The trail went cold

"Lord Xu, where are we going?" Min Shan asked.

"Arrest the criminals!" Xu Qi'an left the council hall without any hesitation and stated directly.

Yang Feng and the other gongs looked at Xu Qi'an with surprise. Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng had some thoughts in their minds. They had been involved in both the saltpeter mine and the case of the minor official, and knew more than the others.

If Li Yuchun were here, he could probably sort out his thoughts, but he went to invite Chu Caiwei from the Bureau of Astronomy.

"Why hasn't the boss come back yet? Does it take all morning to find someone?" Xu Qi'an frowned. "Is he in some trouble?"

As soon as they left the Ministry of Ministry of Justice and mounted their horses, they saw two yellow riders galloping towards them. It was Li Yuchun and Chu Caiwei in a light yellow dress.

Li Yuchun explained, "Miss Caiwei isn't at the Bureau of Astronomy; she went to the palace. I waited for her for a long time at the city gate before she finally came out."

She went to the Princess's place again to freeload. That glutton will get a good beating from me sooner or later. Xu Qi'an smiled warmly, "Miss Caiwei, it's been so long, you've become even more beautiful."

Chu Caiwei, with a sweet smile on her round, oval face, was about to say something when she remembered her identity and the Nightwatchers watching nearby, so she put on a stern face and just hummed in agreement.

The matter was urgent, so Xu Qi'an cut to the chase. "Min Yinluo, take my gold token to the east gate of the imperial city and arrest Zhou Chixiong, the centurion."

"The rest of you, come with me to the Zhou Residence to arrest them."

Because they didn't know if Commander Zhou was on duty today, they split into two groups.

Xu Qi'an's arrangement made sense. The capital city is under the emperor's nose, so conflicts are unlikely to occur, and no one would dare to do so. However, it's not easy to take someone away without a proper warrant.

So all you need to do is go to a silver gong.

If they go directly to Zhou Baihu's house to arrest him, he might resort to desperate measures. Xu Qi'an has just used the Heaven and Earth One Slash, and his combat power has dropped significantly, so he needs two silver gongs to accompany him.

On the other side, Lü Qing was reporting the situation.

"Eunuch Liu, esteemed officials, if I'm not mistaken, there's a strong possibility that the Demon Race race is involved in this matter."

These words caused the officials present to change their expressions drastically, and even Minister Sun of the Ministry of Justice frowned.

An official from the Ministry of Justice, skeptical, asked, "What is your basis for this claim?"

"A few days ago, I investigated with Lord Xu the case of the monster from Mount Dahuang devouring the Hui family in Taikang County."

"A demon devoured the gray householder?" Eunuch Liu frowned.

"Yes, around the middle of the year, a monster appeared in the river at the foot of Mount Huang and devoured hundreds of local mortals. I worked with Lord Xu to handle the case and discovered a cleaned-out saltpeter mine in Mount Huang."

Lü Qing explained the case of the Dahuangshan Saltpeter Mine to the adults present in detail and clearly.

This is a very good way to stall for time, because what is said is not empty talk, and the adults listen very carefully without urging them.

"So, during my conversation with Lord Xu just now, we analyzed the situation layer by layer and discovered that the gunpowder might not have come from the Ministry of Works, but rather from the saltpeter mine in Dahuangshan," said Lü Qing.

Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the local government were serious. This case involved the Demon Race, which had two major factions in the Nine Demon Race: the various Demon Race tribes in the northwest and the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons in the Southern Frontier.

The Southern Frontier Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons had already perished in the Sixty-Year Demon Purge, with only its remnants clinging to life.

The Demon Race of the northwest formed an alliance with the northern tribes to jointly Great Feng and the Western Regions.

Which Demon Race force is behind the saltpeter mine?

Eunuch Liu glanced at Prefect Chen, who said "Oh," and then confirmed to his subordinates, "That's true. The prefectural government only recently took over the case, and the officer in charge was Constable Lü."

Eunuch Liu's expression was gloomy. "If the saltpeter mine had been discovered earlier, the Sangbo case might not have happened. Why has the case of the monster devouring people that appeared in the middle of the year been suppressed until now?"

Lu Qing was about to accuse the magistrate of Taikang County of dereliction of duty and disregard for the lives of the Hui householders, but was stopped by a single glance from Prefect Chen.

Old Chen sighed, "The demon is powerful; even the magistrate of Taikang County is in trouble."

Eunuch Liu snorted coldly, "I will report this to His Majesty as such."

Minister Sun spoke up, glancing at Lü Qing: "What is Xu Qi'an going to do?"

He seemed to see through Lü Qing's subtle stalling, so he got straight to the point, not wanting her to ramble on.

