Investigate Again

"Ah..."

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

When he had previously contemplated the Sword Domain Swimming Dragon Movement Technique, he had also overdrawn his Divine Sense, but never this severely. The Dao resonance contained within that ancient hide must have been truly terrifying.

Thinking back carefully, it seemed that he had not contemplated anything at all last night. He had only vaguely seen a patch of chaos, and someone had said something to him.

Something about welcoming him.

It seemed he would have to leave this thing for another attempt in the future. Using his current Divine Sense to contemplate it felt a little like a pony pulling a cart.

His strength simply could not keep up.

Just as he was about to put these items away, he suddenly noticed something strange. "Eh?"

Raising his hand, he saw that a faint "Dou" character pattern had appeared in his palm. It was a pale golden color and seemed to have threadlike connections to his Divine Palace.

What was going on?

It was naturally connected to that ancient hide, but Liang Yue had no idea whether it was good or bad. He tried activating it with his Divine Sense.

Boom—

The golden pattern suddenly brightened, like blazing flames!

The qi and blood throughout his body began circulating with explosive speed, suddenly accelerating a hundredfold. Wisps of vapor immediately rose around him, while surging battle intent flooded his heart.

Liang Yue hurriedly stopped activating it and drew back his Divine Sense. The pattern in his palm vanished completely as well.

Good heavens.

In that short while, it had nearly boiled all the qi and blood in his body.

This thing seemed capable of making his combat power erupt in an instant, perhaps even raising it by an entire major realm?

But it should also harm his body. After all, if he fought like that for even a little too long, he would inevitably overdraw himself.

Could this be the supernatural boon brought to him by contemplating that ancient hide?

Liang Yue wrapped it up and tucked it close against his body.

Though he did not know exactly what it was, this thing was absolutely extraordinary. He could wait until his cultivation was higher before studying it further.

As for the long saber with the ebony handle that he could not pull free, Liang Yue hid it beneath the head of his bed along with the letter. The ancient hide was merely something whose use he did not yet understand; this thing was something whose use he truly had no clue about.

After tidying up the house, Liang Yue straightened his clothes and headed for the station.

On the way, he could not help thinking that Yu Wenlong really did resemble the protagonist of some story—burdened by deep hatred, swearing vengeance, returning after changing his face and identity, all while concealing secret treasures.

Unfortunately, that fellow had been far too impatient.

It had all benefited Liang Yue instead.

He arrived at the station dizzy and muddleheaded, only to find 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 lined up in a glaring row.

"I overdrawn my Divine Sense through cultivation last night. What about you two?" Liang Yue asked curiously.

Chen Ju gave an embarrassed laugh. "I thought Red Sleeve Brothel was closer to the station than my home, so for the convenience of getting to work, I stayed at Red Sleeve Brothel last night."

"So it was for the convenience of getting to work." Liang Yue smiled. "How dedicated."

"Yeah." Chen Ju nodded sleepily. "Completely dedicated."

"Ha—" Pang Chun yawned and said drowsily, "I had insomnia."

"What?!" Liang Yue and Chen Ju cried out in shock together.

Da Chun had insomnia?

That was even more unbelievable than a rooster laying eggs, the sun rising in the west, Chen Ju swearing off women, or snow falling in the sixth month.

After all, this fellow could fall asleep standing anywhere, anytime. The moment he closed his eyes, he was like a horse.

Someone like that could have insomnia?

"It wasn't that I couldn't sleep. It was just that every time I fell asleep, I dreamed again. That white-bearded old man doesn't tell me to hit him anymore. He said..." Pang Chun wore a bitter expression as he explained, "...it was my turn."

"Then he punched me, and I woke right up. When I fell asleep again, it was another punch. I woke up several hundred times last night, I think."

"Could you have run afoul of something unclean?" Chen Ju suddenly stood up and shouted sternly, "Old man! Whoever you are, get off Da Chun right now!"

"Probably not. The yang energy on him is even more vigorous than the sun. If a ghost ran into him, it would want to report it to the authorities." Liang Yue shook his head. "Could it be related to a contemplation technique? Maybe the old man in your dreams is helping you cultivate?"

"That's possible too." Chen Ju nodded. "I heard that there was once someone surnamed Xiao who found a treasure with a senior's Primordial Spirit hidden inside. It helped him become a top expert all the way!"

"Then I'll go negotiate with him and see if he can let me get some proper sleep before making me stronger." Da Chun grumbled, then ran off to a corner of the station to try and sneak in a nap.

Chen Ju was just about to find an excuse to slip away as well.

