Chapter 490: God Descends, Intelligent AI?

Chapter 490: Divine Arrival, Intelligent AI?

"Five hundred taels?"

Li Xiaodan's eyes widened, his face a mix of disbelief, ecstasy, and suspicion.

Zhou Hu, on the other hand, stared at the Taoist nun with deep wariness in his eyes.

A Weapon Master!

This was definitely a Weapon Master!

And a high-ranking one at that.

This Weapon Master had suddenly come to Red Moon Village... Could she be invited...

"Do you think I'm deceiving you? Why would I pay such a high price for a divine statue that has lost its divinity, now that the god is dead?" the woman dressed as a Taoist nun said.

Li Xiaodan looked puzzled.

Zhou Hu was also confused.

A flicker of recollection passed through the depths of the Taoist nun's eyes: "In the past, when the Central Plains were unified and the world was at peace, the divine-level artifact master Sheng Nu traveled across mountains and rivers to gather divine essence, even flying beyond the realm to collect spiritual materials, and finally forged the divine artifact, Divine Arrival!

Sheng Nu's heart was like that of a Buddha, and Divine Arrival became the national treasure of the Raksha Kingdom in the Central Plains.

The Raksha Kingdom ushered in unprecedented prosperity.

Externally, Divine Arrival swept all before it; internally, it resonated with the Dao of the divine artifact."

"Wait, this Divine Arrival—could it be the legendary God of Judgment?" Zhou Hu's eyes widened.

At first, he hadn't figured out what Divine Arrival was, but hearing the Taoist nun's words, he suddenly understood.

In the Raksha Kingdom of the Central Plains, there was more than one divine artifact, and the people worshipped more than one god.

Among them, the most widely known was the God of Judgment.

Zhou Hu had heard storytellers in inns and taverns sing the praises of the God of Judgment.

People from all walks of life in the taverns held the God of Judgment in high esteem.

And those tales were beloved by the lower classes.

Stories like "The Oil Seller Accuses the Magistrate" and "The Courtesan Beheads the Third Prince with a Sword" were widely circulated.

Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, the people of the Raksha Kingdom lived in abundance and could hold their heads high even before government officials.

The emperor made people kneel; the God of Judgment made them stand.

Thus, every citizen of the Raksha Kingdom worshipped the God of Judgment.

Because the God of Judgment represented absolute fairness and justice.

In Ninghe County, where Zhou Hu now resided, it was almost unimaginable for a commoner to sue an official.

Suing an official was like a son killing his father—one had to endure the pain of nine fires, kneel for twelve lashes, and sit for twenty strokes of the cane.

Only after enduring these punishments could one file a lawsuit.

But in the Raksha Kingdom of the Central Plains, not only could commoners sue officials, but there were even tales of a courtesan killing a prince.

The story of "The Courtesan Beheads the Third Prince with a Sword" was widely told and relished.

It was said that the courtesan was originally a silk-washing girl of stunning beauty. When the Third Prince saw her during an outing, lust stirred in his heart.

However, the laws of the Raksha Kingdom were strict, and the God of Judgment hung high in the heavens, so even the Third Prince could not forcibly seize a commoner.

Thus, he schemed to ruin her family, and the silk-washing girl was sold into a brothel—or rather, kept by the Third Prince in a twisted manner.

One day, the Third Prince talked in his sleep and inadvertently revealed how he had framed the silk-washing girl. She overheard him.

She investigated in secret and discovered that the Third Prince had indeed destroyed her family.

That night, she beheaded the Third Prince with a sword!

In any kingdom, this would be a earth-shattering event!

A mere prostitute killing a member of the royal bloodline—the heavens would fall!

According to the storyteller, the courtesan was sent to the execution ground to suffer death by dismemberment.

But then, snow fell in July.

And the courtesan's friend, at the execution ground, declared that the case was unjust and brought out a statue of the God of Judgment.

The God of Judgment, who sees all in the world, represents fairness and justice.

