novelapdf Chapter 66 A Twist of Fate
Chapter 66 A Twist of Fate
Pound and Wang Tong are absolutely smug right now.
In the Heavenly Court, they were merely low-level errand runners in the Mountain and Water Department, only slightly better off than the menial servants. After all, they were responsible for overseeing the authority of the Mountain and Water Gods, though it was a tough job...
But sometimes, they can still receive some tips and rewards from the wealthy mountain and water deities to smooth things over.
But if we're talking about what's truly enjoyable, it's definitely this kind of time.
So Pang De, who considered himself a slightly better person, first glanced at Li Gongcao's ashen face, then at Wang Tong's ambiguous smile.
Pang De sighed and said, "Fellow Daoist Wang, there's no need for that."
He then turned to Zhong Xuan, his attitude softening somewhat, and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhong, we two did not come here specifically to make things difficult for you."
"It's just that recently someone in the Heavenly Court dug up the old story of your position as a mountain god, which is why they've asked us to be a little more careful."
"If you have anything to say, or anyone you can mention, you might as well do it now... After all, neither I nor Fellow Daoist Wang are unreasonable people."
Pound believed that he had been quite blunt in his words!
If you still don't understand, then don't blame them.
Zhong Xuan understood, of course.
The other party went through all this trouble, nitpicking about incense offerings and citing regulations, but in the end, it all came back to the original question.
Do you have someone backing you up?
If there's someone there, everything is negotiable.
If there's no one else around, then they can't be blamed for handling things strictly by the book!
Zhong Xuan lowered his eyes and remained silent for a moment.
Then he raised his head again, his expression still calm as still water.
"I understand what Pang Shangchai means."
Zhong Xuan said calmly, "I really don't have any powerful backers. If you two think I should take responsibility, then take responsibility; if you think I should be dismissed, then dismiss me. I'll decide for myself."
Upon hearing this, Pound's smile faded.
Wang Tong snorted coldly and stood up abruptly: "Since the Mountain God of Cuiyun is so stubborn, then he can't blame us! Fellow Daoist Pang, there's no need for us to waste any more words; a well-intentioned reminder only brings no good reward!"
As the assessment of the Cuiyun Mountain God was about to end in discord, the two celestial officials returned with the problematic cases, requesting the Heavenly Court to conduct a further investigation, as these cases could potentially affect the results of the mountain god's century-long assessment.
"etc!"
A voice suddenly rang out from the side.
The speaker was not Pang De, nor was it this person who wanted to act as a peacemaker, nor was it Zhong Xuan, nor was it Li Gongcao, whose face had already turned ashen.
But it was Wang Tong himself!
Wang Tongzheng looked down at the book in his hand, his brows furrowing.
Just now, when Li Gongcao was speaking, he casually turned to that page.
"Fellow Daoist Pang, take a look at this." Wang Tong suppressed the strange look on his face and asked his colleague next to him to take a look.
Pound leaned closer, his gaze falling on the book, and his expression changed after a moment.
"This..." Pound was slightly surprised.
Zhong Xuan watched the two of them without showing any emotion.
Li Gongcao, standing behind Zhong Xuan, still had beads of sweat on his forehead, but a glimmer of light gradually appeared in his eyes, as if he realized that there might be a turning point.
Wang Tong raised his head, staring at the gray-robed clerk, his tone suddenly becoming somewhat strange: "The regulations you just mentioned... the number of volumes, the number of articles, and the appendices—they all match up, and..."
He paused, then glanced down at the register again. "Not a single word is wrong."
Pound also raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the gray-robed clerk with a complex expression.
As the two of them held positions in the Heavenly Court, they had naturally done their homework. The "Regulations for Assessing the Merits and Incense Offerings of the Mountain and Water Gods," which all new recruits had to study, was over 100,000 pages thick.
It contains a vast number of classic and rare cases recorded during the establishment of the Heavenly Court's Mountain and Lake Division over the years, serving as precedents for various trials.
Even these white-robed celestial officials only read through it a few times and barely remembered the general outline.
How could a mere assistant to the head of the office, who was only responsible for assisting in patrolling the mountain god, possibly memorize all of these things?
The mental effort required cannot be explained by any level of cultivation, understanding, or even the photographic memory of an ordinary person.
But what about this lowest-ranking gray-robed clerk in front of me?
He could recite it word for word, even the volume number and page number were exactly the same!
"you……"
Pound couldn't help but ask, "How exactly did you manage to memorize all this?"
Li Gongcao paused for a moment, then lowered his head, his voice becoming increasingly hoarse:
"When I was preparing for the position of Chief Clerk, I had no connections, so I could only memorize all the books I could."
