Chapter 105 Solving the Case: Volcano Hell is the Best!
Upon hearing that there was still a choice, Yun Tianqi quickly got up and bowed respectfully to Xiao Yan, saying, "Then I'll trouble Judge to lead the way."
Xiao Yan smiled warmly, bowed to Zhiwei and Yun Tianjiao, and then left with Yun Tianqi.
Yun Tianjiao looked at Zhiwei with some suspicion: "This person wouldn't have sold that idiot, would he? Why does he seem so excited to be laughing like that?"
Zhiwei stood with her arms crossed, her expression complicated: "Our Lord Xiao has a rather peculiar hobby. But don't worry, he should handle this matter properly."
After about half an incense stick's time, the two finally returned.
Yun Tianqi's face was deathly pale, his eyes were vacant, his body was trembling, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat, as if he had just experienced some major shock.
Yun Tianjiao raised an eyebrow and looked at Xiao Yan, as if to ask: What's wrong with him?
Xiao Yan calmly said, "I took your brother to visit the other seventeen hells in turn, and we saw the torture process of the prisoners inside. In the end, your brother hesitated between the Tongue-Pulling Hell, the Stone Mill Hell, and the Volcano Hell, as if he didn't know which one to choose."
Upon hearing this, Yun Tianqi seemed to suddenly come back to his senses and hurriedly shouted, "Volcano Hell! I still choose Volcano Hell, Volcano Hell is the best!"
Yun Tianjiao: "..."
Although Yun Tianjiao had never personally visited the eighteen hells of the underworld, he had previously seen some descriptions in related books. For example, the Stone Mill Hell that Xiao Yan had just mentioned, where the tortured were repeatedly ground into mincemeat by a stone mill, day and night, in a never-ending cycle. As for the Tongue-Pulling Hell, it was exactly what it sounded like; the tortured had their tongues pulled out. Because the ghosts had strong regenerative abilities, new tongues would grow back after being pulled out, so there were always tongues to be pulled out every day.
It seems that Yun Tianqi was terrified by the horrors in other hells and found the volcanic hell to be the most acceptable place.
Zhiwei and Yun Tianjiao personally accompanied Yun Tianqi through the imprisonment process and escorted him to the gates of the Volcano Hell.
Yun Tianqi's eyes were filled with tears, and he looked back every few steps.
Zhiwei comforted him, saying, "Your Majesty, rest assured, as long as your sins are atoned for, you can leave here and regain your freedom."
As Xiao Yan watched Yun Tianqi being escorted into the Volcanic Hell by the ghost messengers, a look of lingering satisfaction still lingered on his face. He sighed to Zhiwei, "It's been a long time since I've taken people on a tour of all eighteen hells. Your Majesty, should we make this a fixed procedure from now on, and arrange it for everyone who is going to be punished?"
Zhiwei looked at him coldly, "Lord Xiao, have you been quite free lately? I think we don't need to find anyone else for the position of Meng Po. You can continue to hold it as a part-time job."
Xiao Yan's lingering smile vanished, replaced by a sickeningly sullen expression, and he went to work listlessly.
Looking at the gates of the volcanic hell, Yun Tianjiao sighed slightly, "Yun Tianqi has never suffered much hardship since he was a child, but this time he's probably going to suffer a lot."
Zhiwei said, "These are his sins. Only by atoning for them can he gain true freedom in the future."
Yun Tianjiao nodded. In any case, Yun Tianqi's matter could be put on hold for the time being. She asked Zhiwei, "Can I go to the mortal realm now? I want to see how Yun Chi Kingdom is doing now."
"Your Highness is now a ghost spirit, and your soul is fragile and cannot withstand the yang energy of the mortal world. Only by completely refining the power of the ghost core in your body and merging it with your soul can you walk freely in the mortal world."
These days, Zhiwei has been teaching Yun Tianjiao to cultivate ghost arts, but the power of the Ghost King's inner core in her body is too great, and it cannot be mastered overnight.
"But why are you able to walk in the mortal realm without a ghost pill?"
“I am not newly dead; I have accumulated hundreds of years of internal energy, so I am naturally different from Your Highness. However, if Your Highness wishes to go to the mortal realm to explore now, there is a way.”
An hour later, Yun Tianjiao and Zhiwei appeared on the streets of the capital of Yunchi Kingdom. Zhiwei stood tall and elegant, dressed in a sky-blue brocade robe, looking like an ordinary rich young master, while Yun Tianjiao transformed into a little black cat, sitting on Zhiwei's shoulder.
"Now that the dynasty has changed, Yun Chi Kingdom is no longer Yun Chi Kingdom, but the capital city has not changed much. The street vendors look no different from before." Yun Tianjiao communicated with Zhiwei using ghost magic, no longer having to worry about not being able to speak human language like when he first turned into a cat.
Zhiwei said, "After all, for ordinary people, it doesn't matter who holds that position."
A man and a cat walked down the street. The street that Mugo had destroyed had long been repaired and renovated. If there was any difference between now and when Yun Tianjiao was alive, it was because the new emperor had just entered the capital and the shocking palace coup had only been over for a day. The main streets of the city were still under martial law, and heavy troops were guarding every intersection.
As the two passed by a temple dedicated to the new deity, Yun Tianjiao exclaimed in delight, "Do you remember this place? It was here that we caught that fortune-telling old man."
Upon hearing this, Zhiwei led Yun Tianjiao inside. Returning to this familiar place, the newly built temple was small and simply decorated, clearly constructed by a self-organized folk group, and therefore lacked the vibrancy of temples built by the government.
