Chapter 40 Hanging

  "Master, I have benefited greatly from your teachings. Now that I have let you down, this cup of wine is my way of expressing gratitude to you..."

  Zhou Xuan Zhang had not finished speaking, when Jin suddenly jumped up from the taishi chair with a "whoosh" sound, took several quick steps, but his foot was tangled in the long robe of an official garment, and one foot stepped on the corner of the robe. A "ripping" sound was heard, and the brand new official garment was torn by his own foot into two halves from bottom to top. Jin stumbled, the flower-shaped finial on his head was askew, and he looked extremely disheveled.

  Jin ignored the tilted hat on his head and ran straight to Zhou Xuanzhang's side.

  "Master, your official robe is torn!" Zhou Xianzhang hastily reminded.

  "It's broken, it's broken!" Jin's expression was urgent.

  "Your hat is on crooked!"

  "It's crooked, so it's crooked!"

  "Master, you taught me that a gentleman would rather die than lose his integrity!"

  "Bullshit!"

  "Master, how can you use such coarse language? The sage said: 'Do not speak if it is not in accordance with propriety!'"

  "Rude words? Did I say rude words?" Jin shook his head like a rattle drum: "No, absolutely not."

  Jin said, "Swish", and pulled out a hemp rope from his sleeve, stuffing it into Zhou Xianzhang's hand.

  Zhou Xuanzhang took over the hemp rope, and tears burst forth from his eyes.

  It's clear that Jin wants him to hang himself, so as to leave a complete corpse.

  In the Qing dynasty, beheading is not a big deal, what's important is to leave a complete corpse, when you arrive in the underworld, it's also good to meet your family members, the worst outcome is becoming a headless ghost!

  So, hanging oneself to death is considered the happiest way to die.

  Li Hongzhang wanted to behead Zhou Xuzeng, but Jin Gong defied Li's order and instead allowed him to hang himself. This was an extraordinary favor for a master-disciple relationship. It is worth noting that by doing so, Jin would offend Li Hongzhang!

  Although Jin was stubborn and old-fashioned, he had a strong sense of humanity. This moved Zhou Xuan Zhang deeply, and he couldn't help but burst into tears.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang was filled with tears, holding the hemp rope, facing forward and knelt down: "Master is above, please accept the student's last bow!" As he spoke, he knocked three solid and loud heads.

  Jin also burst into tears: "Xian Zhang, after you leave, don't forget the teachings of your master, and be a decent person!"

  "Students remember..." Zhou Xuanzhang felt a little strange in his heart, how can he still be human in the underworld, and it's almost like being a ghost? He looked at Jin again, who had already cried to the point of being out of breath, wearing his hat crookedly, his official uniform disheveled, tears dripping down his beard, where was the dignity of a Confucian scholar?

  Zhou Xuan Zhang's heart ached as he looked at that appearance, killing his own disciple was even more unbearable than killing himself, it was indeed a deep and heavy feeling!

  Zhou Xuanzhang let out a long sigh and bowed his head again: "Master, the student is leaving!"

  Jin cried so hard that she didn't hear what Zhou Xuanzhang said at all.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang held the hemp rope, walked to the beam below the house, found a stool, stood on it, put the hemp rope over the beam and tied a dead knot loop, then put it around his neck and kicked with one foot.

  Suddenly, Jin Da let out a loud cry and rushed over, opening his arms wide to hug Zhou Xuan Zhang's legs.

  The stool under his feet fell with a loud noise, Zhou Xianzhang's legs were suspended in the air, and the rope was tightening around his neck. Just as Zhou Xianzhang was about to close his eyes and wait for death, he heard Jin shouting: "Xianzhang, what are you doing? What the hell do you want to do!"

  Wu Zunhong cursed again.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang was annoyed in his heart, what he wanted to do wasn't obvious?!

  If Jin had let go, it would have been over, but this old guy held onto Zhou Xuanzhang's legs and refused to let go. The rope was choking Zhou Xuanzhang's neck, causing him immense pain, yet he couldn't die from it. Zhou Xuanzhang was in agony, wanting to scold Jin a few times, but his throat was constricted by the rope, making it hard for him to breathe and speak.

