The shockwave transformed into a raging tide, spreading in ripples, kicking up dust and debris, collapsing distant buildings, and silently extinguishing many lives.
Amidst muffled groans, the four Golden Gongs each employed different defensive techniques, using the force to propel themselves away, not daring to remain at the explosion’s center.
When everything calmed, the black-robed man had long disappeared. The four Golden Gongs breathed a sigh of relief, yet couldn’t help feeling a surge of anger.
“What’s the deal with that guy? I mean, that arm,” the white-robed mage suddenly appeared, his back to everyone.
“Arm?” the sword-wielding Golden Gong asked.
“From my observation, that arm wasn’t his. The demonic energy was terrifyingly powerful, unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” said the white-robed mage.
Jiang Luzhong stared at the white-robed mage’s back, “Yang Qianhuan, are your eyes on your back?”
The white-robed mage called Yang Qianhuan said, “I snuck a glance before he left.”
“…” Jiang Luzhong said helplessly, “Can you turn around and talk properly? You weren’t like this before.”
“Allow me to refuse. Yang does things as he pleases, regardless of anyone’s opinion,” he said, then explained:
“I’ve carefully observed Master Supervisor and Wei Yuan. Haven’t you noticed? One always likes to stand in the watchtower, his back to you all; the other always sits at the Eight Trigrams Platform, his back to us.
“And we feel that Wei Yuan and Master both have a sage-like demeanor.”
… The four Golden Gongs felt like something in their brains wanted to come out, but couldn’t.
Jiang Luzhong shook his head and returned to the main topic: “From this, based on the current information, that hand must be the sealed object from beneath Sangbo.”
The sealed object beneath Sangbo… Yang Qianhuan frowned. He had just returned to the capital a few days ago and came today to help capture a criminal on behalf of the Celestial Inspection Bureau.
He knew that the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple had been blown up recently, but he hadn’t paid much attention. As everyone knows, mages only need an alchemy room and a metallurgy lab, with meals delivered on time, to stay indoors for ten years.
“That monk is most likely Hengkui,” said the sword-wielding Golden Gong.
Listening to the Golden Gongs’ conversation, Yang Qianhuan was full of questions, growing increasingly curious.
“If we can catch him, we’ll know Princess Pingyang’s whereabouts,” Jiang Luzhong said.
Princess Pingyang? The one who disappeared over a year ago? Yang Qianhuan remembered that when this princess went missing, almost all the mages from the Celestial Inspection Bureau were mobilized, causing quite a commotion.
Hearing this, he could no longer resist and, with his back still turned, asked:
“The Sangbo case happened just a few days ago, and you Night Watchmen have already investigated it so thoroughly? Wait… How come I haven’t heard my junior colleagues at the Celestial Inspection Bureau mention this? Don’t tell me you didn’t request their assistance. Your investigative skills aren’t that good.”
This high-ranking mage was utterly confused.
Logically, for a major case like Sangbo, the mages from the Celestial Inspection Bureau would have informed him, as they often assist the court in investigations, and internal information sharing is common.
But Yang Qianhuan had never heard of Hengkui, Princess Pingyang, or any of this information.
Yang Yan spoke up unusually, saying, “We Night Watchmen didn’t even deploy Golden Gongs. The case was solved by an unremarkable Bronze Gong.”
What’s it to you? Why do you sound so proud… Yang Qianhuan didn’t turn around, inwardly grumbling. He asked, “A Bronze Gong? Tell me about it.”
“You should know this Bronze Gong. Well, he’s quite famous in the Celestial Inspection Bureau,” Jiang Luzhong recalled the rumors about Xu Qi An, knowing he had once lectured white-robed mages at the Bureau. “His name is Xu Qi An.”
“Xu Qi An?!” Yang Qianhuan’s voice rose a few notches.
He knew about Xu Qi An. As soon as he returned to the Celestial Inspection Bureau, he heard about this person. To think he even lectured the junior colleagues… such a show-off… A formidable rival.
To think the Sangbo case was also solved by him, and it seems he did a good job, making a big splash again… A formidable rival indeed.
“What’s the background of that arm?” Nangong Qianrou asked resentfully.
“I don’t know, but its owner is definitely above Second Grade. I’m not very familiar with the martial arts system… heh, of course, I don’t care to be,” Yang Qianhuan said in a deep voice, like an invincible yet lonely swordsman.
This guy’s been away from the capital for months, and his condition has worsened… the Golden Gongs thought.
…
After yesterday’s exhaustion and carrying minor injuries, Xu Qi An overslept. When he woke up, it was already light outside.
The Mao hour (5-7 am) had passed. Since he was already late, he wasn’t in a hurry. He leisurely dressed and washed up, then climbed over the wall to the main residence for breakfast.
From far away, he could hear the greedy child wailing loudly, the cry full of vigor, like a hungry dragon’s roar.
Entering the front hall, Second Uncle had already left for work. His aunt, who had risen late, and Lingyue were eating breakfast. Xu Lingyin had her hands behind her back, leaning forward, launching a sound wave attack at her mother.
His aunt, beautiful but dignified, frowned silently as she ate.
Lü’e was comforting the little bean.
“What’s going on?” Xu Qi An asked with a smile as he entered.
Xu Lingyue’s eyes lit up as she turned her head, exclaiming happily, “Is Big Brother off duty today?”
“I overslept…” Xu Qi An said sheepishly.
“Big Brother, Big Brother,” Xu Lingyin ran over on her short legs, one small hand grabbing Xu Qi An’s clothes, the other pointing at her mother and sister, indignantly saying, “They stole my chicken leg, they even stole a child’s chicken leg… waaah…”
So outrageous? Xu Qi An scrutinized his aunt and sister.
His aunt let out a delicate snort, too lazy to explain.
