Interrogation

Inside the private room were Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao.

The female ghost's illusion was very powerful; the effects hadn't worn off yet. I just wish I had my phone in my pocket, otherwise I would have recorded their poses—a truly embarrassing moment in my life.

Xu Qi'an did not disturb his two colleagues' "sweet dreams." Instead, he lit a piece of paper recording the Qi-Watching Technique, walked to the window, and slowly scanned the street, searching for suspicious people.

What came into view was a vast expanse of white energy; in the definition of the Qi-Watching Technique, white light signifies a commoner.

Xu Qi'an exhaled a breath of stale air, returned to the table, sat down to drink tea, and waited for the illusion to end.

About ten minutes later, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao suddenly froze, as if time had stopped. A dozen seconds later, they fell straight to the ground.

Looking at the two unconscious people, Xu Qi'an had a sudden thought and a bold idea came to him.

He carried Song Tingfeng to the next private room, slapped him twice, and Song Tingfeng mumbled a "hmm" in his sleep, opening his tired eyes.

"Ningyan?" Song Tingfeng was taken aback, abruptly sitting up and looking around frantically, searching for something. "Where is Miss Su... Miss Su Su?"

"She's gone!" Xu Qi'an said blankly, "I came back from the outhouse and just saw her leaving with a flushed face, walking with a limp. Of course, I tried to stop her, but she left in a hurry, and I couldn't call her back."

"Find her! I must find her! I must marry her!" Song Tingfeng suddenly jumped up, then staggered, feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

Illusion magic directly affects the Primordial Spirit, and the aftereffect is dizziness.

"Damn it, why is he getting weaker and weaker?" Song Tingfeng shoved Xu Qi'an: "Ningyan, you have to help me pursue her, she's my betrothed."

"You mean that pillar next door, my fiancée?" Xu Qi'an coughed. "What's going on between you two?"

Although Song Tingfeng was a lecherous man, he was still conservative at heart. He could only have sex at night and in bed. He found it difficult to talk about having sex in the teahouse during the day.

"Don't rush, sit down and rest for a bit. I'll go outside and see what's going on. I'll definitely bring her back." Xu Qi'an left the private room and turned back to the next room.

"Clap clap!"

He was woken up by two slaps.

Zhu Guangxiao's reaction was even stronger than Song Tingfeng's. Upon seeing Xu Qi'an, he looked extremely frightened and instinctively covered his crotch before realizing that he was wearing pants.

He looked around somewhat blankly and asked, "Where is Miss Su Su Su?"

Xu Qi'an said, "She just left. I ran into her downstairs. No matter how much I tried to persuade her to stay, she insisted on leaving. I asked her if she had upset me."

Zhu Guangxiao asked with a strange expression, "Was there anything strange about her leaving?"

Xu Qi'an "recalled": "He probably twisted his ankle."

He walked with a limp. Upon hearing this, Zhu Guangxiao said with a mournful face, "Ningyan, I... I did something wrong. I have no face to return to the capital, let alone face my fiancée."

"What's wrong? Tell me properly," Xu Qi'an quickly comforted her.

Zhu Guangxiao then recounted what had just happened, his face pale with remorse:

"I don't know what came over me. In a moment of passion, I did such a beastly thing to Miss Su. I already have a fiancée. She... she's still a virgin. What am I going to do?"

Although Imperial Academy of Music every now and then, the women there were different from women from respectable Imperial Academy of Music.

"Yeah, only kids want it all. Adults know they can't afford it." Guangxiao is very rational. Xu Qi'an nodded. "Then you'd better think it over carefully."

Zhu Guangxiao looked up. "You don't seem surprised at all."

"I'm not surprised. Old Song next door thinks the same way you do." Xu Qi'an sighed, "What can we do now that it's already happened? Perhaps Su Su was just a passerby in my life."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Guangxiao was utterly dejected.

Oh my god, it's been so hard to hold it in, hahaha! Seeing Zhu Guangxiao's absent-minded look, Xu Qi'an almost covered his mouth.

If we simply tell them that the so-called Miss Su is actually a female ghost, then Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao will at most feel embarrassed, offer a few angry curses, and that will be the end of it.

Looking back on it later, I'll still feel embarrassed, but it won't have too much of an impact.

Now it's different. The more remorse they show and the more they say in front of Xu Qi'an, the more ashamed they will feel when they find out the truth in the future, to the point where they wish they could roll on the ground in shame.

This inspiration came from Xu Qi'an's boasting in the Earth Book chat group and his occasional fear of the embarrassment of his identity being exposed.

When my true identity is exposed and I'm too ashamed to face anyone in the future, thinking of Comrades Lao Song and Old Zhu will make me feel much more at peace. That's what brothers are all about.

After leaving the teahouse, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao remained unusually silent.

Old Song lamented that he had finally decided to settle down and start a family, only to find it was just a fleeting romance, leaving him deeply disappointed. In his own imagination, he envisioned Su Su as an extraordinary woman, one of a kind in the world.

"I must find her and marry her," Song Tingfeng vowed silently.

