Chapter 70: The Trial at Yama's Palace (Three)

  Before long, four ghostly attendants brought two black dragon carved armchairs behind Ding Lingxiu and Zhang Shanyi.

  Ding Lingxiu dragged his handcuffed hands and said with a humble tone:

  "Thanks, King Yan!"

  Zhang Shanyi also bowed his head in thanks, and the two of them sat down on the chairs.

  This move, not to mention that Luo Ci was already shocked and speechless, all the yin messengers present were wide-eyed and tongue-tied, staring at these two young people. Niu Tou Ma Mian was even more stunned, thinking that they had judged thousands of prisoners over the years, but had never seen a few with such high treatment, although not as arrogant as Sun Wukong's alteration of the Book of Life and Death back then, but this momentum was almost comparable to the Great Battle of Heaven Palace hundreds of years ago.

  Chui Fu Jun was indeed a man of great experience and knowledge. Although Yan Wang's attitude had changed so drastically in such a short time, he remained as calm as ever. This time, however, she didn't stare at the computer but instead looked straight at Ding Ling Xiu with a serious expression, saying in a cold tone:

  "Your Highness wants to punish Ding Lingxiao, are you aware of his crime?"

  "I don't know, your honor."

  "Oh? I don't know?"

  Cui Fu Jun had thought that Ding Ling Xiu would defend herself against the charges, but instead she didn't admit to any wrongdoing. From the information on her computer earlier, Cui Fu Jun knew that the evidence of Ding Ling Xiu's crimes was solid and there was no way to deny it. But seeing Ding Ling Xiu so calm and composed, seemingly without a care in the world, Cui Fu Jun couldn't help but feel some doubt.

  "Since you don't know, are you planning to deny it to the end?" Cui Fugui tied up his long hair, but his eyes were still fixed on Ding Lingxiu.

  Although Cui's appearance was ethereal and otherworldly, her cold expression could still intimidate people. Her glasses, which reflected a red glow, seemed like the giant pupils of a demon, making one feel chilled to the bone.

  Ding Lingxiu did not look aside, and replied with an air of confidence:

  "Your Honor, I have come to receive the Silver Spirit Badge that I applied for a few days ago. What crime could I possibly have committed? If I had known I was guilty, would I still be able to drag my sickly body all the way down here to throw myself into the net?"

  Cui Fu Jun secretly thought, Silver Ling badge? What's going on here? The Silver Ling badge is an award given by the underworld to demon hunters who have made outstanding contributions to the underworld. How could it be awarded to a prisoner? But whether someone tells the truth or lies, it can't be hidden from the eyes of the chief judge. Cui Fu Jun saw that Ding Ling Xiu was telling the truth at a glance, so where did the problem lie?

  So, she didn't answer immediately, but instead moved the mouse and quickly searched for a recent application for a Silver Badge on her computer. Indeed, she really saw someone named Ding Lingxiu, but there was no record of his ID and photo in the mortal world, only a single name.

  Yan Wang also found that there was something fishy about it, he looked at Cui Fugui and asked:

  "What's wrong? Is something wrong?"

  Chui Fu Jun was somewhat unbelievable and hesitated for a moment before saying:

  "Report to King Yan, among those who recently applied for the Silver Spirit Badge, there is indeed one named Ding Lingxiu."

  Yan Wang was also stunned, thinking how could this be possible? Not to mention the Silver Spirit Badge, even the Copper Spirit Badge had to go through a strict review by the judge of good and evil in the underworld before it could be exchanged. How could this Silver Spirit Badge be issued to a prisoner after application?

  Yan Wang's face sank as he said:

  "Could it be just a coincidence with the same name? Let me check if this person has received the badge?"

  Chui Fu Jun moved his mouse a bit and pushed up his glasses, saying:

  "Reporting to King Yan, I really haven't received it yet. However..."

  Chui Fu Jun paused for a moment before continuing:

  "But this applicant unexpectedly didn't have three yin messengers, but only had one, Da Li Gui Wang."

