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The moon was bright and the stars scarce.

Zhou Yi fell into the courtyard, his face changing from that of an old man to a middle-aged one.

On regular days in the sky prison, this was his appearance. With mana combined with the Art of Disguise and the Bone Shrinking Skill, even those close to him could not recognize him.

“The matter of the Li family is considered over,” he said.

Having made three covert moves, Zhou Yi’s existence had already drawn attention. The strange old man tonight was just a hair’s breadth away from Innate.

“There are even fewer Innate Grandmasters than I expected. Perhaps in Fengyang Country… am I the only one? Li Wu had roamed unchallenged through both Fengyang and Great Yong, with no one but the King of the Azure Heaven, a fellow practitioner of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Technique, to match him!”

After twenty-six years of cultivation, he had suddenly become peerless in the mortal world!

Zhou Yi reminded himself that this was the Immortal and Demon World.

Innate was just stepping into the threshold of the Cultivation World, and without the understanding of spells or possession of magic artifacts, any cultivator could easily best him.

“Based on human logic, those struggling Loose Cultivators, aware that their path was hopeless, would rather rule supreme in the mortal world than live humbly as underlings in the Cultivation World.”

“There are rumors that the great founder of Fengyang Country had the power of ghosts and gods. Could he have been a down-and-out Loose Cultivator?”

“Or perhaps the mortal world is regulated by the Cultivation World, and the rise and fall of dynasties are simply changes made according to the will of immortals!”

Zhou Yi checked his sense of pride. By taking advantage of the Devouring Heaven Demonic Technique and the prisoners in the cell, he had cunningly stepped into Innate and gained just enough power to protect himself, which meant he mustn’t act recklessly.

“Speak prudently and act cautiously, concentrate on cultivation!”

…

The next day.

The heavy snow had finally stopped.

Today was New Year’s Eve, and the streets were adorned with couplets and red lanterns, exuding a strong festive atmosphere.

The news of last night’s attack on the Duke of Zhen’s residence hadn’t leaked at all, as though the two or three hundred people who had died never existed.

Commoners only know what the Imperial Court wants them to know!

For example, commoners only knew that Li Wu died in the sky prison. The many court struggles he had been involved in before his imprisonment were beyond the knowledge of ordinary people.

As the Li family’s decline became more apparent, some past events began to circulate, generally among officials who discussed them in casual conversation, with servants overhearing and then boasting to relatives and friends.

One led to ten, ten to a hundred.

There were tales of Chancellor Zhang appearing weak on the surface, consulting the Duke of Zhen on every matter, while actually alienating His Majesty from Li Wu.

There were stories of nobles of the National Dynasty fighting over military authority with officers from Li Wu’s faction, coming from the lower ranks.

Or of Li Wu’s loyalists in the military seeking promotions and riches by defecting to a certain chancellor’s camp…

The information was a mix of truth and fiction, hard to discern the real from the false.

In just one short year, the incense offered at Li Wu’s temples had greatly diminished. Give it another ten or eight years, and only wild grass would keep them company.

“There is nothing in this world that time cannot erase, except for me!”

Zhou Yi walked towards the sky prison, carrying a bucket to deliver food.

Zhang Yun, the jailer responsible for delivering the meals, was home for the New Year.

The sky prison was not like other offices; during the holidays, the jailers had to take turns resting, but Zhou Yi was the exception, going every day to check in and attend to his duties as usual.

Being alone, he felt the prison was more lively than his own home.

Zhou Yi was not devoid of relatives; his ancestors hailed from Lean Mountain Village in Ningshan County, and there were still hundreds of clan members, with close cousins still alive.

In those days, Zhou Yi was frail and seemed unlikely to live long.

The elder of the Zhou clan suggested to Father Zhou that a child from the clan be adopted, lest Zhou Yi die prematurely, leaving the position of jailer and the residence in the Divine Capital without an heir.

Father Zhou, working in the sky prison and witnessed all sorts of sordid affairs, how could he not see through the clan members’ intentions?

Let alone that Zhou Yi was not yet dead, were he to agree to the adoption, the clan would then likely find a way to hasten Zhou Yi’s demise once Father Zhou was no longer around.

After several disputes, the clan elder still did not give up, so Father Zhou decided to sever ties completely!

After Father Zhou passed away, Zhou Yi inherited the position of jailer. The Zhou family members occasionally came to the Capital to check in, waiting for him to become ill and die.

