Just as I was about to speak, Gu Piaoran stepped forward and said, "Our ship accidentally entered the place of punishment, which means we are definitely guilty?"
The prison officer said in a deep voice: "There is no such thing as mistaken entry into this place. Do you think I am a fool who can be fooled at will?"
I secretly said "not good" in my heart. Gu Piaoran's words "accidentally" were like selling us all out.
When I was secretly on guard, Gu Piaoran said, "We did enter this place according to the sea chart. But from ancient times to the present, there has never been a case of anyone being convicted for treasure hunting, right?"
The warden said coldly, "Of course you can search for treasure, but it depends on whose treasure you are looking for. You are not guilty of wanting to retrieve the treasure of your ancestors, but you should be killed on the spot if you steal the treasure."
Gu Piaoran made a gesture to the prison warden - Dou Ma had told me that gesture when she talked about Yaomen, and the gesture meant: I am the leader of the sect.
The prison officer obviously didn't understand what the other party meant: "What do you want to say?"
I was sweating profusely. This place has nothing to do with Yaomen. Gu Piaoran can't prove that we are looking for the secret treasure left by our ancestors. What awaits us is a dead end.
Gu Piaoran coughed twice and said, "Of course we have something to do with this place. Wuchang, it's your turn."
Xue Wuchang flashed out and took out the token of the Hell Gate.
After taking a look, the warden's expression eased a little and said, "It is somewhat related. But you are not the descendant of the main lineage. How did you get here?"
My heart suddenly skipped a beat. No wonder Gu Piaoran was able to convince Xue Wuchang that this was not a secret place of Ruomen, but a forbidden place left by the Hell Gate.
I figured one thing out in an instant.
The one who attracted Hell Gate's Bloodless Impermanence was none other than Gu Piaoran himself. He had set his sights on Hell Gate, but he didn't go directly to Hell Gate. Instead, he used me as bait to lure Bloodless Impermanence into the trap.
We were surrounded by water ghosts at sea, not because Gu Piaoran was testing some undercover agent, but because he was deliberately waiting for Xue Wuchang to catch up. Gu Piaoran knew Xue Wuchang's character very well, so he deliberately angered him and let Xue Wuchang chase us relentlessly.
The Qianlong's U-turn between the tides was a stroke of genius. If Xue Wuchang didn't want to be swallowed by the tide and buried at the bottom of the sea, he could only jump onto our ship to survive. Gu Piaoran's purpose of bringing Xue Wuchang into the forbidden area was achieved.
When Xue Wuchang saw the pillars towering over the sea, he realized that this place must be related to the Gate of Hell. Otherwise, Gu Piaoran would not have easily convinced Xue Wuchang, who was stronger than him. They must have reached some agreement without telling me.
There is another more important character here—Tong Xiaoyao.
Tong Xiaoyao must be Gu Piaoran's pawn. No brainless person can survive in the martial arts world for so long. If you think about it carefully, Tong Xiaoyao's timing of speaking was just right every time. Not only did she divide the relationship between the groups hired by Gu Piaoran, but she also interrupted everyone's thoughts.
Especially the words she said to Gu Piaoran when she got off the boat, which was like throwing herself out of thin air. But it was precisely these words that dispelled most of our doubts about Gu Piaoran.
The only thing I can’t understand now is why Gu Piaoran waited until this time to come out and explain their relationship to the prison warden
Also, why did he first make a gesture to the warden to show his identity as a disciple of Rumor Sect, and then let Xue Wuchang show his token? Wasn't it superfluous for him to do so
When all kinds of thoughts were running through my mind, Gu Piaoran smiled and said, "Mr. Wu, shouldn't you take out the Blood Demon Eye?"
When I turned to look at Gu Piaoran, he smiled and nodded. His meaning was very clear—if I don't take out the Blood Demon Eye, we will all die here. It's up to you whether to take it or not!
I suppressed my anger and showed the Blood Demon Eye on my left hand. The prison warden opposite was stunned for a moment, and the next moment he suddenly appeared in front of me. Before I could react, he grabbed my left hand. I instinctively wanted to attack, but the prison warden looked at the ring on my hand as if no one was around. I immediately changed my raised palm to stop Ye Jin from attacking.
Ye Jin retracted his fists instantly and carefully retreated to my side. The warden then bowed to me and said, "So you are the descendant of the main lineage. I am so sorry!"
I returned the gift subconsciously, but my heart was filled with turmoil.
When Seventh Shuilan gave me the Blood Demon's Eye, I felt strange - why would Seventh Shuilan give me a ring for no reason and declare to the public that it was her token of love
Could it be that the Blood Demon Eye did not originally belong to Duan Yunfei, but to the Seventh Water Blue? Was the Seventh Water Blue not the descendant of the Half Life Dao, but had always belonged to the Hell Gate? Putting aside the Seventh Water Blue's identity, what really puzzled me was why the Seventh Water Blue gave me the Blood Demon Eye. Did she already predict that I would come to the Sin Forbidden Land
The warden took a few steps back and said, "Even if you are the descendant of the main lineage, I can't let you go. You should serve your sentence here slowly!"
