Yanling City, the capital of Yanling County in the Dayue Kingdom, is a majestic city built along the banks of the Da Chi River. This city does not have a towering city wall. The entire city is centered on the military camp, and various houses are distributed in circles.
This is a typical pioneer camp, silently telling every visitor the difficulties that the pioneers had to face in establishing the city here.
However, Yanling County is now very peaceful. Because the border has been extended to the vicinity of Qingyang Mountain, when Qingyang Temple disciples go out to travel, the first stop is often in Yanling County. With this group of immortal cultivators with great supernatural powers,
With secret help, the ferocious monsters that invaded human society gradually disappeared without realizing it, and the former pioneer camp slowly became prosperous.
However, the disciples of Qingyang Temple are not cruel and easy-to-kill people. As long as they are not particularly violent monsters, they don't care about ordinary monsters at all - one person kills monsters and monsters eat people. This is the right principle of the cycle of heaven and earth. What they destroy is just
Just stop those monsters that kill people for fun or eat a lot.
Therefore, monsters are still often seen in Yanling County, and people are attacked and killed by monsters from time to time. But the people in Yanling County don't care - compared with various natural and man-made disasters, various diseases and bandits, every year
The ten or eight people eaten by monsters are nothing at all.
On the contrary, these harmless monsters that appear from time to time have become a unique scenery in Yanling County, attracting many curious people every year.
As time went by, people gradually figured out the patterns of the monsters' actions, and several special sightseeing projects were derived from this.
For example, take the famous "Monster Battle of Da Chijiang River".
At this moment, a huge red fish was fighting with another jet-black anaconda in the Da Chi River. The water was splashing and the current was turbulent. Thousands of people gathered near the river bank in Fucheng, watching the two fish intently.
A fierce battle between monsters.
Red fish and anaconda are both famous monsters in the Dachijiang River. They fight once every summer to compete for a spiritual water eye in the river, hoping to use it as a place to reproduce their offspring.
There are not a lot of red fish and anacondas, but the monsters are also intelligent and will not fight randomly, let alone sacrifice the entire family's strength to fight for the water eyes. They have similar battles like this every summer.
In a competition, both sides send strong men to fight one-on-one... Such battles often last for several days. Because the time is roughly fixed, it has become a famous local tourist project.
Both monsters are very large in stature. The red fish is slightly stubbier, about five or six feet long. The scales on its body are like flames burning on one side. The fins and tail of the fish are as sharp as knives, and the teeth in its mouth are even sharper.
It was a flash of cold light; the anaconda was about 13 to 14 feet tall. Although it was not poisonous, the power brought by its huge body was enough to pose a fatal threat.
They fought hard in the river, while people watched happily on the river bank. Many people were cheering for their favorite side, and some even opened a bet. The odds of red fish and anaconda were roughly equal.
After fighting for about half an hour, the two monsters became a little tired, so they stopped temporarily and retreated.
The battle for the water eye is a battle of endurance, and a short rest is for a longer battle.
While both parties were resting, several large boats sailed out from the port and headed towards the red fish and anaconda. On the big boats were supporters of the two monsters. They sailed the boat near the monsters and took the already
Prepared food is thrown into the water.
This is also an old rule. People in the county provide food to the monsters to ensure that the monsters compete here every year.
Red fish and anacondas never attack people on the Dachi River. On the contrary, they often rescue people who fall into the water and bring them to the shore. In return, people never hunt young red fish and anacondas, and even often give them to them.
Send food.
Humans and nature are not always hostile. Although the relationship between humans and monsters is very bad in many places in Kyushu, at least in the eyes of the people of Yanling County, who are regarded as barbarians, human beings and monsters are not always hostile.
Mutually beneficial coexistence is possible, and they have always done so.
After a while, the two demonic beasts who had eaten their fill regained their energy and started fighting, and the shouting on the river bank also became more intense, with each wave getting louder than the other.
This is one of the happiest moments in Yanling County every year, but the dignified governor of Yanling County has no room for happiness now.
Cold sweat continued to flow from his forehead and body, almost completely soaking his official uniform. His thin face was covered with sweat, slowly flowing down his eyebrows, nose and cheeks, and finally dropped to his chin.
But he didn't even dare to wipe it, he just looked at the young man in white who was sitting calmly in front of him with trembling eyes.
That was Yi Ti, the transfer chief of Yanling County who was supposed to have been killed and sunk into the Dachi River twenty-five years ago!
"Yi...Master Yi, you...you're not dead?"