Upon hearing this, Eunuch Liu pondered and said, "Even if the Demon Race possessed gunpowder, how could they possibly conceal it from the Great Feng Imperial Guards and the city's guards, and smuggle it into Sangbo?"

"This leads to another case," Lü Qing replied.

"Another case?" Everyone was surprised. The Sangbo bombing case was actually linked to so many other incidents?

Lü Qingdao said, "The day before His Majesty's ancestral worship ceremony, Liu Han, a junior officer of the Golden Guard, died inexplicably at home. It was also my turn and Lord Xu who handled the case. At that time, Lord Xu deduced that he had been silenced, but this did not have any connection with the saltpeter mine case, so we did not make that connection."

The junior officer of the Golden Guard was silenced. Gunpowder was smuggled into Sangbo. Everyone present was intelligent, and there was no longer any doubt.

"That Xu guy just now..." Officials from the Ministry of Justice and some government officials suddenly stood up from their chairs.

"Just now, Lord Xu remembered this matter, suddenly understood, and that's why he left in a hurry," said Lü Qing.

Minister Sun said in a deep voice, "Order the arrest of all centurions of the Golden Guard. Go immediately!"

With a whoosh, everyone stood up and rushed out of the council chamber, knocking over chairs without a care.

At this stage of the case analysis, it is very clear that capturing the spy within the Golden Guard is equivalent to making a major contribution.

Lü Qing slowly exhaled, having done her best.

If it were just a fair competition, Lü Qing wouldn't be helping Xu Qi'an like this. It's just that Xu Qi'an is in a precarious situation, and this case is his only hope of redeeming himself.

Lü Qing felt that out of a sense of friendship, she should help if she could.

She left the council hall with her colleagues from the government office.

Only Eunuch Liu, the eunuch he brought, Minister Sun, and Prefect Chen remained in the large council hall.

Eunuch Liu stretched out his hand, and the attendant eunuch immediately blew the ink dry and handed the booklet to him.

Eunuch Liu carefully read through the contents. The first two pages were discussions of cases between the Ministry of Justice and the prefectural government, mainly consisting of debates and rather dry.

It wasn't until Xu Qi'an joined the investigation that the case began to become clearer, and the suspect was identified within the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

The case progressed so quickly that it surprised Eunuch Liu. Normally, it would take two or three days to connect the cases of the saltpeter mine in Dahuangshan and the minor official.

"So it seems that His Majesty's appointment of Xu Qi'an as the head of the Nightwatchers watchman's office was for a profound reason," Liu Gonggong suddenly realized.

"Xiao Yunzi, from today onwards you will stay at the Nightwatchers's office, responsible for supervising their case handling and promptly relaying messages to me."

Liu Gonggong said.

"Yes!" the eunuch taking notes replied.

The Zhou Residence had its black lacquered gate tightly shut.

At Xu Qi'an's prompting, Song Tingfeng stepped up the stairs to the door and banged on it repeatedly.

"Open the door! The Nightwatchers is on duty."

An aged voice came from inside the door. "The centurion is ill and will not receive guests. Please return."

Song Tingfeng knocked on the door again, but the person inside pretended to be dead and didn't respond.

Becoming a deadbeat?

Song Tingfeng sneered and kicked the door. With a loud bang, the solid wood door shattered and splintered.

An old man dressed in a blue cloth robe stood trembling in the distance, staring fearfully at the uninvited guests.

"Leave two men to guard the gate, the rest of you go in with Li Yinluo and Yang Yinluo." Xu Qi'an waved his hand, ordering the men to charge, while he and Chu Caiwei stayed behind.

"You're the organizer, why aren't you rushing in?" Chu Caiwei tilted her head and glanced at him.

"During the Battle of Shanhai Pass, did you ever see His Majesty charging into battle?" Xu Qi'an glanced at her.

Chu Caiwei was speechless. She knew he was talking nonsense, but her not-so-bright brain couldn't come up with a rebuttal for the time being.

"I was going to give you a miracle pill, but never mind." She said with a stern face.

"Power pills?"

"This is a good opportunity to replenish your body; your Qi and Blood are so depleted," Chu Caiwei said.

As Feng Shui Master within the Warlock System, while she was healing and saving lives, Xu Qi'an was still in the courtyard working on stone locks.

Just by looking at Xu Qi'an's complexion, you could tell he was suffering a huge loss.

"Give me one, and I'll treat you to dinner tonight." Xu Qi'an nudged her with his elbow.

Chu Caiwei took a few steps back in disgust, then pulled a porcelain bottle from her deerskin pouch and tossed it over. "This should last you a while."

Xu Qi'an admired Chu Caiwei's strong character and integrity. As he walked inside, he poured out a porcelain bottle and popped a brown pill into his mouth.

