Mutated Tao

Chapter 641: Yamen

“How ugly! There’s nobody dead in the family, so why are you wearing white?” Yang Xiaohai recalled that people would only wear white cloths on their heads when there was a death in the family.

“You don’t understand. The old woman said that as long as we wear this, the Arrogant Stone Buddha will protect us. You should put on one too.”

“ The Buddha will protect you just because you wrapped a piece of white cloth around your head? If it were that easy, there wouldn’t be any poor people in the world,” Yang Xiaohai said with a sigh. Sometimes, he really didn’t know who was the older one between the two of them.

Yang Xiaohai saw five people inside the carriage that also had white cloths wrapped around their heads. He then said, “Get off. We’ll stay at this inn for the night and set off tomorrow morning.”

An ordinary inn was to the left of their carriage, with tables and stools that appeared to be covered in a layer of starch. This was exactly what Yang Xiaohai wanted. They would avoid drawing unwanted attention by staying somewhere that wasn’t ostentatious.

The five of them sat around an eight-immortal table. When the meat and vegetable dishes were served, Yang Xiaohai and the monkey children ate heartily. Despite that, the old woman continued to suck on a stone.

“Auntie, have some food. You can’t fill up on that,” Zhao Xiumei urged.

The old woman replied, “You go ahead and eat your stuff. Mine is good stuff.”

Zhao Xiumei wanted to say more, but Yang Xiaohai kicked her under the table.

Yang Xiaohai had previously witnessed the old woman effortlessly smash someone’s head with a stone. He figured it eating stones might be a method of cultivation, similar to Senior Li’s method of cultivation.

Such personal matters were best left unspoken to avoid crossing any boundaries.

Yang Xiaohai quickly changed the subject. “Madam, where are you going? Perhaps we are headed the same way?”

“Where am I going? My intention was to come here. After finishing my business, who knows where I’ll go. I’ll take it one step at a time,” the old woman replied as she looked around the inn, seemingly in search of something.

As they continued eating, the sound of someone sobbing rang out by the inn’s entrance. Everyone looked up to see a long-haired woman in wooden shackles being paraded by several constables.

She cried pitifully, “Why? I was violated in broad daylight, yet the scoundrel counter-sued me! Oh heavens, open your eyes!”

As the woman passed by the inn, everyone, including the waiters and other patrons, turned away and sighed.

Their indignant conversations reached the ears of Yang Xiaohai and his companions.

“How could she win? That scoundrel is the county magistrate’s son. So many people witnessed it, but no one dares to say a word.”

“That greedy and chubby official is so detestable. He bullies both men and women and twists right from wrong!”

“I heard he bribed higher-ups and is about to be promoted. No wonder he’s in a hurry to grab everything he can.”

Yang Xiaohai and his group stopped eating and looked at the old woman in ragged clothes.

The old woman picked up a stone with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth and then another, until she had eaten all the stones in the pot. And yet, her cheeks were still sunken, as if she hadn’t eaten anything at all.

She then said, “Mmm, I’m full. Kid, help me put this pot away.”

The old woman stood up, grabbed her staff, and started to walk out of the inn.

Yang Xiaohai and Zhao Xiumei exchanged glances. The sound of blades being drawn and screams outside compelled them to follow her quickly.

When they got outside, they saw the constables who had been escorting the woman lying on the ground. Blood seeped from their heads and soaked the earth.

The old woman was holding the hand of the woman in shackles as they headed towards the yamen[1].

This scene drew a lot of attention. Soon after, many curious townsfolk followed them too.

Bang!

The old woman threw a stone, and it shattered the latch of the yamen’s gate. Then the entire gate collapsed together with the plaque above it.

“Great! Destroy it!”

“Finally, someone can stand up to them!”

The commotion quickly drew out everyone from inside the yamen, but it was all in vain. The old woman threw stone after stone at their heads until only a few people were left standing. She had killed everyone except the plump magistrate and his equally chubby son.

The father and son knelt and begged for their lives.

This time, the old woman turned to the crowd outside the yamen. “I’ll take charge here today. If you have a grudge, take revenge. If you have a complaint, seek amends!”

“Kill the corrupt official! Kill the corrupt official!” someone yelled.

Their powerful rallying voice led the crowd, getting everyone excited.

Under the old woman’s orders, people found stones of various sizes and hurled them while cursing at the two men.

A sharp-edged stone flew over and struck the magistrate’s mouth. Before his broken teeth even fell out, another stone flew over and smashed into his forehead.

No one could withstand such an assault. Shortly after, the two men were stoned to death.

The two corpses were battered and bloody, but this did little to appease the enraged mob.

Yang Xiaohai turned pale and swallowed hard. “Isn’t killing a county magistrate a major capital offense?”

“Corrupt official! I’ll eat your flesh and drink your blood! My daughter was only sixteen, and you turned her into a wax human!” yelled a single-legged old man with white hair.

He lunged forward and bit the official’s corpse with his remaining teeth.

This set off a chain reaction. Anyone with a deep grudge against the official rushed forward and gnawed on the bodies. The people fought fiercely, as if being a little too late meant someone else would eat their share.

Though the magistrate and his son were meaty, they couldn’t withstand such a cannibalistic rampage. Soon after, only two bloody skeletons were left on the ground, surrounded by over a hundred commoners with red eyes and mouths filled with blood.

“This isn’t enough! Why should that corrupt official keep all our things? We should take them back!” someone yelled from amid the crowd.

“Yes, let’s take them back! We deserve our dues!”

“Right! And the official’s seven wives too! Why should he have seven when I have none?”

With this instigation, the crowd stormed into the yamen and started looting anything of value.

Greed overtook their hearts when they saw the chests of silver being carried out. Even the dog’s bowls were made of gold, which caused their eyes to redden and their breathing to hasten.

“Ahhh!!” a beautiful woman screamed as she was dragged out.

The men quickly stripped her naked and violated her.

The woman in shackles stood in the hall and watched the chaos unfold. She saw the official’s family suffer a fate worse than hers. However, she didn’t look happy at all; she just stood there dispiritedly as if she had lost her soul.

1. the administrative office of a local bureaucrat ☜