Chapter 46: The End of the Officialdom's Calculations

  The village head struggled to prop himself up against the wall, pointing at Yang and trembling with rage, "You've come just in time, hurry up and take me to Ga Ba's medicine stove..."

  Yang Zheng suddenly collected the smile on his face, with a gloomy expression, "Village head, aren't you still not dead? Why are you in such a hurry to go to Gabba's medicine furnace? Come, let's have a detailed talk today."

  "What? What did you want to say?" The village chief was startled and weakly put down his hand.

  Isn't this Yang Zheng in cahoots with Village Chief Pian? How can he treat the village chief like this? I was stunned.

  Yang Zheng burst out laughing, "Village head, don't you know what I want to say? That treasure that you've been dreaming of getting your hands on! Haha, you've been tyrannizing the village for so long, who would have thought it'd end up like this?"

  The village head's face turned pale, and he slowly nodded, "Yang Zheng, I understand. Willing to gamble and lose, I never thought that you would betray me..."

  Yang Zheng interrupted the village chief's words, "Don't be ridiculous, you would never think that in your eyes I'm just a pawn, but I will make you this handsome army? Haha, now the loser has no right to speak, listen to the winner."

  The village chief's forehead was dripping with big drops of cold sweat, and he started coughing violently. "Alright, alright, in this game of chess you're the general and I'm just a pawn... So, you wanted to swallow that treasure all by yourself..."

  Yang Zheng sneered, "The village chief is indeed the village chief. You're not ashamed to be a man who has seen the world outside and understood everything after just one knife wound. I rarely get to talk in front of you, so today let me say my fill. Lan Tian, thank you for following Xiao Ge back to the village at the critical moment. It's also thanks to your role in this matter that things are clear now. Listen carefully as I explain it to you slowly."

  "What role did I play?" Things suddenly changed, and I was shocked and angry. I absolutely didn't expect that Yang Zheng would betray the village chief and come to the forefront from behind the scenes.

  The village chief endured the severe pain and said coldly, "Don't make trouble, listen to him."

  Yang Zheng looked at me, then fixed his gaze on the village chief's face, sneering coldly. "Alright, listen carefully, I'll tell you a story. Legend has it that over 1,000 years ago, the Western Xia people gathered tens of thousands of troops from several dozen tribes, with over 80,000 men, to engage in a decisive battle against the Tang army's 100,000-strong force at Duanhun Mountain. After several days and nights of fierce fighting, although the Western Xia people killed tens of thousands of Tang soldiers, they were almost completely annihilated! Before the final battle, the Western Xia people, with a determination to die together, gathered all their gold, silver, and treasures, burying them deep in the vast mountains. The survivors then guarded the treasure in the desolate mountains, isolated from the world, passing it down through generations. Is that how the story begins, Village Chief?"

  The village chief coughed a few times, "Continue speaking, I'm listening."

  Yang Zheng stared at the village chief's face, "It is not known how long it took, but the people who stayed behind gradually built a village in the wilderness. They tilled and wove, self-sufficient, living a life of seclusion, except for a few people, the rest were completely unaware that their ancestors had this treasure. Until decades ago, a group of outsiders suddenly broke into the village, burning, killing, looting, and turning the village into a dead village overnight... However, these invading outsiders found only half a map, but never found the legendary treasure. They were unwilling to give up, and settled down at another foot of the Broken Soul Mountain. Shouldn't this group of people be our ancestors? Village chief, I don't know if what I said is right or wrong?"

  The village head let out a cold laugh, "You're really something. Continue speaking, I'd like to see what else you know."

  The village chief's attitude was very cold, but my heart was shocked like a stormy wave. It turned out that the ancestors of the villagers in Huanglong Village were the outsiders who invaded Jinxiangyu and Qiuyan's home. No wonder Qiuyan would grit her teeth and scold them as robbers, because their ancestors destroyed her home. So to speak, Jinxiangyu and Qiuyan are the only living descendants of the Western Xia people in this dead village...

  Yang Zheng smiled, "Village chief, you won't die just yet, don't worry, we'll take it slow. Our ancestors settled in Huanglong Village and deciphered the Western Xia script on that torn map, but ironically, it was just a few sentences of ominous rumors. So, our predecessors made a big deal out of those rumors, dug an old well under the ancient locust tree at the village entrance, hung an old copper bell on the tree, and spread the rumors throughout the village, making the villagers afraid to enter the Soul-Breaking Mountain. Many years have passed, and fewer people know about it, but there are still some who secretly venture into the mountain to search for the location of that dead village and explore the huge treasure... As far as I know, your grandfather, father, and the parents of the girl all died in the Soul-Breaking Mountain, also for that huge treasure."

  Later on, the only ones who knew this secret in the entire Huanglong Village were Eighth Grandfather and your father. Of course, it's also possible that Little Brother knew about it too. So, before he passed away, your father called you back to the village from outside where you had already made a name for yourself, arranged for you to become the village head, and told you this secret... I'm really grateful that all these years you treated me as your only confidant, telling me everything. Heh heh, people die for wealth, birds die for food - didn't you ever think that I would have a day when I'd betray you?