As the storyteller said, when the god appeared, the officials were scared out of their wits.

In the end, the God of Judgment manifested.

The courtesan, avenging her parents by beheading the Third Prince, was found innocent.

The officials involved in the case were all punished.

If Qi Yuan had heard this, he would surely think: Isn't this God of Judgment just an intelligent AI?

The Raksha Kingdom—this was AI governance!

"Yes, He is also called the God of Judgment," the Taoist nun said, her expression melancholy.

"I heard that a hundred years ago, a great enemy invaded the Raksha Kingdom, and the God of Judgment fell while fighting the foreign foe?" Zhou Hu asked.

When he first heard the deeds of the God of Judgment, Zhou Hu felt an infinite longing.

Indeed, many poor and kind-hearted people at the bottom also yearned for the Central Plains, seeking the protection of the God of Judgment.

But that was all over a hundred years ago.

"Yes," the Taoist nun's expression turned cold. "The divine artifact shattered, the god... died, and the statues of the God of Judgment lost their spirituality.

That year, the royal family decreed that all statues of the God of Judgment must be destroyed.

Those who secretly kept statues faced exile of three thousand li at the least, and the death penalty at the worst."

A cold smile curled on the Taoist nun's face: "Without Divine Arrival, fifteen years ago, when the Dafeng invaded, the Raksha Kingdom, which once dominated the seas, actually ceded territory to sue for peace and paid annual tribute—how laughable."

Zhou Hu's heart sank at this.

Many thoughts crossed his mind.

Perhaps the royal family of the Raksha Kingdom, and even all the officials, none of them liked the God of Judgment.

Only those commoners who knelt on the ground loved the God of Judgment.

"This statue is really that powerful?" Li Xiaodan, being young, focused on a different point.

"There are almost no statues of Divine Arrival left in the Raksha Kingdom. I have a younger sister who has always worshipped Divine Arrival.

Seeing this statue of yours, I wanted to buy it for five hundred taels of silver," the Taoist nun said calmly.

"I..." Li Xiaodan hesitated.

Mainly because five hundred taels was too much.

He looked to Zhou Hu for help, hoping Zhou Ye could give him some advice.

The Taoist nun then sighed softly: "Never mind. Since this statue has come into your hands, it means it is fated with you. I won't buy it."

The Divine Advent was, after all, a thing of the past.

She also had to urge her younger sister to leave that group who believed in the Divine Advent early, or else she would court disaster.

Li Xiaodan’s eyes widened, the disappointment in them unconcealed.

But then, as if remembering something, the young Li Xiaodan found solace in misery.

“The Divine Advent is so powerful—it will surely protect me!”

As for the idol’s failure, he heard nothing at all.

Zhou Hu looked at Li Xiaodan and smiled.

The woman dressed as a Taoist nun glanced at the idol, her expression complex; in the end, she lingered no more and chose to leave.

At that moment, Zhou Hu hurried after her: “Senior… are you a Weapon Master?”

“Mm.” The Taoist nun nodded, her demeanor cold as ice.

“Why has Senior come to Red Cloud Stockade?” Zhou Hu asked tentatively.

“What business is that of yours?” The Taoist nun shot him a sidelong glance.

Zhou Hu immediately sensed immense danger.

Clearly, this Weapon Master’s strength was far from ordinary.

“I am a constable from Ninghe County. Red Cloud Stockade has seen some murders lately, suspected to involve specters. Please be careful, Senior…” Zhou Hu hesitated.

“Careful not to drink the water or eat the food in Red Cloud Stockade?”

“Senior knows?” Zhou Hu was astonished, then overjoyed—could it be…

“Do not place too much hope in me. I wander the world, slaying specters as cultivation. If the task proves impossible, I will not throw my life away.

The specter here… is somewhat strange. My life-bound artifact may not be able to deal with it.”

The artifacts a Weapon Master wields are of two kinds: one is ordinary artifacts, usable with simple hand seals as long as they resonate.

