The Eldest Princess Summoned Him

Supervisor Hengqing stammered, "How did you know, sir?"

The Dharma name Hengyuan was given to him by Xu Erlang. That day, Xu Erlang was asked to go to the health center to look for No. 6, but No. 6 had already left. When Xu Erlang relayed this to Xu Qi'an, he said, "The clerk told me that Master Hengyuan has left, and it is said that there is a clue about my junior brother."

"Never mind how I know, I'm asking you a question now." Xu Qi'an's expression was serious, and he didn't give this non-violent, uncooperative monk a friendly look.

Although in a one-on-one fight, this abbot of Qinglong Temple might be able to easily defeat him.

But Xu Qi'an has brothers, and the imperial court is behind him.

Abbot Hengqing hesitated for a moment before saying, "Hengyuan is a martial monk in the temple. He is impulsive and has a bad temper. He is often punished by the abbot for accidentally injuring his fellow disciples. He was expelled from Qinglong Temple last year."

Number Six really is a monk from Qinglong Temple, a martial monk? No wonder he's so burly, like Lu Zhishen. Number Six mentioned his junior brother was kidnapped by human traffickers. Could the junior brother Number Six is looking for be Heng Hui?

Heng Hui eloped with Princess Pingyang. However, Heng Hui stole Law Artifact Law Artifact from Qinglong Temple, which ended up in the possession of Zhou Chixiong, a centurion of the Golden Guard. Does this mean that the monk Heng Hui has met with an accident?

Or perhaps he was also involved in the Sangbo case. If the latter, what was his purpose? And where did the Prince of Pingyang go?

This trip to Qinglong Temple yielded more rewards than he had anticipated.

Despite deliberately rushing and riding at full speed, it took more than an hour to return to the Nightwatchers's office.

Xu Qi'an let his team take a short break, and then closed the door to work on case analysis and summarization.

Then, retrieve the fragment of the Earth Book and enter the message: [Three: Still no news from the Sixth?]

Nobody paid him any attention.

After a long while, Master Jinlian jumped in to save face: [Nine: No news yet.]

Xu Qi'an keenly realized that Number Six might have discovered something, or was in an extremely dangerous situation, otherwise it would be impossible for him not to reply for so long.

[Three: Master Jinlian, you still haven't located the fragment of the Earth Book?]

[Nine: It must be blocked by some Secret Method.]

[Part 2: Why does the bald guy always seem to run into trouble?]

Number Two jumped in and interrupted.

[Nine: He had been investigating his junior brother's disappearance; perhaps it was retaliation from the forces behind the Earl of Pingyuan.]

No, he did discover a clue about his junior brother, but the result was the same: in any case, Number Six was in big trouble.

[Four: If the fragments of the Earth Book fall into the hands of outsiders, then we will have no choice but to cease all transmission of the book, just as we did before.]

[Second: If it falls into the hands of the Earth Sect, we could all be in danger.]

At this point, everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society felt anxious and under psychological pressure.

It wasn't just a matter of worrying about Number Six's safety; the cessation of communication via Earth Script meant the hard-won information exchange model of the Heaven and Earth Society would become a mere shell.

In the worst-case scenario, if it falls into the hands of the Earth Sect, ordinary members of the Earth Sect are not afraid. But what if the leader of the Earth Sect personally retrieves the Earth Book?

Number One and Number Three are alright, they're hiding in the capital, so the leader of the Earth Sect has some reservations. But the others are in danger.

[Two: By the way, could you please ask number three for help?]

[Four: Hmm, if Number Three can use his connections at the Cloud Deer Academy to secretly assist Daoist Jinlian, then finding Number Six will be much easier.]

Unbeknownst to them, the members of the Heaven and Earth Society had become more dependent on Number Three than on Number One, who always loved to spy on them.

Whenever something happens in the capital of the Great Feng Dynasty, Number Three immediately comes to mind.

Why do I feel like I've become a tool?

