Chapter 159 The Dust Has Settled

Although the Wanxiang Taoist Palace prohibited the contact between the mother and child talismans during the closed period, some official documents and letters could still be transmitted through the "Xun Fu Array".

Early in the morning of July 16, a Taoist priest from the Mingtang sent a letter to Qi Xuansu.

After Qi Xuansu received the letter, he found that it was sent by Pei Xiaolou.

Qi Xuansu thanked the Taoist priest who delivered the letter, took the letter back to the study, confirmed the wax seal on the envelope, and used his fingernails instead of a knife to cut the envelope open and took out the letter.

The letter only talked about one thing, that is, the case of Pan Cuiqing and Yue Liuli.

Qi Xuansu originally entrusted this matter to Xu Xiaoying, and Pei Xiaolou happened to return from Yujing, so Pei Xiaolou and Xu Xiaoying handled the matter together.

Then Qi Xuansu came to the upper palace of the Wanxiang Taoist Palace to prepare for further study. In a blink of an eye, more than a month had passed, and the case had a result.

Pei Xiaolou roughly described the progress of the case. Because the evidence was solid, there was no big problem.

Logically speaking, Ji Jiaoquan, the head of Wuxu Palace, should be an obstacle, but the head of Wuxu Palace has always been concurrently held by Donghua Zhenren until Donghua Zhenren was promoted to the head of Ziwei Hall. Ji Jiaoquan took over the position. This Zhenren is only a second-grade Taiyi Taoist priest, and is expected to become one of the thirty-six Canzhi Zhenren, but he has not yet been given the word "Canzhi".

Because Zhou Lao Zhenren of the Ancestral Hall has just stepped down from the position of the head of the Ancestral Hall, but has not yet stepped down from the position of Canzhi Zhenren.

It is true that the Taoist sect will not lower the rank of Taoist priests due to retreating to the mountains and forests, falling into a state, etc., but Canzhi Zhenren is not a rank, but more like a position. It and ordinary Zhenren are all in the category of second-grade Taiyi Taoist priests. Because the positions of the thirty-six Canzhi Zhenren are fixed, if one wants to go up, one must come down. After retreating to the mountains and forests, it is impossible for an idle person to occupy a position, so the identity of Canzhi Zhenren will be cancelled, and only the rank and title of second-grade Taiyi Taoist priests will be retained. Similarly, the vice-chairman and the great master will only retain the rank of the first-class innocent Taoist priest and the title of the great master.

Zhou Laozhenren has now only retired to the second line and resigned from the corresponding position, but he has retained the identity of the assistant master, with the power to participate in the political affairs of the Golden Palace and recommend the great master. It will take another one or two years before he completely retires. By then, Ji Jiaoquan can be promoted to assistant master.

If he can be successfully promoted to assistant master, his position will naturally be as stable as a rock, just like Ning Lingge. Even if there are occasional ups and downs, there is still a chance to make a comeback. But the period before the successful promotion is crucial. If something unexpected happens during this period, it is very likely to affect the promotion, so stability must be required during this period.

As a result, Pan Cuiqing had this kind of thing, which was almost a bolt from the blue for Ji Jiaoquan.

Compared with the title of apprentice and assistant master, which one is more important?

For some people, it is a difficult question, but for some people, it is a question that can be chosen without thinking.

For Ji Jiaoquan, he could still take in another disciple if he lost one, but if he lost the position of the Master of Companionship, which was within his reach, he would not have a second chance in this life, so there was no need to hesitate.

So Ji Jiaoquan did not choose to save his disciple, but decisively cut off the relationship, treating Pan Cuiqing as a discarded pawn, or a pawn to save the king.

Ji Jiaoquan even thought of a deeper level. There were almost 200 second-grade Taiyi Taoists in the Taoist sect, but only 36 of them could be promoted to Master of Companionship. There were many people who were jealous of his promotion to Master of Companionship. Even if there was no conflict on weekdays, it was natural to set a trap for him at this time. Therefore, whether it was Yue Liuli or Pan Cuiqing, and the Dragon and Tiger Society of the Wanxiang Taoist Palace in the past, they were just a prelude. This was the drunkard's intention not to drink, and this was Xiang Zhuang dancing with a sword to kill Pei Gong.

And he would never have thought that this matter was not that complicated. It was just a cliché story of a kid from the Wanxiang Taoist Palace seeking revenge after he became a bit of a person, and it had nothing to do with the overall situation of Master of Companionship.

But even if Ji Jiaoquan knew the truth, he had only one way to deal with it - to save himself.

