The Black Robe Guard is on a case! Get whoever's in charge out here!

Big Ox went along with them after all.

That was because Song Xuan had painted him a grand pie in the sky, thumping his chest as he promised to find him a wife he would be happy with someday.

That pie was rather too perfectly round, but Big Ox believed him anyway.

They were all young people who had grown up in the same circle, and everyone trusted Song Xuan's character.

If he said he would find him a wife, then he would find him a wife!

Brother Xuan had always been dependable!

The Great Zhou Dynasty covered an extraordinarily vast territory, governed through provinces, prefectures, commanderies, and counties. All of Great Zhou comprised the Nine Provinces, with twelve prefectures to a province, twelve commanderies to a prefecture, and twelve counties to a commandery.

It was no exaggeration to say that a single province was equivalent to an entire country.

To keep such an immense territory in the court's hands, successive emperors had adopted many measures.

For instance, the Great Zhou imperial family, which had founded its nation through martial might, valued martial arts to an almost obsessive degree. Put another way, the imperial family was the largest martial aristocratic clan in the martial world.

In the emperor's eyes, possessing supreme martial power was the very foundation of an everlasting dynasty.

Beyond that, to keep the martial world's people in check, generation after generation of emperors had strengthened the Black Robe Guard. By Song Xuan's generation, it had become a colossal force.

Song Xuan had once heard Zhao Dezhu say that unless the emperor explicitly issued a decree forbidding the Black Robe Guard from looking into something, it could intervene in absolutely anything within Great Zhou!

The sheer extent of its authority was staggering.

Shanyin County, where Song Xuan was traveling to investigate his case, belonged to Mingzhou. It lay just over eight hundred li from the Imperial Capital, which was not particularly far. With their martial artists' physiques, it was only a few days' journey.

Huai'an Commandery, Mingzhou.

After several days on the road, Song Xuan and his companions rode their Blue-Maned Horses into the commandery seat, travel-worn and dusty.

As soon as they entered the city, Song Xuan headed straight for the commandery governor's office without another word. The case he was investigating had been reported up through the ranks by the Huai'an Commandery authorities to the Ministry of Justice, only to end up at the Black Robe Guard's Inspection Office.

It was already afternoon. Perhaps because the sun was blazing and they had just eaten lunch, making it the drowsiest time of day, the few bailiffs outside the governor's office were all leaning against the wall, dozing.

Song Xuan looked at the imposing governor's office. This was the administrative heart of an entire commandery, where a single decision by the governor could determine the life or death of millions of commoners in the counties under his jurisdiction.

Yet such an important place was utterly lax. Aside from those few dozing bailiffs, not a soul was in sight-a telling glimpse of how badly its administration had been neglected.

"Brother Xuan!"

Lu Xiaoliu said quietly, "I asked around along the way. Shen Qingyun, the governor of Huai'an Commandery, is a parasite who values money as much as his own life.

"When those above favor something, those below are sure to follow. Throughout the Huai'an Commandery administration, from the governor to the assistant administrator and chief clerk, right down to the minor clerks and bailiffs, there isn't a single one who isn't greedy."

As he spoke, he pointed at the deserted office. "Forget ordinary commoners-even wealthy families don't dare report a case here when they've been wronged.

"Those bloodsuckers inside devour the defendant, then devour the plaintiff. Once you enter this place, even if you don't die, you'll lose a layer of skin. Over time, hardly anyone has come here to file a lawsuit.

"Even when disputes arise among the commoners, they'd rather spend a little more money settling things privately than dare come to the authorities."

Song Xuan discreetly surveyed the surroundings of the governor's office, then slowly nodded with a smile. "Xiaoliu, tell me: the commoners would rather swallow their losses and blame their bad luck than report a case here, yet an adultery case caused an uproar locally and even reached the Black Robe Guard Office in the Imperial Capital.

"Isn't that interesting?"

"It certainly is!" Lu Xiaoliu smiled too.

Song Qian was baffled. Frowning, she said, "Could you two grown men just speak plainly? Interesting this, interesting that-what exactly do you mean?"

Song Xuan explained, "Generally, when a case happens locally, they cover it up if they can. Only when they can't keep the lid on it do they report it to the next level up.

"Yet a case in a commandery seat has gone all the way to the Black Robe Guard's Inspection Office in the Imperial Capital. What do you think that means?"

Understanding dawned on Song Qian. "Someone in the prefect's office or the provincial governor's office suppressed the case, so the governor of Huai'an Commandery had no choice but to use his connections to send it to the Imperial Capital?"

Song Xuan shook his head. "A mere commandery governor doesn't have that kind of clout.

"Unless something unexpected is at play, there's probably a power struggle involving senior officials at the prefectural or even provincial level. Someone wants to use this case to drag certain high-ranking local officials into the mire, perhaps even destroy them."

"Now I get it!" Song Qian understood. "In plain terms, someone's using our Black Robe Guard as a blade. They want to kill with a borrowed knife and get rid of a few political enemies. Is that it?"

Song Xuan nodded. "For now, that's a possibility, and a very strong one!"

Song Qian snorted in displeasure. "These political schemers have filthy hearts. They dare use our Black Robe Guard as a blade-aren't they afraid they'll get cut down along with everyone else?

"Brother, what do we do next? Are we still investigating this case?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't we?"

Song Xuan chuckled. "Whatever schemes are lurking behind it, let's get the facts straight first. After all, this is the first case we've taken on. If we slink back with our tails between our legs, how are we supposed to hold our heads up at the Black Robe Guard Office?"

He paused. "Once we've uncovered the whole story, the rest is for those killing fiends in the Enforcement Office. They don't care what schemes or plots you've cooked up. If they can cut you down, they will!"

With that, he beckoned to Big Ox. "Big Ox, go announce us!"

Big Ox rumbled his assent and strode forward. As he moved, even the ground seemed to tremble faintly beneath his steps.

"Who's in charge here?"

Big Ox's voice boomed like muffled thunder outside the governor's office, jolting the dozing bailiffs awake.

One bailiff who appeared to be their squad leader began cursing before he had even opened his eyes. "What blind bastard is making all that noise? Don't you know... know..."

Before he could finish, he opened his eyes and saw Big Ox's dark, iron-tower physique. Just standing there, Big Ox blocked out the sunlight, casting a great shadow over him and making the squad leader's tongue stumble.

Swallowing, the squad leader lowered his voice and began speaking more slowly.

When he got a clear look at Big Ox's conspicuous, dark Black Robe Guard uniform, fear crept into his expression.

"This is the commandery governor's office. May I ask who you are?"

Big Ox took the token from his waist with one hand and grabbed the squad leader by the neck with the other, hoisting him like a chick before shoving the token in his face.

"Recognize this token?"

"Yes, yes!" The words "Black Robe Guard" dazzled the squad leader's eyes, and he answered repeatedly in a hoarse voice.

"Good!" Big Ox put away his token, casually tossed the squad leader to the ground, and bellowed at full lung power,

"The Black Robe Guard is on a case! Get whoever's in charge out here!"