Chapter 40: Sleepless Tonight

Xuan Sheng wanted to make Taoism a benchmark, but the result was not satisfactory.

Xuan Sheng wanted a unified Taoism, but because of the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, the integration of the three paths came to an abrupt end. By the time the dispute ended, the best time to integrate the three paths had been missed.

Xuan Sheng wanted to abolish many old customs, such as the slave system. Although he successfully abolished the slave system on the surface, that is, what Li Tianlan said, "Taoism does not favor this kind of personal dependence on the master-slave relationship", there are still a large number of aristocratic families in Taoism. These aristocratic families are rooted in Taoism, but they do not completely belong to Taoism. There are also many family members who are not disciples of Taoism, which creates loopholes. Therefore, many Taoist aristocratic families still call slaves and servants, and it is not uncommon to see old servants with good cultivation and loyalty.

Xuansheng wanted to ban the flesh trade, but he faced huge internal resistance. During Xuansheng's integration of the Taoist sect, the Zixian Mountain lineage stood firmly on Xuansheng's side from beginning to end, which made it difficult for Xuansheng to make a choice. In the end, he reached a compromise and retained the existence of Zixian Mountain, but only restricted the existence of the brothel in Yujing.

There is also torture. The Qingluan Guard of the previous dynasty was notorious, and various tortures were particularly famous. There is another saying in the public office, called "Under the three trees, you can get anything you want." The meaning is also very simple. Under torture, you can get any confession you want.

It is undeniable that torture is a double-edged sword. The advantage is that it is extremely efficient at some times, and the disadvantage is that it is easy to cause false and wrongful convictions.

The reason why Xuansheng wants to limit torture has nothing to do with kindness and kindness, but with the atmosphere.

At the beginning, the case may have been investigated 90%, and only the key confession of the last person was left, so some means had to be used to successfully solve the case.

But people are path-dependent. With this precedent, next time, when 80% of the case is clear, some means will be used. By analogy, 70%, 60%, 50%, in the end, they will fall into the terrible situation of killing innocent people and taking credit. After all, it is much more difficult to catch the evil people of the secret society than to catch an ordinary person.

Xuansheng certainly understands the truth that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish, and it is difficult to completely prohibit it, but it must be strictly prohibited in terms of reason and rules. Otherwise, once it is given legitimacy like the Qingluan Guard, then "unavoidable" will soon become "comfortable" and "natural".

Some things should be prohibited. Even if it cannot be eliminated, the attitude must be denied. This is the positive atmosphere.

To this end, Xuansheng made efforts in two aspects. One aspect is to set rules, focusing on physical evidence and light confessions, and the proportion of confessions in case closures has been declining again and again. The other aspect is to explicitly prohibit various tortures.

Because of this, Xu Kou tortured the prisoner to death. Even though the prisoner was a demon from a secret society and committed many evil deeds, Xu Kou was still demoted.

It's just that there are countermeasures for every policy. Xuansheng really underestimated the wisdom of future generations. Xuansheng explicitly prohibited various tortures and even listed an item. It was mainly various traditional means, mainly corporal punishment, but it did not prohibit various intimidation methods, such as pretending to torture to put psychological pressure on the prisoner. This is considered a normal interrogation method and a psychological tactic, not torture.

So later, Beichen Hall invented the "Soul-Catching Whip", which bypasses the body. After the torture, there is no scar at all. Naturally, it does not belong to corporal punishment. Since it is not within the scope of Xuansheng's prohibition, it can be used.

Because the essence of the "Soul-Catching Whip" is an illusion, it works if you believe it, but it doesn't work if you don't believe it. Therefore, Mu Jin had to nag for a long time before torturing Ye Xiu, which was to constantly hint at Ye Xiu, deepen Ye Xiu's fear, and force Ye Xiu to believe that this was true. Because illusion is considered a trick, and there is a word "cheat" in it, Beichen Hall classifies the "Soul-Catching Whip" as a normal interrogation method pretending to torture. This is already a consensus within the Taoist sect, and even Zhang Yuelu is no exception.

Xuansheng's incomplete achievements have also created a special mentality among the people of the Taoist sect. On the one hand, the people of the Taoist sect claim to be civilized and regard people outside the Taoist sect as barbaric. On the other hand, the people in the Taoist sect do things that are similar to what the "barbarians" in their eyes do.

I have to say, it is really a great irony.

Zhang Yuelu agrees with Xuansheng's point of view, so she does not abuse the punishment, but slowly confronts Ye Xiu. If Ye Xiu cannot justify himself or remains silent, she will let Mu Jin take measures as a punishment.

Zhang Yuelu is not a person who does not know how to adapt. Now it is a life-and-death struggle. People have started to kill people to silence them. If this side still sticks to the rules, it deserves to lose.

However, after the first show of power, Zhang Yuelu no longer tortured Ye Xiu, but only confronted him face to face.

"That's what Master Li said. King Ye Gai should understand one thing: no one will come to save you. If someone really comes, it's to silence you." Zhang Yuelu sat opposite Ye Xiu, with a desk in front of him.

This time, no "soul-catching whip" hit Ye Xiu, but Ye Xiu's eyes were even darker than the last time he was whipped, without any spirit.

