“This Daoist is ashamed for imposing himself.” The Daoist said. Holy Jail Sect had a good relationship with this official when he was still alive. This official had belonged to the previous dynasty. He had risen to power because of his popularity with the citizens. When he had died, he struck up a deal with Deity Cheng Huang and thus, became a judge here.
“I wonder why my old friend has come. What is the matter?” The judge asked, a gleam of light flickering within the corners of his pupils.
“The reason my Yin energy has descended here is because of a sect brother, Li Wen Jing. He has been murdered. I do not dare to be noisy and interfere in affairs that are beyond my control. I just wish to ask who was the person who had murdered him.” The Daoist man did not conceal anything, and spoke plainly.
The judge nodded his head, "So this is why you’re here.”
He then ordered, "You, go and look for this soul. If he’s around, bring him here immediately!”
“Yes!” A soul responded.
Within a few seconds, a soul in chains walked toward them from afar. The sounds of chains rattling on the ground grew louder and more distinct. Before long, a shadow emerged from the grey smoke. He was wailing and crying pathetically, "I’ve died horribly.”
The Daoist looked up and ascertained that it was indeed Li Wen Jing. He had chains all over his body. There was a faint white light shining from above onto him. And yet there was a great deal of black and dark energy enveloping his entire body. Li Wen Jing had been bounded by spiritual fetters. Seeing the Daoist before him, he started sobbing louder, "Elder brother. I’ve been murdered. When I died, all my Dao energy disappeared. I humbly ask elder brother to avenge my death.”
Li Wen Jing had practiced cultivated a little Dao Arts when he was still alive. Now that he is deep in the underworld, there was still a faint white light over him.
Fury built within the heart of this Daoist as he shouted in anger, "What are you crying about. You only have yourself to blame for not diligently cultivating, and failing to open the doors of heavens. This is why you’ve been murdered so easily."
He calmed down after and said, "Little brother Li, do you know who was the culprit who murdered you?”
Li Wen Jing went down on his knees and thought for some time, "Elder brother, I do not know who killed me. During the last few moments of my life, it was dark and I did not put up a fight at all. All I saw was pitch black darkness.”
“After I’ve died, I tried to use the little Dao Arts that I know, to get a glimpse of this person’s face. All I saw was a bright white light protecting him. Even when I used my spiritual sense to look at his face, I could not see anything but that blinding white light.”
“Save me elder brother. I died such a horrible death. There is so much pain and suffering in this underworld.”
“You did not cultivate properly and failed to reach the level of Spirit Immortal, how am I supposed to help you.” Hearing Li Wen Jing’s words, his heart was filled with rage. There really was a Daoist who dare to murder a disciple of the Holy Jail Sect.
“You’ve been loyal and capable in your dealings with the sect, and we will not shortchange you. It’s just that under the jurisdiction of Deity Cheng Huang, there’s very little that we can do. But you only have yourself to blame for not attaining spirit immortality.”
“But as long as there’s a way that we can prevent you from descending into hell, we will help you on that regard. But from there, you’ve got to handle it by yourself since there is nothing more that we can do.”
If Li Wen Jing did not handle his situation well, in the future, he will have to enter hell and be punished for all eternity.
Li Wen Jing then reacted to this, having been dragged here against his will, as he sobbed, "Thank you for your magnanimity elder brother. Thank you for plucking me from the depths of suffering. I sincerely ask of elder brother to avenge my death.”
“Ai, you're really too useless. You couldn't even get a look at your murderer’s face, how can I avenge you? Go back, I'll help you get to the bottom of this.”
Li Wen Jing thanked him profusely. Without another word to him, the Daoist man bowed to the judge and said, "Thank you.”
“Take him away!” The judge ordered with a wave of his hand.
Li Wen Jing was then taken away by the bailiff souls. Although the judge had a good relationship with Holy Jail Sect, he wouldn't help for free. The Daoist man fished out a small glass vial from his robes and handed it over to him. There were several ripples within the glass vials had decorations of plants and cicadas on it. A faint white glow emitted from the vial.
He laughed and said, "Your excellency, this bottle contains dew specifically extracted by us, Holy Jail Sect, and is beneficial for your spiritual growth.”
