Longzang

Chapter 109 The Immortal Seeking the Dao
According to the records, Ningxi County, governed by Xu Zhijie, was the largest of the four counties in the Broken Domain, but it had the smallest population. The people were living in misery, and resentment was rampant everywhere. Xu Zhijie also maintained a large army, ranking first among the counties, but it suffered repeated defeats against the Wu Clan. Each time, the Xu family had to intervene and form an allied force with various sects and grotto-heavens to drive the Wu Clan back.

However, years of war have left the people destitute.

Thus, Xu Zhijie served as prefect for ten years, during which time the prefecture's territory retreated by two hundred li, and the population decreased by eight hundred thousand. Countless people secretly cursed Xu Zhijie to die young using the secret arts of the Wuyu tribe. Finally, the Xu family took action and brought Xu Zhijie down. They then uncovered his various misdeeds, including embezzling public funds, misappropriating military supplies, and even colluding with foreign tribes. Ultimately, Xu Zhijie was sentenced to beheading, and his clansmen were exiled to the army.

When Xu Zhijie died, every household in Ningxi County set off firecrackers to celebrate. However, less than half a year later, the Wuyu tribe's army swept through the four counties of Ningxi, and after several battles, the area became a shattered wasteland.

Because Xu Zhijie committed many evil deeds, he was given a separate section in the local chronicle, with 220 characters dedicated to describing his misdeeds and his end, so that future generations could condemn him.

The information released by Taichu Palace has naturally been verified and cannot be falsified. According to the information, Xu Zhijie is a typical example of an official who harmed the entire prefecture, and he deserves to die ten times over. Ningxi Prefecture originally had more than two million people, but after his ten-year term, only one and a half million remained.

But Xu Wan'er told a different story.

Although Xu Zhijie was a direct descendant of the Xu family, he did not accept the marriage arranged by his family and instead married a commoner woman. This made the young lady of the Lü family, who was originally the intended bride, resentful. At the same time, several of his cousins ​​in the clan were also jealous of Xu Zhijie's talent, so they joined forces with the young lady of the Lü family to try every means to suppress and harm Xu Zhijie.

Despite the suppression, Xu Zhijie was quite capable, rising through the ranks based on his merits until he became the Prefect of Ningxi Commandery, guarding the border. However, the various factions in Ningxi Commandery were deeply entrenched, with the Xu family's influence felt everywhere. Every adjutant in the army had a powerful backer, making it difficult even for the commander-in-chief to command, let alone Xu Zhijie. These people were responsible for embezzling military supplies and misappropriating funds; Xu Zhijie had no say in the matter and couldn't even see the military accounts.

Through skillful maneuvering and years of effort and preparation, Xu Zhijie eventually secured four of the eight military commanders. He also cracked down on large landowners' land grabbing, investigated and punished several major landowners, confiscating their land and distributing it to the landless poor. These measures alienated almost every branch of the Xu family, especially one landowner whose family held official positions in the Western Jin Dynasty. They constantly impeached Xu Zhijie and smeared him with various accusations.

A few days before his conviction, Xu Zhijie hurriedly found Xu Wan'er and passed on to her a sophisticated cultivation technique that could conceal one's Dao foundation, along with several life-saving magical artifacts. Then, Xu Zhijie said that he had accidentally discovered a shocking secret and was investigating it. He gave Xu Wan'er a piece of jade paper, telling her to keep it safe and then go to the Lan Shen Palace to avoid trouble.

Before Xu Wan'er could leave, a large group of unidentified people stormed into the prefectural governor's mansion that very night, killing everyone they saw. Xu Wan'er escaped in the chaos using a technique that allowed her to conceal her Dao foundation. Later, she encountered Yun Feifei and managed to fight off the pursuers.

Not long after, news spread that Xu Zhijie had been convicted and imprisoned, and numerous charges against him were announced. The people, already suffering greatly and unaware of the truth, harbored extreme hatred for Xu Zhijie. Those who had received favors from Xu Zhijie dared not speak out, and those who dared to question him were arrested and labeled as his accomplices. Less than a month after his conviction, Xu Zhijie was publicly executed. The execution ground was packed with people, and he was covered in eggs and rotten flesh thrown at him.

