Chapter 217: The Emperor of Shinto, Flying Boat Across the Sea
"He really deserves to be killed!"
Even though the City God was in person, Feng Qing'an was still furious. Three years ago, demons were rampant in Fengtian City. Nearly three hundred people were killed in just half a month, and millions of people were in a state of panic. Many people even fled the city with their families because of the demons.
The root cause of this was that some disciples from noble families went into the mountains and occasionally saw spiritual beasts in the mountains transform into human forms with unparalleled beauty that was difficult for ordinary people to achieve, so they became lustful.
If he was simply greedy for beauty and seeking pleasure with spirit beasts, it would be fine, but the eldest son of a noble family was unwilling to take the ordinary path. He used sweet words to deceive the spirit fox in the mountains into secluding itself, and he had evil thoughts in his heart, wanting to see the spirit beast in the mountains fall into the path of evil because of him.
So, the young man from aristocratic family called his friends and molested the fox spirit with brutal means that were unimaginable to ordinary people, causing the fox spirit to become unbalanced and have murderous thoughts in its heart. Because those pleasure-seeking young men from aristocratic families fanned the flames, a demon that could enter dreams appeared.
Three years ago, the tragic incident of the demon eating hearts in Fengtian City happened because of this, but the demon's rage was completely vented on those innocent civilians.
Those children of aristocratic families often carry talismans, Buddhist beads and other life-saving methods obtained from major Taoist temples. If they do not go out, they will not need these. Even if there are demons causing trouble, they cannot enter the aristocratic family mansions.
The City God was unaware of all this before he was struck by the sword. Both the officials of Fengtian City and the patrolling ghosts and gods focused their attention on the Heart-Eating Demon. Few cared about how this demon was born, or how much torture it had suffered before its birth.
Even if some clues are found, when considering the relationship background behind them and the surname of their immediate superior, a "smart" person will naturally ignore them.
According to normal development, as long as the demons continue to cause trouble, they will be caught sooner or later. Fengtian Yinsi is not a place where they just sit there and do nothing. Although it is difficult to detect their whereabouts using the magical power of entering dreams, there will eventually be traces left. By narrowing the scope step by step, the demons will definitely be brought to justice.
When the demon surrendered, the matter naturally came to an end. Even though hundreds of innocent people died tragically, the mortals who were killed could only blame themselves for their bad luck, and their relatives would only curse the demon for its cruelty and be grateful to the ghosts, gods and government for their work in subduing the demon.
Things should have developed like this. Even if the little demon got the treasure that could enter dreams, he could only create a tiny wave in Fengtian City and kill hundreds of people. Then he would be captured and suppressed by ghosts and gods. His soul would be extracted and thrown into the hell prison, where he would be tortured and eventually die.
Everything will return to normal, and everything the noble families have done will be buried with the execution of the demons, and no one will investigate how the demons were born.
Even if the demon accused the children of the noble family, it would only be regarded as crazy talk. How could the demon's words belittle people's hearts? Just kill it.
This is how it should be. This kind of demonic tragedy will inevitably end like this. The real culprits who caused this tragedy will be at large and may even continue to commit evil.
However, the college entrance examination was approaching, and students from all over the country walked into Fengtian City with the beautiful vision of being named on the list of successful candidates. Among them was a young man who had not yet reached adulthood and was holding a long sword.
The truth that was about to be buried was completely revealed after the young man met a family with white banners hanging and wailing in their hearts. Even though countless people, including the aristocratic families, government officials, ghosts and gods, wanted to cover it up, they could not stop the sword in the young man's hand.
"You know your brother's character. He will never tolerate demons harming people. So, on the third day after he saw the people wailing, he found the demon fox that entered people's dreams and harmed them before anyone else!"
A trace of guilt emerged on the face of the City God, but Feng Qing'an didn't know whether it was real guilt or just for show.
"My brother was the first to capture the demon fox, so the hidden truth was revealed?"
"good!"
The City God showed a wry smile on his rather dignified face.
"That night, your brother chopped open the gate to the underworld with a sword, walked up to me and questioned me!"
"So, what is the final result? How to deal with those beasts that harm the spiritual beasts in the mountains?"
Feng Qing'an's eyes looked slightly different when he looked at the City God. He was now only concerned about the final outcome of the tragedy that happened three years ago.
It's not just those noble families who forced the spiritual beasts to become monsters, but also those who had the opportunity to touch and uncover the truth but chose to cover it up, and also ghosts and gods.