  Yan Wang's face turned even darker, and his voice rose by several decibels:

  "This guy is getting more and more arrogant, actually daring to make such a decision on his own, where are the others?"

  Before Cui Fugui could respond, Niu Tou bowed slightly and said:

  "Report to Yan Wang, he should have gone on a business trip to the Holy Domain."

  Yan Wang stroked his chin and asked with a sideways glance at Ox Head:

  "What did he go to the holy land for? To meditate and gain enlightenment?"

  The ox head seemed to smile but not quite, with a face full of jealousy, said in a low voice:

  "He isn't the one who took on the contract for the Queen of the West's renovation of the Jade Pool? He was just transferred away a few days ago."

  Yan Wang turned his head and didn't continue speaking.

  Chui Fu Jun looked at Ding Ling Xiu and continued:

  "No matter what your purpose is for coming to this place, and no matter whether you have obtained the Silver Spirit Badge or not, let's just talk about the crimes you've committed."

  Ding Lingxiu was perplexed and couldn't figure it out. Since Luo Sha took him and Zhang Shanyi, they kept saying that he was an A-level fugitive, but what crime had he actually committed? He himself didn't even know, thinking to himself: "I wish you would tell me right away."

  "Your Honor, I beg of you to clearly indicate what crime I have committed. In truth, I am unaware."

  Chui Fu-jun's mind began to wonder, because he knew that Ding Ling-xiu had never lied in his behavior, if it was a lie and deceived Yan Wang and the judge, then it would be the greatest liar of all time. But if what Ding Ling-xiu said was true, then it meant that Ding Ling-xiu had not committed any crime at all, so how could these evidence on the computer be explained?

  Still thinking of returning home, Cui Fu Jun still didn't show any change in emotions and continued to interrogate Ding Ling Xi with a questioning tone:

  "A pack of nonsense! You actually dare to deny it in front of me, the chief judge of this court? Fine, then let me show you these pieces of evidence."

  As soon as she snapped her fingers, the screen behind her transformed into a projector screen. A photo appeared on the screen, which was very clear. The photo showed Ding Lingxiao and Juan Ti fighting in the cave before, but from the scene in the photo, it seemed more like they were admiring the Spirit Gathering Orb together rather than fighting. At that time, Ding Lingxiao was sneaking up quietly, while Juan Ti was staring intently at the Spirit Gathering Orb to lure him into a sneak attack. Due to the photographer's angle, this effect was created.

  Chui Fu Jun pointed at Ding Ling Xiu on the painting and said:

  "Is the person in this picture you?"

  Ding Lingxiu furrowed his brow and took a look, finding that it was indeed himself, and this scene he naturally remembered vividly.

  "That's right, it's me. I'm a demon hunter. This demon was originally going to be subdued by me, but later on, due to some reasons, I didn't succeed."

  Chui Fu Jun smiled and said with a hint of sarcasm:

  "Didn't succeed? Was it you who killed him?"

  After she said that, she clicked the mouse and the screen immediately switched to a scene where Corpse Devil beheaded Ume Sae. The scene was bloody and cruel, but the angle of this photo was even more bizarre. It was taken from below Ding Lingyu's diagonal line, as if Ding Lingyu was taking a shot upwards towards the sky with a smile on his face.

  Ding Lingxiu felt something was off, but still nodded in agreement and said:

  "That's right, it was indeed killed by the Ghoul that I subdued. I'm also sad about this, it's because I didn't make myself clear to the Ghoul."

  Chui Fu Jun let out a cold snort and continued clicking the mouse.

  And the next scene made Ding Lingxu's eyes widen in shock, and he suddenly seemed to understand what was going on.

  The next scene was him holding the Ling Spirit Ball, and at this time, Yu Nu in the picture seemed to be laughing very proudly. Ding Ling Xiu also had a sly face in the picture. The whole scene looked like Ding Ling Xiu deliberately let Yu Nu destroy the demon cave and then snatched away the Ling Spirit Ball with a proud smile.

  Spirit Orb? Quail Egg? Photograph?