The other kind is the life-bound artifact.

This artifact is intimately tied to the Weapon Master, even growing with them.

But a Weapon Master with a life-bound artifact finds advancement harder than an ordinary one, needing to improve both themselves and the artifact.

Hearing this, Zhou Hu’s face lit up with wild joy: “Senior, if you need anything, just call on me, Zhou Hu. I will do my utmost to help you!”

……

The night was pitch black.

Two figures appeared, one old and one young. Qi Yuan clapped his hands, his expression calm: “Wang Kaixuan, who is this?”

Chen Kangbao, hunched over, stood behind Qi Yuan: “I don’t know, but according to Huang Yanshou, he’s… from the prefectural city.”

Lately, Qi Yuan’s strength had grown.

If you have a grievance and don’t retaliate, you’re a bastard.

So, taking Chen Kangbao with him, he broke into the Huang mansion under cover of night and arrested Huang Yanshou.

From Huang Yanshou’s mouth, Qi Yuan learned that it was Wang Kaixuan who had framed the son-in-law Qi Yuan.

“This game really is a set of nesting dolls,” Qi Yuan muttered to himself.

Many guesses arose in his mind.

It was nothing more than the son-in-law Qi Yuan’s wife being too beautiful, drawing covetous eyes.

Wang Kaixuan, consumed by jealousy, had sent men to harm him.

Of course, there were other reasons too.

For instance, the son-in-law Qi Yuan’s parents were artifact masters, and they possessed some valuable items that sparked Wang Kaixuan’s greed.

With these two motives combined, they had moved against Qi Yuan.

“We’ve killed him. Let’s go… to Anshan Inn,” Qi Yuan recalled.

This time, the son-in-law Qi Yuan had come to Ninghe County accompanied by a servant from the Shen mansion.

He needed to see that servant and have him take a letter back.

What if the son-in-law Qi Yuan’s wife learned of what happened here and, in a fit of rage, divorced him?

Then how could Qi Yuan continue playing the role of the Shen family’s son-in-law?

The task would also be impossible to complete.

Moreover, he couldn’t openly pour bathwater for his mother-in-law.

Before being sent to the madhouse, he and the servant had stayed at Anshan Inn.

The night now, though dark, was not yet deep.

“Young master, should we set a fire?” Chen Kangbao suggested at that moment. “After a killing, a fire makes it fitting.”

Qi Yuan shook his head: “Don’t harm the innocent or destroy property—that’s a grave crime!”

Hearing this, Chen Kangbao nodded thoughtfully.

“Don’t let your mind wander. You should think about devising a proper plan to deal with the specter.

Every time, you just carry me to kill it—that won’t work in the long run!”

Qi Yuan spoke the truth.

After all, if they encountered a powerful specter, what if Chen Kangbao couldn’t hold on?

Qi Yuan was still very weak now.

Chen Kangbao fell into thought.

“I’m no professional specter-slayer, but in my view, when a specter approaches, we can first smile, letting it feel we mean no harm.

At that moment, we can gently stroke its head. Generally, specters like having their heads stroked, and in such a situation, they won’t harm us. Then we can… seize the chance to kill it!”

Chen Kangbao said earnestly.

“What if the specter hurts us?”

“Ahem, this old servant is no expert, so it’s only natural my views have flaws.”

“Better you carry me, then,” Qi Yuan mused. “You’re the cutting board, I’m the cleaver—we still lack a cook.”

Qi Yuan always remembered the role-playing task.

After all, successful role-playing came with rewards, which made him look forward to it.

“What cook? To cook for this old servant?” Chen Kangbao couldn’t go three sentences without mentioning food.

“We’ll talk about it when we get back to the prefectural city.” Qi Yuan already had a plan in mind.

For now, the urgent matter was to improve his strength.

Once his strength was raised, he could plan the role-playing properly.

After all, though he was now playing the part of a cleaver, his physique really didn’t resemble one.

Pretending further is useless.

Soon, the two arrived at Anshan Inn.