Zhu Guangxiao was even more melancholy, because he had to choose between his childhood sweetheart and the beautiful woman who had suddenly appeared in his life.

Upon returning to the post station, Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng both opted to take a bath, without asking the postmen to prepare hot water, and went directly to the post station's bathhouse.

Something felt off. Why was everything inside his pants? Song Tingfeng, soaking in cold water, slowly came to his senses.

Miss Su Su is as beautiful as an angel, but I already have a fiancée. Zhu Guangxiao is still struggling with this choice.

Inside the room, Xu Qi'an sat at the table, gathering his energy with his fingers and scraping off a corner of the "Spirit Sealing Talisman." Instantly, a gust of cold wind surged from the spout of the wine pot, causing the room temperature to plummet.

A wisp of smoke rose gracefully from the spout of the kettle, like an eel with its tail caught in its mouth, struggling left and right, unable to pull its tail out of the spout.

Left with no other choice, the green smoke transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman, floating above the spout of the pot, pitifully "weeping" as she looked at Xu Qi'an.

"Young master, what have I done wrong that you treat me like this?"

It looked like a 3D projection. Xu Qi'an slightly raised his head, scrutinizing the female ghost from bottom to top.

"Oh, young master, you're peeking under my skirt!" The female ghost said shyly, pressing her hand against her skirt and biting her lip. Her charming face revealed a seductive allure that seemed to hold back her words.

Still trying to seduce me? Come to think of it, this kind of anime-style wife is a godsend for Xu Qi'an. Xu Qi'an scoffed, took off his jade thumb ring, and placed it on the table.

"Keep up the good work, Su Su!"

A wisp of pure energy flashed from the jade thumb ring.

The female ghost looked at the jade thumb ring with suspicion. "The aura of Confucian School?"

After receiving Xu Qi'an's nod of confirmation, she immediately abandoned her seductive demeanor, gracefully standing in mid-air, looking down at Xu Qi'an, and said crisply, "Kill me or torture me, it's all up to you."

Xu Qi'an said, "Alright! I'll throw the thumb ring into the wine pot."

Miss Su immediately softened her stance. "Sir, let's discuss it again."

"Quite pragmatic, isn't he?" Xu Qi'an casually put away the jade thumb ring, leaned back in his chair, and asked, "Who sent you?"

The young lady, Su Su, revealed a fawning and ingratiating expression. "My mistress is named Li Miaozhen, a holy maiden of the Daoist School Heavenly Sect, nineteen years old and unmarried. It was she who instructed me to seduce you, young master, to extract clues about Zhou Min's case from you, in order to ensure that it wouldn't threaten Commander Yang Chuannan."

There were too many flaws, Xu Qi'an didn't know how to even begin to criticize them. First of all, this female ghost was indeed sent by Number Two. When they first met, he only had suspicions, but after she inquired about the Zhou Min case in the teahouse, Xu Qi'an was basically certain that she was Number Two's person.

Number Two has great execution skills! She just mentioned seduction last night, and she's already taking action today. No wonder she's a female ghost, a true "bewitching charm"?

It turns out that "charm" refers to a female ghost?

Secondly, the second one is actually the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect? Hmm, that makes sense, because among the various systems, besides the Witch God Sect, the only other sect skilled in raising and controlling ghosts is the Daoist School.

He clung to a sliver of hope, expecting it to be a female ghost sent by the witch god cult, but things rarely go as planned.

Finally, Number Two's ghost-raising skills were terrible. Is this raising a ghost? This is raising a traitor. I didn't even have to use a big stick on her, and she confessed everything.

"You're certainly loyal," Xu Qi'an said sarcastically.

"I was a beautiful woman with a tragic fate, dying young. Now that I'm a ghost, I naturally cherish my life," Su Su sighed, her bright eyes darting around as she added:

"I was still a virgin when I died."

And then? Because she never tasted a man's pleasure, her resentment lingered, turning her into a "ghost"? Xu Qi'an asked again:

"How did the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect become the Flying Swallow Heroine, and why is she here in Yunzhou to suppress bandits?"

"The Heavenly Sect cultivates the Heavenly Dao. To reach a profound realm, one must transcend worldly desires. As the saying goes, to transcend the world, one must first enter it. In order to see through the illusions of the mortal world, my master was ordered by his master to descend the mountain and travel."

And then she became the chivalrous and righteous Flying Swallow Heroine, whom everyone praises and says "good" to? I wonder if the elders of the Heavenly Sect will be so angry they'll vomit blood when they find out.

"Pfft!" Xu Qi'an couldn't help but burst out laughing this time.

He felt that Number Two was flawed from head to toe.

The female ghost glared at him. "Master, is there anything else you want to ask? Once you've asked, please release me quickly."

Was Zhou Min killed by Yang Chuannan?

"I don't know."

Was Li Miaozhen involved in this matter?

"I know that, it's definitely not true, I've always stayed by my master's side."

Su Su's words lacked evidence, but Xu Qi'an chose to believe them. Based on feedback from the Earth Book chat group, Number Two was a partner of justice and a trustworthy person.

