The sealed entity beneath Mulberry Lake

Nangong Qianrou took the paper and quickly glanced at it. The paper contained the discretionary analysis of the case by the officials of the Ministry of Justice and the prefectural government.

It wasn't of much value; he quickly passed by, his gaze sharpening.

His expression turned serious as he read carefully.

The gunpowder that destroyed the Yongzhen Shanhe Temple actually came from the saltpeter mine in Dahuang Mountain. The junior officer was silenced, and the Golden Guard were colluding with the Demon Race. The entire outline of the Sangbo case suddenly became clear.

Nangong Qianrou could not hide her surprise. He was not too concerned about the case, but he had kept a certain level of attention to it. As for Xu Qi'an, the presiding officer, he neither interfered nor helped.

Based on Nangong Jinluo's experience, it's impossible to find any clues about this matter in just three to five days.

I never expected to achieve such results in just one day.

"He's a good candidate for solving cases." He narrowed his peach blossom eyes, finally developing some certainty about Xu Qi'an.

"A good case prospect?" Yang Yan's voice came from outside the carriage, sounding very interested. He pressed further, "You mean Xu Qi'an?"

Yang Jinluo valued Xu Qi'an highly and thought he was a young man worth cultivating.

Nangong Qianrou snorted, "You're lucky to have picked up such a promising talent."

Yang Yan chuckled contentedly and focused on driving.

Upon arriving at the Nightwatchers's office and returning to the Haoqi Tower, Wei Yuan said, "Summon Xu Qi'an to see me."

Xu Qi'an was currently hiding in the archives researching information. Just as No. 1 had said, Emperor Wuzong had indeed usurped the throne five hundred years ago.

Besides, the records of the royal family from five hundred years ago, except for the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty, are very vague and were probably destroyed, leaving only their names.

But one thing is certain: the one sealed away by Samboli was definitely not the unfortunate emperor who was usurped by his cousin.

Because that emperor had a child at the age of fourteen.

As everyone knows, before a martial artist reaches the Qi Refining Realm, they are like an eel without fish... well, not that there's no fish, it's just that the time hasn't come yet.

"Investigate for me. Five hundred years ago, not a single expert of the third rank or above can be missed." Xu Qi'an settled for second best and began investigating the experts from the former royal family's forces five hundred years ago.

"Yes!"

Seven or eight officials received the order.

At the table by the window, a girl in a pale yellow dress propped her cheek with one hand and kept stuffing fried fish balls into her mouth with the other, her legs swinging under the table, occasionally revealing glimpses of white embroidered boots.

"Miss Caiwei, I suddenly remembered something." Xu Qi'an reached for the fried fish balls, but the oval-faced beauty slapped them away with lightning speed.

Xu Qi'an coughed and asked, "Are the fried fish balls delicious?"

"It's delicious." Chu Caiwei nodded.

"I want to eat, but not this," Xu Qi'an said.

"What are we eating?" Chu Caiwei asked.

"I want to gaze at you intently." Xu Qi'an gave him a warm, gentle smile.

Chu Caiwei blushed slightly, then her eyebrows furrowed. She wanted to call him a lecher, but then she felt that the words sounded ambiguous, yet different from the vulgarities spoken by a lecher.

For a moment, she didn't know whether she should get angry or not. If she didn't get angry, where would her dignity as a young woman be?

Xu Qi'an cleverly changed the subject, saying, "There's something I'd like to ask Miss Caiwei."

Chu Caiwei swallowed the meatball in her mouth, her rosy lips glistening with oil, looking alluring and delicate. She asked sternly, "What is it?"

"What method can be used to block the Bureau of Astronomy's Qi-Watching Technique?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"High-level experts can all conceal their aura, but that's relative. I'm a seventh-grade Feng Shui Master. What high-level martial artist can hide from my Qi-Watching Technique? They'd have to be at least fifth-grade. Sixth-grade wouldn't be enough," Chu Caiwei said smugly.

I am at the eighth rank of the Qi Refining Realm, so to be able to deceive my Qi-Watching Technique, Commander Zhou must be at the Bronze Skin and Iron Bones Realm. And he clearly wasn't. Xu Qi'an nodded and continued to ask:

"What else?"

"That's Law Artifact, isn't it?" Chu Caiwei, always eager to teach, started explaining on her own without Xu Qi'an even asking:

"There are two kinds of magical Law Artifact in the world: First, artifacts made by the Formation Master of our Bureau of Astronomy by inscribing arrays. Second, magical items obtained by fortuitous opportunity."

"The latter type has many varieties. For example, when a thousand-year-old tree is struck by lightning, the remaining lightning-struck wood contains the power of extreme strength and yang energy."