The meatballs had a strange taste, and after chewing a few times, a spicy kick came over them.

Xu Qi'an swallowed it whole, and a few seconds later, he felt a warm and comfortable feeling in his stomach, and the exhaustion he felt had subsided considerably.

"Just to clarify, this is a negative effect of my ultimate technique, it doesn't mean I'm Ruan Xiaoer."

What is Ruan Xiaoer?

"It's not a good thing."

They walked and talked until they arrived at the inner courtyard.

Li Yuchun and Yang Feng approached, shaking their heads. "The person is gone."

The latter added, "All the valuables in the mansion have been moved away."

Song Tingfeng immediately dragged the old gatekeeper over, held a knife to his neck, and shouted, "Where is Zhou Chixiong?"

"The centurion, he's taken his wife and the young masters and ladies out of town to visit his family."

"Then why did you say he was sick?"

"Since that's what the centurion instructed, I... I'll do as he says." The old gatekeeper's face was filled with fear, and his legs were trembling; he didn't seem to be lying.

Xu Qi'an asked, "When did you leave?"

"On the day the ancestral worship ceremony ended..." The gatekeeper swallowed hard and pleaded, "What crime has the centurion committed? I know nothing, I know nothing!"

Xu Qi'an waved his hand, signaling Song Tingfeng to release him.

He led his men back into the house and searched each room. Apart from some valuable antiques and paintings that were taken away, everything in the mansion was intact.

"Commander Zhou has escaped!" Li Yuchun said in a deep voice.

"It's too early to talk about these things now." Xu Qi'an glanced at Chu Caiwei.

The oval-faced beauty somehow understood his meaning, gracefully leaped onto the roof, opened her bright, clear eyes, and scanned every corner of the Zhou Residence.

She wasn't looking for anyone, but rather searching for something else. Her focus was on the garden and the stone well.

A moment later, Chu Caiwei jumped off the roof and shook her head. "There are no corpses hidden in the mansion, and no one has died here recently. Hmm, it's possible that it was covered up by special means. You can dig three feet into the ground and search thoroughly."

"It's unnecessary now." Xu Qi'an sighed, "Whether we die or escape, this lead has been cut off."

However, it's highly likely that he escaped, because the people in the manor saw Zhou Baihu leave with his family.

As they walked out of the Zhou Residence gate, Min Shan arrived with several gong-bearers. Before he could even rein in his horse, he shouted, "After the ancestral worship ceremony, Commander Zhou has requested a long leave."

Seeing the gloomy faces of his colleagues, his heart sank.

"They escaped." Yang Feng exhaled a breath of stale air.

Just as Xu Qi'an led his men away, the officials from the Ministry of Justice and the prefectural government rode up to the Zhou Residence. Upon seeing the collapsed gate, their hearts sank.

When questioned by the servants of the manor, it was learned that the Nightwatchers had just missed him, and that Commander Zhou had already fled the capital.

The people from both government offices felt a strange mix of emotions, unsure whether to feel fortunate or regretful.

Dusk!

Liu Gonggong returned to the palace before the city gates closed. With the help of his sons, he changed into casual clothes, took a bath, and was drinking his pre-meal tea.

A young eunuch hurried in and said in a soft voice, "Godfather, His Majesty has sent someone to invite you."

Eunuch Liu pinched the bridge of his nose and said irritably, "I know!"

He took a sip of water, told his son to change his clothes, and put on a python robe. Just as he stepped out the door, he suddenly remembered something.

"Bring us the case file, the one we brought back today."

The young eunuch went back to his room to fetch it.

After arriving at the Jingxin Hall and being informed, I was led inside and met Emperor Yuanjing, who was dressed in a Daoist robe and had a long, flowing beard.

Emperor Yuanjing neither meditated nor conducted official business; he held a book in his hand, but his thoughts were not on the book.

"Liu Rong, I sent people to monitor the case, it's been a whole day, what progress have we made?" Emperor Yuanjing asked in a calm tone.

Liu Gonggong felt a chill run down his spine. He had served in the palace for decades and knew Emperor Yuanjing's temperament well. The more Emperor Yuanjing acted this way, the more annoyed Liu Gonggong felt.

Asking about the case is a pretense; His Majesty is about to lose his temper.

Liu Gonggong felt a wave of fear, followed by relief, thinking to himself that it was fortunate he had prepared in advance and that he had indeed gained something today.

"Your Majesty, this is a summary of today's cases. I was just about to show it to you." Eunuch Liu took out a thin booklet from his sleeve.

PS: I had something to do during the day, so the update is late. I'll update first and then revise later. As usual, any typos will be listed in the comments section of this chapter.