"A demon?"

Li Ang's spirit perked up at once. "Does he have three heads and six arms, a blue face, and fang-like teeth? Or does he have the appearance of a woman despite being a man, enchanting and seductive?"

"Ah?"

Butler Zhao was momentarily stunned, then stammered, "Neither. That demon acts brutally and has a special identity..."

Li Ang observed his demeanor and understood he was concerned about the nearby merchant caravan. After a moment's thought, he said to Xing Hechou, "Fellow Daoist Geli, you go on ahead with the caravan. I will catch up after I handle that demon."

Xing Hechou's brows furrowed slightly. "Will you be alright on your own, Daoist friend?"

Li Ang waved his hand dismissively. "It's only Goose City. What fearsome devilry could there be? If it really comes down to it, I will have a Messenger inform you."

The so-called Messenger referred to the Scout Soldier Bees flying high in the sky. They could dive down and perform a spiraling dance to notify Xing Hechou and the others of dangers ahead, or emit a buzzing sound to tell Xing Hechou and the others that Li Ang had encountered trouble.

As the saying goes, an arrow shot to the sky brings a thousand troops to meet it.

"Then I shall leave first."

Li Ang pulled the reins, turned his horse around, and followed the Butler towards the County Government.

Inside Goose City's County Government, the air was oppressive, filled with a deadly silence.

In the middle of the Yamen stood two men: one standing and one prostrate. The standing one had a furtive look, his body swaying slightly, appearing uneasy. The one prostrate was dark-skinned with an ugly face, shackled in hand and foot irons, displaying a defiant and arrogant demeanor.

On each side of the Yamen stood two rows of Government Officials, each holding a water-and-fire cudgel that reached their eyebrows, black on top and red on bottom.

As the saying goes, the King of Hell is easy to meet, but a minor demon is hard to deal with. What the common people feared most were these overbearing and unreasonable Government Officials. They worried the officials would use firebrands and summons to randomly snatch people, wearing waist-swords, carrying iron chains and handcuffs, and attribute crimes to the innocent to claim merits.

Yet now, those rows of Government Officials had pale faces and appeared unsettled. Despite holding the cudgels that symbolized the Yamen's authority, their palms trembled slightly.

The source of their fear was the dark-skinned man, prostrated on the ground, looking disheveled but still with an insolent air.

The raucous cries of men and women, old and young, penetrated the thick doors into the main hall, fueling Prefect Ma's rage even more.

"Beat him!"

Prefect Ma slammed the public desk heavily, causing the official seals, documents, inkstones, and wooden gavel on the table to shift an inch.

The Government Officials looked at each other, and an older Government Official said hesitantly in a quiet voice, "Sir, we've already administered eighty heavy blows..."

"I said, continue!" Prefect Ma clenched his teeth, his tone chilling.

This world similarly had the five punishments: flogging, caning, penal servitude, exile, and death. Flogging was whipping criminals with bamboo or bramble strips, while caning involved using heavy wooden water-and-fire cudgels to strike the criminal's back, buttocks, and thighs. The cudgels were exceedingly heavy. If an offender did not offer a sufficient bribe and the Government Officials deliberately struck with full force, even twenty blows could nearly kill a healthy man. Even with normal force, forty blows would incapacitate someone for months. Eighty heavy blows... that was more than enough to beat someone to death.

Hearing the Prefect's order, the elder Government Official reluctantly turned to his subordinates and tilted his chin toward the dark-skinned man. Two Government Officials, reluctant and dragging their feet, stepped forward with the water-and-fire cudgels and continued to thump on the dark-skinned man's back.

WHACK.

WHACK.

WHACK.

The sound of the water-and-fire cudgels was dull yet resounding, suggesting blows of considerable force. Yet the dark-skinned man, instead of crying and begging for mercy like previous suspects, leisurely turned his head to the side, dug his ear, and looked at Ma Bonde, who had just taken his seat behind the public desk. He said with a sneer, "Prefect Ma, are you really not considering letting me go? With these little tricks of yours, forget beating me to death with the rod; it's hard enough even to make me feel pain."

"Still tough-talking at death's door!" Ma Bonde sneered. "Wang Chao, Ma Han, hurry and bring the water jar! I'd like to see if this demon can still be so defiant when speaking underwater."

"Heh." The dark-skinned man shook his head. "My Lord Prefect, My Lord Prefect, since I haven't begged on my knees, naturally I have my ways. Never mind drowning me in water; even if you put me in a furnace, I could enjoy it and remain calm and collected. But as for you..."

The man stared at Ma Bonde and said ominously, "If you continue to imprison me, delaying the important matters of the Holy Church, and one day incur the blame of the Church elders, not just you, but the entire populace of Goose City will die from catastrophe."

Ma Bonde sneered, "What Holy Church? Isn't it just the White Lotus Demon Cult that beguiles people's hearts, causes trouble, and stirs up the ignorant masses!"

"'Mud arises from the chaos of the beginning; when the White Lotus appears, a prosperous era is raised.'" The dark-skinned man sighed. "The world is deceived by Government Officials and greatly misunderstands our Holy White Lotus, thinking we spread heresy. Little do they know, in the eyes of the members of the Holy White Lotus, the world is like a fiery house, everywhere akin to Purgatory. We can only do our best to rescue the people."

"Hmph!" Banging on the table, Ma Bonde berated, "You members of the White Lotus Cult have been killing people and taking infants! In the past few months in Nan County, you committed numerous such crimes. Now you've been caught red-handed, and we have ample evidence and witness testimony. Even if I am unable to deal with you, the martial officers from the Wude Guard and the Daoist priests from Longhu Mountain can!"

"The Wude Guard? Longhu Mountain?" The dark-skinned man's face revealed a somewhat strange smile. "This Goose City is nothing but a remote and poverty-stricken backwater. Let alone Longhu Mountain, even the Wude Guard, who patrol the realm, only set up a temporary base in the city, assigning a few martial officers with extremely low Mana to take turns guarding the surrounding county towns. Besides, even those few martial officers have now obeyed a transfer order and gone to Lvzhou City. Even if you notify them now with a paper Talisman and ask them to rush back with a teleportation Talisman, it would still take a day or two. Fellow members of the Cult will surely come to rescue me."

After saying this, the man paused, looked at the Government Officials on either side, and said with a soft chuckle, "If I were you, My Lord Prefect, I would have myself tied up in a bustling street, not locked in the dungeon. That would save my fellow Cult members the trouble of killing a few Government Officials responsible for guard duty when they come for me."

The Government Officials on both sides of the hall turned pale upon hearing this. Members of the White Lotus Cult acted with impunity, each possessing some demonic Spell. Before them, regular Government Officials, mere mortals, had no power to resist.

Ma Bonde watched the fearful expressions of his subordinates and listened to the cries of grief from the victims' families outside the Yamen. Seeing the arrogant demeanor of the demon below, he quivered with anger. His eyes were wide, his fists clenched white-knuckled. He longed to leap down from the tribunal, take up an executioner's sword, and behead the demon on the spot.

In this standoff, a figure in commoner's clothes came around from a side hall of the County Government; it was Butler Zhao from his mansion.

Butler Zhao scurried over, whispering, "Master, Daoist Priest Xi Menzi has arrived."

"He's arrived?" Ma Bonde said joyfully. "Quick, invite the Daoist priest inside!"

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