The last time I visited, the place was spotless, the offering altar was immaculate, and all the fruits and pastries were there, with unburnt incense sticks still burning in the incense burner. But now, the entire hall was devoid of any smoke or fire, exuding an aura of decay and death, and even the incense burner was completely cold.
"Is the incense offerings to God Gongxin not as plentiful as before?" Yun Tianjiao's first thought was that Qingyuan's promotion to the God of Wind and Rain might have diverted some of the incense offerings from Gongxin, the God of Agriculture.
Zhiwei said, "I just passed by the temples of several other deities, and they all seemed very deserted."
Yun Tianjiao's cat tail swayed behind Zhiwei. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Actually, it's not surprising. Shen Hengzhen has never liked the practice of worshipping gods. Now that he has ascended the throne as the new emperor, he will naturally influence the people below him."
Leaving aside ordinary people, even those officials who served under his watchful eye every day, who would dare to disregard the emperor's preferences and continue to promote the worship of gods? They would probably only be able to worship gods secretly at home behind closed doors.
If the powerful and wealthy don't take the lead in burning incense and worshipping gods, how much money can the common people afford to offer as offerings? Moreover, with the war just ending, the common people don't have any surplus money. If they have even a single copper coin, they will prioritize their basic needs for food and clothing.
"Is Your Highness going to the palace to see Shen Hengzhen?" Zhiwei asked.
Yun Tianjiao shook his cat head in a serious manner, "Let's not see each other for now. He has replaced the Yun family and become the new ruler of the world. It would be awkward for him to face me, an old friend. Even if we do meet, let's wait a while."
Zhiwei was preparing to find an inn to stay at and was about to leave the Gongxin Temple with Yun Tianjiao when two soldiers suddenly barged in and, without saying a word, dragged Zhiwei away.
"Where are you two taking me, sirs?" Zhiwei was forced to follow the two soldiers, and her attitude was very polite.
The two soldiers didn't want to make things difficult for him. One of them explained, "Young master, don't be afraid. Our new emperor has encountered a strange case and will personally conduct a public trial at the Jingzhao Yin's office today. He has specially ordered idlers on the street to go and listen in. We see that you have nothing else to do, so why don't you go and see what's going on?"
Another person said, "Yes, this is a rare opportunity to meet the emperor. Once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever. Instead of worshipping these useless gods here, we should go and worship our true emperor!"
Zhiwei feigned surprise, "This is wonderful! This humble citizen thanks the two soldiers for guiding us!"
Two soldiers escorted Zhiwei to the gate of the Prefect of the Capital's office and then went off to conscript other able-bodied men. By this time, a large crowd had already gathered outside the office, some like Zhiwei who had been driven there by the soldiers, and others who had come on their own initiative to join in the fun.
Just now, Yun Tianjiao hid in Zhiwei's sleeve, but now he peeked out and quickly climbed back onto Zhiwei's shoulder, looking towards the gate of the government office. "What is Shen Hengzhen up to? What strange case is he trying to handle personally? Shouldn't the most important thing right now be preparing for the coronation ceremony?"
He was a "traitorous minister" to begin with. Even if the previous dynasty was incompetent, it still violated traditional ethics and moral principles. Why not hold a ceremony to secure the throne instead of busying himself with other things?
"What does Lord Shen care about most?" Zhiwei asked.
Without hesitation, Yun Tianjiao replied, "Naturally, it's the custom of worshipping gods."
"In my opinion, the case he's going to try today is probably related to this," Zhiwei guessed.
More and more people gathered outside the government office. Because of the soldiers maintaining order, it was not too crowded or chaotic. After about half an hour, the gates of the government office were opened and the sound of court proceedings began. The soldiers around shouted at the crowd to be quiet, and soon the area outside the government office was completely silent.
Since the coronation ceremony had not yet been held, Shen Hengzhen was not wearing the emperor's dragon robe, but rather a general's armor, sitting upright behind the examination table.
Because Yun Tianjiao was perched on Zhiwei's shoulder, above the throng of people, he had a good view and his cat eyesight was excellent, allowing him to clearly see every subtle change in Shen Hengzhen's expression.
She couldn't help but be secretly surprised. In just over a year, Shen Hengzhen was no longer the upright and dashing young civil official he once was. Perhaps due to leading troops in battle for so long, his skin had become much darker, and there was a hint of fierceness between his brows.
With a wave of his hand, the officials brought in an elderly woman with gray hair and a middle-aged man with a large belly, followed by more than ten men and women who did not appear to be the victims in this case. They knelt down behind the old woman and the man.
Shen Hengzhen first looked at the elderly woman with gray hair and asked, "Are you He Cuilian?"
"Your Majesty... it is indeed I, the old woman." The old woman's voice was hoarse and weathered, sounding like a broken bellows, but even so, one could hear the sobs and sorrow in her voice.
"Are you Li Defu?" Shen Hengzhen looked at the man again.
"Yes, Your Majesty... it is indeed this humble subject." Compared to the old woman, the man's demeanor was much more timid, as if he were very afraid and guilty, and he even stuttered when he spoke.
Could this be yet another lawsuit filed by children who are unfilial to their elderly parents?
The onlookers below, focusing solely on the two individuals, were already speculating, until Shen Hengzhen uttered his next question—
"Li Defu, is He Cuilian your wife?"
Li Defu lowered his head even further, "Your Majesty, it is...it is."
Wife? These two are actually husband and wife?
This...this doesn't look like it at all! Look at the age difference, they could easily pass for mother and son!
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