The innkeeper's assistant saw Qi Yuan, a trace of surprise in his eyes: "Qi... Master Qi?"

The Qi Yuan of today seemed a completely different person from the one he had first met.

Not to mention the changes in physique and appearance, the most important was the change in temperament.

The assistant had to look several times before confirming it was Qi Yuan.

And the news that the son-in-law Qi Yuan had been sent to the Madhouse was only known within a small circle; the assistant was unaware.

"Where's Old Zhong? Why isn't he here?" Qi Yuan said.

Old Zhong was the servant sent by the Shen family to accompany him back to his hometown for ancestral rites.

"Master Zhong has left!" the assistant quickly said.

"Left?"

"When Master Huang invited you, Master Qi, for an outing that day, Master Zhong checked out and left that very night."

Qi Yuan's expression was calm: "And my belongings?"

"Your belongings were all taken by Master Zhong!" the assistant said hurriedly, afraid that Qi Yuan might suspect the inn of stealing his possessions.

"Is that so?" Qi Yuan said indifferently.

"Young master, that Old Zhong has a treacherous heart!" Chen Kangbao quickly said. "When you were sent to the Madhouse, he didn't even come to visit you, nor did he personally ask if you were framed—he just ran off!"

"If it were this old servant, I would have broken into the Madhouse at night to rescue you!"

He leaned close to Qi Yuan's ear and whispered.

As if to say that he was the most loyal.

Qi Yuan nodded and said to the assistant, "Give me two superior rooms."

"Right away!"

After a busy day and having killed a man, he truly needed a good sleep.

In the Madhouse, the stench was too strong, and Qi Yuan hadn't had a proper bath—how could it compare to the comfort of an inn?

......

"Huang Yanshou... actually dead? Who did it?"

Zhou Hu frowned.

Lin Qinghe had been transferred, and now Zhou Hu was the acting constable.

A murder had occurred in the Huang family, and Huang Yanshou was dead, leaving Zhou Hu overwhelmed.

In recent days, major events in Ninghe County had come one after another.

Not to mention the Red Cloud Stronghold, but also the Madhouse director and the young master of the Huang family.

These incidents happening in succession were truly unexpected.

"Constable Zhou, the murderer... who is it?" The old master of the Huang family, white-haired and grim-faced, asked.

"It should be... an Imperial Arms Master," Zhou Hu stated his judgment. "Old Master Huang, has the young master recently offended anyone?"

Upon hearing this, Old Master Huang's expression changed slightly, then he said, "No, my son is kind-hearted. How could he offend any villain?"

"Old Master Huang, is there something you are hiding from me?" Zhou Hu began to form some suspicions.

The Madhouse director and Huang Yanshou were both connected to that son-in-law Qi Yuan. Could it be...

"Constable Zhou, this case... our Huang family will not pursue it. My son died of a sudden illness in the night!" Old Master Huang said calmly.

Zhou Hu fell silent at this, his thoughts complex.

He thought of the God of Judgment in the Central Plains.

If He were here, the outcome would likely not be like this.

"In that case, I take my leave!" Zhou Hu clasped his hands and said.

About half an hour later, an old woman came in sobbing.

"Huang Shifan, my son is dead, and you just let the murderer go?"

Huang Shifan looked at the woman and could not help but slap her across the face: "It's all your fault for harming Yanshou! I told you over and over that Wang Kaixuan was no good, but you still let Yanshou get entangled with him, meddling in the disputes of those powerful families. Do you really think our Huang family can compare with those Imperial Arms Master families?"

Huang Shifan said this, filled with rage.

The old woman was stunned by the slap and collapsed to the ground: "My son..."

"Do not mention this matter again. The fault was originally ours." Huang Shifan made a decision: he would bleed a little and send a gift of apology to the Shen family in the prefecture.

As for Huang Yanshou's death, it was the father's fault for not teaching his son properly, so he would say that he had personally beaten him to death.

(End of chapter)