Xu Qi An stepped forward, knocked down the guard, kicked away his sword, and started slapping him repeatedly: “Are you going to report or not, are you going to report or not…”
The guard beside them was stunned, unsure whether to intervene.
“Stop, stop hitting…” The fallen guard covered his head, crying out in distress: “You’re putting me in a difficult position, my lord. Lord Wei will blame me later.”
Xu Qi An was Wei Yuan’s favorite, so the guard didn’t dare resist. As long as he didn’t force his way into the Tower of Integrity, the guards wouldn’t choose to turn against him.
“I understand, we all have our difficulties.” Seeing that his slaps had broken the guard’s stubbornness, Xu Qi An stopped, satisfied. He took out a tael of silver from his money bag:
“Is this vulgar yellow and white object worth the risk for you? If not, I’ll find someone else.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.” The guard took the silver, picked up his sword, and scurried into the Tower of Integrity.
After about ten minutes, Xu Qi An saw the candlelight on the seventh floor light up. Shortly after, the guard came down and respectfully said: “Lord Wei invites you up. This young lady…”
“She’s an Occult Master from the Department of Astronomy, one of us,” Xu Qi An said, leading Chu Caiwei into the tower.
During the day, the tower was bustling with clerks on duty, but at night it was eerily quiet, adding a sense of loneliness and chill.
Wei Yuan lived in the tower year-round. Didn’t he find it lonely?
Thinking as he walked, they arrived at the tea room on the seventh floor. It wasn’t warm; there was no charcoal fire burning in the room, and not a single servant in the entire tower.
Wei Yuan, wearing a green robe with his black hair loose, sat cross-legged at the table with an oil lamp beside him. Seeing Xu Qi An come up, he casually instructed him:
“Light the charcoal, boil some water, and light the other candles.”
He seemed a bit cold. Heh, although Wei Yuan was cunning and calculating, he didn’t have a talent for martial arts… Haha, heaven is fair after all… Xu Qi An did as told, lighting the candles one by one in the spacious tea room, placing the charcoal fire next to Wei Yuan, and setting up a copper kettle.
“Today I had Qianrou notify you to hide, but we couldn’t find you anywhere in the yamen. We asked at the Xu residence, but you hadn’t returned. We inquired at the courtesan quarters, but you weren’t there either.
“Coming to see me so late, it’s not about the corruption case, is it?” Wei Yuan smiled and looked at Chu Caiwei, asking curiously:
“Is this little Bronze Gong Miss Caiwei’s sweetheart?”
Chu Caiwei’s little face turned red: “No, he’s not.”
But she was naive and inexperienced, so the blush quickly faded. Her gaze swept over the tea table and desk a few times, but she saw no food.
This place suddenly seemed very uninteresting to her.
“Lord Wei, I’ve discovered a major case,” Xu Qi An sat cross-legged at the table, facing Wei Yuan. “Today I took leave to buy a house and found a haunted abandoned residence. After Miss Caiwei and I dealt with the matter, I empathized with the female ghost…”
Xu Qi An recounted the details of his empathy experience. At first, Wei Yuan didn’t pay much attention, but when he heard about the mansion housing catamites and women, his expression darkened slightly.
When he heard about the Minister of Works having secret meetings with someone suspected to be from the Witch-God Cult, selling machinery and cannons illegally, and having connections with Yun Province, the Grand Eunuch’s face became as dark as water.
“So the Qi faction is indeed involved with the Yun Province bandits. Very good, this intelligence is extremely important.” Wei Yuan looked at Xu Qi An, his eyes gentle but filled with appreciation. “You always manage to surprise me.”
Then adopt me as your godson… Xu Qi An thought to himself.
Xu Freeload was a person with dignity; he couldn’t bring himself to say such things out loud. It was like in his previous life when he had stunning looks but could never bring himself to say, “Auntie, I don’t want to struggle anymore.”
“Lord Wei, Zhu Yang’s betrayal was entirely because of me,” Xu Qi An said shamefully.
“If it wasn’t him, there would have been other troubles. This time, it’s the Qi faction opposing me, though, of course, other factions are also secretly fanning the flames.” Wei Yuan didn’t explain why the Qi faction was opposing him.
So the mastermind behind this corruption case incident was the Qi faction?
He had learned through the ground book that Zhu Yang had betrayed the yamen and become a traitor.
But Number One hadn’t said the mastermind was the Qi faction. Xu Qi An had thought it was the Wang faction causing trouble.
This is too much of a coincidence… The “corruption case” just happened at the yamen today, I was implicated in it, and immediately there’s such a big discovery.
… Is it because I’m about to advance to the Spirit Tempering realm, so my luck has undergone a qualitative change? Otherwise, it’s inexplicable.
