Shen Zhui looked closely and discovered that although Liu Yu, like Gan Pengfei, was in charge of punishments, most of the stories about him recorded his benevolence when dealing with criminals.
What left the deepest impression on him was the final story:
"Legend has it that there were once two martial artists who, because of the Natural Disaster Red Calamity, could no longer make a living and were forced to become bandits in the mountains. Later, they were captured by government soldiers."
"On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the two pleaded with Liu Yu to return to their hometown and reunite with their elderly mother, promising to turn themselves in seven days later. Moved by their filial piety, Liu Yu let them leave and even gave them travel expenses. Yet the two never returned."
"When they failed to appear by the deadline, Liu Yu had no choice but to commit suicide to atone for his crime. As for those two martial artists, they had encountered a mountain flood blocking their path on the way back and only returned on the second day after Liu Yu's suicide."
"After learning of this, the two killed themselves in remorse to accompany him in death. Later, they became junior generals under General Liu Gong, responsible for exorcising ghosts and subduing demons."
"General Liu Gong was truly loyal and righteous." Shen Zhui sighed endlessly.
Though both were in charge of punishments, Liu Yu's methods were far more lenient than Gan Pengfei's.
Gan Pengfei followed absolute law and reason, leaving no room for the slightest plea or special consideration.
Liu Yu likewise never showed favoritism, but he had far more of a human touch.
"General Gan Gong's conduct may inspire trust and awe, but General Liu Yu's methods inspire respect and devotion."
The only thing Shen Zhui could not quite agree with was the way General Liu Gong atoned for his crime.
"I wonder if I can borrow General Liu Gong's divine power." Shen Zhui closed the book.
His ideas differed greatly from General Gan Gong's principles—so greatly that General Gan Gong had directly sealed off Shen Zhui's path to borrowing his divine power. However, he deeply approved of General Liu Gong's approach. There ought to be a sliver of hope.
"I'll give it a try." Shen Zhui tried lifting the book. According to what Wang Long had said, if he had any chance of succeeding, he should be able to feel the book becoming lighter.
"Hmm?" Shen Zhui strained to lift the book and frowned. "There's not the slightest change."
One had to know that his control over strength had already reached the Perfection Realm. Not only could he feel the weight of something as substantial as this book in his hand, he could even tell if an ordinary book had lost a single sheet of paper.
There was no change at all now. Could it mean that he had no chance here with General Liu Gong either?
"What's going on?" Shen Zhui was somewhat perplexed. "Could it be that only absolute faith, without the slightest deviation, counts as a sincere heart?"
At this thought, Shen Zhui immediately felt stifled, his mind growing restless.
If that was the case, then he had no chance with any deity.
Because he was the person who ought to believe in the gods most, yet was also the person least likely to believe in them.
"Phew..."
His mind was a muddle. Shen Zhui irritably set down the book, rose, and left the room.
Reciting the deeds of the gods was quite mentally exhausting.
He had read through the many deeds of two deities in succession, yet found no way in. He immediately felt a sense of defeat.
"If I can't Summon Deity, then I can't borrow divine power. That means losing a major trump card."
He paced outside, rubbed his temples, and looked into the distance.
Several servants were sweeping the plaza, while worshippers outside the walls were gradually returning home.
The bells drifting from the eastern courtyard rang melodiously, and the evening clouds on the horizon blazed like fire.
The peaceful, tranquil scene soothed Shen Zhui's restless thoughts. In the blink of an eye, he entered the state of Enlightenment Time without any external aid.
The benefits brought by prolonged use of Enlightenment Time manifested at this very moment. Without this ability to adjust his state of mind at any time, he probably would not have survived in this otherworldly realm.
The state of enlightenment lasted only a very short time. When Shen Zhui came to his senses, he found that he had almost completely forgotten about Summon Deity, vaguely remembering only the general contents and the first one or two sentences.
This feeling was actually better. Shen Zhui simply let it go, descended the steps, and slowly took in the scenery around him.
