Chapter 1 Slap

*Pa.*

A slap landed on Wu Hu’s face.

His resilient body, impervious even to the fire-hardened rods of the constables, was sent flying by this mere slap. He crashed heavily to the ground, his iron chains and shackles clattering around him.

Wu Hu fell with a *thud*, his neck twisted at an unnatural angle. A bright red handprint bloomed on his face.

“You!”

Wu Hu clutched his swollen cheek in disbelief, spitting out two dislodged teeth. He glared, his words slurred, and roared, “You tonsured wild fox Taoist, how dare you hit me?!”

*Pa.*

Another slap sent Wu Hu tumbling two meters, rolling to the entrance of the yamen before vomiting a pool of blood.

Li Ang used the [Scattered Debris] skill to bounce him back into the yamen hall.

Li Ang grabbed Wu Hu by the collar, lifting him into the air. He tilted his head, seemingly contemplating where best to strike him.

The constables on either side were completely taken aback by the sudden violence of the polite Ximenzi Daoist. Even Magistrate Ma, behind his desk, was startled.

Wu Hu was also somewhat terrified. He truly felt the icy killing intent. He forced himself to say, “My White Lotus Sacred Sect has countless followers throughout the world, like the sands of the Ganges. If you dare touch me, are you not afraid of death?”

“What’s so scary about death? Before death, you weren’t dead. After death, you can’t be afraid. That’s philosophy. It’s hard for you to understand.”

Li Ang shook his head and reached out to crush Wu Hu’s humerus and femur. Amid Wu Hu’s miserable screams, he asked again, “Will anyone come to save you?”

“I don’t know, ahhhh–”

Wu Hu’s features were twisted into a grotesque knot. He had clearly activated the spell taught by the Sacred White Lotus, making him invulnerable to swords and spears, as hard as steel.

Only being splashed with filth like black dog blood would break the effect.

Just what was the background of this short-haired Daoist?!

Unable to get the answer he wanted, Li Ang sighed and crushed Wu Hu’s bones until they were finer than Wangwang Crushed Ice.

The latter’s tragic screams even drowned out the cries of the Xu family, from top to bottom, outside the yamen.

After a round of interrogation, Wu Hu still remained silent. Only then did Li Ang throw him to the ground, pick up the envelope, and scan the letter inside.

The letter seemed to be a wife's letter to her husband. The content was roughly that the family was well, no need to worry, the son was doing well in the private school, the relative who borrowed money last year recently repaid the debt, and that it has been cold recently, so the husband out in the world should wear more clothes.

Li Ang quickly scanned it, closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and then picked up the Analects that was in the package, quickly flipping through the pages.

The letter was actually a code. Only by combining the text of each chapter in the *Analects* could the ciphertext be obtained.

And the content of the ciphertext was roughly to meet at a ruined temple outside Goose City tomorrow night.

Li Ang put away the letter and said to Wu Hu, "Who is the person who will meet you at the ruined temple tomorrow?"

"How do you kn..."

Wu Hu’s expression changed drastically. He immediately closed his mouth, clenching his teeth tightly. He looked less like a criminal undergoing torture and more like a loyal hero who would rather die than yield.

"Heh."

Li Ang smiled. He didn't bother with pleasantries. This kind of person probably only had the Sacred White Lotus in their mind.

In a short period of time, conventional interrogation methods probably wouldn't make him confess the truth.

"Magistrate Ma,"

Li Ang turned to look at Ma Bangde, "When will the Martial Virtue Guard soldiers arrive?"

"Ah?"

Ma Bangde was stunned for a moment before he finally reacted. He quickly said, "I have already notified them with a talisman. They will arrive at the latest by tomorrow morning."

"Then tonight, I will be responsible for guarding the suspect."

Li Ang nodded. "To prevent the White Lotus demons from harming the innocent, please clear out a cell in the dungeon, Magistrate."

"The Daoist will personally guard him?"

Magistrate Ma said happily, "Good, good, good. I will arrange it immediately."

Magistrate Ma stood up from his chair and had his men drag the maimed Wu Hu into the dungeon. They cleaned up the blood Wu Hu vomited in the yamen hall,

put the items back into the package as evidence, and went to the county yamen dungeon to clean the cell.

The constables busied themselves. Magistrate Ma walked up to Li Ang and said softly, "Daoist, does that White Lotus thief have accomplices?"

Li Ang nodded, "Yes, there should be."