  The village head shook his head with a bitter smile, "I was wrong, I was blind and deceived by you, you treacherous scoundrel!"

  Yang Zheng furrowed his brow and sneered, "Village head, I admit that I am a treacherous person, but you are not much better! I forgot to tell you, there is always a sentence in my heart encouraging me, which is to walk on other people's roads and make others have no way to go. Now, it's my turn to walk the road, and you should let me pass. One less sentence from you would be one less sentence."

  The village chief stared at Yang Zheng without speaking, and Yang Zheng continued to say, "A few days ago, the young man brought this kid back to the village from outside, saying that he had found half a map in his grandfather's legacy. Think about it, how important is this news to you? Then, someone died in the village... The half-map was stolen from the Eighth Grandfather's house on the night when I was making trouble in the village by ringing bells and drums, claiming ghosts were haunting us. Was it you who killed the three children in the village? Did you steal that map? Did you kill Rocky to silence him? And what did you do to the Eighth Grandfather before he died, why did his behavior change so much?"

  The village head suddenly burst into loud laughter, "Yang Zheng, I originally thought you knew everything. Haha, it turns out you have many things you don't know about, it seems I overestimated you! You're just a pig, no, not even as good as a pig, calling you a pig is an insult to pigs! Think about it, if by tonight when I go to Duansheng Cliff and get the secret of dispelling the ancient well's evil omen, it won't be too late for you to show your true form. Haha..."

  The village chief laughed and panted violently. Looking at the dog-eat-dog farce in front of me, I couldn't tell what kind of feeling was in my heart, and I felt that these two people were the real lunatics in Huanglong Village!

  Yang Zheng's smile grew even more pronounced. "Village Chief, tonight when we go to Duanhun Mountain, there's no need for you to bring this little guy along. I'll take care of it myself."

  "Are you going yourself? Don't you know that person only allows me to bring this kid?" The village chief was somewhat shocked.

  Yang Zheng let out a cold laugh, "I forgot to tell you, after all these years of following you around, I've seen every move you make with my own eyes. I've long since learned to mimic your every gesture and movement. And as for our height and build, we're almost identical. With this on, who would ever suspect that I'm not you?"

  Yang Zheng said as he magically took out a mask from behind him and put it on his face.

  I was astonished to find that the mask was made so vividly, it was identical to the village chief's face, and if you didn't look closely, you couldn't see any flaws at all!

  This Yang Zheng seems to have been prepared for a long time. I feel a little sad for this village chief who has lost all his conscience.

  Yang Zheng took off his mask and stared at the village chief's face with eyes like sharp swords, "Speak! You haven't answered my question from earlier!"

  The village chief's face turned ashen, and he lowered his head, chuckling softly, "Those few things, huh, huh, you can think whatever you want."

  Yang nodded and said slowly, "It seems there are still many secrets I don't know about. It's okay, I can ask them one by one."

  From what the village chief said, it means that Shi Tou, Da Niu and A Gou, three children were killed by him. They are still kids! I couldn't help but feel a surge of anger rising from my heart, and I loudly shouted at him, "You're crazy and ruthless, why did you harm those children? Why did you frame Xiao Ge and me?"

  The village head raised his head and looked at me strangely, "Young man, why are you so excited? Of course it's for the treasure. Not only do I want to get the treasure, but I also want to take it away. If Xiao Ge comes back from outside the village and I don't get rid of him, not only can I not take the treasure away, but even if I do, I won't be able to rest easy."

  What he said is indeed true, if you don't get rid of that little brother who has a lot of tricks up his sleeve, he will never be at peace!

  I was stunned for a moment and said with hatred, "Even if you have calculated everything, you wouldn't have expected Yang Zheng to betray you. Does Little Brother have a savior?"

  The village head didn't pay attention to me again, suddenly stood up from the wall he was leaning against, and sneered, "Yang Zheng, do you know why I'm in the mood to talk so much nonsense with you today?" He coldly smiled as he pulled out a dagger from behind his shoulder.

  That dagger was folded in the middle, only the shallow part of the tip had some bloodstains on it. I opened my eyes wide in disbelief. This dagger was given to me by Uncle Gaba for self-defense, how could it be a folding dagger?

  The village head looked at Yang Zheng coldly, "Because I want to hear more from your mouth, maybe things I don't know! On the gallows, I had already exchanged this dagger for a magic dagger that I had prepared in advance. Think about it, if it was still the real dagger, would I have let this kid carry it on him?"

  What a poisonous mind! I couldn't help but shudder all over with a chill.

  "This fake dagger can cut, can pare, but it's not for stabbing... It won't go deep, it can't kill anyone." The village head looked at Yang Zheng who was in a state of panic and continued to say, "I've been suspicious of you for a long time, however, I know that you alone absolutely wouldn't have the guts to oppose me! Now I'm asking you one last question, who is behind this instructing you?"

  The village head stepped closer and closer, Yang Zheng retreated backward in a fluster. The yin soul taboo

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