The old servant was sitting under a tree. The branches were bare, and he didn't find it strange at all. He picked up some peanuts and drank some yellow wine. Apart from peanuts, there was also a roasted chicken on the table.
It smelled delicious. At this point, the sky was filled with dark clouds, and the wind started blowing. The old servant picked up a peanut with his chopsticks and threw it into his mouth. He then drank a mouthful of wine before walking to the window. The wind was blowing outside, and some rain was falling. Just as he was about to close the door, a bolt of lightning flashed past.
Two constables appeared, and without saying a word, they chained him up. The old servant wanted to call for help, but he couldn't make a sound. His entire body felt light, and he was in a daze. When he turned around, he saw a shadow lying on the ground in front of the window.
The old servant was terrified, and wanted to struggle, but he couldn't muster any strength. He then followed the constables out of the room.
"Mighty!" A loud sound rang out, and the old servant was jolted awake. He was sweating profusely as he looked up. The scenery around him had changed. His surroundings were dark and gloomy, and there were two pillars on both sides of the hall. On the left was the words "Loyal Brother", and on the right was the words "Righteousness, Integrity and Shame".
As he looked over, he saw an official sitting at the table. Beside him stood a man dressed in official robes. He had the head of a tiger and the body of a human. There were ten other constables who were kneeling before him.
The old servant looked at this official, and felt that he had seen this official somewhere before. He then remembered that the magistrate had seen this official before. This was not an official, it was the River Deity.
Just as he was thinking about this, he heard screams. There was also the smell of something being fried. When the old servant smelled the fragrance, he was scared out of his wits.
Not far away, there were several prisoners with chains on their bodies. Some of them had broken arms and heads, and looked extremely terrifying. Above them in the courtyard, there was someone with an oil cauldron. Several people were frying something in the oil.
The River Deity was flipping through the documents and said, "Bring the criminal, Chen Gui, up here."
The old servant was shocked. He knew Chen Gui, and was considered a friend of his. He had died a few days ago. He then saw Chen Gui being brought up. The River Deity slapped the wooden table, "Chen Gui, you've been wronged. Do you know your crimes? You might be able to atone for your crimes! "
Chen Gui was terrified as he hurriedly said, "Old master River Deity, I've been wronged, I've been wronged. I've always had a good reputation, I've never done anything bad.
Chen Gui refused to change his words.
The River Deity flipped open the book in front of him and coldly said, "Chen Gui, from An Ji Prefecture, 58 years old this year. Fickle in love, greedy for fame, and has committed 108 evil deeds. At the beginning of this year, he ran over a beggar and killed him. Today, he is being tried in the River Deity Temple. Chen Gui, am I wrong?"
"Milord, I have also done good deeds before. I have taken care of the widow next door many times. Everyone can see that," Hearing this, Chen Gui shouted loudly.
The Official Registrar flipped through the documents and said coldly, "Chen Gui, two years ago, I used the excuse of taking care of her to commit adultery. Your excellency, I know my sins. Your excellency, I know my sins. I am willing to confess all my sins." Chen Gui was on the verge of breaking down as he shouted out.
"You have committed a heinous crime and have yet to repent. You shall be sentenced to the punishment of being fried and then thrown into the water prison for a hundred years." The River Deity judged.
"Lord River God, please spare my life." Chen Gui begged.
At this point, the spirit constables shouted out in unison, their voices were as loud as thunder. One of the constables then grabbed Chen Gui and brought him to the oil cauldron. The cauldron was seven feet high and was surrounded by burning charcoal.
Chen Gui was trembling in fear as he cried out in agony. He wanted to escape but had no way out. The spirit constables grabbed his hair with their left hand and grabbed his ankle with their right. They then tossed Chen Gui into the oil cauldron.
The sound of sizzling could be heard as Chen Gui rolled around in the oil. His skin and flesh were scorched, and he was in excruciating pain. The old servant had sharp eyes and could see Chen Gui opening his mouth in agony. The boiling hot oil gushed into his mouth, and even his internal organs were being fried. After the time it took to eat a meal, the spirit constables then used a fork to drag him out of the cauldron.
"Li Wu!" The River Deity brought another person along, who was trembling in fear.
"Li Wu, you have been wronged. Do you know your crimes?" The River Deity slapped the wooden board.
Li Wu was trembling, "Your excellency River God, I once picked up ten taels of silver and didn't return it."
"Other than that, what other crimes have you committed?" The River Deity asked.
Hearing these words, Li Wu was speechless. The River Deity then replied coldly, "That's just a small offense, and only requires fifty strokes of the rod. However, fifteen years ago, you and your brother stole an old woman's only pig, and caused her to commit suicide by jumping into the river. You have committed a grave crime, and should be punished by the mountain of knives."
"Your excellency, your excellency, please forgive me, please forgive me." Li Wu cried out in pain as a forest of knives appeared in the courtyard. The spirit constables grabbed hold of Li Wu and threw him into the air. Li Wu fell to the ground as the knives pierced into his chest. He screamed out in pain. Seeing such a tragic scene, the old servant's entire body trembled as sweat dripped down his forehead.
"Bring up a sinner!"
The spirit constables carried the old servant forward. The old servant's limbs were trembling as he fell to the ground.
He then heard the wooden board being slapped, "You have been wronged. Do you know your crimes? Bring it up yourself, and you might be able to atone for your crimes! "
The old servant knelt on the ground and kowtowed profusely, "This lowly servant knows his crimes. This lowly servant will confess now."
