The caravan was filled with jianghu martial artists, armed with swords and spears. They had organized themselves and followed after hearing the renowned name of the Flying Swallow Heroine.
This was their third hunting expedition against the barbarian nomads. Thanks to the Flying Swallow Heroine’s unparalleled martial prowess, they once again returned triumphant. They had slain 120 barbarian riders, captured 50 war horses, and 68 curved sabers, and reclaimed women and food supplies that had been plundered by the barbarian cavalry.
The war horses, curved sabers, women, and food supplies had suffered varying degrees of damage and casualties during the conflict between the two sides.
The soldiers guarding the city walls squinted as they gazed into the distance. Upon seeing the Flying Swallow Heroine atop her white horse, with her vigorous demeanor and delicate features, they immediately showed expressions of admiration. They called out to the guards on the walls, who approached holding long spears.
“Flying Swallow Heroine, you’ve returned? Oh my, you’ve killed so many barbarians again!”
“Quick, escort the Flying Swallow Heroine to the yamen to receive her reward.”
The city guards were overjoyed, feeling that the Flying Swallow Heroine was a paragon of jianghu heroes, a great figure worthy of following.
Two columns of soldiers led the way, escorting Li Miaozhena and her group into the city. The citizens, upon seeing the Flying Swallow Heroine on her white horse and the transported barbarian corpses, enthusiastically lined the streets to welcome them.
They shouted the name “Flying Swallow Heroine” loudly.
The jianghu martial artists behind Li Miaozhen straightened their chests, sharing in the glory.
About ten days ago, the Flying Swallow Heroine had suddenly arrived in North Mountain Commandery, claiming to carry out justice in heaven’s name. She had severely punished a group of profiteers who were inflating grain prices, seizing several hundred shi of grain and distributing it to the poor and beggars who could barely afford food.
The profiteers, backed by powerful officials, naturally wouldn’t let the matter rest. They sent troops to capture her but were all repelled by the Flying Swallow Heroine.
The common folk didn’t know what happened after that, only that following this incident, the Flying Swallow Heroine had gathered a group of jianghu martial artists in North Mountain Commandery, specializing in hunting barbarian raiders.
They would then claim rewards from the government, exchange the rewards for food, and set up porridge stalls outside the city to distribute to refugees and beggars who couldn’t afford meals.
In no time, the Flying Swallow Heroine’s charitable deeds spread widely among the common people, becoming a popular topic of discussion.
Some refugees from other counties even walked dozens of li, crossing mountains and ridges to come to North Mountain Commandery, waiting for the porridge distribution.
…
After finishing the distribution, Li Miaozhen returned to the inn where she was staying. With Susu’s assistance, she bathed, washing away the smell of blood from her body.
She sat by the table, lost in thought.
After sending the letter that day, Li Miaozhen followed Xu Qi An’s advice, making high-profile appearances and performing acts of chivalry everywhere. By now, she had gained some fame in the northern border region.
Due to the limited time since her “debut,” it was impossible to achieve the same level of fame that had once spread throughout the entire Yun Province.
A full ten days had passed, and countless jianghu martial artists had come to join her. Some came for fame, some for profit, and some purely to fight against the barbarians.
Li Miaozhen used the Heavenly Sect’s mind technique to do a simple screening, weeding out those with impure intentions. Those who remained were mostly jianghu heroes who acted for fame, profit, or the common people.
In her view, as long as they were willing to do good deeds, acting for fame or profit was acceptable.
However, the person Li Miaozhen was truly waiting for had not arrived.
“Master, has that guy made any new progress? Isn’t he supposed to be brilliant at solving cases? Could it be that he’s also at a loss?” Susu brought tea and placed it on the table.
Seeing her master’s furrowed brow and worried expression, Susu felt somewhat distressed.
“This matter isn’t that simple,” Li Miaozhen said. Through the Earth Book messaging, she had already learned the truth about the “Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li” case from Xu Qi An.
“These past few days, I’ve been thinking, if such a major event as the Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li occurred in Chu Province, even if the officials wanted to conceal it, they couldn’t silence the jianghu martial artists and common folk.”
Li Miaozhen frowned with worry: “But no matter how I inquire, no one seems to know about it.”
Susu tilted her head, her breathtakingly beautiful face showing a rare expression of contemplation. Suddenly, her beautiful eyes lit up, and she said excitedly, “I’ve got it! I’ve got it!”
