If you don't give up, I'd like to be your adoptive father.

Chapter 1049 Complaint
Xiaoyu said, "Are you blaming me for meddling?"

Li shook her head repeatedly and said, "The Earth Goddess and the eldest son did illicit things on my wedding bed and even used the evil magic of 'sleep paralysis' to bewitch me."

It's an absolute disgrace, completely humiliating me.

My mother took pity on me and helped me vent my anger. How could I be ungrateful and turn around and blame my mother?

I just didn't expect the Earth God to be so ruthless, beating my husband to death.

Not only did he kill Dalang, but before leaving, he also threatened to destroy the Sun family.

My parents-in-law are innocent, and my husband's younger brother and sister-in-law are innocent.

Now they are all terrified and worried. The mother-in-law has fainted from crying several times, and the father-in-law is also full of sorrow.

"If I had known this would happen, I would have only scolded the Earth Goddess a few times to shame her and stop her from harming my husband, and that would have been enough."

Xiaoyu said calmly, "She might feel too ashamed and stop worrying about your husband."

More likely, they'll slap you away and treat you with even more humiliating and cruel methods.

She's a deity, and you're just a mortal. If you really fight, what will become of you?
Moreover, the difference between Sun Dalang's attitude towards her and towards you is obvious, and the neighbors have all noticed it.

He wasn't deceived; he already knew the Land Lady's identity.

A man who leads a wild, monstrous woman to his wife's boudoir and indulges in debauchery on their wedding bed is crueler than divorcing you. He will side with you and let you insult the local goddess.

He can make you suffer eternal damnation without the Land Goddess even lifting a finger!
I will never let anyone know.

She had Li drag the local goddess outside and shout loudly, so that the shameful affair would be exposed to the world.

The scandal has been exposed; everyone knows it, heaven and earth know it, ghosts and gods know it, even the gods know it.

In this way, Li's situation at least has a safety net—she won't be wrongfully killed.

Even if she stood by and did nothing, Li would most likely not die; if she did, the King of Hell would help her seek justice.

If Li had only been at the bedside, yelling and shouting at the Earth Goddess, she might have mysteriously disappeared one day.

When a person dies, their soul doesn't fare well either.

That was when things truly became miserable.

Li murmured, "Perhaps what my mother said is true, but none of this has happened yet."

I cannot pretend that everything has happened and disregard our marital bond.

Xiaoyu asked, "The local earth god killed your husband and even threatened to destroy his family. What do you plan to do?"

Li shook her head and said, "I don't know, please enlighten me, Mother."

Xiaoyu then asked, "If the village head bullies your family, how will your family respond?"

After thinking for a moment, Li said, "Give the village head money and try to improve our relationship."

Xiaoyu was speechless.

"Above the village head is the village elder, why not consult the village elder?"

Li said, "My family has no connection with the village elders."

Xiaoyu was speechless and helpless. She asked again, "You are an ignorant woman. Your father-in-law must have had some tricks up his sleeve to become a 'rich man' and amass such a fortune."

Is he also just sighing and waiting to die?

Li immediately said, "My father-in-law asked me about the matter of catching the Earth Goddess in adultery and the golden light emanating from her palm."

I dared not hide anything, and told him in detail about how my mother appeared to me in a dream and bestowed upon me divine power and incantations.

My father-in-law told me to continue reciting the divine incantation, calling upon you to appear and beg you to protect the Sun family from being harmed by the local earth god!
When arranging the funeral for my eldest son, he wouldn't let me get involved, but just let me silently recite the divine incantation on the side.

It was late at night, but I dared not sleep. I kept chanting incantations in front of my husband's coffin.

Her expression brightened with excitement, "Heaven rewards those who persevere, and I have finally waited for you, Mother!"
"Please, Mother, save my husband, save my Sun family!"

After saying this, she kowtowed repeatedly.

—Your father-in-law is indeed cunning and shrewd! It's no accident that he was able to amass such a large fortune.

Xiaoyu thought to herself, and lost interest in arguing with this woman who wasn't very bright.

She said directly, "The Earth God and Earth Goddess are not 'local emperors'."

They are merely the lowest-ranking deities in the pantheon; there are countless other deities who can govern them.

Just as a village head could swagger around in the village, he had to bow down to the elders and even more so to the county magistrate, who would have to kneel down and call him "Master".

The local deity of Heron Pavilion is like the pavilion's head.

