Yu Dabai's wife wrote a long list and handed it to Nan Shiying.
To verify the list, Nan Shiying decided to detain Yu Dabai's relatives temporarily and interrogate them separately before punishing them according to their crimes!
As for Yu Dabai.
Nan Shiying gave the cook a look.
The cook picked up Yu Dabai and threw him onto the street outside the yamen. Nan Shiying stood in the middle of the road, surrounded by the crowd. Her gaze fell upon the devastated citizens, and she pointed at Yu Dabai, whose body lay slumped on the ground like a puddle of mud, and shouted loudly, "Yu Dabai's crimes are unforgivable. He is sentenced to death by a thousand cuts. Whoever has grievances or hatred may strike him!"
The yamen runners brought out the torture instruments from the yamen.
She wanted the people of Wucheng to take action themselves and avenge this deep-seated hatred.
News spread like wildfire, quickly reaching every street and alley in Wucheng. More and more people came to watch, and more and more families of the missing arrived.
The first to pick up a torture instrument was the father who had lost his daughter. He picked up a dagger, his hand trembling slightly. This honest man, who had lived a quiet life and never argued with anyone, mustered all his strength and plunged the dagger into Yu Dabai's palm. He pulled the dagger out and thrust it in again, again and again, until Yu Dabai's palm was a bloody mess. He then threw the dagger away and began to punch him, weeping as he did so.
When he ran out of strength, he threw himself onto Yu Dabai and bit off his ear with his teeth.
Blood and tears streamed down his rough, gaunt face. Finally, he collapsed onto the ground, burying his head in his arms and sobbing uncontrollably. The soldiers of the Langhuan Army stepped forward and helped him away.
After him, others came forward.
They struck with daggers and swords, but the people, afraid that their grief might cause them to kill him prematurely, avoided his vital organs.
Blood flowed onto the ground, seeping into the earth. Dense footprints stained with blood marked the ground, each one a repudiation of Yu Dabai, condemning him to eternal damnation.
The trial of Yu Dabai by the families of the missing continued until sunset. Yu Dabai no longer resembled a human, but rather a pile of rotten mud destined for hell.
Lin Xie wanted to ask her if she would truly not be punished for arbitrarily dealing with an official without the court's permission.
Would she not be impeached by the officials?
But looking at her figure bathed in the setting sun, Lin Xie seemed to see a golden crown formed by the glow on her head.
Noble beyond words!
Lin Xie hid his question in his heart, deciding that if the court were to hold anyone accountable, he would bear the blame.
After Yu Dabai's death, someone brought in wild dogs from outside the city. The dogs, seeing the flesh and blood on the ground, drooled with excitement.
Watching Yu Dabai's mangled corpse being devoured by the wild dogs, the people felt not fear, but a sense of catharsis.
"We humbly thank Your Excellency for your grace!"
"Thank you for fulfilling our wishes!"
"Thank you, Your Excellency..."
The people knelt down in unison and kowtowed to express their gratitude. If not for her, they would never have known the whereabouts of their children, nor would they have been able to avenge their deaths. She had given them the opportunity to personally kill their enemies. Such kindness was beyond their ability to repay, and they could only repay her by supporting her family.
"Rise, all of you. Go home now!"
Nan Shiying was a little tired, not physically, but mentally weary.
The people left together, and Nan Shiying turned and walked back into the yamen to resume interrogating Yu Dabai's relatives. The interrogations continued until dusk, when Nan Shiying finally confirmed the authenticity of the list and found several more fugitives.
Nan Shiying handed the list to Lin Xie. Lin Xie, leading the Langhuan Army, began to make arrests according to the list.
As for Zhongshi Village outside the city, the entire village of madmen had already been massacred.
Too tired to see Ying San today, Nan Shiying rested in a guest room at the yamen for the night. The next morning, she summoned Ying San and inquired about their activities after entering Tulan.
"It really is spiders!"
If Nan Shiying had only suspected a connection between the madmen and Miao territory before, she was now convinced. However, she had never heard of any clan members going to Liaojiang after the division of Miao territory. She wondered if Yin Silan did not know, or if she had deliberately concealed it.
"Your Majesty, something is strange."
After Ying San led everyone to escape Tulan, a strange thing happened.
"What is it?"
"After my subordinates and the others escaped Tulan, we fled towards Changming Mountain as you ordered. However, we encountered no resistance along the way, and..."
Ying San chose his words carefully: "The deputy general of the Eagle Division who let us into the market and hid us on the Hengyuan Merchant's cargo ship was not the one we bribed. Also, although it was midnight, the entire market should not have been so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was as if it were completely deserted."
...
Blood filled the air, mixed with a faint, almost imperceptible odor of decay.
Buri Gude, leading the Eagle Division's heavy cavalry, entered the border market. Sunlight poured down from above, casting long shadows of people and horses. Their iron boots landed on the ground, and their neat footsteps became disorganized as they entered the market, as if their owners were momentarily astonished and flustered.
At this hour, the market should have been at its busiest, but now it was deathly quiet.
Buri Gude ordered an investigation. Soldiers smashed open the doors of civilian houses, finding bodies lying everywhere.
There were bodies in every house.
The entire market, tens of thousands of people, not a single survivor.
They also found the corpses of Eagle Division soldiers stationed in the market within the Hengyuan Merchant's branch.
The border market had been slaughtered.
It took from day to night just to carry the bodies. Tens of thousands of corpses were piled high. Buri Gude ordered them to be burned, and thick smoke billowed for three days.
Smoke and clouds enveloped the entire border, and the charred smell lingered. Buri Gude angrily swept the food from the table onto the floor. The plates shattered, and soup and water splashed everywhere.
The maid serving Buri Gude immediately knelt on the ground, trembling like a sieve.
"Get out!"
Given permission to leave, the maid scrambled to her feet and quickly retreated.
Gu Ruiji requested an audience outside the tent.
Buri Gude summoned him in. Gu Ruiji entered the tent and glanced at the scattered food.
He advised, "Special Agent, your health is important!"
"Did you find out?"
Buri Gude seemed not to have heard Gu Ruiji's advice, his sharp, knife-like eyes fixed on Gu Ruiji's face.