Chapter 326 - 312: Community Water Meter Check!!
’Is she going to disregard the Daqian Law? Does Miss Su intend to overthrow the entire Daqian Dynasty and set her own rules? Does she want to establish her own dynasty?’
’Even the righteous Immortals have never interfered in worldly, commonplace matters like human sacrifice. Why should she get involved? What reason does she have? Can she even manage it?’
’Since ancient times, it has been a sacred and inviolable principle for servants to follow their masters in death. Forget about a gentry family like his Li Family in a small place like Anhe City. Look higher up—the princes, dukes, ministers, and even the Emperor himself. Which of their tombs isn’t filled with piles of bones?’
’It’s only small, unsophisticated families like the Su Family and the An Family that don’t even allow for human sacrifice when a loved one passes. How is that supposed to show respect for the deceased? How can it reflect the gravity of the event?’
As for this so-called Miss Su... Li Hanlin had indeed heard of her "heroic deeds," but he paid them no mind.
’In his view, the Immortal was only meddling in "petty evils" like theft and short-changing customers, the "mundane affairs" of the marketplace. Was it all just to display her immortal "benevolence"? To build a reputation for her obscure little sect?’
’But "human sacrifice"—this was "ritual." It was a "great righteousness" that maintained the family’s honor and the deceased’s dignity. It was an "ancestral rule" passed down for millennia. The two were completely different matters.’
’Besides, even if she did want to interfere... could she really manage it all? She might be able to handle my Li Family in Anhe City, but can she handle the countless gentry clans of the Daqian Dynasty? This is a rule written in the Daqian Ritual Canon! As someone outside the mortal world, does she really want to make an enemy of the entire dynasty? If she gets so entangled in worldly affairs, is she even planning to continue her cultivation?’
Li Hanlin flicked a speck of non-existent dust from his sleeve and said impassively to his butler, "It’s about time. Gag them and send them on their way."
He couldn’t even be bothered to spare another glance for the wailing servants. In his eyes, these people were no different from the paper effigies of people and horses burned before the Spirit Hall.
Every single thing he did today was in accordance with the laws of his ancestors and the principles of the dynasty. He had not overstepped his bounds in the slightest.
He recalled his uncle, who served as an official in distant Pingyang Prefecture. When his aunt passed away the year before last, the servants and their families sent to be buried with her filled two large carts. What a grand spectacle that was. Compared to that, sending just a few people on their way for his father was practically frugal.
It was simply the natural order of things.
Li Hanlin even thought that instead of wasting her time watching a "law-abiding" citizen like himself, Miss Su would be better off taking a look at the city’s outskirts.
’Counting the days, it should be about time for that group of wastrel sons from the city to go on their "hunt."’ The thought of those young masters who treated hunting the refugees outside the city as a game brought a flicker of disdain to Li Hanlin’s eyes.
’Savage and uncivilized, like beasts that eat flesh and drink blood.’ He, Li Hanlin, a self-proclaimed scholar, would never associate with such vulgar people.
However... a barely perceptible smile touched the corners of Li Hanlin’s lips.
’If that bunch of idiots really runs into Miss Su’s sword, it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. When that happens, all the farmland and shops to their names... perhaps I could make a few moves.’
’It would be a chance to elevate the Li Family’s foundations, maybe even... move to a major city like Pingyang Prefecture.’
Of course, it was also possible that nothing would happen at all. In truth, Li Hanlin was just looking forward to the show.
He was very curious to see how this Immortal, after dealing with some marketplace peddlers, would handle a truly tough opponent with deep-rooted connections.
After all, the leader of those young masters, the one named Zhang, was a distant relative of a certain influential figure in the capital.
’If this Miss Su truly wants to seek justice for refugees who don’t even have household registration... is her Cultivation high enough? The Imperial Capital is suppressed by draconic energy, and it’s also where several major sects keep their consecrated elders.’
Li Hanlin shook his head internally. ’Immortals and mortals are different, it’s true. But in this mortal world, there’s a tangled web of connections that stretches from the bottom all the way to the top, right to the ears of the Emperor.’
’For an Immortal to tear through this web, she’d need the power to turn the entire Daqian Dynasty upside down. And even if she gained that power someday, what then? Would she have the ability to govern this devastated land? Does she understand the people’s livelihood? Can she guarantee that her successors would govern according to her will?’
Li Hanlin shook his head. ’It’s just not realistic...’
After Li Hanlin gave the order to the butler, they did not linger in the courtyard before the ancestral hall. He turned and walked into the inner hall. The butler immediately understood and shot a look at the household guards.
"What are you all standing around for? Get them in here!" The sounds of crying and begging were instantly drowned out by the guards’ shouts and the sharp SLAPS of faces being struck.
The bound maids and servants were dragged violently into a deeper part of the inner hall, where several lengths of new white silk lay waiting silently on a long table.
Li Hanlin stood before the hall, hands clasped behind his back, and watched the weeping servants with a cold expression. He began his final address: "You were all highly valued by the Old Master during his life. To be able to accompany him into the earth and continue to serve at his side is a blessing you have earned over many lifetimes."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over them. "The Li Family will ensure your families are well taken care of. You need not cling to the world of the living. Go to your rest in peace."
After speaking, he locked his eyes on the maidservant who had mentioned the "Immortal" earlier and slowly walked toward her.
"Lift your head."
The maidservant, trembling with fear, didn’t dare to move.
"I said, lift your head!" Li Hanlin’s voice suddenly turned harsh.
A guard immediately grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to tilt up her tear-streaked face.
Li Hanlin looked down at her and asked coldly, "The mansion gates have been sealed for days, and none of you servants have taken a single step outside. Tell me, where did you hear those rumors about the Immortal?"
The maidservant bit her lip, refusing to speak no matter what. In her mind, she saw the image of Ah Niu, the young man who sold vegetables in the south of the city.
They were in love. But on the night the Old Master had breathed his last, a powerful sense of unease had washed over her. Under the cover of darkness, she had snuck to the fence in the backyard and told her worries to Ah Niu, who had come to visit her in secret.
And it was Ah Niu who had told her, in detail, everything that happened at the Su Mansion’s entrance yesterday. "The Immortal said she’s forming something called the ’City Patrol’ to handle mundane affairs in the city! You just wait. I-I’ll definitely find a way to get you out!"
Ah Niu’s solemn promise was her only hope now. ’I can’t tell them. I’d rather die! If the Immortal doesn’t help, and I talk, Ah Niu will be done for!’
Seeing her silence, Li Hanlin lost his patience and gestured to the guards. "If you don’t want to talk, fine. We’ll send you on your way first, then..."
Two burly guards immediately stepped forward. They looped a length of white silk around the maidservant’s slender neck, grabbed an end in each hand, and slowly began to pull.
The maidservant’s eyes flew wide open, her face rapidly turning crimson from lack of oxygen. Her hands and feet kicked and scraped uselessly against the ground.
’Ah Niu... save me... City Patrol... Immortal...’
She screamed silently in her mind as her consciousness began to fade from suffocation. Everything before her dissolved into a swirl of black shadows.
Just as she was about to fall into eternal darkness—!
BANG—!!!
The great gate of the Li Mansion was smashed inward, riddled with cracks as splinters and dust exploded into the air!
"Anhe City Patrol! We’re here to check the water meter!!!"