Zhang Yu carefully went through the two case files several times. Ming and Wei had exposed each other's shortcomings within them, shifting many of their crimes onto the other. Even as they bitterly denounced one another, each portrayed himself as helpless and forced into it.
Yet they did corroborate certain matters for each other.
As for the two men, he decided not to touch them for now. The materials they had provided were indeed useful, and strictly speaking, what they had done had merely been choices based on position and interest. At most, they had moral failings; they had not violated any laws.
Even if they truly had committed wrongdoing, it did not fall within the jurisdiction of him, a Profound Residence Profound Rectifier.
After putting away the case files, he remained at Kaiyang Academy for several more days before returning to Liang Province.
This time, he took up residence in a property Li Qinghe had arranged there.
The estate, built on the outskirts of the provincial city, stood with mountains at its back and water before it, encircled by trees. Bamboo, stone gardens, clear springs, winding streams, pavilions, and terraces—it had everything.
Though the natural scenery here was fine, the area was exceedingly remote. Only a single waterway led to the provincial city. Ordinary people would not come here unless they were taking a boat ride to enjoy the sights.
But to cultivators who could fly through the skies and burrow through the earth, this posed no obstacle.
After Zhang Yu arrived, he ordered his people to summon Cao Fangding, Shi Yue, Daoist Xing Chuan, and the others. He asked, "How have things been recently?"
Cao Fangding replied, "Reporting to the Profound Rectifier, we captured two Master Artificers in succession earlier. While the two had secretly colluded with Frostlanders