Weird Cultivation, I have a five-organ temple

Chapter 486 Promotion can also be a death warrant
Although Gongcao Li was imprisoned in the prison, the cell where he was held was not only spacious but also very clean.

When Li Hong came in, Gongcao Li was lying on the bed with a book in his hand. Several jailers were standing beside him, serving him carefully with tea, fruits and melons.

Rather than saying that this Gongcao Li is in jail, it would be more accurate to say that he came here to rest and take a vacation.

Hearing the sound of the prison door opening, the clerk looked up and saw that it was Li Hong. He hurriedly threw away the book in his hand and knelt on the ground.

A few jailers were also considerate people. They immediately took their leave and closed the cell door.

Li Hong waited until all the irrelevant people had left, and he did not speak in a hurry. He waved his hand, and mysterious witchcraft characters appeared on the wall of the prison.

These witchcraft words can not only imprison the people imprisoned here and prevent them from breaking through the roof and walls to escape, but also isolate the inside and the outside, so that people outside the cell cannot hear the sounds inside.

At the same time, Li Hong chanted a spell and looked around to make sure there was no third pair of eyes before he snorted coldly.

It was not until this moment that the Gongcao official kneeling on the ground called his master benefactor.

"Get up."

Li Hong greeted him, and after the Gongcao Li stood up, he asked him, "Who knows your plan?"

"My clerk Huang Jin and criminal officer Ma Quan..."

The Gongcao Li shuddered and guessed Li Hong's intention, but he did not dare to hesitate at all and hurriedly reported a few names.

After finishing, he added: "I have leverage over these people. They are tight-lipped and don't know all my plans. I just told them to do the corresponding things and didn't tell them the reasons."

"You're not that stupid."

Li Hong commented, his gloomy face softened a little, and then he said: "During this period of time, you should stay in the prison honestly. When the storm is over, I will arrange for you to go to Xingshan. The war over there is imminent, and once the war starts, there will be countless casualties. When you go there, you know what to do, right?"

"Yes, I collect materials and do the processing."

"That's good to know. If this thing is accomplished, you will definitely benefit from it! You have been stuck in Qi Refining Perfection for so many years, it's time to break through."

Hearing Li Hong's promise, Gongcao Li knelt down again and kowtowed to Li Hong: "Thank you for your support, Lord!"

Li Hong slapped him three times before letting him stand up. He sternly lectured him, "Don't be so rash in the future. I asked you to kill someone, not to do it yourself. You got yourself involved, which is really stupid! You should reflect on yourself during your time in prison."

The Gongcao official replied, "My Lord, you are right. I was indeed foolish this time. I did not expect that Shang Lu, who was obviously just a minor official from a lowly family, would dare to cause such a commotion in our Gongcao Yamen. As a result, one wrong step led to another."

"These people who come from the lower classes, once they have achieved a little success, they are bound to be arrogant and domineering, and do not know what is good for them. Humph, little do they know that without a foundation, the more arrogant they are, the faster they will die."

Li Hong's words were full of disdain, jealousy and hostility towards Shang Lu.

Ever since the witch academies in various counties began to recruit common people, people like Li Hong, who came from aristocratic families, began to have similar thoughts.

Although in today's world, due to the secret realms, there are many more resources for cultivation than in the chaotic era.

However, for the existing classes and forces, even if they have excess resources, they are unwilling to allow new forces to come in and compete with them.

On the surface, the aristocratic sects in various counties were relatively obedient to the orders given by King Ba.

But secretly, there have been constant torrents and various confrontations.

Li Hong's hostile attitude towards Shang Lu and the monks who came from the common people was a reflection of this torrent and confrontation.

Gongcao Li listened to Li Hong's words and nodded repeatedly. At the same time, he was also very curious and asked carefully: "Master, how do you plan to deal with Shanglu?"

"Of course, it's to report his merits and ask for a reward."

Li Hong glanced at Gongcao Li and sneered, "There just happened to be a vacancy for a Sima in the county. I am going to write to the county governor to seek this position for him."

"The county's Sima?"

The Gongcao Li was stunned. According to the bureaucratic system of the State of Ba, the county Sima was one level higher than the Zeicao Yuan in terms of salary and rank, and it was a military position, an assistant to the county lieutenant.

Normally, this position should be assigned by the county lieutenant. However, as the head of a county, the county governor could not refuse to appoint a Sima, but he would definitely feel unhappy.

Especially this Sima, who was transferred from a civil affairs official and was not a subordinate of the county lieutenant himself, so he was bound to be troubled.

