Chapter 182: Rescue Method

"How is this possible!" Qiao Xueying exclaimed in surprise, but her expression quickly turned to joy. "Isn't this even better? If you tell the truth, then the villagers of Chen Family Village will be cleared of suspicion."

"Are you an idiot?" Zu An looked at her with disdain. "Do you know the consequences of telling the truth? It would mean that Heaven itself declared the emperor should die, which would surely plunge the world into chaos. The emperor would be furious, and given his character, reporting this would certainly lead to us, the incompetent officials, being executed."

"So what do we do?" Qiao Xueying asked, flustered. "We can't report the truth, but the villagers of Chen Family Village are innocent. We can't possibly torture someone into confessing and make them a scapegoat."

"It's not that simple," Zu An said coldly. "Qin law is strict. This kind of crime is high treason and would definitely lead to the execution of nine generations of one's family. Who would dare admit to such a grave offense? Not to mention, they are actually innocent."

"But our superiors demand we find the killer within a day. Isn't that hopeless?" Qiao Xueying felt a chill run through her.

"There is a way," Zu An said, his voice growing cold as he looked at the distant villagers.

"What way?" Qiao Xueying asked.

"Since no one is willing to confess, we kill all the villagers around the meteorite. From the emperor's perspective, the culprit must be among them, and he doesn't care about the lives of common people, so it would count as completing our task." Zu An answered in a deep voice.

This was the outcome of the 'Yinghuo Shouxin' incident that occurred in the 36th year of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's reign. In that year, no one in the village admitted to carving the characters, so in the end, all the nearby villagers were killed. It was a case of killing a thousand innocent people rather than letting one guilty person escape.

Zu An secretly rejoiced that he happened to know this piece of history. What was an unsolvable problem for others, he already knew how to deal with. It seemed this Seal of Heaven would be easier to break than the previous two stages.

To his surprise, Qiao Xueying immediately objected: "No, that's too cruel! I don't agree!"

Zu An frowned. "You should know that all of this is just an illusion created by the Seal of Heaven. They aren't real people. What's cruel about it?"

Qiao Xueying shook her head. "No, from our previous interactions, I can feel that they are living, breathing people. And even if it's an illusion, I can't bring myself to sacrifice so many innocent lives for my own self-interest. Call me pedantic, call me foolish, but I simply cannot do it."

Zu An looked at her strangely. "When you tried to kill me before, you weren't so indecisive, were you?"

Qiao Xueying's face flushed. "That's different. You were already designated as an enemy, and you're so annoying. Of course, I wouldn't show any mercy when trying to kill you."

Zu An touched his face, feeling dejected. "I'm so handsome and dashing, and you find me annoying? It seems your eyes are not worth keeping."

Qiao Xueying was speechless.

Just then, Magistrate Wang rushed over and whispered to Zu An, "Lord Censor, we've conducted a preliminary interrogation, and none of these villagers admit to carving the characters. I think it might be better to... *chop*..."

As he spoke, he subtly made a throat-slitting gesture. "This way, the real culprit certainly won't escape, and we'll have an explanation for the Emperor."

Before Zu An could speak, Qiao Xueying cried out, "No!"

Magistrate Wang's face darkened. "Neither this nor that? May I ask, young lady, what brilliant idea you have? If we don't kill these people, it will be our heads on the block! Lord Censor, we must be decisive."

Qiao Xueying hurriedly tugged at Zu An's sleeve, looking at him piteously.

Zu An said in a deep voice, "Magistrate Wang, please go and interrogate them thoroughly, one by one, again. If we still find no leads, we will think of another solution."

"Alright," Magistrate Wang nodded.

Just as he was about to leave, a soldier suddenly came to report: "Sirs, something terrible has happened! The village chief died during interrogation, and his son is causing trouble over there. He's quite skilled and has injured several of our men."

Magistrate Wang's beard bristled. "Nonsense! At a time like this, anyone causing trouble will be treated as a rebel and killed without question!"

"Yes, sir!" The soldier was about to leave but was stopped by Zu An:

"Wait!"

"How did the village chief die?" Zu An asked.

"Lord Censor, the village chief was already in poor health and was frightened. During the interrogation, we might have used a little torture, but it really wasn't severe. Everyone else was fine, but he suddenly died." The soldier wiped cold sweat from his brow and answered hurriedly.

Zu An recalled the village chief's appearance from earlier. He was quite old and indeed not in good health. Having been scared unconscious by the talk of carved characters, his death during interrogation was not entirely unexpected, nor could it be entirely blamed on the soldiers.

"Alright, seize his son and lock him up for now. I'll deal with him later."

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier left in a hurry. Soon, a group of soldiers surrounded Chen Wei. Although he was brave, two fists could not contend with four hands, and he was quickly ensnared by chains, subdued, and locked in a secret room.

"Are you really going to kill them?" After everyone else had left, Qiao Xueying quickly asked Zu An.

Zu An looked into her eyes. "Do you really want to save them?"

Qiao Xueying nodded frantically.

Zu An said in a deep voice, "If you call me 'good brother' from now on, I might consider helping you save them."

