Chapter 19: Green-Faced and Jagged-Toothed

"Awe... and Might!"

The grand gates of the Sanhuang County Yamen stood wide open.

Flanking the hall, a contingent of bailiffs in reasonably neat uniform stood tall, rhythmically striking the floorboards with their bamboo poles to produce a series of measured, heavy thuds.

Seated loftily behind the high bench, Magistrate Chai Busan struck his gavel with a sharp crack, his whiskers and hair bristling as he bellowed, "Defendants Li Dashan, Huang Xiaoru, and Li Xiao! This magistrate asks you now: were you aware that Li Changan was conspiring with rebels and concocting poisons to harm the common people?"

"Lord Magistrate, a man must act according to his conscience! Changan labored day and night, running himself ragged just to save the people of the lower Sanhuang River from the plague. How has that turned into concocting poison to harm the public?" His back already flayed raw from previous beatings, Li Dashan clenched his fists in fury, gritting his teeth as he pressed on, "As for that rebel Wang Su you speak of, we have never even heard the name, let alone associated with him. Heaven and earth be our witness! Heaven and earth be our witness!"

Seeing that the man remained stubborn and refused to confess.

Two clerks, prepared well in advance, wasted no words; they raised their heavy rods and brought them down ruthlessly upon Li Dashan’s already lacerated, bloody back.

The men responsible for administering the cane held hereditary, iron-clad posts, and thus their strikes were calculated with exquisite precision.

Where to hit, and how hard to strike, was a highly specialized art.

They deliberately chose spots that would inflict agonizing pain without directly claiming the victim's life.

Yet despite this, Li Dashan merely let out a few muffled groans, biting his lips through the agony to keep from crying out.

Magistrate Chai took a slow sip of his tea, entirely unhurried.

These dirt-legs were all the same when first hauled in, priding themselves on their stubborn tongues, but after a single full round of the yamen's tortures, they would say exactly what they were told to say by the following morning.

Fabricating whatever charge he pleased was a trivial matter.

Picking at his teeth, the magistrate cast a rather indifferent glance toward the Dianshi—the warden responsible for arrests and custody—who stood nearby, and asked, "What use are those freeloading bums under your command? Why hasn't that brat been apprehended after all this time?"

The warden, Liu Wenlai, felt cold sweat drenching his brow upon hearing the magistrate's inquiry, and could only brace himself to reply, "My Lord, I have already dispatched men to pursue him. However, the boy must have caught wind of the matter and fled; we cannot find a trace of him anywhere..."

Magistrate Chai frowned, letting out a cold, derisive snort. "Deploying so many men, and you cannot even catch a six-year-old child? If I were you, I would pack up my things and get the hell out of here early!"

Liu Wenlai dared not talk back, and could only glare viciously at his subordinates to vent his spleen.

Having spent his false ire, Magistrate Chai turned his gaze back to the kneeling Li Dashan and spoke, "Since you insist on staring death in the face before admitting defeat, this magistrate shall grant your wish!"

With that, he clapped his hands.

Soon, a large group of yamen runners filtered into the hall, carrying with them a heap of medicinal herbs and a painted portrait.

Pointing at the herbs and the portrait, Magistrate Chai said, "These are the herbs seized from your home, and this is the likeness of that rebel. Open your dog eyes and take a good look, so you cannot blame this magistrate for wrongful execution when you meet your end!"

Staring at the herbs and the portrait, Li Dashan felt a pervasive chill wash over him, as though he had plunged into an abyss of ice.

The herbs needed no explanation; they were what Li Changan had left at home.

But as for that portrait, Li Dashan was shocked to find it vaguely familiar—it was one of the two Taoist priests who frequently visited to guide his son’s cultivation!

Seeing the sheer shock on his face, Magistrate Chai sneered, asking playfully, "Well? What else do you have to say for yourself?"

Li Dashan trembled violently, his lips bitten so hard they almost bled, yet at this moment he could only falter shakily, "Lord... Lord Magistrate, this case... there is indeed more to this case than meets the eye!"

Seeing that the man still intended to speak.

