Black Myth: Starting from the Destined One-Chapter 78 - 74 Military Strategist Zhuge Weiwei of

“When you entered the city, did you encounter the city guards interrogating you? Asking if you were an outsider? Inquiring whether you had any relatives in the government?”

Li Ping’an was astonished,

“How do you know?”

“Hahahaha, I took you for a fool earlier, only to realize now that you’re just a naive young lad, too innocent to understand the ways of the world.”

Only then did the elder proceed to explain in detail,

“The Qi County Magistrate is a massive corrupt official, adept at feathering his own nest. Apart from embezzling and accepting bribes locally, bending the law for personal gain without saying, he’s insatiable, specifically targeting people from out of town.

“He has ordered that any outsider without connections who refuses to bribe the checking soldiers will be arrested and locked up until they have handed over all their money, only then may they be released.”

“If they encounter someone with a lot of money who is easy to bully, the same rule applies.”

“If they meet someone with a lot of money but who’s not easy to bully, like you, a dull youth, they tie a red ribbon on you. Once you enter the city, the townsfolk know you are the Magistrate’s fat sheep; whether you want to eat or stay somewhere, no one will serve you.”

“The only places that will let you eat or stay are run by the Magistrate’s henchmen or relatives. If you set foot in their establishments hoping to save a few pennies, you’ll certainly be drugged. Then all your money will be stolen, and, fearing that you, a wealthy person, might make a fuss, they’ll fabricate a crime and execute you under a false name overnight!”

“Fools like you have come through these doors by the hundreds this year alone, as seen by this old man. All come in confused and die the same way; in the end, your families won’t even know where you died or where your bodies lie.”

“So that’s how it is!”

Li Ping’an immediately turned his head toward the wanted poster of Supreme Treasure on the opposite wall of his cell, finally understanding everything. It didn’t matter who was brought in or what their name was; what mattered was that they had to die.

“These beasts dare to so blatantly plot for money and murder?”

The elder sighed,

“According to the laws of the Imperial Court, whether it’s in the state prefectures or the capital city, the list of prisoners to be executed must be reported to the Court. The Prime Minister would send people to verify the crimes, and even then, the Emperor himself would need to check and approve the list before an execution could take place, with all executions unified after the autumn harvest.”

“Now that the Emperor is wholly devoted to cultivation, indifferent to the affairs of the world, all matters of the Imperial Court big and small are entrusted to the oversight of the Crown Prince, the management of the Prime Minister, and the command of the State Preceptor. The Crown Prince is foolish, incompetent, and lecherous; the Prime Minister is a petty man; and the State Preceptor, a Demon Daoist. These three scoundrels control the court, leading to corrupt officials and unscrupulous scribes rampant throughout the land, committing murder and harm without restraint. It’s not just in Qi County at the Emperor’s feet, even the capital city Chang’an is the same, even darker than Qi County.”

Li Ping’an nodded and agreed. What the old man said was essentially in line with what he had seen and heard along the way. He then asked:

“So by your account, the Emperor is a good man, and if we kill the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and the State Preceptor, peace will return to the world?”

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“Nonsense! The root of all evil lies with the Emperor, with the Son of Heaven. The Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and the State Preceptor are merely his claws, his puppets. Killing the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister, and the State Preceptor is just treating the symptoms, not the cause. The Dog Emperor will simply promote new puppets. Without killing the Dog Emperor, there can be no peace in the world!”

As the old man cursed, his face was filled with anger, and he trembled all over, as if he harbored an irreconcilable hatred towards Emperor Li Gai of the Great Tang.

“Elder, you are so agitated, and you understand so much about the inner workings of the Imperial Court and the state of the world that I have yet to ask for your esteemed surname and given name, and what crime you have committed?”

Naturally, Li Ping’an could tell from the old man’s words that his identity was far from a simple death row prisoner.

“I am Zhuge Weiwei, the military advisor of the Futang Group!”

Zhuge Weiwei said it with great pride:

“The crime I committed is an unforgivable one: rebellion!”

“Oh my goodness! You are so brave!”

When Li Ping’an heard the word rebellion, he subconsciously stepped back, quickly distancing himself from the old man. Yet, he couldn’t help but be curious:

“No offense, but at your advanced age, why involve yourself in such turmoil?”

“Involve myself in turmoil? Ridiculous!”

Zhuge Weiwei cocked his head and pursed his lips even more arrogantly:

“I began to rebel at the age of eighteen, with the ambition to topple the new regime of the Great Tang and to eliminate all the corrupt officials in the world. And you say I’m merely causing a commotion?”

“Heavens, the more you talk, the more outrageous it gets!”

On Li Ping’an’s journey, he saw that the people under the Great Tang were no better than pigs and dogs. It would have been strange if no one rebelled, but he dared not inquire about similar topics. He only wanted to focus on cultivating in peace, not to involve himself in anything beyond cultivation, including the task entrusted to him by the Great Sage Equalling Heaven, Sun Wukong.

Therefore, he quickly changed the subject and asked something else:

“As you say, you claim to be a military advisor of some Futang Group, which I’ve never heard of, but I suppose it must be a formidable force. Then why haven’t your own people come to rescue you yet?”

“It is embarrassing to say, but a year ago, I was betrayed by a hawk-dog spy planted by the Imperial Court within the Futang Group. After fleeing, I was eventually discovered and captured by the Qi County Magistrate. He killed all of his ordinary subordinates who were involved in capturing me, leaving only his confidants alive. Outsiders have no way of knowing.”

“Seeing an opportunity to take all the credit for himself, the Qi County Magistrate secretly imprisoned me here and tortured me three times a day, just to make me reveal other members of the Futang Group and those traitors secretly plotting to rebel against the court.”

Zhuge Weiwei spoke with a look of resignation:

“Seeing my stubborn resistance, the Qi County Magistrate realized that keeping me secretly detained was useless. Recently, when the Imperial Censor’s attempt to assassinate the State Preceptor failed and they had to flee, he saw his chance.”

“The Imperial Censor is an upright man, wholeheartedly dedicated to the people. Even the Dog Emperor knows of his character. The State Preceptor wants to persuade the Emperor to issue an arrest warrant for the Imperial Censor nationwide, but without evidence, he can only send people to kill him in secret, to no avail so far.”

“The Qi County Magistrate sees this as an opportunity to curry favor with the State Preceptor. That’s why he’s offering me up to the State Preceptor and will then fabricate a story of the Imperial Censor’s collusion with me in rebellion. It seems that tonight the State Preceptor will send someone to escort me to the capital city.”