Chapter 26 The wrongful death was her suffering, and it was also the suffering of others...

Zhou Yaren suddenly recalled the yamen runner statue standing in front of the courtroom of the ghost yamen. According to the yamen runner who was with Lu Bing, "Our Beiqu County has two yamens, one for yin and one for yang, which are collectively called the Yin-Yang Yamen. Our current yamen has soldiers, so what should be in the ghost yamen?"

"Ghost Judge!"

This explanation gave him an idea. Zhou Yaren stared intently at Bai Yuan and whispered, "Even if you don't want to say, I think I can guess a thing or two. Are you a ghost judge?"

Bai Yuan's eyebrows suddenly twitched: "What?"

“The people of Beiqu all believe that there are ghost judges in the Ghost Court.” Zhou Yaren speculated logically. “Your name is Bai Yuan, and the one who can trap you is someone whose injustice is not clear. It must be the ghost judge that the people are talking about, right?”

Bai Yuan opened his eyes again, looked at the other person through his long eyelashes, and asked, "Is that so?"

“If Sun Xiuniang had been wronged, she could have gone to the county government to report it and let the officials find out the truth. But instead, she went to the Ghost County Government and offered her life as a sacrifice, hoping that you would help her seek justice.”

Because the county magistrate and his officials had wrongfully killed someone, the ghosts punished them.

She might have taken Bai Yuan's case as a case of a ghostly judgment in folklore, preferring to commit suicide to seek help from ghosts and gods rather than believe that the county government could make a fair judgment on her case.

Bai Yuan understood his implied meaning and sneered inwardly: "You might as well just say that it is a heretic like me who wants to take her life."

Zhou Yaren did not deny that he did have this idea, that the righteous path did not need to take people's lives in this way.

"I don't care whether others live or die," Bai Yuan said coldly. "But those who come to me for help are all people who died unjustly."

Zhou Yaren paused, stunned: "A person who died unjustly..."

Undeniably, there are countless cases of injustice in the world. When the government cannot clear their names, most of them die unjustly. And those who die unjustly, their vengeful spirits may encounter those who have been wronged.

So it's not that she needs others to sacrifice their lives, but rather that only wronged souls who died with their eyes wide open have such an "opportunity".

Zhou Yaren suddenly realized: "That's why Sun Xiuniang..."

“She may have been bewitched,” Bai Yuan said. “I was tormented by vengeful spirits in the Taiyin/Dao Body prison, unable to control my own body or resolve anyone’s grievances. I really don’t want to be subjected to another curse.”

After all, every wronged soul that dies in Beiqu City adds another shackle to her body.

Zhou Yaren understood: "So it wasn't you?"

Bai Yuan gave a cold snort, which was taken as his response.

She disdained to sacrifice anyone's life; what use would she have for these people's lives? She didn't need to cultivate an evil body to become a demon god.

On the contrary, the deaths of these people did her no good, since no one wants to be haunted by vengeful spirits and never have peace.

If she could make a great vow, she would wish that everyone in the world could live a peaceful and healthy life, free from illness, pain, injustice, disaster, and lawsuits, and stop causing her trouble!

Zhou Yaren fell silent for a moment, weighing the truthfulness of her words, before saying, "The government did not hastily convict Sun Xiuniang. The murder case has not even been accepted yet. She is only a suspect, and it is not enough to go this far."

This is a reckless step.

These words left Bai Yuan completely bewildered: "What murder did she commit?"

"Suspected of murdering her husband." Zhou Yaren was also quite puzzled. "You didn't know? Wasn't she pleading her case to you in the underworld before she died?"

"This is not the case she is bringing up."

Zhou Yaren asked in surprise, "Are there other injustices?"

Bai Yuandao said, "She was recounting what happened twelve years ago when her father was accused of pushing the youngest son of the Shen family into the river to drown. He was detained and convicted by the government and then died unjustly in prison."

Zhou Yaren was caught off guard. A few thoughts flashed through her mind, and she suddenly remembered the strange and bizarre case that the porters had talked about in the dilapidated temple: a person who was already dead actually ran to the county government office at midnight to beat the drum and appeal for justice.

The porter had given a general account of the deceased's crime, though not in detail, but it was quite clear.

"It is said that the man pushed the youngest son of the local rich man into the river and drowned him, but the man refused to confess. How could the old rich man let it go? He bribed the jailers to torture him severely in the prison. This man was really a tough nut to crack. He was tortured to death but still refused to confess."

Just as Bai Yuan said at this moment, it is the same case.

Was Sun Xiuniang actually the daughter of the man who died unjustly?

Zhou Yaren's soul trembled, and her hand that was sprinkling the medicine shook slightly, causing a little powder to fall onto the bed: "Does the sudden resurrection of that person who died unjustly twelve years ago, who went to beat the grievance drum, have anything to do with you?"

Bai Yuanhun gave a dismissive "hmm": "He died unjustly in prison and happened to touch the formation. Although it was a mistake, it was also a stroke of luck that allowed a wisp of my divine consciousness to escape."

Zhou Yaren was incredibly perceptive: "Just like last time?"

He was referring to the night two days prior, when Sun Xiuniang sacrificed herself in front of the courtroom of the Ghost Bureau, her blood altering the talisman array above, leaking a wisp of malevolent energy, and then unleashing the "White Injustice".

"More or less," Bai Yuan said. "A mere wisp of divine consciousness is of little use and won't last long. It will dissipate if I'm not careful. At most, I can help him go to the yamen to appeal for justice. That's all I can do."

Zhou Yaren found it hard to put into words: "You've done all sorts of things. You caused a huge uproar in Beiqu, making everyone panic and even bringing down the Taihang Dao Sect leader."