"I..." Qiao Xueying's face flushed. The last time she had called him that was because she thought she was about to die and didn't want to die confused; under normal circumstances, she would never be able to say it.

Zu An sighed. "It seems your so-called kindness is just hypocrisy. You're unwilling to even call me 'good brother' to save so many people."

Qiao Xueying said indignantly, "You're taking advantage of the situation."

Zu An shrugged. "I'm not some benevolent saint who does good deeds anonymously. Why would I go to such great lengths to help strangers without gaining some benefit?"

Qiao Xueying gritted her teeth, a conflicted expression on her face. "If I call you that, will you really go save them?"

"Not just once, but from now on," Zu An corrected. "Of course, I'll only do my best; there's no guarantee I'll actually succeed in saving them."

"You can't even guarantee success, and I have to keep calling you... calling you *that*?" Qiao Xueying refused outright.

"If I don't succeed in saving them, then naturally you won't have to call me that anymore. But to begin with, you'll have to." Zu An looked at her, smiling.

"Alright, I hope you keep your word," Qiao Xueying pursed her lips, her face alternating between pale and red. After a long moment, she whispered, "Good... good brother."

Zu An leaned his ear closer to her. "What did you say? Your voice is too quiet; I can't hear you."

"Don't push it!" Qiao Xueying glared at him resentfully.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying +33!

"Your voice really is quiet," Zu An thought to himself with regret. This girl used to explode like a powder keg at the slightest provocation, but now she only contributed such a pitiful amount of rage points. It was truly disheartening.

"If you dare to trick me, you're dead!" Helpless, Qiao Xueying could only blush and call out again, "Good brother~"

Zu An laughed heartily. "Good sister, now that's a good girl."

Having said that, he headed straight for where Chen Wei was being held.

Qiao Xueying stood rooted to the spot, unconsciously touching her flushed cheeks. She thought she must be crazy.

Zu An stopped outside the room where Chen Wei was confined for a moment. Of course, he didn't agree to save them just to have her call him 'good brother'. Primarily, as someone from a civilized society, he couldn't bring himself to let hundreds of innocent people die for his own selfish desires.

Although theoretically these people were mere illusions created by the secret realm, his personal interactions with them felt incredibly real, indistinguishable from actual humans. He dared not take the risk; he didn't want to carry any psychological scars.

From the moment he first saw the characters on the meteorite, he had been considering other solutions. Therefore, even if Qiao Xueying hadn't called him 'good brother,' he would have tried to save them.

If Qiao Xueying were to know this, the amount of rage points he collected would probably go through the roof, right?

Zu An indulged in his mischievous thoughts, but ultimately resisted the urge to tell her. Compared to a few thousand rage points, it seemed more worthwhile to have a pretty young girl call him 'good brother' from now on.

Especially when he remembered that she was once an enemy who wanted nothing more than to kill him, it made the prospect even more appealing.

After collecting his thoughts, Zu An pushed the door open. Chen Wei was tied to a pillar, hog-tied.

"Corrupt official! I knew you were no good from the start; you must have deliberately framed us!" Chen Wei's eyes instantly turned red when he saw Zu An enter. He struggled, trying to lunge at him, but he was completely bound.

Rage points from Chen Wei +444!

"Behave yourself!" A yamen runner nearby swung his water-and-fire rod, striking Chen Wei directly. Then, he looked at Zu An obsequiously. "Don't offend Lord Censor."

Zu An nodded, gesturing for them to leave. "I have something to ask him. You all wait outside."

"Yes, yes, sir~" The yamen runners and soldiers filed out one by one.

Qiao Xueying followed him, closed the door, and then cautiously peered outside to see if anyone was approaching.

Only then did Zu An speak to Chen Wei: "I know you are innocent."

"Corrupt official, so it *was* you!" Chen Wei's eyes blazed with hatred. The thought of his father's tragic death and the calamity befalling his fellow villagers filled him with fury.

Rage points from Chen Wei +999!

"Don't get so agitated. I'm here to save you," Zu An said slowly.

"Save me?" Chen Wei frowned, saying coldly, "Are you really that kind-hearted?"

"Brother Chen, my... my brother truly is here to save you," Qiao Xueying said, stepping forward to comfort him.

Hearing her words, Chen Wei looked at Zu An skeptically but said nothing more.

Zu An then began, "I know you are innocent because I rushed to the meteorite as soon as it fell, and the characters were already carved on it."

Hearing his words, Chen Wei trembled. "It's over! Everyone in our village is doomed!"

Zu An looked at him in surprise. "Why do you say that?"

Chen Wei's eyes were vacant as he said with a bitter smile, "Initially, I thought if we could find out who carved the characters, we might still have a glimmer of hope. But according to you, the characters were carved by Heaven itself. How could the Emperor tolerate such a thing? They will surely shift the blame onto us in the end. To prevent unrest among the people, we will definitely be killed to silence us."

Qiao Xueying, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance at Zu An. Her own assessment was largely similar to his.

Zu An hadn't expected this rough man to possess such a discerning mind. He then said, "Since you are a smart man, I will point out a clear path for you. Let's see if you have the courage to take it."