Four Fiends of Earthly Destruction

Li Chen Zhou looked at the others and asked, "What is it? Is it troublesome? Which faction are they from?"

White Cat's expression turned grave. "They're Listening Rain Pavilion's Earth-ranked assassins, known as the Four Fiends of Earthly Destruction."

Now that he knew who had made the move, Li Chen Zhou did not care who stood on the other side. "Do you know how to contact Listening Rain Pavilion?"

White Cat nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Contact them and issue a job. The Four Fiends of Earthly Destruction are coming to kill me; they can name whatever price they want."

The moment Li Chen Zhou said this, everyone was shocked. Bookworm beside him went pale with fright. He knew better than anyone what Listening Rain Pavilion was like, with his head full of case files. He hurriedly said, "My lord, this..."

Li Chen Zhou raised a hand to cut him off. "It's a small case. I don't have much time to waste on it."

White Cat clasped his hands. "Yes, sir. This subordinate will see to it immediately."

Seeing White Cat leave, Qian Shisan cautiously asked, "My lord, does that mean there's nothing left for me to do? Can I..."

The only reply she received was two words: "Stay put."

Li Chen Zhou asked again, "Since he's Chen Chang's cousin, his record shouldn't be that clean, should it?"

Bookworm nodded. "We found several account books. After verification, half of Chen Chang's goods were supplied by him."

"Then don't wait. Raid the place. Hand in thirty percent, give twenty percent to those above, let the brothers keep twenty percent, and convert the rest into silver notes for me."

Li Chen Zhou sat at the entrance to the Chen Residence's main hall, leisurely basking in the sun while waiting for the others to confiscate the estate. Before long, a Brocade Guard leaned close to his ear and began whispering.

Li Chen Zhou slightly opened his eyes and glanced at Qian Shisan.

Seeing Li Chen Zhou looking at her, Qian Shisan guiltily lowered her head.

At this moment, the Brocade Guard in charge of the raid approached. "My lord, the Chen family's assets have all been inventoried. They're all here."

Li Chen Zhou looked at the gold, silver, valuables, and silver notes spread across the ground and replied, "Good. Tell the brothers they've worked hard. Pack everything up and return to headquarters."

The killer had been found, and the Chen family estate had been thoroughly raided. Li Chen Zhou could not be bothered to stay any longer.

He turned and returned to the Brocade Guard headquarters.

The moment Li Chen Zhou arrived at the Brocade Guard's gates, the guard on duty hurriedly reported in a low voice, "Lord Li, you'd better not go in right now."

"What is it?" Li Chen Zhou asked in confusion.

"People from the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Rites are inside. Leave quickly, or be careful they don't see you."

"Oh? What are they here for? And what does it have to do with me?" Li Chen Zhou said dismissively.

The guard at the gate lowered his voice. "I heard it's over the Emerald Cloud Tower proprietor. The three ministries jointly submitted a memorial to the Emperor, impeaching Lord Wei."

Li Chen Zhou smiled with interest. "Heh. Now that is interesting."

Li Chen Zhou paid no heed whatsoever to the gate guard's warning and strode straight through the gates.

The moment he entered, the people from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Rites, who were raising a ruckus at the Brocade Guard headquarters, noticed him. They immediately surrounded him.

One of them, a man with a large belly, stepped forward and said, "Li Chen Zhou, you are simply lawless! Relying on your identity as a Brocade Guard, you oppress the people, plunder the people's hard-earned wealth, and extract confessions through torture. Do you know your crime?"

Another added, "If you know what's good for you, release the Emerald Cloud Tower proprietor at once. Otherwise, we will certainly impeach you properly before His Majesty."

Li Chen Zhou frowned. "And you are?"

The man assumed Li Chen Zhou had backed down. He raised his nose so high it was nearly above his eyes. "I am Zhou Zheng, Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue."

Li Chen Zhou asked, "Then does Lord Zhou know that Emerald Cloud Tower's owner belongs to Heavenly Desire Palace?"

Zhou Zheng replied disdainfully, "So what? Heavenly Desire Palace is not on the imperial court's wanted list. They possess legitimate status."

A chill flickered in Li Chen Zhou's eyes. "Then does Lord Zhou know that Emerald Cloud Tower's owner sheltered Eight-Faced Buddha, a major criminal wanted by the court?"

Zhou Zheng continued to argue.

"Emerald Cloud Tower does business with its doors open. It is inevitable that they sometimes fail to recognize people and let evildoers slip through the cracks. Is it appropriate to arrest someone over such a tiny matter?"

Li Chen Zhou took out the Emerald Cloud Tower owner's confession and slapped it before Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng let out a cold laugh.

"Lord Li, what sort of joke are you playing? Do you think I don't know that the Brocade Guard is best at extracting confessions through torture?"

Li Chen Zhou realized that reason could not win against people who spent every day wallowing in officialdom.

So he ignored them and turned to leave.

Zhou Zheng straightened his clothes and sneered, "Hmph, you little brat. You think you can fight me?" His eyes were full of contempt as he looked at Li Chen Zhou.

Li Chen Zhou walked straight to the Brocade Guard's Records Division.

"Are there any cases connected to Zhou Zheng, Vice Director of the Ministry of Revenue? Bring every last one out."

The Records Division chief immediately knew there would be a good show when he heard Li Chen Zhou's question. He quickly replied, "Yes, yes, yes. This one concerns his nephew taking bribes; this one concerns his niece's son embezzling fertile fields..."

Before long, case files concerning Zhou Zheng had piled into a small mound on the desk.

With the Emperor deliberately keeping the powers in balance, one could say the Brocade Guard no longer held as much power as before, but one could not say their intelligence network was poor.

Hearing the Records Division chief's answer, Li Chen Zhou turned and cast Zhou Zheng a teasing glance. Then he called out, "Black Dog."

"This subordinate is here."

"Invite the people the chief just mentioned back to the Brocade Guard for tea. While you're at it, investigate whether they've committed any other illegal acts. Dig into it, investigate it to the very end, and see exactly who is backing them." As he spoke, his eyes remained fixed on Zhou Zheng, his face filled with provocation.

"This subordinate will handle it immediately." Black Dog took a small squad and turned to arrest them.

Hearing this, Zhou Zheng's face turned white with anger, and cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

"Li Chen Zhou, this is using public office to avenge a private grudge! I will certainly impeach you before His Majesty!" Zhou Zheng's chest heaved with fury.

"I don't care. If you want to go, hurry up and go. I just wonder whether your backside is clean. You'd better pray I don't actually uncover something."

After saying that, he gave Zhou Zheng another provocative look.

Zhou Zheng flung his sleeve in anger and left, apparently intending to find someone to back him up.

Then Li Chen Zhou turned his gaze toward the people from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites.

"Do you two gentlemen have any other business?"

The two officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rites immediately shook their heads and fled in panic.

Watching their retreating backs, Li Chen Zhou could not help but sigh. "Anyone who goes against the Brocade Guard has something wrong with their brain."