Chương 31: Not a Single Truth

With Xiaogou dead, Fang Cheng had no choice but to question his two brothers.

"Which county did he go to?" Dagou shook his head.

"Third brother never told us anything. We just saw him come back with a big belly. We didn't even know he'd ever been married."

"He told you nothing?" Fang Cheng snorted, trying to intimidate them.

"I'm in a bad mood right now. You'd better not lie to me, or else..." Dagou and Zhonggou quickly swore to heaven.

"We really don't know anything! Third brother's already dead. There's no reason for us to lie to you, my lord." Fang Cheng studied their expressions, earnest, tinged with fear, their legs trembling. They didn't seem to be lying.

"Xiaogou went to the next county. Do you have a lot of neighboring counties?" Dagou explained, "Who knows how far 'next county' really is? We're from Xiangshi County. There are quite a few counties around us. The closest are Dongyang City and Shuili City. The farthest is Qingmu City, which takes crossing the entire Everlasting Mountains to reach." That was the problem with mountain regions. You could see the destination, but actually getting there took forever.

Fang Cheng understood, having traveled through these mountains for days. Mortals couldn't fly like cultivators. He thought for a moment, then asked, "What about the Stabbing Brotherhood?" Dagou shook his head in confusion. Zhonggou answered, "The Stabbing Brotherhood, all that men-with-men business, we only just learned about it from Xiaogou. And it's clearly a demonic sect, extremely secretive. Big brother and I spent most of our time in the village. We never had much contact with the outside. We wouldn't know."

Fang Cheng's face fell with disappointment. He wouldn't get anything useful from these two.

"Dagou, go keep cooking the tiger penis." He ordered, then turned to Zhonggou.

"Second brother, it's your turn. I need more evil." Zhonggou wasn't stupid. He knew that once he confessed his crimes, he'd be dead for sure.

"My lord, I've done bad things, but I had no choice! You know, when a man has no way out, he'll do anything to survive. I just wanted to live honestly, but the world wouldn't let me. Who wants to be a bandit? Robbery means bloodshed, sacrifice, people die. But I couldn't refuse, or I'd end up as King Tiger's dinner." Zhonggou wept and wailed, his voice full of sorrow and regret. If he could, he'd throw himself at the Demon Lord's feet and cry his heart out.

"So everything you did was forced?" Fang Cheng asked.

"Of course! Absolutely forced!" Zhonggou nodded frantically, like a pecking chicken. Fang Cheng gave an indifferent "oh," then asked casually, "Your three brothers come from a village. How big is it?" Zhonggou replied, "Our Li Village is small, less than a hundred households." Fang Cheng smiled slightly.

"If it's a small village, the houses must be close together. Lianshan Prefecture is all hills and mountains, not much flat land. At night, wild beasts roam. Villagers build their homes close for protection. If there's danger, they can help each other." Zhonggou was taken aback.

"I didn't expect you to know so much about our country life, my lord. As expected of the Demon Lord." Fang Cheng ignored the flattery.

"Xiaogou went to the village chief's house, ransacked it, found silver, killed the chief's wife, and set the house on fire before escaping. That takes time. And in a small village, wouldn't other villagers have noticed? Wouldn't anyone have warned the chief?" If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Zhonggou explained, "That day happened to be when the villagers went to town together to burn incense and pray.

You see, my lord, our village is so small it doesn't even have a Land God shrine. We had to go to the city temple." Fang Cheng nodded with a smile.

"Fine. Let's say Xiaogou got lucky, perfect timing, killed the chief's wife silently, and ran off with the money. Next, the chief would report it to the authorities. The officers would come to the village, investigate, and find your family short one person. How did you explain that?" Zhonggou fell silent. Fang Cheng didn't wait for his answer.

"The officers don't need an explanation. They'd mark Xiaogou as the criminal. But since he ran, they'd have to pin it on someone, either you or your big brother. That's how the Great Sheng court works. I know it better than you. So here's the real question. Why were you both still in the village, free and clear?" Zhonggou replied, "My lord, maybe our county officers were reasonable. Maybe they only pursued Third Brother and didn't make the rest of us take the blame." Fang Cheng laughed.

