We bear people have power

Zhang Yuanshan was arrested and thrown into jail. When Guan Bo returned and heard the charges against him, he was completely dumbfounded.

"What the hell? You arrested him just because he got together with Xingxian?" Guan Bo asked Wu Meiniang in shock.

Xingxian is an apricot tree spirit. Originally, she was a tree demon in the Wood Fairy Temple that had not yet taken human form.

Back then, the two little girls, Lingxiu and Yingcao, met the Taoist Hanyu by the Tongtian River. This Taoist's sect consisted of several tree demons who had transformed into human form from within the Wood Immortal Temple in the Thorn Territory.

Later, Guan Bo stormed the temple and razed it to the ground. The old tree spirits then became servants of the Great Zhou Kingdom, helping Lingxiu establish this Divine Tree Garden.

Xingxian was then transplanted to this Divine Tree Garden. Not long ago, after the Tribulation Transcending Chamber was built, Xingxian successfully transformed into a graceful young woman.

For some reason, Zhang Yuanshan ended up getting married to this Fairy Apricot.

"They're both single, so why did you arrest Zhang Yuanshan? He didn't kidnap any women," Guan Bo asked.

Wu Meiniang said, "Humans and demons are different, and this is a violation of the Heavenly Law. Not executing them directly is already an act of leniency."

Guan Bo remained silent, his eyes slightly narrowed, staring intently at Wu Meiniang without uttering a word.

"What's wrong? Just say what you want to say," Wu Meiniang asked.

Guan Bo rolled his eyes and said, "I could barely believe it if someone else said that humans and demons are different, but you're using that to fob me off. Do you think I'm that stupid? Or have you forgotten that I'm a panda spirit after spending so much time with me?"

One shouldn't be so hypocritical.

Hearing Guan Bo say this, Wu Meiniang couldn't help but laugh and said, "You still know you're a monster? If others didn't say it, they'd all think you were a Bodhisattva reincarnated. Look at you, after being a monster for so long, do you look like a monster at all?"

"Hey, is it wrong to be a monster who has transcended vulgar tastes these days? Quickly tell the truth, what exactly happened, or you'll be punished according to family rules." Guan Bo said to Wu Meiniang, pretending to be fierce.

"Why did you use family discipline?" Wu Meiniang said reproachfully, but she didn't continue teasing him. Instead, she explained the whole story to Guan Bo.

After all that talk, it all comes down to how love can lead people astray.

Zhang Yuanshan is the Commander of the Golden Guard, and he's probably no less busy than Nie Shuhuan, the Prime Minister of the Great Zhou Dynasty. To say he's busy with countless affairs wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Especially recently, the Jinwu Guard was dispatched to various places, and they also had to select suitable people to replace the mountain gods and local deities, which almost drove this commander crazy.

Fortunately, it's common for Foundation Establishment cultivators to go ten days or half a month without sleep. The Golden Guard's office doesn't really have a fixed get off work schedule; they're basically busy day and night.

However, cultivators are also human beings; even if their bodies are not tired, their spirits will eventually become weary.

In his spare time, Zhang Yuanshan would often find a quiet place to cultivate himself, either by meditating or practicing his swordsmanship.

But ever since Guan Bo's female disciple Kou Zhong fell in love with Zhang Yuanshan, leaving him unable to return home, Zhang Yuanshan had no choice but to change his cultivation location to the secluded Shenmu Garden.

The place was quiet and surrounded by dense trees, which made it particularly easy for him to calm down.

Over time, Zhang Yuanshan almost came to regard this place as his second home.

Zhang Yuanshan was unaware that next to where he usually practiced his swordsmanship, there grew an apricot tree, which was the unformed tree spirit of the Wood Immortal Temple.

Although Zhang Yuanshan was also a cultivator, the demonic aura of the tree demon was not as strong as that of animal demons. Moreover, it was in a place with abundant spiritual energy like the Divine Tree Garden, so Zhang Yuanshan had never realized that the small tree beside him was actually a demon.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yuanshan was under a lot of pressure and didn't want to confide in anyone, so he turned to the little tree as a confidant. He poured out all the things he couldn't tell anyone else to the tree.

Over time, this apricot tree spirit became the one who understood Zhang Yuanshan best. When the Tribulation Chamber was successfully built, the old tree spirits of the Wooden Immortal Temple remembered this apricot tree, considering it an old friend, and allowed it to successfully transform into human form.

Zhang Yuanshan came to Shenmu Garden to practice his sword that day, only to find that his "old friend" was missing, leaving him feeling lost and disappointed. He searched the entire Shenmu Garden but could not find her. Just as he was feeling dejected, he saw the beautiful Xingxian in her human form.

There's no need to go into the details of how the two poured out their hearts to each other. Anyway, with the foundation of their previous relationship, they fell in love at first sight, and Zhang Yuanshan couldn't wait to marry Xingxian that very day.

However, their good fortune was short-lived. Just then, Kou Zhong, that silly girl, escaped from Sai Tai Sui's clutches and returned to Wuji City.

This experience made Kou Zhong much more reserved, but she felt even more strongly that Zhang Yuanshan was mature and steady, and the best person for her. After going to great lengths to find out that Zhang Yuanshan was used to practicing swordsmanship in the Shenmu Garden, she followed him here.

