"Exhilarating!"
Lin Yi's heart surged with an indescribable satisfaction after hearing Chen Jinbei's words and witnessing Sun Wenyuan’s dismal behavior.
Vindicated.
The glory of the scholarly path!
In that moment, he almost couldn’t resist the urge to recite a poem.
Chen Jinbei’s voice suddenly sounded in his ear, warm and teasing: “Feeling better now? Any inspiration...?”
Lin Yi instantly regained his composure. Turning his head, he saw Chen Jinbei smiling at him.
Was that a voice transmission technique just now?
"Inspiration... it’s faint, not quite there yet. No rush," Lin Yi said calmly.
“Good!”
Chen Jinbei, though itching with curiosity, was starting to suspect that Lin Yi had more tricks up his sleeve—hidden reserves, perhaps?
Or was he simply unwilling to reveal them yet?
"Master Sun, are you not leading the way yet?" Chen Jinbei's voice sharpened as he addressed Sun Wenyuan. "Lin Yi, scholar of the Academy, is attuned to the spiritual energies of heaven and earth. He intends to investigate this case thoroughly. How long do you intend to delay? Or are you unwilling to atone for your errors?"
Sun Wenyuan’s head bobbed in panicked agreement. The aura of a seventh-ranked official was entirely absent now. He forced a miserable smile and said to Lin Yi, "Scholar Lin, please follow me!"
Chen Jinbei nodded slightly, approving.
That’s how a sensible person should behave.
Lin Yi, ever aloof, gave a faint nod and followed Sun Wenyuan toward the Demon Suppression Hall.
But then—
“My lord!”
“My lord, you must deliver justice!”
"Lin Yi, that scoundrel, defied the law! Chen Jinbei, you must subdue him immediately!"
The shrill cry came from Zhang Shengcai, the county clerk, who was carried in by several constables. His right leg was bandaged, and he lay on a stretcher, accusing Lin Yi of heinous acts.
Lin Yi halted, an amused smirk playing on his lips.
Defied the law? What law have I broken?
He turned calmly to Sun Wenyuan. "Lord Sun, this morning, as I entered the city, Clerk Zhang brought some constables and declared they’d break my limbs.
"But you know how scholars are... It’s hard for us to control our tempers."
"Completely understandable!" Sun Wenyuan nodded earnestly.
Looking at Zhang Shengcai's pitiful state, Sun Wenyuan felt not the slightest sympathy—in fact, he had an urge to kick the man himself.
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Utter fools. Do they not see the current situation? Are they trying to get me killed?
Sun Wenyuan’s expression turned severe. "Men, seize Zhang Shengcai for attempting to harm a scholar of the Academy. Administer thirty strokes of the staff!"
“Yes, sir!”
The constables promptly dragged Zhang Shengcai from his stretcher.
“What are you doing? I’m your clerk!” Zhang Shengcai wailed.
"My lord!"
"Ahh—easy! Not so hard!"
Zhang Shengcai’s cries echoed as the wooden staffs came down on him.
Lin Yi ignored the man’s pleas, instead marveling at the elevated status of literary cultivators in this world.
The prestige of scholars here truly knows no bounds.
Of course, that prestige hinged on being recognized as a scholar of the Academy—an institution backed by the immense power of the National Sacred Hall.
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The Demon Suppression Hall
The hall wasn’t a grandiose fortress as its name might suggest. Instead, it was an eight-story black tower located in a side yard of the county office. Constables patrolled its exterior and interior vigilantly.
Lin Yi, seeing it for the first time, studied the structure with curiosity.
Subtly, he could sense the dense fluctuations of literary energy emanating from the tower.
“First time seeing the Demon Suppression Hall?” Chen Jinbei asked.
Lin Yi nodded.
Sun Wenyuan wiped cold sweat from his pale face with a trembling sleeve.
Chen Jinbei shot him a frosty glare. “Well, Lord Sun, what a ‘solid case’ you’ve built, blaming an innocent man for conspiring with thieves.”
“It—it was Zhang Shengcai’s idea...” Sun Wenyuan stammered, realizing further deception was pointless.
Even if Lin Yi had truly stolen a technique, someone capable of crafting such extraordinary poems would have the Academy’s full protection.
And, more importantly, he hadn’t stolen anything at all.
With a deep sigh, Sun Wenyuan confessed, “The night the theft occurred, my distant relatives were tasked with guarding the hall. But they went off drinking instead, leaving the tower unguarded.
"When the theft was discovered, Clerk Zhang suggested finding a scapegoat. We accused Lin Yi of colluding with the thief, claiming an insider enabled the crime.
"This way, we could shift blame and mitigate the Academy’s wrath. As it happened, Lin Yi had just started his post that day...”
His voice trailed off, head hanging low, unable to meet Chen Jinbei’s eyes.
The plan had been flawless.
Lin Yi would take the fall, Chen Jinbei would recover the stolen technique, and the matter would be resolved.
But no one could have foreseen Lin Yi awakening his literary heart—or meeting Fang Qingxue.
Even more shocking was his composition of a poem so extraordinary that it resonated with the land itself.
With the powerful Pingzhou Academy now behind him, Lin Yi was untouchable.
“You’re quite the ‘benevolent’ magistrate, aren’t you?” Chen Jinbei sneered.
Sun Wenyuan said nothing.
Chen Jinbei turned to Lin Yi, his expression softening into a smile. “Lin Yi, whether you can attain the Righteous Aura depends on your performance here.
"If you need help, just ask. You know how rare Righteous Aura is—don’t miss this chance!”
Lin Yi clasped his hands respectfully. “Thank you, Master Chen.”
“No need for formality—it’s my duty as a mentor,” Chen Jinbei replied warmly.
----------------------------------------
Lin Yi stepped into the Demon Suppression Hall.
The investigation was straightforward. Assess the scene, deduce the thief’s methods, and narrow down suspects.
Even before arriving, Lin Yi had deduced that it was an inside job.
After all, who would dare steal from the county office, let alone the Demon Suppression Hall, without inside knowledge?
The empty hall was covered in a thick layer of dust, untouched for ages—except for certain areas where fresh, chaotic footprints stood out.
The scene has already been disturbed. No point investigating further.
Lin Yi sighed and turned to leave.
But then—
A beam of light descended from the tower’s apex, illuminating a stone platform in the hall.
Dust swirled.
The next moment, Lin Yi froze as the light exploded into countless glowing fragments, which began to float around the hall.
And then he saw it.
An ethereal black figure emerged amidst the glowing motes, like a holographic projection.
The figure darted to the platform, its slender fingers weaving seals in rapid succession, breaking a seal on the platform.
It reached out, grabbed something from the stone surface, and ran—straight toward Lin Yi.
Startled, Lin Yi instinctively tried to dodge, only for the figure to pass right through him.
Whoosh!
The glowing motes vanished in an instant.
Lin Yi shivered, a sudden fatigue washing over him.
He glanced back at the stone platform. The mysterious light had disappeared, leaving no trace it had ever been there.
“What... just happened?” Lin Yi murmured, shaken to his core.