"Let me offer you a possibility. The theft wasn't Xiaogou's spur-of-the-moment idea. You three planned it together. On the day of the crime, you and Dagou lured the chief's family out, so Xiaogou could steal. But something went wrong. The chief's wife came back. And worse, Xiaogou killed her and ran. You two didn't want to get caught, so you finished the job and killed the entire chief's family. No one to report the crime.

And since the chief wasn't well-liked, and the villagers feared you, no one dared say a word." Zhonggou's face turned pale as ash. His body shook like a leaf. He hadn't expected Fang Cheng to piece it together so accurately.

"My lord, let me explain! That bastard chief deserved it. He sold us, the villagers, to the textile mills for kickbacks. He deserved to die!" Fang Cheng shrugged.

"Fine. For now, I'll believe you were doing good by killing him. A small village chief with five hundred taels of silver, it had to come from crooked dealings. Now let's talk about you becoming a bandit. Explain how you ended up so desperate you had to run to the Everlasting Mountains." Zhonggou breathed a sigh of relief and spoke, trembling.

"No one farms anymore. The land tax is paid in silver now. Everyone went to work in the textile mills in town. We three brothers are rough men. We can't do women's work. We couldn't earn money, couldn't pay the tax, so we had no choice but to come to the mountains and become bandits." His explanation was thin, but Fang Cheng understood the underlying cause. In short, the villagers made more money working in textile mills, so the court, or maybe the county, raised taxes accordingly.

Growing grain alone couldn't cover the tax, so they had to take on extra work.

"Good. You have reasonable explanations for being bandits, for killing the chief's family. You say you were forced. But were you really?" Fang Cheng grinned, leaning in close until his forehead touched Zhonggou's. Face to face, eye to eye, so close his spittle splattered Zhonggou's face.

"Second brother, when you killed, didn't you feel a little thrill? Excitement? Even euphoria? Hahaha, that feeling is so wonderful, it makes you want to scream, 'I love this!'" Fang Cheng licked his lips as he spoke. Zhonggou shuddered.

"N-no... no, I didn't..." he stammered. He was lying. Fang Cheng's eyes narrowed to slits. He straightened up and spoke with a cold smile.

"I hate liars. And you've lied to me too many times. So, unfortunately for you, Li Zhonggou, I sentence you to the Tongue-Pulling Hell!" With that, Fang Cheng pried open Zhonggou's mouth and reached inside, grabbing his tongue and pulling it out, as long as a snake, wrapping it around his wrist. Zhonggou clutched his mouth, but blood gushed through his fingers like a fountain. He tried to scream, but without a tongue, no sound came. His eyes bulged, his face twisted in agony, his throat rattling with choked gasps.

"Second brother!" Dagou rushed over, holding his dying brother's body as he convulsed. There was nothing he could do. After a long moment, Zhonggou's breathing stopped.

"We deserve this. All of us." Dagou wept as he held his second brother's corpse.

"I knew this day would come. As bandits, even errand boys, we've all got blood on our hands. I've lost count of how many innocent people I've cooked and eaten. I even enjoyed it. But is it all our fault? I wanted to weave cloth, but I was too stupid to learn. Everything I made was garbage. A month's work and I earned nothing. I even lost money on food. Tell me, what was I supposed to do!" Dagou rose to his feet, shouting at Fang Cheng. Fear was gone. Death itself had become something to look forward to.

Fang Cheng showed no emotion. He asked only one question:"Who suggested becoming bandits?"

"I did. I'm the oldest. Everything was my decision. Kill me! Come on!" Dagou roared, wanting nothing but release. Fang Cheng chuckled coldly.

"You're lying. Killing a liar like you would dirty my hands." Dagou laughed bitterly. He'd been toyed with all his life. Hahaha, he was done being pushed around. He'd be a real man. He carried his second and third brothers' bodies out of the cave, found a rope, and tied them to himself. Then he climbed the cliff's vines. After an eternity, he reached the peak. He looked up at the moon, close enough to touch, it seemed, then down at the swirling mist below, deep and endless.

He checked the ropes, making sure they wouldn't come loose. Then he jumped. Wind roared in his ears as he fell, faster and faster.

"Hahaha, Second brother, Third brother, can you feel it? Flying through the clouds! It's amazing! Hahaha, Big brother's taking you to ascend!"