The judge smiled and said, "This is indeed a vial of dew obtained from paradise. Not only will it help with spiritual growth, it’s also very rare. As much as possible, I will look after this Li Wen Jing for you.”
Hearing these words the Daoist smiled and said, "Many thanks.”
He then turned into a bright white light, and followed the smoke from the incense back into the room. He opened his eyes and said, "Prepare some ink and paper for me. I have to report this to the Young Master. Something big has happened. Another Daoist has meddled with the affairs of the Holy Jail Sect.”
Capital City
It was in the afternoon and many Elementary Scholars were leaving the inn with red eyes and pale faces. It must’ve been the result of heavy drinking the day before. Yu Mao Guang had already woken up and was downstairs. Just then, he realized that Pei Zi Yun’s door was still locked.
He then knocked on Pei Zi Yun’s door. Since he had not slept the entire night, he was still deep in sleep. Being awakened by the knocking sounds on the door, he answered it, still feeling groggy. He then heard Yu Mao Guang shouting outside, "Brother Pei, it’s time to wake up. You’ve been sleeping for too long, it’s unhealthy to lie in bed the entire day.”
The body is most vulnerable after a heavy drinking. The Elementary Scholars way to counteract this was to drink a hot bowl of soup to dispel the effects of alcohol before bed. After they wake up, they will have some plain porridge to warm their stomachs.
Pei Zi Yun woke up, he felt extremely tired from the lack of sleep, and having drank so much the day before, he was in bad shape. When he opened the door, he saw Yu Guang Mao and the rest of the Elementary Scholars. They looked at Pei Zi Yun, who had been out the entire night, and whose face was pale and eyes were bloodshot, and laughed aloud, "Brother Pei, you drank too much yesterday!”
They had no suspicions about his activities last night, since he did looked like he had drank too much at the event.
The few of them went downstairs where they had some warm porridge to warm themselves up, and ordered some side dishes as well. When they were done, they decided to return to Fu Mansion.
Since there the waiter had already informed the Fu Mansion that the Elementary Scholars would not return for the night, they were already aware. Seeing these Elementary Scholars returning, they instructed the kitchen to boil some water so they they can take a warm bath, and have a fresh change of clothes.
When they walked into the yard, they saw the little girl carrying a bunny. The little girl cast a glance at the Elementary Scholars who had just returned and shouted, "These Elementary Scholars are so uninteresting. They went to drink so much yesterday and came back looking so sickly. What a disgrace to the educated.”
Hearing the words spoken by this little girl, they all flushed red in embarrassment. The little lady was wearing a red skirt and green blouse. She looked very adorable even though she was angry. Her cheeks were extremely chubby, tempting anyone who sees her to pinch those cheeks.
Seeing the way these scholars looked, she pinched her own nose from the overwhelming smell of alcohol, hugged her bunny and ran off.
Mistress Cloud was meditating, sitting with her legs crossed. There was an incense burning on the table, in the middle of the room. The entire room was filled the smell of the incense.
All of a sudden, the jade scepter in front of the dressing mirror started vibrating. Mistress Cloud was alarmed, as she opened her eyes and looked at the jade scepter. It wouldn’t move unless something urgent had happened. She then pointed the jade scepter at the mirror.
With a buzz, the scepter emitted a white light and shone into the dressing mirror. Several images coalesced in the mirror for sometime until the shadow of several people formed and became clear.
“The Elementary Scholars have returned from their night of debauchery.” Mistress Cloud and the little girl were looking intently into the mirrors and staring at the Elementary Scholars.
“Eh?”
“There is a red glow emitting from Yu Guang Mao, it seemed like he’s managed to do well enough to clinch the High Scholar title.”
“It must be so. The examination has ended five days ago. Although the results have not been released yet, the examiners have already finished grading the scripts. Hence there was a reaction in the jade scepter indicating whoever has been made a High Scholar.”
“It’s just that this man comes from a rich family, and is not related to me in anyway.”
The mistress then turned her gaze upon Pei Zi Yun and was quietly shocked, "Looking at this scholar, it seems like his killing aura has only grown stronger. He looks like his hostility has increased as well. There was also a red and white glow upon him, as if he had scored higher in the examinations than Yu Guang Mao.”