The old servant raised his head and looked at the River Deity. His eyes were glazed over, and his heart was filled with fear and confusion. He struggled for a while, and realized that the River Deity was about to explode in anger. He finally confessed, "I helped my master to lend money to the loan sharks. Because I couldn't pay them back, I brought my men and sold their houses. I even stole their daughters to pay off the debt."
"The last time we caught some illegal salt, I helped my master sell it and earned 3,700 taels of silver."
"The last time, my master even instructed me to send 300 taels of silver to him."
Once the old servant opened his mouth, he spilled out everything that had happened.
The entire hall was filled with incense smoke. There was no additional punishment, but several servants knelt on the ground. Strangely, their eyes were closed, and yet they screamed out in pain. They then spoke up and confessed their crimes.
Some said that they had stolen the land, some said that they had beaten the servants to death, and some said that they had been greedy.
Pei Zi Yun looked at the mirror and thought to himself, 'This is very similar to the movies in my previous life. Many people have been bewitched by this, and have started spreading rumors about them.'
However, using this method to deal with mortals was much easier than interrogating them. Not many people were able to resist under such circumstances. There were also Daoists who recorded their confessions.
Seeing them confess one by one, Pei Zi Yun wasn't happy. Instead, he was worried. He frowned and spoke to the Sect Leader, "These are all small crimes. We can't topple the magistrate so quickly. These servants are all old servants of the magistrate. How can they not know the truth?"
"Could it be that the magistrate knows his limits?"
In this world, in this era, the magistrate's actions of lending money, giving bribes, and beating the servants to death were not completely useless. If the magistrate was punished by someone in a higher position, the crime would be more than sufficient.
However, if it was someone from a lower position or someone from a lower position, bringing up these crimes would not be a big deal. Even if the magistrate were to be impeached, he would only be punished with three cups of wine.
Hearing Pei Zi Yun's words, the Sect Leader frowned. At this point, a bright light flashed across the mirror, as though something had interfered. The Sect Leader looked up, and her face was filled with joy, "I've caught a big fish."
"What?" Pei Zi Yun looked up at the mirror and saw a man in a dream. He gritted his teeth and refused to confess, as a yellow aura surrounded him.
"It's the assistant housekeeper, Bai Ceng!" A female Daoist exclaimed.
"So it turns out that everything went smoothly for everyone. It wasn't only because he was a servant, but also because he didn't confess much. What this person knew was indeed related to the magistrate's fate energy. Hence, the magistrate's fate energy came to protect him. This Dao of fate energy is really mysterious. It can even protect the people around him from harm?" Pei Zi Yun frowned.
When the Sect Leader heard this, she gave a cold harrumph, "Fate energy is indeed mysterious. Even the Daoist sects have yet to fully understand it. Hm, this River Deity is really crafty. If he really wanted to resist the magistrate's fate energy, he could at least resist for a while. Yet now, he's allowed himself to enter."
When Pei Zi Yun heard this, he laughed, "That's reasonable. We've only given him some incense. It's only natural that the River Deity refuses to help us resist the magistrate."
"However, I have an idea." Pei Zi Yun said as he retrieved the Crown Prince's tile and pointed it at the man, "How dare you, you're still not backing down?"
As soon as he shouted, the mirror blurred before everything returned to normal.
The man's yellow aura retreated a few feet, as though he was unwilling to give up. He then circled around the mirror, refusing to retreat. However, he couldn't advance any further.
"Quick, increase the amount of incense!" The Sect Leader commanded as the man inhaled the incense continuously. The River Deity within the mirror shouted, "Are you still not going to confess?"
At this point, the Spirit Constable stepped forward. Without the protection of the yellow aura, Bai Ceng's face contorted in fear as he looked at the Spirit Constable. He then took a few steps back, "General You Ji, don't come near me, don't, don't bother me. It's my master who ordered me to kill you. I didn't do it willingly."
His voice was hoarse and shrill. As soon as these words were spoken, the yellow energy surrounding the magistrate started to dissipate. Pei Zi Yun was overjoyed as he instructed the female Daoist, "Quick, quick. Don't ask anyone else. Ask him specifically. Also, increase the pressure on the spell and ask him clearly. Let's get to the bottom of this!"
Following this command, the mirror adjusted itself, and the original images disappeared. Only Bai Ceng remained within the mirror, and the clarity of the mirror increased by several times.
Spiritual World, River Deity Hall
At this point, five or six projectors were projected onto the hall. The River Deity sat on his throne and watched. All the Spirit Constables around him were spectating, and none of them were present. When they saw this, their hearts trembled as they sighed, "This person doesn't want to commit such a crime. It's hard for him to escape the law."
As he spoke, he saw that the River Deity didn't understand. He then pointed out, "With the protection of the magistrate's Qi, even if it was the real one, it wouldn't be able to harm him unless he was judged by someone of a higher level."
"It's just that this Daoist has the Crown Prince's Token. With a single shout, the magistrate's Qi would be gone. And this is only the magistrate's Qi. If it was the magistrate, he would have to retreat."
"Of course, if it was the Governor's Qi, the Crown Prince's Token wouldn't be able to move."
"Without the protection of the Qi, the incense can amplify the fear within the soul, causing it to see the person it doesn't want to see. That's not all. If it were a minor crime, it might be able to suppress it."
"But General You Ji's words caused the magistrate's Qi to collapse. I knew that this magistrate wouldn't be able to escape the law. I didn't expect him to commit such a crime."
"This time, the Daoist is going to win." The River Deity sighed.
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