"For example, the items carried by high-level experts, nurtured by their aura over many years, acquire a certain supernatural quality. However, these are mostly extensions of one of the high-level experts' abilities."

"Are there any magical Law Artifact in the capital that can conceal one's aura?" Xu Qi'an asked directly.

"We at the Bureau of Astronomy do have them, but as for other places..." Chu Caiwei tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said, "I'll have to go back and ask Senior Brother Song."

"Alright, then I'll leave this to you."

During their conversation, the officials had already listed out individuals who might have been high-ranking martial artists five hundred years ago.

The list is small, only a dozen or so, all of whom are suspected to be high-level martial artists.

Official records do not specify the rank of a particular person, so officials infer their rank by examining the deeds of generals who were qualified to be recorded in official history five hundred years ago.

For example, the Prince of Zhenbei guarded the north for decades and experienced hundreds of battles in his life. Without a doubt, he must have been a high-level expert.

Xu Qi'an glanced at the list and was disappointed to find that the majority of the participants were fourth-rank martial artists, with very few third-rank individuals, none second-rank, and certainly no first-rank.

"To be sealed in Sangbo, a second-rank official is the minimum requirement. Otherwise, a first-rank Warlock could easily handle it, and there would be no need for sealing at all. Could it be that my thinking is wrong, and what is being sealed is not a person, but an object?"

"Wait... the Supervisor?!" Xu Qi'an's heart skipped a beat, and his breathing quickened involuntarily.

He thought of something: the duty of the Supervisor was to be stationed in the capital, to be the guardian deity of the Great Feng. At least that was the case for this generation of Supervisors.

Therefore, Emperor Wuzong of that time, if he wanted to usurp the throne, he would inevitably have to get past the supervisor.

A bold guess formed in Xu Qi'an's mind, making him shudder involuntarily.

"Caiwei, isn't our master the first Imperial Supervisor?" Xu Qi'an controlled himself, not letting his voice tremble.

"No, Master is the second-generation Supervisor." Chu Caiwei's answer made Xu Qi'an feel his blood boil.

I know who is sealed beneath Sangbo now. Xu Qi'an swallowed hard. "How did the first Supervisor die?"

Chu Caiwei shook her head. "I don't know that. Master never talks about Grandmaster's past."

It is the first Supervisor, the one sealed beneath Sangbo is the first Supervisor!!

Xu Qi'an trembled at this conjecture.

No wonder only Emperor Yuanjing knew this secret, no wonder the Supervisor fell ill, and no wonder the northern Demon Race plotted this elaborate scheme.

If the first Director of the Imperial Household Department were to escape, the capital would be thrown into chaos. But the first Director of the Imperial Household Department has already escaped.

At that moment, Xu Qi'an even had the idea of escaping the capital.

"Escape! Escape quickly! Take your uncle and aunt with you! The escape of the First Supervisor will surely cause a bloodbath! He's a first-rank official! The entire capital will turn into a battlefield!"

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an gave up the idea of running away.

Emperor Yuanjing ordered him to atone for his crimes through meritorious service, so Wei Yuan had a responsibility to keep an eye on this death row inmate. If he escaped, it would implicate Wei Yuan.

Of course, this is not the most important thing.

Xu Qi'an may be able to escape, but the people of the capital cannot. If a decisive battle between top-tier experts were to truly take place in the capital, how many people would die?

All those lives!

"That old bastard Emperor Yuanjing, he's surrounded by numerous skilled guards in the palace, but what about the ordinary people in the city?"

"I can't get involved in the grudges and conflicts between top-tier experts. If I expose it, someone stronger will take the blame."

A decision was made immediately!

When in doubt, consult Wei Yuan.

Although it's hard to admit, Wei Yuan, a renowned strategist, did indeed give people a sense of security.

If Wei Yuan is an incompetent official, Xu Qi'an will have no choice but to go to the Bureau of Astronomy to find the Director.

Just then, an official entered and, upon seeing Xu Qi'an, exclaimed with delight, "This humble servant has been looking for Lord Xu for quite some time! Duke Wei is looking for you!"

Coincidentally, I also wanted to find him. Xu Qi'an bid farewell to Chu Caiwei and followed the official toward Haoqi Tower.

Upon entering the tallest building of this government office and arriving on the seventh floor, Xu Qi'an saw Wei Yuan, dressed in a blue robe with graying temples.

And two Golden Gongs.

"The case is progressing well, but unfortunately the leads have gone cold again. The imperial court has issued an arrest warrant for Zhou Chixiong, but finding him within half a month is unrealistic." Wei Yuan took a sip of tea, his tone gentle:

What's the next step?

