That shadowy presence trembled, slowly raising its head.

The face was illusory, but one could clearly make out the features of Zheng Xiangzhu, the Red Lantern Society leader.

And when he saw Hu Ma's face, his expression instantly became one of utter despair.

The flames in the brazier were extinguished, and he saw the true state of his surroundings. He saw only a circle made of rice, a few rattan figures barely resembling humans, a section of old tree stump, a few pieces of Yin Bone Jade… not even any offerings.

And of course, he also saw Hu Ma sitting on the slope, the young and inexperienced shopkeeper who seemed like he could be blown away with a single breath.

This should have surprised him, but he felt no surprise. He seemed particularly afraid of some unbelievable idea becoming true, but now that it had, he was numb.

"It's you..."

Hu Ma could hear him saying faintly, "It really is you..."

"But, how could it be you..."

"..."

"Does it surprise you that it's me?"

Hu Ma also looked at him with a cold face. He felt a complex mixture of emotions toward this Zheng Xiangzhu. This incident had become too big, and there were two people who shouldn't have been involved, because they were too far removed from this level.

One was himself, and the other was this Zheng Xiangzhu.

This guy was also a strange one. How did he manage to gain the trust of the Meng family and take the blame for this whole mess?

For a moment, he felt that anger was pointless, only absurdity mixed with helplessness. He looked at him and said, "If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have gotten involved in this!"

"I just don't understand what you were thinking. Your brother-in-law wasn't killed by me personally, so why did you fixate on me?"

"..."

"Be... besides you, who else could I fixate on?"

Zheng Xiangzhu was trembling, but he seemed more composed than the Qingyi evil spirit, perhaps because he knew he had no escape.

He trembled as he said, as if mumbling to himself, "When I fell into the stinking ditch and was waiting to die, I swore a solemn oath. Whoever could save me, I would repay with wealth and honor. Then this family saved me, helped me get medicine, and even gave me a bowl of hot soup to drink..."

"This great kindness made me swear to make their family wealthy, even if they were stupid and greedy. I always felt that with my skills, I could protect their family."

"But Niu Zi only had a little greed, and he ended up being boiled to death in a pot of oil. How tragic..."

"If you say he was a bad person, then among his family, he was much simpler than my father-in-law and wife. Including me, he was the simplest one in our family..."

"How could I not avenge him?"

He seemed to take it for granted, and looked up at Hu Ma, "If I didn't help him get revenge, how would my wife and father-in-law see me? How would the people in the Society see me?"

"But if I wanted to help him get revenge, who could I turn to besides you? Could I turn to the two Dharma Protectors? Could I turn to the Red Lantern Mother?"

"..."

Hu Ma couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. He mocked himself, "So, just because you can afford to offend only me?"

Zheng Zhi'en also wanted to laugh, but as he laughed, it was as if he was crying.

Yes, only him could he afford to offend…

… But now, this reason seemed like the biggest joke in the world.

"The martial world is full of dangers ah, I almost fell into the hands of someone like you..."

Hu Ma listened, vaguely understanding his thoughts, but he was too lazy to really understand. He sighed and looked at him, saying, "But this incident has become so big, you should know what your fate will be, right?"

Zheng Zhi'en was stunned for a long time before shaking his head, "Too big, I can't imagine."

Hu Ma said, "I can't imagine either, it's really a bit big. It's a good opportunity to see the bottom line of this world."

"But one thing you're clear about, this matter is no longer something you can bear on your own, right?"

"..."

"Yes..."

Zheng Zhi'en sighed softly after a long time, "Earlier, there was a charge of a demon causing trouble in the imperial court, but I don't know if it's still useful now..."

"That's right."

Hu Ma looked at him sympathetically and said, "I'm afraid your father-in-law's family will blame you for implicating them..."

Zheng Xiangzhu seemed to want to force a bitter smile, but he couldn't laugh. He just looked up at Hu Ma.

And Hu Ma was too lazy to talk to him anymore. He waved his hand and suddenly spat out a mouthful of True Yang Arrow, directly shattering his soul.

At the same time, on the desolate hill outside Zhu Men Town, the wooden frame and yellow banner that Zheng Xiangzhu had erected, the stone offerings he had set up, and the dry branches used as swords were all scattered on the ground. He was just sitting blankly in the messy altar.

Hu Ma dispersed his life soul in Old Yin Mountain, and he suddenly became dull here, like a puppet.

This was a symptom of spell backlash.

It was even more serious than those Jianghu people who had lost their souls that Hu Ma encountered in the Ma Family Shrine. Those people's life souls were separated from their bodies, but they were still there, and they wouldn't die.

But because his life soul was dispersed, and he suffered from spell backlash, his entire person instantly lost his vitality.

The Qingyi child had also been killed by the angry people everywhere, and the Meng family had left without saying goodbye. This place had become a forgotten existence. If no one came, Zheng Zhi'en would end up being exposed to the wind and sun on this mountaintop, with no one to care for him, until he rotted.

