infodatos Chapter 59 Elimination!
Chapter 59 Elimination!
Lin Shi did not interrogate him immediately.
Yang Qianchui recounted what he had learned from his visits, one by one.
Which family gave what, when did they give it, what did Sun Fu say at the time, who were the witnesses, and what physical evidence was there? Yang Qianchui spoke in a loud and clear voice, and with each point he made, Sun Fu's face paled a little more, and his forehead was covered with a layer of cold sweat.
When the silver hairpin was mentioned, the young woman from that day was invited into the hall. Holding her child, who was showing signs of improvement, she pointed at Sun Fu, her voice trembling but each word clear: "It was him! He said that if I gave him the hairpin, the Dragon God would take better care of my child!"
"You're slandering me! I only wanted to help her by offering incense at the ancestral hall out of pity! She forced that hairpin on me; I didn't want it, but she insisted!"
Sun Fu suddenly looked up and hissed.
"Oh?"
"So the wheat, copper coins, and money you exchanged for the hens were all forced upon you by others?"
Lin Shi spoke, his voice not loud, and the hall fell silent instantly.
Sun Fu choked, his eyes darting around in a panic.
"Was this talisman also something you forced on someone when you were offering incense?"
Lin Shi picked up the three inferior yellow talismans from the table, walked to Sun Fu, and unfolded the talismans.
When Sun Fu saw the talisman, he trembled violently as if he had seen a ghost.
"The cinnabar strokes on this talisman are crooked and weak, even worse than those of a beginner."
"Yet you dare claim to have obtained the truth," selling each piece for ten coins. Sun Fu, you use the name of the Dragon God to commit fraud and extortion, defiling faith and enriching yourself. Do you admit to this or not?
Lin Shi's voice turned cold.
The hall was deathly silent.
Everyone was looking at Sun Fu.
Those families who had been asked for gifts by him were now seething with rage.
"Mr. Lin! I was confused for a moment! My elderly mother is seriously ill and urgently needs money, which is why I went astray! Please forgive me this time, I will definitely change! I will return everything!"
Sun Fu opened his mouth, then suddenly knelt down with a thud, tears streaming down his face.
"A moment of confusion?"
"You solicited money from five households, illegally manufacturing and selling counterfeit talismans. Was that a moment of folly?"
"You've taken advantage of the villagers' devotion to the dragon god and their helplessness in their predicament, exploiting them to the bone. Was this a moment of folly?"
Lin Shi interrupted him, his gaze sharp as a knife, and turned to face everyone in the hall.
"Sincerity brings divine intervention. What does sincerity mean? It means having a pure heart, unwavering faith, and accumulating good deeds. It does not mean buying or selling divine favor with money, nor exchanging bribes for protection!"
"This man's actions run counter to the meaning of sincerity. He has defiled the pure faith of all believers in the Dragon God. If we let him off lightly today, others will follow suit tomorrow; the day after, this shrine will become a money exchange, and the Dragon God's mercy will become a commodity bought by the highest bidder!"
Lin Shi pointed at Sun Fu.
The people inside the hall were solemn.
"According to village rules and clan laws, those who steal or commit fraud shall be punished with twenty strokes of the cane and expelled from the village. You have used the name of the gods to commit fraud, so your crime is doubly serious!"
Sun Ming slammed his cane down hard.
Sun Fu collapsed to the ground, his face ashen. He knew he was doomed today.
"Sun Fu abused his position as a priest to extort money from believers, illegally produced counterfeit talismans, and defiled the faith. The facts are clear and the evidence is conclusive. All the money and goods he extorted have been returned to their rightful owners."
Lin Shi took a deep breath, paused, and his gaze fell on Sun Fu's neck. There hung a dark blue pebble, tied with a red string. This was a blessing stone, taken from the shore of Bibo Pool, imbued with the aura of a dragon, possessing a faint calming and tranquilizing effect. Sun Fu's stone, at this moment, was faintly gleaming with an unnatural, dull gray luster.
