Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 278 Suing the Mountain Lord
With the help of the temple keeper, Huang, he soon brought out a large basket of ghost grass.

Ghost grass is also known as forget-me-not grass. In some places, it is mistakenly believed that eating it can make you forget your troubles, hence the nickname. However, it only has the effect of warding off evil spirits. Evil spirits can cause negative effects such as fatigue, irritability, and restlessness, which is why it is mistakenly believed.

Its leaves are blue and its flowers are dark yellow, making it look no different from the wildflowers by the roadside.

"Aren't you going to see Bao Chenghuang? I'll go back and make some soup for that Jiang kid!"

Holding his basket, Huang Miaozhu grinned from ear to ear, bid farewell to Shi Yizhi and the other man, and then hurriedly disappeared on the road to the underworld.

Li Si and Zhao San did indeed take Shi Yizhi to the City God Temple as promised—the road to the underworld—and they arrived in no time.

There was only one old temple keeper in the City God Temple, who looked much older than the old temple keeper Huang, and he was sitting in a chair dozing off.

Bao Chenghuang was a somewhat overweight middle-aged man, tall and even looked quite kind, but his face was very dark.

"That tiger! Alas, it's pitiful,"

Bao Chenghuang was easy to talk to. After learning that Shi Yizhi and Zhu Ye were the ones who helped capture the evil spirit, he first thanked the two of them. Then, regarding their purpose, he said, "With his cultivation, he should have become a mountain god long ago. It's just a pity that he got caught in a trap and can't get out. I'm afraid he'll go further and further astray."

Zhu Ye didn't care whether the tiger was pitiful or not; he felt pitiful himself, so he hinted, "Then we..."

Bao Chenghuang said in a gentle tone, "Oh, there's no need to worry too much. As long as you don't leave the city easily, it can't do anything to you. As for the matter of that 'Chang Gui,' I can't do anything about it unless I can persuade it. But its temperament is becoming more and more extreme these days, and I'm afraid it will be difficult to persuade it... If it can really change its nature, it will truly become a mountain god."

Zhu Ye was deeply disappointed upon hearing this.

He had spent the last two days trying to help the old fisherman resolve the issue of his son becoming a ghost, but after two days of hard work, he was helpless. How could he not be disappointed?
"Is there really no way to deal with this evil spirit?"

Shi Yizhi knew that Zhu Ye had been running around for this matter, so he asked again, unwilling to give up.

“The Changgui is not a ghost, but a ‘living dead’ with a breath of yang energy, so I have no say in that.”

Bao Chenghuang said, "Besides, all those who become 'chang ghosts' are people who were greedy for money and lust and could not resist the temptation. They signed a contract with that beast and became chang ghosts. They deserve what they got."

Shi Yizhi pressed on, "Even if there is a mistake, surely it shouldn't be enough to be trapped and unable to be reincarnated forever?"

Bao Chenghuang said helplessly, "What you say makes sense, but the changgui signed a contract with it, which is witnessed by heaven and earth, so I have no choice but to acknowledge it."

Upon hearing this, Shi Yizhi was at a loss for words.

The "contract" that is "witnessed by Heaven and Earth" is naturally not something that a city god can change. To continue to insist on it would be asking too much of a person.

Just as he was in a dilemma, Zhu Ye suddenly cupped his hands and said, "May I ask, Lord City God, I have heard that the City God is a local deity who is in charge of the affairs of Yin and Yang in this place, and that he must protect all the people under his jurisdiction. Is this true or false?"

This was clearly a rhetorical question, but Bao Chenghuang still answered in a very good mood: "I do have this responsibility; the people here are all under my care."

Zhu Ye cupped his hands again and said, "May I ask, Your Excellency City God, there is an old man in Peach Blossom Village whose son went out and did not return for a long time. He was eaten by a tiger and became its accomplice, leaving the old man alone and destitute with no one to care for him... Since this old man is a citizen under Your Excellency City God's jurisdiction, shouldn't Your Excellency City God take care of him?"

