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When Li Xuan rushed to the Zhuque Hall of the Liudao Division, he found it unusually bustling today. Hundreds of people were crowded around the entrance, a flurry of excitement and chatter.
In the crowd, Li Xuan was surprised to find Peng Fulai and Zhang Yue again.
Both of them knew about the assault on Li Xuan and were worried about him. Only when they asked Li Xuan and knew he was alright did they begin to laugh and joke again.
Li Xuan asked with frustration, "How come I always run into you guys wherever I go? What are you doing here? Did you get tangled up in another case?"
Peng Fulai didn't answer and pulled out a black wooden token from his sleeve, swaying it in front of Li Xuan's eyes.
Li Xuan was instantly puzzled and asked, "When did you join the Liudao Division? I've never seen you take the admission test."
"Zhuque Hall has been short-staffed recently. My old man donated five hundred thousand patterned silver to the Liudao Division and skipped these two steps."
Peng Fulai had no pride in his voice, his face was bitter, "As you can see, I'm now an 8th-rank official in the Liudao Division, with the status of 'Apprentice Lishi'."
Li Xuan now understood - this was the Peng family's financial power.
As for the 'Apprentice Lishi' that Peng Fulai mentioned, it was a position within the Liudao Division, similar to Li Xuan's position of 'apprentice Lingwu'.
This is the job within the Liudao Division that requires the least expertise. Apart from physical strength, there is nothing else to learn. It's even worse than being a handyman. The original Li Xuan once tried to switch to this field, but his physical strength never met the standard.
"What about you, Taishan?" Li Xuan asked Zhang Yue again, "Don't tell me your dad also donated money!"
"Do I even need to donate money?" Zhang Yue replied with a smug expression, "During the martial arts examination, all the examiners gave me full scores. However, I'm still just a Lishi apprentice and I need to train for two more months before I can obtain the official rank of Xunjian."
Only then did Li Xuan remember that the man in front of him was a master nearing the fourth house level, and particularly robust. He had always been the muscle of their trio.
This guy is actually quite lazy, he's the type to fish for ten days and then dry the nets for eight days, only a smidgen better than the original Li Xuan. But because of his unusual talent and inexhaustible strength, his cultivation speed is the fastest among them. There's no reason for the examiners not to like him.
But Li Xuan was feeling strange, he looked at Zhang Yue and then at Peng Fulai, "How strange, what were your families thinking? Why did they send you to the Liudao Division all at the same time?"
Zhang Yue couldn't give a reason, while Peng Fulai responded with a bitter smile, "What else could it be for? Of course, it's to take refuge. It's rumored that the recent turbulence in the court has even swept up your father, Earl Chengyi. How could our two families be spared? Don't you feel that recently the atmosphere in Nanjing City is a bit strange? Like there's a storm brewing? My dad donated five hundred thousand, with most of the money being protection payment."
He sighed, "So, Earl Chengyi is far-sighted. Having the Liudao Fumo Division as a fallback lets him not worry about the whole family being affected. We were a bit late."
Li Xuan stood still and thought for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Then what's going on here? The renowned Zhuque Hall of the Liudao Division has its door blocked?"
As soon as this was mentioned, Peng Fulai chuckled darkly, "Some time ago, someone from your Zhuque Hall destroyed a sacred statue of Master Chenghuang while handling a case. They were angry and sent their Spiritual Beast to block the door."
Li Xuan looked at the situation at the entrance. He was puzzled and said, "Are you joking? That small thing, the size of an arm, doesn't seem to have a very high cultivation level. How could it block so many people here?"
He knew that the so-called 'Master Chenghuang' is a god of the Underworld, ruling a city's Nether Realm. As one of the eight gods stipulated in the Confucian "Zhou Officials", he is the guardian deity of the city worshipped by the folk and Taoist religion.
These city gods were generally assumed by deceased famous ministers and military generals. At the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, Emperor Tai of Jin once bestowed these city god titles in all parts of the country, divided into kings, dukes, marquesses, and earls. Annual sacrificial ceremonies were hosted by the kings and officials of the prefectures and counties respectively.
However, the city god of Nanjing City has an extraordinarily impressive history, which is the lord of Jiangnan during the Warring States period three thousand years ago, Jiang Wu. His achievements during his lifetime are comparable to Sun Ce, the Little Conqueror in Li Xuan's world.
But at this moment, what is blocking the steps at the entrance of the Zhuque Hall is a small spiritual beast.
The spiritual beast's head looks like a tiger, its body is in the shape of a dog, its ears are also long and sharp, and there is a unique horn on its forehead. It lifts its chin, looking down at everyone below with a cold and contemptuous gaze.
"Don't underestimate it. This is a genuine descendant of Ditiran, named 'Tingtian Ao'. It is of pure bloodline and is basically a little Ditiran." Peng Fulai laughed maliciously: "Although it looks small, it has a big endurance. Dozens of people here have already suffered from it. Qianzhi, you'll see what I mean soon. Look, there's another one who doesn't know when to quit—"
Li Xuan had already noticed that many people in the crowd were pale and listless, obviously showing signs of life inertia, as if they couldn't go on living.
At this moment, the one who stepped onto the stage was a young man wearing the same silver-white armor as Jiang Hanyun—remarkably, he was also a fifth-rank Fumo Xiaowei.
But the spiritual beast had just opened its mouth and uttered two human words, making this Xiaowei's body stiffen.
"Your name is Lei Yun, and you love your sister-in-law, Ms. Mi."
This Xiaowei named Lei Yun turned pale and perspiration the size of beans emerged on his forehead. After hesitating for a moment, he still took a second step.
So the spiritual beast jeered: "Two years and seven days ago, you peeped at—"
"Stop!"
Before it finished its words, the Fumo Xiaowei on the stairs raised his hand. He hunches his back and step by step retreated.
At this moment, everyone's eyes on him were very complex. Some showed sympathy, some showed empathy, and naturally there were also those who despised him.
"Do you understand now? The legendary Ditiran beast can listen to everything in the world, especially good at discerning human hearts."
Peng Fulai slyly states: "They set the rule, a total of five steps, each one will result in a revelation of a person's private matters. As long as someone can bear it, it can end its gate closure and return to Master Chenghuang."
At this time, another person walked to the front of the stairs. His twelve poles arranged in a fan shape are particularly eye-catching behind him. Li Xuan was shocked and recognized that this was his immediate superior, Ma Chenggong.
Seeing him hesitate for a while, he still stepped up.
The spiritual beast in the front is not even looking at him: "You are named Ma Chenggong and 900 taels of patterned silver are hidden in the pit under the rice jar of your home."
Li Xuan's face twitched slightly, thinking that poor Ma Chenggong was in big trouble this time.
He knew Ma Chenggong's wife, who also worked at the Liudao Division, and guessed that she was probably among the crowd at this moment. It must have been difficult for his superior to save these secret amounts of money.
As expected, Ma Chenggong's face turned pale, but after a few breaths, he bravely ignored the cold stares from behind and walked up the steps again.
"You are really bold, and don't know when to stop."
The spiritual beast finally opened his eyes: "Four months ago, you were invited by your subordinate Li Xuan to Dingfang Building for a night of pleasure."
Ma Chenggong collapsed. He immediately drew out the sword from his waist, and screamed with a murderous intent: "Ah! I will kill you!"