“First, we need to analyze the motive for the crime, or more accurately, the target,” Xu Qi An said, speaking eloquently about his area of expertise. “The person claiming to be the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Chu Province, after escaping from Chu Province City, has been secretly deploying people to try and expose this matter.”

“After failing to transmit the information, he still didn’t give up. Until your appearance, he felt that the Flying Swallow Heroine was a reliable figure, a woman of high integrity and righteousness, so he sent someone to contact you.”

Li Miaozhen spat, “Just talk about the matter, why flatter me?”

Xu Qi An shook his head, his expression incredibly sincere, “I’m not flattering you. The Flying Swallow Heroine is the martial artist I admire the most.”

Li Miaozhen snorted dismissively.

Beside them, Susu glanced at Xu Qi An, thinking to herself that this guy was quite skilled at sweet-talking girls. Since leaving the mountain for training, her master had been most proud of her “Flying Swallow Heroine” title.

Although she pretended to be disdainful, Susu knew that Xu Qi An’s words had touched her master’s heart.

Xu Qi An continued, “She’s an outsider. He couldn’t possibly have designs on you, yet he still sought your help. So, his motive is obvious – he wants to spread the news about the Garrison North King’s city massacre.”

“He didn’t reveal it to the barbarians, which means he doesn’t know that the barbarians are also coveting the essence of blood and trying to prevent the Garrison North King from advancing. From this, we can deduce that he’s a victim caught up in this, not a player in the game.”

“Moreover, this person has a strong will to survive. The more cautious he is, the more he wants to stay alive. Otherwise, recklessly spreading the information would also achieve his goal, but at the cost of being silenced by the Garrison North King’s spies.”

Indeed, a reasonable analysis… Li Miaozhen nodded as she listened:

“So, he believed I could help transmit the information. He must have tried once before, but those jianghu martial artists who helped him deliver the message were all intercepted and killed on the outskirts of the capital. That’s the corpse I found by the roadside.”

The details matched up, giving Li Miaozhen a sense of clarity as if clouds had parted to reveal the moon.

The Provincial Administration Commissioner of Chu Province escaped from the disaster of the city massacre, then went into hiding, secretly dispatching jianghu martial artists to deliver the message back to the capital.

But the jianghu martial artists were pursued and killed outside the capital, which she had stumbled upon by chance.

Xu Qi An, still tilting his head, stroked his chin and said:

“It’s understandable that Zheng Xinghuai didn’t dare write official documents, as they would be intercepted. It’s also understandable that he didn’t dare spread the news in Chu Province. Chu Province is the Garrison North King’s territory, and it would easily invite mortal danger.”

“What I can’t understand is, that hero who died by the roadside was almost at the capital… Logically speaking, if he could successfully escape to the capital’s territory, it wouldn’t be difficult to enter the city. The capital’s power structure is complex, unlike Chu Province where the Garrison North King’s spies and subordinates are everywhere.”

Li Miaozhen said, “It’s also possible that they were lying in wait, setting up an ambush near the capital in advance.”

Xu Qi An nodded. Eager to rest, he didn’t dwell on this topic. He stood up and walked towards Li Miaozhen’s bed, lying down straight:

“I’ll sleep for a while. Wake me up after dark.”

“You…” Li Miaozhen opened her mouth but stopped herself.

What’s wrong with this person? Can he just lie down on a woman’s bed like that?

Never mind, jianghu folk aren’t bound by such trivialities. I’ll have the inn staff change the bedding and sheets later… She took a deep breath, comforting herself.

It’s indeed more comfortable lying down. With my current physique, this minor back pain should recover quickly… The backlash of Confucian magic is truly terrifying… Hmm, what’s this faint fragrance? Li Miaozhen doesn’t seem like the type to use cosmetics. Could it be the legendary fragrance of a young maiden?

After the melon is cut, it can only be called body fragrance.

Xu Qi An calmed his mind, allowing himself to quickly fall asleep.

…

In a room down the same corridor, about ten meters away, Zhao Jin spent the day in anxiety.

After observing this period and gathering intelligence, he believed that this suddenly appearing Flying Swallow Heroine was genuine. This could be verified through two points.

First, the northern border barbarians’ plundering was rampant and arrogant, and many jianghu wanderers had come. Some of them had seen the Flying Swallow Heroine or heard of her signature flying sword.

Second, although the Heaven-Human Dispute in the capital had just ended, it had been brewing for over a month. The true identity of the Flying Swallow Heroine had long been concluded in the jianghu.

But he still couldn’t hide his nervous and anxious emotions. He had revealed a great secret, yet still hadn’t received an accurate response. The waiting period was the most torturous.

At this moment, he saw the teacup on the table suddenly tip over, startling him.

Looking over, he saw the water stains forming four characters: Come to my room.

Zhao Jin’s face lit up with pleasant surprise. He hurriedly stood up and walked towards the door, then stopped, taking a deep breath to calm his racing heart and nervous emotions.

He tried to appear as calm as possible.

Then, neither suppressing his footsteps nor appearing overly eager, he naturally walked towards Li Miaozhen’s room and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened automatically.

