I Am Your Father

Jiang Yun was genuinely worried that Qian Bochou would be intimidated by the other party.

After all, Qian Bochou was a man of this era. Although he didn't hold an official position, he had been involved in official circles for many years.

Hearing names of high-ranking officials in the Capital City, like those from the Ministry of Revenue or Ministry of Rites, would instinctively make one fearful.

Fortunately, Qian Bochou took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying coldly, "Xia Lingxian, you colluded with Yao, and your crime deserves death!"

"Do you have evidence?" Xia Lingxian asked calmly.

"Evidence?" Qian Bochou snorted and said, "We captured that evil woman. She killed seven of our men, and she came from your residence."

"Steward Hu said she was your distinguished guest."

Xia Lingxian smiled faintly and said calmly, "That's right, she was my distinguished guest, but I didn't know her identity, nor did I know she was an evil person."

"Do you think this kind of quibbling is useful?" Qian Bochou snorted and waved his hand, "Never mind the evil woman; the gold and silver treasures found in your residence are enough to sentence you to death!"

"Hahahahaha." Xia Lingxian laughed heartily and said coldly, "Qian Bochou, I told you, I am different from you corrupt officials."

"I studied the teachings of the sages since I was four years old, aspiring to serve the country. It's impossible for me to do anything that violates the laws of the Great Zhou. Corruption and bribery? All of this is my legitimate income."

"The money in my residence was all obtained as gifts from parents who were grateful after I helped them with their children."

"Good! This also involves child trafficking? That's another charge." Qian Bochou said coldly, "According to the laws of the Great Zhou, anyone who traffics in another family's children will be immediately beaten to death once caught."

Xia Lingxian slowly raised his hand and pointed at the children and the numerous beds, "Trafficking in other families' children is indeed a serious crime."

"However, these children are all my own."

"Did the laws of the Great Zhou say one cannot sell their own children?"

Jiang Yun, standing nearby, was astonished, never expecting this fellow to commit such monstrous acts.

He couldn't help but look at Qian Bochou beside him and ask, "Constable Qian, is it not illegal to sell one's own children?"

Qian Bochou's face was grim, and he gritted his teeth slightly, "It seems... it's really not illegal."

Although the Great Zhou had enjoyed favorable weather and peace in recent years, there had been many natural disasters in its history.

When faced with disasters or major upheavals, selling one's sons and daughters was a desperate measure for survival.

The imperial court could not be so heartless.

If people were pushed to the brink with no way out, forced to sell their children, would the court still arrest them?

In short, any normal person, as long as they could get a full meal, would not want to sell their children.

But Xia Lingxian before him...

Upon hearing Qian Bochou admit it wasn't illegal, Xia Lingxian laughed even harder.

He said coldly, "I dedicate myself to the country and pursue my ambitions, but in the imperial court, corruption is rampant. Without offering bribes, no matter how capable one is, they cannot get promoted."

"I am as pure as paper and do not wish to violate the laws of the Great Zhou."

"I could only do this."

"The money from selling my children was given to those above me to secure my future."

"I don't know how many children I've had over the years, perhaps not eight hundred, but close to a thousand."

Looking at Xia Lingxian's demeanor, Jiang Yun couldn't help but clench his fists. Then, he vaguely sensed something unusual in the cellar.

A chilling aura seemed to emanate from the surroundings.

He bit his finger and smeared the blood on his brow. When he looked again, he gasped.

There were over sixty little ghosts in the cellar.

These little ghosts, some only one or two years old, others five or six.

They maintained their deathly appearances, some beaten to death, others drowned...

They carried an extremely potent sense of resentment, their gazes fixed directly on Xia Lingxian, as if they were about to rush forward and exact revenge at any moment.

However, Xia Lingxian wore a jade pendant on his chest that emitted a faint black light, keeping them at bay.

Soon, Jiang Yun understood the reason and spoke, "Xia Lingxian, you did this, and you harmed many children, didn't you?"

"What did you say?" Xia Lingxian's brow furrowed instantly.

Jiang Yun stepped forward and said sternly, "I suspect you trafficked children, but not all these children lived comfortable lives."

"On the contrary, some children died for various reasons, such as being beaten and abused to death by the people who bought them."

"In short, they died with resentment and turned into ghosts, haunting you."

"If you had reported it to the imperial court and asked the Imperial Guards for help, these little ghosts could have been dealt with."

"But you were afraid that your actions would be discovered by the imperial court."

"So, you found evil people to collude with. These evil people could have easily dealt with these little ghosts, but they didn't."

"Instead, they gave you treasures to temporarily suppress the little ghosts."

"And you, needing the treasures from the evil people to survive, could only do as they commanded."

Xia Lingxian seemed to have been struck in a sensitive spot. His earlier disdain vanished, replaced by a look of terror, though he still stubbornly said, "I don't know what you're talking about. Take me back to the Prefectural Yamen's dungeon."

"Still playing tough, huh?"

Jiang Yun squatted in front of him and reached out to take the pendant from his chest.

It was a black obsidian pendant, emitting a mottled black light.

"What are you doing?" Xia Lingxian's eyes widened.

"Since I guessed wrong, then this pendant must just be an ordinary gem."

With that, Jiang Yun forcefully took off the pendant.

