The prefect's wife staggered back in panic, kicking wildly at Liu Wuji.
But when she saw Liu Wuji's face clearly, the force of her kicks unknowingly weakened.
The prefect of Canglan City was actually quite handsome, but compared to Liu Wuji, he clearly fell short.
No one else noticed this subtle reaction from the prefect's wife.
Xu Wanhe personally made a move, grabbing Liu Wuji with lightning speed.
But Liu Wuji wasn't just anyone.
In that short moment, he actually used immense willpower to suppress the desire demon and recovered his clarity.
Realizing what had just happened, his expression changed dramatically. He instinctively blurted, "Father-in-law! Qingxue! Let me explain!"
"Explain?"
The prefect sneered. "What exactly do you think you're explaining? You still think you can weasel your way out of this?"
As he said this, he looked toward Yang Cheng and said firmly, "Your Highness, I know the Xu clan holds special status in your eyes. But I still hope Your Highness will grant me justice."
"How this is handled is up to you and the Xu clan to discuss. As long as it complies with the laws of Great Zhou, I won't interfere," Yang Cheng replied calmly.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The prefect finally relaxed.
His words earlier were just a test—to see if there was any special connection between the Crown Prince and this Xu clan son-in-law.
Now it seemed there wasn't.
Since that was the case, he had nothing to worry about.
"Your Highness, Prefect," Xu Wanhe spoke up. "I know this disgraceful man has always been reckless, but I never thought he'd go so far as to commit such a beastly act in broad daylight.
I believe he may have been framed—perhaps drugged. I hope Your Highness and Prefect can investigate this thoroughly."
The prefect's face remained stern. "Fine. Then let someone investigate."
"If you trust this old man, why not let me do it?"
An elder stepped forward.
"If Elder Dong investigates, of course we trust him."
"Yes, you are Canglan City's only titled Medicine Emperor—respected and virtuous."
Both the prefect and Xu Wanhe nodded.
Elder Dong immediately stepped forward to examine Liu Wuji.
After a while, he said, "Perhaps my medical skills are lacking, but I found no sign that Young Master Liu was drugged."
Yang Cheng silently chuckled to himself.
Desire demons worked in secret, unnoticed even in the Wasteland Realm. In his past life, Liu Wuji had used them to trap countless enemies.
If he hadn't eventually targeted Yang Xiu, whose fate shielded him and caused the technique to be exposed, no one in the Wasteland Realm might've ever discovered Liu Wuji's connection to desire demons.
"I'll give it a try as well."
"And me. We can't wrong Young Master Liu without proof."
One after another, the other alchemists on scene stepped forward to test him.
But in the end, they all came to the same conclusion—Liu Wuji had not been drugged.
Xu Wanhe's vision went black.
If not for Xu Qingxue holding him up, he probably would've collapsed on the spot.
The prefect sneered, "Brother Xu, do you still want to make excuses for him?"
Xu Wanhe was completely disheartened. "Please, Prefect, punish him however you see fit. I have no objections."
"Good."
The prefect declared, "According to the Great Zhou Legal Code · Sexual Crimes, rape is punishable by execution by strangulation; attempted rape results in 100 floggings and 8 years of prison. Liu Wuji committed his crime in public, showed complete disregard for the law, and acted with extreme arrogance—he shall be punished more severely: 200 floggings and 15 years of imprisonment."
Xu Wanhe did not object.
Honestly, what Liu Wuji had done was closer to molestation, but Xu Wanhe no longer cared to defend him.
A man capable of such shameless acts in public would surely commit worse crimes in the future.
Might as well let him rot in prison for 15 years.
Liu Wuji stood frozen.
What just happened?
Just moments ago, Liu Wuji had been using the last of his strength to reseal the desire demon completely, so he hadn't heard most of the conversation outside.
But now, in the blink of an eye, he was being sentenced to 200 floggings and 15 years of prison.
Before he could even react, the prefect's enforcers rushed in and dragged him out.
Liu Wuji struggled to resist.
But the prefect only sneered. How could he let Liu Wuji get away? He directly used his peak Martial King–level true qi to lock Liu Wuji in place. Liu Wuji couldn't move, couldn't escape.
He had lost face in front of everyone. If he didn't vent some of that anger, how could he be satisfied?
Pa! Pa! Pa!
The sound of the wooden plank striking flesh echoed soon after.
Liu Wuji was practically going insane.
He was a dignified deity of the Divine Realm—and now he was getting flogged in public?
The enforcers were vicious. To make it more painful, and more humiliating, they even yanked down his pants.
"Ahhhh! You damn ants! You dare humiliate me like this?!"
Liu Wuji roared in his mind, 'One day, when I rise again, I swear I'll slaughter all of Canglan City!'
If it were some hot-headed youth, he might've shouted those words aloud.
But Liu Wuji wasn't that dumb. No matter how much he hated them, he only screamed internally.
After 200 lashes, even though his cultivation was far from weak, he was still left nearly immobile.
"Hmm?"
"His life force is still strong. Looks like this so-called waste isn't that simple after all."
"To survive 200 strikes like that, he must have a certain level of cultivation."
Several bigwigs at the scene narrowed their eyes, clearly noticing something unusual.
The prefect's expression shifted. "Men! Search Liu Wuji's usual residence."
Liu Wuji's face instantly went pale.
Ding!
[The Ancient Heaven-Devouring Demon was flogged in public—his pants were even pulled down.]
[What's going on with this so-called peerless demon? He didn't fight back, didn't slaughter anyone present—has he gone soft in the head?]
[No doubt, at this moment, the Ancient Heaven-Devouring Demon has utterly lost face. He's bound to become a laughingstock across all realms.]
[Congratulations, Host. You've achieved an outstanding accomplishment. The Book of Heavenly Dao has been unlocked to the sixth tier.]
[Would you like to claim the reward or continue your mission?]
"Continue."
Yang Cheng made the choice without hesitation.
After all, Liu Wuji's current cultivation was only at the Martial Master realm. For him, this mission was just too easy.
At the same time, the prefect's enforcers were ransacking Liu Wuji's room, digging through everything to search for evidence.
The results far exceeded expectations.
In his previous cultivation efforts, Liu Wuji had killed dozens of people.
Their treasures and wealth had been plundered by him, and some of those items were still sitting in his room.
He had considered hiding them somewhere more secure.
But his rebirth hadn't given him much time—he simply hadn't gotten around to it.
He never thought things would fall apart this fast.
So now, all the incriminating items were exposed.
When those items were laid out before the gathered nobles, everyone went silent.
"That's the Moonshade Dagger! It was my son's personal blade!"
A noblewoman burst into tears.
"And that—wasn't that the inner armor my nephew always wore?"
"Why are there so many other people's belongings in Liu Wuji's room? Don't tell me he's some kind of secret thief?"
Everyone exchanged shocked glances.
"No. All the original owners of these items share one thing in common: they were all murdered in the past seven days—and each death was extremely strange."
Someone spoke up.
Liu Wuji's body trembled.
He knew things were about to go very wrong.