Hidden threads

Xu Qi'an's face froze, his heart churning as if a tsunami had struck, bringing a tremendous shock.

At that moment, his brain seemed to be electrified, countless pheromones surged, all sorts of things flashed through his mind, and many details that he had never paid attention to before began to churn and surface.

"I never thought the involvement of Warlock in the tax evasion case was suspicious. So, it turns out the tax evasion case was aimed at me?"

Xu Qi'an felt a chill run down his spine.

Let's review the Xu Household's situation in the tax and silver case.

Xu Pingzhi failed in protecting the silver, resulting in the loss of 150,000 taels of silver. Emperor Yuanjing decreed that Xu Pingzhi beheaded and his three male relatives be exiled to the frontier, while the female relatives be sent to the Imperial Academy of Music).

In other words, without his time travel and his heroic efforts to solve the tax fraud case, Xu Qi'an's fate would have been exile.

Exiled to the frontier, then to reclaim the fortune within me?

"I used to think that my luck would recover as my rank increased, that I could pick up one coin at the ninth rank, three coins at the eighth rank, and five coins at the seventh rank."

"Thinking about it now, that's not how it happened at all. I started collecting silver after I got out of prison, and at that time I was still only at the Essence Refining Realm. So why didn't the original owner of this Xu Qi'an, collect silver?"

"The truth is, the fortune hidden within me began to revive during that period, so the mastermind behind it all orchestrated the tax silver case to 'get' me out of the capital."

"There's a logical flaw here. To get me out of the capital, there's no need for all this trouble. Just kidnap me. With the Superintendent in charge, the mastermind behind the scenes doesn't dare to enter the capital because any Law Technique that conceals one's aura is ineffective against a first-rank Warlock."

"But kidnapping a Kuaishou from Changle County doesn't even require the mastermind to personally intervene; a few punk-style blond guys could take me away."

"Unless... my unexplained disappearance leads to some uncontrollable consequences, and therefore, it becomes necessary to use the tax and silver case to justify my departure from Beijing?"

"But I'm just an ordinary Kuaishou user. If I disappear, I just disappear. Who would care? It's still the same question: why did luck fall on me?"

Xu Qi'an had a flash of inspiration and remembered Lina's words, "When Granny Tian Gu learned that I was in the capital, she showed great shock and incomprehension. Now I know why the luck is on me."

"The two thieves stole the good fortune and secretly hid it in the body of a newborn baby in the capital. According to normal thinking, if something is stolen, it must be taken away. How could it still be left at home? This is where the blind spot lies."

"Did the two thieves use this trick to fool the supervising sorcerer, a first-rank Warlock?"

Xu Qi'an pinched the bridge of his nose and summarized on the Xuan paper. "Why is my luck hidden within me? It could be a coincidence, or it could have another purpose. I remain skeptical."

"After my fortunes recovered, the Supervisor noticed me and began to plot against me, regarding me as an important pawn."

"The Warlock who appeared in the Yunzhou case are most likely connected to the mastermind behind it all."

As he wrote this, Xu Qi'an suddenly froze, a question flashing through his mind: In the Yunzhou case, I had already left the capital and escaped the surveillance of the supervisor, so why didn't the mysterious Warlock abduct me?

This is yet another logical flaw.

He pressed his aching head, deciding to stop thinking about it and wait until his Primordial Spirit was fully recovered before carefully considering and reviewing the situation again.

Xu Qi'an shifted his attention to the words "Gu God's Revival, Doomsday".

"The prophets of the Heavenly Gu Clan predict that the Gu God will eventually revive, turning the world into a world only of Gu. This doesn't make sense. Although the Gu God is an existence beyond rank, it is not invincible."

In the West there is Buddha, in the Northeast there is a shaman god, as well as a Daoist master whose whereabouts are unknown, and a Confucian sage who claims to have passed away.

Leaving aside the latter two, the Buddha and the Witch God alone should be able to easily defeat a Gu God.

"But the prophecy of the Heavenly Gu Clan cannot be false, which means there are still secrets I don't know about. The Gu God is the only surviving Gods and Devils from the ancient era. I suddenly realized a key point: in the ancient era, there must have been more than just the Gu God as a Gods and Devils who surpassed the level."

"But why was only the Gu God the one who survived in the end? Could this be the reason why the Gu God brought about the end of the world? So, the former leader of the Heavenly Gu Clan chose to steal the destiny and suppress the Gu God in order to keep it asleep."

Xu Qi'an's eyes widened suddenly, as if a thunderbolt had exploded in his ears. A forgotten detail flashed into his mind.