Ma Bangde licked his chapped lips. "That letter said that the White Lotus thieves will meet at the ruined temple? Should I dispatch soldiers to set up an ambush there?"

"No need."

Li Ang pointed to the county yamen. "With such a commotion here, the White Lotus thieves aren't stupid. How could they still go to the ruined temple as agreed?

Moreover, ordinary soldiers are of little use against demons."

Ma Bangde was speechless. It was difficult to guard against treacherous tricks.

Faced with insidious and treacherous demonic arts, ordinary people really had no ability to resist.

Li Ang said, "If this Wu Hu is really valuable, White Lotus thieves might come to break him out of prison tonight. Magistrate Ma had better hide in a safe and concealed place with your relatives."

"Yes, yes."

Ma Bangde nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, suddenly remembering something. He hesitated and said, "Daoist, do you need me to transfer weapons from the Martial Virtue Guard armory?"

"You can mobilize them?"

Li Ang was a little surprised. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures."

Ma Bangde said with certainty, "This is a remote area. There aren't so many rules."

The situation was corrupt. Magistrate Ma had long heard that there were many Martial Virtue Guard weapons circulating in the martial world, such as Soul-Suppressing Nails, Evil-Exterminating Talismans, and Demon-Slaying Arrows.

It was estimated that they were all secretly sold by the soldiers.

"Alright, transfer them if you can."

Li Ang nodded. He was quite interested in the magical artifacts in this world.

"County Magistrate..."

Zhao Liu, who was standing to the side, walked up carefully. "What should this commoner do?"

"You?"

Ma Bangde pondered for a while. "You have flaws in small matters, but you are blameless in matters of principle.

This time, I will not hold you accountable for being a thief. Go home first. In a few days, there should be an award for bravery from the state government issued to your family."

"Award?"

Zhao Liu grinned, but then his face turned bitter again. He hesitated and said, "This commoner, will this commoner be retaliated against by the White Lotus Sect?"

"Ha."

Ma Bangde laughed and said, "If they want to retaliate, they have to find the yamen first. You are a loafer. Others would be ashamed to retaliate against you. Go home."

A constable led the confused Zhao Liu out of the main gate.

The Xu family, who were waiting outside the door, were completely unaware of what had happened in the yamen. Seeing the county yamen gate open and the suspect Wu Hu being dragged into the side hall like a dead dog by the constables,

they stood outside the county yamen in a dense crowd, chattering and loudly asking the county magistrate what had happened.

"Everyone, be calm, be calm."

Magistrate Ma walked towards the Xu family, pressed down his hands, and said kindly, "The evidence is conclusive, with both witnesses and physical evidence. The suspect Wu Hu has already confessed his guilt and will be sentenced once the Ministry of Justice's official documents are issued."

"That's great, that's great!"

An elderly man in luxurious clothes, who seemed to be the Xu family's patriarch, wiped away his tears. "Then County Magistrate, my poor daughter-in-law's child..."

"This..."

Ma Bangde turned his head to look at the ceramic bottle that was being put into the package by the constables. He gritted his teeth and said, "That child cannot be returned to you for the time being."

The Xu family became anxious again. After such a tragic event, they were still immersed in grief. They just wanted to end everything quickly so that the Xu family's young mistress and her son could be buried in peace.

"The murderer has been caught. Why can't the child be returned to us?"

"Yes, yes!"

Ma Bangde couldn't express his suffering.

The infant killed by Wu Hu was important evidence, and it might even involve a grand conspiracy by the White Lotus Sect.

Ma Bangde's idea was to first block the news and temporarily hide the fact that the murderer was a White Lotus Sect believer from the Xu family.

Tonight, he would let Li Ang guard the suspect, and after the Martial Virtue Guard soldiers arrived in Goose City tomorrow morning, ensuring everything was safe, he would inform the deceased's family and return the infant to them.

Ma Bangde put in a lot of effort to stabilize the emotions of the Xu family. After the Xu family dispersed, he looked up at the couplets hanging on the pillars of the three-bay public hall.

*Gaining an official position is not an honor, losing one is not a disgrace. Do not say that one official position is useless, for the entire locality relies on one official.*

*Eat the people's food, wear the people's clothes. Do not say that the people can be deceived, for you yourself are also one of the people.*

The plaque read, "Heavenly Principles, National Laws, Human Sentiments."

"Heh."

Ma Bangde shook his head and smiled bitterly. He shouted loudly and ordered his subordinates to prepare horses to go to the Martial Virtue Guard armory.