Since the deliberation was being held here, two of the maids soon followed Bai Ruqi to receive the visiting gods, while the other two led me to the main hall. The hall was rather spacious, containing only meditation cushions and tea tables. Perhaps this was not their first time receiving guests like us, because the maids skillfully arranged the hall according to the standards of the Deliberation Court.
I sat in the seat reserved for the principal guest. Of the other four seats, three were the seats of the presiding officials, while the remaining one was slightly farther from me and served as an accompanying seat.
The two maids quickly finished their work, then entered the room behind the hall to prepare tea. Before long, Bai Ruqi invited three chief judges dressed in white into the main hall. When the three saw me sitting in the guest seat, they each glanced at me, then took out stacks of documents and sat down in the seats of the presiding officials.
Bai Ruqi sat in the accompanying seat, serving as the recorder. I also secretly sized up the three chief judges. The one seated in the middle had a face covered in white whiskers and a dignified gaze, making him look like the Thunder Duke from a Daoist temple.
The other two—a man and a woman—looked middle-aged. Of course, their actual ages could no longer be determined. Once one reached the Dao-body stage, the body itself became the Dao, making one's age nearly impossible to discern. That was why some immortals often claimed to have lived for thousands or tens of thousands of years, and no one dared disbelieve them.
The middle-aged man closed his eyes and composed himself, likely waiting for the old man to speak. The woman flipped through the