"What do you think?" Yi Ti asked with a faint smile, "I was tied up hand and foot and stuffed into a sack with stones, and then I was beaten over the head with an iron rod until I couldn't move anymore.
I sank into the Da Chi River, do you think I am dead or not?"
The county governor is not young anymore, and he is considered a senior figure in the officialdom of the Dayue Kingdom. In the past twenty years, the officialdom of the Dayue Kingdom has gone through many ups and downs, but he has always occupied the position of the governor of Yanling County.
It can be said that it is a tumbler that remains standing.
But at this moment, this tumbler in Dai Viet's officialdom was about to collapse - his face became paler and paler, and his body trembled more and more violently. Especially when he noticed the faint black air lingering on Yi Ti's body, and noticed that Yi Ti
When there was no shadow under his feet, he was shaking even more violently.
Obviously, Yi Ti died twenty-five years ago. At this moment, his ghost is still lingering... or he has become a ghost, seeking his life!
"I really wasn't very clear about what happened back then!" He trembled for a long time and finally came up with some words to explain, "It was my butler's idea to teach you a lesson. I just ordered it at that time.
Boss, just leave this matter to him!"
In fact, Yi Ti had already used the Zhan Shang method to find out the general story of the incident, and now he just came to get some evidence. After hearing what he said, he took out a blank piece of paper.
This piece of paper was originally pure white, but as the Sheriff explained, writing began to appear on the paper - whatever the Sheriff said, words appeared on the paper, as if there was an invisible pen writing what he said.
Every sentence was recorded.
After the county guard, under his pressure, clearly explained a series of crimes such as corruption, bending the law, and murdering Yi Ti, Yi Ti nodded, flicked his fingers, and the white paper flew to the front of the county guard.
"Let's make a pledge."
The county guard looked at the white paper filled with his various crimes and thought about the consequences, and his fear of the evil ghost became a little weaker - if he was killed by the evil ghost one by one, he would die; but if all his crimes were exposed,
Isn’t it just death? Yanling City, the county seat of Yanling County in Dayue Kingdom, is a majestic city built along the banks of the Da Chi River.
This city does not have a towering city wall. The entire city is centered on the military camp, and various houses are distributed in circles. This is a typical pioneer camp, silently telling every visitor that the pioneers established the city here.
of difficulty.
However, Yanling County is now very peaceful. Because the border has been extended to the vicinity of Qingyang Mountain, when Qingyang Temple disciples travel to the mountains, their first stop is often in Yanling County.
With the help of this group of powerful immortal cultivators in secret, the ferocious monsters that invaded human society gradually disappeared without realizing it, and the former pioneer camp slowly became prosperous.
However, the disciples of Qingyang Temple are not cruel and easy-to-kill people. As long as they are not particularly violent monsters, they don't care about ordinary monsters at all - one person kills monsters and monsters eat people. This is the right principle of the cycle of heaven and earth. What they destroy is just
Just stop those monsters that kill people for fun or eat a lot.
Therefore, monsters are still often seen in Yanling County, and people are attacked and killed by monsters from time to time.
But the people in Yanling County don't care - compared with various natural and man-made disasters, various diseases and bandits, the ten or eight people who are eaten by monsters every year are nothing at all.
On the contrary, these harmless monsters that appear from time to time have become a unique scenery in Yanling County, attracting many curious people every year.
As time went by, people gradually figured out the patterns of the monsters' actions, and several special sightseeing projects were derived from this.
For example, take the famous "Monster Battle of Da Chijiang River".
At this moment, in the Da Chi River, a huge red fish was fighting with another jet-black anaconda. The water was splashing and the current was turbulent.
Thousands of people gathered in Fucheng near the river bank, watching the fierce battle between the two monsters.
Red fish and anaconda are both famous monsters in Dachi River.
They fight once every summer to compete for an aura-rich water eye in the river, hoping to use it as a place to breed their offspring.
There are not many red fish and anacondas, but the monsters are also intelligent and will not fight randomly, let alone sacrifice the entire clan's strength to fight for the water eyes.
They hold this kind of competition every summer, which is similar to an arena match. Each side sends strong men to fight one-on-one... Such battles often last for several days. Because the time is roughly fixed, it has become a famous local tourist project.
.
Both monsters are very large in stature. The red fish is slightly stubbier, about five or six feet long. The scales on its body are like flames burning on one side. The fins and tail of the fish are as sharp as knives, and the teeth in its mouth are even sharper.
It was a flash of cold light; the anaconda was about 13 to 14 feet tall. Although it was not poisonous, the power brought by its huge body was enough to pose a fatal threat.
