The moon was bright and the stars were few.
Zhou Yi landed in the courtyard. His face changed from an old man to a middle-aged man. He usually had this appearance in prison. With his dharmic powers, disguise technique, and Bone Shrinkage Technique, even those close to him would not be able to recognize him.
“The matter with the Li family is over.”
After three secret attacks, Zhou Yi’s existence had already attracted everyone’s attention. Tonight, the old monster was only a step away from the Connate Realm.
“Connate grandmasters are even rarer than expected. Perhaps the Fengyang Kingdom… only had me? Li Wu has dominated both the Fengyang Kingdom and Great Yong. Other than the Heavenly King Cang who cultivates the Heaven Devouring Demonic Technique, no one else can match him!”
After cultivating for 26 years, he was suddenly invincible in the mortal world!
Zhou Yi reminded himself that this was the Immortal Demon World. Connate was only the threshold of the cultivation world, and they did not know any spells or weapons. They would not be able to fight any of the cultivators.
“According to human logic, those itinerant cultivators who don’t do well know that their path is hopeless. Instead of being as lowly as minions in the cultivation world, they might as well come to the mortal world and become overlords.
“It’s said that the Founding Ancestor of the Fengyang Kingdom has the power of ghosts and gods. Perhaps he’s a down-and-out itinerant cultivator?
“Or perhaps the mortal world is under the control of the cultivation world, and the dynasties change according to the will of the immortals!”
Zhou Yi restrained his smugness. With the help of the Heaven Devouring Demon Technique and the prisoners in the prison, he had managed to step into the Connate realm. He now had the ability to protect himself and could not act recklessly.
“I should be careful with my words and actions. I’ll focus on cultivating!”
The next day. The snow finally stopped.
It was New Year’s Eve, and the shops on the street were decorated with red lanterns. It was quite a festive atmosphere.
The news of the attack on the Duke’s Mansion last night did not spread at all. It was as if the two to three hundred people who died did not exist in this world.
What the people know is only what the Imperial Court wants them to know! For example, the commoners only knew that Li Wu was in prison but they did not know that he had fought in the imperial court before he was imprisoned.
Seeing that the Li family was declining day by day, some things also spread out. It was probably just officials chatting casually, and the servants beside them listened and bragged to their relatives and friends.
Word spread like wildfire.
On the surface, Minister Zhang looked weak and asked the Duke for advice, but in fact, Li Wu had offended His Majesty.
The officials of the country fought with the generals that Li Wu had raised for military power. Or perhaps Li Wu’s direct descendant would work under a certain Minister for the sake of promotion and wealth…
It was hard to tell if the news was true or false.
In just a year, the incense offerings in Li Wu’s temple had greatly decreased. In another eight to ten years, only weeds would be left.
“There is nothing in this world that time cannot wear down. Except me!”
Zhou Yi went to the prison and carried a bucket to deliver food.
Zhang Yun, the prison guard in charge of delivering food, had returned home for the new year.
The Sky Prison was different from other government offices. During the New Year, the prison guards could only take turns to rest. Only Zhou Yi was an exception. He went on duty as usual every day.
Being alone at home was not as lively as being in prison.
It was not that Zhou Yi did not have any relatives. His predecessor was from the Ningshan Village of Ningshan County. He still had hundreds of clansmen, and his cousins with close bloodlines were still alive.
Back then, Zhou Yi was born deficient and looked like he would die young.
The Zhou family’s elders suggested to Father Zhou that they choose a child from the family to inherit the position so that someone could inherit the position of the prison guard and the manor in the Divine Capital after Zhou Yi died.
Father Zhou was on duty in the Sky Prison and had seen all kinds of dirty things. How could he not guess the thoughts of the clansmen?
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Not to mention that Zhou Yi was not dead at that time, once he agreed to the matter of succession, the clansmen would also think of ways to make Zhou Yi die prematurely in the future.
After a few rounds, the elders still did not give up. Father Zhou simply cut ties with them completely!
After Father Zhou died of illness, Zhou Yi inherited the position of prison guard. The Zhou family members occasionally came to the capital to take a look and waited for him to die of illness.