But none of this matters.

What’s important is the reason why this vacancy occurred!

The Gongcao official was not as stupid as he said. In just a few breaths, he figured out the twists and turns and understood Li Hong's intention.

He prostrated himself and exclaimed, "My Lord is wise! In this way, even if Shang Lu dies, he will still be grateful for your promotion!"

Seeing that he had figured it out, Li Hong's eyes finally showed some satisfaction.

He twirled his beard and said proudly, "It's the same old saying. To kill someone, you don't necessarily have to do it yourself. To get promoted, it's not necessarily a good thing, it can also be a death warrant!"

"My lord, you are wise. I will learn enough of these tricks for a lifetime!" Gongcao Li nodded repeatedly and flattered him like he was free.

After that, he asked again: "Master, there is one thing I don't understand..."

Li Hong glanced at him and instantly understood what he wanted to ask. Before he could finish his words, he asked back, "You can't understand why I must kill Shang Lu?"

"Yes." Gongcao Li nodded and said puzzledly: "Shang Lu has the background of the Discipline Department after all. Is it worth it to take the risk of killing him just for the dead Zheng Quan?"

Because of the witchcraft spell that prevents outsiders from eavesdropping, and some things that will happen later, the Gongcao Li needs to be well handled, and letting him know some secrets will make it easier to control him.

So after a little hesitation, Li Hong decided to tell the whole story.

He looked at the Gongcao Li and asked with a half-smile: "Who told you that I killed Shang Lu to avenge Zheng Quan? Zheng Quan is a piece of trash. I wish I could peel off his skin and pull out his tendons, refine his soul into a ghost, and enslave him forever. How could I help him to avenge him?" "Not to help Zheng Quan to avenge him?"

Gongcao Li was stunned. This was totally different from what he had imagined. He couldn't help but ask, "What was the purpose of this, Lord?"

Li Hong did not answer directly, but said: "Let me ask you, Shang Lu jumped from a lowly official to a thief official in just a few years, and even entered the witch academy and the discipline department. What did he rely on?"

"It is said that he has great luck and extraordinary talent..."

"Great opportunity? Extraordinary talent? Humph."

Li Hong sneered: "In today's world, if you want to ascend to high heaven through cultivation, you can't just rely on great luck and talent. Spiritual essence, spiritual fluid, elixir and precious treasures, which one can be missing? Shang Lu is just a lowly official. Even if he really has great luck and talent, how can he get so many elixirs to nourish him? Without elixirs, how can he..."

Gongcao Li thought about it and thought that this was the truth. He was about to ask "Why is that?" But before he could say anything, he suddenly thought of a possibility. His face changed drastically and he asked hurriedly, "My Lord, do you suspect that the lost treasure is in Shang Lu's possession?"

Li Hong said coldly, "When the Black Wind Gang was destroyed, all the treasures disappeared. Zheng Quan reported that Xu Biao and his men had taken them away. But until today, Xu Biao and his men have not been seen, as if they had evaporated from the face of the earth. Shang Lu, on the other hand, went from a small bone-chopping constable to a marrow-cleansing realm at a very fast speed, and then entered the Witch Academy and refined Qi... Don't you find it strange?"

Gongcao Li felt that Li Hong's guess was reasonable, but he was still puzzled.

"The recipe in Zhao Hai's hand is only the first stage. If the pills are not refined later, they can only help the warriors practice. For cultivators who have entered the Qi training stage, the effect is greatly reduced. But Shang Lu has entered the Discipline Department, which means that his cultivation has broken through to the Zhoutian stage..."

Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Li Hong: "I asked the people in Yunhua Mountain, and they said that Shang Lu did have a wonderful encounter in Yunhua Mountain. He was spotted by the 'living dead' in the secret realm, and was taught skills to help him break through to the Zhoutian realm."

Li Hong snorted coldly again when he said this.

"Shang Lu did have some opportunities, but that's all. With his lowly origin, even if the Witch Academy gave him spiritual objects such as Star Marrow, Earth Milk, and Thousand Family Millet, it would be impossible for him to cultivate to the perfection of Zhou Tian and break through to the Tong Tian realm! What a pity, when he dies, who knows who will get those spiritual objects."

After listening to Li Hong's explanation, Gongcao Li nodded repeatedly and said in agreement: "My Lord is wise! Shang Lu is just a low-class man. Even if he is appreciated by Feng Boyuan, it is impossible for him to practice so fast. He must have got the secret recipe. My Lord, since you have guessed this, why don't you report it to the Discipline Department and kill someone with a borrowed knife?"

