Jin Shanyao, completely oblivious to the man's strange behavior, followed him closer and said, "Tell me about the peach wood sword."
"Don't tell me," the man coughed twice and began to exaggerate, "that he bought it for twenty coins at a street stall. 'This sword looks plain, but it's sealed with three strands of Divine Lightning of the Purple Firmament!'"
Jin Shanyao's eyes darkened slightly. " Divine Lightning of the Purple Firmament? Isn't that what the Tongtian Jiaozhu excels at?"
The man's heart leaped into his throat, and he chuckled awkwardly, " The Three Pure Ones are all one family, their Law Technique is interconnected, and my master has absorbed the strengths of many."
Jin Shanyao, then suddenly reached out and touched the broken edge of the wooden sword. "This wood grain... it's three-year-old poplar, isn't it? Is the old man so poor that he's using poplar to pass off as peach wood?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" The man stood up abruptly, his voice rising sharply, "You crushed my peach wood sword, and you're still spouting nonsense..."
The other people in the cell all turned to look.
Jin Shanyao slowly stood up and walked step by step towards the man, saying in a nasty tone, "A disciple of Taishang Laojun, the one who gave you this peach wood sword? Are you using this old man's name to exorcise ghosts and swindle people?"
Jin Shanyao grabbed the man's belt, twisted his wrist, and lifted him up. She strode to the prison door and shouted, "Guards! I've caught a swindler..."
The entire cell was stunned by her action, and no one dared to utter a sound.
Just then, a steady footstep sound came from deep within the passageway.
Zhu Huaizhang, dressed in an official robe, walked in with a cold expression. He looked up and saw Jin Shanyao holding a man in one hand, standing at the prison gate, shouting at the top of her lungs.
He was immediately shocked and furious, and shouted angrily, " Jin Shanyao, what are you doing?!"
Jin Shanyao, furious, said, "My lord, this man is a fraud! He's using the name of Taishang Laojun to swindle people everywhere... He must be severely punished!"
Zhu Huaizhang frowned and said, "You, a liar, are reporting another liar? Are you kidding me? Put him down. Now tell me your problem."
Jin Shanyao, holding the man's hand, looked puzzled. "What problem could I possibly have? I exposed a swindler; I've done a good deed..."
"You've been caught red-handed, and you still dare to argue?" Zhu Huaizhang ordered his men to bring over tables and chairs and set them up in the passageway outside the prison cell, where he sat down with an air of authority.
Tell me the truth about how you committed the fraud, how many people you cheated, and how much money you amassed.
Jin Shanyao, holding the person up through the cell bars, said with bright eyes, "I didn't lie. I genuinely solved their problems."
Seeing that she showed no remorse, Zhu Huaizhang picked up the gavel and slammed it down heavily, shouting angrily, "Put her down..."
"Just put it down, why are you shouting so loudly..." Jin Shanyao muttered, loosening her grip, and the man fell to the ground with a thud.
Just as the man was about to crawl away, Jin Shanyao grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.
She pulled out a whip from her waist, tied one end to the man's waist, and the other end to her own.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Huaizhang's temples throbbed with anger. "Release him... This is a prison; he can't possibly escape."
Seeing that Zhu Huaizhang looked unwell, Li Xiao quickly stepped forward to comfort him, "My lord... you have a heart condition, please don't get angry."
Jin Shanyao reluctantly released the person, then clung to the railing, squeezing her face through the fence. "Sir... I have some ginseng pills for nourishing the heart, ten taels a pill... Would you like to buy them?"
Zhu Huaizhang closed his eyes and said to Li Xiao, "Lock her up in one place."
Jin Shanyao said awkwardly, "I won't say anything then." As she spoke, she retreated to the innermost part of the cell and sat down next to the man, who was still holding the broken wooden sword.
He sincerely said, "I didn't expect you to like wooden products so much. Remember, hurting someone isn't the same as liking them. If you really like them, you can plant a tree and water and fertilize it every day..."
" The Jin Shanyao..." Zhu Huaizhang's icy voice rang out.
With Jin Shanyao said, "You understand... shut up, don't you??? I have that much sense."
Seeing that she had quieted down, Zhu Huaizhang began interrogating the spirit medium, " Su Lingniang... In the past six months, you have traveled to various villages under the guise of praying for rain, profiting a total of twenty-three taels of silver... Is this true?"