Thinking of this, Zhou Yaren suddenly realized: "You did this on purpose?"

Bai Yuan raised an eyebrow without making a sound.

Zhou Yaren didn't miss a single subtle change in her expression, and she was certain in her heart: "You deliberately made Bei Qu haunted, making a big fuss, actually to attract cultivators from all walks of life?"

Bai Yuan suddenly looked at him with newfound respect: "You're quick-witted."

"You want to use them to shatter the Taiyin/Dao Body."

She was trapped in the Daoist Prison, never to see the light of day again. She finally got a chance, and of course she couldn't just sit and wait to die. Unfortunately, "a bunch of useless people came, who couldn't even get close to the Taiyin/Daoist Body."

However, according to Zhou Yaren, this was not the case. Taihang Dao must have discovered some clues, otherwise Li Liuyun would not have sent a message to him: "There is a Northern Yin Divine Emperor's Court in the clouds, and the Taiyin Black Book imprisons ghosts and spirits."

Because they recognized that this magic array was extraordinary, Taihang Dao didn't recklessly damage it like a headless fly. Instead, out of caution, they added another layer of restriction on top of it, completely quelling the "haunting" incident. They also sealed the array within the Ghost Office to prevent others from accidentally entering and causing trouble.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Yaren plunged headlong into the "trouble" less than two days after arriving in Beiqu, and even unleashed the "trouble itself," which could have been the trouble. He could not fathom the consequences that would follow, nor did he understand Bai Yuan's nature, morality, or right and wrong.

So Zhou Yaren asked, "Was it you who hanged the magistrate and his officials in the courtroom twelve years ago?"

"So what if it's me? Those county magistrates and officials killed innocent people indiscriminately; they deserve to die."

Zhou Yaren had witnessed Bai Yuan's almost earth-shattering abilities and knew that even if he went all out, he could not match him. Therefore, if trouble arose, he would not be able to stop Bai Yuan.

She probably doesn't care about human lives.

so……

The hand, its skin torn and bleeding, suddenly rose and gripped Zhou Yaren's wrist tightly.

Bai Yuan suddenly stared wide-eyed at Zhou Yaren: "You..."

He was pulled so hard that he lost his balance on the medicine packet, and the powder scattered all over the bed. Zhou Yaren almost fell over as well, but luckily she managed to brace herself, her elbows resting on the hard bed, but she was now face to face with him at close range.

Bai Yuan seemed incredulous, and said fiercely, "You tricked me!"

Zhou Yaren lowered her eyes in shame, realizing that her actions hadn't been very honorable: "I'm so sorry..."

Before he could finish speaking, he was kicked hard and slammed to the ground.

Bai Yuan was already injured by torture, and now she was ambushed, so this attack made her use all her strength.

Zhou Yaren was almost powerless to resist, as she was already exhausted and had run out of energy.

He has been holding on since last night, not daring to rest or slack off for a moment, because Bai Yuan is too unstable.

The murderous aura emanating from her was too strong, and the danger she posed was unpredictable. He couldn't keep his eyes open, nor could he feel at ease doing so, fearing that "things might change if things dragged on."

This fall left Zhou Yaren dizzy and disoriented, unable to get up for a long time, and she almost fainted.

But he still struggled a bit and explained, "Most people in this world are powerless and unable to protect themselves, so I mixed talisman ash into the medicine powder and temporarily sealed your..." He wanted to say meridians, but felt it was not quite appropriate, so he paused before saying, "I temporarily sealed your spiritual meridians."

Bai Yuan was also framed and imprisoned back then, and now that he's experiencing it again, he's absolutely furious: "Get out!"

He pretended to be harmless in front of her, getting her to talk so much, and then pretended to be kind by applying medicine to her, all in order to secretly do something to lower her guard.

If she hadn't just been subjected to torture and hadn't suffered any harm from head to toe, she would never have fallen for his tricks so easily.

Zhou Yaren admitted that he had planned this carefully, but he had no other choice. If he didn't take advantage of the situation today, he would never have another chance to do so in the future.

Hearing the commotion inside, Qin San knocked on the door, his voice filled with worry and anxiety: "What happened?"

Zhou Yaren finally overcame the dizziness and took a breath, propped herself up, and tried to calm her breathing. She replied, "It's nothing. I just tripped over the stool."

"oh."

Only after Zhou Yaren heard the footsteps of the person leaving outside the door did he relax, but he was so exhausted that he could no longer stand up. He could only sit on the cold floor, leaning against the low cabinet next to him, his eyelids drooping heavily as if weighed down by a thousand pounds. He murmured, "I meant you no harm, I was just worried..."

Finally, Zhou Yaren vaguely heard Bai Yuan say something like, "Believe it or not, I'll kill you."

Believe it.

However, he had completely lost consciousness and could not make a dying struggle. He sank into an endless darkness, lying unconscious in front of his opponent as if at the mercy of his captor.

Of course, he had considered that he might never wake up again once he closed his eyes, after all, there was still Bai Yuan in the room, whom he had just ambushed, who was burning with rage and could take his life at any moment.

So when he opened his eyes again, he was still somewhat dazed and confused, as if he had survived a catastrophe.

Because he was blind, all he saw was endless darkness. Back in Chang'an, he would light a talisman lamp in his room, which was the only light he could see.

It was just a talisman light, unlike now, where he could clearly see a person in the darkness. This person was lying quietly in front of him, and the lacerations that had covered his body had healed into hideous scars.

The scar looked rather unusual, resembling chains that bound a person.

At first glance, it seemed as if Bai Yuan was still bound by countless iron chains. But Zhou Yaren did not yet understand that what was considered another kind of "shackle" was her suffering, and it had also been the suffering of others.