Lina No. 5 once mentioned in a fragment of the Earth Book that the Gu Clan discovered a sculpture of Confucian School sage during their exploration of the Abyss.

"The Confucian sage sculpture is suspected of suppressing the Gu God. The Confucian School system is related to destiny. The leader of the Heavenly Gu Clan drew inspiration from that sculpture in the Abyss, and thus plotted to seize the destiny of the Great Feng Dynasty?"

So that's how it was. Xu Qi'an let out a long breath, feeling that he had deduced part of the truth about what happened back then.

"The former leader of the Heavenly Gu Tribe did this to suppress the Gu God, but what is the mysterious Warlock group after? I don't want to think about it anymore, it gives me a headache. It's true that being an idiot is the happiest thing," Xu Qi'an said self-deprecatingly.

Unable to sleep due to the pain in his Primordial Spirit, Xu Qi'an decided to go to the Nightwatchers's office to investigate the trigger for the Battle of Shanhai Pass and the files of Zhou Xianping, the former Ministry of Revenue.

Zhou Xianping orchestrated the tax silver case, and he is definitely connected to the mysterious Warlock.

Upon leaving the room, he saw Li Miaozhen holding a porcelain bowl in one hand and Xuan paper in the other. The Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect coldly snorted:

"Why are you poking Su Su? Luckily, she's just a paper doll. If she were a decent, respectable woman..."

"Then I have to take responsibility for her?"

"No, I'll chop off your claws."

"."

"Chop off my claws? My claws aren't as strong as Monk Shenshu's; once they're broken, they can't be reattached." Xu Qi'an thought to himself, then suddenly, he froze.

A god, the monk Shenshu? I was able to return safely from Yunzhou because I have the monk Shenshu inside me? This made the mastermind behind the scenes wary, afraid to act directly for fear of incurring the backlash of the monk Shenshu. Yes, the mastermind behind the scenes must have observed me closely when they were in Yunzhou and discovered the existence of the monk Shenshu inside me.

The Supervisor, he had it all planned out long ago? After seeing through my destiny, he began plotting and scheming. That's why he turned a blind eye to the schemes of the remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons, knowing that the Divine Monk would inevitably parasitize my body. Was this also the "bodyguard" he chose for me?

Through the monk Shenshu, I firmly stabilized my fortune within my body, preventing the mastermind behind the scenes from taking it back.

"The supervisor is terrifying," Xu Qi'an shuddered.

He truly witnessed what a wise strategist's planning and subtle foreshadowing meant.

Upon arriving at the front hall, I saw a beautiful young woman in a yellow dress, Chu Caiwei, with an oval face and big eyes.

The round table was laden with various pastries, desserts, and meats—enough for five or six strong men to have a hearty meal. Sitting at the table, devouring them, were three females who appeared delicate but actually had an unusually large appetite.

Chu Caiwei, Lina, Xu Lingyin.

"Miss Caiwei, it's been a long time." Xu Qi'an greeted her. This girl hasn't appeared in so many chapters! Ever since you, Fifth Senior Sister, came along, I've been thinking about breaking up with you.

The three females looked over at the same time, their eyes revealing the instinct to protect their food, an instinct ingrained in their genes.

"I often come to the Xu Residence, but you're always at the yamen during the day, so you don't see me," Chu Caiwei replied indistinctly, her cheeks puffed out as she chewed her food.

As for after dusk, she, an unmarried girl, certainly couldn't stay in someone else's house.

Lina continued, "I get along very well with Caiwei."

Xu Lingyin shouted, "Me too! Me too!"

"Agreeable? Is it a coincidence of being on the same intellectual level, or a coincidence of sharing a love of food?" Xu Qi'an thought to himself. Seeing how wary the three females were of him, he wisely refrained from going into the hall to ask for food.

Honestly, I only ate one chicken leg for lunch, and I even shared half with Xu Lingyin. He left the Xu Residence, mounted his beloved little mare, and hurried towards the yamen.

The mare is becoming increasingly magnificent, eating top-quality feed like a warhorse every day, conserving her energy, resulting in a bright coat and excellent curves.

Upon arriving at the Nightwatchers's office, Xu Qi'an first went back to "Yi Dao Tang" and instructed his men to patrol the streets and not to slack off.

The subordinates sighed, "Boss, you're always so inactive, and Yang Jinluo never complains. If it were us, we'd be fired long ago."

Xu Qi'an said with a stern face, "Enough nonsense, get to work."

The gong players weren't afraid of him at all, and they joked around with him.