"The Regulations for Assessing the Merits and Offerings of Mountain and Water Gods, the Regulations for Assessing the Merits of Heavenly Officials, the Records of Mountains and Rivers of Xiniu Hezhou, and the Daily Official Duties of Gods... all of these were memorized by the lower-ranking officials."
This stunned many people nearby.
Even Zhong Xuan looked at him with a hint of surprise.
We've been together for almost a month now.
It was only now that Zhong Xuan realized that this unassuming, tall, thin patrol officer actually possessed such abilities.
Li Gongcao gave another bitter laugh: "I thought it would be useless to memorize it, but I never expected that it would come in handy today..."
Pang De and Wang Tong looked at each other in bewilderment.
Does this person really not know how capable he is?
Wang Tong suddenly chuckled, his smile carrying an indescribable meaning.
"What a capable scribe he is!"
Wang Tong shook his head and sat back down. "I want to see how many more you can recite! You said those two were one in a hundred, so let me ask you again."
He pointed to a few more places in the book with his finger.
"How do you explain these incidents?"
Wang Tong was clearly testing him.
Despite his white robes and condescending manner in asking the question, none of the people present, except Zhong Xuan, found it inappropriate.
Even the two monkey spirits, Wukong and Fenglisheng, were like this.
Li Gongcao composed himself, his gaze falling on the spot Wang Tong was pointing to, his mind rapidly searching through the regulations in his memory.
After a short pause, he prepared to answer.
Before speaking, he glanced at the mountain god beside him.
Zhong Xuan smiled gently and nodded slightly.
Li Gongcao felt a warmth in his heart. When he spoke again this time, his expression and tone were much better than before. At least he could speak normally instead of being a timid and cowardly middle-aged man with a stooped back.
"The third thing... some believers offered incense and prayed for rain, and the mountain god granted their wish."
"However, after the rainfall, flash floods destroyed three acres of farmland..."
According to Article 3 of Volume VII of the Regulations.
"The mountain god controls the clouds and rain. If the amount of rain is within the normal range, the mountain god will not be responsible for any secondary disasters caused by uncontrollable factors such as terrain."
"The rainfall on Cuiyun Mountain that day was three fingers' width, which is normal agricultural rainfall. The flash flood was caused by the siltation of the downstream river channel and has nothing to do with the mountain god."
Li Gongcao recalled the events of the past, and at this moment his memory was sharper than ever before.
He could even recall the actual events he had heard during the twenty-odd days he had followed the mountain god, events that corresponded to these problems.
"The fourth incident... A hunter offered incense and prayed for a safe journey into the mountains. Later, this man fought with a tiger and lost an arm."
"According to Article 12 of Volume 9 of the Ordinance."
"The mountain god's responsibility to protect people is to prioritize their safety and well-being."
"If a believer suffers only physical injuries but does not die, and the injuries are not caused by the mountain god's inadequate protection, then it will not affect the assessment of the merits of the offerings."
"When the hunter encountered the tiger, the timely arrival of the Tiger Vanguard of Cuiyun Mountain stopped him, thus saving his life. He lost an arm but survived; this is the merit of the protection, not the fault of the protection."
"The fifth one..."
Li Gongcao recounted each and every one of the cases.
His demeanor and tone became increasingly steady, and his speech became faster and clearer. Gradually, he began to exude a sense of elation.
The fairies who had been spying outside the small living room were now completely dumbfounded.
They also clearly had no idea that this usually inconspicuous fellow, who was the most honest listener to the mountain myths, would often roll up his sleeves and trousers to work nearby and even go to the fields, just like a farmer.
It's surprising that she still has this "scholarly" side?
Pang De and Wang Tong's expressions grew increasingly complicated.
Li Gongcao was able to answer every new question they raised fluently, as if he had entered a special state.
It wasn't even those vague defenses; every answer cited relevant clauses to illustrate... Most of these problematic cases weren't really issues, leaving room for flexibility.
This lowly official in gray robes, just based on his work skills alone...
After Li Gongcao explained each of the more than one hundred incense-related issues that they had deliberately found fault with.
Both Pound and Wang Tong stopped.
If they want to find fault, they can continue to find fault.
There are over three thousand devout incense burners, of which at least ten thousand people have offered incense. It's impossible to know how many people have been nitpicking over the incense they've burned.
only……
Pang De and Wang Tong exchanged a glance.
Pound sighed, "You are very good."
Wang Tong stared at the register for a long time, then suddenly put the pen he was holding down on the table.
"Let's check this out first; there are bound to be some inconsistencies here!"
Pang De understood and immediately took out a jade slip from his sleeve and infused it with magical power.