The mistress was appalled and thought to herself, "This Pei Zi Yun is pretty gifted and it seems like he has already achieved High Scholar status as indicated by the glow on him. Once the results are out, a higher title will be conferred on him. It looks like I’ll have to recruit him into the sect.”
Capital City, High Monastery
Zhang Jie Yu was feeling vexed. He was rather confident of his ability to pass this examination. However, he had entered the sect sometime ago, and his Imperial Qi has been affected as a result. There were rumours that several Daoist had still managed to become an official, where several positions existed for Daoists. One of which was the Daoists Records Official, where the highest rank he can reach would be the 6th rank. The other would be the Prefecture Daoists Official, where the highest rank a person would be able to reach would be the 9th rank. The Imperial Court is very strict about making a Daoist an official, and thus few are able to make it.
“If I do not pass this time, I will not take the examinations again.” Zhang Jie Yu understood this as well. He had been assigned a role to oversee all Outer Circle Disciples. In being able to excel in this role, he would need to spend all his time and effort cultivating. He thus would not have time to be studying for the examination. If he didn’t pass this time, he would just choose to remain an Elementary Scholar for the rest of his life.
Just as he was deep in thought in his courtyard, someone reported, "A Daoist has come to pay a visit. He says the matter is of utmost importance.”
Zhang Jie Yu’s heart fluttered, a bad feeling came over him as he waved his hands impatiently, "Hurry, bring him in!”
The Daoist man strode in, his cheeks twitching, "Young Master, Uncle Li has been killed in his own mansion. Teacher had been to the underworld to find out more details and said that it could’ve been done by another Daoist.”
“What? Li Wen Jing has been murdered?” Zhang Jie Yu’s face turned pale. His expression was that of perplexity and disbelief. After sometime, he understood the gravity of the situation, and realize his loss. He shouted, "Who, who did it?”
Li Wen Jing was by no means considered talented when it comes to Dao Arts, and yet he was an important member to the Holy Jail Sect, where he was proven time and again to be useful. He had a role akin to that of an advisor to the sect. Who would’ve expected him to be dead.
The Daoist man then gave a letter to Zhang Jie Yu. It was written by the monastery leader of Golden Rooster. He read it through once as his face turned stone cold, "Damn it!”
He then shouted for people to come.
“Young master!” After sometime, another Daoist was accompanied by a warrior as they strolled in. Zhang Jie Yu paced several steps before saying, "Advisor Li Wen Jing had been murdered. There’s a possibility that he’s been killed by a Daoist. Find out if Holy Jail Sect has clashed with any other sect or any Daoist recently. Also find out if any Daoists has been into this city recently. Whoever killed my advisor will have revenge served.”
“Yes!” The two of them acknowledged. Just before they walked out. Zhang Jie Yu’s mind flashed with an idea as he halted them, "Also, check up on Slow River County’s Elementary Scholar Pei Zi Yun. I suspect this person is a pawn of a sect, and might have something to do with the death of our advisor.”
“Yes!” The two of them said once more. Zhang Jie Yu did not speak further as he walked off.
Fu Mansion
There was a white amulet on the dressing table, emitting a faint white glow and was speaking, "There’s been some movement in the capital city. I’ve checked it out and found out that one of the Holy Jail Sect’s outer disciple had been killed. His name was Li Wen Jing. There’s chaos within the entire sect and they’re going to turn the entire nation upside down until they’ve found the killer.”
When Mistress Cloud heard this, she was shocked, "What, Zhang Ji Yu’s right hand man Li Wen Jing is dead? Although this man was not an inner circle disciple of the Holy Jail Sect, he was brilliantly capable and wise. He was tasked to run the businesses of the sect. Who would’ve expected him to die just like this.
Just as the mistress started regaining her composure, a thought came into her mind. She then looked into the dressing mirror and tapped on Pei Zi Yun’s name, before it immediately zoomed into his current whereabouts.
Within the room, Pei Zi Yun was deep in sleep, and did not even stir.
She then thought deeply to herself, as her heart fluttered about her chest cavity. She then guessed that he had something to do with Li Wen Jing’s death. Should she recruit this man into their sect?
For a long time, she hesitated and was conflicted.