activa-t Chapter 75 Impulse
Chapter 75 Impulse
Hearing Li Chong say that, Deng Meng felt a little anxious.
But this was his only chance of survival, so how could he give it up so easily?
"What if I have evidence?" Deng Meng asked.
Li Chong remained calm and collected: "What evidence do you have? Tell me."
But what evidence did Deng Meng have? After robbing the newly appointed magistrate, even with his audacity, Deng Meng dared not make a big fuss about it.
He immediately killed the witness to silence him, and then quickly led his men to retreat. It was because of the hasty retreat that Cui Shi was able to survive by sheer luck.
After that, Deng Meng kept it strictly confidential from others, not daring to let out a single word.
The few bandits who knew the identity of the deceased were also silenced by him and dared not tell anyone about it.
At the time, Deng Meng was afraid of being implicated, so he didn't even bring any identification. What evidence did he have to prove Li Chong's identity?
But in order to survive, he could only force himself to endure it and pray that Li Chong would be frightened by him.
"You want to know? I'm not telling you!" Deng Meng retorted defiantly, his neck stiff. "You'd better save my life first, otherwise, you can forget about being a secure county magistrate!"
Li Chong remained squatting there, staring at Deng Meng. After a moment, he chuckled and stood up.
"Fine, if you don't want to talk about it, then don't. As for saving your life, I'll think about it."
After saying that, Li Chong walked away.
Deng Meng is in such a state now that he doesn't need special supervision; he can't run away even if he wanted to.
Watching Li Chong's retreating figure, Deng Meng's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty. He opened his mouth to threaten him, but couldn't bring himself to shout.
Now that he only has this one chip, he dares not gamble it lightly.
Li Chong is right. Not many people would believe what a bandit like him says. Now he can only pray that Li Chong is really considering it.
Little did he know that Li Chong was secretly rejoicing.
"He did know my identity after all. Fortunately, he had no evidence. It was a stroke of luck amidst misfortune."
Thinking of this, Li Chong couldn't help but smile.
From the conversation just now, Li Chong had already figured out that Deng Meng was definitely bluffing.
If he really had something on me, he would never have so hastily threatened me now. Wouldn't he be worried that I would kill him to silence him?
Only when Deng Meng truly felt uncertain and had no other options would he so hastily reveal his thoughts.
It seems that Li Chong can now rest easy.
"This man cannot be allowed to live. Once we capture Du Heng, we'll kill him first!"
Li Chong made up his mind.
Walking slowly to Zhong Mei, Li Chong asked gently, "Are you feeling better?"
Zhong Mei sat up and nodded almost imperceptibly: "Mm."
After a moment of silence, she looked at Li Chong: "What are your plans to do with that Zhu guy?"
"Now is not the time to talk about this. I know you have resentment in your heart, but you have to take things one step at a time and not be impatient," Li Chong comforted him.
Zhong Mei was getting anxious and pulled Li Chong aside: "But you already know that the man surnamed Zhu colluded with those two scoundrels to kill you. If you don't strike first, what if he gets wind of it and escapes?"
"Take it easy, take it easy."
Li Chong gently patted Zhong Mei's back to help her catch her breath.
He then continued to explain, "He wouldn't dare. Killing an official is tantamount to rebellion, and Zhu Zhicheng doesn't have that guts."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhong Mei raised her head again. Li Chong waved his hand to signal her to continue.
"As for your concern that he might run away, that's even more impossible. His son works in the government office, and his family owns vast tracts of land and is extremely wealthy. Would he really give up all of his assets? If you want to take action against him, you need to plan carefully and not rush things."
Li Chong's power base was not deep. Even with Deng Meng's testimony, he had no concrete evidence, so it was unlikely that he could bring Zhu Zhicheng to justice.
It might be possible to make the Zhu family look bad and bring out a few scapegoats, but it would still be difficult to completely eradicate them.
If he wants to take action against the Zhu family, the first thing he will have to face is the criticism from the people.
Zhu Zhicheng is good at disguising himself and has a good reputation among the people. If he really gets into a desperate situation and fights to the death, Li Chong will inevitably be in a sorry state.
Moreover, with the registrar Yang Chengde hindering them, it's impossible to investigate and punish the Zhu family anytime soon.
Unless Li Chong were willing to give up his official position and trade his future with the Zhu family, but Li Chong felt that would be too much of a loss.
He wanted to climb the ranks in the Northern Song Dynasty's officialdom so that he would have a stronger ability to protect himself when chaos ensued.
It's not worth it for the Zhu family.
However, it would be somewhat unreasonable for Zhong Mei, who bears the burden of avenging her father's death, to understand Li Chong's considerations.
Zhong Mei, her eyes red with anger, said, "If you won't help me, then I'll go myself! My second uncle, third uncle, and I have some manpower; we can definitely avenge my father!"
Compared to the backstabbing by Du Heng and Deng Meng, who came later, it was Zhu Zhicheng's instigation, with whom he had cooperated for nearly ten years, that was more infuriating.
After saying this, Zhong Mei turned around angrily and walked away.
"Wait a minute." Li Chong grabbed Zhong Mei. "I didn't say I wouldn't help you get revenge. Eradicating the Zhu family is something I'm going to do too. It's just that this matter can't be rushed and needs to be planned carefully."
"I don't know anything about 'long' or 'short', I just want to kill him to avenge my father!"
Li Chong frowned: "And then? You committed murder, are you forcing me to arrest you?"
"Then you've got it! Taking our heads will be a perfect way to curry favor with your superiors, won't it?" Zhong Mei sneered angrily. "Anyway, you corrupt officials are all the same, all you know is how to climb the ladder!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, Zhong Mei regretted them, realizing she had spoken too harshly.
But given her temper, it was impossible to get her to admit her mistake. She could only turn her head away and remain silent.
Hearing this, Li Chong also got a little angry.
He thought he had been kind enough to Zhong Mei and her group, but Zhong Mei still said that. Although he knew she was just saying it out of anger, Li Chong still couldn't stand it.
Li Chong grabbed Zhong Mei's hand, and the two of them stood there awkwardly, both falling silent.
"Sir, it's about the same outside..."
Wu Dalang rushed over and shouted at Li Chong.
Halfway through his sentence, seeing the two holding hands and the strange atmosphere around them, Wu Dalang immediately shut his mouth.
Seeing that the two of them were looking at him at the same time, Wu Dalang immediately chuckled twice and said, "No, it's nothing. Please go ahead with your business, sir. I won't bother you."
Seeing Wu Dalang's gaze fall on their hands, Zhong Mei was startled and quickly withdrew her hand.
Li Chong said impatiently, "Come back! How's it going outside?"
Wu Dalang quickly turned around, bowed, and said, "The situation outside is almost under control. Everyone is waiting for the master to go out and take charge."
"Okay." Li Chong nodded. "You go and keep an eye on things first, I'll be right out."
After Wu Dalang turned and left, Li Chong said to Zhong Mei, "Let's leave it at that for now. I'll talk to you again later. Don't be impulsive."
Zhong Mei didn't argue back and remained silent, which was tantamount to admitting it.
Li Chong said no more and walked straight outside.