Astonishment

Sure enough, the so-called "evidence" was found by Xu Qi'an.

For some reason, Li Miaozhen wasn't surprised by the result; she simply glanced coldly at the female ghost Su Su beside her.

Su Su pretended not to see and focused intently on playing with a strand of her hair.

The female ghost was also confused. She insisted that she hadn't been lazy, but the facts were right in front of her. This little gong had obtained the evidence right under her nose.

Li Miaozhen took a deep breath. "Your Excellency, there are hidden details in this case."

Governor Zhang waved his hand, interrupting her, and said in a nonchalant tone, "General Li, you are merely a cavalry general and not a member of the court. You have no right to interfere in the affairs of the court."

"I have granted you entry to the post station because I admire your meritorious service in suppressing bandits and respect your actions."

"Cough cough!"

Xu Qi'an coughed loudly, drawing the attention of the three people present. "Your Excellency, why don't you listen to what she has to say?"

He believes that while the second person's support for Yang Chuannan may be influenced by personal feelings, she is not blindly ignorant. Therefore, he would like to hear her perspective.

Governor Zhang and Jiang Luzhong exchanged a glance. "Agreed!"

Li Miaozhen nodded to Xu Qi'an, pondered for a few seconds, and said, "I have known Yang Chuannan for more than a year, and we have joined forces to suppress bandits several times. We have a very good relationship. But I am not someone who can't distinguish right from wrong, and I also understand the wickedness and fickleness of people's hearts."

"I trust Yang Chuannan, not only because of our time together and fighting side by side. After I learned through secret channels that the imperial court had sent an inspector to Yunzhou to investigate Yang Chuannan, I arranged for a ghost to keep an eye on him."

"Yang Chuannan did not receive the secret letter from the Qi Party at that time."

Upon hearing that a ghost was monitoring him, Jiang Luzhong raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know I was coming to Yunzhou to investigate Yang Chuannan?" Governor Zhang stared sharply at her.

"Reporting to Your Excellency the Governor, we also have a traitor among us, and that traitor is me," Xu Qi'an thought with shame.

The fragments of the Earth Book could travel thousands of miles with almost no delay, so it's perfectly reasonable that Li Miaozhen knew about it earlier than Yang Chuannan.

She listened to what Number Three said and began to monitor him.

Li Miaozhen bluntly stated, "This is my secret."

"Yang Chuannan is a fifth-rank martial artist. Your ghostly surveillance probably can't hide it from him." Xu Qi'an changed the subject guiltily, while thinking with a sigh, "Things have finally developed as I expected."

He informed Number Two about this in advance, hoping that Number Two would cooperate with their investigation. Although the relationship between Number Two and Yang Chuannan was beyond his expectations, the result was not bad.

"So what if he knows? As long as he remains within the ghost's sight, my goal is achieved," Li Miaozhen said.

Xu Qi'an nodded in agreement. Just like in his previous life, people could see that the roadside cameras were monitoring them, but they couldn't do anything about it unless they threw stones at them.

If Yang Chuannan had smashed the "surveillance camera" with a rock, Li Miaozhen wouldn't have supported him so strongly.

Does Yang Chuannan have a wife? Wouldn't the ghost have seen countless videos? Fortunately, Master Shenshu is asleep, otherwise I would have become the male lead in the domestic video. Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an's heart suddenly became complicated.

"That's it?" Jiang Luzhong pressed.

"I am a member of the Heavenly Sect," Li Miaozhen said, enunciating each word clearly. "I can see through Yang Chuannan's true nature."

What does that mean? Xu Qi'an noticed that Jiang Luzhong had fallen into deep thought and his brows were furrowed.

"The Heavenly Sect cultivates the Celestial Person, don't you already know that?" Li Miaozhen first glanced at the treacherous female ghost Su Su, then looked at Xu Qi'an.

The former lowered his head in shame, while the latter asked, "And then?"

Jiang Luzhong picked up the conversation and sighed, "To achieve Celestial Person, one must first transcend emotions, as the saying goes, 'Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things like straw dogs.' It is said that the higher the cultivation level of a Daoist priest in the Heavenly Sect, the more he resembles a stone man, devoid of joy, sorrow, emotion, and desire. Even if his own son dies, he will not feel the slightest sadness."

"I'll raise the child after I have it." Xu Qi'an glanced at Li Xu Qi'an subconsciously. The latter raised an eyebrow, sensing malice in Xiao Tongluo's eyes.

Jiang Luzhong continued, "To achieve Celestial Person, one must comprehend the changes in the laws of heaven and earth and integrate the myriad phenomena into oneself. The disciples of the Heavenly Sect understand the meaning of 'investigating things to acquire knowledge' better than any scholar."

"They have a very strong intuition about qualities such as good, evil, and greed."

Isn't this a human lie detector? No, a human lie detector is Warlock from the Bureau of Astronomy. Shouldn't the disciples of the Heavenly Sect be scum detectors? Xu Qi'an nodded in sudden realization, finally understanding why Li Miaozhen trusted Yang Chuannan so much.

"But the Bureau of Astronomy's Qi-Watching Technique still has its drawbacks, and yours..." Xu Qi'an said, choosing his words carefully.

