The truth

Running wildly without daring to look back, leaping repeatedly across the rooftops, Xu Qi'an, facing a high-level expert for the first time, was still filled with intense fear.

If it weren't for Master Jinlian sacrificing herself to save him, he would have certainly died in the next round, and wouldn't have had time to cast the Law Technique in the "magic book".

Even with the help of Master Jinlian, most of the Law Technique in the magic book would be no match for the opponent.

That kind of excruciating fear was something Xu Qi'an had never experienced before.

Who is it?

Two night Nightwatchers standing on the roof noticed Xu Qi'an, who was dressed in a black robe. One drew his standard long sword, and the other took off his gong.

"It's me." Xu Qi'an took off his hood and pulled out a gold medal.

Lord Xu

Xu Qi'an is now a prominent figure in the Nightwatchers's office. First, two golden gongs were jealous of him, and then he caused a dispute by slashing Zhu Yinluo with a knife.

Everyone in the government office knew him.

Xu Qi'an retrieved the gold medal, coughed violently a few times, felt a metallic taste in his throat, and said in a deep voice, "The Pingyuan Marquis's residence was attacked by assassins. I was ordered to investigate the case and ran into the assassins."

"Assassins are dangerous! Don't make any rash moves! Signal the danger immediately!"

Another assassin has struck the Pingyuan Marquis's residence. The two gongs exchanged a glance, then noticed Xu Qi'an's blood-soaked tiger's mouth and his slightly trembling arm.

With serious expressions, they pulled a copper tube, as thick as a baby's forearm, from a leather pouch at their waist, and gently flicked the fuse with their fingers, igniting the energy.

call out.

A dark red streak of fire shot into the sky with a sharp shriek, then exploded high in the air.

Seeing this, Xu Qi'an breathed a sigh of relief, "I'll go back and recover first. You all wait here for reinforcements. If you encounter anyone wearing black robes (excluding me), remember to stay away."

"Yes."

At that moment, Xu Qi'an saw an orange cat standing on a rooftop in the distance, its deep eyes staring at him.

"Daoist Master, where did you get this cat? I knew you'd be alright." Xu Qi'an exhaled again, leaping repeatedly on the roof ridge, the orange cat following leisurely behind.

"Master, I completely lost the will to fight just now," Xu Qi'an said guiltily, stopping in a quiet alley.

He believed that with Master Jinlian's cunning and shrewdness, she would have escaped even faster than him if she wasn't confident.

The orange cat spoke in a human voice, its tone weary. "When an ordinary person sees a giant insect, running away is their instinctive reaction. But the difference between you and him is greater than the difference between a cat and a giant insect."

"Master, is your analogy really appropriate?" Xu Qi'an glanced at the orange cat.

"If I'm not mistaken, he is the sealed artifact suppressed in Sangbo." Xu Qi'an said as he took out wound medicine and gauze to bandage his tiger's mouth.

Because I took too many energy pills, the weakness after "Heaven and Earth One Slash" was relieved, and I didn't have that intense feeling of being completely drained.

"How do you know?" Master Jinlian asked in shock.

"On the day of the explosion at Yongzhen Shanhe Temple, all three hundred Imperial Guards patrolling the area perished, their deaths mirroring each other, turning them into mummies," Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

Master Jinlian suddenly realized, and after a moment of silence, said, "Then you guessed wrong. What's sealed beneath Sangbo isn't the first Supervisor."

If it were the first generation of supervisor, he wouldn't kill such a minor figure. The eldest son of the Marquis of Xu Qi'an sighed:

"I know, and I have a vague suspicion in my mind, but I still need to verify it."

The orange cat nodded slightly and said, "My Yin Spirit has suffered a severe injury and is highly likely to fall from its current realm. I need your help."

"Please speak, Daoist Master." Xu Qi'an was just wondering how to repay the life-saving grace.

"Find Luo Yuheng for this humble Daoist priest, and ask him for a Gathering Yuan Pill," the orange cat spoke in human language.

"Luo Yuheng?" Xu Qi'an asked blankly.

"The head of the Human Sect is, by a token, my junior sister," said Master Jinlian.

"Master, you have a high seniority in the Earth Sect. The head of the Human Sect is your junior sister, a beautiful mature Daoist nun?" Xu Qi'an hesitated, "Do you have any token?"

"Just show her the Earth Book," the orange cat gave a human-like wry smile. "As for whether she can retrieve it, that depends on her mood."

Judging from her mood? Xu Qi'an looked blank.

"The Human Sect and the Heavenly Sect are sworn enemies. The relationship between the Earthly Sect and the two sects is not tense, but it's not exactly good either," the orange cat explained.

"You Daoist School are too much! A family that loves and hates each other so much!" Xu Qi'an nodded. "I'll give it a try tomorrow."

The orange cat hummed in agreement. "I'll come find you again tomorrow."

Jiang Luzhong squatted in the courtyard with a gloomy expression, holding a small piece of dry meat in his hand. The meat was very dry, like dried cured meat that had been ground into powder.

The ground was covered with a light brown powder.

Dozens of bronze gongs surrounded the Pingyuan Earl's mansion, while seven or eight silver gongs assisted in the investigation. When they arrived, the entire Pingyuan Earl's mansion had been wiped out; none of the Earl's family members, including the servants, survived.

The bodies all died in the same manner, resembling dried meat that had been air-dried for many years.

Jiang Lu's heart was filled with the image of ten thousand alpacas running wild. He was also on duty when Pingyuan Bo was killed.

"Jiang Jinluo, there's another survivor inside!" A silver gong-wielding man emerged from the house and announced loudly.

Jiang Luzhong, with a stern face, crossed the threshold and entered the house. His gaze swept across the room and locked onto a woman who was hugging a quilt, revealing her fair shoulders, and looking terrified.