They fought hard in the river, while people watched happily on the river bank.
Many people were cheering for their favorite side, and some even opened a bet. The odds of red fish and anaconda were roughly equal.
After fighting for about half an hour, the two monsters became a little tired, so they stopped temporarily and retreated.
The battle for the water eye is a battle of endurance, and a short rest is for a longer battle.
While both parties were resting, several large ships sailed out of the port and headed towards the red fish and anaconda.
On the big boat were supporters of the two monsters. They sailed the boat near the monsters and threw the food they had prepared into the water.
This is also an old rule. People in the county provide food to the monsters to ensure that the monsters compete here every year.
Red fish and anacondas never attack people on the Dachi River. On the contrary, they often rescue people who fall into the water and bring them to the shore. In return, people never hunt young red fish and anacondas, and even often give them to them.
Send food.
There is not always hostility between humans and nature.
Although the relationship between humans and monsters is very bad in many places in the Kyushu realm, at least in the eyes of the people of Yanling County, who are regarded as barbarians, humans and monsters can coexist with mutual benefit, and they have always done so.
After a while, the two demonic beasts who had eaten their fill regained their energy and started fighting, and the shouting on the river bank also became more intense, with each wave getting louder than the other.
This is one of the happiest moments in Yanling County every year, but the dignified governor of Yanling County has no room for happiness now.
Cold sweat continued to flow from his forehead and body, making his official uniform almost completely wet.
The thin face was covered with sweat, slowly flowing down the eyebrows, nose and cheeks, and finally dropped to the chin.
But he didn't even dare to wipe it, he just looked at the young man in white who was sitting calmly in front of him with trembling eyes.
That was Yi Ti, the transfer chief of Yanling County who was supposed to have been killed and sunk into the Dachi River twenty-five years ago!
"Yi...Master Yi, you...you're not dead?"
"What do you think?" Yi Ti asked with a faint smile, "I was tied up hand and foot and stuffed into a sack with stones, and then I was beaten over the head with an iron rod until I couldn't move anymore.
I sank into the Da Chi River, do you think I am dead or not?"
The county guard is not young anymore, and he is considered a senior figure in the officialdom of Dai Viet Kingdom.
In the past twenty years, the officialdom of Dai Viet Kingdom has gone through many ups and downs, but he has always occupied the position of the governor of Yanling County and remains standing. He can be said to be a tumbler.
But at this moment, this tumbler in Dai Viet's official circles was about to collapse - his face became paler and paler, and his body trembled more and more violently.
Especially when he noticed the faint black energy lingering around Yi Ti's body and noticed that there was no shadow under Yi Ti's feet, he trembled even more.
Obviously, this Yi Ti died twenty-five years ago.
At this moment, he is still haunted...or he has become a ghost, seeking his life!
"I really wasn't very clear about what happened back then!" He trembled for a long time and finally came up with some words to explain, "It was my butler's idea to teach you a lesson.
I just nodded and left the matter to him!"
In fact, Yi Ti had already used the Zhan Shang method to find out the general story of the incident, and he was just here to get some evidence.
After hearing what he said, he took out a piece of white paper.
This piece of paper was originally pure white, but as the Sheriff explained, writing began to appear on the paper - whatever the Sheriff said, words appeared on the paper, as if there was an invisible pen writing what he said.
Every sentence was recorded.
After the county guard, under his pressure, clearly explained a series of crimes such as corruption, bending the law, and murdering Yi Ti, Yi Ti nodded, flicked his fingers, and the white paper flew to the front of the county guard.
"Let's make a pledge."
The county guard looked at the white paper filled with his various crimes and thought about the consequences, and his fear of the evil ghost became a little weaker - if he was killed by the evil ghost one by one, he would die; but if all his crimes were exposed,
Isn't it just death? And even if I tell the truth honestly, will this evil ghost let me go?
Comparing his feelings with his own, he felt that he would definitely not let go of the enemy who killed him!
So he thought over and over again, and the thoughts in his mind gradually changed. Finally, he gritted his teeth, grabbed the white paper, and wanted to tear it into pieces.
But no matter how hard he tried, the thin piece of white paper remained motionless. It was simply stronger than the toughest cooked cowhide!
The county guard tried his best several times, but finally his whole body softened and he could no longer resist at all.
This time he honestly raised his hand, pressed his fingerprints on the white paper, then picked up the pen that appeared at some point and signed.
After doing this, he collapsed completely.
No matter whether the evil ghost will kill him or not, he is finished!
After a while, the summer sun gradually restored the heat inside the government office, and the county guard slowly came back to his senses.
