After learning about the Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li in the Northern Borders, Li Miaozhena’s mind sparked with an idea. She disguised herself as the Flying Swallow Heroine and secretly visited Chu State. After much hardship, she finally found Governor Zheng Xinghuai, who had narrowly escaped death.
Unexpectedly, at that moment, spies from the Northern Border King suddenly arrived with troops, intending to silence Li Miaozhena and Governor Zheng. It turned out the enemy had been secretly following them, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
However, they encountered fierce resistance from Li Miaozhena. She fought against a hundred enemies single-handedly, not retreating a step, just as Xu Qi An had done in Yun State. Finally, she drove back the Northern Border King’s spies and learned the details of the massacre from Governor Zheng.
This time, Li Miaozhena felt she was operating at the tenth level!
The above was Li Miaozhena’s inner monologue. She wanted to voice these thoughts aloud, but remembering Xu Qi An’s experience of facing tens of thousands of rebel troops alone and being too ashamed to face the Spirit Book fragment holders with his true identity, as well as her own embarrassing experience in Yun State when she boastfully said “This general is naturally excellent at solving cases” in front of Xu Qi An during a moment of overconfidence, Li Miaozhena, who was passionate about deduction and solving cases, restrained her desire to show off and answered truthfully:
“All of this is thanks to Constable Xu.”
Constable Xu?!
The delegation members were stunned, not understanding what this had to do with Xu Qi An.
Li Miaozhena explained, “It was Xu Qi An who invited me to investigate the case in Chu State.”
“I see…” The Deputy Chief of the Court of Judicial Review stroked his beard and nodded with a smile. “Daoist Li is truly a great person. Although the Celestial Sect of Daoism cultivates the unity of heaven and man and follows the principle of non-action, your disregard for fame and fortune is your own choice. We shouldn’t overlook your contributions because of this. You don’t need to attribute all the credit to Constable Xu.”
Hearing this, Censor Liu chimed in, “The delegation will certainly report the situation to the court and request recognition for your efforts.”
Constable Xu inviting the Celestial Sect Saint to investigate in Chu State didn’t mean that all the efforts the Saint made in Chu State were Constable Xu’s credit.
Scholars do speak well… Li Miaozhena felt somewhat happy, flattered, and also a bit ashamed. She continued:
“After that, I came to Chu State and traveled around looking for clues, but found nothing…”
The delegation members listened attentively, knowing how difficult this case was to investigate. They were very curious about how Li Miaozhena had found a breakthrough and uncovered the truth of the massacre.
“But in fact, everything leaves traces. I discovered the body that revealed the Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li on a mountain path outside the capital. How could an ordinary person dare to come to the capital to make accusations without evidence? There must have been someone behind him. That person didn’t send official reports or documents but chose to have a jianghu person deliver the message. I guessed they would use the same method again.
“So I walked around Chu State under the name of the Flying Swallow Heroine, killing barbarians, punishing corrupt merchants, and distributing porridge to help the people. Heh, I have some reputation in the jianghu, and many know of me, and even more recognize me…
“Sure enough, after a few days, someone secretly sought me out, hoping I could help.”
Brilliant!
The delegation members were thoroughly convinced and loudly praised, “Daoist Li’s mind is so astute, to be able to find clues to solve the case from this angle. We are truly in awe.”
Captain Chen of the Constabulary said with embarrassment, “This official has worked in the yamen for so many years in vain. How shameful.”
Censor Liu admired, “I originally thought whether this case could be solved would ultimately depend on Constable Xu. I didn’t expect Daoist Li to be a step ahead.”
The civil officials were generous with their words of praise, half sincere and half out of habit from the officialdom.
Hearing this, Li Miaozhena’s lips curled into a small, uncontrollable smile of pride. Then she cleared her throat and said, “I’m not being modest. All of this was taught to me by Xu Ning Yan. We’ve been in secret contact the whole time.”
The laughter and praise suddenly stopped, as if someone had hit the pause button. The delegation members’ faces froze as they stared blankly at the Celestial Sect Saint.
Why did this Li Miaozhena leave the most important information for last?
Was this some kind of wicked sense of humor?
It was a bit awkward…
No wonder Constable Xu left the delegation midway to secretly head to the Northern Borders. It turns out he had already found a helper from the very beginning. When His Majesty and the officials appointed him as the lead investigator, he had already formulated a plan… Captain Chen of the Ministry of Justice deeply felt Xu Qi An’s formidability.