The jade slip shimmered with spiritual light, revealing lines of fine text, which was the full text of the "Regulations for Assessing the Merits and Deeds of Mountain and Water Deities."
They began flipping through the pages, comparing them line by line, picking out the small portion they felt was the most problematic, and repeatedly questioning Li Gongcao about them.
That's exactly what these auditors do.
For suspicious items, we will check them more than once.
They have to keep staring at people who are being tortured, which is sometimes torture for them too, but that's the nature of their job... or rather, the manifestation of power. They suffer but also enjoy it.
But when you compare them one by one...
From the number of volumes to the clauses and regulations to the appendices and notes, what Li Gongcao said, while not exactly word for word, was largely in the same general sense.
Finally, Pang De and Wang Tong exchanged a glance and both stopped the temporary verification.
Pound straightened his expression and said, "Indeed, the source of the incense offerings in the hundreds of cases you refuted are questionable. Most of them are plausible and within safe limits, but..."
Wang Tong chuckled and said, "There's a small portion of them that are suspicious, but it's our duty to take them back to our brother departments in Heaven for further investigation and confirmation—you should understand?"
Upon hearing this, Zhong Xuan exchanged a glance with Li Gongcao.
Li Gongcao immediately replied, "Understood!"
But after regaining his composure, he quickly explained, "Of course, it's impossible for the gods to clarify everything; otherwise, why would there be so many regulations!"
Pound nodded in satisfaction and said, "You really are a hidden talent. With such a memory and so much effort, if you had a slightly better background or a powerful backer, you wouldn't still be a lowly gray-robed fellow."
Li Gongcao opened his mouth, his face turning slightly red.
It's rare to receive praise and recognition, especially from a white-robed celestial official from the Heavenly Court headquarters. My feelings are truly... however.
Li Gongcao recalled the time when he and his colleague Fatty came to extort money from the mountain god, and the sight of his own face at that time filled him with a mix of emotions.
Was he worthy of such praise back then?
Just then.
Wang Tong was still sarcastic, but his tone had softened a bit. "If ability alone could guarantee a promotion, ha, in the Heavenly Court, competence alone is not enough."
Pang De nodded self-deprecatingly: "Even if Fellow Daoist Wang and I have served in the Mountain and River Bureau for over a hundred years, we are nothing more than white robes. Climbing up? Without connections, don't even think about it."
Wang Tong picked up the conversation, unusually not being so sarcastic: "Do you know those celestial officials in the Heavenly Court who raise horses? They spend their days with celestial horses, looking glamorous, but in reality, their status is even lower than that of the celestial horses!"
"At least the celestial horses are still animals in the heavens, but the celestial officials who raise horses are not even as well-treated or important as those animals."
Wang Tong then stared at Li Gongcao and suddenly asked, "With your ability to memorize texts like this, did anyone praise you even once during the assessment back then?"
Li Gongcao's lips moved slightly, and he said in a low voice, "The examiner said... no matter how much you memorize, you're just a bookworm. If you can't do the work, then do more and do it well."
Wang Tong nodded, his smile turning somewhat bitter: "This is it, this is it."
He didn't want to say any more. His background and connections in the Heavenly Court were insignificant, so how could he continue to be so smug?
Wang Tong sat up straight again, his gaze returning to Zhong Xuan.
"Mountain God of Cuiyun, you are a capable official. Today, we two will give you face and leave these issues aside for now, as they are covered in incense offerings."
This means that we will stop finding fault for the time being.
Hearing this, Li Gongcao and the demons outside the temple breathed a sigh of relief. They found the words clear.
Only Wukong was truly born clever, squinting his monkey eyes.
This doesn't seem like it's over yet.
Just as it had expected, and just as the mountain god looked back at it with a half-smile, so too did the mountain god.
Sure enough, Wang Tong's next words made everyone's hearts jump again.
"but."
Wang Tong raised a finger, "We can let the matter of incense offerings go, but as for merit, Cuiyun Mountain God, you'd better give us an explanation."
Zhong Xuan remained expressionless, cupped his hands, and said, "Please enlighten me."
Previously, he was able to directly manipulate and even forcibly detain Li Gongcao and that fat Gongcao because these two were not from the Heavenly Court headquarters, but things are different now.
The changes in the Tao are not necessarily smooth or compliant.
The explanation given is based on a previous life.
The two minor patrol officers could be considered "outsourced dispatch workers," but the two regular employees of the Heavenly Court's Three Realms Mountain and Marsh Division were receiving all sorts of benefits and perks from regular employees. After this incident, they were truly slapping the Heavenly Court in the face.