“How interesting. The Wang faction colluded with demons, and the Qi faction colluded with the Witch-God Cult. What kind of people are in the imperial court?” Chu Caiwei complained:
“Has His Majesty’s mind gone bad from cultivating?”
Xu Qi An quickly elbowed the outspoken girl.
“His Majesty doesn’t manage state affairs. Although he still holds great power, some monsters and demons have inevitably been nurtured. He’s skilled in power plays, and the court officials aren’t fools either,” Wei Yuan didn’t mind Chu Caiwei’s disrespect, after all, the Occult Masters from the Department of Astronomy were all like this.
Yang Qianhuan, whose behavior was somewhat absurd, even faced away from His Majesty when meeting him. His Majesty never got angry; he was always generous and kind to those who were extremely useful but held no real power.
“The Confucian dragon-slaying technique is meant to slay this great dragon, isn’t it?” Xu Qi An said with a grin.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chu Caiwei elbowed him back in revenge.
Emperor Yuanjing manipulated the court, and the court officials were also playing him. When an emperor only cares about his power and not the welfare of the country and its people, the criteria for selecting talents change. The standards tend towards obedience and ease of control.
As for character and ability, they become less important, unless it’s someone as exceptionally talented as Wei Yuan.
It’s rotten from the source… Wei Yuan, is this the reason you’re clearing away obstacles?… Xu Qi An recalled what Wei Yuan had said before about wanting to clean up the corrupt atmosphere in the court and then sweep away the decadent trends in the country. But before that, he had to go with the flow and allow his subordinates to make mistakes.
He was already an isolated official. If he didn’t have a few capable subordinates, how could he contend with the court officials?
At this moment, Wei Yuan took out paper and brush, intending to write a document. Xu Qi An sensibly poured water and ground ink. He watched as Dad Wei wrote an arrest warrant and affixed the official seal.
“Take this warrant and find the Gold Gong on duty, Zhang Kaitai. Have him lead people to eliminate the trafficker organization,” Wei Yuan said.
I know a great Confucian scholar called Chen Tai, what’s the deal with this Zhang Kaitai… Xu Qi An nodded: “Yes, sir.”
He left the Tower of Integrity with Chu Caiwei, asking around for Gold Gong Zhang Kaitai’s office, called the “Divine Sword Hall.” Only upon meeting him did he realize it was the sword-wielding Gold Gong he had encountered a few times before.
He was one of the four Gold Gongs who had been wrapped in bandages back then.
Zhang Kaitai was like a solitary swordsman, giving off an air of cold aloofness when silent.
If he were born in modern times, he’d be a professional Ximeng Chuixue… Xu Qi An thought.
“What’s the matter?” Zhang Kaitai’s gaze fell on the document in Xu Qi An’s hand.
Xu Qi An handed over the document and repeated what he had told Wei Yuan.
After listening, Zhang Kaitai’s calm, almost cold face broke into a delighted smile like spring ice cracking: “Good, good. This time we’ll make the Qi faction pay dearly.
“If our colleagues can overcome this difficulty, you should be credited with the primary merit.”
Zhang Kaitai had a decent impression of Xu Qi An but didn’t understand why Yang Yan and Jiang Lvzhong had made such a fuss over him, nor could he fathom why Lord Wei valued him so highly.
Although he had some spirit and outstanding case-solving abilities and was indeed talented, what was Lord Wei’s status? Why did he show such favoritism to a Bronze Gong?
After the Sangpo case, he admitted that Xu Qi An was a talent worth cultivating.
At this moment, in his delight, Zhang Kaitai began to appreciate this seemingly ordinary little Bronze Gong. He always managed to surprise people.
A quarter of an hour later, they assembled their forces: forty white-clothed constables, over twenty Bronze Gongs, and six Silver Gongs, equipped with firearms, military crossbows, ropes, and other tools, fully armed.
The large contingent, holding torches, ran swiftly behind Xu Qi An. Moving at an extremely fast pace, with the firelight undulating continuously, they reached their target mansion in just half an hour.
The mansion had no plaque, and its red-lacquered main gate was tightly shut. Zhang Kaitai waved his hand, his face cold as he issued a concise order: “Surround it.”
The white-clothed constables spread out, holding their torches.
A Silver Gong stepped forward, drew his sword, and with a loud shout, unleashed a blade light that shattered the red-lacquered gate.
The night watchmen rushed in quickly. A squad of sword-wielding private guards shouted angrily as they came forward to obstruct them, but as soon as they made contact, they were cut down by the night watchmen, regardless of whether they lived or died.
From the inner courtyard, the faint sound of string and wind instruments could be heard, but it quickly subsided, seemingly aware of the commotion in the front courtyard. A moment later, the entire mansion was in an uproar.
Xu Qi An, gripping his sword, led the charge at the front, cutting down any private guards he encountered. As he struck, fragments of the woman’s memories kept flashing through his mind.
Flashes of those women being abused and brutalized.
