Soul Separation: Where Are You?

Pei Huai, the magistrate of Tian'an County, was tall with piercing eyes, large fingers, and a beard. From a distance, he looked more like a chivalrous wanderer than a county magistrate.

This is normal. Su Che had seen Pei Huai's resume. He was a graduate of the Imperial Academy, one of the four great academies, and belonged to the proper Martial Confucian Lineage.

He was recommended for official positions and served as a county lieutenant for one term and a county magistrate for two terms.

"Judicial Punisher Su."

"Lord Pei."

The two bowed to each other and took their seats in the armchairs.

"I was unaware of Lord Li Xing's arrival; I apologize for my rudeness." Pei Huai smiled. "Speaking of which, Judicial Punisher Su and I are from the same hometown."

"You're too kind, Your Excellency. Are you also from Yongzhou?"

"I am from Xiangyang."

Pei Huai smiled at Su Che, "Although we are from different prefectures, we are neighboring towns."

Duling Su Clan Su Che, whose ancestral home was Du Ling County, which was near Chang'an and was now the core area of Northern Dynasties.

Not only Su Che, but also the Duling Wei Clan, from which Wei Huaiwen, who is still fighting in the north, are actually so-called expatriates.

They were nominally from Yongzhou, but in reality, they were all leaders of refugees from the north of Jingzhou.

When the Southern Liang was founded, it used these powerful families who had fled south to seize power. Most of the military families in the Southern Dynasty were powerful families who had fled south from Yongzhou and Qingzhou.

Xiangyang was actually the second line of defense for Southern Liang, and it was an ally in arms with Yongzhou.

Of course, the Duling Su Clan is still nominally in Yongzhou, but the entire clan has been living in Jiankang for a long time. They are just still nominally registered in their original place of residence.

The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, appearing to be having a pleasant time together.

"Judicial Punisher Su, I wonder if they've captured that group of Corpse Demon yet? These are truly turbulent times. Ci Prefecture has been plagued by one upheaval after another, and there are refugees everywhere. If evil spirits continue to cause trouble, it will surely lead to disaster sooner or later."

After exchanging pleasantries, Pei Huai's eyes revealed deep worry.

"The Corpse Demon are already dead, but things have become even more complicated."

Su Che didn't hide anything from Pei Huai and explained the general situation.

"There's someone orchestrating this behind the scenes, and Judicial Punisher Su is definitely one of them."

That's for sure.

"Well."

The Tian'an County let out another long sigh.

"I wonder what Judicial Punisher Su wants us to do?"

The Imperial Demon Hunters and local officials belong to different systems. According to the Southern Liang system, Su Che and the Tian'an County are of different ranks, but Su Che cannot directly command local officials.

If any joint action is to be taken, it would require the head of the Ci Prefecture Criminal Investigation Bureau to submit a proposal to the Censor-in-Chief of Ci Prefecture, who would then issue the order to Tian'an County.

While this arrangement is redundant and significantly reduces efficiency, it can also prevent local misconduct.

Pei Huai's meaning was very clear: at this critical juncture, he was not prepared to continue following the rules set by the imperial court.

Why bother with rules that have absolutely no practical application?

"How dare I give orders to Magistrate Pei? If something really happens..."

Su Che genuinely didn't want to order around the people of Tian'an County. For no other reason than that, given the methods the person behind the scenes had revealed, they simply couldn't offer any real help.

"Judicial Punisher Su may not know, but I was known for eradicating licentious shrines during my previous tenure. If there are any evil spirits, it is my duty to eliminate them."

Pei Huai spoke eloquently.

The term "extermination of licentious shrines" refers to those spirits and monsters who crave incense offerings from the human world. Ghost Cultivator and Demon Cultivator are limited by their methods, and without a lineage, their cultivation is very difficult. Many of them are keen to impersonate gods and collect offerings from the human world.

For example, the Little Fox Su Che met in Shanyin County could barely be considered one back then. Of course, most of them were what Su Che called "household guardian spirits," "shamanic spirits," or "five-way Divine Communion" in his previous life.

Judging from Pei Huai's words, he must have been known for his iron-fisted approach during his tenure. With his background at the Imperial Academy, he probably suppressed quite a few monsters with his iron fist.

"There's really nothing we can do," Su Che said helplessly. "To be honest, Magistrate Pei, we're completely in the dark right now and don't know where to begin."

"Did Judicial Punisher Su just come to inform us?"

"There is indeed someone who might be involved in this matter, but the magistrate has arrested him." Su Che looked at Pei Huai and said, "I don't know what he did wrong, but please, magistrate, do me a favor and let me interrogate him first, as this is a matter of great importance..."

"No problem." Pei Huai didn't ask who it was. "Just interrogate Judicial Punisher Su. I just don't know who it is or why they were brought in."

Magistrate Pei remained silent for a moment.

"How about this, to avoid trouble, I'll accompany Judicial Punisher Su to take the suspect away right now..."

"No need, you can ask anything in jail."

Su Che smiled and said, "It's good that Magistrate Pei has come along to listen. I've heard that you are a top student of the Imperial Academy. I am less experienced, so we can brainstorm together."

"Judicial Punisher Su is too modest. Everyone knows that Judicial Punisher Su comes from a family with a long history of scholarship, and he has repeatedly performed outstanding deeds since coming to Ci Prefecture..."

"He has no merits, but he's a complete jinx. Wherever he goes, trouble is sure to follow."

The prison in Tian'an County was not far from the county government office, and it could be described as heavily guarded.

At the beginning of the Great Liang, there was a well-structured legal system, but now few people use it.

To put it bluntly, because of the corruption in the government, ordinary people avoid officials whenever possible. As a result, the prisoners are either unlucky people who have offended people they shouldn't have, or serious criminals.

A clerk led the way.

"Your Honor, the night watchman Qin Si was arrested for theft. Someone noticed his lavish spending and reported him to the head constable. They found many ancient coins and silver in his house, suspecting he had been robbing ancient tombs."

"That's a serious crime," said Pei Huai, the Tian'an County, looking at Su Che beside him. "According to the law, desecrating three graves is punishable by hanging..."

Su Che hesitated when he heard that ancient coins had been found in Qin Geng's house.

Things are getting stranger and stranger. Didn't Old Qin say he had no money?

This is just a minor detail.

Su Che was thinking that if the person behind the scenes thought Qin the Night Watchman was a key figure, why not just kill him? Why put him in jail?

Adding legs to a snake is superfluous and unnecessary.

A clerk led the way, and Su Che and Pei Huai walked past several empty prison cells.

"Qin Si's cell is just ahead."

Su Che went over and saw that Qin the Night Watchman, whom he had met once before, was lying on the ground asleep inside the wooden fence, wearing handcuffs and shackles.

"Qin Si, the officials are here to interrogate you. Get up and answer them..."

"Qin Si..."

No matter how the clerk outside called out, Qin the Night Watchman simply lay on the ground sleeping.

"Judicial Punisher Su..."

Pei Huai looked at Su Che cautiously.

Su Che remained Immovability.

"Open the gate."

"Yes."

The clerk opened the wooden bars of the prison, Su Che stepped forward, bending down to check Le Tan Qin Si's breathing.

His breathing was deep and even; he definitely looked like he was asleep.

I opened my eyelids and all I could see was the whites of my eyes.

"Soul Separation."

Su Che glanced at Pei Huai.

"Lord Pei, what's going on?"