Waiting left and right, Zhou Yi saw several uncles and cousins die off, his cousins grew old.

And with that, ties to these relatives were completely cut off!

“Old Zhou, perfect timing, I need a favor from you.”

Captain Zhu hailed him, leaning in to whisper, “A prisoner was brought to the heavenly prison today, and I need your skills for tormenting the scoundrels from Jianghu to administer a punishment on this scoundrel!”

Zhou Yi asked, “What did he do?”

“What else can an official do, but embezzle money!”

Captain Zhu explained, “But this guy is a particularly good at embezzling—nicknamed ‘Three Feet Above the Sky’. In three years, he bled Luyang Prefecture dry, allegedly amassing over ten million taels of silver.”

The annual tax revenue of Fengyang Country was almost about ten million taels.

Zhou Yi, puzzled, asked, “Civil officials usually can’t survive many rounds of severe torture, so why call on me?”

In recent years, whenever there arose a stubborn and unruly criminal from Jianghu, Captain Zhu would request Zhou Yi to handle the punishment. The reputation of the old demon of the blood prison largely stemmed from this.

Captain Zhu clarified, “The Imperial Court captured the man, but we haven’t found where the silver is hidden. This bastard has an especially tough mouth, and we can’t risk using heavy torture lest we accidentally kill him.”

“His family’s lives don’t matter?”

In his many years at the heavenly prison, Zhou Yi had seen the occasional official withstand heavy torture; however, when relatives such as parents or children were brought in and tormented, few could remain indifferent.

The law of collective punishment was indeed cruel, but Zhou Yi quite agreed with it.

In this era, there was a sense of unity within clans; if the clan members enjoyed the benefits provided by a corrupt official, they should also share in the punishment.

“Originally, this bastard’s family were farmers. Years ago, when famine struck, entire villages starved to death, and he lost all his relatives.”

Captain Zhu explained, “He might have a wife and children, but just like the silver, we have no idea where they’re hidden.”

“Was he prepared to fall into the net and get imprisoned from the start?”

Zhou Yi, driven by curiosity, picked up a bucket and went to Cell Yi-Seven.

The prisoner, lying on a straw mat, had his back covered in a crisscross of bloody welts, and fresh blood seeping from his buttocks had soaked through his clothes. Hearing the noise, he slowly lifted his head.

His face was square, with an air of integrity.

Zhou Yi unlocked the cell door, squatted in front of the prisoner, and said, “A mere civilian who climbed to the rank of a third-grade officer, with a chance to reach the core of power—why resort to being a corrupt and depraved official?”

The prisoner remained silent, then lay down again.

“Over ten million taels of silver—if recovered by the Imperial Court, and eleven parts dispersed among the people, it would also count as your atonement.”

Zhou Yi flicked his finger, and his mana formed a needle point, penetrating the prisoner’s body.

As it flowed through the bloodstream, moving throughout the body, the sharp sensation sliced through his meridians. The pain, from inside out, was even harder to bear than being sentenced to death by dismemberment.

Besides, such a sentence eventually comes to an end, but this strand of mana only pricked and didn’t break, making the torture endless.

The ruthless criminals of Jianghu may not fear death, nor torture, but they can’t endure a needle moving inside their bodies.

“Ah!”

The prisoner cried out in pain, his body shaking like chaff, his eyes bloodshot and red.

Zhou Yi struck several of the prisoner’s acupoints, to prevent him from fainting from the pain. He had to remain conscious to experience the punishment.

After a long while.

“Where is the silver?”

Zhou Yi waved his hand to dispel the mana, and slowly said, “Perhaps you can challenge your limit of endurance. The last one was a criminal from the Marrow-Cleansing Realm, claiming to be a human demon, and he didn’t last two days before confessing.”

“Heh, heh, heh…”

The prisoner, after intense gasping, said, “The silver is at the Lu family’s—you tell the Imperial Court to go fetch it!”

“The Lu family of Jiangnan?”

Zhou Yi’s brows furrowed slightly. Among the many prominent families in Jiangnan, eight carried the most historical weight, with lineages dating back to the previous dynasty or even the one before.

There are no dynasties that last a thousand years, but there are families that do!

Among them, the Lu family ranked in the top three.

“What, scared?”

A spiteful look flashed in the prisoner’s eyes as he spoke with resentment.

“I’m afraid too, so I had no choice but to become a corrupt official!”