strictlysupreme #295 - I think you are wishful thinking!
#295 - I think you are wishful thinking!
"Name."
"Qin Hong."
"Official position."
"Governor of Lingzhou."
"So, the Governor of Lingzhou! I ask you, as governor, seeing the people suffering from disaster, why don't you open the granaries and distribute food?" Xu Chengxian was too lazy to waste words with him and asked directly.
"Or are you in league with them?"
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"What if I am? What if I'm not?"
"Heh, quite tough." Xu Chengxian sneered, "Then watch carefully."
As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for Qin Hong to speak again, he gently waved the horsetail whisk in his hand.
Crimson splattered.
Thump! Thump!
Thump! Thump! Thump!
In total, there were five sounds.
It was the sound of things hitting the ground.
Five things fell to the ground and rolled away.
One of them rolled to the side of the city gate.
Qin Hong looked over and met a pair of unclosed eyes.
He had seen many dead people.
But to be honest, he hadn't seen many cultivators whose heads had been cut off.
White hair and a youthful face withered in an instant.
It was as if he had seen the withering and flourishing of plants in an instant.
It was chilling.
"They are the enshrined experts of the Zheng, Wang, and Sima families!" The scholar beside him whispered, "There is also one I haven't seen before."
"That's the old matriarch of the Cui family," Qin Hong said.
This person was born into a gentry family, a collateral branch of a prominent clan. She had the qualifications to cultivate, but her spiritual roots and physique were not excellent. She failed to join a sect. Later, it was said that she followed a master to cultivate, but unfortunately, she ultimately had no hope of immortality and returned to the clan.
She was known for her eccentric and arrogant temper and extremely high seniority.
Her appearance in Lingzhou was because she had been sent by the main family, harboring resentment. She had been cultivating in the Cui family's villa, rarely returning to the city.
Now she had appeared in the city, obviously because the Cui family was also guarding against unforeseen events.
They were guarding against the enshrined experts of the other families, and also against civil unrest in the city.
Although their family was one of the sources of the chaos.
Unexpectedly, she had also died here today.
The bodies of the five family enshrined experts who had been beheaded were still hanging there, wrapped in silver threads.
The splattering blood poured all over the faces of several family heads.
The blood dripping down, coupled with the three people's astonished expressions.
It was quite comical.
He couldn't help but sneer.
"What are you laughing at?" Xu Chengxian transmitted his voice with some annoyance.
What did he mean?
Laughing at what!
Wasn't this move of his shocking enough?
Subduing all the enshrined experts with one move, and then lightly flicking the horsetail whisk, beheading them for public display.
The heads fell to the ground!
Fully displaying the demeanor of a master!
Look, whether it was the aristocratic families or the common people, they were all stunned.
But you, the governor, actually sneered. What do you mean?
"Immortal Master, this, can't scare me," Qin Hong said with a smile, "I'm not in league with them."
"Then why don't you release grain for disaster relief? There is grain in the government granaries, I know," Xu Chengxian snorted.
"It's not that I don't want to release it, it's that they won't let me."
"They won't let you release it, so you don't release it?" Xu Chengxian swallowed the sentence 'Are they your fathers!' and said, "Aren't you the governor?"
"You are the highest-ranking official in Lingzhou, and you have military power in your hands. Wouldn't it be over if you just killed them all?"
The governors of the Great Zhou Dynasty had great power.
They were responsible for the administration, justice, and military affairs of a state.
The reason why he was so polite to Qin Hong was because if this guy could cooperate with him, he wouldn't have to get his hands dirty with many things.
"... Immortal Master, how heroic!" Qin Hong's eyes twitched, "But Qin dares not kill."
"Are you afraid of them?"
"The aristocratic families?" Qin Hong sneered, "What I'm afraid of is certainly not them."
He had the Empress as his backing.
Under the suppression of the two generations of Empresses, the aristocratic families had long lost their former glory.
