It was just an ordinary day back then.
Having both been caught in the power struggles of the capital for a long time, Chu He knew that Yi Qing should understand these things, so he carefully chose his words and said, "It's like this, when Magistrate Qu and I were compiling the county annals, we discovered that the money for the annual dike construction was being misappropriated by that water demon, so this expense is recorded very strangely in the books. But many of our ancestors are long gone, so we've come to discuss with the masters how to report this..."
Xu Yi had previously heard Qu Yi say that the previous construction funds had been embezzled by the county magistrates... Now, hearing Chu He say that the treasures had been sacrificed to the water demon, she naturally understood... But she had already seen the ways of officials in the supervisor's case; even an upright person like the supervisor couldn't avoid this, let alone others? So she pouted and remained silent...
Wu Zi naturally knew what was bothering Xu Yi, so he walked over, took Xu Yi's arm with one hand and rubbed it to comfort him, while saying, "Since a water demon was sacrificed, it's understandable that it can't be written in the accounts." Wu Zi looked at Yi Qing: "What do you think, Senior Brother?"
With a calm and serious expression, Yi Qing said, "I will report this matter truthfully to the Supervisor... Rest assured, Censor Chu."
"That's good, that's good..." Chu He nodded happily, "Then we won't disturb you any longer, masters, please continue..."
After Qu Yi and Chu He left, the three of them lost all interest in the Ascension Chess. They stared at each other blankly for a while before Xu Yi finally couldn't hold back any longer: "I never thought that even demons... had to take the blame in this world..."
Yi Qing let out a long sigh, his tone calm: "The helplessness of the mortal world is reflected in these places, which is why there are so many people who live in seclusion."
Wu Zi sighed, "No one can be completely without feelings or desires, and His Majesty is no exception. Compared to letting His Majesty know that he and his ancestors were all deceived by a mere county official, this story of sacrificing the water demon is naturally much better. Chu He's actions are quite normal. It's good this way; once this news spreads, people will begin to doubt the water demon's words, and once doubts arise, they will snowball and grow bigger and bigger. It can be considered as contributing to the elimination of the wish's power..."
Xu Yi thought of another aspect and became even more speechless: "If this demon were a kind person, these corrupt officials, if they were found out, would definitely pin the embezzlement on the demon... I simply can't imagine what a scene of carnage that would be..."
Wu Zi had to admit that Xu Yi was indeed very insightful. Just by seeing the evil demon suffer a punishment it shouldn't have, Xu Yi had already glimpsed the ugliness of human nature. Whether the magistrate of Quhua Town was good or bad was entirely his own choice, and had no direct relation to whether the river demon was good or bad…
To elaborate a bit, the essence of human good and evil is not caused by external forces, but is essentially a matter of one's own choices, and has nothing to do with the good or bad of the external environment... Therefore, one should always look inward, examine the heart within one's own chest, and not get lost in external affirmation or negation.
Xu Yi's rehearsal of the demon-swapping scenario successfully silenced the three people. After a long while, Yi Qing pulled everyone back to their senses: "I dare not speak for the officialdom, but in the cultivation world, with the Supervisor in charge, such injustices would not occur. I believe that if this demon is a good demon, the Supervisor will definitely be able to find a way to achieve both goals and will not stand idly by and watch an innocent life perish." Saying this, Yi Qing looked at Xu Yi: "The Thirteenth Princess is the best example, isn't she?"
Xu Yi was suddenly pulled back to her senses by Yi Qing. Indeed, she was the best example. She died innocently. Even after His Majesty ordered Master Wu Zi to seal her away in the desolate mountains, she was still well protected in Wuji Mountain... The fact that she could still travel with Wu Zi in the mortal world and experience the joys of life was also the result of everyone's efforts...
She recalled the loving look in the Imperial Observatory Director's eyes, and how the Imperial Study Director had gently stroked her hair. Suddenly, everything became clear to her... The people in the Imperial Observatory must have participated in Master Wu's 'secret crossing,' otherwise how would they know about her situation? How could they be so certain of her identity the moment they met her, and release her from the Imperial Observatory without any suspicion?
Thinking of this, she took a few steps closer to Yi Qing and asked, "Were the people from the Imperial Observatory also involved in rescuing me?"
Yi Qing nodded: "The Supervisor was unwilling to seal you, so His Majesty found a master outside, who is Wu Zi's master. But cultivators believe in cause and effect, so the Supervisor gave Master Wu a map to Wuji Mountain."
“No wonder, no wonder you all know about me…” Xu Yi realized belatedly.
"The Thirteenth Princess died a loyal death, and it is only right that you have a special opportunity after death. This is something we all agree on."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yi's eyes suddenly reddened... It turns out that not everyone in the world is blind, and that there are people who are working for their beliefs in this noisy world...
With a soft plop, a tear fell onto Xu Yi's hand. Looking at this long-unseen tear, Xu Yi couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears, hugging Wu Zi beside her...
Ever since Wu Zi heard about Xu Yi's situation, he felt pity for the woman. Over time, this pity transformed into deep heartache...