Wei Yuan listened with a mixture of belief and doubt.

There are indeed many suspicious points in this matter. For example, the conviction and execution were carried out too quickly. Xu Zhijie was, after all, a high-ranking official in a region. Under normal circumstances, the conviction alone would take at least several months to be tried, and then the various departments of the court would review it and submit it to the Prince of Jin for approval before he could be executed. Xu Zhijie was executed in less than a month after the crime was committed, which suggests that there must be something hidden.

But Wei Yuan came to take Yun Feifei back to the palace, not to seek justice for Xu Zhijie. To put it bluntly, the Immortal Lord's decision is far more important than a prefect's injustice of unknown veracity.

After Xu Wenwu finished vomiting, he listened intently, his face filled with indignation, wanting to criticize the current affairs and express his own opinions. But before he could even open his mouth, Wei Yuan used a Taoist rope to bind it shut. After a moment's thought, Wei Yuan asked, "What did your father give you that night?"

Xu Wan'er recalled carefully and said, "The paper contained very trivial records, including data on land and household registration in more than a dozen counties within and near the prefecture, spanning several decades. There were many records of the movement of soldiers and provisions in military camps, records of merchant caravans, more than a dozen account books, and records of the inflow and outflow of silver from banks, all of which seemed very ordinary. I didn't understand what these meant, and my father didn't tell me at the time, only telling me to find a way to take them to Lanshen Palace."

Wei Yuan was also clueless. Just then, Xu Wenwu's spell to silence him expired, and he immediately blurted out, "These records seem chaotic, but there must be a connection! If we analyze them carefully and find the pattern, we can..."

Wei Yuan raised his hand and pointed, and the rope tied Xu Wenwu's mouth shut again.

After recounting her life story for a while, Xu Wan'er's eyes were already filled with tears. She suddenly bowed to Wei Yuan and said, "My three older brothers and two younger sisters all died at the hands of those people, their deaths were very tragic. If only you could clear my father's name, I would have no way to repay you, I can only... I can only..."

"It's time to go." Wei Yuan stood up.

Xu Wan'er gave Wei Yuan a mournful look.

Wei Yuan did not immediately mount his horse. Instead, he found a flat area, drew an array diagram on the ground, placed spiritual objects in various positions, and finally placed a small array plate in the center of the diagram. He pointed to the array plate, and a figure appeared in the center of the plate, with a flowing white beard and an air of otherworldly elegance.

This array diagram is called the "Immortal Inquiry Method in a Turbid World," which Wei Yuan learned from the treatise on divination. It is used to predict the fortune of a specific action. Normally, the results of divination are very vague, only roughly indicating good or bad fortune. The accuracy of divination is affected by the caster's own status, the quality of the spiritual object, and the matter being divined. The higher the status of the person being divined, the more vague the result will be.

This is a very basic method of divination. Its advantages are that it is simple and easy to use, has no strict requirements on the environment, and does not require offerings. Now, it has become a habit for Wei Yuan to consult feng shui before important matters, especially now that he has the Immortal Lord's Array Plate, which makes divination particularly advantageous.

Seeing the immortal figure within the formation, Wei Yuan knew the formation was complete, and silently asked himself, "What risks do I face on my journey to the Lan Shen Palace?"

Wei Yuan deliberately limited the divination to himself. Xu Wan'er was alright, but Xu Wenwu came from another world. Although he was ignorant and incompetent, he had a strange aura. Letting him in would be risky.

After silently chanting, Wei Yuan continued to channel his Dao power. The white-bearded immortal, who had been smiling, suddenly turned into a bitter expression. His head turned black, a bird's claw pierced his chest, and his whole body was covered in pus and blood. In the blink of an eye, he turned into a puddle of mud.

(End of this chapter)