Millennial Aristocratic Family

The moon was bright, the stars were few.

Zhou Yi landed in the courtyard, wiping his face to transform from an old man into a middle-aged man.

He usually maintained this appearance in the Heavenly Prison. With the combination of his magic power, disguise techniques, and bone shrinking skills, even those close to him wouldn't recognize him.

"The Li family matter is finally over."

After three secret interventions, Zhou Yi's existence had already attracted attention. The old monster tonight was only a step away from the Innate Grandmaster Realm.

"Innate Grandmasters are even rarer than expected. Perhaps in the Fengyang Kingdom... am I the only one? Li Wu dominated both Fengyang and Great Yong. Apart from the Azure Sky King, who also cultivates the Heaven Devouring Demon Art, no one else could match him!"

After twenty-six years of cultivation, he had suddenly become invincible in the mortal world!

Zhou Yi reminded himself that this was a world of Immortals and demons.

The Innate Realm was just stepping into the threshold of the cultivation world. Without understanding spells or possessing magical artifacts, any cultivator could defeat him.

"According to human nature, those unsuccessful rogue cultivators, knowing that their path is hopeless, would rather be kings and overlords in the mortal world than be humble lackeys in the cultivation world."

"It is rumored that the founding emperor of the Fengyang Kingdom had the power of ghosts and gods. Could he have been a down-and-out rogue cultivator?"

"Or perhaps the mortal world is controlled by the cultivation world, and the change of dynasties is just a transformation according to the will of the Immortals!"

Zhou Yi restrained his inner pride. With the help of the Heaven Devouring Demon Art and the prisoners in the prison, he had cleverly stepped into the Innate Realm and gained some self-preservation ability. He must not act recklessly.

"Be cautious in words and deeds, and focus on cultivation!"

The next day.

The heavy snow finally stopped.

Today was New Year's Eve, and the streets were decorated with Spring Festival couplets and red lanterns, creating a strong festive atmosphere.

The news of the attack on the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation's mansion last night had not spread at all, as if the two or three hundred dead people never existed in the world.

What the people know is only what the imperial court wants them to know!

For example, the people only knew that Li Wu died in the Heavenly Prison. How much court struggle he went through before entering prison was not something ordinary people could know.

Seeing the Li family declining day by day, some things from the past also spread. Mostly, officials chatted and gossiped, and the servants serving nearby heard it and bragged to their relatives and friends.

One person tells ten, and ten tell a hundred.

Like how Prime Minister Zhang appeared weak on the surface, asking the Duke Who Pacifies the Nation for advice on everything, but in reality, he made Li Wu offend the Emperor.

Like how the nobles of the country fought fiercely with the officers promoted from the bottom of Li Wu's faction to compete for military power.

Or how Li Wu's direct descendants in the army, in order to get promoted and make a fortune, joined Prime Minister Zhang's command...

The news was a mix of truth and falsehood, and it was difficult to distinguish.

In just one year, the incense at Li Wu's temple had greatly reduced. In another ten or eight years, it would only be accompanied by weeds.

"Nothing in the world cannot be erased by time, except for me!"

Zhou Yi went to the Heavenly Prison, carrying a bucket to deliver food.

The prison guard Zhang Yun, who was responsible for delivering food, went home for the New Year today.

The Heavenly Prison was different from other government offices. During the New Year, the prison guards could only take turns to rest. Only Zhou Yi was an exception, and he went to work as usual every day.

Alone, his home was not as lively as the prison.

It wasn't that Zhou Yi had no relatives. The previous owner of this body was from Kaoshan Village in Ningshan County, and there were still hundreds of clansmen, with cousins and younger cousins still alive.

Back then, Zhou Yi was born with deficiencies and looked like he wouldn't live long.

The Zhou family elder suggested to Zhou's father to choose a child from the clan to adopt, so as to avoid the situation where Zhou Yi died young and no one inherited the prison guard position and the Shenjing residence.

Zhou's father worked in the Heavenly Prison and had seen all kinds of dirty things. How could he not guess the clan's intentions?

Not to mention that Zhou Yi was not dead at the time, once he agreed to the adoption, the clan would find a way to make Zhou Yi die young if Zhou's father didn't live long.

After a few quarrels, the clan elder still didn't give up, so Zhou's father simply severed the relationship completely!