In the end, the elders and uncles died while waiting for that to happen, while his cousins had become old. So he no longer has any relatives!
“Old Zhou, you came at the right time. Please do me a favor.” Lieutenant Zhu called out and leaned over to whisper, “There’s a prisoner in the prison today. We need to use your torture technique to torture this fellow!”
Zhou Yi asked, “What did he do?”
“What else can an official do? Embezzlement!” Lieutenant Zhu said, “However, this person is especially good at it. His nickname is Three Feet Above Sky. In the past three years, he squeezed Luyang Mansion dry. It’s said that he plundered tens of millions of taels of silver.”
The annual tax revenue of the Fengyang Kingdom was about ten million taels.
Zhou Yi wondered, “A civil official can’t withstand a few rounds of torture, why do you still want me to take action?”
In recent years, there had occasionally been unruly criminals in the martial world, so Lieutenant Zhu asked Zhou Yi to punish them. This was where Old Demon of Blood Prison’s reputation came from.
Lieutenant Zhu explained, “The imperial court has arrested someone, but they haven’t found the silver yet. This fellow’s mouth is especially tight, and we can’t use those cruel tortures, lest he accidentally dies.”
“He doesn’t care about his family’s lives?”
Zhou Yi had been in prison for so many years. Occasionally, there would be officials who could withstand the punishment. However, his parents, wife, and children would be dragged over to be tortured. Very few people could remain indifferent.
The system was naturally cruel, but Zhou Yi agreed. In this era, the clan emphasized unity. The clansmen enjoyed the benefits of corrupt officials and should also suffer punishment.
“This fellow’s family were farmers to begin with. In the early years, there was a famine and the entire village starved to death. He had long lost his parents and relatives.” Lieutenant Zhu explained, “He should have a wife and children, but like the silver, they’re hidden somewhere.”
“This meant that he was prepared to go to
jail.”
Zhou Yi became curious and carried the bucket to Prison B7.
The prisoner was lying on the straw mat, his back covered in crisscrossing bloody marks. The blood seeping from his buttocks had stained his clothes. He slowly raised his head when he heard the sound.
His square face was filled with righteousness.
Zhou Yi opened the cell door and squatted in front of the prisoner. He said, “As a third-grade official, you have a chance of becoming a central official in the future. Why do you have to be a corrupt official?”
The prisoner fell silent and lay back down.
“Ten million taels of silver. When the Imperial Court gets it back, a sum of it will be given to the commoners. This could be counted as pardoning your sin.”
Zhou Yi flicked his finger, and his Dharmic powers turned into needles that drilled into the prisoner’s body. Following the blood flow in his body, the sharp aura streaked across his meridians. The pain from the inside out was even more unbearable than being tortured to death.
There would be an end to hanging eventually However, this wisp of dharmic powers could not let the person die, and the torture would never end. Those vicious people were not afraid of death or torture, but they could not stand a needle pricking their bodies.
“Ah!” The prisoner cried out in pain. His body trembled, and his eyes were bloodshot. Zhou Yi hit a few of the criminal’s acupoints to prevent him from fainting from the pain. He had to wake up and experience the punishment.
A long while passed.
“Where is the silver?” Zhou Yi waved his hand and dispersed his dharmic powers. He slowly said, “Perhaps you can challenge the limits of your endurance. The previous one was a ferocious person in the Marrow Cleansing realm known as a human demon. He confessed in just two days.”
“Hehehe…” The prisoner panted heavily for a moment. “The silver is in the Lu family. Get the imperial court to get it!”
“The Lu family of Jiangnan?”
Zhou Yi frowned slightly. Among the many families in Jiangnan, eight families had the longest history and could be traced back to the previous dynasty or even the previous dynasty before that.
There were no millenium dynasties in the world, but there were millenium families! Among them, the Lu family could be ranked in the top three. “Why? Are you afraid?” The prisoner’s eyes flashed with hatred as he spoke. “I was afraid, so I had to become a corrupt official!”
