Mutated Tao

Chapter 642: Escape

Inside the county’s yamen, the angry screams, shouts, and cries of agony continued relentlessly. The place had descended into utter chaos.

Everyone had forgotten the initial purpose they had gone there for. They were now charging inside one after another, behaving like beasts beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

“Grain! Grain! It’s all white flour! No coarse grains!” someone shouted from the west wing.

Then the crowd surged in that direction.

The old man who had been the first to eat the magistrate’s flesh also tried to follow, but he stumbled and fell to the ground.

He struggled to get up, but someone stomped on his raised right hand. There was a crunching sound, and an agonizing scream left his bloodstained mouth.

Yet, that scream was insignificant amid the surrounding clamor. More people trampled over the old man, bringing an end to his scream.

Those stepping over him just felt there was something a bit soft beneath their feet, and they paid no further attention to it.

Yang Xiaohai and his wife Zhao Xiumei had gotten caught in the crowd. They did not want to be there, but the crowd pushed them in.

He wanted to leave, but there were simply too many people everywhere, making it seemingly impossible for him and his wife to get out.

His face was very pale as he held tightly to Zhao Xiumei’s hand and tried to break free from the crowd.

Yang Xiaohai told Zhao Xiumei, “Hold onto my hand tightly! Don’t let go, or we won’t be able to find each other!”

After several attempts to get out, Yang Xiaohai suddenly remembered something. He pulled out the scepter that Senior Li had given him, which bore a human tongue.

He raised the scepter and waved it at those on his left. The previously frenzied crowd suddenly froze in place. Their eyes filled with confusion, as though they had forgotten what they were about to do.

“Follow me! Let’s go this way,” Yang Xiaohai said to Zhao Xiumei.

He maneuvered through the crowd, taking Zhao Xiumei towards the wall.

Yang Xiaohai struggled but managed to get himself and his wife out of the crowd thanks to the scepter.

Still shaken, he glanced at the chaotic scene before him and pulled Zhao Xiumei towards the inn.

“Xiaohai, what’s going on? How did it turn out like this?” Zhao Xiumei asked, clearly frightened by the chaos.

An act of justice against a corrupt official had unexpectedly turned into utter mayhem.

“I don’t know either. Let’s just get out of here! It’s too dangerous!”

Despite what he said, Yang Xiaohai, who had quite a lot of life experience, suspected that the old woman was behind it all. Without her, none of this would have happened.

Nevertheless, he didn’t think that she had done anything wrong. She was indeed helping the oppressed and doing a good deed by seeking justice for them.

Yang Xiaohai wasn’t much of an intellectual and could not figure out why things ended up this way. He just wanted to take his people away from this troubled place.

When Yang Xiaohai rushed back to the inn, he saw the three monkey children squatting on the benches. They were guarding the old woman’s ceramic jar.

“Quick, let’s go! Follow me!” Yang Xiaohai shouted urgently and headed towards the stable at the back of the inn.

“Auntie?”

“Forget about her! She’s powerful; she won’t die! If we don’t run now, we’ll be dragged into this mess!”

They quickly got the horse-drawn carriage ready, and Yang Xiaohai led it back the way they came.

This isn’t a peaceful place. I’ll take a detour to avoid going through this town, he thought to himself.

Just as his carriage was about to leave the county, he saw a group of oddly-dressed people blocking the road with their horses.

Yang Xiaohai had initially assumed they were travelers like himself, but he saw the badges on their waists, and his face turned pale. Those badges indicated they were from the Surveillance Bureau.

He had learnt about the Surveillance Bureau and their way of doing things from Senior Li.

“I need to t-turn around!”

Yang Xiaohai quickly turned the carriage and frantically whipped the horses to escape in the opposite direction.

However, when he returned to the yamen’s gate, he almost cried at the sight before him.

The people who had been looting had now come out and gathered in a large circle. They seemed to be listening to someone inside and shouted in agreement occasionally.

It was alright if they were just talking, but they happened to also be blocking the main road to the other exit.

“Sir Arrogant Stone! We are your personal servants and guards! We will follow you every step of the way and never leave your side!”

The crowd echoed this powerful shout. They then pulled out white cloths and tied them around their heads.

Yang Xiaohai looked angrily at the white cloths on their heads, then at the one on his wife’s head. He tore the cloth off her head in frustration.

He now understood that everything was probably part of the old woman’s scheme. He had blindly followed her, as he had assumed she was a good person.

Hmph, just as I thought. The more remote the place, the more trouble caused by the Dharma Sect!

Yang Xiaohai turned his head as he heard a sound on the other side. He saw a sinister-looking man on the ridge of a roof, crouching like a roof ornament.

Yang Xiaohai recognized him as one of the Surveillance Bureau members from earlier.

He watched the man reach into his robe and pull out the dried corpse of a child dressed in a red dudou[1]. The corpse had a red dot on its forehead and was tied to a red string.

The man threw the corpse off the roof.

In midair, the corpse moved its hand and moved with the pull of the string. The white-clothed people then started to move towards Yang Xiaohai, terrifying him

“Get off the carriage! We need to leave!”

Before the fighting could start, Yang Xiaohai led his group decisively into a nearby alley. He knew from his days as a beggar that nothing was more important than his life.

The sounds of fighting and shouting continued behind them as Yang Xiaohai led his group through the alleys.

After they scaled a wall to get into someone’s yard, the noise finally diminished significantly.

“We’ll stay here until the fighting stops outside,” Yang Xiaohai whispered to the others.

The three monkey children blinked, and one of them suddenly said, “Auntie.”

“Shh! No more Auntie talk! It’s because of her that we’re in this mess!”

Yang Xiaohai anxiously wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He felt the temperature around them rising, though he wasn’t sure if it was due to his anxiety.

1. Ancient Chinese underwear for kids and women. It’s a diamond-shaped cloth that’s tied at the back. ☜

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