In the spacious and tidy room, the Flying Swallow Heroine and her breathtakingly beautiful maid sat at the table. The candlelight cast a warm orange glow on their exquisite faces.

Zhao Jin was already accustomed to the charm of these two beauties. He automatically skipped over them, his gaze falling on the bed behind the two women, where a man was lying.

This… Is he the companion the Flying Swallow Heroine mentioned? He can sleep in her bed, their relationship seems quite close. Zhao Jin was surprised, then saw Li Miaozhen turn around and call out to the bed:

“Get up, the person is here.”

The man on the bed stirred, seemingly awakened, then suddenly sat up, looking at Zhao Jin.

“Thump thump thump…”

Zhao Jin was startled and stepped back repeatedly. The man was tilting his head, looking at him sideways with cold eyes.

Looking at someone sideways was one thing, but to tilt his head as well, what kind of arrogance was this?

“Are you Zhao Jin?” the man with the tilted neck asked.

“Yes, yes, it’s me…” At this moment, in the candlelight, Zhao Jin saw the man’s face. He was extremely handsome, like a gentleman from a turbid world.

Looking at it this way, he did seem to be a good match for the Flying Swallow Heroine.

“I have a question for you,” the man with the tilted neck said solemnly.

Zhao Jin nodded.

The handsome young man with the tilted neck stared at him for a moment, then asked, “How did you judge, or confirm, that what Zheng Xinghuai said was true?”

Li Miaozhen’s heart stirred. Since Zhao Jin hadn’t experienced the city massacre himself, how did he judge the truth of Zheng Xinghuai’s words? If he had only heard Zheng Xinghuai’s side of the story, then today’s matter would have to be put on hold.

Zhao Jin said in a low voice, “I have a sworn brother who works in the Provincial Administration Commissioner Zheng’s mansion. He, along with several other guests, escorted Commissioner Zheng in escaping from Chu Province City.”

Great Feng had divided its territory into thirteen provinces, with provinces, commanderies, and counties under them. Chu Province was originally officially called “Chu Province,” but was later changed to Chu State.

The same was true for other provinces.

As an official in charge of the livelihood and political affairs of an entire province, Commissioner Zheng held a high position and great power. Naturally, his mansion housed many skilled individuals.

If the person who massacred the city wasn’t the Garrison North King, Xu Qi An thought it was reasonable that he could luckily escape from Chu Province City.

“That day, my sworn brother came to me, asking for help. After learning about this, I found it unbelievable. So I secretly went to Chu Province City and found that everything was as usual there, with no signs of a massacre at all.”

“Then how did you judge whether the massacre was true or false?” Li Miaozhen frowned.

“But then I discovered that there was still a Commissioner Zheng in the city. How could there possibly be two Provincial Administration Commissioners in this world? With doubts in my mind, I agreed to my sworn brother’s request. While secretly protecting them, I also gathered trustworthy jianghu martial artists, trying to spread this news.”

“During this process, we found that the official roads and counties at the borders of Chu Province were all blocked. Generals were checking everywhere, and the Garrison North King’s spies were secretly searching. That’s when I realized that what Commissioner Zheng said was very likely to be true.”

“About half a month ago, our first batch of brothers quietly left Chu Province, intending to go to the capital to report to the Emperor. But there has been no news from them since,” Zhao Jin sighed.

A flash of clear light appeared in Xu Qi An’s eyes.

He didn’t lie… So the original words of that remnant soul were: “Blood massacre of three thousand li, please send troops to punish the Garrison North King!”

Xu Qi An pondered, “Regarding the current situation in Chu Province City, what’s your opinion, or rather, what does the real Commissioner Zheng think?”

Zhao Jin shook his head with a bitter smile, “I don’t know. Commissioner Zheng is equally confused. He witnessed Que Yongxiu leading troops to massacre the city, but when we secretly returned to Chu Province City afterward, we found that everything had returned to normal.”

…Holy crap! This simple description made Xu Qi An’s scalp tingle and a chill run down his spine.

The investigation team should have already arrived in Chu Province City barring any accidents. If there was a problem there, Yang Yan, with his cultivation level, should be able to detect it… No, Yang Yan is just a crude martial artist, he might not notice the subtleties. After all, even the princess of the Myriad Beasts Nation and the mysterious group of ritualists are searching for the location where the Garrison North King massacred living beings.

What method did the Garrison North King use to cover up all of this?

My knowledge is still insufficient, I have no clues. Let’s meet Commissioner Zheng first, he’s the person involved… Xu Qi An sat cross-legged on the bed, tilting his head and looking sideways, he said:

“Where is the real Zheng Xinghuai?”

At this critical moment, Zhao Jin fell silent. He looked at Xu Qi An, then at Li Miaozhen, seeming hesitant.

Li Miaozhen frowned, “Don’t you trust me?”

Zhao Jin shook his head, “Of course, I trust the Flying Swallow Heroine.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Qi An. He knew nothing about this man with the tilted neck, and even though he was the Flying Swallow Heroine’s companion, Zhao Jin still harbored doubts.

