Chapter 758 - 454: The Eight Principles

Finally, the temple of the Rhinoceros Immortal was chosen to be not far from a Taoist temple in the southern suburb of Divine Cloud Prefecture, which had a large number of worshippers. Choosing that location was considered a place with good feng shui.

After listening to the public opinion for three days, Duan Rong had already confirmed that he had thoroughly completed the task assigned by Zhu He. He was prepared that on the fourth day, when Zhu Zhengfu came, he would advise him to summarize the public opinion investigation of these three days, send it back to Yunfu Peak, and inquire from the ancestors on his behalf. The task was completed, so could he return to the sect?

On the morning of the fourth day, at the East City Gate of Divine Cloud Prefecture, at early dawn, a man rode in on a rather imposing white horse, swaying slightly as he entered the city gate.

The moment he entered the gate, several informants took notice of him.

This person had a special status and had been to Divine Cloud Prefecture several times. With such a high-profile arrival this time, it was no wonder that those spies recognized him at a glance. He was Lu Geng, the Direct Disciple of the Taiyi Sect’s Elder, Zhu He.

Lu Geng rode alone into the city gate and went straight to the relay station.

Upon arriving at the relay station gate, he dismounted and directly presented the Sect Cloud Scroll to the constables there. Seeing he was a Direct Disciple, the constables immediately bowed repeatedly as if pounding garlic.

Lu Geng impatiently scolded, "Alright, get up. Take me to a good room and prepare a table of food and wine for me! Quickly! I have things to do after I eat!"

"Yes, sir!"

The head of the relay station had already come out to serve him personally.

The constables took over Lu Geng’s horse and led it to the backyard to feed it fodder.

After bringing Lu Geng to the best room in the south, the head of the relay station personally served him tea and went to the kitchen to hasten the preparations.

Once the dishes were served, Lu Geng began eating heartily.

Born from a poor background, Lu Geng was never particular about food and lodging, otherwise, he wouldn’t have chosen to stay at the relay station immediately upon entering Divine Cloud Prefecture.

He actually felt that the diverse dishes in the grand restaurants were not as genuine as those in the relay station.

The head of the relay station, seeing Lu Geng feasting, withdrew and instructed two capable constables to carefully attend to him, then he rode off to the Prefecture Government Office.

With such a prominent person visiting, he naturally had to report to Mansion Master Wang Maochun.

Shortly after, two swift horses arrived at the relay station entrance, and two men in official robes dismounted. Judging by the patches on their chests, both were civil servants of the First Grade.

The two arrivals were Mansion Master Wang Maochun and Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Chen Shanmeng.

Just before Lu Geng’s arrival, the Prefecture Chief’s Office had just received a document from the sect. The document informed them that Yang Yi from the Judgement and Rectification Department, Lu Geng from the Internal History Department, and Jiang Zhe from the Ministry of Communication would soon arrive in Divine Cloud Prefecture to preside over the case of Li Shensi’s death. In Divine Cloud Prefecture, the Ministry of Justice would act as the main trial office, with the Advisory Bureau and the Secretariat as auxiliary trial offices for a joint trial.

Upon seeing the document, Wang Maochun was immediately alarmed when the head of the relay station reported that Lu Geng had already arrived there.

Wang Maochun immediately panicked, wondering how Lu Geng could arrive so quickly, almost at the same time as the document.

He quickly summoned Chen Shanmeng to go together to the relay station to meet Lu Geng.

He called for Chen Shanmeng because the Ministry of Justice was the main trial office for this case, meaning that Lu Geng and the others had to preside at the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, inviting Minister of the Ministry of Justice Chen Shanmeng to meet Lu Geng was appropriate.

All the way, Wang Maochun pondered the content of the sect’s document, finding it quite peculiar.

The sect had sent people from the Judgement and Rectification Department, Internal History Department, and the Ministry of Communication, yet the Ministry of Justice remained the main trial office. This indicated that the case was still being judged within the secular judicial structure, though sect members would intervene in the investigation.

The origin of this document had to do with the upheaval initiated by Ge Rusong and others in the Elder Hall.

On that day, Ge Rusong and the others, in the Elder Hall, claimed that Li Shensi’s death was orchestrated by Duan Rong, and they revealed the timeline of Duan Rong’s presence in Divine Cloud Prefecture and his possible possession of some hallucinogenic and deranging poison.

Zhu He immediately became furious in the Elder Hall, stating that his assigning Duan Rong to Divine Cloud Prefecture was to eliminate spies.

Half a year ago, Zhu Shizhong was murdered by craftsmen under the pretense of building a cool house, but the mastermind had not been caught due to the work of spies, severing the trail. He sent Duan Rong there to secretly investigate the spy issue. Besides, Li Shensi had only just taken office for two months and wasn’t allied with any faction, so what motive would there be for sending Duan Rong to kill him?

Zhu He’s argument left Ge Rusong and the others speechless. Indeed, they had superficially complied with Zhu He’s request to find someone unaffiliated with either faction to stabilize Divine Cloud Prefecture’s political situation, but they had secretly won over Li Shensi before recommending him.

Each side held their own opinions, arguing fiercely in the Elder Hall, causing Sect Leader Chu Qiushan a headache. He knew this was a power struggle between Zhu He and Lv Zhongtang for the position of Sect Leader.

Chu Qiushan did not wish to delve too deeply into this dispute, especially since Li Shensi’s death didn’t cause chaos in the mortal world. The common people believed Li Shensi died because he offended the Rhinoceros Immortal. The public was not urgently demanding the government and the sect uncover the murderer. Without such pressure, Chu Qiushan was even less inclined to involve himself, but with Zhu He and Ge Rusong arguing so fiercely, he came up with a compromise. The case would still be judged within the Ministry of Justice, and Yang Sixuan and the Judgement and Rectification Department would not be involved; only Yang Yi, Lu Geng, and Jiang Zhe would preside over the case at the Ministry of Justice.