"Since you claim to be able to communicate with the gods, you can speak well of the dragon god."
"Then let the Dragon God tell you personally whether he accepts your feelings."
Lin Shi's voice suddenly became eerily calm, and the instant his words fell, a thought struck him.
Deep within the Azure Pool, the dragon's golden vertical pupils suddenly snapped open. Chains hummed softly, and a cold yet majestic will, following the network of power, arrived instantly.
No one inside the hall saw the strange phenomenon, but everyone felt an invisible pressure suddenly descend, as if the air had frozen.
The flames of the oil lamps all pressed down, then suddenly shot up, creating a chaotic dance of light and shadow.
Without warning, the blessing stone around Sun Fu's neck emitted a clear, teeth-grinding sound, followed by a crack appearing on the stone. The crack ran straight from top to bottom, as straight as if cut by a knife.
Immediately afterwards, cracks spread like a spider web, and the entire surface of the stone was covered with fine cracks.
Most strangely, wisps of grayish-black mist seeped from the cracks, emanating a faint, unsettling, and gloomy aura.
"Bang!"
With a muffled thud, the blessing stone shattered completely, turning into a pile of dark gray powder that fell from the red rope, scattering all over Sun Fu's head and shoulders. The red rope hung limply around his neck, swaying gently in the wind.
The hall was deathly silent.
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the pile of stone dust and at Sun Fu, whose face had turned deathly pale. No further words were needed; this miraculous backlash was more powerful than any testimony.
The dragon god himself judged that this person was guilty.
Sun Fu stared blankly at the stone dust covering his body, then suddenly let out a piercing, inhuman wail. The wail was filled with despair, fear, and the complete collapse of his last shred of hope.
Sun Fu collapsed to the ground, convulsing, unable to utter another word in his defense.
"What you have all witnessed today is a lesson for us all. Faith is like water, its value lies in its purity. I hope you will take this as a warning and constantly reflect on yourselves."
"Sun Fu shall return all money and valuables involved in this matter immediately. Considering this is his first offense and that he has an elderly mother to support, he shall not be expelled from the village for the time being. However, he shall spend three months cleaning and sweeping the ancestral hall to cleanse his conscience. After three months, his fate shall be determined based on the sincerity of his repentance."
Lin Shi stopped looking at him, turned to face the people in the hall, and his voice returned to its usual calm and steady tone.
This punishment, while severe, leaves room for leniency.
It upheld the authority of the doctrine without cutting off one's path in life.
Everyone in the hall nodded in agreement, with no one objecting.
After the situation was resolved, the crowd gradually dispersed.
Only a few core members, including Lin Shi, Xu Zhong, and Sun Ming, remained inside the hall.
"The human heart is like water, ever-changing."
"The important thing is that if the water gets dirty, we know how to clear it. If the dam breaks, we know how to repair it."
"The termites have been removed, but the warning remains. The edifice of faith needs constant cleaning of its beams and pillars to strengthen its foundation. Clear water flows continuously because it has a source of living water; faith remains evergreen because of sincere intentions."
Lin Shi's expression was solemn.
Xu Zhong and Sun Ming, among others, nodded in agreement.
The night was deep and dark.
After seeing Xu Zhong and Sun Ming off, Lin Shi returned to the side hall and stood by the window looking out.
The village was quiet and peaceful under the cover of night. In the distance, the sound of water could be heard from the direction of Bibo Pool.
A crisis has temporarily subsided.
But this won't be the last. As faith expands and interests become intertwined, similar corrupt elements will emerge again. The important thing is to establish systems and cultivate a positive atmosphere so that filth has nowhere to hide.
In the darkness, one can almost hear the rushing sound of the Qinghe River, its flow unchanged for millennia, washing over the riverbed, carrying away silt and leaving behind only clarity.
The path of faith should be the same.