Hearing Xu Yi's heart-wrenching cries, Wu Zi's heart involuntarily clenched. He hugged Xu Yi tightly and comforted her, "It's alright, it's alright."
Xu Yi nodded in his arms and cried for about fifteen minutes, finally letting go of all the resentment and grievances in her heart...
She stepped out of Wu Zi's embrace and thanked him, "Thank you, Wu Zi," then looked at Yi Qing, "Thank you too, Yi Qing," and thinking of the Imperial Observatory behind them, "Thank you to everyone at the Imperial Observatory, Master Wu, and everyone who was willing to help me..."
After hearing her words, Wu Zi ruffled her hair and comforted her, saying, "It's good that you're alright."
"Yes," Xu Yi nodded heavily, her eyes red, "I will, I will be fine, and I will do my best to help more people..."
"Isn't that settled?" Wu Zi wiped away Xu Yi's tears: "The Dao is always passed down."
Once the two on one side had calmed down, Yi Qing, who was watching from the side, finally spoke up and asked, "So... shall we continue with the Ascension Chess game?"
“Of course…” The two exchanged a glance and said in unison.
The somber mood gradually dissipated during the steps of the Ascension Chess game... and things returned to normal.
It was just an ordinary day back then.
That night, Yi Qing wrote a letter explaining the cause and effect of the events, and sent it back to the capital along with Chu He's memorial... Although Chu He was on a mission with the Imperial Censor's token, which allowed him to mobilize treasury funds and troops, he could not act without the Emperor's decree. Therefore, he only mobilized troops from the area around Quhua Town to repair the dikes and check for leaks, in order to facilitate the reconstruction of the river embankment later.
Wu Zi's side also took action. They had Xu Yi disguise himself as a servant of the water demon, wandering around at night, demanding young boys and girls from people he encountered, and also scaring them along the way... Soon, rumors spread that the river god was dissatisfied with the annual sacrifice and wanted to temporarily increase the number of sacrifices...
The town of Quhua was in a state of panic...
Because some villagers had clay statues of the water demon in their homes, they informed the water demon by offering incense... The water demon knew that this was a scheme by Wu Zi and the others, so he appeared in the high priest's dream and asked him to step forward to stabilize people's hearts. As long as the water demon has enough power of vows, we naturally cannot touch him...
But Qu had already sent people to keep an eye on the high priest, so he naturally found out about this news.
Xu Yi and his group discussed it and decided to turn the tables on the high priest. They trapped the high priest, and then Wu Zi dressed up as the high priest and announced to the public that the water god's sacrifices would be increased to once a month...
The water demon had been keeping an eye on the high priest's surroundings, and upon hearing Wu Zi's nonsense, it wanted to appear and clarify the matter... The water column had barely surfaced when it was suppressed by Qing's magical artifact...
The water demon was unwilling to submit and tried to overturn the river by channeling all its demonic energy. Fortunately, in order to build a river embankment, Qing and Wu Zi reinforced the original embankment with runes...
The waves stirred up by the water demon were several stories high, but as soon as they hit the riverbank, runes on the bank flashed, connecting one after another. The golden power of the runes shot straight into the sky, firmly holding back the raging river outside the bank...
Such a commotion naturally attracted the attention of the villagers, who began to walk towards the riverbank, some even calling for the river god to appear... At this moment, the soldiers joined in, standing outside the riverbank to prevent the villagers from entering. Qu Yi also appeared on the sacrificial stage, putting on an exaggerated performance. He suddenly knelt down facing the river, pleading, "River god, please calm your anger... We mortals have not said we disobeyed your decrees... but with the sudden change in the number of sacrifices, we need to discuss where to begin... Please do not be angry..."
On the surface, these words seemed to be a plea to the river god not to be angry, but every word subtly led people towards the river god's displeasure... Among the crowd, a family that was to offer sacrifices next year stepped forward, knelt down before the river, and cried out, "Please, river god, grant us some time... My youngest daughter will only be seven years old next year, please grant us more time... Or perhaps we could offer sacrifices to other families first..."
As soon as the village woman uttered these words, those who were originally in line after her with children who had just turned one year old immediately stood up and shouted, "You're talking nonsense! It's your family's turn to offer sacrifices. So what if your child isn't even a year old? Even if they're not a year old, they should still be offered sacrifices to the river god to show their sincerity... What nonsense are you spouting..."
These words resonated with many people. People, after all, always feel that everything is fine as long as it doesn't involve them, so they started chattering and agreeing...
Seeing that the farce was about to escalate in another direction, Yi Qing quickly relayed a message to Xu Yi: "We can't let them keep arguing like this. You step in and turn the situation around..."
"Me?" Xu Yi pointed to herself, both confused and stammering, "I... what should I do?"
"Just go and bring their thoughts back, don't let them easily accept the monthly sacrifice, go quickly..."
"Ah..." Xu Yi was still confused, and asked Yi Qing again, "Then how should I say it?"
"Just say, 'I disagree, I disagree with the monthly sacrifice,' and go now..."
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