Investigating Again

"Ah..."

When Liang Yue woke up, it was already the next morning. He felt as if the back of his head had been struck with a club, throbbing with pain.

Although he had overdrawn his spiritual sense before while visualizing the Sword Domain Swimming Dragon Movement Technique, it had never been this severe. It could only be said that the Dao charm contained in that ancient hide was truly terrifying.

Recalling carefully, he seemed to have visualized nothing last night, only vaguely seeing a chaotic expanse and someone saying something to him.

Saying something like "welcome."

It seemed this item should be left for later attempts. Trying to visualize it with his current spiritual sense felt like a small horse pulling a large cart.

His strength was simply insufficient.

He was about to put these items away when he suddenly noticed something was off. "Huh?"

Raising his hand, he found a faint "Dou" (Dou) character pattern subtly appearing on his palm. It was a light golden color and seemed to have faint connections with his spiritual palace.

What was going on?

This was naturally related to that ancient hide, but he didn't know if it was good or bad. Liang Yue tried to activate it with his spiritual sense.

Boom—

The golden pattern suddenly brightened, like burning flames!

His body's vital energy circulated rapidly, suddenly increasing a hundredfold. Immediately, smoke emanated and swirled around him, and surging battle intent filled his heart.

Liang Yue quickly stopped the activation, reining in his spiritual sense, and the pattern on his palm completely disappeared.

Good heavens.

In that short moment, it almost boiled his vital energy.

The effect of this thing seemed to be able to make his combat power explode in an instant, perhaps even elevating it by an entire major realm?

But it should also be harmful to the body, as fighting like this for even a little while would inevitably lead to overexertion.

Could it be that this was the divine ability brought to him by visualizing this ancient hide?

Liang Yue wrapped it up and kept it close to his body.

Although he didn't know exactly what it was, this item was definitely extraordinary and could be studied further when his cultivation was higher.

As for the ebony-handled long saber that couldn't be drawn, Liang Yue hid it along with the letter under the head of his bed. He just didn't know how to use the ancient hide yet, but he truly had no idea what this saber was for.

After tidying up his home, Liang Yue straightened his clothes and headed to the station.

On the way, he couldn't help but think that Yu Wenlong really did resemble a protagonist from some story, bearing deep hatred, vowing revenge, returning with a new identity, and secretly possessing a hidden treasure.

It was just a pity that this fellow was too impatient.

Instead, it all ended up benefiting him.

Arriving at the station with a dizzy head, he found Pang Chun and Chen Ju looking equally exhausted.

The three of them sat side by side on the threshold outside the station, six dark circles clearly visible in a row.

"I overexerted my spiritual sense cultivating last night, but why are you two like this?" Liang Yue asked curiously.

Chen Ju chuckled awkwardly, "I thought the Red Sleeve Brothel was closer to the station than my home, so for convenience getting to work, I stayed at the Red Sleeve Brothel last night."

"Oh, so it was for convenience getting to work," Liang Yue said with a smile. "Truly dedicated."

"Yes," Chen Ju nodded wearily. "Utterly dedicated."

"Ha—" Pang Chun yawned, saying sleepily, "I had insomnia."

"Ah?!" Liang Yue and Chen Ju were both greatly startled.

Da Chun having insomnia?

This was probably more unbelievable than a rooster laying an egg, the sun rising in the west, Chen Ju giving up women, or snow in June.

One had to know, this fellow could fall asleep standing up anytime, anywhere. Close his eyes and he was a horse.

This kind of person could also have insomnia?

"It's not that I couldn't sleep, it's just that as soon as I fell asleep, I'd dream again. Now that white-bearded old man doesn't tell me to hit him anymore, he says..." Pang Chun said with a bitter expression, "It's my turn."

"Then he punched me, and I woke up immediately. As soon as I fell asleep again, it was another punch. I must have woken up hundreds of times last night."

"Could it be that you've offended something unclean?" Chen Ju suddenly stood up and said sternly, "Old man! Whoever you are, get off Da Chun immediately!"

"Probably not. His yang energy is stronger than the sun. Any ghost that bumps into him would want to report it to the authorities." Liang Yue shook his head. "Could it be related to the visualization technique? Is the old man in your dream helping you cultivate?"

"That's possible too." Chen Ju nodded. "I heard there was someone named Xiao before who found a treasure with the primordial spirit of a senior hidden inside, who helped him become a top expert all the way!"

"Then I'll go negotiate with him and see if I can get a good night's sleep before getting stronger," Da Chun mumbled, then went to a corner of the station, wanting to sneak in a nap.