"Since that night, our Xiao family has lost a main branch. The culprit was executed that night according to family law, and the main branch he belonged to has been reduced to a branch. All relatives related to him have been removed from the family tree and are no longer members of the Xiao family!"
When saying this, the City God's expression was very complicated.
With the accumulation and heritage of a thousand-year-old family, facing a young man with only a sword, they had no qualifications for negotiation and dialogue. They only wanted to satisfy the other party. Although they were indeed wrong, in this world, many times people don't talk about right or wrong, but only about strength.
As the City God of the capital, he had no temper when he was hit by a sword in the underworld. He could only reason with the other party. He would also respond to any requests from the mortal families. They would try their best to meet any requests. As long as they could preserve the family ancestral temple and abandon some of their members, they would not hesitate at all.
This is a disaster that will lead to genocide!
"That's it?"
Feng Qingan raised his eyebrows and was not satisfied with the result.
"What about the other noble families who are also participating? According to your description just now, it seems that your Xiao family is not the only one participating, right?"
"The punishments for the other families were similar to that of my Xiao family. All the children who participated in it were executed that night, their souls were extracted, and they were sent to the underworld prison to be punished!"
The City God replied.
"Is he really being tortured? Rather than going to the underworld to escape disaster and enjoy happiness?"
At this moment, there was something wrong with the look in Feng Qing'an's eyes when he looked at the City God.
With the protection of ghosts and gods, passed down from generation to generation, what a terrifying accumulation of thousands of years would it be? Is this Fengtian City the Fengtian City of the Great Jin Dynasty, or the Fengtian City of the aristocratic family?
"Of course they are being punished. I have been stabbed by the sword, so how can they enjoy themselves?"
The City God responded in a cold tone.
Although as an ancestor, he would protect the younger generations of the family, but what's wrong with his brain that he would protect the young man who almost brought disaster to the family?
"If you don't believe me, you can go to the prison and take a look later!"
"What's so good about this? Whether they are being tortured or enjoying happiness here, isn't it all up to you, the City God, to decide?"
Feng Qing'an also knew something about the underworld. Every blade of grass, every brick and tile here were controlled by the City God in front of him. The reason why this legal domain existed was because of this City God. If the ghosts and gods lost their positions and there was no one to inherit this position, the legal domain would gradually collapse.
"It seems that the young master is also dissatisfied with what happened that year!"
"Then Lord City God, please tell me about what happened back then. Whether it was the underworld, the government, or even the five great families, was there anything that was satisfactory?"
Feng Qingan looked at the City God in front of him calmly, who looked majestic without even getting angry.
"If my brother had not happened to pass by Fengtian City, this matter would have been covered up. Those innocent people would have died without knowing what had caused them to suffer such an unprovoked !"
"You're right. If it weren't for your brother, I wouldn't know what happened. I just heard that there was an evildoer causing trouble in the city, so I ordered the chief officer of the Punishment Department to investigate the matter!"
"What's the priest's last name?"
Feng Qingan opened his mouth and asked a seemingly irrelevant question.
"stone!"
“Tsk!”
Feng Qing'an showed an expression that was exactly what he expected. The aristocratic families had complex connections, and whether it was the government in the world of the living or the judicial domain of the underworld, they were all their people.
Even if a little fox demon has fallen into the path of a demon, it is still a plaything for people to play with and have fun with. Even if it is filled with rage, it can only vent it on ordinary people, and it is not unfair to be beheaded.
But if she was the only one beheaded, it would be a huge injustice!
The fox demon deserved to die, but those children of noble families who forced her to fall into the path of evil deserved to die even more!
"So, apart from the blow you took from my brother's sword, you, Fengtian Yinsi, didn't give any other explanation?"
"have!"
"What?"
"All the underworld officials who knew about the incident but did not report it and intended to cover it up will be dismissed from their posts. Within ten years, only one of the three people from the Fengtian Underworld and the noble families will survive!"
“It’s just treating the symptoms but not the root cause!”
Feng Qing'an couldn't help but shake his head, but it was already quite good that his elder brother could do all this in one night.
After all, with so many years of accumulation, it would be great if the aristocratic family could force the other party to give in. It is impossible to kill them all, from people to ghosts and gods, from top to bottom. What would that mean?
“…”
When the City God heard Feng Qing'an's words, he remained silent.
That night, both the Fengtian underworld and the five major families in Fengtian city gave in too much. Before many people and ghosts could react, they lost everything and fell from the clouds to dust.
