The first instant Zhou Yi saw Fahai, he almost thought the person in front of him was Fahai's twin.
The change in temperament was just too great.
The previous conversation with Fahai had been very delightful, and he found Fahai to be a gentle and warm man with great compassion and empathy. Back then, Fahai exuded a bright and clear aura that made people feel at ease.
But now, the Fahai who stood behind Captain Wang was indifferent and exuded a suppressive aura that kept all the executioners on their toes.
Captain Wang introduced him, "This is Master Fahai of Golden Light Temple, or whom you all usually call the Immortal Master of the Demon Slaying Department!"
"Amitabha Buddha!"
Fahai proclaimed Buddha's name as his sharp eyes swept across all the executioners. It was only when he laid eyes on Zhou Yi, his gaze softened a little.
Breath-holding and disappearing spells were low-grade spells, so before someone like Fahai, their effects were almost negligible.
Zhou Yi was originally worried that the truth about him cultivating magic powers would be exposed. After all, there were some Spirit and Dharma Eye spells that could allow one to see through cultivators who were stronger than oneself. But it seemed like Fahai did not cultivate the skill to see through such spells.
With seven thousand years of Taoism attainment, Zhou Yi could easily see through Fahai to know that the latter was already at the stage of spiritual refinement, and had stepped into the realm of upper third-grade Buddhism cultivation.
"Today, Master Fahai came specifically to transmute the demoness of the Bare Body Demon Sect. This will prevent her from casting a spell to escape."
With a solemn expression, Captain Wang said, "Since I've started my term as Captain, this is the first time I'm handling a task of a Class A prison cell. Everything must be done right!"
There had not been a single demon or monster sent to the torture rooms of the Class A prison cells for the past seven years. From the moment they set foot into the prison up till the day they left, most of the executioners had never laid eyes on any demon sent to a Class A prison cell.
"Han Er, take Master Fahai to prison cell number A9!"
Hearing his name, Han Er felt his legs go weak and almost fell to his knees. And he struggled against the urge to cry out loud.
Monsters were more dangerous than demons, and the monsters in the Class A prison cells were the most dangerous.
With Fahai around, Zhou Yi did not cast the spell to influence Captain Wang's thoughts. Instead, he joined the other executioners in giving Han Era a sympathetic look.
"Kind sir, don't worry. This humble monk here will definitely keep you safe!"
Fahai's voice gave Han Era a little boost of confidence. With his trembling body, he led Fahai deep into the prison where the torture rooms were.
Zhou Yi, on the other hand, was assigned to prison cell number B12 where there was a tiger demon. This tiger demon would manipulate the souls of the people it had devoured, and direct them into harming other people.
Refining the souls of people it devoured into ghosts that did to its bidding was one of the most commonly seen talent spells of tiger demons. There were similar incidents in almost every county.
Over the years, at least seven or eight tiger demons had died under Zhou Yi's blade. And the ghosts that came with the tiger demons would also be shattered and destroyed so that they would not be able to undergo reincarnation.
Zhou Yi specially researched the state of existence of this genre of ghosts. They did not seem human, nor did they seem like ordinary ghosts. And they lived and died together with the tiger demon.
He once thought of finding a way to strip these accompanying ghosts apart from the tiger demons, for they were basically just pitiful people who died in the mouth of tigers. It would be nice if he could help them be reincarnated.
But from the results of his research, he found that these accompanying ghosts were not treated as ghosts per se, but rather, as a kind of "tool."
The talent spell of the tiger demons enabled them to refine souls into weapons that took the form of ghosts. This talent spell of tiger demons was similar to that of the Soul Streamers and God of Blood from the Way of Demons. The ghosts would become tightly attached to the tiger demon that they completely lose their ability to exist independently.
The results of his research left Zhou Yi with a terrible impression of tiger demons.
When it came to killing, it was clearly too much for one to cause harm to the innocent or bring more pain and misfortune to others. Even at the brink of death, the tiger demons would not allow the ghosts of people they devoured to have a chance for reincarnation. That was really too much.