He was surprised to find that he was not lying on the ground at all, but was sitting in the study room of the government office. On the table in front of him were gift lists given to him by several wealthy families in the county.
This is for this year's autumn tax. Yanling County is a large grain producer, and the annual autumn tax is a large amount.
And every year, he played a hand in the autumn tax collection. While helping the big households to evade taxes, he also used a lot of old rice to replace the new rice from the tax grain, and then sold it into money.
In just thirty years as a county guard, he has accumulated a huge amount of wealth that can make him the number one person in the entire Dai Viet Kingdom. Even if he resigns and returns home now, he can ensure that his descendants will have enough food and clothing for generations to come!
"Is that... just a dream?" The county guard stood up doubtfully, walked to the door and looked around.
He saw a policeman not far away leaning against the wall and taking a nap, so he called him over to ask what happened.
"There's no one there.
Aren't you the only one in this study?" The guard said doubtfully, "Don't you like being disturbed by others? That's why I'm always watching here so that no one can disturb you."
The county guard frowned and walked back slowly.
Could it be...is it really just a dream? But why do I dream about Yi Ti, who has been dead for twenty-five years? This dream is really weird!
He secretly made up his mind to go out to the temple in the county government and ask a knowledgeable monk for a fortune to find out what was going on!
As for Yi Ti, at this time he had already arrived at the cemetery outside the county government, and stood silently in front of a relatively neat and wealthy tomb.
Wu Jie walked over and saw an unknown name on the tombstone.
"Who is this?"
"That's the person who sent thugs to chase me." Yi Ti smiled and said, "He was the steward of the county guard at the beginning. When he learned that I was injured and went to Beijing to file a lawsuit, he sent his brother-in-law to take care of me.
A group of thugs caught up with me in the Dachi River.
They beat me until I fainted, and then threw me into the Dachi River to destroy my body."
"As a result, I was saved by Uncle Zhou who was passing by. Not only did I not die, but I became a member of the Immortal Sect.
But he died... Look at the record on his tombstone, he died of fever in the second year after I joined the Immortal Sect, and he was not even forty years old when he died."
Wu Jie was startled, his eyes widened, and looking at Yi Ti's calm look, he was speechless for a moment.
What surprised him was not that Yi Ti didn't die at first, but the calm expression on Yi Ti's face when he said this.
There was no trace of resentment in this expression, only indifference.
It seems that Yi Ti really doesn’t care anymore?!
This is murderous revenge! How could he not care?
After a while, he couldn't help but ask his own question.
"I have been waiting for twenty-five years." Yi Ti said calmly, "Twenty-five years are enough to gradually wash away the resentment in my heart... Senior brother, do you know why I have to wait so long?"
Wu Jie naturally shook his head. He really didn't understand Yi Ti's thoughts.
If it were him, with such deep hatred, he wouldn't be able to wait that long.
As long as you are sure that you have enough power to take revenge, you will immediately set out to take revenge - if you don't kill such an enemy, how can you get through your thoughts!
"At the beginning, I also wanted to achieve success in cultivating immortals and take revenge. I even thought about destroying the whole family of related people! But before I became a disciple, Uncle Zhou arranged many things to temper my temper.
The resentment is much less..."
"Huh? All the things you experienced back then were actually specially arranged by Uncle Zhou to test you?"
“I can’t say it’s a test, it’s just a training.
Chopping firewood for a living is a way for me to exercise, get used to a poor life, and get rid of the aura of luxury. The Fu soldiers and warriors come to beat me from time to time. In fact, it is to clear my blood and polish my arrogant aura... Uncle Zhou said
Yes, my qualifications are very high, but if a person wants to succeed in cultivating immortality, the most important thing is his character rather than his qualifications.
During that time, I was improving my character."
"...I thought those who beat you were people sent by your family to protect you..."
"The people of the Yi family thought I was dead a long time ago, so why would they send someone to protect me? You are overthinking." Yi Ti smiled bitterly, "I wanted to report corrupt officials, but the family did not approve of it.
Because of this, I fell out with my family... Later, when the news of my death spread, they must have been relieved..."
Wu Jie suddenly felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly changed the subject: "Because you lost your temper at the beginning, so you changed your mind?"
"After I became successful in cultivation, I gradually changed my mind..." Yi Ti said calmly, "If I had gone back to take revenge, I would have had no problem taking revenge, but I'm afraid that if I accumulated resentment in my heart, I would kill many, many, many people.
people."