Li Miaozhen maintained a skeptical attitude: “What do you know now?”
Susu twirled a lock of her hair with her jade-like fingers, playfully winked, and said with a smile:
“Think about it, if such a major event as the Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li happened, yet no one knows about it, could it be that the memories of those involved were erased? Just like how I can’t remember why my father was convicted and sentenced to beheading back then.”
Hearing this, Li Miaozhen scoffed: “For such a large-scale massacre, even if memories were erased, there would still be indelible traces left behind. Wouldn’t barbarian spies be able to find out? You are…”
She suddenly froze, her gaze gradually becoming unfocused, her whole person stunned for a moment.
Susu quickly asked, “Master, what have you thought of?”
Li Miaozhen snapped back to reality and pondered, “But your idea might not be without merit. If such a major event happened, yet everyone could be kept in the dark… Which system, what level of expert could accomplish this?”
First, she eliminated martial artists from consideration, as this was something that didn’t require much thought.
Then, two words floated in her mind: Ritualist!
Xu Qi An had once mentioned that high-level ritualists could shield heavenly secrets, conceal certain people or events, and make themselves invisible… Li Miaozhen felt as if her brain had been electrified.
Her thoughts suddenly became clear.
In the current Nine Provinces, she could only think of one person with such capabilities: the Supervisor.
Li Miaozhen trembled at this conjecture.
Calm down, calm down, Xu Qi An had said, first make bold assumptions, then carefully verify… Before there’s evidence to confirm it, everything is just my speculation, not reality… Li Miaozhen took a deep breath, just about to take out the Earth Book fragment to tell Xu Qi An her bold idea.
At this moment, there was a knock on the door.
Li Miaozhen said calmly, “Come in.”
As she spoke, the small ghost standing guard behind the door eagerly opened it, inviting the guest in.
The visitor was a middle-aged man, one of the jianghu fighters who had joined Li Miaozhen. He was a local from Chu Province named Zhao Jin. This man’s cultivation was decent, and he always led from the front when killing barbarians.
He wasn’t in it for fame or fortune, but because he was from Chu Province and wanted to drive out the barbarians to benefit his fellow countrymen.
Li Miaozhen, dressed in casual clothes, maintained a serious and composed demeanor typical of a soldier, and asked, “Brother Zhao, what brings you here?”
Zhao Jin laughed heartily: “We’ve had another successful hunt, and the grain we exchanged is enough to feed the refugees outside the city for three days. The brothers are all very happy and want to celebrate at a restaurant.”
As he spoke, he approached the table, dipped his finger in Li Miaozhen’s teacup, and wrote on the table: My lord wants to meet you, regarding the matter of the Garrison North King massacring civilians.
“I just came to ask if you’ll be joining the feast tonight,” Zhao Jin said in a loud voice, with a hearty smile.
Li Miaozhen stared at the writing on the table for a long while, then said, “Thank the brothers for their kind intentions on my behalf. I won’t be going.”
Zhao Jin nodded and left the room without lingering.
He returned to the main hall downstairs, where a group of jianghu martial artists sitting around tables, drinking and eating meat, immediately asked, “How was it? Did the Flying Swallow Heroine agree?”
Zhao Jin shook his head helplessly.
The crowd was disappointed, and a chorus of sighs followed.
A heroine like Li Miaozhen was exactly to the taste of these jianghu martial artists. Among this group, many admired her in their hearts and wanted to marry her.
Such secret admirations, nine times out of ten, would end up unfulfilled, becoming memories years later.
Zhao Jin drank a few cups of wine, then excused himself, claiming he couldn’t hold his liquor, and returned to his room to sleep.
Closing the door, he took out a talisman that Li Miaozhen had just given him from his bosom. As he ignited it with his qi, he suddenly felt a wave of drowsiness wash over him like a tide. His eyelids grew heavy, and he fell into a deep sleep.
In his hazy state, he opened his eyes again to find an additional beautiful woman in Daoist robes in the room – it was Li Miaozhen.
“This is a dream. What you see is my Yuanying. Heh, although you haven’t said it explicitly, I know some of you already know my identity,” she said.
The conflict between Heaven and Humanity had been fermenting for over a month. The fact that Li Miaozhen was both the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect and the Flying Swallow Heroine was known to not many, but not few either.