Upon hearing this, Bao Chenghuang suddenly realized something. He looked at Zhu Ye with a half-smile and asked, "It is my responsibility, but I wonder where this complaint is? And where is the aggrieved party?"

Zhu Ye said respectfully, "If Your Excellency the City God is willing to accept this case, I will write the petition on behalf of the aggrieved party today. When I submit the petition tomorrow, I will ask the aggrieved party to come to court and explain the matter to Your Excellency the City God. Is that acceptable?"

Bao Chenghuang stroked his beard and laughed, "That's wonderful! If there's any injustice, you can submit an appeal. You can submit it to the local land offices!"

Zhu Ye smiled and said, "Thank you for your consideration, City God!"

Shi Yizhi glanced at Bao Chenghuang sitting upright above, then at Zhu Ye, who seemed to have some kind of tacit understanding with Bao Chenghuang. He frowned and pondered for a while before exclaiming "Oh!" and suddenly realizing what was going on.

The Mountain Lord is a mountain demon, not under the jurisdiction of City God Bao. The contract he made with the courier ghost is witnessed by Heaven and Earth, and City God Bao has no right to interfere. Therefore, he has always been helpless against the Mountain Lord.

But if there are victims, then it's a different story—

Isn't that old fisherman the victim?
Regardless of whether his son became a changgui (a type of evil spirit) because of greed and lust, the fact remains that he was eaten by a mountain tiger and turned into a changgui. The retired old fisherman not only lost his son but also had no one to support him...

This falls under the jurisdiction of Bao Chenghuang!

In this way, Bao Chenghuang could openly "invite" the mountain god to come and try the case, thus indirectly resolving the old fisherman's request.

Because of the past discord between the Mountain God and the City God Bao, the City God Bao was probably eager to punish the unruly Mountain God. With this pretext, punishing the Mountain God would be justifiable. This is why the City God Bao cooperated in every way and agreed to let Zhu Ye submit the appeal. He even told him to just submit it to the local Earth God. This was opening the door to convenience!

After figuring out the cause and effect, Shi Yizhi was immediately filled with admiration—Brother Zhu's plan was indeed brilliant!
With Bao Chenghuang's hint, Zhu Ye and Shi Yizhi took their leave and were then led back to Taoyuan Village by Li Si and Zhao San. Once back in his physical body, Zhu Ye snapped open his folding fan and slowly said, waving it, "This is a joyous occasion. We should go and explain things to that old fisherman so he can present his grievances to the City God and have him redress my grievances!"

Shi Yizhi exclaimed in admiration, "Brother Zhu is truly remarkable; he actually managed to find such a flaw!"

Jiang Wanli hurriedly came forward: "How is it? Have you seen that City God Bao? And what are you two talking about?"

Shi Yizhi recounted what had just happened, and Jiang Wanli said with admiration, "Brother Zhu truly deserves to be called the most knowledgeable person in the world. This plan is brilliant! According to the law, those who kill should always pay with their lives. Even if there is a reason, they will still be punished. That mountain lord is not as powerful as Bao Chenghuang, so Bao Chenghuang has a reason to give it a good beating!"

Jiang Wanli harbored a deep resentment towards this mountain lord.

It was one thing to chase after him and scare him back then, but later it caused Shi Yizhi to be resented. Then, when he was hit by that vengeful ghost and almost died, it was all Shan Jun's fault. If it weren't for wanting to get close to Bao Chenghuang, why would Shi Yizhi and I have taken this risk!
In short, upon hearing that Zhu Ye's method could bring misfortune to the mountain lord, Jiang Wanli was the happiest of all, and he almost danced with joy!

So the three of them finally got a good night's sleep on the straw mats in the backyard of the Peach Blossom Goddess Temple. The next morning, they inquired about the old fisherman's house and went to talk to him about the matter.

