Tian Boguang

Shen Lian's men were highly professional.

While Song Xuan was still questioning Assistant Prefect Li, Jin Yichuan and his men had already brought the commandery governor over in bonds.

"That fat bastard was certainly in the mood. He was putting on a live erotic show with a woman in his private quarters in broad daylight!"

As he spoke, he kicked the governor in the backside, sending him sprawling.

Song Xuan stepped forward. "Lord Governor, you're certainly a busy man. Getting an audience with you really isn't easy!"

Commandery Governor Wang climbed to his feet and wiped at the blood smeared across his face from hitting the ground. Trembling all over, he looked at Song Xuan.

"I am the governor of Huai'an Commandery, officially appointed by the imperial court-a bona fide Principal Fifth Rank local official! You forced your way into the government offices and assaulted an imperial official. I'll petition the emperor to impeach you! I absolutely will!"

Song Xuan looked him up and down, then laughed. "Well, some backbone. That's a rare sight!"

He waved a hand. "Drag him away and help our Commandery Governor Wang face reality!"

Chuckling, Lu Xiaoliu dragged Commandery Governor Wang's obese body toward the side of the courtyard. Song Qian followed with a grin, rubbing her hands in anticipation.

Soon, screams like those of a pig being slaughtered rang out one after another.

After a beating, Commandery Governor Wang became much more cooperative. Whatever Song Xuan asked, he answered.

"Who raped Sun Liu?"

"My lord, I truly don't know. I was only following orders. The Prefect sent someone with instructions for me to hush this up.

"I'm just the one doing the dirty work. How could I dare offend the Prefect, my immediate superior?"

"What is the Prefect's name?"

"The Prefect is named Tian Yuan. He's the younger brother of the patriarch of the Tian clan, a prominent clan in Mingzhou. His elder brother is the court's Left Vice Minister of Ministry of Justice!"

"Go on. Give me the details!"

"Tian Yuan has one wife and five concubines, and six daughters, but only one son. He dotes on that son and spoils him to the heavens.

"I've wondered myself whether the Prefect's desperate efforts to cover this up might have something to do with that son of his. There's a good chance of it."

"He only has this one son?"

Commandery Governor Wang thought back. "In his younger days, a fortune-teller told the Prefect he was destined to have no sons, so he adopted a boy from the Tian clan.

"But after he had a biological son of his own, he found fault with that child at every turn. Apparently, the boy ran away from home after an argument between father and son, and nothing has been heard of him since."

Song Xuan frowned. "What was the adopted boy's name?"

"I think it was Tian Chong, courtesy name Boguang."

"Tian Boguang?" Song Xuan's expression turned odd.

"You've heard of him, my lord?"

Song Xuan said nothing. After considering for a moment, he turned to Shen Lian. "Do you have any information on this Tian Boguang?"

"We do!"

Shen Lian said, "Quite a few Martial Arts Experts have made names for themselves in Mingzhou. Tian Boguang has exceptional lightness skills and outstanding saber techniques. People in the martial world call him the 'Lone Wanderer of Ten Thousand Li.'

"But he's a compulsive lecher who often abducts women from the Martial Arts World for his own pleasure. He's a notorious sexual predator, with a reputation every bit as infamous as Yun Zhonghe's in northern Songzhou."

Song Qian spoke up. "Brother, do you think Tian Boguang is responsible for the cases we're investigating?"

"Hard to say. Lord Shen, what do you think?"

"It probably wasn't Tian Boguang!"

Shen Lian explained, "He's a figure of some standing in Mingzhou's Martial Arts World. His lightness skills are remarkable—he once escaped pursuit by a Xiantian expert. His saber techniques are also exceptional among Houtian Realm martial artists. Ordinary people really can't do much against him.

"He's lustful, and a notorious sexual predator, but most of his victims are women who move in the Martial World. Women from ordinary households might not catch his eye."

Song Xuan nodded slightly, recalling the scene in Roaming the Jianghu with Pride where Tian Boguang abducted Yilin.

You could question Tian Boguang's character, but you couldn't question his taste.

Simply put, Tian Boguang played in the big leagues. Sun Liu was attractive, but only by ordinary standards. Compared with female martial artists who trained year-round and were bolstered by internal energy, she fell short by far more than a little.

The chances of Tian Boguang taking a fancy to her really were slim.

"If it wasn't him, then it must be that younger brother he got saddled with!"

Looking utterly serious, Song Qian offered her analysis. "They're all from the Tian Household, so I doubt any of them are decent. Anyway, guilty or not, let's arrest him first!"

Her suggestion was crude and blunt, but it suited Song Xuan perfectly. "Now that the investigation has reached this point, we need an outcome. As Song Qian said, this definitely has something to do with that Prefect named Tian. Let's arrest him first!"

Shen Lian naturally had no objections. He instructed Jin Yichuan, "Send two men to escort the governor and the assistant prefect to the jail at our base. We'll question them at leisure once we've dealt with the main business!"

Squeeze just a little grease out of those two fat pigs, and their brothers in the Huai'an Commandery Enforcement Office would have enough for a fine New Year!

Song Xuan beckoned as well. "Take Sun Bu’er and his wife there too. We're heading to the prefectural city next, and bringing them along would be inconvenient!"

Jin Yichuan nodded in acknowledgment.

Jianghuai Prefecture, Mingzhou.

By the time Song Xuan and the others reached the outskirts of the prefectural city, it was already early the next morning.

"Lord Shen, since Tian Boguang is already on your Enforcement Office's books, why haven't you sent anyone to arrest him?"

Song Qian took a bite of the dry rations she had brought and drank some water. Gazing at the ancient city in the distance, which looked strangely majestic in the morning light, she asked the question casually.

Drinking from his flask, Shen Lian explained, "Our Black Robe Guard may wield great authority, but we're still only a blade in the emperor's hand. We aren't truly free of all restraints.

"Tian Boguang is a sexual predator, but his victims have all been women of the martial world. So far, we haven't heard of him harming women among the ordinary populace.

"Generally speaking, there's no clear boundary between the imperial court and the martial world, but there are certain unwritten rules that both sides tacitly accept.

"Namely, the martial world is the martial world, and the imperial court is the imperial court.

"However you people in the martial world fight and kill one another, as long as ordinary civilians aren't caught in it, the court will turn a blind eye. It will watch from atop the walls rather than enter the fray itself.

"Even if the court wants to enter the fray, it will only secretly support certain martial factions to keep the others in check. It won't intervene directly in Martial World affairs. That's something everyone understands without saying."

"Tian Boguang may be wicked, but there are people in the martial world to deal with him. If they can't, that only proves his ability. As long as he doesn't cross our Black Robe Guard's bottom line, we can't lightly step in and interfere in martial affairs."

At this point, Shen Lian gave a rare smile. "Lord Song, you should know that while our Black Robe Guard's name carries weight, our reputation in the martial world isn't exactly pleasant. They call us the court's hawks and hounds, and they're very wary of us.

"If we rashly meddle in Martial World affairs without a suitable reason, we could easily provoke the Martial Arts World into joining forces against us."

Song Xuan looked thoughtful. "So as long as we have a plausible reason, we can enter the fray ourselves, right?"