Three thousand and six hundred strikes of his blade.
That was the number of strikes Zhou Yi had to give the tiger demon to dissipate its vitality. Zhou Yi had also sealed its throat with magic, hence it was unable to scream out loud despite the agony it was feeling.
Zhou Yi's self-created method of "Killing Demons with a Blade" allowed him to pre-determine the exact number of hits he would strike with his blade to kill the demons. Not one strike more, nor one strike less.
Four years were added to his Taoism attainment.
Zhou Yi sent the useful materials from the tiger demon's body to the logistics department and threw the other remains into the Demon Refining grotto. Then he went to someplace that was near the aisle that led to the Class A prison cells to wait for Fahai.
The wait lasted almost half a day.
Fahai and Han Er finally emerged into view as they walked out from the depths of this massive prison. There were still signs of fear on Han Er's face.
Zhou Yi clasped both hands together and bowed ceremoniously, then he greeted, "Master Fahai, it's been a long time since we last met."
"Amitabha Buddha! Benefactor Zhou, I hope you have been well."
A trace of a smile appeared on Fahai's cold and aloof face, and he said, "You have previously enlightened me on what is meant by killing to protect life, as well as how to cut off one's bad karma without destroying the person for good. These thoughts just get more and more profound over the years. Every time I recite them, I gain new insights."
"Master, you have deep wisdom. Another person would have taken it as a joke."
Zhou Yi said, "These days, I feel somewhat confused and would like to seek your advice."
Han Er was very observant with strong attention to detail. He knew when he should take his leave, so with both hands clasped, he bowed and excused himself.
"Master, Senior Zhou, I will go get something to eat first. This demoness had scared the wits out of me. I will need to replenish the energy that I've lost."
...
Zhou Yi sought a secluded and quiet spot.
The torture rooms of the prison occupied a vast area. Even after staying here for nine long years, Zhou Yi had never managed to finish exploring the entire place.
"Benefactor Zhou, what questions do you have? Feel free to speak your mind. I will address your questions the best I can."
Buddhism was a religion that emphasized the value of karma. When Fahai thought he had sinned, Zhou Yi offered Fahai some words of wisdom that helped the monk to rid his heart of an inner demon. After that, the Buddhist maxim about killing and protecting life became a Way that Fahai followed in life.
To Fahai, Zhou Yi had guided him to find the Right Way of Life and this was a debt of gratitude that Fahai would willingly repay, even if it was at the expense of his life.
"Since a year ago, the number of demons and monsters in the torture room has increased by at least double the original number. Among the demons that were captured and brought here, some were…."
Zhou Yi only spoke what was on his mind after careful contemplation, "At the verge of death, they were all seeking redress for injustice, saying things like they had caved into the temptation that the Demon Slaying Department had offered and thus fallen into its trap. Do you know what is going on?"
Fahai did not answer him straight away. Instead, he asked, "Then does Benefactor Zhou feel that they have been wronged?"
"No!"
Zhou Yi replied with great certainty.
For example, the wolf demon that had been caught via a sting operation had been secretly devouring humans in the first place. And also, some other demons had just tasted their first human but were unfortunate enough to fall into the trap laid by the Demon Slaying Department. But these demons had since been reasonably put on trial and sentenced according to the laws of the Great Qian dynasty.
The Great Qian was a dynasty run by humans, so the laws would naturally be biased towards the human race. The rationale for setting up legislation in the first place was, of course, to make it such that it was not a crime for humans to kill demons, but it was against the law for demons to eat humans.
The demons apprehended were not thrown into the prison of the Demon Slaying Department right after they were captured. They would first be put on trial before the officials of the Justice Department. Demons that committed minor offenses would be put behind bars, while demons that committed major offenses would be sent to the torture rooms to be slain and eventually thrown into the Demon Refining grotto.
Zhou Yi would not be so kind as to pity the demons, but he instinctively felt that there was a major change happening in the outside world.
"Bless you, bless you. Benefactor, previously you have comprehended the Buddha's theory of killing life for the sake of protecting life. You are certainly a man of deep understanding."