  Ding Ling's mind began to get a little confused, although he was clearly aware that someone was framing him, but he couldn't imagine who would do such a thing. He had not been in the world for long, and even his friends could be counted on one hand, so who would go to such great lengths to frame an inexperienced demon hunter like himself?

  Nangong Ao Tian? Guo Mo Han? These are all impossible!

  Just as Ding Lingyu was shocked and couldn't speak, Cui Fugui continued:

  "Hmph, how's that? There's nothing more to say now. No matter how well you disguise yourself or how eloquently you speak, we, the enforcers of the underworld, are not ones to be swayed by empty words. These photos were taken when they investigated you, and your crimes at the time are all on record."

  Ding Lingxiu's face turned pale with sweat, although he had been calm since entering the underworld, because at that time he firmly believed he was innocent, so he was fearless. Now, judging from the current situation, it is clear that someone has framed him, and in the face of these evidences, as Cui Fujun said, he really can't argue back with a hundred mouths.

  He was stunned for a moment, then immediately made an effort to calm himself down, his eyes fixed on the screen asking:

  "Your Honor, I indeed killed the pheasant, but this pheasant was a wanted demon from the underworld who committed numerous evils in the human world. Does my action constitute a crime?"

  Chui Fu Jun sneered and pointed at Ding Ling Xiu with his slender fingers:

  "Stubborn till death, but I have to say, an eighteen or nineteen-year-old youth like you can actually do something so earth-shattering, it's truly unbelievable."

  Ding Lingxiu was already beyond surprise at this point, and he stared blankly at Cui Fugui without saying a word.

  Chui Fu Jun continued:

  "Hum, fine. I'll let you die with a clear conscience then. Now, I will read out your indictment to you, see if you still have anything good to say for yourself!"

  "Ding Lingxiu, male, human demon hunter. Crime one: On the fifth day of the second month of the year of Ji Chou, Ding Lingxiu broke into the Black Rope Hell and released the demon-possessed Qian Ti and Huang Niu Jing, injuring several ghost officials. Crime two: On the sixteenth day of the third month of the year of Ji Chou, Ding Lingxiu and his accomplice Zhang Shanyi used the demons Qian Ti and Huang Niu Jing to dig a demonic cave in Chessboard Mountain, repeatedly robbing and stealing tourists' property and hiding it in the cave. Crime three: On the twenty-first day of the fourth month of the year of Ji Chou, Ding Lingxiu and his accomplice Zhang Shanyi used the demons Qian Ti and Huang Niu Jing to rob the underworld's transport of yin messengers, stealing a five-colored stone pillar. Crime four: On the first day of the fifth month of the year of Ji Chou, Ding Lingxiu and his accomplice Zhang Shanyi used the demons Qian Ti and Huang Niu Jing to steal a certain demon hunter's soul-gathering ball. Ding Lingxiu, having become greedy, wanted to monopolize the soul-gathering ball, killed Qian Ti, and subdued Huang Niu Jing."

  Ding Lingxiu listened and was stunned with his eyes wide open and mouth agape.

  Did Hei Chong release the Quail and Yellow Ox spirits only to use them for evil deeds, and ultimately kill them out of greed?

  How is this possible?

  Ding Lingxiu felt his scalp explode, and his entire mind was already in a mess. But all of this seemed to make sense, no wonder that person would go to great lengths to take so many photos, just to shift the blame onto himself, he must have known about his conversation with Gua Ge and also knew that Juan Ti and Huang Niu Jing had been exposed, so he carefully designed a scheme to make Ding Lingxiu his scapegoat.

  This person must have a certain status in the underworld, otherwise it would be impossible to carry out this plan so flawlessly.

  Thinking of this, Ding Lingxiu struggled to restrain his already trembling body and forcibly suppressed his anger, saying:

  "This is the underworld, can't just be convicted based on a few photos? I did kill the peony and subdued the yellow cow spirit, but that's my duty. As for other things, it's clear someone wants to frame me. I hope the judge and King Yan will see through this clearly."

  Chui Fu Jun listened and smiled, patted his hand and said:

  "Alright, bring in the witness!"