She was beautiful, but somewhat frivolous and dissolute, and she was looking at the Nightwatchers with fearful eyes.

"Who are you?" Jiang Luzhong asked in a deep voice.

"I... I am the concubine of the Earl of Pingyuan," the woman said in a trembling voice.

"What did you hear or see?" Jiang Luzhong asked again.

The woman had already learned what had happened from the silver gong that had awakened her, which was why she was filled with anxiety, both worried about her own fate and grateful to be alive.

The woman shook her head and obediently said, "I was making love with Dalang at the time, and afterwards I fell into a deep sleep."

Jiang Luzhong scrutinized her. The practice of sons inheriting their fathers' jobs was also common among concubines. High-ranking officials and nobles frequently took concubines of vastly different ages. Once their fathers died, these concubines had only two choices: either work like maids or depend on the new heir.

Of course, if this kind of thing is brought to the forefront, it will definitely be condemned.

Nobody bothers to take it seriously; it's neither encouraged nor worth bothering with.

"Have her put on her clothes and take her back to the Nightwatchers's office," Jiang Luzhong said, then walked out of the house.

"Jiang Jinluo, the body of the Earl of Pingyuan's eldest son has not been found," a silver-gong-wielding official hurriedly reported.

Jiang Luzhong glanced at the brown powder in the yard, his gaze deep. "No need to look anymore."

"Sir, there's something going on at the outer window."

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Luzhong went to the window facing the bedroom and saw that two holes had been poked in the window paper, allowing him to see the situation inside the bedroom.

He glanced down and saw two shallow lines plowed into the ground.

"Besides the murderer, there were other people present at the time." Jiang Luzhong pondered for a long time before asking, "Who first noticed the unusual situation at the Pingyuan Marquis's residence?"

"Two gongs on duty."

"Call them over."

Soon, two gong players were brought over.

Jiang Luzhong asked, "When you discovered the situation, were there any suspicious individuals nearby?"

The two gong players exchanged a glance. "We haven't found any suspicious individuals, and we didn't discover the case."

Jiang Luzhong was taken aback and quickly asked, "Who wasn't it you who discovered it?"

"It's Xu Qi'an, the gong Xu Qi'an."

A glint flashed in Xu Qi'an and Jiang Luzhong's eyes.

Xu Qi'an returned to the courtyard without even taking off his clothes, and fell asleep immediately. He woke up naturally three hours later, sat cross-legged, and Qi Refinement breathing exercises.

Two weeks after the move, he opened his eyes with a bright and energetic expression. Apart from being slightly pale, he was in good condition in all aspects.

He left the courtyard and rode straight to the city gate.

At this time, there was still half an hour before the city gates were to open. There was no curfew in the outer city, and the restrictions on the city gates were also very lenient. Xu Qi'an, relying on his gold token, ordered the soldiers guarding the city to open the gates.

In less than an hour, he arrived at Qinglong Temple, just as the monks were getting up for their morning prayers, the morning bell echoing gently between heaven and earth.

After tying up the horses, Xu Qi'an followed the stone steps to Qinglong Temple, where he received unexpected news.

"Has Abbot Panshu gone to the Western Regions?"

The same round-faced Abbot Hengqing said expressionlessly, "After you left that day, the abbot also left. This humble monk truly doesn't know the reason this time."

How much psychological trauma do you have with me? Xu Qi'an grinned.

Abbot Panshu had said that Qinglong Temple's duty was to keep an eye on the sealed artifacts beneath Sangbo Lake, and that day he had expressed his intention to travel west.

I wonder if the old monk will take a monkey as his apprentice along the way; that would be very interesting, hehe.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Master," Xu Qi'an said in a friendly tone.

Supervisor Hengqing stared at him warily.

"I want to see Heng Hui's portrait. If the temple doesn't have it, please find someone to paint it immediately," Xu Qi'an stated his request.

Heng Qing breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Please wait a moment."

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he came out holding a painting scroll and handed it to Xu Qi'an.

The latter took it and slowly unfurled it. The scroll depicted a monk in a blue robe, with handsome features and bright eyes; he was a man of exceptional appearance.

As expected, Xu Qi'an confirmed that the man in black robes from last night was indeed the monk Heng Hui.

Despite the drastic change in her demeanor, her facial features still vaguely resemble the original.

The monk Heng Hui of Qinglong Temple may be involved in the Sangbo case, and Heng Yuan, number six, confidently stated that his junior brother was abducted by a trafficker.

Based on the conversation between the eldest son of the Marquis of Pingyuan and the man in black robes last night, Xu Qi'an immediately had a guess in his mind and couldn't wait to verify it.

If he hadn't been in such a bad state last night and desperately needed rest, he would have chosen to leave the city overnight.

"It really is Heng Hui! It really is Heng Hui! How could it be him? What does he have to do with the sealed artifact beneath Sangbo?"

"So it's not the first Director of the Imperial Household Department. No wonder the current Director isn't worried at all and is even pretending to be sick."

"But if it's not the first supervisor, then what could it be? The only possibility I can think of is that the sealed artifact is on Heng Hui."

"A mere monk couldn't possibly have orchestrated such a shocking case; he must have someone behind him. The Prince of Zhenbei?"

Xu Qi'an left Qinglong Temple with deep thoughts on his mind.

Upon returning to the capital and to the Nightwatchers's office, he headed straight for the Haoqi Tower with a clear goal: to tell Wei Yuan the truth.

P. S.: Surprised? Unexpected? Is this surprise worth casting Extended Net Moon for?

I said I would compensate the patrons with extra chapters after the book was published, and I kept my word.

Also, please correct any typos.