This was human nature.

It’s hard to completely trust unfamiliar people, especially when it concerns Commissioner Zheng’s safety.

Li Miaozhen gave an exasperated glare at the man behind her, then turned back and explained, “You should have heard of him.”

Zhao Jin was stunned, then re-examined Xu Qi An, probing, “What does the Flying Swallow Heroine mean?”

Susu put her hands on her hips, quite proudly saying, “The Great Feng Silver Constable Xu Qi An, have you heard of him?”

The Great Feng Silver Constable Xu Qi An?!

These words were like a thunderclap in Zhao Jin’s ears, stunning him into a daze.

A few seconds later, a surge of wild joy welled up in his heart. It was as if a ship drifting in darkness had found a lighthouse. As if a lost traveler had seen candlelight.

In Zhao Jin’s heart, the excitement of finally finding a powerful figure to take charge arose.

The Great Feng Silver Constable Xu Qi An, this man rose to prominence during the year of the Imperial Examination, repeatedly solved bizarre cases, and rendered meritorious service to the court. This man represented the Bureau of Astronomy and Calendar in a battle of methods against the Buddhist sect, defeating the Buddhist Arhat.

Legends about this man were no longer limited to the capital.

As for his feat of overpowering Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen in the Heaven-Human Dispute, that news hadn’t reached the northern border yet, but this was already enough.

Li Miaozhen continued, “You should know about the investigation team arriving at the northern border, right?”

Zhao Jin reluctantly shifted his gaze from Xu Qi An and quickly nodded, “Yes, they came to investigate the Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li case.”

Li Miaozhen smiled and pointed at Xu Qi An, “He’s the lead official. To investigate the case secretly, he separated from the team en route and secretly infiltrated the northern border.”

So that’s how it is… Zhao Jin no longer had any doubts. He excitedly cupped his fists and lowered his voice:

“Lord Xu, you are the person Zhao admires the most. You defeated the Buddhist sect, winning back face for the court, and are widely talked about by jianghu martial artists. But I think your most admirable feat was in Yun Province when you single-handedly held off tens of thousands of rebel troops. Whenever I think of it, it makes my blood boil with excitement. This is how a true man should be.”

Can’t we get past this joke?

Xu Qi An almost covered his face, because Li Miaozhen, one of the people involved, cast a contemptuous look at him, making Xu Qi An feel utterly embarrassed.

This person always likes to boast, a bad habit he can’t change. He even drags me into embarrassment, not daring to publicly reveal his identity within the Heaven and Earth Society… Li Miaozhen glared at him, inwardly snorting.

“Ahem!”

He coughed, then said calmly, “A true hero doesn’t dwell on past glories. Let’s cut the idle chat and go see Commissioner Zheng immediately. Miaozhen, use your flying sword to take us away, and take a few detours.”

Li Miaozhen frowned slightly, “You think I’m being monitored? But my little ghosts haven’t given any feedback.”

Xu Qi An snorted, “That only means the other party’s level of lurking is very high. Think about it, since the Garrison North King’s spies have intercepted the jianghu martial artists delivering messages, they must have some control over Commissioner Zheng’s thoughts.”

“And you happen to appear at this time. The Garrison North King’s spies won’t ignore you. They’re likely deliberately ignoring you, secretly trying to lure out Commissioner Zheng.”

“Fortunately, Brother Zhao was cautious and infiltrated your side early, rather than abruptly approaching you. But even so, I’m afraid that including Brother Zhao, all the jianghu martial artists under your command are under investigation. Perhaps in a few days, the Garrison North King’s spies will come knocking.”

Li Miaozhen frowned in thought for a moment, seeming to have some realization, and slowly nodded:

“No wonder when I intercepted those profiteers who were inflating grain prices that day, the authorities initially planned to eliminate me, but later changed their mind and secretly approached me for a talk, hoping I could restrain myself a bit.”

Immediately, she put Susu into her fragrance pouch. With a thought, the flying sword leaning against the table “came alive” and began circling in the room.

Li Miaozhen waved her hand, and with a “bang”, the window opened, and the flying sword darted out.

“Let’s go!”

She leaped out of the window first, with Xu Qi An and Zhao Jin following closely behind. All three landed on the sword’s spine, with Li Miaozhen in front, Xu Qi An in the middle, and Zhao Jin at the back.

The flying sword carried the three of them, soaring straight into the clouds.

At this moment, a corresponding image appeared in Xu Qi An’s mind. Below, an arrow imbued with powerful qi shot towards them.

This arrow carried a determination to not rest until it pierced its enemy.

“To the left!”

Xu Qi An shouted.

Without thinking, Li Miaozhen maneuvered the flying sword into a left drift. The next moment, a streak of light shot past, piercing through where the three had just been.

After missing its target, the arrow made a turn and locked onto the three again, whistling as it broke through the air towards them.

“It’s a fourth-grade martial artist,” Li Miaozhen said gravely.

“Quick, quick, fly higher. We can’t let a Fourth Grade martial artist get close,” Xu Qi An said, his scalp tingling with fear.