"This is the sound of the drum to summon all the villagers to the square."
As Yueru spoke, he stood up and walked out of the house.
Xiao Lingyu pondered for a moment. Naturally, he was extremely curious, so he followed them.
In the middle of the valley, which was also the center of Lin Valley Village, there was a rather large plaza. The entire plaza was paved with bluestone slabs. From the various mottled and ancient marks on the bluestone slabs, one could tell that the plaza had been around for quite some time.
The square did not have a regular shape. Instead, there was a high platform in the middle that looked like an altar. At this moment, many Linggu Valley villagers had already gathered around the high platform. They were pointing at it and discussing animatedly.
Xiao Lingyu followed Yueru to the edge of the square. She did not squeeze into the crowd. Instead, she stood in a corner of the square with the mentality of watching a show.
Yueru did not stand with Xiao Lingyu. Instead, he stood closer to the high platform than Xiao Lingyu. He was just outside the crowd of onlookers.
After waiting quietly for a while, the old village chief went up to the high platform and waved his hand to signal for everyone to quiet down. Then, he said loudly, "Today, I have called everyone here for one thing. That is to punish a villager who has disregarded the village rules. His name is … Kang Ping!"
"Kang Ping? How can it be him? "
"Hasn't Kang Ping always been very law-abiding?"
"You guys still don't know. Kang Ping fought with the deputy village chief last time and even injured someone."
"Kang Ping is finished this time. He dared to challenge the deputy village chief. No one can save him."
"That group of people have always had a bad relationship with the deputy village chief. It's just that the deputy village chief did not find a suitable opportunity to punish them in the past."
"I wonder how they will be punished."
"It shouldn't be too serious. After all, they didn't commit any major crimes. At most, they will just admit their mistakes and be casually whipped a few times."
As soon as the village chief finished speaking, the Linggu Valley villagers began to discuss in low voices in the square. Although Xiao Lingyu was standing far away, she could still hear them clearly.
"Bring Kang Ping here!" The old village chief shouted to the side.
A group of armored cultivators walked out from a corner of the square, and Kang Ping was in the middle of them. However, while the armored cultivators were dressed in neat and tidy attire, Kang Ping's clothes were tattered and his hair was disheveled. He gave off a dispirited and powerless feeling.
From the looks of it, Kang Ping must've suffered quite a bit after being imprisoned.
Xiao Lingyu also felt that Kang Ping's crime was not a serious one. At most, the deputy village chief would punish him in public, but he would not be sentenced to death. Therefore, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked calm.
It wasn't a bad idea to let Kang Ping suffer some physical pain. At least it would make him understand that there were times when he had to lower his head. Even if he didn't lower his head, he had to learn to use other methods to deal with his enemies instead of fighting them head-on.
Kang Ping was escorted to the stage by a group of armored cultivators. Then, he was tied to a pillar that suddenly appeared.
Even now, Kang Ping still had an unyielding expression on his face. He held his head high, like a hero in distress who was ready to die. He really did have an unyielding spirit.
However, Kang Ping clearly had an agitated and indignant expression on his face. He seemed to have something to say to everyone, but his lips were trembling and he couldn't make a sound.
Xiao Lingyu reckoned that Kang Ping's mouth and tongue had been sealed, and his cultivation base and cultivation base had been sealed as well. That was why he couldn't speak.
In front of all the villagers, the deputy village chief definitely wouldn't give Kang Ping a chance to spout nonsense, nor would he give him a chance to refute.
"Kang Ping's crime is to defy the village rules. He refused to hand over the meat he obtained outside and injured the villagers. According to the village rules, we've decided to give him two ways to deal with this … The first is to make him admit his mistake in public and promise that he won't commit the same mistake in the future. Then, he'll be whipped. The second is to burn him in a raging fire and turn him into ashes! As for how to deal with him, we'll follow the village rules and let the villagers vote to decide. In other words, we'll deal with him according to the village rules! "the village chief said with a dignified expression.
Actually, refusing to hand over the meat wasn't a big deal. The key point was that Kang Ping had attacked the villagers and was labeled as defying the village rules. This crime was obviously magnified.
"Those who choose to be whipped, please stand to the left. Those who choose to be burned, please stand to the right," the village chief said without changing his expression.
Next, the villagers of the entire Linggu Valley went through another round of heated discussion and then began to choose a side.
Looking at the situation of the sides, Xiao Lingyu's frown deepened. First, there was a group of people who didn't hesitate to go to the right, which actually led many people to go to the higher right.
The people on the right chose to be burned, which was to execute Kang Ping!
How could these villagers be so cruel?
Kang Ping's mistake definitely wouldn't lead to death! Most importantly, what did Kang Ping do wrong?
Through his conversation with Yueru, Xiao Lingyu could guess that the deputy village chief had already informed his relatives of how to choose. The deputy village chief's faction had many people and was extremely powerful in the Linggu Valley. Everyone didn't want to offend them, so naturally, they would stand on their side.
In this way, this so-called vote seemed fair, but in reality, it could be easily controlled by the deputy village chief. It was absolutely easy for him to treat people's lives like grass.