When he reached a pond filled with lotus leaves, Shen Zhui casually broke off a willow branch and watched the fish swimming beneath the leaves.
"Constable Shen has such elegant interests too." A magnetic voice came from beside him. Shen Zhui turned and saw that it was Lin Ze of the Wu'an Army.
"So it's Lord Lin." Shen Zhui cupped his hands. "I wouldn't call it an elegant interest. I merely have something troubling my heart and felt like taking a casual walk."
Lin Ze, who was only a few years older than Shen Zhui, had also changed into plain clothes. He came over with a soft laugh and broke off a willow branch as well.
"Oh? What troubles you?"
Shen Zhui had no ill feelings toward Lin Ze. Besides, it was no secret that one could borrow the power of the gods after reaching the Ninth Stage of Acquired Realm, so he told him about being unable to find a way to Summon Deity.
Unexpectedly, after hearing him out, Lin Ze looked at Shen Zhui with an amused yet peculiar expression.
"Brother Shen's idea is truly... strange." Lin Ze could not help laughing. "If you keep trying this way, I'm afraid you won't succeed even after a year or six months."
"Did I do something wrong?" Shen Zhui was rather confused.
Lin Ze shook his head. "Why should the gods' actions need your approval? With your way of thinking, I'm afraid no one could meet the requirements."
"Then what should I do?"
"What did Captain Wang tell you to do?"
"Recite the books."
"Exactly. You only need to commit the gods' stories to memory and recite every word without omission. Once you know them by heart, those words will occupy a place in your thoughts. Naturally, you'll be able to perform a First Summon of Deity."
"It's that simple?" Shen Zhui found it hard to believe.
"Simple?" Lin Ze sneered. "Let me ask you this: Do you still remember the first sentence of General Liu Gong's first story?"
"General Liu Gong marched to Cang Mountain. Demons ran rampant and bandits emerged from the hills; felled trees blocked the roads, and thick smoke obscured the sun. Soldiers and civilians were all terrified. General Liu Gong carried his flag and went alone. Demons and evil spirits scattered, and the bandits were utterly defeated."
"..." Lin Ze was speechless. He had not expected Shen Zhui to have actually memorized it.
"What about the second sentence?"
"The second sentence was, 'The river demon...'" Shen Zhui frowned and struggled to recall it, but his mind suddenly became a chaotic mire. The pain was unbearable, as though his skull were about to split open. He immediately pulled a bitter face. "How strange. I actually forgot?"
He had only finished reading it not long ago. Given his current cultivation, his memory could not possibly be this poor. What was going on?
"Strange?" Lin Ze said irritably. "If you could remember everything after reading it only once, that would be the truly astonishing thing! An ordinary Houtian Martial Artist, after reading it once, probably wouldn't remember even a single character after the time it takes to burn one incense stick. Even a Qi Cultivation True Person with powerful awareness wouldn't remember more than five characters after reading it only once!"
"The gods' stories conceal the gods within their rhyming meaning. After reading them once, you'll feel exhausted."
"After reading them twice, you'll feel strained."
"After reading them three to five times in succession, waves of fatigue will weigh upon you until you can't even keep your eyes open!"
"Moreover, they're very easy to forget afterward. You must temper your spiritual awareness step by step and refine it to a certain level before you have any chance of remembering everything!"
"The third condition for Summon Deity should actually be described as training your spiritual awareness, strengthening it until it can control that sliver of divine power."
"It has almost nothing to do with what you were thinking."
"Nothing to do with it?" Shen Zhui wondered inwardly. Then what about those pages concerning General Gan Gong? I couldn't turn them at all. Could there be multiple ways to interpret this?
"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Lin." Although Shen Zhui was puzzled, he still cupped his hands and expressed his thanks.
"No need to be so polite. The military and government do not belong to the same chain of command. If you don't mind, you and I can interact as equals." Lin Ze smiled.
"I'll also be staying in the City God Temple these next few days. If there's anything you don't understand, you can come ask me."
"Please vote—votes of every kind are welcome~"