Raising chickens and pigs and digging for wild vegetables, the county magistrate's promotion wa

Chapter 668 Bald monk, do you recognize me?

Upon seeing the so-called Master Shihang, Yang Shaofeng felt a sense of displeasure.

Triangular eyes, upturned eyebrows, high cheekbones, thin face and thin lips.

This guy shouldn't be called Master Shihang; he should be called Cihang, meaning "Compassionate Voyage of Universal Salvation."

Especially when this so-called Master Shihang stood in the hall and first uttered the Buddhist chant "Amitabha," Yang Shaofeng's displeasure reached its peak.

Are you a monk who thinks he's so great? He kneels before me, an official, and doesn't even know how to offer a proper greeting?

What, you can transform into a hypothetical human form and a centipede form?

Yang Shaofeng ignored Master Shihang and instead turned his gaze to the Imperial Guard captain who had brought Master Shihang to the main hall, asking, "How long has this bald monk been locked up in prison?"

The Imperial Guard captain was slightly taken aback, then cupped his hands in a fist salute and replied, "Your Highness, he has been imprisoned for more than half a month."

Yang Shaofeng clicked his tongue and said sarcastically, "What's wrong with you guys? You've been locked up for more than half a month, and you still haven't taught this bald monk the rules of court hearings?"

The Imperial Guard captain's expression changed slightly. He raised his foot and kicked Master Shihang in the back of the knee, cursing, "Bald donkey! Kneel down!"

Master Shihang was kicked to his knees. After barely regaining his balance, he chanted the Buddhist mantra twice: "Amitabha, Amitabha, all sins belong to this humble monk, Amitabha."

Looking at Master Shihang, who exuded the air of a high-ranking monk, Hu Weiyong and Wang Guangyang couldn't help but change their expressions slightly.

Even Xia Yu couldn't help but doubt himself, wondering if he had arrested the wrong person.

After all, they were unable to find the missing child from Master Shihang's place, nor were they able to find any evidence of forced mutilation or mutilation.

Is it a bit reckless to arrest people based solely on the confessions of Yang Yuanqing and his son Yang Zhongyuan?

Yang Shaofeng glanced at Hu Weiyong, Wang Guangyang, and Xia Yu, then at Master Shihang, and suddenly burst into laughter. He looked at Master Shihang and asked, "Bald donkey, I ask you, what do you mean by 'all sins fall upon you'? Are you saying that my making you kneel is an evil act? Or are you saying that I, Hu, Wang, and Xia committed some evil act? Or are you saying that these Jinyiwei henchmen here committed some evil act?"

Master Shih Hang lowered his brows and eyes, saying, "Amitabha, this humble monk dares not."

Yang Shaofeng's expression turned cold: "You dare not? Then you do have one?"

Master Shihang did not reply, but Yang Shaofeng sneered and ordered Chang Xiaojiu, "Slap him."

Chang Xiaojiu grinned maliciously, grabbed a wooden board, and started slapping it across Master Shihang's face.

"Bald monk, how dare you not answer my son-in-law's question?"

"How dare you humiliate my son-in-law?"

"You dare not grow hair, making it difficult for your Ninth Master to catch you?"

After a series of rapid blows, the high-ranking monk's demeanor that he had barely managed to maintain vanished instantly. A fawning smile appeared on his face, which was swollen like a pig's head, as he looked at Yang Shaofeng, Hu Weiyong, Wang Guangyang, and Xia Yu: "This humble monk Shihang greets all of you esteemed gentlemen."

Yang Shaofeng sneered and looked at Master Shihang, asking, "Bald monk, do you recognize me?"

Master Shihang hurriedly replied, "Forgive my poor eyesight, I was unaware that Your Highness was here. I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Yang Shaofeng sneered again.

See? Doesn't he know the rules quite well?

So, a sapling won't grow straight if it's not pruned, and a monk won't grow shaky if he's not trained.

Yang Shaofeng pointed at Hu Weiyong, "This is Hu, the current Vice Minister of the Chancellery," and then pointed at Wang Guangyang and Xia Yu: "This is Wang, the Shandong Provincial Governor. And this one who brought you to Jinan Prefecture is Xia, the Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

Master Shihang was completely dumbfounded, and stammered, "I don't know, I don't know what I have done wrong, that..."

They actually had to have the notorious henchman Xia Yu personally arrest people, the famous Yang Dianfeng personally interrogate them, and even have Hu Weiyong, the Grand Councilor of the Imperial Secretariat, and Wang Guangyang, the Shandong Provincial Governor, as accomplices.

I, Shihang, have finally made something of myself!

Yang Shaofeng coldly stared at Master Shihang and asked, "I ask you, where did those children who were sent to you go?"

Master Shihang was slightly taken aback, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

Just because of a few children?

Amitabha!

Master Shihang said with a bitter face, "Your Highness, my servant does not know what a child is, and therefore cannot answer your question."

Seeing the sarcasm and doubt on Yang Shaofeng's face, Master Shihang quickly added, "A monk does not lie. This humble monk truly does not know anything about children."

Yang Shaofeng chuckled and said, "Gu Chengzhi and Yang Yuanqing and his son Yang Zhongyuan have all confessed. Baldy, why don't you guess what they confessed to?"

Master Shihang's expression changed slightly, and Yang Shaofeng continued, "Bald monk, if you confess honestly, perhaps your sins can be lessened. If you resist to the end, I will not ask any more questions and will directly convict you based on their confessions. What do you say?"

As Yang Shaofeng finished speaking, Master Shihang could no longer hold back.

Master Shihang witnessed firsthand how miserable Gu Chengzhi and his sons Yang Yuanqing and Yang Zhongyuan were.

Even just half an hour earlier, Yang Yuanqing had been tortured in front of Master Shihang.

After witnessing firsthand the tortures of manicures, washing, and playing the pipa, Master Shihang did not believe that Gu Chengzhi and his sons Yang Yuanqing and Yang Zhongyuan could withstand it.

Will they pin all the blame on me?

Master Shihang grew increasingly frightened and finally couldn't help but cry out, "This humble monk is willing to confess! Those children were given to this humble monk by Yang Yuanqing and his son Yang Zhongyuan, this humble monk... this humble monk..."

Seeing that Master Shihang was stammering and unable to get a clear answer, Yang Shaofeng slammed his gavel and shouted, "Bald monk! Are those children still alive?"

Master Shihang trembled and hurriedly replied, "Your Highness, this humble monk does not know whether they are still alive."

Yang Shaofeng's face darkened, and he asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean you don't know either?"

Master Shihang said, "This humble monk truly does not know—as early as the day after Yang Yuanqing and his son gave those children to this humble monk, someone had already taken those children away, so this humble monk does not know whether they are still alive."

Yang Shaofeng frowned.

This is getting more and more complicated.

I originally thought that Shih Hang, that bald monk, was going to use children for some kind of evil ritual or sacrifice.

However, judging from the testimony of the bald monk Shihang, it is far from that simple.

Moreover, the testimonies of Shi Hang, Gu Chengzhi, Yang Yuanqing and his son, as well as Xiang Fei, Zhang Shanzhi, Ding Dalu, and Wang Damazi, are almost all contradictory.

As Yang Shaofeng pondered, he asked, "Who were the people who took those children away? Also, what is your relationship with Gu Chengzhi, Yang Yuanqing and his son, and Wang Damaizi? Who else was involved?"