Number Two, well done

Is it a coincidence that we share the same dream?

Xu Qi'an thought of the Witch God Cult, which had the ability to enter dreams. Invading Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng's dreams was a basic skill.

This is very simple reasoning.

Xu Qi'an couldn't understand was why the people of the Witch God Cult were interrogating Liang Youping about his whereabouts in his dream.

Isn't Liang Youping a member of the Qi faction? Isn't the Qi faction colluding with the Witch God Cult? Shouldn't they be in cahoots?

"What's wrong with you?"

Song Tingfeng noticed that his colleague's expression was off and asked him with concern.

"It's like an old-fashioned layered cake," Xu Qi'an murmured.

"What do you mean? Do you want some pancakes?" Zhu Guangxiao waited for his reply. If Xu Ningyan answered yes, he would go and tell the courier to prepare a midnight snack.

Xu Qi'an did not answer, but left the room and knocked on the door of the silver gong in the next room.

"Zhao Yinluo, did you sleep well last night?" Xu Qi'an asked.

The silver-gong-wielding man surnamed Zhao scrutinized him displeasedly and replied, "It's good that you're not bothering me."

Did you have any dreams?

"How did you know?" Zhao Yinluo was taken aback.

Xu Qi'an's expression immediately turned serious, and he pressed, "What did you dream about?"

"I dreamt of the courtesans from the Imperial Academy of Music. Sigh, I've been in Yunzhou for so long, and I haven't even touched a woman's hand. It's unbearable."

"Excuse me, goodbye!"

He then knocked on the doors of the Tongluo and Hubenwei guards' rooms, pulled out more than a dozen men, and found that they were not dreaming. In the entire post station, only Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng were interrogated in their dreams.

How pitiful! Not only did she develop PTSD, but she was also imprisoned and interrogated in a dark room in her dream. (Image file: [image file name - likely a file name])

They were the ones who ran into all the bad things. Xu Qi'an looked at his two colleagues with pity once again.

"Your gaze makes me very uncomfortable. If you keep looking at me like that, we can't be brothers anymore," Song Tingfeng said in a deep voice.

We are father and son.

After Xu Qi'an finished speaking, he saw Song Tingfeng holding a stool and about to hit him, so he quickly apologized. "I was wrong, I was wrong, you go to the side first, I want to be alone."

"What happened?" Zhu Guangxiao asked.

"Let me sort out my thoughts." Xu Qi'an waved his hand.

Only Zhu Guangxiao and Song Tingfeng were interrogated in the dream, and the question was about Liang Youping's whereabouts. Obviously, the reason was that we had been to the black market and obtained the ledger from Liang Youping. As for why I wasn't interrogated, the reason is simple: I was working myself to the bone to cultivate immortality!

No, no, my brain is getting more and more foggy. I can't shoulder all this alone. I have to get Governor Zhang and Jiang Luzhong involved in this brainstorming too. Xu Qi'an immediately went out to find Governor Zhang.

As Li Miaozhen passed by the room where Yang Chuannan was being held, she happened to be coming out with Jiang Luzhong, followed by the beautiful female ghost Su Su.

She just "visited" Yang Chuannan.

"General Li, are you leaving?" Xu Qi'an went to greet him.

Li Miaozhen nodded. Although the case was shrouded in mystery, the governor had promised to do everything in his power to find out the truth, so Yang Chuannan still had a glimmer of hope.

She came to the post station hoping for a glimmer of hope, so that her friendship with Yang Chuannan wouldn't be in vain.

Allowing the Flying Swallow Army into the city was also a way to exert pressure and serve as a bargaining chip, not a genuine intention to destroy everything.

"Heh, you probably can't leave!" Xu Qi'an joked.

Li Miaozhen was taken aback and squinted at him.

Su Su scolded playfully, "Master, if this brat tries anything against you, Su Su will beat him up for you!"

