"Admitted guilt?"
Jiang Yun Zhou paused slightly, as if he hadn't expected the situation to end this way.
Beside him, Ji Yuan nodded with a grave expression. Although Zhang Qing Yang and the others had not yet returned, he had, through the connection between his main body and his avatar, learned of the situation at the River God Temple immediately.
However, he too couldn't understand why the other party would plead guilty in full view of everyone, without the slightest resistance or struggle.
This way, there would be no possibility of turning things around. Once the charges were proven, it would attract the attention of the Prefecture Governor's office, and even the prefecture city.
"At least it can be confirmed that the River God here is merely a puppet, and the one who committed the grave sins is someone else," Jiang Yun Zhou said slowly, his eyes flashing.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan sighed silently. Now it was clear why the other party had no trace of sin on them.
It was because they were merely a puppet placed on the surface. The true perpetrator was someone else, and all the sins naturally wouldn't fall upon them. The few scattered traces of sin could easily be offset by the merit they possessed.
After all, as a deity of a region, they had done many good deeds over the years, at least ensuring good weather and bountiful harvests. It wasn't difficult to accumulate some merit.
"But this way, the mastermind has completely gone into hiding, and it will be impossible to find any trace of them," Ji Yuan couldn't help but lament, as the clue was now completely severed.
To interrogate the River God and the temple scribes for information about the mastermind would be like dreaming. Since they were put forward as scapegoats, it was clear that someone was certain they would keep silent.
If they had the time and energy, they might as well focus their efforts elsewhere, perhaps even yielding unexpected gains.
"One thing is certain: the prominent figures in the city should all have some inextricable ties with the River God Temple," he said, his expression darkening slightly.
As for whether these ties were good or bad, whether they were merely superficial exchanges of interest or secretly colluding, that remained to be investigated.
However, without sufficient evidence, even the county yamen could not directly summon them for interrogation.
After all, they were all high-ranking officials and influential figures in the city. Each of them was capable of greatly affecting the county, and a single misstep could even bring the entire Lin Fu County to a standstill, causing unrest.
Hundreds, even thousands, of innocent people would be implicated, and even lose their lives.
Once such a massive amount of sin was incurred, even a cultivator at the peak of the third realm would not be able to withstand it and would immediately be consumed by karmic fire.
"From now on, we need to play defensively and avoid rash actions," Ji Yuan's eyes flickered, clearly having a general strategy for the situation ahead.
That evening, Zhang Qing Yang returned to the county city with a group of people. Upon seeing the River God and the twelve temple scribes being escorted in the prison cart, the city erupted.
Countless commoners gathered outside the county yamen, shouting for the officials to provide an explanation. Many more collapsed in tears, cursing the officials for unjustly accusing the water god who had blessed their region.
Some even incited others to smash the water god temple on Xiao Yuan Mountain, convinced that it was the culprit behind framing the River God they revered.
However, how many of these people truly thought that way, and how many were simply looking to fish in troubled waters and seize benefits amidst the chaos, only they themselves would know.
What was certain was that the mastermind was surely behind this, a small counterattack to thwart Ji Yuan and his companions.
After the sun set, the county yamen immediately began the trial, starting with each of the temple scribes. They didn't even wait to spend the night, fearing any unforeseen changes.
At the same time, these temple scribes were incredibly cooperative. They answered whatever they were asked, even proactively confessing their past misdeeds over the years.
The constables and bailiffs in the county yamen were almost running themselves ragged, using the freshly obtained confessions and testimonies to collect concrete evidence from various locations.
Dozens of victims and their families were successively brought into the county yamen. Once their claims were confirmed, their confessions would be marked with a vermilion pen to solidify their crimes.
However, no one expected that after one night, only three temple scribes had been fully interrogated, and the crimes committed by just these three were enough to almost exhaust everyone in the county yamen.
The following day, as details from some of the court sessions emerged, the shouts in the city subsided considerably. Even those who had firmly believed began to waver.
After all, if even the temple scribes, who were closest to the deity, had committed such heinous acts that angered heaven and man, how could the River God, as a deity of a region, be as pure as a blank sheet of paper?
While the county yamen was hearing the cases, Li Bu Wei and others in the city had all arrived at the River God Temple, guarding Ji Yuan, who was absorbing the local incense and wish power.
It had to be said that the foundation accumulated by the River God over three hundred years was truly substantial. A large amount of incense and wish power had not been used and was entirely stored within the statue.
Such a massive amount of incense and wish power, even without refinement, simply by being absorbed into his golden body, had already brought Ji Yuan immense benefits, making his divine might even more formidable.
After three full days and nights of absorption, he finally drained all the incense and wish power from the statue. Now, his golden body continuously emanated a rich divine light, and even approaching him made one feel as if they were on the verge of enlightenment.
Ji Yuan summoned Li Bu Wei and the other two, then summoned Zhu Tao from Xiao Yuan Mountain, and had the four of them sit around him.
He sat cross-legged on a prayer mat and began to refine the vast amount of incense and wish power within him. For a time, divine might and Dao resonance permeated the entire main hall.
Li Bu Wei and the other three, bathed in the overflowing divine light, directly entered a state of enlightenment. Although the effect was relatively weak, it was still a rare and precious opportunity.
The reason for this was the incense and wish power that Ji Yuan was refining.
In ancient times, deities would gather followers, even engaging in great battles to vie for faith, sparing no effort in igniting one grand war after another.
What they sought was the power of wishes from myriad beings, which is the wish power within incense and wish power.
The wish power of all beings, besides strengthening the soul, had a primary function: to provide a state of closeness to the Dao.
For example, states of enlightenment and understanding the Dao. In such states, deities could more easily perceive the principles of heaven and earth, which was one of the reasons for the great prosperity of the divine path at that time.
As long as there was sufficient wish power, deities could rapidly improve their cultivation.
Another important function of wish power was to gather spiritual energy from heaven and earth tenfold, a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold!