Arms Case

The other Captains all looked at Captain Li with naked envy.

Such a major case was even tied to the Qingzhou Army. If they solved it, it would be a fine chance to earn merit.

Captain Li naturally did not refuse. He immediately cupped his hands and accepted the order.

"The rest of you, conduct a citywide sweep for suspicious individuals, especially martial artists who have recently arrived in Qingzhou from elsewhere. If you find anyone connected to the Chen Family annihilation case, seize them first and interrogate them afterward."

Su Fei stood among the Banner Captains, listening with an expressionless face.

After the meeting ended, everyone dispersed to carry out their orders, and the council hall soon emptied.

Su Fei, who had been standing in the back row, was about to leave when Commander Feng stopped him.

"Su Fei, stay behind."

Commander Feng looked at him.

"You had a grudge against Chen Zhenyu before. Now that he is dead, what do you think of this?"

Su Fei answered frankly.

"If Captain Chen truly colluded with the military and sold military equipment in secret, then he got what he deserved. But for the killer to be so rampant as to publicly wipe out an entire family, it indeed warrants a thorough investigation, to make an example and warn the rest."

Commander Feng nodded. He asked no more questions and waved him away.

After Su Fei left.

Commander Feng watched his departing back and muttered to himself.

"It probably wasn't you. No matter how I look at it, you couldn't possibly have achieved something of this scale."

Su Fei had just walked out of the council hall when Captain Li called out to him.

"Su Fei, gather your Strongmen. The Thousand Households Office has assigned the Arms case to me. You're coming with me to the Qingzhou Army's garrison."

Ding! Mission triggered: Arms Case!

Mission requirement: Host, investigate the person within the Qingzhou Army who colluded with outsiders to secretly sell military equipment, and bring them to justice!

Mission reward: Floating Light Shadowy Movement Skill, sixty years of cultivation.

Su Fei nodded to show that he understood.

Then he turned and went to gather his men.

He was now a Banner Captain, with five Sub-Banner Captains and fifty Strongmen under his command. So many subordinates would be no small help in investigating the case.

When he arrived at the Strongmen barracks, Su Fei was surprised to discover that Wang Meng's aura was already vastly different from before.

Su Fei grinned.

"You brat, you actually broke through to the True Qi Realm."

Wang Meng chuckled and scratched his head.

"It's all thanks to the pills Lord Su gave me last time. That's how I managed to break through to the first level of the True Qi Realm. I was thinking that if I follow Lord Su and earn some more merit, I'll soon become a Sub-Banner Captain."

Su Fei's heart stirred.

He simply appointed Wang Meng as the Squad Leader of these Strongmen, placing him in charge of managing them.

Before long, the men had assembled.

The force of more than three hundred men marched out of the city in a mighty procession. Hooves struck the bluestone road with dull thunder, drawing the townspeople along the way to stop and watch.

After leaving the city, they made their way to the Qingzhou Army's garrison.

Su Fei rode beside Captain Li, looking at the sprawling camp ahead.

The black-gray camp walls stood a full two zhang high, their tops thick with crenellations. Spear-wielding sentries stood guard, and an air of grim slaughter hung over the place.

"Who goes there? Halt!"

When they were still thirty paces from the camp gate, two guards clad in bright armor crossed their spears to block the way.

More than ten soldiers behind them raised their long spears in unison, pointing them directly at the newcomers.

From inside the gate came the faint sound of bowstrings being drawn taut.

Captain Li reined in his horse and unhurriedly took a document scroll from his robes, then read aloud.

"The Imperial Guard's Thousand Households Office is handling a case. This is a search warrant personally approved by Commander Feng. Effective immediately, we are entering the Qingzhou Army camp to thoroughly investigate the leak of Gale Crossbows."

The captain of the guards examined the vermilion-red seal on the document, then glanced at the crossbows Su Fei and the others were transporting.