Xu Qi'an stood before the desk, pondered for a moment, and said frankly, "This humble servant suspects that there is another mastermind behind Zhou Chixiong, but we have no clues."

This case is more complex and troublesome than the tax silver case. Of course, this is also because he was not the presiding official in the tax silver case; his main task was to find loopholes and provide ideas, while other aspects were handled by the Nightwatchers and the government office.

Although the clues have gone cold, Xu Qi'an has a general direction for the subsequent investigation: First, start with the magical Law Artifact that shield the Qi-Watching Technique.

Second, those with the channels and capabilities to smuggle gunpowder into Sangbo should be investigated.

The second option is bound to be mentally and physically exhausting, and there's no guarantee of a result.

"Duke Wei," Xu Qi'an probed, "What if I still haven't been able to find out the truth after half a month?"

"At that time, I will arrange for you to fake your death and escape. You can then go into the martial world and work as an informant for the Nightwatchers." Wei Yuan took a sip of tea and said:

"The government's intelligence network covers all thirteen states and various martial arts factions. It's impossible to do this without secretly keeping spies."

"Your personality isn't suited for politics; the martial world is your true domain. In fact, if it weren't for the Sangbo case, you would have already left the capital under my arrangement."

"Go to the martial world?" Xu Qi'an thought absently.

"To be a knife in my hand, a knife that cannot see the light of day, do you feel wronged?" Wei Yuan laughed, like a gentle and cheerful schoolteacher:

"Your personality is gentle on the outside but strong on the inside, and a bit extreme. I both admire and dislike this side of you."

"I am well aware of the many drawbacks of the Nightwatchers's office, but human nature is like that, a mixture of light and darkness. How many people like Li Yuchun are there? If Nightwatchers the Nightwatchers were like Li Yuchun, they would not be able to suppress the entire court."

Xu Qi'an frowned. "I understand this principle, which is why human nature needs constant reminders and deterrence to maintain clean governance. Isn't Duke Wei being too lenient?"

"It also depends on the timing." Wei Yuan, without getting angry, explained gently, "The bureaucracy of the Great Feng Dynasty is corrupt and its decline is inevitable. To change this trend, you must blend in with the crowd and then defeat them one by one. Only when there are no obstacles in your way can you realize your ambitions."

Wei Yuan meant that only when he had defeated his political enemies and there were no more obstacles in his way could he free up his hands to clean up these corrupt practices. Xu Qi'an thought about it and felt that it made sense.

"In officialdom, you're bound by rules and regulations, forced to conform to the world. Otherwise, you'll only cause trouble again and again. Or, you'll have your edges smoothed out, losing the arrogance of a warrior—it's not worth it either way. But once you enter the martial world, you'll have no such worries," Wei Yuan said earnestly.

"Anything that provokes you, blocks your way, or gets in your way, just cut it down with your knife. Act according to your conscience, without worrying about rules or laws. This is the principle of breaking the law by force."

"Many martial artists lose their way in the process and become cold-blooded executioners. This is something you need to be careful about."

Xu Qi'an hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "This humble servant doesn't want to go into the martial world yet. I want to try my best."

He wasn't attached to power, but to his family. He missed his uncles, aunts, Erlang, and sister.

This is like when you were a corporate slave in your past life, and your boss said, "I'm going to send you to another province to expand the market; you'll be stationed there long-term."

You said: I don't want to go.

The boss said: No, you want to.

Fortunately Wei Yuan wasn't the kind of boss who would exploit people. He didn't insist, smiled indifferently, and said, "If there's nothing else, you can leave."

"No, I have something to report." Xu Qi'an clasped his hands and said in a deep voice, "Please dismiss your attendants, Duke Wei. I have important matters to report."

Are they going to send us away again?!

Nangong Qianrou and Yang Yan glanced at Xu Qi'an expressionlessly.

P. S.: Please see the comments for any typos in this chapter. Also, I'm going back to work tomorrow, so the extra update session is over. I checked, and it's been six days since it was released, and I've already updated 67,000 words.

Not bad, not bad.

With normal updates, I'll write two chapters a day, each with at least 3,000 words. My daily output will be around 7,000-8,000 words.

This is the limit. My lousy book has to come up with a case, set up clues, lay foreshadowing, and also be entertaining!

It's really too much of a brain drain, so I can't update as frequently as with formulaic stories. I hope everyone understands. However, given the current market trend, the future belongs to traffic-driven stories, so maybe I'll be able to update frequently then. For example: a nephew washing his aunt's feet, Nightwatchers going home to see his sister sleeping in the doghouse!