Although it was a plain sentence, it filled Lu Dezhu with despair.
After the beating just now, Lu Dezhu knew that Qin San Lang would not let him off easily, but he didnât understand, crying and shouting, "Youngsters of the Qin family, why must you be so ruthless? This is something that could have been discussed, why do you have to send me to prison? In these ten miles and eight villages, which village doesnât have some past grievances? Doesnât everyone just take a step back and get over it?"
Lu Dezhu felt that even though he had done many evil deeds, those affected were from other families, what did it have to do with the Qin, Gu, Luo, and Tian families? He only ever harmed their families this once, why should he be subjected to such severe punishment as soon as he was caught?
Qin San Lang looked at Lu Dezhu, his gaze as calm as before, but the words that came out silenced Lu Dezhu completely, "Let you go, only for you to harm our families again? Donât say you wonât, people like you are habitual offenders, letting you go would only put our families into new dangers."
He pointed at the confession and said, "Last chance, will you sign the confession, or do you choose to die now?"
Qin San Langâs gaze was icy cold, causing Lu Dezhu to shiver all over; it was a look that said if he didnât confess, Qin San Lang could immediately drag him into the deep mountains and bury him.
Lu Dezhu finally became frightened, no longer daring to resist, and nodded with a face as pale as death, "Iâll sign."
Qin San Lang unlocked one of his hands so that he could sign.
After his left hand was freed, Lu Dezhu tried to break free, but found that the more he struggled, the tighter his right hand, which was tied together with his legs, was bound.
It seemed that Qin San Lang had tied a special type of knot on him, one he simply couldnât escape from.
Having no other choice, Lu Dezhu dipped his thumb into the corner of his mouth to get some of his own blood, then pressed his bloody thumbprint onto the confession.
After the bloody thumbprint dried, Qin San Lang collected the confession, pulled some wild grass into bunches, stuffed it into Lu Dezhuâs mouth to keep him from making any noise, then chopped off more than a dozen branches and used them to hide Lu Dezhu to prevent him from being discovered.
Qin San Lang stood up and told Lu Dezhu, "Someone will take you to the county government soon, donât think about denying everything in court. If youâre released, it wonât take me a day to throw you into the deep forests of Dafeng Mountain. Also, donât think about exposing me; you have no evidence that I beat you. When the time comes, I wouldnât mind testifying in court to accuse you of slander, or perhaps..."
He paused, and Lu Dezhu seemed to hear a laugh, Qin San Langâs voice came again, "When youâre sentenced to exile, Iâll drag you into the mountains on the way, cut a few wounds on you, let the smell of blood attract the wolves and tigers in the mountains to come eat you. People often die on these prisoner transfers; no one will dig deep into your death, it will even save the government officers some trouble."
"Mmm mmm mmm!" Lu Dezhu screamed in fright, but his mouth was gagged, and he could only make muffled sounds.
Qin San Lang said no more, but calmly waited as he estimated that Third Grandpa and the others would soon arrive. He mounted his horse, sped out of the narrow path onto the main road, and stopped at the roadside to wait.
Thirty minutes later, he saw Old Luo driving a mule cart racing towards him.
Qin San Lang waved at them: "Uncle Old Luo, Uncle Luo, Ah Jiu."
In the front of the mule cart, besides Old Luo who was driving, there were also Ah Jiu and Father Luo.
The Luo family couple and the Tian family couple were originally vending in the town. After hearing about Lu Dezhuâs case, Father Luo and Old Tian immediately followed Scholar Shang to the county.
"Brother Old Luo, itâs San Lang, hurry up and follow him," Father Luo said joyfully.
Old Luo drove the mule cart towards Qin San Lang, while Qin San Lang turned his horse around and ran back to the narrow path. After running for about fifteen minutes, he finally arrived at the edge of that grassy area.
Qin San Lang halted, dismounted from his horse.
Old Luo, driving the mule cart, followed closely behind him. Seeing Qin San Lang stop, he quickly brought the mule cart to a halt. As soon as the cart was steady, Third Grandpa and Scholar Shang hurriedly got off, and upon seeing Qin San Lang, they immediately asked him, "How is it? Have you caught up with Lu Dezhu?"
Qin San Lang nodded and pointed towards the deep bushes, "He is there, tied up."
He took out Lu Dezhuâs confession from the cloth bag at his waist and handed it to Scholar Shang, "Uncle Shang, please take a look."
Scholar Shang took it, and upon reading it, his face turned livid with anger as he cursed, "Beast, he is simply a beast! A person like Lu Dezhu does not deserve to live."
Stealing cattle, harming innocent girls; just these two crimes alone are enough to kill Lu Dezhu, not to mention the other evils heâs done which accumulate enough for him to be executed by dismemberment.
He then praised Qin San Lang, "Brother Qin, youâve done well. With this confession, Lu Dezhu can no longer escape the law, truly a case of evil being met with evil retribution."
Gu Jinli and Gu Jinâan also got off the mule cart. Hearing this, they knew that Qin San Lang had captured Lu Dezhu and even forced him to write a confession. The siblings were very pleased, seeing this method as a permanent solution.
Qin San Lang said to Scholar Shang, "Uncle Shang, Iâll have to trouble you to go to the government office and find someone to escort Lu Dezhu there."
He did not want to show up personally for the delivery of Lu Dezhu to the authorities, and felt it unnecessary for the families to appear either. If they were to appear, they would become known throughout Tianfu County. Currently, they are just ordinary farm families who simply wanted to deal with the evil man without drawing much attention.
However, Qin San Lang looked at Scholar Shang and reminded, "Uncle Shang, itâs better to handle the delivery of Lu Dezhu to the authorities after dark."
It would create too much of a commotion during the day and could possibly expose their families.
"Alright, I will go to my father-in-lawâs house and ask my brother-in-law to find Squad Leader Yang. With Squad Leader Yang there, the matter will be handled properly." Scholar Shang looked at Qin San Lang with admiration; the young man was clever despite his young age, handling everything skillfully without needing them to worry.
Scholar Shang then rolled up the confession and, addressing Ah Jiu and Old Luo, said, "You two know Squad Leader Yang. Stay here and keep a close watch on Lu Dezhu, make no mistakes."
"Rest assured, master, I will definitely keep this villain well-guarded," Ah Jiu said, joining Old Luo behind the pile of branches to watch over Lu Dezhu.
Scholar Shang said, "Brother Qin, you drive the cart, letâs head to the county government."
The Qin, Gu, Luo, and Tian families were still in a rush to handle the deeds for their properties and couldnât afford any delays.
"Alright," Qin San Lang smiled and nodded, climbing onto the mule cart first, followed by Third Grandpa and the others. Once everyone was seated, Qin San Lang cracked the whip and the mule started to run.
Scholar Shang sat in the mule cart, lifted the blue cloth curtain to look at Qin San Lang, and smiled, "You, young man, surely know a plethora of skills."
Capable of riding horses, driving carts, capturing people, and intellectually smart enough to come up with the idea of making Lu Dezhu write a confession. Any of these skills alone, many adults lack, yet he manages all. And he is only around fifteen years old, still a youth.
Hearing Scholar Shangâs words, Qin San Lang just smiled, drove the mule cart, and after more than a moment, reached the main road. After another moment, they arrived at the gates of the county.
The soldier inspecting at the gate was one of the county soldiers who recognized Scholar Shangâs mule cart. Scholar Shang showed his face, and without needing inspection, they were allowed into the city.