After saying that, she was about to spray Xu Qi'an to death with "salt soda", but before she could exhale a breath of Yin Qi, it was blocked by Li Miaozhen.

"You're just looking for an excuse to get revenge, aren't you?" Li Miaozhen glanced at her, then turned and asked, "What is it?"

"Don't rush off, the second half has started. I've just gotten some new clues." Xu Qi'an pinched the bridge of his nose.

Jiang Luzhong raised an eyebrow, surprised, and asked, "What did you remember?"

The three of them entered Governor Zhang's room together. Governor Zhang was almost fifty years old, quite an old man. However, because of the existence of the Bureau of Astronomy Warlock, the scholar-official class in this world had a relatively long lifespan, and could enjoy cancer, a longevity disease, just like Xu Qi'an in his previous life.

Governor Zhang was just about to go to sleep when he had no choice but to get up and get dressed.

Only then did he instruct his servant to open the door.

"It's late. What can't you discuss tomorrow?" Governor Zhang rubbed his temples. "I'm just an ordinary man; I don't have the energy of you bunch of warriors."

Li Miaozhen instinctively retorted, "I'm not a martial artist."

Xu Qi'an and Jiang Luzhong gave her a "cold" sidelong glance.

Governor Zhang waved his hand impatiently, saying, "Speak your mind, then get out of here."

Scholars are very health-conscious, and the act of working themselves to the bone and staying up all night is simply a waste of life.

Li Miaozhen and Jiang Luzhong both looked at Xu Qi'an.

"Well, it's that kid again." Governor Zhang looked at Xu Qi'an helplessly.

There's something I think you guys should know.

Under the watchful Xu Qi'an slowly spoke, recounting how Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao had been tortured in their dreams.

"Indeed, it's a tactic of the Witch God Cult," Jiang Luzhong confirmed.

Li Miaozhen nodded in agreement, then looked at Xu Qi'an: "The reason you weren't interrogated is because you didn't sleep while attempting to break through to the Spirit Refining Realm?"

"Hold head high."

"The Witch God Cult is also looking for Liang Youping?" Governor Zhang struggled to process this news, momentarily bewildered. "Isn't Liang Youping a member of the Qi Party?"

The Qi faction and the Witch God Cult are in cahoots.

Li Miaozhen stared blankly at the dim candlelight on the candlestick for a moment, lost in thought. "Could it be that we guessed wrong, and Liang Youping isn't a member of the Qi faction, and that he didn't hand over the account books to us to frame Lord Yang?"

Jiang Luzhong felt a headache coming on; if that were the case, the case would be far too complicated.

"You told us that Liang Youping is a member of the Qi faction, not that we guessed," Xu Qi'an glanced at her and said again.

"Furthermore, if Liang Youping is not a member of the Qi faction, then many of the logics don't hold up. I personally lean towards the conclusion that he is a member of the Qi faction, and our previous reasoning is sound."

"Then how do you explain the Witch God Cult seeking him out?" Li Miaozhen frowned.

This girl's IQ is just average; she's not stupid, but she's not particularly smart either. If Huaiqing were here, my stress would be much less. Number Four would also work; Number Four is very good at making connections.

The four discussed for a while, but came up with no new insights. Governor Zhang was feeling a bit tired, and he also had to go to the Commandery the next day, so it wasn't a good time to stay up late. Jiang Luzhong and Li Miaozhen weren't good at reasoning, Xu Qi'an's brain was about to explode.

We had no choice but to abandon the plan for now and discuss it another day.

"Your Excellency, I will stay here tonight," Li Miaozhen requested.

Governor Zhang readily agreed, saying that the post station was the main base, with the Golden Gong and Silver Gong in charge, so he wasn't afraid that Li Miaozhen would do anything unwise.

Li Miaozhen gave Xu Qi'an a deep look.

Back in the room, Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao were still there, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Why didn't you two leave?

"Waiting for your message."

