Chapter 182: Rescue Method

"How is this possible!" Qiao Xueying exclaimed in surprise, but her face quickly brightened. "Isn't this better? If you tell the truth, then the villagers of Chenjia Village will be cleared of suspicion."

"Are you an idiot?" Zu An glanced at her disdainfully. "If you tell the truth, do you know what the consequences will be? It would mean Heaven itself declared the emperor should die. The empire would surely descend into chaos, and the emperor would be furious. Given his personality, if we reported this, he would undoubtedly execute us for incompetence."

"What do we do then?" Qiao Xueying asked urgently. "We can't report the truth, but the villagers of Chenjia Village are innocent. We can't possibly torture someone into confessing and create a scapegoat, can we?"

"It's not that simple," Zu An said coldly. "Qin law is strict. This crime is an act of great disrespect and would certainly lead to the extermination of nine generations of one's family. Who would dare admit to such a grave offense? Especially when they are already innocent."

"But the authorities want us to find the culprit within a day. Isn't that hopeless then?" Qiao Xueying felt a chill run through her.

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

"What way?" Qiao Xueying asked.

"Since none of them are willing to confess, we kill all the villagers around the meteorite. In the emperor's eyes, the culprit must be among them, and he doesn't care about the lives of common people, so it will naturally count as completing our task," Zu An replied in a low voice.

This was the outcome of the 'Yinghuo Shou Xin' incident that occurred in the 36th year of Qin Shi Huang's reign. That year, no one in the village admitted to carving the characters, so eventually, all the nearby villagers were killed. It was a case of rather killing a thousand innocents than letting one culprit escape.

Zu An secretly congratulated himself for knowing this historical event. What was an insoluble problem for others, he already had a solution for. It seemed this Seal of Heaven would be easier to break than the previous two challenges.

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

Zu An frowned. "You should be aware 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 cannot bring myself to kill so many innocent lives for my own selfish desires. You can call me pedantic or foolish, but I simply cannot do it."

Zu An looked at her with a strange expression. "When you tried to kill me before, you didn't seem so indecisive, did you?"

Qiao Xueying's face flushed. "That's different. You were already destined to be 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, looking dejected. "I'm so handsome and dashing, yet you find me annoying? It seems your eyes are no longer necessary."

Qiao Xueying was speechless.

Just then, Officer Wang hurried over and whispered to Zu An, "Lord Imperial Censor, we've conducted a preliminary interrogation, and none of these villagers admit to carving the characters. I think we should just—"

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

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

Officer Wang's face darkened. "This won't do, and that won't do. May I ask what brilliant idea you have, young lady? If we don't kill these people, then it will be our heads on the chopping block! Lord Imperial Censor, we must be decisive."

Qiao Xueying quickly pulled on Zu An's sleeve, looking at him pleadingly.

Zu An said in a deep voice, "Officer Wang, go and thoroughly interrogate each of them again. If we still find no clues, then we will think of another solution."

"Very well," Officer 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 a disturbance. He's quite skilled and has injured several of our men."

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

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

"Wait!"

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

"To answer, Lord Imperial Censor, the village chief was already in poor health and was frightened. During the interrogation, we might have applied a little torture, but it truly wasn't severe. Everyone else was fine, but he suddenly dropped dead," the soldier replied, wiping away cold sweat.

Zu An recalled the village chief's appearance from earlier; he was quite old and indeed seemed unwell. He had also fainted from shock over the carving incident. His death during interrogation was not entirely unexpected, nor could it be entirely blamed on the soldiers.

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

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier quickly left. Soon, a group of soldiers surrounded Chen Wei. Although he was valiant, two fists were no match for four hands. He was quickly restrained with chains, subdued, and locked in a secret room.

"Are you really going to kill them?" Qiao Xueying quickly asked Zu An after the others had left.

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

Qiao Xueying nodded eagerly.

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

"I..." Qiao Xueying's face flushed. The last time she 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 older brother' to save so many people."

