Chapter 289: 288: This is a Humble Abode, Only my Virtue is Fragrant_1
If only Yun Zhi claimed that the goods Daoist Buyu sold were genuine, Mo Danxin would find it implausible.
But with Xu Xin’s endorsement, the credibility increases substantially.
Daoist Buyu laughed heartily with delight. Even though his rescuer was not the Fourth Elder but his beloved disciple Yun Zhi, it didn’t matter who it was, as long as they were able to rescue him, “No matter, no matter, as long as Lord Mo realizes he was wrong it’s fine, I don’t need any compensation from the court, I just want to be released.”
According to the laws of the dynasty, Mo Danxin represented the court. His wrong judgement of Daoist Buyu was equivalent to the court making a mistake, and the court had to pay compensation.
Mo Danxin shook his head: “It’s still impossible. You just attempted to escape from prison, and even though it was halted, you still need to be locked up.”
Daoist Buyu: “…”
“Then Master, take care of yourself. I will take Junior Brother home now.” Having successfully cleared her master’s name, Yun Zhi was able to leave with peace of mind.
“Wait! I haven’t been let out yet!” Daoist Buyu quickly called out to stop Yun Zhi.
Yun Zhi cupped her hands, showing a touch of reverence in her words: “Master often says, ‘A mountain does not have to be high to be famous, it gains fame if it’s home to a fairy. A water doesn’t have to be deep to be spiritual, it becomes spiritual if it’s home to a dragon. A house does not have to be fancy to be good, it is good if it’s occupied by someone of virtue.’ Although the prison conditions are crude, with a person of such noble spirit as master, the environment of the prison is not crude.”
Hearing the familiar words, Daoist Buyu’s memory travelled back hundreds of years.
Hundreds of years ago, when Daoist Buyu just took Yun Zhi as his disciple, he taught her on Sky Gate Mountain. Back then, Sky Gate Mountain only had Daoist Buyu, and the huge mountain only had one house. When Yun Zhi arrived, she needed a house too, so Daoist Buyu, feeling lazy, randomly built a crude wooden hut.
Facing Yun Zhi’s innocent eyes, Daoist Buyu gently patted her head, with a kindly look:
“A mountain does not have to be high to be famous, it gains fame if it’s home to a fairy. A water doesn’t have to be deep to be spiritual, it becomes spiritual if it’s home to a dragon. A house does not have to be fancy to be good; it is good if it’s occupied by someone of virtue. The last sentence means that someone with noble character won’t mind the crude conditions of the house. Little Yun is a good kid who won’t mind the simplicity of the wooden hut and the magnitude of the mountain, right?”
“Yes!” Little Yun Zhi clenched her fist and nodded vigorously.
…
Now, the consequences are here.
Looking at Yun Zhi, who was leaving decisively, Daoist Buyu’s mood slumped.
Shortly after, Lu Yang returned to the large cell at a jog, and reinvigorated Daoist Buyu.
“Good disciple, did Xiao Yun ask you to come?”
Lu Yang nodded.
Daoist Buyu cheered up and said: “Good disciple, I didn’t expect you to have formed the golden core, and reached the First-Grade. It’s my fault that I didn’t educate you well before. Once I get out, I will definitely guide you on your Cultivation!”
Lu Yang scratched his head awkwardly: “Eldest Senior Sister asked me to deliver food.”
“…Well, delivering food is also good.”
As Lu Yang spoke, he took out a set of meal boxes from the Storage Ring. He hadn’t even lifted the lid, but the fragrant aroma was already noticeable, which caused the fasting Daoist Buyu to sniff, recognizing it as the food from the best restaurant in Goose County.
Then Lu Yang placed each meal box in front of the other prison cells, and by the time he got to Daoist Buyu, he had run out.
“What about mine?” Daoist Buyu was dumbfounded. He was drooling at the smell of the food.
Lu Yang honestly said: “Eldest Senior Sister said that bullying often happens in prison. She was worried that you being old and weak would be bullied, so she asked me to order food from Ju Yuan Lou and give it to your cellmates so they won’t bully you.”
Daoist Buyu: “…”
The Minister of Justice nodded repeatedly from the side. The unstoppable Daoist Buyu finally was restrained by his own disciple.
Well done!
Upon finishing the food delivery, Lu Yang left the large prison and met up with Yun Zhi at the city gate of Goose County.
Yun Zhi summoned a lucky cloud with a gesture to the sky, and the cloud descended to support the two of them.
Strangely, despite Yun Zhi and Lu Yang’s conspicuous actions in the public view, with countless passing pedestrians, none of them paid attention here, as if Yun Zhi and Lu Yang didn’t exist.
Aboard the lucky cloud, Lu Yang curiously asked, “Eldest Senior Sister, is the technique Master brought out the same one that Daozu cultivated?”
Lu Yang learned from Fairy Eternity that this technique was extraordinary and not something of the mortal world.
Yun Zhi stood on the cloud, looking down at the blue sky. The sunlight shone through the clouds and formed a beam of light penetrating the cloud.
Yun Zhi withdrew her gaze and slowly said: “Considering the relationship between Daozu and Master, it should be the same technique Daozu cultivated.”
“The relationship between Daozu and Master?”
“Daozu and Master are friends who forget their age difference. Daozu should have wanted to take a person of destiny as a disciple, and asked Master to release the first quarter of his technique. Whoever can cultivate the first quarter, Daozu would take as disciple.”
“So, Daozu has not passed away or fallen, he is still alive?”
“He is doing very well.”
…
After Yun Zhi and Lu Yang left, Mo Danxin pondered for a long time and decided that it wasn’t good to keep the Minister of Justice locked up here.
It wasn’t about fear of offending the Minister of Justice, but the Ministry of Punishments had many affairs that required the Minister of Justice’s decision. Even if he were locked up for ten days or half a month, the Ministry of Punishments would be in a mess.
“I remember there should be a law for exoneration… I found it.”
Mo Danxin flipped through the penal code and found a clause listing six situations in which criminal responsibility would not be pursued:
One of them basically said that if, after an interpretation by the Ministry of Punishments, it was deemed unnecessary to pursue criminal responsibility, then the suspect won’t be prosecuted.
The local government does not have the authority to decide whether to pursue criminal charges, only the Ministry of Punishments does.
Mo Danxin wrote out the situation and had it urgently sent to the Ministry of Punishments.
…
The second in command at the Ministry of Punishments, the Vice Minister, soon received an inquiry from Goose County, stating that there was a local official who knowingly violated the law, openly aiding a criminal in prison break. But considering the importance of this official, they requested exemption from criminal responsibility.
The Vice Minister snorted coldly: “I heard that this Mo Danxin is known as Justice Mo. Seeing him today, he is nothing special. An official who knowingly violates the law should be dealt with even more strictly. Where is the talk of exemption? It’s utterly ridiculous!”
“I don’t know whether this official has backing in Imperial City, or he has given gifts to Mo Danxin.”
“Exemption requires the approval of Master Xu. Even if I agree, Master Xu will not!”
“Let me see which official has such a big face to dare to violate the law knowingly… Master Xu?!”
The Vice Minister rubbed his eyes, reciting the calming mantra three times, and looked again at the statement from Goose County. He wondered if he was still not awake.
“I heard that Master Xu suddenly disappeared on his way to a banquet yesterday, it turned out he was in a rush to go to jail?”
The Vice Minister looked puzzled. According to the penal code, his superior, the Minister of Justice, had to approve the exemption from criminal responsibility.
Master Xu would definitely approve.
But the problem was that Master Xu was the party involved in this case. According to the penal code, he had to abstain from making a decision.