Indeed, the so-called “evidence” was found by Xu Qi An…
For some reason, Li Miaozhen wasn’t particularly surprised by this result. She just coldly glanced at the female ghost Su Su beside her.
Su Su pretended not to notice, focusing intently on playing with a lock of her hair.
The ghost comrade was also confused. She guaranteed she hadn’t been slacking off, but the fact was right before her eyes—this young Bronze Gong had obtained the evidence right under her nose.
Li Miaozhen took a deep breath: “Inspector General, there are hidden circumstances in this case…”
Inspector Zhang waved his hand, interrupting her, and said in a neutral tone: “General Li, you’re just a Cavalry General, and not a member of the court. You have no right to interfere in court affairs.
“I let you into the courier station only because I respect your contributions in suppressing bandits and admire your actions.”
“Ahem!”
Xu Qi An coughed loudly, attracting the attention of the three people present. “Inspector General, why don’t we hear what she has to say?”
He believed that Number Two’s support for Yang Chuan’nan might have personal emotional factors, but she wasn’t a blindly ignorant person. So he wanted to hear her explanation.
Inspector Zhang and Jiang Lvzhong exchanged glances. “Very well!”
Li Miaozhen nodded to Xu Qi An, pondered for a few seconds, then said: “I’ve known Yang Chuan’nan for over a year. We’ve joined forces to suppress bandits several times and have an excellent relationship. But I’m not someone who can’t distinguish right from wrong, and I understand the treachery and fickleness of human nature.
“I believe in Yang Chuan’nan, not just because of our interactions and fighting side by side. After learning through secret channels that the court was sending an inspector to Yun Province to investigate Yang Chuan’nan, I arranged for ghosts to monitor him.
“At that time, Yang Chuan’nan hadn’t received any secret messages from the Qi Party.”
Upon hearing about ghost surveillance, Jiang Lvzhong raised an eyebrow.
“How did you know I was coming to Yun Province to investigate Yang Chuan’nan?” Inspector Zhang stared at her with sharp eyes.
Report to the Inspector General, we also have a traitor among us, and it’s me… Xu Qi An thought shamefully.
The Earth Book fragment could transmit messages over thousands of miles with almost no delay. It was reasonable that Li Miaozhen knew about this earlier than Yang Chuan’nan.
She had taken Number Three’s words to heart and conducted surveillance.
Li Miaozhen said frankly: “That’s my secret.”
“Yang Chuan’nan is a fifth-grade warrior. Your ghost surveillance probably couldn’t escape his notice, right?” Xu Qi An changed the topic guiltily while marveling that things were finally developing as he had expected.
He had informed Number Two about this matter in advance, hoping she would cooperate with their investigation. Although Number Two’s relationship with Yang Chuan’nan exceeded his expectations, the result wasn’t bad.
“So what if he knew? As long as he remained within the ghost’s sight, I achieved my goal,” Li Miaozhen said.
Xu Qi An nodded in agreement. It was like in his previous life when people could spot surveillance cameras on the streets watching them, but they couldn’t do anything about it unless they smashed them with rocks.
If Yang Chuan’nan had smashed the “surveillance,” Li Miaozhen wouldn’t be supporting him so strongly now.
Does Yang Chuan’nan have a wife? Wouldn’t the ghost have seen countless intimate scenes? Fortunately, Master Shen Shu is in deep sleep, otherwise, I would have become the male lead in a domestic video… Thinking of this, Xu Qi An’s heart suddenly became complex.
“Is that all?” Jiang Lvzhong pressed.
“I am a member of the Heavenly Sect,” Li Miaozhen said word by word. “I can see through Yang Chuan’nan’s essence.”
What does that mean? Xu Qi An noticed that Jiang Lvzhong had fallen into deep thought and furrowed his brow.
“The Heavenly Sect cultivates the unity of heaven and man. You already know this, don’t you?” Li Miaozhen first glanced at the traitorous female ghost Su Su, then looked at Xu Qi An.
The former lowered her head in shame, while the latter asked, “And then?”
Jiang Lvzhong took over the topic, sighing: “To achieve unity with heaven and man, one must first forget emotions supremely. As the saying goes, ‘Heaven and Earth are not benevolent, they treat all things as straw dogs.’ It’s said that the higher the cultivation of Heavenly Sect Taoists, the more they resemble stone people—without joy or sorrow, without emotion or desire. Even if their son died, they wouldn’t feel the slightest sadness.”
Then I’ll raise the children if we have any in the future… Xu Qi An instinctively glanced at Li Miaozhen, who raised an eyebrow, feeling that there was malice in the young Bronze Gong’s eyes.
Jiang Lvzhong continued: “To achieve unity with heaven and man, one must comprehend the changes in the rules of heaven and earth, integrating myriad phenomena into oneself. Heavenly Sect members understand the concept of ‘investigating things to extend knowledge’ better than any scholar.
“They have a very strong intuition about qualities such as goodness, evil, and greed.”
Isn’t this just a human lie detector… No, human lie detectors are the Imperial Astronomers. Heavenly Sect members should be human scumbag detectors? Xu Qi An nodded in realization, finally understanding why Li Miaozhen trusted Yang Chuan’nan so much.
“But even the Imperial Observatory’s aura-reading technique has its flaws. Your method…” Xu Qi An chose his words carefully.