Chen Ju was just about to find an excuse to sneak away too.

Turning around, he saw a familiar figure, and his expression immediately became fawning. "Captain Ling, long time no see, I've missed you terribly."

"Get lost."

"Okay."

Another crisp and clean conversation.

The person who came to the Fukang Ward station was indeed the newly promoted female captain they had met last time, Ling Yuanbao.

She was still wearing the black and red official uniform of the Ministry of Justice, with a graceful figure, slender waist and long legs, her long hair tied back, and carrying that cloth-wrapped long weapon on her back.

Seeing Liang Yue come out, she immediately came forward, her face beaming with a smile. "What a coincidence, the first person I see here is you."

Hmm...

Liang Yue looked at Chen Ju beside him, unable to determine what kind of creature he was for a moment.

Ling Yuanbao continued, "I came to find you!"

Liang Yue blinked. "Captain Ling has something?"

"That's right." Ling Yuanbao pulled him and said, "Let's talk somewhere private."

Chen Ju called out from behind, "There are no outsiders here, what are you two hiding?"

After arriving back in the small alley outside the station, Ling Yuanbao finally said, "I want to ask for your help."

Liang Yue replied, "Then please speak, Captain Ling. If I can help, I will do my best."

Ling Yuanbao then began to pour out her troubles.

It turned out she was a newly appointed captain and shouldn't have had the opportunity to handle any major cases. But unexpectedly, the previous case of the sixth-rank official's murder was suddenly handed to her.

She was initially overjoyed, believing she was being given important responsibilities.

But she quickly realized something seemed off.

Originally, the murder of a sixth-rank official should have been a major event that would attract the emperor's attention. However, the discovery of a large amount of stolen silver led the matter in another direction.

Left Prime Minister Liang Fuguo submitted a memorial requesting the Ministry of Justice intervene and thoroughly investigate the case, which the emperor immediately approved.

All the resources of the Ministry of Justice were then focused on investigating the corruption in the Ministry of Works. The original case of Zhen Changzhi's murder, on the other hand, received little attention. Ling Yuanbao was still in charge of this case, but she couldn't find any assistance within the Ministry of Justice, and her superiors didn't provide her with any extra support.

It seemed no one cared how Zhen Changzhi actually died!

Despite her running around, she hadn't found any useful clues. Seeing her colleagues achieving results one after another, while she, the initial contributor, became marginalized, Ling Yuanbao couldn't help but feel anxious.

That's when she thought of Liang Yue.

If there was anyone who, like her, wanted to find the real killer and also had some brains to offer help, it was probably this Imperial Capital Guard. After all, as long as the real killer wasn't found, the suspicion on their brothers couldn't be cleared.

This was also true; Liang Yue wanted to find the real killer more than anyone!

He wanted to be promoted in the Imperial Capital Guard, and Liang Peng wanted to enter officialdom through the imperial examination. This kind of groundless suspicion might not matter at the lower levels. But the higher they went, the more hesitant people would be to employ someone suspected of murdering a court official.

This was a suspicion that could affect their entire lives.

After listening to her, Liang Yue readily agreed, "Okay, then Captain Ling, first tell me what new progress you've made these past few days?"

As he spoke, he saw Ling Yuanbao's face turn red.

She hesitated for a moment, then blurted out, "No progress at all."

Well, alright.

So, all her efforts these past few days were like playing around for nothing.

Liang Yue almost suspected the killer was inside the Ministry of Justice, otherwise, why would such a major case be handed to such a rookie captain?

"I've searched several more times, but there are no other clues. I didn't find the letter you mentioned either. I also inquired about Zhen Changzhi's social relationships; he had almost no personal interactions, let alone making enemies..." Ling Yuanbao tilted her head slightly, "I really had no other choice, that's why I came to you."

"What about that booklet?" Liang Yue asked.

He remembered that inside the wall of the Zhen family's house that day, besides the hidden silver, there was also a book that looked like a ledger locked away.

"That was just an ordinary ledger, recording the Zhen family's daily expenses. I had a few accountants from the Ministry of Justice look at it, but they didn't find any clues," Ling Yuanbao said.

That ledger was once presented as evidence of Zhen Changzhi's corruption, but after several reviews, nothing special was found, so it was returned to Ling Yuanbao. Anyway, the Zhen Changzhi murder case was now entirely her responsibility, and all the evidence was under her management; no one else was paying attention to it anymore.

Liang Yue frowned, "That's not right."

This simply didn't make sense.

If it was just an ordinary ledger with no problems, why would Zhen Changzhi lock it up so securely and hide the box and key separately?

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Can I take a look at the ledger?"