However, whether Commander Yang Chuannan is a wolf or a good one remains to be verified.

"Li Miaozhen's cultivation level."

Fifth rank.

What was the fifth rank of the Daoist School again? Xu Qi'an nodded. "She sent you to seduce me. What are your plans afterward? Hmm, I mean in that respect. Will you also use illusions to bewitch me?"

Su Su immediately gave a knowing look, and said with a grin, "Young master, my physical body has long since perished, so I can no longer enjoy the pleasures of love with you. But I can possess a woman's body. If you see a woman you like on the street, just give the order, and I'll possess her, hehehe."

"I'm not that kind of person," Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice. "Also, what is her relationship with Yang Chuannan?"

"Several months ago, the Commander-in-Chief and my master fought together to suppress bandits, and they became very close."

Xu Qi'an, no longer a novice in officialdom, immediately guessed Yang Chuan's true intention in suppressing the bandits in the south—to deal with the Capital Evaluation.

"One last question."

"Please speak, sir."

"Interested in following me?" Xu Qi'an asked, then added, "Whether we can have sexual relations or not is irrelevant; the main thing is that your possession ability is quite good."

The graceful and charming Miss Susu immediately adopted a submissive posture, saying, "This humble servant is willing to follow you, young master. Please, young master, remove the seal."

"Very good!" Xu Qi'an picked up the lid of the wine pot. "From now on, you'll stay with me; this wine pot is your home."

"Young master, please break the seal! Young master, you stinking man, I'll drain you dry sooner or later!"

As the lid was put back on the kettle, Su Su's voice disappeared, and the Yin Qi in the room vanished completely.

The capital city, the Nightwatchers's office.

The sun was shining warmly. Wei Yuan, dressed in a blue robe, was bent over his desk reading memorials. Nangong Qianrou, Zhang Kaitai, and six other officials stood silently in the room with their heads down.

Wei Yuan didn't even look up, and said indifferently, "It seems that life in the capital is still too comfortable. The twelve secret reports sent back from the Northeast were intercepted by the Witch God Cult."

"How do you officials train your subordinates? Staying in the capital is too tedious; the borderlands need you just the right place."

Even in the rage of the Grand Eunuch, he maintained a calm and composed demeanor, as if nothing in the world could cause him to lose his composure.

The six golden gongs hung their heads and remained silent, like children who had done something wrong in front of Wei Yuan, not daring to argue or speak.

"Ta-da!"

Footsteps sounded on the stairs. A clerk in black, carrying a letter in both hands, hurried in, stopped in front of the desk, and bowed, saying:

"Duke Wei, there is an urgent secret letter from Yunzhou."

The Great Feng Dynasty had a well-developed post road system. In addition to regular horses, there was a strange beast called the Fire Feather Beast that served as its mount. This beast originated from the Southern Frontier, belonged to the Demon Race, and was gentle in nature and good at running.

They can easily travel a thousand miles a day.

However, its reproductive capacity was weak and it was extremely expensive to cultivate, so it could not be widely used and was only used for delivering messages along postal routes.

Wei Yuan used a paper cutter to cut open the letter, unfolded the paper, and read it intently.

The secret letter was delivered by Jiang Luzhong, informing Wei Yuan that the governor's entourage had arrived at the border of Yunzhou. The letter also mentioned that shortly after they entered Yunzhou, they had fortuitous opportunity chance rescued Zhou Min's mistress, Yang Yingying, and obtained a crucial clue.

Then, at the end of the letter, something was mentioned:

"Xu Qi'an is already attempting to break through to the Spirit Refining Realm, and his advancement is imminent. However, I have discovered that he is simultaneously practicing two visualization techniques. One of them comes from the government office; I wonder if it was given to him by Duke Wei? The other visualization technique is the Buddhist School Lion's Roar. He has mastered both of them."

"I have a question that I do not understand, and I would like to ask Duke Wei to enlighten me. I remember that before a martial artist in the Qi Refining Realm Spirit Refining Realm, he already finds it extremely difficult to visualize just one diagram. This is because firstly, the strength of the Primordial Spirit is limited, and secondly, practicing multiple diagrams at the same time can cause confusion, leading to mental disorder."

"Back then, I myself had been in the Spirit Refining Realm for quite some time before I could visualize multiple diagrams simultaneously. The other Golden Gongs in the yamen were the same. So why is Xu Qi'an so unique, able to visualize two diagrams while still in the Qi Refining Realm? I have never heard of such a thing before and find it hard to believe, so I did not make this public."

Xu Qi'an was already attempting to break through to the Spirit Refining Realm. Xu Qi'an was visualizing Wei Yuan, who remained unfazed even when mountains collapsed before him, and his gaze suddenly froze.

The six Golden Gongs noticed the change in Wei Yuan's expression, and they all looked up, their hearts tightening as if facing a formidable enemy.

This secret letter likely contains some important information, and it's probably not good news.

Otherwise, why would Duke Wei have lost his composure?

At this moment, they heard Wei Yuan exhale, muttering to himself in a tone that sounded like a sigh or a lament:

"Less than two months"