“As a Heavenly Sect cultivator, one should have absolute confidence in their intuition,” Li Miaozhen said calmly. This was a matter of the Dao’s heart. If one doubted their intuition, it would lead to self-doubt, and they would eventually die from inner demons.
“Then gauge me, see what my qualities are,” Xu Qi An said.
Li Miaozhen shook her head: “We’ve spent too little time together. It’s a long process.” After a pause, she pursed her lips and said, “Your qualities are already written on your face.”
Your mother…
“After realizing he was caught in the whirlpool of the Qi Party and the Witch God Cult, Yang Chuan’nan has been trying to save himself. He’s been investigating Qi Party members within the Chief Commander’s Office while searching for evidence left by Zhou Min.
“If he could prove his innocence, that would be best. If not, he planned to destroy the so-called ‘evidence’ to protect himself,” Li Miaozhen frankly revealed Yang Chuan’nan’s calculations.
…This is reasonable. If I encountered such a situation, I would prioritize self-preservation… and then investigate based on my abilities… Xu Qi An nodded.
Inspector Zhang narrowed his eyes, recalling Yang Chuan’nan’s subtle hostility towards him along the way. In his eyes, this inspector was just here to cause trouble.
Xu Qi An picked up his teacup, took a sip, and shook his head: “General Li, words alone are not enough proof. We have obtained evidence. Even if Yang Chuan’nan isn’t the mastermind, as the Chief Commander, he must bear this responsibility.”
Whichever yamen has problems, the person in charge must take responsibility. This has been the rule since ancient times.
“Moreover, even the Imperial Observatory’s aura-reading technique can’t be used as evidence. Your method of ‘investigating things to extend knowledge’ is even less likely to convince the court.”
For those above fourth grade, the Imperial Observatory’s aura-reading technique couldn’t be used as evidence because while the technique doesn’t lie, the mystics might. Similarly, the Heavenly Sect’s cultivation method doesn’t lie, but Li Miaozhen might.
Xu Qi An stood up and walked to the female ghost Su Su’s side, pinching her face. That exquisitely beautiful face immediately caved in.
“What are you doing?” Su Su’s flowery countenance changed… no, deformed.
“It’s made of paper after all.” Xu Qi An patted the beauty’s shoulder: “Su Su, would you like to have a living physical body? Not possession, but an ownerless body.”
“A dead person?” Su Su glanced at him sideways, sneering, “A departed shell would only last for a while before rotting.”
“No, a truly ownerless body, without a soul,” Xu Qi An said.
Su Su looked unconvinced.
“I’m an old acquaintance of Song Qin from the Imperial Observatory. He’s conducting life alchemy experiments, with the ultimate goal of creating a physical body no different from normal people. And recently, he’s made significant breakthroughs,” Xu Qi An said with a straight face.
“R-really?”
Perhaps due to the credibility of the Imperial Observatory’s name, Su Su began to show interest and develop a certain longing.
“Of course it’s true. As long as you choose to follow me, I can get you a clean, ownerless physical body. As for the issue of nourishing yin energy, I can figure something out.”
Anyway, it’s all about sweet talk. This is how you deceive girls.
First, paint them a grand picture, envision the future, offer enough benefits and promises, and they’ll let you do whatever you want because of that unattainable grand vision.
By the time they realize it’s a lie, the rice will already be cooked.
“Ahem!”
Inspector Zhang coughed, reminding the young Bronze Gong not to digress. The matter of flirting with the female ghost could be discussed later.
Xu Qi An understood the leader’s meaning. He had laid enough groundwork, so he probed: “General Li since you say that Yang Chuan’nan has also secretly investigated the situation within the Chief Commander’s Office with you, do you have any leads?”
If not, please go back…
Li Miaozhen seemed to have prepared her speech in advance. In the candlelight, she lowered her head slightly, her long and curled eyelashes catching the light, shadows hiding her beautiful eyes.
“Shortly after Zhou Min’s death, I collaborated with Yang Chuan’nan to investigate the Chief Commander’s Office. We finally locked onto a target, also a member of the Qi Party. But that person was very slippery and seemed to sense the danger. Before we could close the net, he disappeared without a trace.”
This doesn’t tell us anything… Aren’t you very good at finding people? You even managed to track down Constable Zhou… Xu Qi An complained internally, shaking his head.
Inspector Zhang frowned: “Who is this person?”
“Like Zhou Min, he was from the Chief Commander’s Office, a clerk in the Records Department, in charge of warehouse receipts and other matters,” Li Miaozhen answered.
To verify whether Li Miaozhen’s words were true or false, was very simple, just like exposing Yang Yingying’s lie before. Xu Qi An immediately asked:
“Name, age, appearance, home address, as well as his relatives and friends… Can General Li provide this information?”
“Of course, but I don’t have it with me. I’ll send someone to deliver it to the courier station tomorrow,” Li Miaozhen said:
“As for this person’s appearance, I can draw it for you.”
Inspector Zhang nodded and ordered someone to fetch a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Su Su, with her deformed face, obediently ground the ink. But she seemed distracted, occasionally glancing at Xu Qi An, then lowering her head in thought.
After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Li Miaozhen finished the portrait.
The man was a thin, middle-aged man with sharp eyes.
The owner of the dog meat shop at No. 15 Huangbo Street.