Therefore, this matter, which was enough to shock Dajin, was tacitly concealed by the five major families. Only a very small number of family leaders knew about it, while most people could only watch in confusion as the main branch of the family was suddenly demoted or even executed.
"Lord City God, I heard that you have been sitting in this position for a thousand years?"
"What do you mean, Second Young Master?"
The City God sensed something was wrong.
"Lord City God, don't you feel bored watching the same things happening over and over again for thousands of years? Don't you want to go out and take a look at the wider world? No matter how vast this Fengtian City is, it must be too familiar to you!"
Feng Qingan said with a smile.
"I don't find it boring!"
The City God responded in a somewhat cold voice.
"Really? It seems that even after a thousand years, Lord City God has not grown tired of Fengtian City. If it were me, I would be bored after sitting in it for five years. I would wish I could give up my position to someone else and live a carefree life somewhere else!"
"Sir, do you want me to step down and let someone more capable do the job?"
"A thousand years, don't you think it's too long? You've been in this position for so long that you probably feel like you've always been in this position, and you've become numb to it. Did you really not notice anything about what happened back then? Were the officials under your command really able to deceive you so easily?"
The young man in white smiled gently.
If a mortal emperor said that he was deceived by his civil and military officials, Feng Qing'an would believe it. However, Feng Qing'an, who had just witnessed the majestic Dharma body that stood tall and straight, could not believe that the City God would not know what was happening in Fengtian City.
Did he not know, or did he not want to know? He had sat on the throne for too long. In the eyes of this city god, the busy people, merchants, and students in Fengtian City who were busy making a living were nothing.
"I really don't know. If I knew this, I would have executed you before your brother broke open the gate to the underworld!"
The City God responded:
"If I really protected you, you wouldn't be able to see me now!"
"That's true."
Feng Qing'an had to admit this; the only thing that could be criticized about the City God was his negligence.
Apart from this, there was nothing else to say, otherwise, his brother would have probably chopped the other party to pieces long ago. Even though ghosts and gods could be resurrected with the help of incense, Feng Qing'an didn't think it would have any effect on the sword in his brother's hand. If it had worked, the Cangjiang Water King would not have died back then.
"Sir, you like to travel. If you have a chance in the future, you can go to Dongshen Continent. The incense there is so prosperous that it reaches the sky and is comparable to the sun. There is also the Emperor of Shinto, who sits high in the sky and overlooks hundreds of millions of people. It has been there for more than a thousand years, not !"
Three years ago, they paid a heavy price to barely satisfy the eldest son. Now, they have the second son's City God, and they feel that he is just finding fault with them.
He had only been the City God for a thousand years. What did that mean? What a heavy price the Xiao family paid to support him to take the throne? Now they wanted him to abdicate?
What virtue should he let go of? Would the one who succeeded him do better than he did? He had always held himself to the conduct of a gentleman during his lifetime, and even more so when he ascended to the throne of God after his death, and he had never done anything wrong.
Although there were some omissions that led to tragedies in the city, he was only a god worshipped by incense and offerings, and he was not omniscient and omnipotent. How could he take care of everything?
Even a saint would not ask anyone to never make mistakes in his life!
Let me ask you, who in the world can live without making mistakes?
"Shinto Emperor? I'll go and see if I have a chance, just to broaden my horizons!"
Feng Qing'an thought about it and decided not to find fault with this person anymore. He could only say that this City God did not do things perfectly enough, but he could not say that he did a bad job. If he was really not qualified, his eldest brother would have let him go three years ago.
This is the way the world is. Don't always expect everything to be perfect without any regrets. You can only ask the other party to do their best.
"I just heard that you want to become my disciple and practice cultivation?"
The City God did not want to continue arguing with the Second Young Master Feng on this matter, so he abruptly changed the subject.
"What advice do you have, Lord City God?"
"Young Master likes to travel around the world. If you want to join a sect, your first choice should be a sect that can maintain a sea-crossing flying boat. With the help of the sect, you can travel to other continents!"
Although the conversation with Feng Qing'an was not pleasant, and even just looking at the face in front of him made him feel cold in his heart, the City God still gave his advice.
These two brothers with similar faces must not be offended, no matter whether it is the eldest son or the second son in front of him who has been won over by many Taoist masters.
"A flying boat across the sea?"
Feng Qing'an had to admit that although he didn't feel close to the most powerful ghost he had ever seen, what he said still broadened his horizons.