Xiao Lingyu saw Yueru. Although Yueru stood to the left with a helpless expression, it was to no avail.
After a hundred breaths of time, the villagers had finished choosing their sides. Only a pitiful hundred people stood to the left, while the villagers on the right side of the high platform were a large black mass. With a casual glance, one could tell that there were thousands of people on the right side.
The result was obvious. Xiao Lingyu saw a hint of a smug smile faintly appear on the deputy village chief's face.
"Since everyone's opinions are so unanimous, in order to warn future generations not to make the same mistake, I hope that everyone will take this as a warning and let our Linggu Valley neighbors be harmonious and the entire village be united."
The village chief's expression was still very calm. After he spoke with a strong sense of righteousness, he said to the people beside him, "Let's go down. The burning at the stake will be carried out immediately!"
"Wait!"
Xiao Lingyu really couldn't stand it anymore. He shouted as the people on the platform prepared to go down. Then, he quickly walked down the platform in two steps and then jumped up onto the platform.
"Sir, aren't you still seriously injured? Your movements are very smooth," the deputy village chief said with narrowed eyes.
Everyone in the village was here, so the deputy village chief naturally had no reason to be too polite to Xiao Lingyu.
"I think that Kang Ping didn't do anything wrong at all. He doesn't deserve to die," Xiao Lingyu said rather calmly.
At this moment, Kang Ping, who was tied to the pillar, repeatedly signaled with his eyes for Xiao Lingyu to go down the platform. He didn't want to implicate Xiao Lingyu because of his matter. Of course, his face was naturally filled with gratitude.
Xiao Lingyu saw Kang Ping's signal, but he wouldn't go down the platform because no one could do anything to him. What did he have to fear?
Originally, Xiao Lingyu didn't want to cause trouble and didn't want to be so high-profile. However, he really couldn't stand the way the Linggu Valley dealt with Kang Ping's matter. In a situation where it was absolutely safe, he didn't mind forcefully taking the lead.
"Whether he did anything wrong or not is not up to you to decide," the deputy village chief said unhappily.
"Then who is the one who has the final say? You?" Xiao Lingyu said bluntly.
"Of course, it's not up to me. It's up to the entire village. If he didn't do anything wrong, why did the majority of the villagers choose to execute him?" the deputy village chief said as if he was reasonable.
"Then why don't you let the person involved speak a few words? Moreover, before you convicted him, did you publicly interrogate him? "Xiao Lingyu asked again.
"We have already interrogated him regarding his wrongdoings. His crime was also determined according to the village rules. As for why we sealed his mouth, it was because we didn't want him to roar and go crazy here, "the deputy village chief said with conviction.
"It's just a one-sided story. Did any of the villagers listen to your so-called interrogation? Did he plead guilty when you convicted him? "Xiao Lingyu asked relentlessly.
The deputy village chief's face gradually darkened. He was finding it harder and harder to deal with Xiao Lingyu's questions.
At this moment, all the villagers were staring at the platform, as if waiting for the deputy village chief to give an answer.
To Xiao Lingyu's surprise, the village chief was silent at this moment. He didn't show the slightest repulsion towards him coming on stage to disrupt the situation.
"This village has its own rules. It's not up to you to judge. You are only temporarily recuperating in this village. You have no right to interfere with the village's affairs. You should step down. If you continue to pester us endlessly, I can only order someone to ask you to step down." The deputy village chief didn't answer the question, but said very firmly.
"Lord Deputy Village Chief, please clearly explain Kang Ping's matter in front of the entire village. If you don't give a convincing explanation, I won't agree. I believe that the entire village won't agree either."
At this point, Xiao Lingyu looked at the villagers below the platform and said, "I'm not meddling in other people's business. I just don't want to see unfair and undisclosed matters, and I don't want anyone to die in vain. I think everyone should feel the same way. Of course, I'm not a coward."
Many of the villagers standing on the right side of the platform lowered their heads after hearing Xiao Lingyu's words.
"If we confusedly deal with Kang Ping today, who knows how many more people will be inexplicably tied up here and burned in the fire in the future? Since there are village rules to follow, then let's do it according to the village rules. Don't tell me that Linggu Valley's village rules say that people who make mistakes can't argue in public? "Xiao Lingyu said righteously.
"Unreasonable troublemaker. Men, chase this person out of the village!" The deputy village chief's patience was completely exhausted. He shouted at the group of armored cultivators who were escorting Kang Ping onto the platform.
The armored cultivators were naturally very obedient. They immediately swarmed forward, preparing to attack Xiao Lingyu.
However, they were also in the Great Divinity stage. Although they were wearing armor and looked very powerful, their strength was still much weaker than Xiao Lingyu's. They had just rushed to Xiao Lingyu's side when Xiao Lingyu quickly attacked and knocked three of them off the platform.
Naturally, Xiao Lingyu had a sense of propriety when he attacked. He only knocked the armored cultivators off the stage and did not injure him at all.
In less than two breaths of time after the armored cultivators rushed to Xiao Lingyu's side, none of them were standing on the platform.
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