"No news. Get out of here! Go back to your room and Qi Refinement. And remember, don't sleep tonight."

After shooing away his two colleagues, Xu Qi'an carried the wooden tub downstairs and took a cold bath in the public bathhouse, which immediately made him feel much more refreshed.

I reached for my handkerchief, only to find it was gone.

"Are you looking for this?" A sweet voice came from behind, and a hand reached out, revealing a section of fair and delicate arm from within the wide white sleeve.

"Miss Su, men and women shouldn't touch each other." Xu Qi'an didn't take the handkerchief or turn around; he was somewhat angry.

It wasn't because she felt embarrassed about having a woman watching her bath. But the paper figure seemed oblivious and insisted on appearing at this moment.

"Men and women should not touch each other?"

The girl in the white dress moved to the edge of the bathtub, and, using the faint moonlight streaming in from the window, glanced down at the clear water, saying sarcastically:

"I have no interest in bean sprouts."

Xu Qi'an tossed his handkerchief into the water, using it as a mosaic to block the female ghost's aggressive gaze, and said calmly, "Miss Su, have you ever heard a saying?"

Su Su tilted her head to look at him.

"The testicles are too cold to handle."

"It's lonely at the top?" Su Su didn't understand what he meant by that.

Playing with memes in this world is also a kind of lonely high place. Hmm, puns are punishable by imprisonment. Xu Qi'an lost interest in teasing the female ghost, his tone impatient:

"Get to the point! I've been soaking in cold water for ages, I'm going to catch a cold."

"Can even Qi Refining Realm martial artist catch a cold?" Su Su chuckled a few times, sitting confidently on the edge of the bathtub, her eyes bright.

"Was what you said before true? You weren't lying to people?"

Xu Qi'an knew what she meant and immediately offered a rosy promise, "Of course, a real man keeps his word. Have you thought about eloping with me?"

"What 'elope'? That sounds awful." Su Su's voice was soft and gentle. She rolled her eyes at him and bargained, "I can do three things for you, and in return, I'll give you a new body, okay?"

What can a weak female ghost like you do for me? You just want to freeload off me, pshaw, woman!

Xu Qi'an flatly refused. "No way."

Please, please.

Even if you try to seduce me, I won't fall for it.

"Ha, you'd better take a look at it first before saying that."

"Fine, but I don't want you to do three things. Here's another request: Now that you have a new body, be my concubine for a few years."

That's complete nonsense, because Song Qing doesn't have that skill at all. Talking to her about physical intimacy is just a way to trick her into going back to the capital with him.

"I'm still a virgin," Su Su said shyly.

"Yes, every time you change to a different paper figure, you become a virgin," Xu Qi'an said.

"They were talking about before she died," she sighed, sitting on the edge of the bathtub, looking down at her beautiful reflection in the water.

"When she was alive, she was the daughter of a wealthy family. That year, when I was eighteen, my father arranged a marriage for me. My future husband was a scholar, handsome and polite. I was happily waiting to get married in my boudoir."

"But who would have thought that the following spring, Father was implicated in a major case and beheaded by the dog emperor. The women in the family were supposed to be sent to the Imperial Academy of Music, but Mother, unwilling to let us live in such humiliation, brewed a pot of chicken soup laced with arsenic."

"I remember I had a younger brother who happened to be studying away from home at the time and escaped the calamity. After I died, my obsession lingered, and I wandered around the mass grave for several days. Just when I was about to dissipate, I unexpectedly encountered a master from the Heavenly Sect. He said I was a unique spirit, one in ten thousand, and took me away."

"I stayed in the Heavenly Sect for over twenty years, watching my master being carried up the mountain as a helpless infant and growing up little by little."

Xu Qi'an, who had been listening with great interest, suddenly noticed a crucial point, and his voice turned shrill, "What? You've been dead for over twenty years!"

Su Su twisted her waist and said, "In terms of age, she could be your mother."

"Mother!"