Moreover, he came from the capital, not only a favorite minister of the Empress but also a governor who controlled military power.
Only the aristocratic families had the chance to curry favor with him.
"What I'm afraid of is something else."
"You're still afraid? I thought you were fearless," Xu Chengxian said with a smile, "What are you afraid of? Tell me about it."
"Of course, I'm afraid of death."
"Ha!"
"What are you laughing at? Everyone is afraid of death," Qin Hong said seriously, "I'm afraid of death, even more afraid of dying unclearly, and being smeared with dirty water after death."
"Oh, there's a story in these words?"
"I once saw an upright gentleman who cherished his reputation, known throughout the world for his literary talent, elegant demeanor, and noble character."
But just because he refused to paint a scroll, he died the next day on the bed of a lowly prostitute.
He was also slandered for not paying for prostitution.
The person who used this method knew best how to kill a person's heart.
And no matter how much you investigate, you can't find any clues or omissions.
"Gradually, the world will only ridicule this gentleman as a hypocrite."
"Do you know who did it?"
"It is rumored that the Buddhist monks have a spiritual weapon called the White Bone Hell Diagram. Once a person's soul enters it, they will die in no time."
Cultivators are not allowed to kill ordinary mortals at will, but the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty also stipulate that those who kill must die. Isn't it common for people to kill for money?
Hiring someone to kill is also common.
Therefore, some powerful families will support cultivators.
Most of them are just to save their lives.
"Does this matter have anything to do with the current situation?" Xu Chengxian asked knowingly.
"I can't say, I dare not say," Qin Hong said.
"I understand." Xu Chengxian smiled, "Governor Qin, are you saying that I'm not giving you enough confidence? Then keep watching."
Watch what?
Qin Hong was stunned.
He didn't quite understand what this Taoist Xu wanted to do.
"Immortal Master Xu, actually, you shouldn't have come so early." Perhaps having some goodwill towards Xu Chengxian's actions, this governor rarely spoke a sincere word.
"Hmm?"
"If you had come half a month later, these family heads might have agreed to your request."
At that time, it would have reached the right moment.
It would be their duty to take out grain for disaster relief.
"Immortal Master Xu's skills are great, and there is also a Night Watchman by your side."
With such abilities, maybe he could even get involved with the other three parties.
At that time, sharing the offerings of the people of Lingzhou would be a win-win situation.
"Hmph! Half a month? By then, everyone will be dead!" Xu Chengxian scoffed at this.
"Not everyone will die. They have experts behind them who will calculate the days to come," Qin Hong said.
"Don't say anymore, if you keep talking, I'll beat you up too!" Xu Chengxian suddenly became irritable.
"Oh dear! Immortal Master, these words really sound like you have a benevolent heart!"
"... Are you scolding me, you dog official?"
What does 'really sound like you have a benevolent heart' mean?
Is he scolding him for not looking like a good person, or satirizing him for actually being a good person?
Whether you listen to these words in reverse or directly, they are not good words!
"Qin dares not have such intentions," Qin Hong smiled after being scolded, "I just want to say that Immortal Master, they will not agree to take out grain to relieve the people at this time."
The protagonist who facilitated this situation was not the aristocratic families.
Now the situation has just been established, and it has not yet fully developed.
The masterminds of the other three parties have not yet appeared.
If they agreed to give grain, it would be a waste of effort.
At this time, Sima De and others also reacted to the death of the enshrined experts.
The Zheng family head and the Wang family head were terrified and had some intention of retreating.
But they dared not agree.
The three looked at each other and reached a tacit understanding in an instant.
Sima De gritted his teeth, spurred his horse forward, looked fiercely at Xu Chengxian on the city wall, raised his hand, and pointed at him, scolding: "Evil Taoist! How dare you come to Lingzhou to act violently!"
"Want us to take out grain for these pig-dog-like commoners!"
"I think you are wishful thinking!"