Su Lingniang knelt before Zhu Huaizhang, clutching the strip of cloth on her robe. "My lord... they invited me there, and the rainmaking ritual only began after both sides reached an agreement. There was no deception involved."
"You still dare to argue? Last month in Hexi Village, you confidently said, 'Rain will surely fall within three days,' but after seven days of scorching sun, not a single drop fell."
When the villagers confronted you, you falsely accused them of being "insincere and angering the gods," and even threatened them, saying, "If you cause trouble again, the whole village will have no harvest." Was I right or wrong?
Su Lingniang was speechless when questioned. Zhu Huaizhang spread out the case file, picked up his pen, and wrote the verdict, "Spreading heresy and deceiving the people, he extorted twenty-three taels of silver. He shall be sentenced to twenty strokes of the cane and three years of penal servitude."
Terrified, Su Lingniang knelt on the ground, begging for mercy, "My lord... my lord, I was wrong, I'll never dare to do it again... I was just momentarily blinded by greed, that's why I thought of this rain-making trick. My lord, I beg you..."
Ignoring her cries, Zhu Huaizhang gestured for Constable Wang to take her away.
Constable Wang casually placed a talisman on the table, instantly making the prison cool.
He lowered his voice and said, "Sir, the Cooling Talisman Paper you requested."
Zhu Huaizhang glanced at him, signaling him to take the man away first, and then began to interrogate the blind man.
" Blind Chen, you set up your stall at the city gate every day. For ten coins you can find out someone's surname, for twenty coins you can cast a divination, and for thirty coins you can read their bones and name them... In a month, you've had as many as twenty victims."
Divination to determine whether a child would be blessed or cursed led to the newborn being sold by their own parents, and the buyer was even someone you introduced... Is it true or not?"
Blind Chen knelt on the ground and cried out his innocence, "Your Honor... I may be blind, but I am not. Those families who sell children did it of their own volition."
He's just using me as a mouthpiece to make himself feel better... I beg you, sir, to see the truth...
Zhu Huaizhang scoffed, "Going along with their wishes, I think your fortune-telling is fake, your real job is human trafficking."
You've caused so many families to be torn apart... and you still dare to argue? Guards, take him away, give him one hundred strokes of the cane, and exile him three thousand li away."
Blind Chen cried out, "Sir, this is my first offense, it hasn't even been six months! Please, sir, spare my life!"
Zhu Huaizhang cursed inwardly, thinking, "So all the monsters and scoundrels have come out now that Su Wenqian is gone? Isn't this bullying a newcomer?!"
As the case continued to be heard, Jin Shanyao and the man holding the wooden sword remained in the prison.
Zhu Huaizhang glanced at the Jin Shanyao and said to the man, " Wang Zhen'an, three years ago you used the pretext of exorcising demons to tie the young master of the Li Household to his bed."
Upon hearing this, Jin Shanyao's eyes lit up instantly. She looked Wang Zhen'an up and down... Sure enough, appearances can be deceiving... Just as she looked down at Wang Zhen'an's buttocks...
Then Jin Shanyao Zhu Huaizhang angrily shouted, "I'm judging a case, what are you doing in the back?"
Jin Shanyao silently lowered Wang Zhen'an's robe, glanced leisurely at Zhu Huaizhang, and then sat back down in her previous seat...
There wasn't much to see, really; she just wanted to know if what was written in the book was true.
Zhu Huaizhang continued the trial, "Under the pretense of exorcising demons, you forced the young master of the Li Household to drink black dog blood, nearly causing his death."
The Li Household reported you to the authorities... You fled Qingzhou Prefecture overnight, and only dared to return this year after Su Wenqian was transferred, is that right or not?
Wang Zhen'an was stunned, not expecting such an old case to be brought up again. "Sir, I've inquired and found that the young master of the Li Household is not dead."
"Yes, so you committed attempted murder. Take him away, give him one hundred strokes of the cane, and exile him three thousand li away."
Then the gaze fell upon Jin Shanyao.
Jin Shanyao subconsciously looked around. The cell, which had been full just moments before, was now empty except for her.
"Sir... I didn't cheat or swindle anyone..."
Zhu Huaizhang held the talisman, feeling a cool sensation all over his body. In his mind, all talismans and magic were fake, just a hoax, until he met Jin Shanyao!