  But then he heard Jin shout at the top of his lungs: "Save me! Someone come!"

  Zhou Xuanzhang was furious, what kind of trickery is this old thing playing? If he wants to die, then just die quickly! The noose had just been tightened when the old man started shouting for someone to come and save his life. Is it that he's not satisfied with dying too quickly and wants to be strangled a few more times?!

  The door was wide open and two people rushed in, one tall and the other short; one robust and the other slender; one with a strong face and the other with clear eyebrows.

  Two men rushed to Jin's side, one of whom hugged Zhou Xianzhang's leg and lifted him up. Jin hastily fetched a stool, jumped onto the stool, and removed the noose from Zhou Xianzhang's neck.

  Three people together carried Zhou Xuanzhang down to the ground, and as soon as he caught his breath, Jin Tiao jumped up, swung his hand and gave Zhou Xuanzhang a loud slap on the ear: "You dog! Who told you to hang yourself!"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang had just been strangled by a rope and was seeing stars after being slapped in the ear by that old man from Shanxi, his heart burning with rage, covering his face and shouting: "Master, aren't you trying to get me to hang myself?"

  "When did I ever tell you to hang yourself!" Jin shouted, and with a swift motion gave Zhou Xuan Zhang a loud slap on the ear: "You unfilial son! You good-for-nothing! How dare you disobey your master's orders, wasting all my teachings!"

  Zhou Xuanzhang covered his face with both hands and shouted loudly: "Master, you damn well don't want me to hang myself, what's the point of giving me a rope?"

  "I'm giving you a rope, I want you to tie me up!"

  "What the hell are you tying me up for?!"

  "Bind me, you can escape!" Jin shouted: "I've prepared the token for you! You bind me, take the token and leave the city gate, no one dares to stop you. I'll tell that bastard Li Zhongtang, you bound me and ran away! You're good, hang yourself with a rope! How did I end up teaching such a fool like you!"

  Zhou Xuan Zhang's face was burning with anger, and his heart was even more furious. After messing around for half a day, he finally realized that his master had been trying to save him!

  Zuo Zongtang asked Li Hongzhang to let him handle Zhou Xuechang, originally wanting to stage a trick of letting him escape secretly.

  That Jin is superficially hypocritical, but in his heart he is extremely sentimental. He has been a mentor to Zhou Xuanzhang for eight months and has really developed feelings. Seeing his beloved apprentice about to leave him and fly high, this farewell, I don't know when we can meet again, the sorrow of parting is heartbreaking, Jin cried until the sky was dark, didn't make it clear what the hemp rope was used for, and harmed Zhou Xuanzhang to hang himself with the hemp rope.

  Zhou Xuan Zhang suddenly realized Jin's true intentions and hastily said: "Master, you've spoken profanity!"

  "Did I just swear? When the hell did I say that, damn it...". Jin suddenly shut up, noticing two people standing next to him, staring at him coldly.

  That Jin was so frightened that he fell to his knees with a thud: "Your subordinate did not know that Commander Liu had arrived, please forgive your subordinate's offense!"

  The newcomer was Liu Buchan, the captain of the Dingyuan warship of the Beiyang Fleet!

  Another person, whom Jin didn't know, was recognized by Zhou Xuanzhang at a glance.

  This person is wearing the uniform of a Beiyang Navy sailor, slender in build and with clear and delicate eyebrows and eyes. It's none other than Xingtao, the personal maid of Princess Fragrance.

  In the morning, Zhou Xuanzhang hid under the bed to secretly watch Min Hua take a bath. Later, Yingtao came in and talked about Zhou Xuanzhang with Min Hua. Yingtao's evaluation of Zhou Xuanzhang was not as vicious as Min Hua's, but rather fair, which made Zhou Xuanzhang feel grateful. Therefore, he took several more glances at Yingtao, leaving a deep impression.