The identity and current situation of Number Six are first-hand information I just obtained. If I spread it now, there is a great risk of his identity being exposed. I need to wait for a certain period of time, unless all the members of the Heaven and Earth Society know about Number Six's background.

[Three: Do you know the identity of Number Six? I mean, besides the information that he is Buddhist School disciple.]

[Second: I don't know. Number Six claims to be a wandering Buddhist School disciple who plans to stay in the capital for a while.]

Number Six is pretending to be an outsider. Hmm, this monk is a bit smarter than Lu Zhishen!

Xu Qi'an understood the situation and typed: [You don't need to worry about this. I will contact Daoist Jinlian. I know more about the situation on the 6th than anyone else. Daoist, could you come to my place tonight? I have something to discuss with you.]

"!!!"

Upon seeing Number Three's words, for some reason, everyone in the Heaven and Earth Society felt a chill run down their spines, as if a thorn was sticking out at them.

Number Three had somehow figured out Number Six's background, and judging from his words, it seemed he also had some knowledge of his current situation? They had only had a brief encounter. Indeed, the scholars of the Cloud Deer Academy were all very capable. Number Two thought warily.

Number Three is quite interesting. He joined the latest, but his shrewdness, ability, and keen insight are astonishing. I look forward to meeting him when I return to Beijing. I'll have a good chance to learn from him then. Number Four sincerely admires him.

[Five: Wow, please don't check my identity, or I'll get angry.]

Number Five spoke his mind directly.

[One: Number 3, do you have more accurate information regarding the Sangbo case?]

[Three: I haven't been following the Sangbo case these past few days.]

Upon seeing this, Number One went diving.

Having arranged a meeting time with Daoist Jinlian, Xu Qi'an left the side hall and went straight to Haoqi Tower to request an audience with Wei Yuan.

In the bright and airy tea room, Wei Yuan sat alone at the table, playing chess, his left hand against his right, as if performing a lonely one-man show.

Wei Yuan didn't even look up, and said with a smile, "I've played chess for half my life. At first, I suffered repeated defeats, but I kept fighting. Later, I gradually improved and defeated one national master after another. Before I knew it, I couldn't find any enemies anymore."

"You drew with the supervisor last time you played chess, didn't you?" Xu Qi'an thought to himself.

"But the enemies outside the chessboard are numerous and troublesome." Wei Yuan put down a chess piece, pinched his brow, and said:

What is it?

"This subordinate must report the progress of the case to Duke Wei," Xu Qi'an said after a pause, "Yesterday morning, Magistrate Zhao of Taikang County was murdered on the night he was imprisoned. The government is keeping this matter secret for the time being."

"The magistrate Zhao's death was quite strange; there was no poisoning, no wounds, and he died naturally."

Wei Yuan's expression froze abruptly, and after a few seconds, his eyes flickered. "What's your opinion?"

"After reviewing the records, I found that besides the Daoist School Yin spirits, only the Witch God Cult of Northeast China could accomplish this." Xu Qi'an took a deep breath.

"The Sangbo case involves the Demon Race and the Northeast Witch God Cult. I've racked my brains, thinking it over and over, but who else in the court, besides that person, could simultaneously collude with these two major forces?"

Bang! Wei Yuan slammed his hand on the chessboard, causing all the pieces to tremble. He stared sharply at Xu Qi'an: "Once we leave here, you must not tell anyone these things."

Xu Qi'an quickly lowered his head and explained, "But... but this humble servant finds it difficult to investigate further."

"Step back," Wei Yuan said coldly.

"Yes!" Xu Qi'an left the tea room.

As the footsteps faded into the distance, Wei Yuan methodically gathered the chess pieces and washed the tea tray. He changed into a blue robe, walked to the stairwell, and instructed the clerk on duty:

"Prepare the carriage; I am going to the palace."

Xu Qi'an only regretted not having a cigarette in hand, so he could only sit there blankly while thinking. He listened to Lü Qing and the three silver gongs discussing the case, but his mind was elsewhere.

