Chapter 138 The Past

Feng Ruoxing said to me, "Xiao Chengzi told me that if Shifei Daoren (lit. Right and Wrong Taoist) is a descendant of the Bu Shen (God of Arrest) lineage, then anything he says can be believed."

"But don't argue with him about right and wrong. In the eyes of the Bu Shen lineage, there is only black and white, no human sentiment."

Feng Ruoxing was talking to me, but her eyes were fixed on Shifei Daoren, while her hand quietly reached for the Dragon Spine Twin Blades.

She was waiting for Shifei Daoren to prove himself!

If the other party couldn't prove his identity, Feng Ruoxing would have to speak to him with the Dragon Spine Twin Blades.

Shifei Daoren smiled slightly, and suddenly his eyes widened. A monster resembling a Qilin, with a single horn on its head and covered in black fur, suddenly appeared behind him.

Xiezhi!

Xiezhi is the mythical beast that can distinguish right from wrong, judge loyalty and treachery, and discern good from evil.

Even today, some judicial institutions still display Xiezhi in front of their doors to show their impartiality in law enforcement.

Feng Ruoxing finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Forgive my rudeness!"

Wang Xiaohuan secretly transmitted his voice to me, "The spirit beast of the Bu Shen lineage is the Xiezhi. They have a blood pact with the Xiezhi, so they cannot tell lies. In their mouths, there are only two possibilities: not speaking or telling the truth."

"Did you feel like he was lying to you just now? In fact, everything he said was true."

Only then did I understand why I had the feeling of "too true, yet too false."

There's a saying: "Excessive truth becomes falsehood," which means that some things, if you say them too truthfully, will make people feel that they are false.

That was the case with Shifei Daoren!

Wang Xiaohuan continued, "Xiao Chengzi asked me to remind you to be careful of Shifei Daoren."

"The Bu Shen lineage has a problem. When they see people doing evil, their hands itch, and they have to judge right from wrong."

"If you do something in front of them, be careful that Shifei Daoren will attack you!"

"Problem!" I replied to Wang Xiaohuan and looked at Shifei Daoren again.

Shifei Daoren slowly said, "Hall Master Li, I'm afraid you're hiding something!"

"The Hall Master didn't say the purpose of his trip to the Xianyang River!"

I hesitated for a moment and looked at Ye Yang.

Ye Yang said himself, "I'm going to the Xianyang River to find out about my origins. I have a special sense of familiarity with the Xianyang River. I feel like I came from the Xianyang River."

Shifei Daoren's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he stared at Ye Yang for a long time before nodding, "You didn't lie!"

"But how could you come from the Xianyang River? Even if the souls of the warlocks exiled there die in the Xianyang River, they cannot be reincarnated. How did you get out?"

"I don't know!" Ye Yang only said three words.

Shifei Daoren stroked his beard and said, "No! I have to go to the Xianyang River too."

Shifei Daoren stood up and said, "To go to the Xianyang River, you need to meet four conditions. A road permit issued by the Bu Shen, a certificate, a fire warrant for escorting prisoners, and a map to the Xianyang River are indispensable."

"We have a map, and I can provide the road permit and fire warrant. However, we are still missing one thing, which is a prisoner."

I probably understood what Shifei Daoren meant: The so-called secret treasures for going to the Xianyang River were actually the things needed to exile prisoners in ancient times.

Although information in ancient times was not as developed as it is now, there was still a complete management system for population movement.

In ancient times, if a person wanted to go from one city to another, it wasn't just a matter of setting off on foot; they had to bring a road permit.

During the Ming Dynasty, there was a regulation that anyone traveling more than a hundred *li* away from their place of residence had to be issued a public document similar to a letter of introduction or a pass by the local government, which was the "road permit."

Those without a "road permit" or those whose permit did not match were to be punished according to the law. The "road permit" was actually proof of leaving one's hometown.

The same was true when yamen runners escorted exiled prisoners. Although the yamen runners could take shortcuts, they had to pass through the prefectural and county yamen to prove that they had not privately released the prisoners or swapped them out along the way.

I looked at Shifei Daoren, "As far as I know, Bei Yan Jingyun (lit. North Goose Startled Cloud) also went to the Xianyang River. Does he have these things too?"

"No!" Shifei Daoren said, "Bei Yan Jingyun did come to me to ask for a road permit. However, I didn't give it to him."

"I think he must have forged the road permit to go to the Xianyang River."

"This is also the second reason why I want to go to the Xianyang River to investigate."

I looked at Shifei Daoren, "Dao Ye (Taoist Master) is willing to help, you don't need us to pay some price, right?"

Shifei Daoren laughed and said, "My bad reputation still has to be traced back to Bei Yan Jingyun!"

"Back then, when he came to me, he asked me what reward I wanted?"

"When the disciples of the Liu Shan Men (Six Doors) went their separate ways, they had an agreement to watch out for each other."

"According to our agreement back then, when Bei Yan Jingyun came to me to ask for something, I couldn't directly refuse his request, nor could I ask for a reward that he couldn't afford."

"I could only ask for a reward that he could afford, but was unwilling to pay - that is, his woman."

"Bei Yan Jingyun has had countless women in his life, but he has a principle, which is that no one is allowed to touch his women, even the ones he has given up."

Shifei Daoren said with a wry smile, "My bad reputation started from here."