An hour later, the captured Taoist disciples of Chongtian Temple knelt on the platform in front of Chenyuan Hall.
According to Ju Ran's account, in the battle at Chongtianguan, a total of fifteen people were killed on the spot, nine were seriously injured and treated, and forty-three were captured alive.
These forty-three people are now all tied up and kneeling on this platform.
According to Taoist confessions, there are ninety-seven Taoist disciples in Chongtian Temple, which means that nearly thirty Taoist disciples took advantage of the situation and escaped.
In fact, the total number of guards and agents of the Hou Mansion in front of us, including Xu Zun and others, was only about forty.
After this battle, the guards and agents of the Hou Mansion were also injured, and there are only about thirty of them present now.
However, the detectives have already sent people to go to Shangyuan City to deliver the message, and soon more officials and even soldiers will arrive.
Logically speaking, Xingchuan County falls under the jurisdiction of Wude County. This case should be dealt with first by Wude County Government and Xingchuan County Government.
However, after careful consideration, Xu Zun decided not to communicate with these two places.
Because, for a Taoist temple as large as Chongtian Temple to have such a sin, it must be related to the county government and the county government.
Therefore, it is best not to let them interfere until it is clear.
Furthermore, Li Yan, the governor, was still in Shangyuan City, Xu Zun was sent to Tangzhou for punishment, and with the powerful backing of the Changping Marquis Mansion, they did not dare to make any mistakes.
However, Xu Zun knew that there were many dreams in the night, so after discussing with Ju Ran, Wei Beihui and others, he decided to examine these evil deeds at night and find out the matter as soon as possible.
In order to prevent collusion in confessions, interrogation in public is naturally not allowed.
Therefore, Xu Zun, Ju Ran and Zhao Yu, three people with interrogation experience, divided into three groups and selected places to interrogate the criminals in batches.
As you can imagine, the order of interrogation is naturally from high to low, with those with higher status in the temple being interrogated first.
The first criminal assigned to Xu Zun was a Taoist priest who was about thirty years old and had scars on his face.
According to his own account, this person's name is Xu Jinhu, and he is a leader of Chongtian Temple.
"In our Taoist temple, the biggest one is the temple master...oh..."
One of Xu Jinhu's legs was injured by Wei Beihui's iron claw. Although it had been bandaged, it was still bleeding.
It is precisely because of this that this person must be interrogated quickly to avoid being unable to interrogate him too late.
"The second is the Zhang Yuan, which is also the deputy temple master," Xu Jinhu confessed, "The second is us Zhang Yuan, there are a total of six Zhang Yuan in this temple.
"Below the palm altar are the disciples. The disciples are divided into levels according to the order of entry, and they do corresponding work according to the level, and so on..."
"Who is the deputy temple master?" Xu Zun asked, "Where is the person?"
"My name is Luo Yu, I...oh...I didn't see him..."
"What is your so-called practice room?" Xu Zun got straight to the point.
"This..." Xu Jinhu replied, "This is a place for us to have fun. Those...those women were bought by the temple master and the headmaster..."
"Bought it?" Xu Zun asked, "Do you want to be punished? Someone, take advantage of his thigh injury and chop off his toes first. It shouldn't hurt too much, right?"
As soon as Xu Zun finished speaking, a policeman came in with a knife from outside.
"Sir... please forgive me," Xu Jinhu turned pale with fright and quickly begged for mercy, "I dare not tell lies! Sir Mingjian, people of our level have no way of knowing what happened in the practice room..."
"What?" Xu Zun called to the policeman and shouted, "You are really tough-talking. As the leader of the altar, how could you not know?"
The policeman flashed his sword, which was still stained with blood.
"Sir, sir, if I tell a lie, you can chop off my head!" Xu Jinhu said, "I know I am guilty and I know it is wrong to touch those women in the practice room, but...but I am also guilty.
I can’t help myself!
"Your Excellency, I have been in the temple for five years. I only know how to eat, drink and have fun with others. I thought... I have not been in charge of this forum for even a month. My lord, if you don't believe it, you can ask other people. Is it true that I
You’re not lying!”
At the end of the story, Xu Jinhu was so frightened that he burst into tears.
oh?
Suddenly, Xu Zun felt something bad!
Only then did he remember that no matter whether it was the Taoist disciples they killed or the Taoist disciples captured alive, there was not even an older person in the entire Taoist temple!
The person in charge in front of me is only thirty years old, but he is almost the oldest one. The others all look to be in their twenties, and some are even eighteen or nineteen years old!
Isn't this wrong?
As a Taoist temple, it is impossible for all Taoist priests to be so young. There is definitely something wrong with this Chongtian Temple!
So, Xu Zun made a stop gesture to the knife-wielding policeman, and asked Xu Jinhu: "Do you know Xu Tianyou, Taoist Master Xu?"
"I know, of course I know this," Xu Jinhu said, "Master Xu Tian was the former master of Chongtian Temple, but when I came, he had already passed away!"
"Then who is the current temple master Yu Yangzi?"
"It is said that he is Xu Tianshi's junior brother," Xu Jinhu replied, "After Xu Tianshi emerged, Master Yuyang took over the Taoist temple. All major affairs of the Taoist temple were presided over by him and the headmaster Luo Yu. We all followed orders...
"But, I dare to swear that the only wrong thing we have ever done is to have fun in the practice room. As for where those women came from, I really don't know!
"My lord, my lord," Xu Jinhu said, "these current leaders are just like me, they have just been promoted!
"I think if you want to know about those women, you might as well find our predecessors. Those old bosses have been with us for many years, so they must know more about the inside story!"
oh?
Hearing Xu Jinhu's words, Xu Zun remembered that there was indeed an older person in the Chongtian Temple, and it was the temple owner Yu Yangzi!
This person's temples are turning white and he must be at least forty-five years old.
It's a pity that this person is already dead!
"Let me ask you again," Xu Zun asked again, "Where are you from? Why did you join Chongtian Temple? What do you do in the temple every day? And... whatever problems you think there are in the temple, they will be solved one by one!
"If everything is true, I may spare your life! But what if..."
"My lord, my lord!" Xu Jinhu said eagerly, "There are so many people outside, how dare I lie?
"The villain is from Qinzhou," he pointed to the scar on his face, "because he deliberately hurt someone and got a lawsuit, so he fled to Tangzhou.
"It was just a coincidence that I joined Chongtian Temple. It was Luo Yu, the headmaster, who saw me wandering around in Wude City, so he recruited me into the temple!
"After entering the temple, I followed my brothers in chanting sutras and practicing martial arts every day, and I lived a comfortable life.
"If there is any problem in the temple..." He thought for a while and said, "Except for the practice room, I feel that the incense in the temple is not particularly strong, but there is a lot of money in the temple, only the high-quality ones.
Yuzhao lions and horses, so I bought a dozen of them at once!"
oh……
Hearing this, Xu Zun gradually narrowed his eyes, and a shadow appeared in his heart.
Unexpectedly, this Chongtian Temple has more secrets than he imagined...