They were precisely the Gale Crossbows seized from the Chen Family. Their refined steel frames gleamed coldly beneath the sunlight.

The captain's face darkened, and the hand resting on his sword hilt tightened.

"This is an important military site. How can we permit the Imperial Guard to run wild here?"

"Without an official writ from our Commander, none of you are entering the camp!"

"You say we're running wild?"

Captain Li sneered and tossed the document into the other man's hands.

"Your Qingzhou Army's Gale Crossbows are being sold outside, yet you say we're running wild. If we Imperial Guards had not come, wouldn't every Jianghu man outside eventually be carrying a Gale Crossbow?"

"The Gale Crossbows obtained by the Chen Family are right here. If you delay the investigation, can you bear the responsibility?"

Faced with Captain Li's questioning.

The captain picked up the document and examined it closely, the veins at his temples throbbing wildly.

When he looked again at those Gale Crossbows, his face was filled with shock.

The make and specifications of these crossbows were exactly identical to those in the camp's stores. They had clearly leaked from the military.

Left with no choice.

"Captain Li, please wait. Allow me to report this to the Commander."

A moment later, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded from within the camp.

A Deputy General clad in black armor strode out. The instant he saw the Gale Crossbows, his expression changed dramatically. He cupped his hands toward Captain Li.

"The Commander is currently in discussion. He has ordered this general to receive you in his stead. Camp rules are strict, so please understand, Captain Li. At most, you may bring only ten people inside."

Captain Li pondered briefly, swept his gaze over the men behind him, and selected seven or eight people to enter with him, Su Fei among them.

"Bring all the Gale Crossbows. The rest of you wait here."

Su Fei swung down from his horse and followed Captain Li toward the camp gate.

As they passed the guards, he noticed that the soldiers' gazes toward them carried a trace of hostility.

The Imperial Guard and the Qingzhou Army belonged to two separate systems and had always kept to their own waters, never crossing paths. Now the Imperial Guard had come to investigate a case at the Qingzhou Army camp.

And they had seized them by the sore spot. How could that possibly sit well with them?

Captain Li saw through it all like fire through glass and remarked with a smile.

"As expected of the Qingzhou Army's camp. The defenses are quite tight."

Captain Li led Su Fei and the others through layer upon layer of fortifications.

Along the way, every soldier wore heavy armor, one hand on his sword hilt, his wary gaze sweeping over this group of Imperial Guards. The air was thick with the tension of drawn swords and bent bows.

When they reached the central command tent, the black-armored Deputy General lifted its heavy curtain.

"Captain Li, please enter."

The furnishings inside were simple. A map of Qingzhou hung at the very front, and an old man clad in silver armor stood with his back to them, studying it.

Hearing their footsteps, he turned around. This man was Long Teng, Commander of the Qingzhou Army.

A renowned expert of Qingzhou, he had entered the Grandmaster Realm many years ago. Though already past sixty, his back remained ramrod straight, and his entire body exuded the iron-blooded aura of one long tempered on the battlefield.

Beside him stood a middle-aged general of around forty, black armor draped over his shoulders, with thick brows and large eyes. He was Zhao Feiying, the Deputy Commander.

When he saw the group dressed in Flying Fish Robes enter, Zhao Feiying's gaze flickered.

Long Teng's voice was resounding. His eyes fell upon the Gale Crossbows behind Captain Li, and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

"Captain Li, what brings you here?"

Captain Li produced the search warrant, his attitude somewhat respectful.

"Commander Long, we have come under Commander Feng's orders to thoroughly investigate the Gale Crossbows secretly stored by the Chen Family. This batch of Gale Crossbows originated from the Qingzhou Army. We ask that you cooperate."

Long Teng accepted the search warrant and glanced over it, then looked at the Gale Crossbows. His expression darkened.

"Military equipment has always been under Deputy Commander Zhao Feiying's responsibility. Feiying, take Captain Li to the armory and verify the inventory."