Chapter 50: Master Wu, This Cannot Be Blamed on Me!

“Is everyone here?”

Just as Xu Ye was worrying whether Rain Wuchang had overheard their conversation, the voice of the Martial Judge suddenly echoed through the hall. The judge himself, short and stout, strode solidly in from the rear.

“Lord Wu!”

All the ghost officials, including the three Wuchang, immediately rose to their feet.

“Let’s get to business,” the Martial Judge said, his mood evidently sour as he pressed his hand down to signal them to sit. He then took his seat at the head of the hall.

At the mention of business, a hush fell over the crowd. The men of the Third and Ninth Banners cast their eyes toward Sun Wuchang of the Sixth Banner and the ghost officials behind him. Everyone knew what matter was to be discussed today.

“Lord Wu, regarding the case at the Cao Residence, after several days of diligent investigation with my subordinates, we have uncovered a number of leads.”

Sun Wuchang stood under the gaze of the assembly and offered a stack of organized case files.

The scribe at the Judge’s Office took the files and swiftly delivered them to the Martial Judge.

“Thank you for your efforts, Sun Wuchang.” The Martial Judge’s stern expression finally softened a little at the news of progress.

Yet as he read through the latest case report, his face darkened once more, anger flashing in his eyes.

“Sun Wuchang, are these the leads you speak of? Do you think pulling in a night watchman as a scapegoat will fool the Lord of the Underworld's Record of Exoneration?”

He snorted coldly, fixing Sun Wuchang with an icy glare.

Though usually approachable, the Martial Judge now radiated a pressure that made hearts tremble, a formidable aura emanating in waves from his body.

Having gained a comprehensive understanding of Confucian martial cultivation, Xu Ye could tell that this terrifying aura came from the Judge's repeated tempering of righteous energy within his martial courage. Xu Ye sensed that if the Martial Judge struck with full force, even the skin-stealing demon that had slaughtered his family might not withstand him.

“Forgive me, my lord!”

Seeing the Judge truly angered, Sun Wuchang and his scholar-like subordinates fell to their knees in terror.

According to the rules of the Ghost Suppression Division, subordinates who offended superiors or were found at fault could be executed on the spot. This was why Sun Wuchang had been so eager to steal Tie Mian and Xu Ye’s credit previously—there was nothing they could do about it.

“My lord, according to the servant’s own confession, he assaulted the young lady of the Cao family, which drove her mad and allowed a vengeful ghost to possess her, resulting in the slaughter of the entire household. The evidence is irrefutable!”

Sun Wuchang stubbornly argued his case, braving the crushing aura of the Judge.

Hearing this, Xu Ye immediately guessed what Sun Wuchang’s so-called “lead” was.

“Most likely, Sun Wuchang was desperate and, unable to find the real culprit, tortured a confession out of the night watchman, accusing him of assaulting the Cao family’s daughter, hoping to use him as an offering to the Lord of the Underworld.”

Xu Ye murmured to himself.

From the case files he’d read these days, Xu Ye knew such instances of framing the innocent to close a case were not uncommon in the Ghost Suppression Division. Often, as long as the ghost was destroyed, the authorities turned a blind eye. This, too, was why the Martial Judge saw through Sun Wuchang’s intentions so easily.

But since the Lord of the Underworld had already taken interest in the Cao Residence case, such tricks would not suffice.

“Do you think I haven’t investigated that night watchman myself?”

The Martial Judge snorted again and glanced at the young scribe beside him.

The scribe instantly understood and read aloud from a document:

“The night watchman responsible for Willow Lane is named Liu San. At the age of eight, he was mauled by wild dogs outside the city. Though he survived, he was left without the proper... anatomy.”

In other words, he had been castrated.

At this, the three who had earlier joked about “manhood” could not help but snicker. Of course, Xu Ye and Tie Mian’s laughter was more out of the deep satisfaction of seeing their enemy thwarted.

Fortunately, their laughter was quiet, and everyone’s attention was on the scribe and Sun Wuchang. Only Rain Wuchang cast a fleeting glance their way.

“Sun Wuchang, is this what you call irrefutable evidence?”

The Martial Judge flung the document before Sun Wuchang with force.

“My lord, this cannot be blamed on me!” Sun Wuchang suddenly sprang to his feet, adopting a desperate, reckless posture.

“The entire Cao household was clearly slaughtered by the vengeful ghost possessing the young daughter. Where are we supposed to find the real culprit?”

He wore a look of resignation.

Even now, Sun Wuchang believed the case had been handled properly, convinced the Lord of the Underworld was simply making things difficult for them.

The Martial Judge felt a headache coming on.

He had reviewed the case himself these past few days, and all the evidence pointed to the young Cao daughter. He could not fathom the source of her deep resentment.

“My lord, I believe the young lady’s resentment has nothing to do with the case itself. The Lord of the Underworld cannot overturn the entire case for this alone. I beg you to report the matter to the Dean and let him decide!”

Seeing the Judge waver, Sun Wuchang pressed his advantage.

Xu Ye had learned by now that the “Dean” Sun Wuchang referred to was the head of the Heavenly Court Institute.

“Silence!” the Martial Judge barked before Sun Wuchang could finish. “Don’t think your father’s connection to the Dean will shield you. If the Lord of the Underworld wishes it, he could kill you before the Dean himself and the Dean would not object!”

The Judge’s face was livid with rage.

If not for his past friendship with Sun Wuchang’s father, he might have slapped him already.