Even if he wanted to make amends or take revenge, he had to wait until he was promoted to the rank of Canzhi Zhenren. Now the most important thing was to get through this most critical time smoothly.

Pei Xiaolou grasped Ji Jiaoquan's mentality and took on so much responsibility. Otherwise, if a master of the palace intervened, it would be extremely troublesome. After all, Pei Xiaolou was not Donghua Zhenren, but just an assistant.

The specific handling results have been reported to the geomancer and approved by the geomancer.

Pan Cuiqing was dismissed from his position as the assistant of Wuxu Palace for crimes such as sheltering and connivance, and was demoted to a fourth-grade priest. A fourth-grade priest without a position almost had his future ruined. Yue Liuli was deprived of his Taoist status and temporarily imprisoned in the prison of Wanshou Chongyang Palace.

Since the sixth generation of the Grand Master, the Dao sect has advocated for cautious punishment, especially for its own people. In terms of capital punishment, it has always advocated less killing and cautious killing. Even in the Jiangnan case that shocked the Dao sect, only Fang Linhou died.

So it is reasonable that Yue Liuli did not die. After all, Qi Xuansu, the person involved, did not die either, so it was not a life for a life.

However, there is an old saying: "The death penalty can be avoided, but the living crime cannot be escaped."

Escaping death does not mean that you can rest easy. There is also the punishment of imprisonment waiting for the criminal.

In this regard, in addition to Yujing, the three sects also have prisons. In addition to some prisons for temporary detention of prisoners, the real prisons exist in the form of caves, such as the famous Zhengyi Sect's Demon-Suppressing Well Cave, Quanzhen Sect's Demon-Locking Tower Cave, and Taiping Sect's Dragon Palace Cave.

These caves are very vast inside, but they are isolated from the outside world and cannot see the sun. Entering them is equivalent to being exiled. Even pseudo-immortals find it difficult to escape.

Among them, the Zhengyi Sect's Demon-Suppressing Well Cave is the most terrifying. Most of the people imprisoned in it are demons who can stir up a sea of ​​blood in the world. Therefore, there are formations specifically designed to consume cultivation. The environment is harsh, and the guards are the most strict. Even the passages are one-way. Once sent in, there is no hope of being released unless the seal of the cave is broken. Above the Demon Suppression Well Cave Heaven is the more famous Demon Suppression Platform and "Punishment Pillar". This place is an execution ground. The so-called "Punishment Pillar" is two huge pillars that attract heavenly thunder. Heavenly thunder replaces the guillotine to execute various criminals with extremely high cultivation.

Yue Liuli is still detained in the Wanshou Chongyang Palace of Difei Mountain at this time. After being formally convicted, he will be escorted to the Demon Locking Tower Cave Heaven of Tiancang Mountain. Compared with the terrifying Demon Suppression Well Cave Heaven, the Demon Locking Tower Cave Heaven is slightly better. As the name suggests, this place was originally a place for Taoists to imprison demons, corresponding to the Demon Suppression Well. However, as the number of demons became fewer and fewer, the Demon Locking Tower Cave Heaven gradually turned into a prisoner. Many of the restrictions are aimed at demons. After people enter, except for not being free, everything else is fine.

It must be said that this is already the maximum punishment under the existing framework of Taoist laws.

Pei Xiaolou wrote the letter just to inform Qi Xuansu of the result, and did not mean to ask Qi Xuansu for his opinion. This was also something Qi Xuansu had known for a long time. After he handed over the voice talisman, the outcome of the matter was completely independent of his will.

After reading it, Qi Xuansu put down the letter in his hand and sat in silence for a long time.

In the whole matter, Qi Xuansu was suspected of being narrow-minded and vindictive, and he did not deny it. Qi Xuansu had also wavered and hesitated whether to let it go, but every time he thought of the helplessness, despair, and pain before his death, these hesitations would be swept away, leaving only hatred.

He almost died.

After death, everything is empty.

The key is that he almost died inexplicably, neither calmly nor in a proper way, and he was not even a wise ghost, like a funny clown, the kind that was laughed at by people.

Then why didn't he hate?

Why should he be tolerant?

After all, he is not a Xuansheng, and he cannot forget his grudges with a smile, nor can he forgive his enemies for the sake of the overall situation.

Besides, what do Yue Liuli and Wan Xiuwu have to do with the overall situation?

"That's good." Qi Xuansu said to himself, "Good fortune and misfortune have no door, but people bring them upon themselves."

At this point, Qi Xuansu paused and said self-deprecatingly: "Why pretend to be magnanimous? You are not a magnanimous person."

He tapped the table lightly with his fingers: "There are still Monk Yanxiu and Zhao Fuan left."