Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 290: Questioning the City God
In the City God Temple, a temple priest was sweeping the courtyard. When he saw Lu Zheng carrying Yan in, he was stunned.

Then the temple keeper frowned and yelled, "Who are you? How dare you bring such a filthy thing to the City God Temple? Get out now."

As he spoke, the temple keeper pretended to drive Lu Zheng away.

Lu Zheng couldn't help but smile, "You don't recognize it?"

The temple keeper replied unhappily, "How could I recognize the beast you are holding?"

Upon hearing this, Yan became furious and glared at the temple keeper.

Lu Zheng casually threw Yan to the ground and released the other party's seal.

Yan suddenly felt relaxed, and a golden mark appeared between his eyebrows.

Yan said, "I was personally appointed by the City God! How dare you, a mere temple keeper, speak such arrogant words..."

It was humiliated outside before, but now that it came to the City God Temple, the temple keeper in front of it had no eyesight at all, which made it very angry.

Before Yan could finish his words, Lu Zheng hit his furry head.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Come on, follow me to see the City God."

Yan shrank his neck and did not untie himself. He staggered all the way to the main hall of the City God Temple.

Lu Zheng walked slowly behind.

The temple keeper who was still holding the broom had a dull expression. The aura emanating from Yan just now was indeed that of a god.

The temple keeper, feeling nervous and puzzled, couldn't help but follow to see what was going on.

The main hall of the City God Temple is spacious and luxurious, brightly lit and filled with the aroma of incense.

In the center of the main hall, there is a meter-tall seated statue of a deity. The deity has a sheep's head and a human body, and is covered with colorful clothes. Its appearance is lifelike, its eyes are sharp, and it carries an imposing aura of oppression.

On the left and right of the City God statue, there are several smaller statues, which are the divine deputies under the City God's seat.

These statues have different expressions and postures, some have human forms, and some have animal heads.

Lu Zheng stood in the main hall and could clearly feel the difference in the aura emitted by these statues.

Yan stumbled and knelt before the City God statue, looking aggrieved. "Please, Lord City God, make the decision for me!"

There was golden light flowing from the mark between Yan's eyebrows, and he wanted to use this to wake up the City God.

After only a few breaths, the statue of the City God flickered, and a tall, blurry shadow emerged, with divine pressure filling the entire hall.

Yan and the temple keeper felt the pressure of the divine power, and they all bowed their heads to the ground with expressions of awe on their faces.

Only Lu Zheng stood there straight, looking up slightly at the shadow.

"Who disturbed me?"

The shadowy figure spoke slowly, his voice as loud as a bell, shaking everyone's heart.

Yan quickly said, "Lord City God, it's Little God Yan!"

The shadow glanced at Yan, then turned to stare at Lu Zheng, "Who are you? Why don't you kneel and bow before me?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Zheng bowed and said, "Lu Zheng, I am a scholar from Anguo, honored to meet the City God of Yucheng."

"An Guoren?"

The City God looked at Lu Zheng again, but he felt that there was an aura of resistance around Lu Zheng, making it difficult for him to see clearly.

He was slightly surprised. He hadn't met such a scholar for a long time. This person might be no simple person.

When Yan heard Lu Zheng's words, his heart was also stirred. He never thought that Lu Zheng was actually an outsider scholar.

The City God couldn't help but ask, "Why are you here?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Ask your subordinate."

The City God looked at Yan and said in a serious tone, "Tell the truth!"

Yan quickly recounted the previous events one by one, then said aggrievedly, "I have always been diligent in my work and have never been lazy... This man, a native of An, knew that I was a deity appointed by the Lord, yet he treated me like this! He has absolutely no respect for the Lord City God and the laws of the Great Chu! Please, Lord City God, help me!"

The City God was silent for a moment after hearing this, and then said to Lu Zheng, "Do you have any objection to this statement?"

"No." Lu Zheng said lightly.

The City God nodded slightly and said, "Taking the six senses of the people to cultivate is indeed a sin, but since Yan has offered money as compensation, and it is also voluntary for the people, it is not a serious offense..."

"Yan, your demonic nature has not yet been extinguished. I will reduce your Shinto practice by two years as punishment. Are you willing to accept the punishment?"

Hearing what the City God said, Yan was stunned, but he didn't dare to refute. He could only lower his head and said: "Yan is willing to be punished."

The City God raised his finger and a beam of divine light shot towards Yan, directly shaving off two years of Yan's cultivation.

Then, the City God looked at Lu Zheng and said quietly, "Are you satisfied with this verdict?"

Lu Zhengdao: "That's all?"

The City God's eyes flickered, "Then what do you think?"

He felt that his penalty was already giving Lu Zheng enough face.

If it were an ordinary scholar, he would not bother to pay attention.

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Even if he's not executed, the sentence shouldn't be so light. According to Chu law, killing a wild god like this wouldn't be excessive."

Before coming to Chu, Lu Zheng had read the laws of Chu and was not completely unfamiliar with them.

When Yan heard this, he felt a chill on his neck.

"Haha..." The City God couldn't help but chuckle, "Young man, this is not Anguo. Your behavior today has already crossed the line." Law? The law is dead. How to judge is up to people.