"Take the five children inside the house out, and have Steward Hu and Xia Lingxian stay inside."

Qian Bochou didn't understand what was happening, but he still trusted Jiang Yun and had someone take the children out of the room.

The group retreated from the cellar.

Soon, screams echoed from within the cellar.

"Children, children, what are you doing?"

"I'm your father, don't do this, don't do this."

"I was wrong."

"Ah."

Listening to the screams from the cellar, Jiang Yun's heart couldn't calm down. The main reason was that the beast's actions were too contrary to morality; he was simply unworthy of being human.

Qian Bochou, standing beside him, heard the screams and quickly looked at Jiang Yun. "What's going on?"

"Those children are settling scores with him, don't worry about it."

Afterward, Jiang Yun explained the situation in the cellar one by one.

After listening, a chill ran down Qian Bochou's spine. "You mean, the cellar was full of ghosts just now?"

"En." Jiang Yun nodded. "Don't worry, their resentment is too deep, and they don't want to reincarnate. Once Xia Lingxian is killed, their resentment will dissipate, and they will go to reincarnate."

"After all, he's a big shot. If he dies like this, I don't know how I'll report back." Qian Bochou was a little worried.

"It would be more troublesome if he didn't die." Jiang Yun paused. "With his connections in the Capital City, who knows if they'll be able to get him out?"

Qian Bochou shook his head and said decisively, "They shouldn't. Colluding with Yao is a capital offense."

"Who made the law?"

"Of course, it's..." At this point, Qian Bochou froze. "It's the important figures in the Capital City."

Jiang Yun smiled. "Then do you still think it's difficult for them to save Xia Lingxian?"

Qian Bochou let out a sigh of relief.

After a long while, the cellar gradually fell silent.

"Let's go in and take a look," Jiang Yun said.

"Brother Jiang, stay close to me."

Hearing that there were ghosts in the cellar, Qian Bochou forgot about his dignity and linked arms with Jiang Yun, like a little girl.

Pushing open the cellar door, Xia Lingxian was already dead. Extreme fear lingered in his eyes; he had been scared to death.

And Steward Hu beside him seemed to have completely lost his mind.

"Ah, little friends, I'm Uncle Hu, don't run, Uncle Hu will play with you."

"Little friends..."

The maddened Steward Hu was subdued by the constables who followed Jiang Yun and Qian Bochou into the cellar.

"This man is crazy, Chief. What should we do?" The constable turned and looked over.

Qian Bochou frowned and waved his hand irritably, "Throw him back in jail for now."

Jiang Yun turned and glanced at Steward Hu, then suddenly shouted, "There's another ghost, be careful!"

"Ah!" Steward Hu was so startled that he clutched his head and suddenly collapsed on the ground, trembling all over. "No, no, I don't know anything, I don't know anything."

"It was the master's orders."

"This guy is faking it," Jiang Yun rolled his eyes at Steward Hu. He had seen from the beginning that he was pretending to be crazy.

Those little ghosts were seeking revenge on Xia Lingxian, not Steward Hu.

Steward Hu didn't have the Heavenly Eye to see those ghosts.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been scared crazy, but scared to death like Xia Lingxian.

He squatted beside Steward Hu and said calmly, "You can testify that Xia Lingxian colluded with evil spirits, right?"

"I can't, I don't know anything." Steward Hu hunched his backside, not daring to look up.

"I don't mind summoning a few ghosts to play with you," Jiang Yun threatened. "Think carefully about the consequences."

Steward Hu trembled, recalling the scene of Xia Lingxian being scared to death by ghosts. He stared at Jiang Yun and said, "I don't know the background of those evil people."

"The master always met them alone."

"I really don't know anything."

Upon hearing this, Qian Bochou stepped forward. "If you don't know anything, then you're worthless. Take him back and kill him directly."

Perhaps to save his life, Steward Hu said urgently, "Spare me, Constable Qian, spare me! I do know one thing that might be useful to this young brother."

"After my master met with those wicked people this time, my master returned and said..."

Then, Steward Hu pointed a finger at Jiang Yun. "Those people said this young brother has repeatedly ruined their plans and they're sending someone to eliminate him."

"Eliminate me?" Jiang Yun frowned deeply.

Steward Hu hesitated, seemingly afraid to speak: "And those people also said..."

"Say it!" Jiang Yun said sternly.

"They also said that after killing you, they want to give your sister to Master Xia to have children..."

Jiang Yun instantly kicked Steward Hu fiercely in the head. With a loud bang, Steward Hu died on the spot.

"Hey, little brother, calm down, calm down." Qian Bochou, standing beside him, saw the surging killing intent in Jiang Yun's eyes and gently patted his chest. "That scoundrel Xia Lingxian is already dead, there's no need to get angry and harm your health."

Jiang Yun took a deep breath and slowly uttered four words: "I am angry."

Qian Bochou quickly tried to comfort him. "I can see that, I can see that."

He didn't know that Jiang Yun was a cultivator, and cultivating the Dao was cultivating the heart.

His inner self rarely experienced great fluctuations.

Soon, Jiang Yun walked out of the cellar, and Qian Bochou hurried to follow him.

He heard Jiang Yun, who was ahead, leave a single sentence.

"Not a single one of those wicked people will live. I said so."