The City God and civil and military judges of your county, as well as the City God of Pengcheng Prefecture, are all his superiors. They can easily punish him and uphold justice for your family.

Also, your husband is actually not dead.

At least he's not completely dead.

After his soul left his body, it was taken away by the local earth god and imprisoned in the underworld dungeon, where he was subjected to various forms of torture.

If his soul can be rescued and returned to his body within twenty-four hours, he can come back to life.

If you are determined to save him, go to Fuli County and file a complaint with the County God and the Earth God and Earth Goddess of the Egret Pavilion.

Madam Li immediately nodded and said, "I am willing to go to the City God's Office to file a complaint!"

"Then go ahead!" Xiaoyu waved gently.

Li bowed three more times before getting up from the ground, leaving the main room where the coffin was placed, and walking out of the Sun family's gate. Alone, she walked through the desolate wilderness at night.

Before long, she arrived at Fuli County, which was a hundred miles away.

At the city gate stood two "Qin guards" with their hair tied in a topknot to the right and wearing black and red armor.

They were all surprised to see her arrive alone.

"Where are you from, woman? Do you know where this place is?"

"Could it be that its soul has left its body?"

Li bowed and folded her robes, saying, "I am from Dazexiang, Shangyangli, Sanhe Village. I am the wife of Sun Yaowu. My maiden name is Li, and my given name is Cuilian."

I've come to Fuli County to see the City God, to plead my case for justice.

The two guards whispered a few words to each other, then one of them stayed behind to continue guarding the gate while the other led Li into the inner city.

Along the way, Li saw many strange and unusual things.

There were ferocious-looking ox-headed and horse-faced monsters, towering giants in iron helmets, shackled prisoners constantly crying out their innocence, and various tall and magnificent palaces.

She had never seen it before in Fuli County.

She was clearly very scared and panicked, but as soon as she recited the "Qiu Shan Lao Mu Shen Zhou" (a mantra for the Old Mother of Qiu Shan) in her heart, her mind immediately calmed down.

“Li, I am the ninth judge of Fuli County, surnamed Wang. What grievance do you have? Speak quickly!”

Lady Li was led by guards to a grand hall even more magnificent than the government office. Behind a desk in the hall sat a middle-aged man in a black official robe with a long beard, watching her with a stern expression.

Li knelt down and kowtowed, recounting in detail what had happened to her family.

The seriousness on Judge Wang's face disappeared, replaced by surprise and hesitation.

"Don't wander around here. I'm going to investigate your case right now."

After giving Li a warning, Judge Wang quickly went into the back office.

In a quiet courtyard, they found the City God of Fuli County drinking wine with two "ghost prostitutes" in his arms.

"Sir, something's happened!"

"What's wrong? Just say it! Don't beat around the bush."

The burly, rugged-looking City God lay lazily on an old-fashioned chair.

To his left was a beautiful, slender woman in a green dress who used her delicate hands to pluck a crystal grape and feed it to the City God; to his right was a plump, round woman in a red dress who used a jade cup the size of a thumb to drink amber-colored spirit wine, then passed it to the City God.

Judge Wang said, "The local deity of Heron Pavilion had an affair with a young talent named Sun Yaowu from Sanhe Village, which was discovered by Sun Yaowu's wife, Li."

The land deity struck Sun Yaowu with divine lightning, killing him and then took his soul to torture him in various ways.

He even threatened to destroy the Sun family.

Li came to the master to complain.

The City God laughed and said, "What's the big deal? This isn't the first time Cui Biluo has had an affair with a random man."

Judge Wang said, "Li has already arrived at the City God's Office."

The City God gently rocked his chair and said calmly, "Why don't you just send her away?"
Although Cui Biluo was a seductive and promiscuous woman who often seduced handsome young men, she was very cautious and would not leave any obvious evidence against her.

I don't even need to ask her; I can guess what happened today.

It must be that Sun Yaowu saw Cui Biluo's true face, knew her identity, yet was still blinded by lust and bewitched, and actively seduced her.

"To seduce the family members of a deity while one is of mortal status is a capital offense."

He paused, then pondered for a moment and said, "Send a ghost messenger to the Heron Pavilion and tell 'Yu Xichi' not to kill anyone directly. Detain Sun Yaowu's soul for two days, then release him."

They only stripped him and the Sun family of their good fortune, letting them slowly suffer misfortune until their deaths.

It's not a good thing for a deity to publicly commit murder.

If this attracts the attention of the Heavenly Court's officials or the Underworld's chief judge, I'll be in trouble, and he'll certainly suffer the consequences.