Master Wang, seated comfortably in a grand armchair below the bench, had no intention of giving him the chance.

He silently caught his housekeeper's eye with a subtle nod.

Receiving the signal, the grand housekeeper of the Wang Estate took a swift step forward and spoke up, "Lord Magistrate, that Li Changan and the rebel priest are birds of a feather. Working hand in glove, they used the guise of treating the plague to peddle poison in the countryside. The witnesses and material evidence are indisputable; the proof is ironclad. We implore Your Lordship to mete out the strictest punishment to restore justice for those innocent souls who perished!"

Upon hearing these words, Li Dashan fell into complete despair.

The coincidence was too absolute; he did not even know how to begin a defense, for any words he spoke would ring entirely hollow before that portrait.

Yet, he refused to accept it.

Even if that priest truly was a rebel, his son had been saving lives.

This was a truth Li Dashan would not allow anyone to defile!

Spurred by the thought, Li Dashan forced his broken body upward, standing up under the startled glares of the bailiffs, his voice trembling and his eyes nearly splitting with rage as he cried, "Lord Magistrate! This is the life-saving medicine my son poured his heart and soul into, exhausting our family wealth to buy and rid the people of the plague! If you claim this medicine is poison, then how do you explain the countless villagers who were cured by it?"

Seated below the dais, the County Vice-Magistrate frowned and snapped back, "Presumptuous! That the refugees of the lower Sanhuang River were spared from disaster is entirely due to the brilliant wisdom and divine leadership of our Magistrate Chai! What does it have to do with your charlatan of a son?!"

Hearing the Vice-Magistrate's furious reprimand, Master Wang set down his teacup, a victorious smile gracing his face.

Beside him, the grand housekeeper bore an equally malicious grin as he drove the blade deeper, saying, "You claim this medicine isn't poisonous, then why is no corresponding prescription to be found in any medical text?"

Li Dashan was momentarily struck dumb.

Unwilling to drag Li Changan any deeper into the mire, he fabricated a desperate lie on the spot: "This is a formula I concocted myself. The law does not dictate that a self-made prescription is automatically a poison, does it?"

The housekeeper had been waiting for precisely this admission, and sneered, "If that is the case, do you dare to drink the medicine you concocted yourself?"

Believing he had grasped a sliver of hope for survival, Li Dashan answered without a second thought, "Why wouldn't I dare?"

Magistrate Chai simply waved his hand, ordering a servant to bring a medicine pot forward, and commanded, "Very well, brew the medicine!"

Master Wang, who had remained silent throughout the proceedings, finally could not help but let out a low chuckle. Matters had progressed to such a stage that reversing the verdict was utterly impossible.

Or rather, from the very moment he decided to strike, the fate of these dirt-legs had long been sealed.

He had spared no expense to grease palms and clear obstacles across the county for what purpose?

Precisely to show every single peasant within and without the county lines what became of those who dared oppose Master Wang!

Now, the more Li Dashan refused to submit and the harder he struggled, the more immense satisfaction and physical comfort Master Wang derived from the spectacle.

If there was any flaw in this otherwise perfect affair, it was that they had failed to drag that little beast in to be interrogated alongside them. Though torturing the parents was deeply satisfying, Master Wang still felt a lingering sense of incompleteness.

...

Li Dashan did not know how to compound medicine, but he had previously assisted in stoking the fires to boil the decoctions, and was thus intimately familiar with the *Nectar Plague-Dispelling Soup* that Li Changan had formulated.

The herbs were soon brewed.

Magistrate Chai ordered a runner to carry the dark liquid to the front of Li Dashan.

Li Dashan was just about to drain it in one gulp, but the moment he caught a whiff of the brew's scent, his countenance altered instantly.

This decoction was wrong!

Feeling a bone-chilling dread, Li Dashan raised his head to scan his surroundings, only to find that beneath the grand plaque reading 'Upright and Honorable', every single soul in the county courthouse resembled a monstrous fiend with green skin and sharp fangs.

—All staring down at him with expressions of mockery and cruel amusement!

...