I changed the world.

Strangely enough, after entering the black mist, An Huiling felt as if she had entered a strange world. She seemed to be walking forward on a spatial scale, yet also as if walking backward on a temporal scale. It was a transcendent experience, like a dream, that was difficult to describe in words. She kept walking forward, and in the process, she seemed to see scenes of people and events she had experienced in the past, one by one, constantly moving forward, back to a younger time. She herself seemed to be walking in the river of time, until she saw the scene of her birth, the doctor's smiling face, and her parents' joyful expressions...

"Phew!" An Huiling let out a long breath, realizing that she had already passed through the gate. It seemed like only a moment had passed, but also like a very long time had gone by.

She was standing in a dimly lit hall, decorated somewhat like the main hall of a government office in the Middle Ages, but the space here was much more spacious than that of a government office in the mortal world.

The moment Er'an Jiu Huiling entered this place, her gaze involuntarily focused on the enormous ghostly figure seated behind the desk in the Great Qi Palace!

This deity was seated, standing at least ten meters tall, with a fiery red face. He wore a black gauze hat and a black official robe embroidered with a roaring, unicorn-like beast. Through the sleeves of the robe, one could see armor peeking out. Clearly, beneath this official robe, he was wearing a mountain-patterned armor.

It's no exaggeration to say that one of the ghost's eyes was bigger than An Huiling's head. When their eyes met, in that instant, An Huiling felt layers of pressure overwhelming her. The powerful spiritual light on the ghost was hidden, truly as deep and imposing as a mountain, almost swallowing her reason...

A subconscious fear was frantically warning her that what was before her was extremely dangerous! Something she absolutely could not resist! Beads of sweat instantly covered her back…

Fortunately, at that moment, the Black Impermanence in front of her cupped his hands and said, "Lord Judge Wang, the criminal has been arrested and brought to justice. This Fairy An is a disciple of Kunlun and the junior sister of Zhang Zhenjun. She is also the victim in this case. I have invited her to the underworld to observe the trial."

As soon as the words fell, the ghost sitting behind the desk on the high seat let out a "hmm," and the pressure instantly dissipated. Then, it seemed that He lingered on An Huiling for a moment before saying in a low voice, "So it is Fairy An of Kunlun. What a rare guest. Someone, please give her a seat."

Only then did An Huiling notice that, in the shadows on either side of the hall, stood tall underworld officials wearing cylindrical hats, silently looking down upon those entering. Previously, she had been so captivated by the imposing presence of the judge before her that she hadn't noticed them.

Then a ghost messenger brought over a chair and placed it to the side. It must be said that although An Huiling was tall, she was the smallest among all the ghosts and gods. It was unclear where the ghost messenger had brought the high-backed chair that was suitable for an ordinary person. Placed next to these huge ghosts and gods, she looked rather petite and cute...

P.S.: Regarding the update issue, I also want to update faster, but I just can't seem to get it going... I really tried my best... 〒▽〒

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History: Chapter 796 My Lifespan Has Not Yet Ended!!!

At this moment, the judge gestured again for An Huiling to take a seat. An Huiling could not refuse, so she quickly cupped her hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Your Honor."

"Fairy, there's no need for you to be so polite. I am Judge Wang Yuan. Kunlun is a sacred place of the Xuanmen sect, which I have always admired. Last time, when True Lord Zhang visited the City God, I accompanied him."

An Huiling quickly exchanged a few more polite words before sitting down with a touch of trepidation. She couldn't help but marvel once again at her senior brother's extensive network of connections. As the eldest daughter of the Qianluo Group, she had also experienced the hardships of her father's early days, during which time she had met all sorts of people, including many so-called "well-connected" individuals. These included officials, nobles, members of prominent families, and some supposedly influential figures in social circles…

However, looking back now, that's nothing compared to having a wide circle of friends. It's someone like my senior brother, whose reputation even extends to the underworld, that's truly admirable!

Speaking of which, my senior brother is such a low-key person; he's never mentioned any of this before...

However, perhaps only in this way could Senior Brother's cultivation reach such a height? Thinking of this, An Huiling couldn't help but admire Zhang Jing even more.

As she pondered this, An Huiling secretly observed the surroundings of the judge once more. Behind him was a massive mural, tens of meters high and wide, depicting a sky ablaze with flames, countless evil spirits wailing within the inferno, a sea of ​​crimson light! Simply looking at this scene, one could almost hear the wails of the evil spirits engulfed in the flames…

This is probably a depiction of the legendary hellfire!

Above the mural hangs a plaque with the four large characters: "Divine Witness is Here".

On either side of the mural hang two large couplets, written in dark gold seal script, but the text is not profound:

"Never deceive your own heart in life, for the gods and ghosts are clear and no one can escape justice."

Good and evil will eventually be rewarded; it's just a matter of sooner or later.