Zhang Yuelu glanced at him and continued, "Maybe King Ye Gai will suspect that I made it up. I won't prove anything. I just want to say that King Ye Gai should know better than me what kind of person Master Li is and what his methods are."

Sweat beads oozed from Ye Xiu's forehead. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but he couldn't make any sound.

Zhang Yuelu waited for a moment before saying, "King Ye Gai, you only have one way left now. If you abandon the dark and join the light, you will have a glimmer of hope."

On the other side, Qi Xuansu was outside the dungeon, leaning against a big tree, holding a cigar given by Pei Xiaolou under his nose and sniffing it, hesitating whether to taste it.

Although the daytime in summer is longer, it was half past the hour of Wu and the sky was completely dark. A big moon hung in the night sky, and the moonlight was excellent. It was a day more suitable for moon watching.

Westerners like night banquets, or dinners. Shi Luosi was going to hold a dinner to entertain Lei Xiaohuan, so Lei Xiaohuan had not returned yet.

Pei Xiaolou had nothing to do for the time being, so he came to "inspect" the progress of the interrogation. Zhang Yuelu didn't want Pei Xiaolou to interfere with her, so she sent Qi Xuansu to accompany Pei Xiaolou to talk. Pei Xiaolou didn't intend to make any comments. The two came to the outside of the dungeon and talked about various Western goods. Pei Xiaolou gave Qi Xuansu a cigar and asked him to taste it. It was said that this cigar would cost thirty Taiping coins.

As they were talking, a Taoist priest from Wanshou Chongyang Palace came to report that they had received news that a Taoist priest in charge of Jiangnan Daofu was planning to flee overseas in disguise by boat. He had already left Jinling Prefecture at night. The key point was that this Taoist priest was still a subordinate of Li Tianlan. Pei Xiaolou immediately became interested and stopped chatting with Qi Xuansu. He directly led people to capture the Taoist priest in charge of Jiangnan Daofu who was planning to flee.

So only Qi Xuansu was left, and the cigar. Qi Xuansu was not very interested in the interrogation, and did not want to go back to the dungeon. The moonlight was good anyway, so he simply enjoyed the scenery here. After all, Zhenwu Lake was not far away. The moonlight fell on Zhenwu Lake, sparkling, and reflected a big moon in the water.

Zhenwu Lake is located in the city. Zhenwu Temple was built against Zhenwu Lake. The entire Zhenwu Temple facing Zhenwu Lake was unwalled, with only a lake embankment and some extended water pavilions, water corridors, pavilions and other buildings. If it is normal time, you can also travel on the lake by boat, which is the elegant fun of "going there by boat at night".

The dungeon was built in the deepest part of Zhenwu Temple. After all, it is not a glorious place, and it is not easy to build it in a conspicuous place. Zhenwu Temple is backed by Zhenwu Lake, and its deepest part is naturally on the edge of Zhenwu Lake, so half of the dungeon is an ordinary dungeon, and the other half is simply a water dungeon built under the lake.

Qi Xuansu was looking at Zhenwu Lake at this time, and he suddenly had an idea. If someone attacked Zhenwu Temple, wouldn't Zhenwu Lake be undefended?

However, he soon felt that he was overthinking. Zhenwu Temple is located in Jinling Prefecture, not outside the city. What's the difference between defense and no defense? More importantly, because of the excellent scenery by the lake, the residences of the deputy hall masters are close to Zhenwu Lake. If they attack from the lake, it will be much more difficult than a frontal attack.

As for killing and silencing.

Qi Xuansu and Zhang Yuelu did take this into consideration, but they were more concerned about the "lone wolf" that sneaked in quietly, rather than a large-scale wolf pack.

This is a misconception of thinking. When it comes to silencing someone, subconsciously, you think it should be kept secret, and the fewer people who know, the better. But think about it the other way around, why should it be kept secret? Is it still necessary to keep it secret now? The key is to destroy all evidence. Without evidence, even if you know the truth, what can you do?

Although Qi Xuansu thought it was impossible for someone to attack from the lake, he still felt that something was not right. Years of life and death experience gave him a natural intuition about danger.

After leaving Pei Xiaolou, he felt a little uneasy, and as time passed, this uneasiness became stronger. He always felt that something was wrong with the surrounding environment, but he couldn't tell.

After a while, Qi Xuansu reacted and realized what was wrong.

It was too quiet.

There were no insects chirping, no birds chirping, and no frogs croaking.

Most of the time, frogs hide quietly in the dark, making no sound, and not contacting their own kind. But during the breeding season, they will migrate to the water in groups to reproduce, chirping and being very active day and night, especially when it rains.

It was summer, the breeding season for frogs.

Not good!

Qi Xuansu's uneasiness finally reached a fixed point, as if an invisible hand just grasped Qi Xuansu's heart, making him a little breathless.

At this time, a small black dot appeared in the bright moon in the sky.

Then, the black shadow became bigger and bigger.

Someone stepped on the moon.

On the other side, a figure rose in the water moon on the lake.

Qi Xuansu tensed up and took out the "Shenlong Hand Gun".

At this time, many shadows emerged from the water one after another, rushing towards the shore like water ghosts.

Qi Xuansu fired a gun to the sky to warn.

Today is destined to be a sleepless night.