This time, not only was I stunned, even Gu Piaoran's face turned pale: "What do you mean, sir?"
The prison officer said solemnly: "According to the rules of the forbidden area, only innocent people can enter the Heavenly Prison City. Each of you carries the aura of sin. No one can enter until the aura of sin dissipates."
Xue Wuchang couldn't help but ask, "How long will it take for the sinful energy to dissipate?"
"It's hard to say." The warden shook his head. "Maybe in a few days, maybe in a few years, maybe you will never disappear unless you die."
According to the theory of Taoism, anyone who commits a crime will have a sinful aura on his body. Unless he honestly accepts the punishment of the laws of the world, the sinful aura will not dissipate. Otherwise, the sinful aura will be attached to the person endlessly like an evil ghost. If the person's luck can suppress the sinful aura, it will be better. Once the luck is weakened, the sinful aura will backfire fiercely, and the person's retribution and bad luck will follow one after another under the pull of the sinful aura, which is enough to make his life worse than death.
As the saying goes: Confucianists disrupt the law with their writings, and knights violate the law with their force. There is no one in the martial arts world who is free from guilt. Even if you kill someone for the sake of justice, you will still be entangled with guilt. What's more, Ye Jin and I have never done anything good to save people from trouble since our debut.
According to the current laws, even if Ye Jin and I sit on the beach and turn into two dry skeletons, our sins will never be eliminated.
While I was hesitating, Gu Piaoran asked loudly, "Excuse me, sir, what is your crime?"
The warden said without hesitation: "It is a sin to break the law."
Gu Piaoran went further and asked, "Then how do you know that the sin in us comes from the law?"
I couldn't help but look at Gu Piaoran. He was ready to win or lose!
The source of sin is not just violating the law. Sin did not originate from the law, but from religion. However, the sin mentioned in religion is not the same as the sin of the law.
To give the simplest example: according to current laws, living together without marriage is not illegal, but in a certain religious sect it is a crime; slaughtering pigs and sheep is not illegal, but some religions regard it as a sin.
Therefore, the sources of sin in people are not the same, and the ways to eliminate sin are also different.
The prison officer said coldly: "The knight-errant broke the law with force. The fact that you are from the martial arts world is enough to prove the problem."
Gu Piaoran laughed loudly and said, "It is true that we are from the underworld, but how much of our sins are counted as part of the law, and how much should be incorporated into the church? Can you tell the difference? If you can't tell the difference, then don't say that we should serve our sentences here to atone for our sins. Because we don't accept it!"
"Yes, we don't accept it!" Gu Piaoran raised his arm and shouted, and his men immediately responded in unison. Dozens of people roared at the same time, which increased the momentum.
The prison officer sneered and said, "Do you think you can stump me with this little trick? I will convince you today."
The warden waved his sleeves as he spoke, and I heard a sound like a prison door opening. He turned around and walked away without waiting for me to ask, "Follow me. The conviction mirror in the hall is enough to make you bow your heads and plead guilty. If you take the initiative to plead guilty before arriving at the hall, I can give you a lighter sentence. Otherwise, it will be a heavier crime, and I will never let you off easily, even if you are the heir of the main lineage."
Gu Piaoran was the first to follow the warden and walk out of the cell. I quickly chased after him and caught up with him. I used my inner strength to transmit my voice, "What the hell are you doing?"
Gu Piaoran smiled and sent me a voice message: "For many things, the truth will not be revealed until the end. Why are you in such a hurry? The most urgent thing is how to save your life from the hands of the criminal. You don't want to experience what it feels like to be skinned alive, do you?"
The warden suddenly shouted, "No whispering! I advise you not to try to escape. The eight hundred jailers in the forbidden area are enough to make you want to live but not die. Anyone who wants to test the law can try to escape."
The warden obviously thought that we were whispering to each other in order to plot our escape, but I couldn't explain anything to him. I could only glare at Gu Piaoran, then moved away from him and fell behind the team.
I have been observing Gu Piaoran's movements since I left the cell, and he still seems calm and composed. Could it be that he really has the ability to avoid detection by ghosts and gods? Or did he deliberately let the warden take us to the so-called "lobby"
Although I already knew that Gu Piaoran was cunning and his methods were unpredictable, without any reference, I couldn't infer what Gu Piaoran wanted to do. I could only follow his ideas step by step. This feeling was not only very bad, but also made me feel extremely dangerous.
I couldn't help but turn my head to look at Xue Wuchang, who happened to be looking at me. (To be continued)