"Ye Chen, do you know what crime you've committed?" the magistrate asked. Only then did Ye Chen raise his head. Looking at the official before him, he replied, "Your Honor, I don't know."
"Impudent!" The magistrate picked up his gavel and slammed it hard against the desk. "The couple who ran the Baozi Shop in the south of the city were murdered. Were you the only one responsible?!"
"It wasn't me, Your Honor! It really wasn't me. The Earth God killed them both, and one of them was a monster!" Ye Chen hurriedly explained.
"Outrageous! You dare speak such nonsense in court. Do you think this will clear you of your crime?! Guards, give him forty strokes!"
At the magistrate's command, two bailiffs came up behind Ye Chen. They raised the rods in their hands and struck him hard across the back. Ye Chen immediately collapsed to the ground.
Then the two bailiffs took turns striking Ye Chen across the back, one blow each. He felt his skin split and flesh tear, the pain almost unbearable.
"Your Honor, I really didn't kill anyone!" Though he was being beaten, Ye Chen kept insisting on his innocence. After all, he really hadn't killed those two people.
"Keep beating him until he admits his crime!" Without bothering to distinguish right from wrong, the magistrate gave the order. Ye Chen nearly fainted when he heard it.
"You shameless magistrate! You're trying to force a confession just so you can close the case quickly. I'm telling you, I didn't kill them! Beat me to death, and I still won't have killed anyone!"
Ye Chen shouted abuse, which made the magistrate behind the desk grow suspicious. "Wait."
The bailiffs immediately stopped. Ye Chen looked up at the magistrate, wondering what other rotten scheme the man—so determined