"You're taking advantage of me!" Qiao Xueying said indignantly.

Zu An shrugged. "I'm not some great benefactor who does good deeds without seeking recognition. Why would I go to such trouble to help unrelated people if I don't seize the opportunity to gain something?"

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

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

"You don't even guarantee success, and I still have to keep calling you... that?" Qiao Xueying certainly wouldn't agree.

"If I don't succeed, you naturally won't have to call me that afterward. But to begin with, you must," Zu An said, smiling at her.

"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, "G-good older brother."

Zu An leaned his ear closer to her. "What did you say? Too quiet, I can't hear you clearly."

"Don't go too far!" Qiao Xueying glared at him resentfully.

Rage points from Qiao Xueying: 33!

"Your voice really is very quiet," Zu An thought regretfully. This girl used to be like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment, but now she only contributed such a pitiful amount of rage points. It was frustrating.

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

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

With that, he walked straight towards where Chen Wei was being held.

Qiao Xueying stood rooted to the spot, unconsciously touching her cheeks, which felt intensely hot. She thought to herself that she must be crazy.

Zu An stopped outside the room where Chen Wei was imprisoned for a moment. Of course, his promise to save them wasn't solely because he wanted her to call him "good older brother." Primarily, as someone from a modern society, he simply couldn't bring himself to let hundreds of innocent people die for his own selfish desires.

Although theoretically, these people were merely illusory figures created by the secret realm, his personal interactions with them felt incredibly real, indistinguishable from actual humans. He dared not take the gamble; he didn't want to be left with any psychological trauma.

From the moment he saw the characters on the meteorite, he had already been thinking of other solutions. So even if Qiao Xueying hadn't called him "good older brother," he would have still tried to save the people.

If Qiao Xueying were to find this out, the rage points he collected would probably skyrocket, right?

Zu An mused with a hint of mischievous pleasure. However, he ultimately resisted the urge to tell her. Compared to a few thousand rage points, it seemed more worthwhile to have a charming young girl call him "good older brother" in the future.

The thought that she was once an enemy who would have loved to kill him made it even more exciting.

Regaining his composure, Zu An pushed the door open. Chen Wei was tied securely to a pillar.

"Corrupt official! I knew you weren't a good person from the start. You must have deliberately framed us!" Chen Wei's eyes instantly turned red when he saw him enter. He struggled to lunge at Zu An, but he was completely bound.

Rage points from Chen Wei: 444!

"Behave yourself!" A yamen runner standing nearby swung his club, hitting Chen Wei directly, then looked at Zu An obsequiously. "Don't offend the Lord Imperial Censor."

Zu An nodded, motioning for them to leave. "I have some questions for him. You can wait outside."

"Yes, yes, yes..." The yamen runners and soldiers filed out one after another.

Qiao Xueying also followed, closing the door and then cautiously peering outside to see if anyone was approaching.

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

"Corrupt official! It was you all along!" Chen Wei's eyes were filled with hatred. The thought of his father's tragic death and the calamity that had befallen his fellow villagers made him seethe with rage.

Rage points from Chen Wei: 999!

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

"Save me?" Chen Wei frowned, speaking coldly. "Are you really that kind?"

"Brother Chen, my... my older brother is really here to save you," Qiao Xueying interjected, trying to reassure him.

Hearing her say that, Chen Wei looked at Zu An with suspicion but remained silent.

Only then did Zu An speak: "I know you are innocent because when the meteorite fell, I rushed over immediately, 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, perhaps we'd have a slim chance. But according to you, the characters were carved by Heaven. How could the Emperor tolerate such a thing? The blame will surely be shifted onto us, and to prevent unrest among the people, we will certainly be killed to silence us."

Qiao Xueying, standing nearby, couldn't help but glance at Zu An; Chen Wei's assessment was essentially the same as his own.

Zu An hadn't expected this seemingly simple-minded man to possess such a keen mind. So he said, "Since you are intelligent, I will show you a clear path forward. It remains to be seen if you have the courage to take it."