Fahai smiled, and his entire body shone with a reddish-gold Buddha light. Then he said, "A year ago, the capital carried out an intensive investigation and unexpectedly found hundreds of demons lurking in the dark. Such a prominent place like the capital city is already facing such a serious situation, much less the local smaller counties?"
"His Majesty, who had shown indifference to government affairs for the past fifteen years, went to court and denounced the commanding officials of the Demon Slaying Department for holding an important official post and enjoying all the privileges that it could bring them, and yet, not doing their jobs at all. Then, he progressively issued sixteen orders to exterminate the demons."
"His Majesty then set the performance appraisal for the Demon Slaying Departments of the sixteen states and ordered his eunuch administration department to keep an eye on these states. Those that failed to meet the standard of slaying demons and eliminating monsters will be severely punished."
Zhou Yi was puzzled and asked, "I heard that most of the immortal masters of the Demon Slaying Departments were not officials from the court, right?"
He had spent nine years in the torture rooms of the prison. Whether it was snippets of conversations that he had sporadically heard from all around him or fragments of memories that he had obtained from soul-searching the demons and monsters, Zhou Yi had long grasped a thorough understanding of the origin of the Demon Slaying Department.
The Demon Slaying Department was established during the time of Emperor Guangming. At that time, demons were emerging everywhere within the borders of the Great Qian dynasty and more than half of the sixteen states had fallen into the hands of rebels.
Emperor Guangming revised the laws and regulations of the Great Qian to ensure that the court was under the management of officials with integrity. He joined hands with both the Buddhist and Taoist sects to establish the Demon Slaying Department. It was said that within the first year, hundreds of thousands of demons were thrown into the Demon Refining grotto.
At that time, there was peace in the world.
The Demon Slaying Department later rose to the top and became the leader of the four immortal departments.
Hundreds of years had passed, and the Demon Slaying Department had expanded into a massive administrative unit with a commanding official that held a position comparable to the three most distinguished officials in the imperial court.
The only thing that had not changed much was that the Demon Slaying Department was still largely under the control of the Buddhist and Taoist Sects. Every year, these Sects would send their disciples to the Demon Slaying Department as executioners to slay demons and destroy monsters.
The first reason for doing so was to allow their disciples to gain secular experience and train them in their skills of executing mental spells.
The second purpose was to for them to take a stand and express their willingness to serve the Great Qian.
The court had always wanted to change the status quo of the Demon Slaying Department, so it had nurtured and trained its own people as captains capable of eliminating devils and slaying demons. Unfortunately, in terms of strengths, these captains were always lagging behind the Buddhist monks and Taoist priests. They were only able to kill minor demons and devils, so eventually, they were reduced to auxiliaries of the Buddhist and Taoist Sects.
Furthermore, cultivators who were neither from the Buddhist Sect nor the Taoist Sect, would rather join the noble Deity-worshipping Department than put their lives on the line in the Demon Slaying Department.
If this was the case, how could Emperor Jingtai possibly motivate the Buddhist and Taoist monks to complete the "performance" expected of them and step forth to tackle the major demons and devils in prison? How could he possibly expect them to willingly put their own lives at risk?
Slaying demons and eliminating devils were never easy feats. The demons and devils would not simply be led by the neck and willingly allow themselves to be slaughtered. The mortality rate of executioners in the Demon Slaying Department was definitely not going to below.
A crystal-clear treasure pearl appeared in Fahai's hands. It had an irregular oval shape and the moment it appeared, the darkness and evil air in the surroundings were thoroughly expelled.
The torture rooms of the prison that had always been gloomy and bone-chilling all year round were filling up with traces of warmth.
"For the sake of cleansing and purifying the world, His Majesty had opened the Taoist scriptures of Heaven and Earth. There will be a reward for completing all requirements of the performance appraisal, and if anyone's performance goes way beyond the stated expectations, he will be generously rewarded."
"For capturing the demoness of the Bare Body Demon Sect, His Majesty has bestowed this gift of an Arhat relic to a humble monk like myself!"