“My lord, do as you will. This case is beyond the Sixth Banner’s ability!”

Sun Wuchang, seeing no way out, threw caution to the wind.

“Don’t think I won’t punish you,” the Judge retorted, then turned his gaze to the Third and Ninth Banners.

“Rain Wuchang, you must be familiar with this case as well?”

He addressed both Rain and Zhou Wuchang.

“My lord, I have reviewed the files, but the Ninth Banner excels at battling evil spirits, not solving cases. I’m afraid we are of little use here.”

Rain Wuchang was forthright.

She had reason: the Ninth Banner was the most formidable in combat, routinely dispatched to deal with the most vicious ghosts outside the city. Assigning them to investigate a case was indeed a stretch. The Judge’s summoning of them today was a desperate measure.

“You may sit.”

The Judge waved her off wearily and turned to Zhou Wuchang.

“Zhou Wuchang, I am assigning this case to the Third Banner. What do you think?”

His tone now carried the weight of command rather than suggestion.

“My lord, the Third Banner specializes in apprehension, not investigation. This case is too complex for us,” Zhou Wuchang replied, genuinely troubled.

He spoke the truth—the Sixth Banner was best at solving cases, while the Third mostly handled arrests and cleanup, tasks that often went unappreciated.

The Judge nodded without pressing further and turned to Sun Wuchang and Rain Wuchang.

“You two may take your men and leave.”

“Yes, my lord!”

Sun Wuchang, clearly relieved, cast a mocking glance at Zhou Wuchang as he departed.

“You two wait outside. I have some words for Zhou Wuchang alone,” the Judge said to Xu Ye and Tie Mian once the Sixth and Ninth Banners had left.

Xu Ye and Tie Mian exchanged a look with Zhou Wuchang.

“Go on,” Zhou Wuchang said, his face as unreadable as ever.

“Yes, sir.”

They withdrew.

—

Outside the Judge’s Hall.

“Sigh…”

Tie Mian let out a disheartened sigh.

“The Martial Judge is clearly biased, just trying to make us, the Third Banner, take the blame for this mess.”

He was indignant.

“If Zhou Wuchang doesn’t accept, can the Judge really force him?” Xu Ye asked, puzzled.

He had already guessed that the Judge wanted to hand off this hot potato to Zhou Wuchang, who had no powerful backing. But he couldn’t see what leverage the Judge might have.

After all, Zhou Wuchang wasn’t like himself—he couldn’t have such confidence in solving the case.

“Zhou Wuchang isn’t foolish, but he has a weakness. I’m worried the Judge will use it against him,” Tie Mian said, frowning.

“What weakness?” Xu Ye asked quickly.

“Zhou Wuchang’s wife has been bedridden for three years, paralyzed by a vengeful ghost. Zhou Wuchang works so hard at ghost hunting to earn first-class merit and petition the Sacred Medical Office for her cure,” Tie Mian said with a helpless bite of his lip.

“He’s both a good superior and a good man. If not for his lack of family connections, his cultivation and strength would have earned him a judge’s rank long ago,” he added.

Xu Ye suddenly understood.

“The Judge just wants someone to absorb the Lord of the Underworld’s fury for him and Sun Wuchang. Whether the case is solved or not doesn’t matter to him,” Tie Mian said.

“Why is the Judge so partial to Sun Wuchang?” Xu Ye asked curiously.

“It’s all because of his surname,” Tie Mian grumbled.

“What’s so special about his surname?” Xu Ye asked, searching his memory.

“Our Grand General is also a Sun,” Tie Mian whispered, suddenly cautious.

That title—the Grand General—unlocked Xu Ye’s memory. In the Liang dynasty, there was only one Grand General surnamed Sun: Sun Ao.

Sun Ao had been a favored minister of the late emperor, who, before his death, decreed that Sun Ao should act as regent and assist the young crown prince. To this day, as the current emperor was chronically ill, most state affairs were handled by Sun Ao, making him virtually all-powerful.

Thus, the Sun clan had grown ever stronger in Liang.

“The chief of our rival camp, the Extinguishing Camp, is also a Sun. With the Grand General backing him, he is likely to be the next Dean of the Heavenly Court Institute. So even though Sun Wuchang is only a distant relative, the Judge dares not offend him,” Tie Mian explained.

Putting this together with Heaven’s account and fragments of his own memory, Xu Ye finally understood the Judge’s motives.

“Where there are scholars, there are always intrigues,” Xu Ye sighed, hands behind his head.

“By the way, Xu Ye, you predicted there was another culprit in this case—do you have any evidence?” Tie Mian suddenly asked.

“It’s only a theory,” Xu Ye replied, shaking his head.

“Sigh…” Tie Mian let out another sigh. “If you had a lead, you might be able to help Zhou Wuchang.”

In his view, the case was certain to fall on their heads.

“Though I have no concrete evidence, proving the existence of a second culprit in this case isn’t all that difficult,” Xu Ye said, leaning against the wall.

“Really?” Tie Mian grew excited.

“But the Lord of the Underworld only gave us four or five days. Even if we prove there’s a second culprit, we can’t possibly catch them in time,” Xu Ye replied.

His reluctance to take on the case was largely due to the short deadline—solving it in five days was simply impossible.

“No, no. I’ve heard from the Sixth Banner’s ghost officials that if we can find a breakthrough in the next day or two, the Lord of the Underworld will grant us an extension,” Tie Mian said, shaking his head vigorously.