"The sword of the Discipline Department is too fast."

Li Hong shook his head and said, "Although we handled the matter in Luoshui County very cleanly, we should be prepared for the worst. What if the Discipline Department finds out about us through the treasure recipe? Wouldn't that be a disaster for us? Even if we have someone in the Discipline Department, we can't take this risk. And we have many ways to kill Shang Lu, so why choose the most dangerous one?"

The Gongcao Li flattered him, "My Lord, you are right. I just thought it was too simple."

Li Hong waved his hand to stop him from interrupting, and continued: "At the beginning, I asked Shang Lu to fill the vacancy of the Thief Cao's official because I thought that position was dangerous. Shang Lu was just a lowly person who came from a minor official background. He suddenly sat in a high position. He would either be eager to show off and die in office, or he would be unable to play against the gang in the Thief Cao's office and be sidelined and blamed. Then they could find any excuse to punish him... Unexpectedly, he actually had some skills. Not only did he not do what I wanted, but he also made contributions. If he hadn't known the secret of the treasure recipe and was a hidden danger to us, I would have wanted to take him in as a dog. Such a capable person can be used in many places and help us do a lot of dirty and tiring work. It's a pity."

At this moment, Gongcao Li finally understood Li Hong's whole idea.

He suddenly felt a little scared in his heart, but he flattered Li Hong again, saying that Li Hong was able to see the big picture from the details, act prudently, and have a thorough plan.

Li Hong waited until he finished flattering her before he spoke again, asking, "Do you know why I'm telling you all this?"

Gongcao Li knew a truth: the more secrets one knew about others, the more deeply he was bound to them. At this moment, he had to work for Li Hong and could not have any crooked ideas, otherwise, with Li Hong's ability, he would be able to kill him before he leaked the secrets.

But he did not dare to speak these out loud, but bowed in fear, pretending not to understand, and said: "I am stupid, please explain it to me, sir."

"When you get to Xingshan, be careful. Don't be like Shang Lu, who was easily discovered by others."

"Don't worry, sir. I will be very careful when I get to Xingshan!"

Li Hong looked at him deeply, knowing that he had deep feelings, and then nodded and said with a double meaning: "It's better to do so."

He did not say any threatening words, but just these four words made the Gongcao official tremble like a sieve, and he knelt on the ground again and kowtowed repeatedly.

After Li Hong finished his explanation, he turned around and left without saying anything more.

When he reached the prison door, he stopped again, turned around, and instructed: "Change the cell. Even though it's just a show, you have to pretend so that no one can say anything!"

The Gongcao Li did not hesitate at all and immediately kowtowed and said, "My Lord, you are right. I was not thoughtful enough. I will be transferred to the worst cell now."

Li Hong said "hmm", nodded with satisfaction, said nothing more, and walked straight out of the cell.

Outside the cell, there were several trusted men in black robes standing guard.

Li Hong said to his trusted aides, "Go and deal with the clerk Huang Jin and the criminal officer Ma Quan... Do you know how to deal with them?"

"Clean and thorough, leaving nothing behind!" the confidant replied, his calm tone revealing a chilling murderous intent.

Li Hong nodded with satisfaction: "Go ahead."

The confidant bowed, said no more, turned around and walked towards the cell where Huang Jin, Ma Quan and others were imprisoned.

When the cell door was opened, the frightened pleas for mercy from Huang Jin, Ma Quan and others were heard from inside, but as the door closed, all the sounds disappeared immediately, without a trace being heard.

After a while, a strong smell of blood filled the prison.

The soundproofing effect of the witchcraft in this dungeon is really good.

The pleas, curses, screams, etc. uttered by Huang Jin, Ma Quan and others in their last moments of life were not heard at all.

At the same time, the clerk who was changing the cells smelled blood in the air.

His body was out of control and was shaking even more violently.

Gongcao Li, with a pale face, secretly warned himself in his heart that he must keep his mouth shut no matter what and not reveal a single bit of the secrets that Li Hong had just revealed to him.

Otherwise, not only would he die without a burial place.

His family and children, and even the entire family, will be implicated!
But Gongcao Li didn't know that Shang Lu had already planted a pair of "eyes and ears" on him.

This pair of "eyes and ears" has already conveyed everything that happened just now to Shang Lu, allowing him not only to see but also hear clearly.

(End of this chapter)