mesbooks Chapter 273 Lesser Spirit Prison
Chapter 273 Lesser Spirit Prison
Alarm bells rang in Lin Yan's mind.
The underground palace clearly remained the same as before, yet every inch of air seemed to tell her—
wrong!
Something's not right!
The familiar corridor felt eerie and strange.
A clear, ethereal voice came from all directions, without origin or source, yet every word was distinct:
"The absence of evil is the ideal of the world."
Punishment is the bottom line of justice.
"If a crime is committed, punishment must be served."
Before the words were even finished, the temperature suddenly rose.
The pitch-black walls, as if licked by embers, gradually glowed with a fiery red, as if the entire palace were burning inside.
Amidst the scorching heat, a figure slowly materialized.
Li Xinyuan, a thug in a suit.
At this moment, the power within him far surpasses what he had before.
What's most unsettling is his eyes:
Deep within his pupils, a clock was clearly reflected, its second hand ticking silently, each step perfectly in time with his heartbeat.
"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."
The voice seemed to be leaking from his eyes.
Li Xinyuan's lips curled up slightly.
"Welcome to Little Spirit Prison."
.....
The deepest part of the underground palace.
"Tick-tock...tick-tock..."
Zhongshu sat cross-legged at the entrance of the palace, his back against the cold stone door, looking up at the blasphemous bell on the wall.
The three hands moved slowly, like three invisible knives, relentlessly cutting through time.
He once wanted to build a hell in the uninhabited area of Northwest China—
A hell specifically for punishing evildoers.
But now he has found a better place.
The underground palace is not as remote as the no-man's-land, but it is even more hidden.
Hidden right under the noses of the people, yet undiscovered by anyone.
He stared at the blasphemous bell, the three hands reflected in his pupils, and muttered to himself:
"Lucifer used this clock to set several rules in the mall at the time."
Each one starts operating at three o'clock.
I should be able to be like him too.
He remained silent for a moment, his gaze piercing through the layers of stone walls, as if measuring the depth of this underground palace.
There are nine floors in total.
Each level corresponds to a different type of prison.
He closed his eyes, and a massive prison system was rising from the ground in his mind.
"The first layer is joyful words."
Those who spread rumors shall be punished by speaking without stopping for a moment, until their tongues rot and their teeth break.
"The second layer, worms."
Thieves, robbers, and all those who stray from the right path and follow unorthodox ways are rendered powerless here; they can only wriggle like worms.
"The third floor..."
He counted down the layers one by one, his voice growing softer and softer, as if he were reciting a scripture he knew by heart.
He paused when he counted to the eighth floor.
"The eighth floor—that's the floor right above my head."
The most heinous and wicked are imprisoned here.
He paused, then added:
"For example, the Lady of Light at the entrance to the underground palace."
He wasn't worried that Li Xinyuan was no match for the Lady of Light.
Under the cover of the Blasphemous Bell, Li Xinyuan's combat power was amplified to a terrifying level.
This place is like a domain.
Strengthen your own forces and suppress the enemy.
Moreover, the Blasphemous Bell possesses the power to make its words come true.
In this small world, Zhong Shu, who wields the blasphemous bell, is virtually invincible.
Suddenly, he frowned.
The clock hands of the blasphemous bell are slowly approaching four o'clock.
After three o'clock, the bell will lose all its power.
Zhongshu stood up, walked forward, grabbed the minute hand, and turned it in the opposite direction.
"when--"
"when--"
"when--"
The three chimes, deep and long, seemed to come from the end of time.
The pointer moves back to 3 o'clock. Time is reset.
At the same time, he sensed that the battle above had ended.
The eighth floor welcomed its first prisoner.
Capturing the Goddess of Light alive would be a great achievement, whether in the Forbidden Society or the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs.
But Zhongshu didn't care at all.
He sat down again, gazing at the blasphemous bell, and murmured:
"While I use it to punish criminals, I am also imprisoned by it in this dark and sunless palace."
