Seeing that it was getting too late, Craftsman Liu did not report to the official immediately. He just wanted to tell Liu Xiangzi, the owner of the cow, so he walked towards the tile-roofed house where Liu Xiangzi stayed. Just as he was about to knock on the door, someone grabbed his outstretched hand and whispered. The voice said: Spare me, don't tell the news.
It was dark and no one could be seen. Craftsman Liu heard the voice and knew it was Xin Taitu, so he said: Who told you to do immoral things?
I kneel down to you and won’t do it again from now on. With that said, Xin Taitu knelt down in front of him. Under the faint starlight, his silhouette could be seen. Craftsman Liu originally wanted to shout, but he felt a little embarrassed when he saw him pestering him like this. Just as he was about to say something, Xin Taitu kowtowed a few times like a chicken pecking rice, and then said: Don't make this matter public, I will give you a knife every day. Fresh beef as reward. Craftsman Liu said, this is not necessary, as long as you no longer harm the village's cattle. I am also worried that one day you will poison my cattle.
No, absolutely not. Xin Taitu stood up again and said: I guarantee that if I still do that evil thing, I will be struck by five thunders. After hearing what he said, Craftsman Liu said: Forget it, I won't reveal your affair in front of others, just you understand in your heart. Now we need cattle for spring plowing and production. You poisoned all the cattle. Isn't that right? Missed the farming season? God cannot tolerate it!
It was late at night when Craftsman Liu returned home. When he woke up the next day, it was three o'clock in the morning. After washing, he was about to go out to work, but he bumped into Xin Taitu. He saw a knife of fresh beef in his hand, still dripping with blood. Xin Taitu walked into the house, threw the fresh beef on the chopping board of Craftsman Liu's kitchen and said: I didn't break my promise. Then he left with a smile on his face. Of course Craftsman Liu knew that he had to seal his mouth. I originally wanted to shelve this matter, but now that the government officials have come to inspect the matter, I can't do it without saying anything.
After hearing this, Sun Ming asked repeatedly, is this the truth? Craftsman Liu swore to the sky: If he told a lie, he could implicate nine tribes.
At that moment, Sun Ming led his government officials to Niutoushan Village to arrest Xin Taitu. Xin Taitu was haggling with Liu Xiangzi over the dissected buffalo, and when they were about to finalize the price, a powerful government servant unexpectedly threw a thick brown rope at him, tied it, and then A tall and muscular government servant followed and helped hold Xin Taitu down. Xin Taitu shouted: What kind of royal law have I committed? Don't tie me up. Sun Ming stared at him: We only bind the bad guys but not the good guys. Don't you know what kind of law you have broken? Also loaded with garlic. Liu Xiangzi was quite surprised. He glanced at Xin Taitu who was struggling desperately, and then turned to Sun Ming. Sun Ming looked at him and said: You are still in the dark. Your buffalo was poisoned by Xin Taitu.
is that true? Liu Xiangzi asked in surprise.
Don't listen to his nonsense. There is no evidence and he is slandering me. Xin Taitu, who had been tightly bound, was still twisting and quibbling.
At this time, Sun Ming signaled Craftsman Liu, who had been following him all the way, to walk to Xin Taitu, and then asked: Do you know Craftsman Liu?
Seeing him, Xin Taitu remained silent. He was angry. If you, Craftsman Liu, accepted my bribe, you should keep it a secret from me. Why are you reporting to the official now? This account must be settled with you. Craftsman Liu also took the beef that Xin Taitu gave him in his hand, saying that he didn't care about it. Xin Taitu asked angrily: Why was it so rare when I gave it to you? Craftsman Liu said: You want to seal my mouth, but I have no choice but to accept it.
You all, cut out the nonsense. As Sun Ming spoke, he waved his hand and asked the yamen to take Xin Taitu away. Liu Xiangzi followed up, slapped Xin Taitu hard, and said, "You are such an unkind fellow. It turns out you poisoned my buffalo. After you poisoned it, you wanted me to give the dead cow a cheap price." It's so insidious to sell it to you, you guy who doesn't deserve a good death.
