[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s":3,"chapter-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-942":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Immortal Through Martial Path, I Who Cannot Die Shall Ultimately Be Invincible",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2326160,4549,"Chapter 942","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-942",942,"\u003Cp>“Can the prison warden restore severed limbs?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinming asked with hope in his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou shook his head. “No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinming’s face fell. “Why not? I don’t feel any pain now, and I can still write normally…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Zhao…” Chen Guanlou cut him off, speaking with solemn gravity. “We cultivate martial Dao, not immortal arts. There are no gods, no magic pills. Once limbs are severed, only mundane medicines can slowly heal them. The reason you feel no pain now is because I infused you with a breath of Qi to temporarily suppress the sensation.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Jinming understood, and raised a new request. “Then can you…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No request, no matter what, would be granted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One must know when to stop; don’t push your luck. He wasn’t soft-hearted, easily swayed by a few words. As the saying goes: don’t release the hawk until you see the rabbit. No money, no demands. Dream on.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took the note, removed the writing brushes and inkstone, and prepared to leave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He instructed the medical officer to treat him well—at least keep him alive until execution day.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At the word “execution,” Zhao Jinming burst into tears, weeping uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had never seen a grown man cry so hard. He couldn’t bear it, and hurriedly left, ordering someone to take the note to Zhao’s house and demand payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Zhao family originally didn’t want to pay.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once they heard paying would spare them prison—and even exile—they paid without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The jailer warned Zhao’s family: “Watch your mouths. Don’t gossip outside. If your blabbing ruins things, exile will be your just due.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao’s family swore repeatedly they’d keep silent, not utter a single word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good! We’re working connections for your Zhao family. Don’t go running to others—conflicts could ruin everything. If we can’t get it done, no one in the capital can. Go ask around—the reputation of Tianlaomiao is well-known.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s Chen Warden’s reputation, isn’t it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Chen Warden *is* Tianlaomiao. Clearly you’re from the provinces—you don’t understand!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The jailer took the money, cursed as he left, giving Zhao’s family a contemptuous glare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou took the money to the Ministry of Justice to bribe Sun Daoning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He acted directly, slapping a stack of silver notes onto Sun Daoning’s desk. “Tell me—is that enough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Daoning clicked his tongue. “Chen Warden, you’re openly bribing me. I could arrest you right now. And why did your men confiscating property miss so much? How did Zhao’s family have this much silver?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rabbits have three burrows! Let them hide some private savings. Besides, confiscation doesn’t touch dowries. A wife or daughter-in-law hiding private money is legal and reasonable—why pursue it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That made perfect sense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao’s case hadn’t reached the level of exterminating nine clans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, when confiscating property, the dowries of female relatives must be excluded. Even when seizing assets, the court must maintain dignity. For a man to spend his wife’s dowry is shameful. Likewise, the court seizing a woman’s dowry is equally disgraceful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the law must respect human decency—leave a sliver of survival for women and children. Thus, dowries were naturally excluded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao’s silver, on the surface, came entirely from dowries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If questioned by officials, they could answer openly, unafraid of investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Local bureaus routinely broke rules and engaged in illegal acts—too numerous to police.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the Ministry of Justice must uphold law and procedure at all times—that’s the power of example. If the empire’s highest judicial body operated chaotically, the entire legal system would collapse.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao’s family should be grateful this case was handled by the Ministry of Justice, not the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Dalisi .\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Embroidered Uniform Guard devoured people whole. With Zhao Jinming’s character, he’d have been dead eight hundred times over in the Imperial Prison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Dalisi ’s ruthless bunch weren’t any better—they loved fabricating charges and playing factional games, dragging in entire networks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only the Ministry of Justice barely upheld legal boundaries, handling cases fairly, avoiding mass purges and innocent entanglements. Chen Guanlou strongly approved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Daoning snorted, feigning disdain for money. “You bring me this money, thinking it’ll sway me? Let me tell you—Zhao Jinming is dead.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Sun, you misunderstand me again. Am I that naive? I’m not buying Zhao Jinming’s life—he’s dead or alive, I don’t care. This money buys the lives of his family. Give them a favor: don’t implicate anyone outside the accused. Let them live.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How noble of you! How much are you pocketing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Pocketing? I’m just a runner—I earn maybe tea money. All Zhao’s money is right here.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou pointed to the ten thousand taels on the desk, looking utterly sincere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sun Daoning chuckled coldly. “If I insist on investigating, do you think Zhao’s family will dare lie? Will you tell me—or shall I send men to question them face-to-face right now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fine, fine—I’m done with you. Twenty thousand taels. Tianlaomiao keeps half. Fair enough?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Too much!” Sun Daoning sneered. He knew Chen Guanlou was heartless. Twenty thousand taels, yet offering the Ministry only ten thousand, and expecting them to release people? Absurd!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When had the Ministry of Justice become so cheap?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Old Sun, don’t be greedy. Split it two to one. That’s reasonable.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I don’t issue the official order, do you think local bureaus will release Zhao’s family? If I don’t issue the order, do you think Zhao’s family in the capital will survive?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then how much do you want?” Chen Guanlou snapped, fed up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Seventy percent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Impossible! Maximum fifty-five percent. If I hadn’t run around, this money would’ve gone to someone else—the Ministry would’ve gotten scraps. With me, the Ministry and Tianlaomiao get the meat!” Chen Guanlou refused firmly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sixty percent!” Sun Daoning conceded slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Guanlou silently rolled his eyes, cursing bitterly in his mind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Outwardly, he pleaded earnestly: “Don’t even think about it! Fifty-five percent—that’s the limit. Old Sun, especially with money, you must think long-term.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You want to gorge yourself on one meal—do you still plan to keep doing business? Do you still want to earn at all?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those corrupt officials? Every one of them is cunning as foxes—no rabbit, no hawk released. You know how hard it is to coax money from them. You know the difficulty yourself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My predecessors couldn’t get money—was it because they didn’t want to? No! They wanted to, but couldn’t coax a single copper from those officials!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only I can barely squeeze coins from their pockets. If you demand too much, don’t blame me for going lazy from now on—we all starve on northwest wind!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1089,"2026-06-20T17:40:00.288Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8146f1d35862ee1c4b81146ae2637e5b06d0f3ccad8619cb79b7c9565a9587db","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-943","immortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-chapter-941",1000,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fimmortal-through-martial-path-i-who-cannot-die-s-cover.jpg"]