They fought their way to the inner courtyard. In the warm, spring-like front hall, a dozen or so guests and women had gathered. They were in various states of undress, their expressions fearful.
“Night watchmen?” The guests were horrified.
Xu Qi An shook his black gold long sword, splattering a line of crimson blood on the ground. He pointed his sword at the crowd and said in a deep voice: “Arrest them all. Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy.”
After shouting, he left the hall, leading several Bronze Gongs to kick open room after room, dragging out guests who had just satisfied their desires and fallen asleep on the beds. They gathered them in the courtyard.
“No clothes allowed. Everyone, hands on your heads and squat down.”
He was very familiar with the procedure of raiding hotels. The difference was that in the past, he had approached the clients with a somewhat jesting attitude, asking: “Are you married?”
Now, he was filled with rage and killing intent.
Compared to brothels, these mansion-like private clubs were more discreet, allowing for confidential discussions.
Moreover, whether it was catamites or women, they could be tortured for days. Even if they died, someone would handle the trouble. Unlike the women from official brothels, who couldn’t be treated so brutally.
The raid quickly concluded. Zhang Gold Gong adopted Xu Qi An’s suggestion, stripping the guests of their clothes and making them squat in the courtyard with their hands on their heads, enduring the cold wind of early January.
At first, some people shouted “A scholar can be killed but not humiliated,” but after Zhang Kaitai killed one with a sword, everyone became obedient.
The night watchmen had the authority to execute first and report later during operations.
“Oh, it’s you, Lord Cao… Oh, Lord Wang is here too… Lord Tang, you’re truly short but potent…” A Silver Gong coldly mocked the officials he recognized.
In the warm inner hall, over twenty beautiful women, handsome youths, and even a few boys of eleven or twelve were gathered.
Great Feng strictly cracked down on the practice of keeping catamites, but there were no small number of merchants and officials who favored pederasty. Many brothels would keep some catamites disguised as pimps, who would be responsible for accompanying clients with such preferences when they visited.
“Disgusting,” a Silver Gong said with a tone of revulsion.
Zhang Kaitai was interrogating the owner of the mansion, a middle-aged man dressed like a wealthy merchant, who kept kowtowing and saying: “This lowly one is guilty, this lowly one deserves death.”
Zhang Kaitai asked in a deep voice: “Who is your backer?”
“This lowly one merely wanted to associate with some powerful figures in the court. There is no backer.”
Zhang Kaitai didn’t press further, only instructing his subordinate Silver Gongs to watch him closely and not let him commit suicide. Once in the night watchmen’s dungeon, even a stone man’s mouth could be pried open.
Xu Qi An said: “There’s a well in the back courtyard, specifically used for disposing of women’s corpses.”
Zhang Kaitai gave the middle-aged man a long, hard look.
Xu Qi An, Chu Caiwei, and Zhang Kaitai went to the back courtyard and found the well. They shone a torch down it; the water was deep black, and a faint stench of decay wafted up.
After flesh rots, bones will sink… We’ll probably have to go down and salvage them… Xu Qi An’s mouth twitched.
Suddenly, Chu Caiwei let out a light “Eh?” She looked around for a moment, then leaped onto the roof ridge to survey the entire back courtyard.
“What’s wrong?” Xu Qi An, standing by the well, looked up and asked.
“There’s a sealing array in the courtyard. The resentful energy in the well is sealed,” Chu Caiwei said.
A sealing array? So that’s why the night watchmen haven’t discovered anything unusual all these years… Xu Qi An nodded in realization, his expression suddenly becoming strange:
“Aren’t arrays the work of you Occult Masters?”
At the same time, another doubt arose in his mind. If they could set up an array to seal the resentful energy, why didn’t they just eliminate the resentful energy directly?
It’s worth noting that even Chu Caiwei, at the seventh rank, could do this. Setting up an extremely yang feng shui in the back courtyard would eliminate future troubles.
“… Well, there are always some rogue Occult Masters out there,” Chu Caiwei pouted. “Wasn’t there an Alchemist behind the tax silver case?”
I find myself speechless! When Xu Qi An turned his gaze back to the well opening, he saw Zhang Kaitai staring thoughtfully at the well wall. Following his gaze, he finally noticed the complex and strange incantations carved into the well wall.
“This is the work of the Witch-God Cult, probably some kind of incantation. The specific purpose is unknown. Have someone make a rubbing of it, we’ll check it against the archives later,” Zhang Kaitai explained.
“Hmm, according to the information I got from empathizing with the vengeful spirit, this place is indeed connected to the Witch-God Cult,” Xu Qi An said, while inwardly grumbling:
I’ve been ridden by that Tamraha guy who knows how many times. If I get the chance to meet him, I’ll make sure he knows what it’s like to be mounted by a big man.
Just then, there was a commotion and screams from the front hall.