Xin Taitu had no choice but to listen and didn't argue. He just touched his face, which was numb from being slapped, and thought about how to deal with the yamen's harsh treatment. Sure enough, Sun Ming sent him to the yamen. Hong Facai asked for the reason and ordered his thugs to beat him fifty times. He then asked him if he had poisoned all the cattle that died of plague in Niutoushan Village last winter and this spring. Yes, he really dared to nod his head without hiding anything, as if he felt more relaxed when he said it.
Why did you do this?
I want to get the most business with the least capital.
If you darken your conscience, you will lose everything you gain. After questioning Xin Taitu a few more times, Hong Facai became angry and ordered the thugs to beat him seventy times. By the time he was hit fifty-two times, his skin and flesh were already torn. Liu Xiangzi and the seven or eight villagers whose cattle had died also came over. They said not to beat Xin Taitu to death. If Xin Taitu was not dead, our cattle would be poisoned by him, and we could ask him to compensate for the losses caused. When Xin Taitu heard this, he struggled to raise his head and said with a sad face: Magistrate Hong, please leave me this small life. As long as I have money, I will try my best to repay the losses of these villagers whose cattle died. Hong Facai thought about it and realized that this made sense. He twisted his hand around and asked the thug to stop the stick. Xin Taitu immediately turned over and knelt down and said to Hong Facai: Thank you to the county magistrate for the pardon. Hong Facai said sternly: Put him in jail and serve two years in prison.
Later, Xin Taitu's family took out all their savings, sold their property, and cashed in the compensation amount approved by the county government for all the villagers whose cattle were poisoned and harmed. Only then did Xin Taitu get a half-year sentence reduced. However, a year after he was released from prison, because his family was too poor, his evil thoughts returned and his old illness relapsed. He went to a remote mountain village to poison cattle with venom. Then, he negotiated the price of the goods with the head of the household whose cow had died. Unexpectedly, the sky was sunny just now, but soon dark clouds rolled in and heavy rain fell.
Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck into the cowshed, the light was as bright as snow, and it was so menacing that a fireball rolled in and headed straight for Xin Taitu's shrunken body. At this moment, there seemed to be a magical big hand, but the shape was invisible. It picked up Xin Taitu, threw it into an arc and threw it into the rain outside the door.
Suddenly, crack - crack - the loud thunder struck Xin Taitu quickly and violently, and the terrifying electric fire whirred through and burned him like blue locusts. In just a moment, he was burned. Burned into a pile of human black charcoal.
Besides, the head of the household was so shaken by the thunder that he sat down on the ground, holding his head with his hands and not even daring to look outside. When the thunder and lightning subsided and the wind and rain subsided, he tremblingly moved from the cattle pen and stepped out of the gate. His eyes widened in surprise. Many villagers were gathered around to look at Xintai Tu, who was struck to death by lightning and burned to ashes. But the appearance was completely changed. There were only two lines of crooked characters on the back, but no one could recognize it. Someone called a Taoist priest in a robe and bun from a nearby Taoist temple. The Taoist priest seemed to have come out of a dream. After stretching, he breathed a sigh of relief and silently recited a passage, which was like the buzzing of a bee. He didn't understand. He only cared about deciphering the heavenly book on Xin Taitu's back. He finally came over, looked at it carefully, and then kicked over the pile of ash on Xin Taitu's human body.
Some villagers asked in confusion, "What are you doing?" The Taoist priest asked, "Is there a dead cow nearby?" The head of the household looked at him and nodded, and then said: My cow died last night. The Taoist priest said: The person who was killed by thunder was a bad person. He poisoned your cow with venom last night. The head of the household said angrily: No wonder this guy came to me and sold the dead cow to him at a low price. It turned out to be his fault! God was wise, and finally struck him to death with a thunderbolt.
Also coming to watch was Craftsman Liu. He remembered that Xin Taitu had sworn to God in front of him that if he did such evil things in the future, he would be punished by thunder and fire. This prophecy really came true. Craftsman Liu said to himself. When others asked him what he said, he repeated the poisonous oath Xin Taitu had sworn. After hearing this, most of the people sighed: Good deeds are rewarded with good deeds, and evil deeds are rewarded with evil deeds.