"The Prince of Zhenbei is far away on the frontier. It's impossible for me to go there to investigate, and besides, I wouldn't dare to. Unless His Majesty issues a decree, a single gold token won't be enough to investigate that powerful figure."

"Being stationed at the frontier... hey, that gives me a perfect alibi."

"But there is no perfect crime in the world. As long as it is committed, clues will be left behind. The key is whether I can seize those clues. Hmm, the Prince of Zhenbei is not in the capital, but he needs a spokesperson, and that spokesperson must be someone in the court."

The lead on the Prince of Zhenbei cannot be investigated for the time being because Wei Yuan refuses to help him. If Wei Yuan can obtain an imperial edict, then everything will be fine.

Fortunately, a cunning rabbit has more than one burrow, and a wise person doesn't only have one path.

Today's trip to Qinglong Temple was worthwhile; the monk Heng Hui at Qinglong Temple is a breakthrough point. To investigate further along this path, we need to find Number Six.

This is why Xu Qi'an wanted to arrange a nighttime rendezvous with Daoist Jinlian.

"Knock knock."

The knocking interrupted Lü Qing's discussion with the three silver gongs, causing them to frown and look towards the door.

The taciturn Zhu Guangxiao stood by the door and said, "Ningyan, the Princess requests your presence."

Lü Qing and the others turned to look at Xu Qi'an.

What does Huaiqing want with me? Missing me? Oh dear, we just saw each other yesterday! Looks like a day apart feels like three autumns!

Xu Qi'an pictured a stunningly beautiful, aloof princess, and her imposing, magnanimous heart, which seemed to fit on a desk.

Despite her ethereal, fairy-like appearance, her figure resembles that of a seductive witch.

The Imperial Garden.

Curtains hung at the four corners of the pavilion to shield it from the cold wind, while the charcoal fire brought a comforting warmth.

Emperor Yuanjing, dressed in a Daoist robe, and Wei Yuan, dressed in a blue robe, are playing chess. One of them is an emperor, yet he rarely wears a dragon robe.

One was a powerful minister who oversaw all officials, yet he always wore a simple blue robe.

In contrast to the two eccentric old men, the young Crown Prince was impeccably dressed and stood respectfully beside Emperor Yuanjing.

"Yesterday, the Imperial Advisor refined a batch of Golden Core. I'll send one to you later." Emperor Yuanjing twirled a chess piece, examined it for a long time, then, as if cheating, picked up three black pieces and laughed, "One Golden Core for three chess pieces, isn't that a bit much?"

Wei Yuan nodded. "Not excessive."

After making a few more moves, Wei Yuan smiled and picked up Emperor Yuanjing's six white pieces, saying, "Your Majesty's camp is a bit chaotic; let me tidy it up for you."

Emperor Yuanjing remained expressionless and said calmly, "Over the years, I have relied on you Wei Yuan, the most. I often think that if you hadn't entered the palace back then and had instead taken the proper path of the imperial examinations, the empire would have had one more tailor, and I wouldn't have had to worry about these trivial matters."

Wei Yuan's expression froze for a moment, then returned to normal in an instant, and he said with a smile, "Isn't I serving Your Majesty now?"

His Highness the Crown Prince frowned, staring at the chessboard in deep thought, remaining silent.

It's not so much the exciting and intense chess battle between the Emperor and the Duke Wei that's the focus, but rather on the dialogue between the two.

It's like looking at flowers through a fog, a feeling of understanding but not quite.

The two people sitting in the pavilion, one having devoted himself to Daoist cultivation for twenty years yet still able to firmly control the court, possessed an emperor's mind as pure as fire.

A eunuch who took charge of the Nightwatchers watchman's office possessed both literary and military prowess, putting countless scholars to shame.

Their conversation is worth savoring.

As the Crown Prince was lost in thought, he heard Emperor Yuanjing say, "How's the investigation into the Sangbo case going? The files submitted by the prefectural government and the Ministry of Justice are a complete mess. I remember the official in charge of the Nightwatchers watchman's office was that criminal, Tongluo, whose surname was Xu, right?"