On the judge's desk, besides the four treasures of the study, there was also a golden scale on the left. Such scales have existed in Dazhao since ancient times and were often seen in pharmacies and gold and silver shops. Their appearance on the judge's desk at this time made An Huiling take a few more glances.

On the right side of the jury stand a parrot-like bird with a human face. The bird has gray feathers but a human face and even wears a bronze crown. It stands on the jury and is about the height of an ordinary person, but it is quite small compared to the Martial Judge next to it.

Seeing An Huiling looking at him, the bird spoke up: "Li Wan, the messenger god, greets Fairy An." The voice was androgynous.

An Huiling didn't know who this messenger god was, but she was always polite, so she immediately bowed and greeted him.

"I am unworthy of such a greeting from a fairy." The messenger god hurriedly raised his wings and returned the greeting with a cupped-hand gesture, looking rather flattered.

While An Huiling was looking around, Yu Huai, Wei Yuan, and Xu Hanzhang had been trembling like leaves ever since they entered the hall. One after another, they knelt down and dared not look up.

"Now that the criminal has been brought here, I will not delay the trial any longer," Black Impermanence said, bowing once more.

"Please proceed, Impermanence." Judge Wu nodded upon hearing this, and Black Impermanence then cupped his hands to An Huiling, who was standing to the side, before leading the underworld messengers who had come with him out, leaving only An Huiling in the hall.

"The prisoners have all been brought in. Let's begin..." Judge Wu slammed his gavel, his voice booming like thunder.

After a loud boom, Xu Hanzhang found himself suddenly thrown into a bottomless void, surrounded by nothingness, with a huge scale beneath him.

This is the right side of a giant scale. The left side of the scale is empty, devoid of anything. The judge's enormous shadow is in front of him, even larger than before, like the giant who created the world in ancient legends, scrutinizing him.

Xu Hanzhang immediately knelt there respectfully, motionless, pressing his head firmly against the scale pan. He had never encountered such a scene before and was almost scared out of his wits.

"The criminal Xu Hanzhang, courtesy name Guanyun, was born at 00:04 on the fifth day of the third month of the ninth year of Chenghe at Suyun Maternity Hospital in Jin'an City. His father is Xu Qiyuan, and his mother is Li Fuhua..." A voice that was neither male nor female then rang out. This was not the voice of Judge Wu, but the voice of the messenger on Judge Wu's desk. A book was unfolded in front of him and stood in mid-air. This messenger was reciting the words on the book...

"Died at 2:05 AM on the 7th day of the 4th month of the 37th year of Chenghe, with a lifespan of 28 years, 32 days, and 1 minute. The cause of death was sacrificing one's vital essence and blood to demons..."

Upon hearing this, Xu Hanzhang's heart was filled with turmoil. His eyes widened, and he cried out, "No!! I'm not dead!!! I...I'm not dead yet!!! My lifespan hasn't ended!!! I really haven't ended!!!"

As he spoke, he even stumbled and tried to stand up, but before he could, a crack of the whip rang out, and Xu Hanzhang cried out in pain as he was whipped to the ground. In an instant, intense pain coursed through his entire body and even his soul, and he lost even the strength to cry out.

"This is the sacred land of the underworld, how dare you, a demon, roar like this? Xu Hanzhang, you have committed heinous crimes by worshipping demons! Now that your lifespan has ended, if you do anything improper again, you will be severely punished!" A deep voice, like muffled thunder, rang out. It was the voice of Judge Wu. Xu Hanzhang immediately dared not say anything more and just lay on the ground, convulsing.

Then, the voice of the God of Whispering sounded again and began to recount one thing after another, all the big and small things Xu Hanzhang had done since childhood.

"At four years and three months old, he threw the family's pet tortoise from the upper floor, causing injury to someone and death to the tortoise. He had no intention of doing evil, so he is not guilty. His parents failed in their upbringing, and the fault lies with them, diminishing their good karma..."

"At the age of six years and five months, I saw a beggar begging on the street and felt pity for him. I gave him one yuan, which is considered a good deed."

The scale pan below Xu Hanzhang seemed to have risen slightly, as if some invisible object had been pressed down on the other side of the scale.

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"At the age of eight years and four months, he distributed porridge with his parents in the slums, which is considered an act of good karma."

The scales below Xu Hanzhang seemed to have risen slightly again, this time with a more pronounced increase.

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Xu Hanzhang was deeply shocked as he listened to these events, feeling as if they had brought back memories of things he himself had forgotten.

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 797 The Scale of Merit and Demerit

Soon, he discovered that the scales he was on were also slowly rising or falling with each addition and subtraction.

"At twelve years and three months old, he bullied his classmate Wang Shuang, stuffing a dead rat into her schoolbag, verbally abusing and beating her for several days, and even dousing her with ice water, causing her to fall ill and subsequently transfer to another school. His intention to do evil diminishes his good karma..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the scale beneath Xu Hanzhang began to descend, as if the other scale had been lightened. In particular, Xu Hanzhang noticed that this time, the scale had dropped dramatically, and he began to guess what the rise and fall of the scale represented—the amount of his accumulated good karma.