But when he turned around, he spotted a familiar figure. His expression immediately became fawning. "Captain Ling, long time no see. I missed you to death."

"Get lost."

"Right."

Another crisp and efficient exchange.

The person who had come to the Fukang Ward station was none other than the newly appointed female constable they had met last time, Ling Yuanbao.

She still wore the black-and-red official uniform of the Ministry of Justice. Her figure was graceful, with a slender waist and long legs; her hair was tied behind her head, and she carried that long weapon wrapped in cloth on her back.

The moment she saw Liang Yue emerge, she immediately came up to him with a beaming smile. "What a coincidence. You were the first person I saw when I came here."

Mm...

Liang Yue looked at Chen Ju beside him, momentarily unable to determine what sort of creature he was.

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

Liang Yue blinked. "Does Captain Ling need something?"

"Yes." Ling Yuanbao grabbed him and said, "Let's speak somewhere private."

Chen Ju called after them, "There aren't even any outsiders here. What are you two guarding against?"

Once again, they went to that small alley outside the station. Only then did Ling Yuanbao say, "I want to ask you for help."

Liang Yue said, "Then please tell me, Captain Ling. If I can help, I will certainly do my utmost."

Ling Yuanbao then began sharing her troubles.

As it turned out, she was a newly appointed constable and should not have had the chance to handle any major cases. Yet somehow, the case of the murdered sixth-rank official had suddenly landed in her hands.

At first, she had been overjoyed, believing that she was being valued.

But she soon discovered that something seemed off.

The murder of a sixth-rank official should have been a major matter worthy of the Emperor's attention, but the discovery of a large amount of stolen silver had led the matter in another direction.

Left Prime Minister Liang Fuguo submitted a memorial requesting that the Ministry of Justice intervene and thoroughly investigate the case. The Emperor immediately agreed.

The Ministry of Justice threw all its strength into investigating corruption in the Ministry of Works. As for Zhen Changzhi's murder case, hardly anyone paid attention to it anymore. Ling Yuanbao remained in charge of it, but she could not find much support even within the Ministry of Justice, and her superiors had no spare resources to offer her.

How Zhen Changzhi had died seemed as though nobody cared at all!

Running about by herself, she had not found any useful clues. Watching her colleagues gain results one after another while she, the initial contributor, became a marginal figure instead, Ling Yuanbao could not help growing anxious.

That was when she thought of Liang Yue.

If there was anyone who, like her, wanted to find the true culprit and also had enough brains to provide help, it was probably this Imperial Capital Guard. After all, so long as the true culprit was not found, the suspicion hanging over him and his brother could not be cleared.

That was indeed true. Liang Yue wanted to find the true culprit more than anyone!

Liang Yue wanted promotion in the Imperial Capital Guard, while Liang Peng wanted to enter office through the Imperial Examination. This baseless suspicion might not matter at the bottom, but the higher one climbed, the more concerns there would surely be when appointing someone suspected of murdering an Imperial Court official.

It was a suspicion that could affect the rest of their lives.

After hearing her out, Liang Yue readily agreed. "All right. Then Captain Ling, tell me first—what new progress have you made these past few days?"

As soon as he said that, Ling Yuanbao's face reddened.

She hesitated, then forced out a sentence. "No progress whatsoever."

Well then.

So all your hard work these past days had been no different from playing around.

Liang Yue was practically beginning to suspect that the murderer was inside the Ministry of Justice. Otherwise, why would such a major case be handed to such a rookie constable?

"I searched several more times, but there were no other clues. I couldn't find the letter you mentioned either. I also looked into Zhen Changzhi's relationships. He had almost no social dealings, much less any grudges with others..." Ling Yuanbao tilted her head slightly. "I truly had no other options, so I came to find you."

"What about that ledger?" Liang Yue asked.

He remembered that inside the wall of the Zhen residence, aside from the hidden silver, there had been a book resembling an account ledger locked away as well.

"It was just an ordinary ledger, recording the Zhen family's daily expenses. I had several Ministry of Justice accountants examine it, but none found any clues." Ling Yuanbao said.

That ledger had once been presented as evidence of Zhen Changzhi's corruption, but after several examinations revealed nothing unusual, it had been tossed back to Ling Yuanbao. In any case, she now had sole responsibility for Zhen Changzhi's murder case, and all the evidence was under her control. Nobody else paid attention anymore.

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

This simply did not make sense.

If there was nothing wrong with the ledger, why had Zhen Changzhi locked it away so tightly, even hiding the box and the key separately?

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