I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Dungeon.

Dim and dark, gloomy and ominous.

The bronze beast heads glared with a flickering light, and from time to time, the screams that echoed as if one had stepped from the mortal realm into the netherworld.

Since the day the Inspectorate was established, it had not renovated its facade nor constructed a main hall—it had first dug a huge dungeon, big enough to detain hundreds of people.

It was not yet finished, as laborers were still digging.

According to what Governor Zhou had said, with so many corrupt officials and dirty bureaucrats in Daqing, there would never be an end to the arrests!

...

“Hurry up.”

“Get in there!”

Shouts came from the entrance of the dungeon, as the guards kicked and shoved a series of scholars into the dungeon.

Most scholars were from rich or at least moderately wealthy families, accustomed to reading and calligraphy, frequenting wine houses, and listening to opera—who had ever faced such bloody slaughter head-on!

The screams of their fellow students still echoed in their ears as they walked stiffly, their minds in turmoil.

In the center of the dungeon.

Zhou Yi sat on a Taishi Chair, with a dozen black-garbed guards standing to his left and right.

Each had bulging temples, indicative of not insignificant martial prowess.

The guards of the Inspectorate were recruited from amongst the martial experts of the jianghu, men either wanted for murder or notorious villains.

As soon as these people heard they could work for the Imperial Court and have an official position, they flocked to join the Inspectorate.

Now under the aegis of the Imperial Court, they no longer feared any orthodox martial masters. Should anyone dare to talk about exterminating demons and defending the way, it would be seen as smacking the face of the Imperial Court, verging on rebellion!

Martial experts who walked the right path, each with a family and career, dared not provoke the Imperial Court.

Magistrate Wen sat in a chair to the side, dressed in a second-rank brocaded rooster-feathered official robe. According to the regulations mirroring the pacification commissioners, the Inspectorate should have been managed by military officials. However, Magistrate Wen, priding himself on being a man of letters, had purposely worn the crimson robe of a civil official.

“My lord, you shouldn’t have gone to the academy in person to make arrests. Sending a foster son would have allowed for some leverage afterward.”

Implicit in his words was if there was severe blowback from the academy, they could have the scapegoated foster son take the fall, beheading him and simply choosing another in his place.

Zhou Yi blew on the steam of his tea and said, “As the Commander of the Four Inspectorate Divisions, couldn’t I handle a few bookworms?”

“Yuntai Academy is not ordinary. Minister Cui of the Ministry of Rites, Li Shilang of the Board of Revenue, officials from the Capital large and small, local prefects and magistrates—countless officials all studied at that academy.”

Magistrate Wen cautioned, “Should they unite in a petition, even if His Majesty were inclined to protect you, he would still be annoyed at you for causing trouble.”

“Heh heh heh…”

Zhou Yi’s strange laughter echoed through the dungeon, reaching the ears of the prisoners, many of whom were so frightened that they wet their pants.

“I’m just waiting for them to unite in petitioning!”

As they were speaking.

The guards brought over the shackled scholars, their life force fading as they kneeled on the ground in chains.

Contemplating carefully, Magistrate Wen had a flash of realization and spoke in a low voice, “My lord, are you planning to concoct a faction?”

“What do you mean ‘concoct’?”

Zhou Yi replied, “In this world, is there any official who does not align with a faction?”

Magistrate Wen sighed in relief. Since he had supported Zhou Yi in taking over the Imperial Guard, he had become a staunch supporter—an all-for-one, one-for-all ‘eunuch faction.’

“Rest assured, my lord. I’ve had a few old jailers called over from the heavenly prison—the kind passed down through generations, skilled in all manner of cruel tortures. They will surely obtain the necessary confessions from the faction.”

“I handle cases according to the law; I would never coerce a confession!”

Zhou Yi pointed to one scholar, and instantly a guard unchained him and dragged him forward.

“What is your name?”

The scholar was already terrified out of his wits, his eyes vacant and unresponsive, and he didn’t answer when questioned.

Slap! Slap!

The guard slapped him across the face several times, and the severe pain brought the scholar back to his senses. Seeing more than a dozen pairs of eyes staring at him, he promptly went weak at the knees and fell to the ground.

“This humble one is called Cui Ke; my home is in Wannian County.”

Zhou Yi clucked his tongue and said, “My dear fellow surnamed Cui, it must be fate that links us. Just a few months ago, I dismantled a Cui family that made pastries, with dozens of their family exiled to the Northern Border to toil in the mines.”

Seizing the moment, Magistrate Wen said, “My lord, news from the north arrived recently—the mines collapsed, and the Cui family has been wiped out!”

“That’s divine retribution!”

Zhou Yi’s expression feigned sympathy as he gestured towards the top of the dungeon, then continued.

“Cui Ke, at your age, you should be married. Do you have children? How old are they? The Northern Border is terribly cold. It’s better to strangle your children yourself than to let them freeze or starve to death in misery.”

Cui Ke was a picture of terror, crying and sobbing, knocking his head against the floor repeatedly.

“My lord, spare my life, please, spare my life!”

“For slandering His Majesty, you should by rights have your family’s property confiscated and be exiled…”

Zhou Yi’s tone shifted, “However, I am lenient at heart and will give you a chance to redeem yourself by confessing. Just tell me who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes, stirring you all to oppose the new policies.”

Cui Ke looked puzzled. He had received messages from the academy’s headmaster, gathering spontaneously to protest the land taxation without any mention of a mastermind.

“Not speaking, are you?”

Zhou Yi sighed, “That’s truly a pity… Guards, bring Cui Ke’s family here!”

Several guards stepped out, bowed to take the order, each one with a cruel smile on their faces.

Less than three months after its establishment, the Inspectorate had already ransacked more than a dozen households. As jianghu killers by nature, these men reveled in the bloodlust, especially when tasked with seizing property and taking lives.

In just a short amount of time, the black-garbed guards had earned a notorious reputation throughout Daqing.

“My lord, I’ve been wronged!”

Cui Ke screamed in terror. Having just passed several dungeon cells and seeing the miserable state of the prisoners inside, how could he dare let his children be mired in this den of devils?

At the critical juncture of life and death, an epiphany struck him, and he understood what Zhou Yi was probing for.

“My lord, I’ll speak… indeed, we were encouraged and directed. That’s why we gathered at the academy, planning to unite in penning a letter against His Majesty’s new policies.”

Zhou Yi signaled with his eyes, and the guards halted in their tracks.

“Who’s behind it?”

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