"There's still no word."
Yan Qingshan shook his head lightly.
"Forget it. Once the appointed time comes, it will show itself."
Because Wei Qing had ordered Zhu Huan to keep silent.
Therefore, they still knew nothing about the deaths of the two Spirit Stream Demonic Cats.
Around noon, inside the inn.
Wei Qing was just about to leave.
Zhang Zhidong hurried over and reported, "Lord Wei, I just received a secret report. The Yan Family's eldest young master has taken the Yan Family's younger generation out. There are three carriages in all. Judging by the setup, it seems they're planning to leave town for a long journey."
"Should we apprehend them?"
Wei Qing snorted coldly. "Their noses are pretty sharp. We just started investigating them, and they're already preparing to flee." He immediately gave an order. "Wait until they're five li outside the city, then apprehend them."
He continued to ask, "What about the rest of the Yan Family?"
At this moment, he was even more concerned about the whereabouts of Yan Qingshan and the other core members of the Yan Family.
Zhang Zhidong hurriedly replied, "Tonight, at the City God Temple west of the city, they'll make a move."
"Just keep a close eye on them."
"Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, A Fu walked over with a man dressed in the uniform of a Garrison Commander.
When Wei Qing saw the newcomer, delight flashed across his face. "What brings you here, you rascal?"
"Hehe, I don't have any missions for the time being. Uncle Zhou said he had something for you, so he sent me over for a trip."
The newcomer was none other than Jun Wushang.
As he spoke, he handed a gray bundle to Wei Qing.
Seeing this, Zhang Zhidong said, "My lord, why don't we go to a private room on the second floor?"
"Mm."
Once inside the private room, Wei Qing made no effort to avoid anyone and opened the bundle directly.
Inside was a rectangular identity token.
Wei Qing picked up the token and examined it. One side bore the words "Heavenly Realm Division," while the other read "Garrison Commander—Wei Qing."
The only difference from his previous token was that the words "probationary" had been removed.
Jun Wushang smiled. "Congratulations, Qingzi. You're officially a Garrison Commander now. We'll have a good celebration later."
"No problem."
Zhang Zhidong chimed in, "Congratulations on becoming a formal Garrison Commander, Lord Wei. Your future is sure to be bright. I hope you'll look after me in the days ahead."
"You flatter me, Brother Zhang. We're colleagues, so helping each other is only proper."
Wei Qing smiled faintly and put away the identity token.
This was his second identity token from the Heavenly Realm Division.
According to regulations, whenever a new identity token was issued, the old one had to be reclaimed as well.
But because he had not returned to the Heavenly Realm Division, that step had been omitted.
Once he returned to the Heavenly Realm Division,
he would still have to hand over the identity token immediately and have it deactivated.
There were three more things in the bundle.
Three letters.
A cultivation method, bearing the three large words "Returning Origin Art."
Wei Qing's eyes lit up. He had never expected it to be this High-grade Profound Tier Cultivation Method.
His father, Wei Yuan, cultivated the Returning Origin Art as his internal cultivation method.
After a martial artist broke through from Rank Seven to Rank Six and completed the tempering of the fleshly body, they needed to purify and compress the qi-force within their body, transforming it into true essence.
The Returning Origin Art was one of the top five High-grade Profound Tier internal cultivation methods in the Heavenly Realm Division for converting qi-force into true essence.
Only Garrison Commanders with extraordinary talent or outstanding merit would be bestowed one.
With such a cultivation method, no one in the Heavenly Realm Division dared to privately pass it on or accept it.
If the Inspection Division discovered it, the offender would have their cultivation crippled at best, and die with their cultivation destroyed at worst.
Apart from that,
there was only a porcelain bottle labeled "Qi Gathering Pill."
As its name suggested, the Qi Gathering Pill was an auxiliary Pill for condensing, compressing, and purifying qi-force.
One pill could replace ten ordinary days of cultivation, and there were twenty pills in the bottle.
This alone saved him more than half a year of cultivation time.
Wei Qing set the Pills aside and opened one of the letters. To his surprise, it was an appointment document.
It meant that he was to temporarily serve as the magistrate of Lincheng. Until the new magistrate arrived, he would temporarily hold down Qingcheng. A large seal had been stamped in the lower-right corner of the letter.
The seal looked unfamiliar to him, but he presumed it was an appointment seal of the Ministry of Personnel or something similar.
"Brother Zhang, do you recognize the seal on this?"
Wei Qing handed the appointment document to Zhang Zhidong.
Hearing this, Zhang Zhidong took it gently with both hands. After scanning it, his eyes lit up. "My lord, this is the official appointment seal of the Great Zhou Ministry of Personnel. From this moment on, you're the acting magistrate of Qingcheng. Congratulations, my lord."
"Whoa, Qingzi, you've transformed into an official magistrate!"
Upon hearing this, Jun Wushang snatched the appointment document away and read it from beginning to end three times. A smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "You're treating us! You have to properly celebrate today!"
"You rascal. Is eating the only thing in your head? Can't you think of something else for once?" Wei Qing shook his head helplessly, though a trace of a smile hung at the corners of his lips.
"Fight. Exorcise demons."
Jun Wushang raised an eyebrow and suddenly clenched his right fist. His knuckles cracked sharply.
A look of I knew it appeared on Wei Qing's face.
He understood his brother Jun Wushang far too well.
He was born a battle maniac.
Once he started fighting, he fought as if he didn't care whether he lived or died.
That was also why his time at Marquis Huaiyuan's Manor had been so difficult.
He was injured practically every day.
And so, after entering the Heavenly Realm Division, he had relied on that ruthless streak to become the first formal Garrison Commander among their cohort.
Afterward, Wei Qing opened the second letter.
The contents of the letter were precisely the Imperial Court's judgment against the Fang Family.
Just as he had expected, the Imperial Court loathed anyone who colluded with demons. Once the judgment was issued, it essentially cut off the Fang Family's last glimmer of hope.
"The Fang Family is finished."
"It's just a pity about Lord Fang. He was dragged down by such a foolish son."
Wei Qing sighed.
Although Zhang Zhidong had not seen the contents of the letter, he understood almost everything from Wei Qing's words.
"Lord Wei, compared with the stability of the entire empire, even if everyone knows Lord Fang was a good official, he still has to die!"
"If they aren't punished severely, it won't be enough to serve as a deterrent. More people will relax their bottom lines afterward and do things that betray humanity."
"The deaths of the Fang Family members are also a warning bell for everyone else."
"Yes. If Fang Youting had properly disciplined his son, there would never have been any collusion with demons." Jun Wushang nodded in agreement. "I don't deny that he was a good official, but he definitely wasn't a good father."
"Mm. I was too attached to appearances."
Wei Qing gave a self-mocking laugh.
"I'd say your old weakness of being softhearted has flared up again." Jun Wushang sighed and put on an expression of exasperation at someone who refused to live up to expectations.
"If you don't say anything, no one will mistake you for a mute."
"That's more like it!"
When Wei Qing snapped back at him, Jun Wushang instead laughed.
Next, Wei Qing opened the final letter.
It contained some words Zhou Cang had sent him. Considering that this mission carried a certain degree of risk, the higher-ups had decided to give him some benefits. Once the Heavenly Realm Division had enough personnel available, they would transfer him back.