"There is revenge and there is hatred and there is resentment. No matter how many enemies there are or how few enemies there are, we must kill those who deserve to be killed!"
"Elder brother, you are a decisive person, but I am not.
When I think about killing many, many people, my heart softens - and I feel that this is not good for my cultivation." Yi Ti sighed, "So I thought about it and decided to wait until I succeed in practicing Gang.
I’ll take revenge later.”
"It's too late!"
"Yes, I originally estimated that it would take thirty or forty years before I could achieve success in refining the Gang.
By that time, all my enemies will probably be dead, and this grudge will be over.
Time has eliminated them for me, so there is no need to dirty my own hands."
"But I didn't expect that in just over twenty years, I would be successful in practicing Gang." Yi Ti couldn't help but sigh, "As a result, I was hesitant and considered whether I should wait any longer until I could condense the essence."
Let’s talk about the realm.”
"It would take several decades from refining Gang to condensing Yuan.
Unless your enemy lives to be a hundred years old is not enough, and may have to live to be one hundred, thirty or forty years old - otherwise they will never have the chance to see you again." Wu Jie shook his head, "This means not taking revenge, which is boring.
!”
"Yes, I thought about it for a long time, and finally decided to take revenge!" Yi Ti's expression was still very calm, without any hint of ferocious hatred, "Since I succeeded in refining Gang much earlier than I expected,
That's probably God's will.
God must let me take revenge..."
"But you haven't killed anyone along the way."
"Killing is just the lowest form of revenge. Since I want to take revenge, I have to do it cleanly and beautifully. What I couldn't forget at that time was the matter of rectifying the government, and I regarded it as more important than my life.
Now that I have enough skills and a good reason, I simply do the two things together."
"Whether it's revenge or getting rid of harm, just do it together."
Wu Jie nodded and supported his idea: "That's right! We as Taoists should do good things for the world. Your revenge is just a personal matter; but rectifying the official administration of Yanling County and bringing benefits to the people are not
It’s something that happens to thousands of people! Being able to do two things at the same time is great, very good!”
"We have almost collected the information from Yanling County. There is still one relevant person to deal with."
"who?"
"The inspection censor back then.
I had already reported to him the collusion among Yanling County officials, deceiving the superiors and the inferiors, and corruption and bending the law. It was supposed that he should investigate and then tell the court how to deal with the corrupt officials... But he did not do this, even if he got me
He didn't respond to the news of his disappearance." Yi Ti sighed, "I'm going to find him and ask him why."
"...My original choice was not wrong." Facing the white-clothed ghost who came riding the dark wind at night, the old retired censor with white hair and beard did not show any fear at all, "You are dead, you are indeed a member of the country.
The loss is also your personal misfortune.
But if your original exposure was really successful, more people would be harmed!"
"Some things must be done." Yi Ti said coldly, "When a person is injured and the wound becomes pus, it must be incised and drained.
If you just cover the wound blindly, the result will most likely be that the wound will fester and you will die without treatment."
"You are the victim, so naturally you feel this way.
But I don't think so." The old censor showed no intention of giving in. "Over the years, Yanling County has remained peaceful, and the people's lives have not been very bad.
You only see those people's corruption and bending the law, but you don't see their ability to govern the country... In my opinion, corrupt officials are not terrible. As long as they have the ability and can manage the place well, they can be corrupt. What's the big deal!
"
"As a royal censor, is this how you treat the great trust of the imperial court and your majesty's trust?"
"Of course! I am the censor. I want to see with my own eyes, listen with my own ears, and think with my own head! It is a fact that they took bribes and perverted the law; it is also a fact that they killed you.
If we follow the laws of the imperial court, all the people involved will have to die." The old censor snorted coldly, looking nonchalant, "But if we kill them, where can we find a group of capable people to continue getting things done?"
Yi Ti frowned.
"I don't regret my original choice. If you want to kill me, I have nothing to say." Speaking of the issue of death, the old censor sighed deeply, finally showing a bit of weakness, but then he
He became determined again, "But I definitely don't think what I did at the beginning was wrong.
For a country, for the people of Yanling County, it doesn’t matter whether you, Yi Ti, live or die, and it doesn’t matter whether those officials are corrupt and bend the law. What matters is that the country can be stable and the people can be happy."
"For these reasons, I can ignore my conscience, turn a blind eye to the evidence you spent your life to collect, or turn a blind eye to your death." The old censor's face was still as cold as when Yi Ti reported it to him.
, "I believe that my choice is correct!"
"Yi Ti, I admit that I am not a good person.
But what I do is truly loyal to the country and truly beneficial to the people!"