"This, this, this...is it really true!?"

Upon hearing this, the old fisherman was overjoyed, tears streaming down his face: "Does the City God truly have jurisdiction over this matter?!"

Shi Yizhi took the initiative to persuade him: "You are a citizen under his jurisdiction, so you can naturally handle this matter. Yesterday I asked Bao Chenghuang in person. As long as the complaint is submitted, he can take the case. It will just be troublesome for you to come with us. After all, you are the victim and should confront the murderer who killed your son."

Upon hearing that he was to confront the mountain god himself, the old fisherman's face showed fear, and he hesitated, saying, "But... isn't that the mountain god? Does the City God... even have authority over the mountain god?"

Shi Yizhi then used the derogatory title Bao Chenghuang had used to comfort him, saying, "We can manage it, we can manage it all. Besides, that tiger isn't even a mountain god, it's just a monster in the mountains!"

"Very well, I'm already a man with my neck in the ground. Since you can stand up for my son, what do I have to fear? It's just a matter of suing the mountain lord!"

The old fisherman first spoke through gritted teeth, then looked troubled: "But I'm illiterate and don't know how to write a complaint..."

Zhu Ye said, "Old man, there's no need to worry about this. I'll write a complaint for you!"

The old fisherman breathed a sigh of relief: "Alright, alright, then I'll have to trouble you young men..."

At this time, the complaint was not like the very formal complaint of the Ming and Qing dynasties in another time. Instead, it only needed to briefly describe the cause and effect, clearly state the plaintiff, the case, and the claims. There were no strict requirements on the format.

With Zhu Ye writing on their behalf, the complaint was quickly completed. The three men then made an agreement with the old fisherman that they would deliver the complaint first, and then meet the old fisherman at the Earth God Temple (stone niche) at sunset. Bao Chenghuang's "working hours" were the same as those of the ghost officials and ghost messengers, which were after sunset. Therefore, they could only wait until sunset to handle the case.

The old fisherman agreed to any way to see his son, and even insisted on giving the three of them a bag of dried salted fish as a reward. The three of them had a great deal of effort to refuse.

After bidding farewell to the old fisherman, the three of them relaxed. With nothing more important to do, they did what they had done the day before: Zhu Ye went to tell stories to earn money, while Shi Yizhi took Jiang Wanli to the Hu family's mine to mine.

Who knew that after digging for a short while in the morning, and everything was going well, Butler Hu came to chase them away in the afternoon.

While chasing them away, he shouted, "The Hu family is marrying off their daughter tomorrow! All work is suspended today! It will resume the day after tomorrow! Go! Go!"

Immediately, complaints arose from the crowd.

Over the past two days, several hundred people have come in one after another.

Most of them went to Dayang Village, which was said to be the most prosperous, on the day they arrived. Of the remaining hundred or so people, more than half of them were mining at the mine near Hu Yuanwai's house. There was no other way; this was the most profitable job. If you were lucky enough, you could even gamble for good stuff, so everyone was willing to work here.

But with Steward Hu kicking everyone out, including this afternoon and tomorrow, that means they won't be able to mine or make money for a day and a half, which naturally makes everyone very unhappy.

Manager Hu pretended not to see the resentment of the crowd, and said in a friendly manner, "The Hu family is getting married. Everyone is welcome to come to the mansion to attend the ceremony tomorrow. If you are really short of money, you don't have to bring any money. We won't shortchange you on a drink!"

This means giving away a meal for free.

Upon hearing this, the previously dejected crowd began to smile, and the more astute among them quickly offered their congratulations with clasped hands.

"Congratulations, Master Hu! Congratulations, Master Hu! On such a joyous occasion, I must shamelessly ask for a drink!"

"Oh my, with a family like Master Hu's, the wedding of his daughter is a truly joyous occasion! Congratulations!"

……

(End of this chapter)