As soon as they found them, they saw Zhang Yuanshan and Xingxian cuddling intimately. Their eyes were locked, and they were whispering sweet nothings to each other. Instantly, jealousy surged within them.

In Kou Zhong's view, she had been pursuing Zhang Yuanshan for so long that everyone already knew about it. If Zhang Yuanshan married someone else, how could she face living in the world?

Kou Zhong immediately lost control of his emotions, and his ice and snow cultivation went awry, freezing him solid on the spot. Although Kou Zhong's life was not in danger, this incident had escalated the situation considerably.

Even though Kou Zhong came from a brothel, he was still Guan Bo's direct disciple and could be considered a member of the Fangcun Mountain lineage. Wu Meiniang, naturally protective of her own, found a pretext to arrest Zhang Yuanshan and imprison him in jail.

After all, this whole affair started because of Zhang Yuanshan. Even if he didn't intend to abandon her after starting something, in Wu Meiniang's eyes, for a young woman to pursue him so openly was already a declaration of her feelings.

Zhang Yuanshan's constant evasion, even without any act of abandonment, still leaves him with some responsibility.

The idea that humans and demons are incompatible was just an excuse; Wu Zetian simply wanted to throw Zhang Yuanshan, this indecisive man, into prison to reflect on his actions. As for how to deal with the feelings between the man and the two women, Wu Zetian had no idea.

After listening to Wu Meiniang's words, Guan Bo said, "What you're doing is a bit unfair. Zhang Yuanshan didn't do anything."

Wu Zetian said with dissatisfaction, "A real man like him doesn't even have this much responsibility. Is he being wrongly imprisoned? I'm just letting him reflect on his actions."

“Of course you’re wrong to lock him up. Even if you used your status as an elder of Fangcun Mountain to beat Zhang Yuanshan up, you can’t put him in the Wuji City jail. Why? Just because someone likes him, does that mean he’s broken the law?” Guan Bo said to Wu Meiniang in a rather stern tone for the first time.

Upon hearing this question, Wu Meiniang frowned and remained silent.

However, Guan Bo had no intention of backing down on this matter and continued, "If it were a family matter, we could discuss it behind closed doors. But as the ruler of a nation, how can you act so impulsively and disregard the law? If everyone follows your example and uses their power to privately convict people, what difference would there be between my Great Zhou and other feudal empires? How can such a Great Zhou represent the revival of humanity?"

After Guan Bo finished speaking, he stared at the beautiful woman in front of him, and the two stared at each other.

I don't know who couldn't hold back first, but they both started laughing.

Wu Meiniang smiled, her beauty as radiant as melting snow. She said softly, "I was wrong in this matter, and you were right to reprimand me. Since that's the case, let Zhang Yuanshan come out. Then, I will issue an edict of self-reproach, to proclaim to the world what it means to obey the law."

Guan Bo laughed and said, "There's no need for that. As long as you understand right from wrong, that's enough. Since you're my woman, if there's a mistake, it's my mistake. But this has come at the perfect time. I also want to see who set this rule about the separation of humans and demons."

Upon seeing Guan Bo, Zhang Yuanshan immediately kowtowed and said to Guan Bo, "Immortal Venerable, Yuanshan deserves to die a thousand deaths."

Guan Bo waved his hand, sending out a whirlwind to lift Zhang Yuanshan up, and then said, "What do you mean by deserving to die? It's not your fault that you're handsome. If you deserve to die for something like this, then wouldn't I be going to the eighteenth level of hell?"

Hearing Guan Bo's teasing, Zhang Yuanshan could only manage a wry smile.

Zhang Yuanshan had always known that Guan Bo's apprentice had a crush on him. However, he was not good at refusing other people's kindness, so he avoided seeing him, thinking that the other person would give up and that it wouldn't be so awkward.

Who would have thought that this procrastination would lead to such a huge problem today? Zhang Yuanshan stammered, "I don't know, what about Miss Kou now..."

"You won't die. With Meiniang watching over you, you'll only lose some cultivation at most. But you, instead of caring about your own fate, are concerned about my disciple? What, do you really want to share a husband with Ehuang and Nüying?" Guan Bo asked.

Zhang Yuanshan smiled wryly, thinking that if he really had such thoughts, he wouldn't still be single.

"Alright, judging from your expression, you're quite the infatuated one. Since you don't like my apprentice, then just ignore him from now on. As the saying goes, too much affection can ruin a beautiful woman's life, so it's better to reject him sooner rather than later."

"The Immortal Venerable's teachings are correct," Zhang Yuanshan replied, accepting the instruction.

"I can handle my apprentice's matter, but let me ask you, are you and Xingxian truly in love?" Guan Bo asked again.

"Immortal Venerable, we are truly in love, but humans and demons are destined to be apart..." Zhang Yuanshan said bitterly.

"Don't you know the saying 'don't talk short' in front of a dwarf? I'm a panda spirit!" Guan Bo cursed.

Ultimately, it's probably because everyone regards Guan Bo as an otherworldly deity, and since Guan Bo usually appears in human form, people have gradually forgotten that he is actually a monster.

After all, they were calling him "Immortal Venerable," not "Demon Venerable."

Before Zhang Yuanshan could react, Guan Bo asked again, "Do you know how many monsters have already registered in the Great Zhou Dynasty, and how many people are in love with monsters?"