Demon Book City God

Case handling?

Su Che had no idea what he needed Shi Chibao to do.

According to the internal rules of the Imperial Demon Hunters, there are two types of Imperial Demon Hunters who hold the rank of commander of a thousand.

One type was like Shi Chibao and Su Che, who were local commanders of thousands, such as the Chief of Criminal Investigation and the Deputy Judicial Thousand-Householder. In essence, they were all the chief officials of the Imperial Demon Hunters in the local area.

In modern parlance, the Chief Justice of a Thousand Household was said to "oversee all work," meaning he was responsible for all matters, large and small, related to the Imperial Demon Hunters in the entire prefecture.

The Deputy Judicial Thousand-Householder, in modern terms, could be described as "responsible for all aspects of work," assisting the former in handling matters large and small.

The actual cases were handled by the local officials.

Similarly, at a higher level, the Imperial Demon Hunters were directly managed by the inner court, above whom were eunuchs; in other words, they were directly responsible to the emperor.

However, in actual case handling, the Imperial Demon Hunters also had a group of commanders. They were the ones directly responsible for handling all kinds of major cases within the inner court.

Even if there were any major cases that required a nominal involvement, it wouldn't be Shi Chibao handling them personally.

He had no choice but to take charge before because he didn't have a deputy, but now that Su Che has been appointed as the Deputy Judicial Thousand-Householder, he should be under Su Che's command.

Of course, these are established rules, not inviolable golden rules.

"Someone is spreading Demon Book in Ci Prefecture."

Shi Chibao sighed helplessly and pulled a small booklet from his sleeve.

"Take a look."

Shi Chibao had clearly been to the Tian'an County Imperial Demon Hunters several times before, and he sat down familiarly. Zhu Yi quickly ordered his men to prepare tea and drinks for his superior and the group of Imperial Demon Hunters.

Su Che opened the booklet that Shi Chibao handed him; the paper was rough and the printing was not very good.

This Demon Book is thin and its contents are not particularly rich, mainly covering two things.

The first thing is the prophecy that the Three Suns Calamity, and Heaven Will Destroy the Remnant Liang.

The Three Suns Calamity is quite simple to explain: it means that three suns will appear in the sky, and from then on, the end times will come, and the people will suffer.

Not only ordinary people, but also cultivators will be subject to destruction in this world shrouded in the three yangs.

This is nothing more than a predictable apocalyptic prophecy; almost every cult includes this kind of thing.

What truly captivated Su Che was yet to come.

Heaven Will Destroy the Remnant Liang.

The booklet provides a clear and concise explanation of these four characters at the end.

Leaving aside the Decayed Liang, the Decayed Liang should be destroyed is because the Great Liang now also has three suns.

The first is the current emperor, the second is the crown prince, and the third is Wei Huaiwen, who commands the military in the Northern Kingdom.

These three individuals, shining like the sun, were a reflection of the prophecy of the Three Suns Calamity in the imperial court.

That's a rather malicious remark.

"Judge Shi, where did this Demon Book come from?" Su Che put the booklet aside. "This is a taboo item. If it's handed over, it'll definitely land you in jail."

The words on this Demon Book were practically dancing on the Emperor of Great Liang's fragile nerves.

The Crown Prince and Wei Huaiwen are arguably the two most difficult issues for the current emperor to handle.

It has been almost thirty years since the Crown Prince was established as the heir apparent. His position is secure. To put it nicely, he has a good reputation in both the court and the country. To put it bluntly, he has many cronies.

Su Che's own family, the Duling Su Clan, were part of the Crown Prince's faction.

Needless to say, Wei Huaiwen has just achieved great military exploits in the north and is now undoubtedly the number one person in the Great Liang.

With a little more effort, and if the circumstances are right, he might be able to become a General of the Heavenly Pillar, just like Yuwen Rui.

"Of course I know."

Shi Chibao shoveled a mouthful of tea into his mouth in an annoyed manner.

"This Demon Book was sent from Jiankang."

The implication is that this matter has reached the highest levels of authority and cannot be concealed any longer.

"Those scoundrels in Jingzhou inexplicably found this Demon Book in Jiangling and reported it to the higher authorities. The inner court dared not conceal such writings and handed it directly to the Emperor."

"The Emperor is furious, brother! He has dispatched the Censorate to conduct a secret investigation, and they have also found this Demon Book in Jiankang."

Shi Chibao felt like cursing whenever he thought of his bastard colleagues at the Jingzhou Judicial Inspectorate Office.

If you want to gain merit, then gain merit. Isn't this kind of thing just a trap?

"The Emperor dispatched the Censorate to investigate secretly?"

Su Che was somewhat surprised.

Sending the Censorate to investigate was practically tantamount to demonstrating the emperor's distrust of the Imperial Demon Hunters.

Or perhaps they're still after the Su Family.

Su Che remembered that the Su Family was considered part of the Crown Prince's faction, and his elder brother was still serving under Wei Huaiwen.

Of the three suns, none were illuminated by the emperor's sun.

"It turns out there are quite a few of these things in Jiankang."

Shi Chibao's expression was like finding half a cockroach in his food.

"The higher-ups gave the message that every region needs to provide an explanation."

There needs to be an explanation.

Su Che's understanding of these four words was that regardless of whether there were real or fake rebels, they should first arrest a few to demonstrate their loyalty to the emperor.

Otherwise, the Censorate might find a whole bunch of Demon Book, while the Imperial Demon Hunters would investigate and find nothing.

What will that suspicious and distrustful emperor think then?

"So, the commander discovered that there was Demon Book in Tian'an County?"

Su Che asked curiously.

"About the same." Shi Chibao exhaled a breath of stale air.

"There's something wrong with the Tian'an County City God."

He said to Su Che.

"We've been watching him for a long time, but haven't made a move, just waiting for this opportunity."

Su Che barely managed to swear.

"Is there a problem with the Tian'an City God?"

"It's been five or six years." Shi Chibao stroked his chin. "The so-called 'ghostly demons' are gods, relying on incense offerings from the mortal world. It's easy to become a demon, but difficult to attain enlightenment."

Su Che, of course, wouldn't follow up by asking why a problem discovered five or six years ago was now being addressed with such ignorant questions.

Shi Chibao was keeping this Tian'an County City God under his wing, waiting for the day when he needed to perform meritorious service to fulfill his duties.

Otherwise, where would the emperor find rebels and traitors if he wanted to arrest them across the country?

"So, sir, you intend to capture him this time?"

"Execute him on the spot."

Shi Chibao looked at Su Che: "That's why I've been searching everywhere for you, brother. If I were to face the Tian'an County City God alone with these brothers, I could win, but executing him on the spot would be a bit difficult."

"Then what about this Demon Book Case?"

"One county City God is fine. How many county City God are there in the entire Ci Prefecture?" Shi Chibao frowned. "As for this piece of junk?"

He reached out and pointed to the thin booklet on the table.

"I can churn out seven books a day. I really don't know what the higher-ups are thinking, fixating on these trivial matters."

Shi Chibao sighed.

"This way, we can give the higher-ups an explanation. Brother, to be honest, we two brothers still look out for each other in Ci Prefecture."

Shi Chibao looked at Su Che and said meaningfully.

"What do you think His Highness the Crown Prince will think if the Prince of Wuling is sent to govern Ci Prefecture? There's only one sun in the sky, but with the Three Suns Calamity, the other two suns are practically being roasted on fire."

"I reckon they've all gotten used to grilling it." Su Che looked at Shi Chibao: "Chief Justice, I've discovered some things here in Tian'an County..."