A Heart Like Flowing Water: What Was True, What Was False?

Several junior clerks stood in the hall, their faces ashen. Each stared down at his shoes, silently bemoaning his luck.

Why did it have to be my turn on duty today?

And Little Su, too. If Lady Xie invited you to dinner, just eat. Why bring it up in front of everyone?

Now that we've heard about Chief Clerk Wang's family affairs, he'll give us hell even if we keep our mouths shut.

Li Yizhen listened as Su Che slowly recounted the meal. A quarter of an hour passed, and he still had not finished the story of his dinner with Lady Xie. Displeasure showed plainly on Li Yizhen's face.

Circuit Inspectors had never been particular about how they handled a case.

The Circuit Inspectors of the Censorate were almost all Sixth Grade or above. The finest among them were Reverted Elixir masters, each with a unique skill.

Li Yizhen, for instance, rarely bothered with questions. He sent a venomous gu straight into a prisoner's gut, churned his organs out of place, and turned his insides upside down. The answers came naturally.

Xiong Shou went straight for the soul with Mystic Gate techniques. Under their scouring, even things a prisoner had forgotten could be dredged back up.

Witnesses? Physical evidence? Chains of reasoning?

Sorry. None of that existed here.

But today they had run into Little Su, and neither Li Yizhen nor Xiong Shou could use those methods.

In status, he was a pampered son of the Duling Su Clan, with Old Su behind him. He had no fear of the authority they wore.

In cultivation, they were all at the Reverted Elixir level. Granted, Li Yizhen had already refined his Reverted Elixir, while Su Che had only reached the Dingding Pivot. But Su Che had not been convicted. Using