Because he had to keep a close eye on the blasphemous clock at all times, and he could not let the time go past three o'clock.
"It's alright." His eyes dimmed for a moment, then hardened.
"I'm tired of this world that's full of evil."
His voice was soft, yet it was like a knife, carving into the air.
"If you want it, then create it."
To create a world without evil people, only good people.
All evil will be imprisoned in the Lesser Hell.
He spoke to the blasphemous bell as if he were speaking to another version of himself:
"Li Xinyuan, I will sweep away all evil in the world."
Help me, bring all those wicked people here to face the judgment they deserve.
Li Xinyuan's voice echoed in my mind, deep and calm:
How do we determine guilt or innocence?
Zhongshu was stunned.
Yes.
How to tell?
Stepping on an ant is a trivial matter to humans, but a grave sin to the ant.
Throughout history, there has never been absolute evil, nor absolute innocence.
He recalled what Mr. Twilight had said:
Who ultimately defines the boundary between good and evil?
Where exactly is this boundary?
Mr. Twilight also said—whoever has the bigger fist can measure morality.
Zhongshu remained silent for a long time.
"...Then I will judge guilt and innocence according to my moral standards."
A surprised voice echoed in his mind:
"By your saintly moral standards, there are probably very few innocent people in this world."
Zhongshu fell silent again.
Then he spoke, his voice as calm as a stagnant pool:
"If we don't have enough manpower, I can set up another rule."
Criminals with a conscience can serve their sentence in the small prison.
"On the day your merits are fulfilled, you may depart."
The blasphemous bell has turned this place into a playground for the devil.
Hellish creatures can linger in the dungeon palace for extended periods. However, if they wish to leave, they must possess a human.
The so-called "service" is to hand over control of one's body, allowing the devil to possess one and capture more criminals for the Little Prison.
Li Xinyuan said quietly:
"Why do I get the feeling... you're turning to the dark side?"
Zhongshu frowned, his tone as serious as if he were correcting a misconception:
"I am repairing this world."
───────────────
Two days later.
The Peace Hotel in the South China Sea.
A well-dressed young man in a suit and tie entered the elevator carrying a bouquet of roses and pressed the button for the fifth floor.
The elevator doors opened, and he walked through the corridor, counting the room numbers one by one.
"5……20……"
found it.
He stopped in front of the door, took a deep breath, and then took another deep breath.
The tension felt like a wad of cotton stuck in my throat, impossible to swallow or spit out.
It would be a lie to say I'm not nervous about meeting my goddess today.
Although... he and this goddess fell in love at first sight, and the time they had known each other was so short as to be negligible.
He finally mustered his courage, pushed open the door, and put on his most polite smile.
"I'm sorry I'm late..."
The smile froze.
Ten people were sitting around the large round table in the private room.
Most of them looked to be in their early thirties, with three elderly men who appeared to be in their sixties.
Oh, and one of them even had a lip piercing and dressed really cool. .
The young man smiled awkwardly:
"Excuse me, I may have entered the wrong room."
I glanced at him:
"You weren't invited here by Chen Yuxi, were you?"
The young man was stunned:
"Could it be... that you are also...?"
He chuckled and took a sip of his wine.
"That's right. You're not the only one who came. Come in and have a seat."
The young man was completely bewildered. He carefully placed the roses on the cabinet by the door and sat down at the round table.
His mind was a complete mess.
Could these people be the goddess's family?
Could it be that my crush has taken a liking to me? Is this the prelude to meeting my parents soon?
He looked left and right.
The people at the table all looked unhappy, as if they had just had a fight.
One of the elderly men had fresh abrasions on his face.
He found it quite strange.
After looking around, I fixed my gaze on that one—
She was the only one who didn't look so strange, well, at least she looked more normal than the others.
The young man decided to start with her and asked with a smile:
"You're Yuxi's older sister, right?"
He took a sip of wine and said with a cold laugh:
"When we're in bed, she always calls me 'sister'."
The young man's smile shattered completely.
What does "...when in bed" mean?