Judge Wang said, "I reckon Yu Xichi knows what he's doing. He won't be accused of killing mortals without being reminded."

The key issue isn't actually Yu Xichi and his wife, but rather the Li family!

"Sir, how could Li, a mere mortal, discover the Earth Goddess, catch her in the act of adultery, and even drag her to the threshing ground for all the villagers to see?"

The City God's expression hardened, and he sat up straight, asking, "What is the background of that Li woman?"

Judge Wang said, "According to the records in the Book of Life and Death, Li is just an ordinary person with little fortune and a lowly life; she will not live past twenty."

Sun Yaowu should have died in the war, but his lifespan remains unchanged. He will still return to the underworld in six months, but he will die after having intercourse with ghosts and gods and exhausting his essence and blood.

During this period, he became increasingly violent and subjected Li to numerous humiliations and torments.

After she became a widow, she was tormented by her in-laws and gossiped about by her neighbors for about a year. At the age of nineteen, she succumbed to illness and hunger and died in despair.

The City God exclaimed in surprise, "How could such a wretched and unlucky person subdue the Earth Goddess? Someone must be up to something!"

Judge Wang nodded and said, "I asked her, and she said she received the protection of the 'Old Mother of Qiushan.' That's the main reason I came to see you, sir."

After careful consideration, the City God, known as "Old Mother of Qiushan," shook his head and said, "This mansion has never heard of such a person."

He must be an ignorant and eccentric person who gave himself a name haphazardly.

Those delusional people are best ignored.

Judge Wang asked in surprise, "Why do you make this judgment, sir? She manipulated the Earth God and Earth Goddess with ease. Even if she is not a great being, she must be a deity with great supernatural powers, right?"

"Hahaha, if she were a deity, I would feel a surge of emotion and a sense of wonder whenever I hear the name 'Old Mother of Qiushan'."

The City God laughed heartily and confidently, saying, "You should know that all the righteous gods appointed by the Heavenly Court will have their divine duties and names recorded in the Heavenly Register."

Once a name is written in the 'Heavenly Court Immortals Register,' it immediately gains recognition from the divine laws and the will of heaven and earth.

With divine authority in their possession, the divine name possesses power.

If a deity holds a higher position, they naturally exert divine power to suppress other deities.

Just like ordinary people who, upon seeing their superiors, would immediately become weak-kneed and lower their voices.

The power of an official in ordinary people is invisible and intangible; it can only be understood intuitively.

The divine power of the gods is real and undeniable; we can directly feel it in our hearts.

Judge Wang actually understood the significance of the "divine name" of the righteous gods in Heaven.

Upon hearing the City God's analysis, he did not show any relief, but rather a serious expression, reminding him, "My lord, 'Old Mother of Qiushan' doesn't sound like a deity's name."

If it were not a divine name, one could not immediately receive a response simply by hearing the name.

"If it's not a divine name, then it could be a real name? What kind of person would deliberately choose such a name?" the City God said dismissively.

Judge Wang said, "It might be an honorific title for a great immortal, such as the Queen Mother of the West, the Old Mother of Lishan, and various 'Holy Mothers'."

The City God laughed again, "If someone were truly a great immortal of that caliber, would they bother with a mere local deity?"

"Then I'll go and send Li away?" Judge Wang asked again to confirm.

The City God waved his hand, signaling him to leave quickly.

The red-skirted ghost prostitute offered him the leather cup again, but could not speak.

Judge Wang bowed, then turned and left.

"boom!"

As soon as Judge Wang left, the old chair beneath the City God suddenly shattered. He seemed to have become ten thousand times heavier, directly crushing the funerary chair and shattering the paving stones in the courtyard, creating a large "human" shaped crater in the ground.

The pit was ten zhang deep.

It was pitch black, and you couldn't see the bottom at all.

"Ah~~~" The two ghost prostitutes froze for a moment, then opened their red lips, about to scream.

But after calling out for half a minute, their bodies went limp and they collapsed to the side.

Silently, the "Old Mother of Qiushan," holding a dragon-headed cane, appeared at the edge of the pit. She looked down and saw that the City God had been crushed into a "door painting," his eyes rolled back, and he had fainted.

"What a piece of trash. I just created a stunning entrance effect."

"It's just special effects, they didn't even put in much effort, and it couldn't handle it." Xiaoyu pouted with a look of disgust.

(End of this chapter)