"As a cultivator of the Heavenly Sect, one should have unwavering confidence in one's intuition," Li Miaozhen said calmly. This is a matter of one's Dao heart. If one doubts one's intuition, then one is doubting oneself, and sooner or later one will die from inner demons.

"Then test me, and see my character," Xu Qi'an said.

Li Miaozhen shook her head. "We haven't known each other long enough; it's a long process." She paused, then pouted, "Your character is written all over your face."

Hi, Mom.

Knowing that he was caught in the vortex of the Qi Party and the Witch God Cult, Yang Chuannan had been thinking about how to save himself. He investigated the Qi Party members within the Commandery and searched for evidence left behind by Zhou Min.

"If you can prove your innocence, that would be best. If not, destroy the so-called 'evidence' and protect yourself," Li Miaozhen frankly stated Yang Chuannan's plan.

That makes sense. If I were in that situation, I would definitely protect myself first and then investigate the case based on my abilities. Xu Qi'an nodded.

Governor Zhang squinted, recalling the subtle hostility Yang Chuannan had shown him along the way. In Yang's eyes, he, the governor, was there to cause trouble.

Xu Qi'an picked up his teacup, took a sip, and shook his head, saying, "General Li, words are not enough. We have evidence. Even if Yang Chuannan wasn't the mastermind, as the Commander-in-Chief, he must bear this responsibility."

When a problem occurs in any government department, the top official must take responsibility; this has been the rule since ancient times.

"Moreover, even the Qi-Watching Technique of the Bureau of Astronomy cannot be used as evidence, so your investigation of things and pursuit of knowledge will certainly not convince the court."

For officials of the fourth rank and above, the Qi-Watching Technique of the Bureau of Astronomy cannot be used as evidence, because the Qi-Watching Technique itself does not lie, but the Warlock can. Similarly, the Cultivation Method of the Daoist School Heavenly Sect do not lie, but Li Miaozhen can lie.

Xu Qi'an got up and walked to the female ghost Su Su's side, pinched her face, and her beautiful face immediately sunken in.

"What are you doing?" Su Su's face paled. No, her face contorted in shock.

"It really is made of paper." Xu Qi'an patted the beauty's shoulder. "Su Su, do you want a living body? Not the kind you possess, but a body without an owner."

"A dead man?" Su Su glanced at him sideways and sneered, "A departed body will only be used for a short time before it rots away."

"No, it's a truly ownerless body, without a soul," Xu Qi'an said.

Su Su looked incredulous.

"I'm an old acquaintance of Song Qing of the Bureau of Astronomy. He's engaged in life Alchemy, and his ultimate goal is to create a physical body that's no different from an ordinary person's. Moreover, he's recently made a major breakthrough," Xu Qi'an said seriously.

"Really? Really?"

It was probably the prestigious reputation of the Bureau of Astronomy that piqued Su Su's interest and sparked a certain longing in her.

"Of course it's true. As long as you choose to follow me, I can definitely get you a clean, unclaimed body. As for the issue of not being able to leave your master, I'll find another way."

Anyway, just lie and fool them; that's how you fool girls.

First, paint a rosy picture for them, envisioning the future and offering ample benefits and promises. Then, because of that unattainable promise, they will let you do whatever you want.

When they find out in the future that it was a lie, the deed is already done.

"Cough cough!"

Governor Zhang coughed, reminding Xiao Tongluo not to go off-topic; the matter of seducing the female ghost could be discussed later.

Xu Qi'an understood his leader's meaning, and having laid enough groundwork, he tentatively asked, "General Li, since you said that Yang Chuannan and you also secretly investigated the internal affairs of the Commander-in-Chief's Office, then, I wonder what clues you have?"

If not, please go back.

Li Miaozhen seemed to have already prepared her speech. In the candlelight, she lowered her head slightly, her long, curled eyelashes blocking the light, and shadows obscuring her beautiful eyes.

"Shortly after Zhou Min's death, I worked with Yang Chuannan to investigate the Military Commandery. We eventually identified a suspect, also a member of the Qi faction. But that person was very cunning; he seemed to sense the danger and disappeared before we could close in."

"That's like you didn't say anything at all. Aren't you supposed to be good at finding people? You even managed to find Zhou Baihu. "Xu Qi'an grumbled, shaking his head.

Governor Zhang frowned and asked, "Who is that person?"

"Like Zhou Min, I am an official in the Military Commandery, specifically in the Records Department, responsible for matters such as receiving and distributing goods in the warehouse," Li Miaozhen replied.

Verifying whether Li Miaozhen's words were true or false was actually quite simple, just like exposing Yang Yingying's lies back then. Xu Qi'an immediately asked:

"General Li, can you provide information such as his name, age, appearance, home address, and his relatives and friends?"

"Of course, but I don't have it with me. I'll send someone to deliver it to the post station tomorrow," Li Miaozhen said.

"As for this person's appearance, I can draw it for you."

Governor Zhang nodded and ordered someone to bring brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. Su Su, her face contorted in pain, obediently began grinding the ink. But it seemed her mind wasn't on the task at hand; she would glance at Xu Qi'an every now and then, then lower her head in deep thought.

After a cup of tea, Li Miaozhen finished painting the portrait.

This man was a thin, middle-aged man with sharp eyes.

The owner of the dog meat shop at No. 15, Ding, Huangbo Street.

PS: I'm done coding. I'll go back and fix the bugs and typos.