"You shameless person." Su Su was a little shy. Before she died, she was still a virgin. Although after becoming a ghost, she was often ordered by her unscrupulous master to seduce men, but at most she was just showing off her charms. After all, ghosts don't have a physical body.

The mileage figures are all fake.

Why are you telling me all this?

"I have two long-cherished wishes. One is to see my younger brother again, to see him in his physical form, just like back then. The other is to find out the truth about the case that my father was involved in."

In the bathtub, cold water rippled, reflecting the moonlight and shimmering on her face.

Xu Qi'an felt a long-lost flutter in his heart, the kind of flutter a man would feel when he sees a stunningly beautiful woman, or more accurately, a surge of hormones.

"What, your father was wronged? Then come with me. If you come with me, I'll help you investigate the case. Is there anyone in the world who knows more about investigating cases than me?" Xu Qi'an thought this female ghost was blind.

"I don't remember." Su Su shook her head. "I don't remember anything about what happened back then. I don't even know why my family died."

"After all, it's been over twenty years."

Su Su shook her head again. "My master's master asked a highly Sorcerer System to tell my fortune, but he couldn't figure it out. The fortune teller said it was related to the Bureau of Astronomy."

This sentence contained so much information that Xu Qi'an was stunned for a long time.

Li Miaozhen's master knew people from the Witchcraft Cult? Hmm, practicing the Sorcerer System doesn't necessarily mean one is from the Witchcraft Cult; it could also be Rogue Cultivator Sorcerer System. A sixth-rank witchcraft practitioner skilled in divination is also called a fortune teller. How did a mere female ghost get involved with the Bureau of Astronomy?

Wait a minute, if the fortune teller is skilled at divination, why didn't he find out where Liang Youping was, but instead saw Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao in his dream?

"Hello!"

Su Su puffed out her cheeks angrily, "I'm talking to you."

Xu Qi'an frowned. "I'm listening."

Su Su pouted, "That's just how it is. If you can create a living, breathing body for me, what's wrong with being your concubine? If I'm in a good mood, I can even give you a big, healthy son."

"Buy one get one free, thanks." Xu Qi'an rolled his eyes.

Having finally driven Su Su away, Xu Qi'an felt a little guilty about deceiving the ghost, ultimately giving her false hope.

However, he decided to make amends to Su Su in the investigation, and after returning to Beijing, he would do his best to investigate.

"Men who are too soft-hearted." Xu Qi'an sat cross-legged on the bed, intending to relieve his fatigue through visualization and breathing exercises, and pull himself back from the brink of sudden death.

But at that moment, he suddenly felt a pang of heart palpitation and nearly died on the spot.

"Damn it!" Xu Qi'an cursed as he pulled a small jade mirror from under his pillow.

[Second: Sorry to bother you all so late at night, I've encountered some difficulties in Yunzhou and would like to ask for your help.]

Although Number Two wasn't exceptionally intelligent, she knew how to utilize available resources. Aside from Number Five, everyone else in the Earth Book chat group was quite smart; even the seemingly vengeful Master Hengyuan was actually a clever person. If it weren't for my status, the students of the Cloud Deer Academy wouldn't know the details of the Yunzhou case and would have already sought help from the Heaven and Earth Society members through the Earth Book fragments. Xu Qi'an could only say: Number Two, well done.

P. S.: I checked the comments section this morning and saw that some people were waiting for an update in the middle of the night. I was completely baffled.

At the end of the last chapter, what I meant was that the reason that chapter was short was to update before midnight. If it were too long, the update time would be after midnight. It didn't mean that I would update another chapter after midnight.

Pay attention, everyone! Read the question carefully!!!

However, even though you misunderstood me, what can I do? I'm an author who spoils my readers.

Seeing so many people waiting makes me feel guilty. I typed this chapter on the subway. I didn't even have time for breakfast. I'm finally done. So there might be typos. I'll correct them when I get home from get off work tonight and have time.