Although he doesn't yet know what the use of this "yin virtue" is, as someone who has been influenced by the traditional culture of the Great Zhao Dynasty, Xu Hanzhang can easily judge that the more "yin virtue" one has, the better.

He immediately became anxious and couldn't help but retort, "This... why was it reduced so much? It was just because I was young and didn't understand..."

"I previously distributed porridge and provided relief to the elderly and widows in the slums. Doesn't that offset my mistake?"

"Heaven rewards those who do good deeds in secret, while worldly virtue brings fame. Once worldly fame is enjoyed, the good deeds done in secret diminish. Know that good done with intention is not true good, and evil done without intention is not true evil. The judgment of the underworld has its own reasons." Judge Wu's deep voice followed. This time, there was no whipping. However, Xu Hanzhang was stunned on the spot.

He could roughly understand the judge's words. The judge was saying that doing good deeds and accumulating unseen merit would be rewarded by Heaven. However, openly doing good deeds was essentially about building a reputation; once a reputation was built, so too would the unseen merit gained. As for intentionally doing good deeds, that didn't necessarily mean one was truly kind, and unintentionally doing evil didn't necessarily mean one was truly bad. The underworld had its own logic when making judgments.

Upon understanding these words, Xu Hanzhang realized that what the other party said was actually correct. Many noble families in Jin'an and throughout the country would appropriately engage in some charitable activities in the local area, such as distributing porridge, which was the most common practice.

However, similarly, for those aristocratic families, spending a small amount of money to hold a charity event may involve genuine acts of charity, but more often it is essentially about promoting their own reputation. After all, the tradition of the Great Zhao still advocates "being rich and benevolent."

He's starting to regret it now. If he'd known this would happen, he would have definitely participated more actively in charity work back then. To be honest, with his family background and wealth, doing some charity work would have been easy for him. Whether he did it intentionally or unintentionally, he would have accumulated some good karma, it's just a matter of how much...

But then, remembering the "great thing" he had just done, he couldn't help but feel a renewed sense of fear...

Regardless of his thoughts, the words of the whispered god continued...

"At the age of twelve years and six months, the school organized a visit to a nursing home and he participated in a performance, which is considered an act of good karma."

"At the age of thirteen years and four months, he and his parents distributed porridge in the slums, which is considered an act of good karma."

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"At the age of fourteen years and eight months, the school organized a charity sale, donating toys and books worth 380 yuan, which is considered a good deed."

"At the age of 15 years and 2 months, he and his parents distributed porridge in the slums, which is considered an act of good karma."

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…………

It must be said that, since the age of thirteen, Xu Hanzhang's behavior has generally been more about accumulating good karma than losing it. Obviously, whether intentionally or unintentionally, as he grew older, he did not commit any major misconduct.

In fact, this was also why Madam An Xu had always favored this nephew. Besides their close relationship, Xu Hanzhang's obedience, understanding, and commendable conduct were also important reasons. In fact, when An Huiling was seriously ill and unable to recover, many people believed he was the most likely successor to the An family business.

"At the age of twenty years and eight months, he seduced a woman named Jing into having an affair, resulting in her pregnancy. He then caused her to have an abortion and abandoned her. This diminishes his good karma."

"At the age of 20 and 11 months, he seduced a woman named Liu into having an affair, resulting in her pregnancy. He then caused her to have an abortion and abandoned her. This diminishes his good karma."

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"At the age of twenty-three and four months, he seduced a woman named Xie into having an affair, resulting in her pregnancy. He then forced her to have an abortion, but she refused. So he secretly sent someone to run her over with a car, causing her to miscarry... This diminished his good karma."

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At the same time that Judge Wu was judging the case, on the throne of the Ling Shen Er Kingdom Palace (the second treasure in the palace) in Liuyuan, the four eyes of the three Jing also turned over, watching the trial with great interest.

In a sense, this was the first trial of a supernatural event after the formation of the underworld in this world, and in Zhang Jing's view, it was quite typical. Especially since this case actually involved his junior sister.

The enormous scales beneath Xu Hanzhang were naturally a projection of the newly acquired golden scales in his hands, whose power of "judgment" possessed a direct and penetrating force on the human heart.

Zhang Jing couldn't determine what the golden scales were used for back then, but when he obtained the treasure, he immediately thought that its use could be combined with the functions of the underworld.

After conforming to the laws of the underworld, Libra became the "Scales of Merit and Demerit," a powerful instrument in the underworld.

Now, the judge of the underworld, is using his three measures to measure the merits and virtues of the deceased throughout their lives.

In addition, before entering the Judge's Hall, all the deceased will pass through the "Path of Inquiry into One's Heart." Although most of them are unaware of it, their merits and demerits will be recorded as a result.