After Zhou's father died of illness, Zhou Yi inherited the position of prison guard. The Zhou family members occasionally came to the capital to watch, waiting for him to die of illness.

After waiting and waiting, Zhou Yi outlived several uncles, and several cousins also grew old.

This kinship was completely cut off!

"Old Zhou, you're here just in time. I need you to do me a favor."

Zhu Xiaowei greeted him and leaned over to whisper, "Today, a prisoner came to the Heavenly Prison. We need to use your methods of torturing Jianghu thieves to give this guy some punishment!"

Zhou Yi asked, "What did he do?"

"What else can officials do but make money!"

Zhu Xiaowei said, "But this one is particularly good at making money. He's nicknamed 'Three Feet Above the Sky'. He squeezed the Luyang Prefecture dry in three years, and it is said that he looted tens of millions of taels of silver."

The tax revenue of the Fengyang Kingdom for a year is about ten million taels.

Zhou Yi asked in doubt, "Civil officials can't withstand a few rounds of torture. Why do you still want me to take action?"

In recent years, occasionally there were unruly Jianghu criminals, Zhu Xiaowei would ask Zhou Yi to take action and inflict torture. The reputation of the Blood Prison Old Demon mostly originated from this.

Zhu Xiaowei explained, "The court has arrested the person, but the silver's hiding place hasn't been found yet. This guy is particularly stubborn, and we can't use severe torture, lest he accidentally dies."

"He doesn't care about his family's lives either?"

Zhou Yi had been in the Heavenly Prison for so many years, and occasionally officials could withstand torture, but when their parents, wives, and children were brought in to be tormented, very few could remain indifferent.

The system of guilt by association was certainly cruel, but Zhou Yi quite approved of it.

This era emphasized the unity of the clan. If the clan members enjoyed the benefits of corrupt officials, they should also bear the punishment together.

"This guy's family was originally a farming one. In the early years, there were famines where entire villages starved to death. He lost his parents and relatives long ago."

Zhu Xiaowei explained, "He may have a wife and children, but like the silver, it's unknown where they're hidden."

"Was he already prepared to be caught and imprisoned?"

Zhou Yi became curious and went to Cell B-7 with a bucket.

The prisoner was lying on a straw mat, his back covered in crisscrossing bloody welts. The blood seeping from his buttocks had soaked through his clothes. Hearing the sound, he slowly raised his head.

A square, honest face.

Zhou Yi opened the cell door, squatted in front of the prisoner, and said, "A commoner who could rise to a third-rank official, with prospects in the central government, why be a corrupt official?"

The prisoner remained silent and lay back down.

"If the court recovers tens of millions of taels of silver, and one-tenth of it falls back into the hands of the people, it can be considered atonement for you."

Zhou Yi flicked his finger, and mana transformed into a needle tip, drilling into the prisoner's body.

Following the blood, it flowed throughout the body, the sharp aura cutting through the meridians. The pain from the inside out was even more unbearable than the slow slicing death penalty.

Moreover, the slow slicing death penalty always had an end, but this wisp of mana only pierced and didn't break, the torture never-ending.

Those fierce people of the martial world weren't afraid of death or torture, but they couldn't withstand a needle pricking back and forth inside their bodies.

"Ah!"

The prisoner cried out in pain, his body trembling like a sieve, his eyes bloodshot.

Zhou Yi struck several acupoints on the prisoner's body to prevent him from fainting from the pain, so he had to consciously experience the punishment.

After a long time.

"Where is the silver?"

Zhou Yi waved his hand to dissipate the mana and slowly said, "Perhaps you can challenge your limit of endurance. The previous one was a fierce man in the Marrow Cleansing Realm, known as a human demon, but he confessed in just two days."

"Heh, heh, heh..."

The prisoner gasped violently for a moment, "The silver is in the Lu Family, let the court go and get it!"

"The Lu Family of Jiangnan?"

Zhou Yi frowned slightly. Among the many aristocratic families in Jiangnan, eight surnames had the longest history, traceable to the previous dynasty or even the one before that.

There were no thousand-year dynasties in the world, but there were thousand-year aristocratic families!

Among them, the Lu Family could rank in the top three.

"What, are you afraid?"

A look of resentment flashed in the prisoner's eyes, and he said with hatred.

"I am also afraid, so I can only be a corrupt official!"