please... hand it over to Beizhen Fusi..." As soon as he finished speaking, he was already dead.
Xiao Yunfan felt pity and reached out to close his eyes. Holding up the fire fold, he pulled open the lapel of his clothes and saw that there were many words written densely on his stomach.
Without thinking, he took off the skin and put it in his arms.
Suddenly, noisy footsteps came from the backyard again. He quietly walked to the wall, opened the window paper and looked outside. Several Beggar Clan disciples held up torches and looked around. He climbed onto the beam and lay motionless on the beam.
Zhang Chengyun and his men came after him holding torches and kicked open the door. Seeing that Hao Siming was dead in the corner, he said to his subordinates: "Carry this thief to the front yard." After that, he checked inside the house and followed him out.
Xiao Yunfan waited for them to go away, then left the house and returned to the inn along the original road. He sat at the table and unfolded it. The Tao Te Ching was written on it, with blank spaces between many words.
I couldn't help but wonder in my heart: "What Hao Siming wanted to hand over to me before he died was actually a copy of the Tao Te Ching? What's so mysterious about Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching?"
He closed his eyes and meditated for a moment, then thought to himself, "I see. Just write out all the empty words in this passage and connect them together to get a complete sentence."
Now I found a pen and paper and wrote out the blank words. Looking at the line of words, he said to himself: "
He never expected that the person Hao Siming wanted to investigate was actually him. Now that he had confirmed the secret, why would he risk staying in the Beggar Clan? Is there any other reason?
The lights in the prison cell of the Chasi Yamen were dim, and a tall figure was printed on the wall.
Although Zhou Guanghao, the inspector-general, took Luo Jiutian into prison, he has not been put on trial these days.
It turned out that after he captured Luo Jiutian, the news quickly reached General Li.
The suppression of thieves was imminent, and touching this person would mean cutting off the army's rations. Not only did General Li become furious, but it seemed that even the governor wanted to avoid it.
Coupled with the fact that King Duan appeared in the Chishui Gang, the matter became even more confusing. For a time, he had to re-weigh the pressure from all sides.
Luo Jiutian looked haggard and slowly sat on the ground leaning against the wall. He took off the jade ring on his thumb, unscrewed the lid, took out a pill and hid it in the palm of his hand.
Then he thought to himself: "Now that I am behind bars, Prince Duan is absolutely unreliable.
Xu Yuantai and Li Yingxiang all have something in my hands. If I die, they will be buried with me. "
At this moment, there was a rush of footsteps outside the cell. Xu Yuantai hurried in wearing casual clothes and ordered the jailer to open the cell door.
He waved his hand to let people leave, leaving only the two of them in the cell.
Xu Yuantai looked at Luo Jiutian and asked, "Did you really do this?"
Luo Jiutian nodded.
Xu Yuantai asked again: "Why do you want to do this?"
Luo Jiutian raised his head and glanced at Xu Yuantai. Seeing that his head was covered with sweat, he smiled and said, "Master Futai seems to be more scared than me."
Xu Yuantai snorted coldly and said: "If you were an ordinary criminal, I would have my own way to exonerate you. But the people in Jinyiwei also know about this, and even I can't protect you."
Luo Jiutian said calmly: "What do you want me to do, sir?"
Xu Yuantai took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve and said, "This is the triggering medicine. You kill yourself. I will send someone to keep your body intact."