In Yu County, the City God is the one in charge. Whether Yan is guilty or not is just a matter of his words.

If the laws of all countries in the world could be fully implemented, the whole world would have been a peaceful and prosperous era long ago.

When the City God saw Lu Zheng talking about the laws of the Chu State, he thought that Lu Zheng was just too dull because of his studies and was a bit stubborn and rigid.

Of course, because of this, dealing with such scholars is the most troublesome.

"Crossing the line?"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "Confucius said, 'If one does not act when seeing what is right, he lacks courage.' I have acted in accordance with the teachings of the sages, so how can I be said to have crossed the line? As the City God, you should protect the people of your area, but instead you shield your subordinates and disregard their livelihood..."

"presumptuous!"

The City God was furious upon hearing this, and his divine power enveloped Lu Zheng.

Seeing that Lu Zheng was a scholar from Anguo, he couldn't suppress him directly, so he gave him a little face.

As a result, Lu Zheng's words made him angry and embarrassed.

Lu Zheng stood tall and straight, with a righteous aura surrounding him. He stood as still as a mountain in the face of the pressure from the gods.

"Are you anxious?" Lu Zheng said slowly, "As the City God of a county, you neglect your duties and fail to enforce the law impartially, and yet you're still being criticized? Are you feeling guilty?"

Yan and the temple keeper, who were kneeling on the ground, were trembling and sweating profusely. They didn't understand why Lu Zheng was crazy and dared to scold the City God like that.

"Be bold!"

The statues on the left and right of the City God suddenly spoke, and moved one by one. They actually jumped off the platform and surrounded Lu Zheng.

An official of the City God shouted sternly, "How dare you offend the City God? Your crime is unforgivable!"

Lu Zheng said calmly, "You'd better stay away. These statues of yours are not strong. Don't let me accidentally break them."

These gods had never been threatened like this before. Their eyes were wide open with anger and they did not retreat.

If they retreat, will they still have any face?

They didn't believe that Lu Zhengzhen dared to attack them.

The City God's eyes were cold, he found that his divine power could not suppress Lu Zheng.

His real body is not in the City God Temple. With Lu Zheng's ability, he might be able to demolish this place.

This place is not far from Anguo. When Lu Zheng returns to Anguo later, he will probably suffer a loss.

The City God's expression changed constantly, and suddenly he said, "Back off!"

Although the gods looked angry, they obeyed the order and jumped onto the altar one by one. In an instant, they returned to normal and turned into statues.

The City God then smiled and said, "The scholars from Anguo are indeed more courageous than the scholars here. However, this is the State of Chu. It is not your turn to make decisions for many things, and you don't have the ability to do so."

"Of course, there was something wrong with what happened today..."

The City God raised his hand and waved, suppressing Xiang Yan with divine power.

Before Yan could react, he turned to ashes in the blink of an eye.

If such a wild god's subordinates are lost, you can find another one. But if the City God Temple is demolished, it would be a big joke.

The City God clearly saw that Lu Zheng would not easily let this matter go, so he had to kill Yan himself.

The City God said quietly, "Are you satisfied now?"

Lu Zheng said slowly, "I heard that you have enfeoffed many wild gods in Yu County..."

The City God's tone turned cold, "Young man, don't push your luck!"

Lu Zhengdao said, "I am simply advising the City God to fulfill his duties so that he can receive the incense of the people."

The City God was speechless. Even his superiors didn't care much about what he did in Yu County. Instead, Lu Zheng came to teach him how to do things.

The City God couldn't help but ask, "Have you already enjoyed long-term peace and stability in your country, forcing you to come here and point fingers at me?"

"That's not the case." Lu Zheng paused, then continued, "It's just that I traveled here and saw the situation here, so I wanted to meet the City God... I heard that the City God had a good reputation in the past, so he was elected as the City God by the people of Yu County. Why is he not caring about the people now?"

The City God was silent upon hearing this, and said quietly, "Scholar, you are still too young. When you experience more, you will know that no one is unchanging. In this world, the things you dislike are probably more numerous than the stars in the sky. What can you do?"

Lu Zheng said, "If you can do one thing well, it's one thing. If you can persuade one person, it's one person."

The City God laughed and said, "What if there are those who don't listen to advice?"

Lu Zheng said, "If you don't understand reason, you can always understand fists. If that doesn't work, then you can only cook it... Dogs that bite, chickens that peck, and sheep that bump into people are all trained this way. I think the principles of doing things in this world are similar."

The sheep that hit people... The City God stared at Lu Zheng and found these words very harsh.

Lu Zheng continued, "The City God's true form isn't here, is it? I wonder where you are. I'd like to visit you and learn more about the customs and practices of Chu."

Hearing this, the City God felt inexplicably terrified.

As a god, having such a feeling is not a good sign.

He couldn't help but say, "I'm out on business and can't come back for a while. Chu is so big, you can go travel elsewhere."

Lu Zheng nodded slightly, "Is that so? Then do you want me to help you deal with those unruly wild gods in the county?"

The City God's expression froze, and he thought that this would never end.

He said awkwardly, "No need. I have subordinates in the county. I will send them to monitor the four places right away."

(End of this chapter)