But if that were really the case, it would be better.

A small sedan chair and a donkey came from the foot of the mountain. Sitting in the sedan chair was a woman who was almost three hundred pounds, heavily made up, carried by two thin sedan chair carriers. When they reached the foot of the mountain, the sedan chair carriers lay on the ground and refused to get up, refusing to carry her up the mountain no matter what.

The woman kicked and cursed the sedan chair carriers, extremely fiercely. The old man sitting on the donkey advised, "Still hitting people? What time is it? Hurry up and go see."

"I don't know what important things he's busy with, not coming home for several days. Watch me slap him."

The woman felt wronged, and had no choice but to get out of the sedan chair, personally carrying the food box and following the old man who had gotten off the donkey. They climbed up the mountain, panting and using both hands and feet.

The short, desolate hill was no different from ascending to heaven for her. The old man and the woman climbed for half an hour before finally reaching the top of the mountain, covered in sweat. Then they saw Zheng Zhi'en, disheveled and sitting blankly.

"You useless thing, you're still sitting here. Don't you know to come and help?"

When the woman saw him, she seemed to have regained her strength. She rushed up angrily to hit him, but suddenly noticed that his expression was wrong.

She cried out and rushed up to shake him violently, hitting him as she cried, "Zheng, don't scare me! Don't let anything happen to you. How will I live if something happens to you?"

The old man was also frightened. He hurriedly came up to take a look, and then shouted at the top of his voice, "Help! Help! Sedan chair carriers down the mountain, come quickly and send my son-in-law to see a doctor!"

But the sedan chair carriers at the foot of the mountain had already run away. They cried and screamed, panicked, but found that there were a few more people on the side of the mountain at some unknown time.

They were actually a few people that they never expected to see. They were wearing black uniforms, carrying swords at their waists, and wearing hats on their heads. They were yamen runners in the government office.

The people living in Ming Prefecture had long forgotten that there was such a group of people.

The woman and the old man were very surprised by their appearance here. They were stunned for a moment, and were about to shout for help, but the leader of the group just looked coldly at the broken altar, and then glanced at Zheng Zhi'en sitting under the banner, unaware of anything. His eyes became cold.

He suddenly pointed forward and shouted, "A demon is causing chaos, driving ghosts to harm people. Now there is an altar as evidence. Arrest them!"

The yamen runners next to him, trembling and with rusty skills, hurriedly took out chains and tried to put them around Zheng Zhi'en's neck.

"Who dares?"

The obese woman became fierce and immediately fought with them, hitting and shouting, "Who dares to touch my man? Do you know who he is? He is the leader of the Red Lantern Society..."

The yamen runners were even more afraid when they heard this. In addition, the woman was fierce, and the old man dared to come up and attack, so they were beaten back for a while.

But the leader saw this, and gritted his teeth slightly, and shouted sharply, "Demons cause chaos, and according to the law, they must be executed by dismemberment and the entire family must be exterminated. Where do you get the courage to obstruct the authorities from handling a case?"

"Arrest them all!"

This shout immediately frightened the woman and the old man. The yamen runners also reacted at once, realizing that this time was different. They kicked the old man and the woman to the ground, and locked them up together. Then they put shackles on Zheng Zhi'en's neck.

But when his fingers touched Zheng Zhi'en's body, he was suddenly shocked and exclaimed, "Sir, the person is already dead..."

"Dead?"

The head runner turned around and looked at Zheng Zhi'en, gritted his teeth slightly, and whispered, "Even if he's dead, lock him up. Put wooden sticks on his legs to make him look like he's walking."

"How could he die? How could he die now?"

"After committing such a big crime, he's not qualified to be buried unless he walks through the dismemberment platform once..."

"..."

The yamen runners suddenly understood. They hurriedly took out various bottles and jars and applied them to Zheng Zhi'en's body and legs, softening his stiff muscles. They also pulled his messy hair even more messy, hanging it down to cover his iron-blue and pale, lifeless face.

The iron rod went in through his pants and was wrapped around his legs. People next to him pulled him, making him look like he was still alive, like he could still walk.

"Let him go, I'm telling you to let him go..."

The woman and the old man next to him saw Zheng Zhi'en being tortured even after he was dead. They felt pain in their hearts and screamed desperately, but the yamen runners broke their mouths full of teeth.

In the end, the whole family was locked with iron chains and escorted down the mountain. The wooden frame and the broken yellow banner were taken down the mountain as evidence.

When they escorted people through the streets and alleys and entered Ming Prefecture, they didn't know how many people came to watch, both hating and surprised. Those who had been affected by the trouble hated and cursed this demon who had caused chaos in the prefecture.

What was surprising was that these government officials actually dared to take charge?

It was the fourth watch yesterday, and I can't delay today. I coded all night until dawn, and I'll post it!

(End of chapter)