It was no wonder that Minister Sun had repeatedly suffered defeats at his hands and was furious but helpless.
I was careless. From the tax silver case, the Sangbo case, the Yun State case, and later the Imperial Consort Fu case, every one showed that Constable Xu is an experienced and meticulous person who cannot be underestimated. I even thought he had finally stumbled this time… The Deputy Chief of the Court of Judicial Review shook his head with a bitter smile.
So all of this was within Constable Xu’s plan. I was too naive.
As expected of Lord Xu… Centurion Chen Xiao’s spirits lifted, showing a look of admiration.
The Imperial Guard soldiers also smiled, feeling proud by association.
Yang Yan nodded slightly, not surprised, as if he thought it was natural.
Next, Li Miaozhena informed the delegation about Governor Zheng Xinghuai’s survival. Censor Liu was extremely excited, not only because they now had a witness but also because he and Zheng Xinghuai were old acquaintances. Learning that he was still alive filled him with genuine joy.
“Xu Ning Yan should still be on his way to Chu State City. I flew here on my sword much faster than him,” Li Miaozhena explained, then asked:
“Where did that mysterious expert go?”
Yang Yan thought for a moment, then suddenly startled, saying, “The direction he left in was consistent with the direction the barbarians fled.”
The Deputy Chief of the Court of Judicial Review’s heart trembled, and an incredible thought flashed through his mind. “Could it be… could it be…”
Censor Liu’s reaction was also quick, saying, “Could it be that he went to hunt down Jili Zhigu? He fears the power balance in the Northern Borders will be disrupted, and after this battle, the people of Chu State will suffer under the iron hooves of the barbarians with no one to keep them in check.”
Yang Yan and Li Miaozhena exchanged glances and said in unison, “Let’s go take a look.”
The latter added, “Get on.”
Yang Yan lightly leaped onto the sword’s spine, standing with his hands behind his back.
Although fourth-grade martial artists could fly, their speed, altitude, and endurance couldn’t compare to the Daoist sword-riding technique. To draw an analogy, it was like the difference between a motorcycle and a high-speed train.
If one were to compare running on the ground to flying in the sky, the martial artist would be faster, provided it was on an endless plain with no mountains or rivers blocking the way.
After flying north for two-quarters of an hour, Li Miaozhena and Yang Yan saw Jili Zhigu. It wasn’t difficult to find him because he was standing right on the official road.
This strongest barbarian warrior since the Battle of Shanhai Pass was now just an empty husk.
His head had been forcibly removed, along with half of his spine, and tossed by the roadside.
Li Miaozhena stopped, looking down from above, and muttered, “In this Northern Borders battle, two third-grade martial artists have fallen. This will surely spread throughout the Nine States and cause a sensation.”
Yang Yan felt a bit dazed. It turned out that the realm he had dreamed of reaching was nothing much in the eyes of even stronger experts.
Third-grade, ah. No matter which system or which force, it was a leader-level figure.
Yang Yan jumped off the sword’s spine, grabbed the spine, and picked up the head of the Qingyan tribe leader, returning to Chu State city.
When he brought the head back to Chu State city and hung it on the city wall, twenty thousand soldiers silently looked up at it, shedding hot tears.
This barbarian strongman who had threatened Chu State for twenty years had finally fallen.
At the same time, countless people’s hearts flashed with questions: Who exactly was that mysterious expert?
…
Several hundred li away from Chu State city, by a pond, Xu Qi An, who had just bathed, lay weakly on a huge rock that had lost its edges from being washed by the pond water.
After successively seizing the life essence of the Northern Border King and Jili Zhigu, Shen Shu had fallen into a deep sleep, probably impossible to wake this time.
Unless he could freeload another bout of fortune as he had in the ancient tomb.
Without the support of the great muscle monk, he suddenly felt insecure… Xu Qi An examined himself and found that after Shen Shu had manifested his pitch-black dharma body, his physical strength had improved again.
It was like a water channel widened by a flood; even though the flood had passed, the traces it left behind couldn’t disappear.
Lu Xun would say, we are grateful to those who open tunnels, but we always hold those who widen tunnels in high esteem… Xu Qi An had a deeper understanding of this sentence.
“After this battle, my understanding of the unity of form and spirit has deepened. Personally experiencing the battles of high-grade martial artists, experiencing how they use their power, is a valuable experience for me…”
He mustered his strength to sit cross-legged and regulate his breathing. After digesting for a while in his mind, out of professional habit, he began to review the “Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li” case.