However, this wasn’t the main point. Li Miaozhen stared at Zhao Jin and said in a deep voice, “Who are you?”
“My real name is indeed Zhao Jin, and I’m a wandering knight from Chu Province,” Zhao Jin replied.
Li Miaozhen nodded slightly, seemingly able to discern whether he was lying in this dream state. She then asked:
“Who is your lord, and how do you know about the Garrison North King massacring civilians? As far as I know, apart from the barbarians, no one in Chu Province seems to be aware of this matter.”
Her implication was clear: how could a mere jianghu wanderer know about such inside information?
“My lord, he…”
…
After several days of covert investigation and visits, Constable Chen returned to the relay station, expressing that he hadn’t obtained any valuable clues.
Imperial Censor Liu pondered, “I think we can try to find a breakthrough from Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Chu Province. This man has always had an excellent reputation and is deeply loved by the people of Chu Province. He’s one of the few good officials.”
“If he knows about this matter, he absolutely wouldn’t conceal it. Perhaps he’s been threatened by the Garrison North King and the Commander-in-Chief. Why don’t we go and sound him out, appeal to his emotions, and reason with him?”
Yang Yan looked at the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and the other Imperial Censor. Seeing that neither objected, he thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s pay a visit to the Provincial Administration Commissioner’s office.”
Immediately, he took Imperial Censor Liu, who had a relationship with Zheng Xinghuai and rode on horseback to the Provincial Administration Commissioner’s office.
After being announced, Zheng Xinghuai received the two in the inner hall.
Upon learning of their purpose, the stern and serious Zheng Xinghuai frowned and asked, “Gentlemen, I have a question I’d like to ask.”
Imperial Censor Liu smiled and said, “Please, go ahead.”
Zheng Xinghuai glanced at Yang Yan and Imperial Censor Liu, then said, “The so-called Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li is based only on fragments of information from the remnant soul of a single corpse. Don’t you gentlemen think it’s too hasty to investigate the Prince of Huai based on this alone?”
Imperial Censor Liu frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”
Provincial Administration Commissioner Zheng smiled and said, “As the official in charge of Chu Province affairs, I am well aware of where there is unrest and where barbarians are plundering. If such an event had truly occurred, believe me, the Prince of Huai couldn’t silence the multitude of voices. The reason, Imperial Censor Liu should understand.”
Even the Emperor couldn’t silence all the officials, let alone the Garrison North King.
Imperial Censor Liu fell silent, sitting there with furrowed brows, lost in thought.
At this point, Yang Yan calmly asked, “If that’s the case, why hinder the investigation team?”
Provincial Administration Commissioner Zheng maintained his smile and said, “The Prince of Huai is, after all, a royal prince. When the court sends an investigation team to look into him, in the eyes of the soldiers, this appears to be a baseless accusation. It’s only natural for them to speak up for the Prince of Huai.”
“Moreover, the Prince of Huai is stationed in the north, commanding military power. At court, countless people want to strip him of his military authority. What the investigation team experienced in Chu Province city is merely a knee-jerk reaction from the Prince of Huai’s faction.”
Imperial Censor Liu and Yang Yan exchanged glances before standing up to take their leave.
As they rode side by side, Imperial Censor Liu turned his head to look at Yang Yan and asked, “What does Golden Constable Yang think? Does what Commissioner Zheng said make sense?”
“I don’t know!”
Yang Yan’s answer was quick and decisive. The efforts of the past few days were merely to find clues for Xu Qi An so that when the two groups reunited, the investigation team wouldn’t be embarrassed by having found nothing. But he wasn’t skilled at solving cases and only felt that this case was inexplicably complex and intricate.
…
“My lord is the only survivor. He narrowly escaped the Prince of Huai’s blade and has been on the run ever since.”
As soon as Zhao Jin finished speaking, he was coldly interrupted by Li Miaozhen: “The Prince of Huai is a Third-Grade martial artist. How extraordinary must your lord be to escape his blade? Moreover, if you’ve been lurking by my side all this time, why only reveal yourself today?”
“It’s a long story,” Zhao Jin said.
“First, tell me who your lord is,” Li Miaozhen frowned.
“My lord is Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Chu Province,” Zhao Jin said solemnly.