From the moment he was dragged into the Xuanjing Bureau, Zhang Hongwen began to wonder what kind of evidence they had against him.
He wasn’t a good official, and if he counted all the crimes he had committed, he would have been beheaded a hundred times.
But in a feudal society, the law’s binding power was inversely proportional to one’s status and position.
As Li Kan said that day, there weren’t many crimes that could sentence a third-rank official to death in reality.
And Zhang Hongwen didn’t think his “feeding the demonic” incident would be discovered.
It had been nearly five years, and there had been no unexpected events. All those who knew about it were his trusted confidants, and it was impossible for them to betray him.
As for other issues aside from “feeding the demonic,” Zhang Hongwen felt he still had room to maneuver.
Of course, actively admitting guilt was out of the question.
As soon as the gag was removed from his mouth, he glared at Wei Changtian, as if he had suffered a great humiliation, and shouted:
“You despicable brat! You dare to insult me!”
“I have served as an official for decades, and every word and action of mine has been worthy of the emperor above and the people below!”
“And worthy of my own conscience!”
“You ask if I know my crimes?”
“I’d like to ask you instead!”
“What crime is it for the Xuanjing Bureau to disregard the Dading Law and force a third-rank official to kneel?”
“……”
Zhang Hongwen’s voice was filled with sadness, anger, and a hint of innocence.
If he had performed like this in his previous life, he would have won a Best Actor award. Many people might have been deceived by his performance.
Unfortunately, Wei Changtian was a “spoiler,” so after listening, he only coldly laughed and said:
“Lord Zhang, you speak well. It seems that your illness hasn’t affected your eloquence.”
“But you seem to have a bit of a memory problem.”
“Why don’t I take you to a place to help you remember?”
“Lord Huang!”
Almost instantly, Wei Changtian’s voice turned icy cold: “Take Lord Zhang away! Follow me!”
“Leave fifty men here to watch over the Zhang family!”
“From this moment on, anyone who dares to move or make a sound will be beheaded on the spot!”
……
The rows of torches lit up the surroundings like a high-powered lamp.
Seventy black-clad guards surrounded Zhang Hongwen, three layers deep, holding sharp blades and closely following Wei Changtian.
There was also a stuttering servant leading the way.
“T-t-the master, this is the master’s bedroom…”
The servant trembled as he pointed to the door, and was immediately dragged away by two guards.
Under everyone’s gaze, Wei Changtian recalled the descriptions in the book as he stepped into the room.
Xu Qingwen’s face was pale as she stood on one side of him, while Huang Qianhu stood on the other, protecting him. Zhang Hongwen’s face, on the other hand, grew increasingly pale.
He raised his eyes to carefully examine the room’s layout, his gaze slowly locking onto a large, ornate vase in the corner.
【……The colorful vase had a bulging belly and a long neck, with a bouquet of golden chrysanthemums inserted into it.】
Although Wei Changtian didn’t know what the Golden Chrysanthemum looked like, he could tell that the small white-petaled yellow-centered flower in front of him was a type of chrysanthemum.
No mistake, it must be the one.
He took a step forward, stood in front of the plum vase, and turned his head to look at Zhang Hongwen.
“Lord Zhang, is there anything else you’d like to say?”
“I, I…” Zhang Hongwen’s legs trembled like a sieve, and cold sweat had already soaked through his entire body.
Anyone could see that something was off about him now.
This is getting serious!
Huang Qianhu finally let out a sigh of relief, and then saw Wei Changtian suddenly stretch out his hand.
“Sword!”
“Ah, yes!”
With a “clang” sound, the cold blade emerged from its sheath, and the Flower-patterned Long Sword, which could make countless officials wake up from their dreams, was handed to Wei Changtian.
With one hand, he moved the plum vase aside and found the stone brick seam at the bottom.
Wei Changtian aligned the blade and then used force to thrust it downward.
“Ka! Ka ka ka…”
The five-foot-long sword slid into the seam without any obstruction, and immediately, a faint sound of machinery operating echoed from the ground.
“No… no!!”
Zhang Hongwen let out a terrified scream, his body struggling wildly.
But the next moment, his mouth was blocked, and his hands and feet were pressed down, leaving him to watch helplessly as the hidden door concealing the Zhang family’s greatest secret slowly opened.
“Whoosh!”
A dark wind rushed out, revealing a staircase leading downward, but it was unclear what lay at the end.
However, judging from the scene before them, this was undoubtedly a massive project.
It was just unknown what secrets this dark room held…
Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at Wei Changtian.
But the latter suddenly took a step back with a strange expression.
“What are you all looking at me for? Go in!”
“Are you kidding me? Do I have to go in first?!”
…
For a villain, especially one with a background, taking the lead and risking danger was undoubtedly a brainless move.
The protagonist charges forward to show off, but Wei Changtian feels it’s safer to stay behind.
From noble mtl dot come
Although it wasn’t mentioned in the book, what if there were deadly traps inside this dark room?
Even if it turned out to be unnecessary worry in the end.
After a stick of incense had burned, the ten guards who had been sent down earlier returned one by one.
They were unharmed, but their faces looked terrible.
“Lord Wei, Lord Huang…”
The lead guard, his face iron-blue, reported: “The stairs lead to a gigantic stone cave, about fifty feet in diameter. We’ve checked carefully, and there are no traps or hidden mechanisms along the way.”
Huang Qianhu hastily asked, “What’s in the cave?”
“There’s, there’s a muddy swamp, and inside is… is…”
“What exactly is it?”
Huang Qianhu’s eyebrows furrowed, and he sternly asked, “Why are you being so ambiguous!”
“It’s a toad demon…”
“Toad?!!”
“It is…”
“How ridiculous! It’s utterly ridiculous!”
Huang Qianhu was both shocked and enraged at the moment.
He was shocked that Zhang Hongwen dared to raise a demon at home, and enraged that the dignified Mirror Guard was scared by a toad.
You naive little brat!
How terrifying could a toad be, no matter how ugly and bizarre it looked?
He had seen countless brutal and bloody scenes in his years of handling cases.
“Hmph! I’ll go down with Lord Wei to take a look!”
Huang Qianhu glanced at the several guards, then quickly dove into the dark door.
Half a stick of incense later.
“Ugh… Cough, cough, cough!”
“Lord Wei, this…”
“Keep your distance, don’t spit on me!”
Wei Changtian took two steps back, his face equally pale.
Although he had mentally prepared himself, the scene before him was still enough to shock anyone’s psychological defenses.
There, in the large mud pit, lay a gigantic toad demon, over two people tall, with bulges the size of watermelons all over its body, bound by dozens of iron chains as thick as a bowl.
Its turbid eyeballs were filled with malice, with half a human leg hanging from its mouth, surrounded by broken limbs and white bones.
Even the mud pit itself had turned a deep red color.
It seemed that this way of feeding on humans had been going on for a long time.
This was unbearable even for a villain like me!
Glancing at Zhang Hongwen, who had already fainted behind him, Wei Changtian suddenly asked Huang Qianhu.
“Lord Huang, do you think we should let Lord Zhang take a closer look at the demon he’s raised?”