“The Northern Border King’s purpose for the massacre had two aspects. First: to refine blood pills to break through to the grand perfection stage, and then absorb the princess consort’s spiritual essence to officially enter the second grade. Second: to set up a trap to hunt down Jili Zhigu and Zhu Jiu.
“The appearance of the State-Protecting Sword means that Emperor Yuanjing knew everything about the Northern Border King’s massacre, and may even have been involved. Otherwise, the State-Protecting Sword couldn’t have appeared in Chu State.”
When he saw the State-Protecting Sword appear at that time, Xu Qi An was extremely angry and shocked. But with a great enemy before him, there was no time to think too much.
“That dog emperor…” Xu Qi An exhaled a turbid breath, telling himself to control his anger.
“The dog emperor knew about this matter. Well, it does solve a puzzle for me. That chivalrous man who died outside the capital was killed by people sent by Emperor Yuanjing. Only he could set up such a tight net around the capital and screen out the target.
“This explains why I was made the lead investigator, why no provincial governor was arranged. It’s because the delegation was just going through the motions, there was no need to arrange a provincial governor with too much power to keep the Northern Border King in check. And if worst came to worst, the Northern Border King could still silence them.
“Moreover, the delegation had another purpose: to escort the princess consort to the Northern Borders. Although the dog emperor is unfilial, he’s also an old fox. However, I still feel he trusts and indulges the Northern Border King too much.”
Xu Qi An pondered for a few seconds, following this train of thought:
“Emperor Yuanjing knows the truth about the massacre, but does Duke Wei know? From the feedback I got from his remnant soul, he shouldn’t know… Well, an old fox like Duke Wei, his displayed reaction might not be his true reaction, but the reaction he wants me to see.
“Assuming Duke Wei knows about this, how would he plan? With his personality, he absolutely couldn’t tolerate the Northern Border King’s massacre, even if it would result in a second-grade expert for Great Shang.
“But until now, I haven’t seen any traces of Duke Wei’s moves. Hmm, let’s reverse-engineer this. Assuming Duke Wei knows about this, with his personality, he would try to stop it.
“But the Northern Border King is a third-grade martial artist, Great Shang’s top expert, how to stop him? There’s no such high-level expert among the Night Watchers, otherwise it wouldn’t have been me stopping the Northern Border King just now.
“So how to stop the Northern Border King?”
A flash of inspiration struck Xu Qi An’s mind, and he thought of a phrase: using one tiger to devour another.
In the Northern Borders, only Jili Zhigu and Zhu Jiu could disrupt the Northern Border King’s plans. If it were me, I would leak the location of the Northern Border King’s massacre to his enemies.
“But how did Duke Wei know the massacre would happen in Chu State?” Xu Qi An frowned, suddenly thinking of an unreasonable detail.
Before leaving the capital, Wei Yuan had told him that because he had reassigned all his undercover agents to the Northeast, there was a delay in intelligence from the Northern Borders, causing him to know nothing about the Blood Massacre of Three Thousand Li case.
“With Duke Wei’s wisdom, even if he wanted to withdraw his undercover agents, he couldn’t possibly leave the Northern Borders completely. He would leave a few chess pieces in fixed, important cities. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be Wei Qingyi.”
Another piece of circumstantial evidence was found, proving that Wei Yuan had concealed something.
Following this train of thought, Xu Qi An’s mind gradually cleared: “Duke Wei specifically sought me out for a talk, asking how I planned to investigate the case. I told him I would leave the delegation midway and head north alone.
“Then he gave me Miss Cai’s contact information, and as soon as I met Cai’er, I immediately learned important intelligence about Xikou County from her. Everything went too smoothly.
“Moreover, Xikou County and Chu State are exactly in opposite directions. Does this mean that Duke Wei deliberately gave me false information to send me west? He didn’t want me involved in this matter.
“If so, it means he knows the situation in the Northern Borders like the back of his hand.”
For a moment, Xu Qi An felt a bit of a chill down his spine, his emotions complex. He felt grateful, but also instinctively wary of the old fox.
“After picking up the princess consort and rejoining the delegation, I’ll make another trip to Sanhuang County.”
…
The next day, in the morning.
Xu Qi An, sporting his previous life’s appearance that was handsome enough to shock the party and put ancient Louis Koo to shame, entered the inn and knocked on the princess consort’s door.