Xu Lingyue said helplessly, “Last night, Lingyin left half a chicken leg uneaten. She couldn’t bear to eat it and took it back to her room. This morning she found the chicken leg missing and thinks Mother and I stole it.”
That must have happened after I left last night. Otherwise, Xu Lingyin would be tugging at her mother’s sleeve now, accusing me of stealing her chicken leg… Xu Qi An patted the little bean’s head:
“Big Brother is best at solving cases. Big Brother will get justice for you.”
The little bean was delighted to hear this, thinking Big Brother was the best, except for his habit of snatching her food. She held tightly onto Big Brother’s clothes, glaring at her mother and sister with shared indignation.
Xu Lingyue met her brother’s gaze and said, “I asked the maid who takes care of her. The maid said Lingyin got up in the middle of the night and ate it, but she doesn’t believe it at all.”
Xu Qi An looked down and asked, “Did you eat it?”
Xu Lingyin said loudly, “I didn’t!”
Xu Lingyue said, “The maid said she ate it with her eyes closed. We found the chicken bone by her bed, gnawed very clean—that’s how she eats.”
“Big Brother, it must have been Sister who ate it. Sister is lying,” Xu Lingyin couldn’t accept the fact that she had eaten the chicken leg she couldn’t bear to eat earlier.
“Big Brother already knows who ate it.”
“Who?”
Your mouth ate it, but your brain doesn’t know… Xu Qi An said, “It was a ghost.”
“A dead ghost?” Xu Lingyin was shocked, her pronunciation becoming non-standard from fright.
“Don’t scare the child,” his aunt said unhappily, then told her young daughter, “Sprinkle some salt on ghosts, fry them in oil, and they taste even better than chicken legs.”
Hearing this, Xu Lingyin felt both scared and intrigued.
…
After breakfast, Xu Qi An rode his horse to the yamen. Song Tingfeng, squinting his eyes, said, “Ning Yan, Lord Wei just sent someone to invite you to Haoqi Tower.”
“You didn’t tell him I was late, did you?” Xu Qi An asked.
“I said you were having explosive diarrhea in the latrine,” he said, squinting.
“…” Xu Qi An nodded and turned to go to Haoqi Tower.
After the guard announced him, he quickly climbed the stairs, only to be startled by the scene before him.
In the tea room, besides Wei Yuan, there were four Golden Gongs, all injured. Yang Yan’s arm was in a sling, seeming to have a fractured arm bone.
Jiang Luzhong’s forehead was heavily bandaged, and he wore only one boot, the other foot wrapped in thick bandages.
Nangong Qianrou looked normal on the outside, but her face was as pale as paper.
Another unfamiliar Golden Gong had his head wrapped in thick bandages, looking like he’d lost a street fight and had his skull cracked open.
The scene was both absurd and comical. These mighty high-ranking martial artists looked like a group of thugs who had lost a gang fight, appearing somewhat dejected.
“Pfft…” Xu Qi An turned his head, unable to hold back a laugh.
“What are you laughing at?” The four Golden Gongs stared at him expressionlessly.
“I didn’t laugh…” Xu Qi An denied it.
Wei Yuan beckoned Xu Qi An over, pointing to the seat opposite him, and said, “Hengkui appeared last night. His target was the Minister of War’s mansion.”
Xu Qi An put away his mocking expression and turned serious: “The Golden Gongs…”
Wei Yuan nodded: “Injured by Hengkui. Last night, the yamen set up an operation at the Minister of War’s mansion and the Chief Minister’s residence. Four Golden Gongs, plus the Supervisor’s third disciple Yang Qianhuan—five Fourth Grade experts couldn’t detain Hengkui.”
Xu Qi An was both shocked and unsurprised by this outcome. He hadn’t expected five fourth-grade experts to join forces, but he wasn’t surprised because he felt the sealed object from beneath Sangbo should be of this caliber.
“Did you see clearly what it was?” Xu Qi An asked about the sealed object’s true form.
“A severed hand,” Jiang Luzhong answered.
As expected… it was indeed that strange hand. Xu Qi An looked at Wei Yuan: “Lord Wei, what grade is this?”
With just a hand having such power, what level must its owner be?
“At least Second Grade,” Wei Yuan said.
At least Second Grade, but probably First Grade… otherwise, it wouldn’t have been sealed but destroyed… Xu Qi An speculated, “What exactly is the background of this sealed object? Is it related to the demon race?”
“This matter involves an extremely great secret. I’m not clear on the specific situation,” Wei Yuan refused to disclose.
A severed hand, a powerful expert, involving the Celestial Inspection Bureau, the royal family, and the Buddhist sect. It even relates to history from five hundred years ago. Xu Qi An thought, glancing at the Golden Gongs, trying to discern something from their eyes.
The Golden Gongs ignored the little Bronze Gong’s observation.
“Hengkui has an artifact that conceals his aura. What we can be sure of now is that he hasn’t left the city. I’ve already reported the situation to His Majesty this morning,” Wei Yuan said gently:
“You continue with your investigation.”
Xu Qi An understood the Grand Eunuch’s hint. “Where is the Minister of War?”
“Under the pretext of protection, he’s under house arrest in his mansion,” Wei Yuan took a sip of tea.
“This lowly official will investigate right away,” Xu Qi An got the message.
Wei Yuan advised, “Minister Zhang is a Second Grade official. Mind your manners. For Fourth Grade and above, using the Aura Viewing technique is against the rules, but you can still bring a mage along.”
This means that although a mage’s accusations can’t be used as evidence, they can provide me with references… Xu Qi An cupped his hands: “Understood.”
He glanced at the dejected-looking Golden Gongs and let out another “pfft,” quickly retreating from the tea room before the Golden Gongs could get angry.