A boy of about seventeen years old, speaking timidly, said, "Boss, listen, I heard you're a regular at the Imperial Academy of Music Imperial Academy of Music). I'd like to invite you there tonight."

The other gongs laughed, "Boss, this kid wants you to show him the way. He's still a virgin; he just broke through to the Qi Refining Realm at the end of last year and joined the government."

Hearing this, Xu Qi'an felt somewhat ashamed, as he hadn't paid much attention to his subordinates' gongs.

"Alright, I'll take you there after your shift ends, it's on me. With your meager salary, you're hardly qualified to patronize the Imperial Academy of Music. Follow me, and you'll be a freeloader for life."

Xu Qi'an patted him on the shoulder.

The gong players cheered, feeling they had chosen the right person to follow. There wasn't a single gold or silver gong player in the yamen; only their leader had such prestige.

Xu Qi'an sighed with emotion. In this era that did not advocate free love, people either had to arrange their marriage at an early age or spend money in Imperial Academy of Music or entertainment venues.

I couldn't help but think of a brother I knew from my school days in a past life. He also lost his virginity to a woman similar to that. According to that brother, back then he was a passionate young man, carrying his suitcase to register for school.

It was noon, and I was starving. As I exited the train station, a woman approached me and asked, "Want some fast food?"

That day marked the beginning of a completely new phase in his life.

He has grown up.

The Class D archives did not contain files on Zhou Xianping, the former Ministry of Revenue, Xu Qi'an found the relevant files in the Class B archives.

"Logically speaking, the case file of a corrupt and disgraced Ministry of Revenue of the Ministry of Revenue shouldn't be at such a high level."

Only those with the authority to access Class B archives have the right to do so. However, Xu Qi'an's status is so special that, except for Class A archives which require Wei Yuan's handwritten notes, the materials in Class B archives are completely accessible to him.

After reviewing Zhou Xianping's file, Xu Qi'an finally understood why it was classified as a Class B file.

"According to the government's investigation, Zhou Xianping, the former Ministry of Revenue, embezzled as much as two million taels of silver over the past twenty years. However, when his home was searched, only a few thousand taels of silver were found. Where did all that silver go?"

Even if one indulged in sensual pleasures for twenty years, in this era of low prices, one still couldn't possibly spend two million taels of silver.

"Zhou Xianping, the Ministry of Revenue, died en route to exile; he was most likely silenced."

Xu Qi'an stared at the file, speechless for a long time.

"The mastermind behind this has a certain influence on the court, and there's no doubt that Vice Minister Zhou is one of his men. Besides Vice Minister Zhou, are there any other traitors? If so, who would it be?"

Closing the file, his mind once again exhausted, he wearily rubbed his temples, feeling an unprecedented pressure.

"I can't keep drifting along like this. Listening to music in brothels has ruined me. It turns out that the supervisor has been shielding me from the raging undercurrents all along; my real situation is terrible."

"No matter who the other party is, he will definitely take back the fortune within me. I can't just sit here and wait to die. Hmm, there is still a bit of fortune from the jade seal within me. This is from that Daoist priest in the ancient tomb."

"Would he just stand by and watch the mysterious Warlock steal his fortune? However, we can't place our hopes on an ancient human whose fate is unknown."

"Let's set a small goal first: within two years, raise my rank by at least one level and gain greater power. Although the Great Feng is weak, it still has a wealth of talent, including the Supervisor, Wei Yuan, the civil officials of the old silver coins, and millions of troops. These are the things I can rely on."

"My second goal is to be promoted to the fourth rank by the end of the year. Strength is my greatest asset; only with strength can I transform from a pawn into a player."

Xu Qi'an let out a breath, summoned the officials, and said, "Bring me all the files related to the Battle of Shanhai Pass."

The clerk brought over a thick stack of documents.

Xu Qi'an read ten lines at a glance, taking half an hour to finish. The file recorded that the trigger for the Battle of Shanhai Pass was a conspiracy between the southern and northern barbarians to encroach on the territory of the Great Feng.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Great Feng hurriedly called his big brother in the west, and together they defeated the northern and southern barbarian tribes.

But Xu Qi'an knew things weren't that simple, because the Demon Race and the Witch God Cult were involved in the Battle of Shanhai Pass, making it a chaotic war that swept across all forces in the Nine Provinces.

The opponents are: the barbarian tribes of the North and South, the Demon Race of the North, the remnants of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons, and the Witch God Cult.

Great Feng and Xi Fo won a 2v5 match.

This is like a Kyushu version of World War I! Such a massive war couldn't have been without reason. Wait, it seems like the First World War in my past life just started out of nowhere?

That's not the point. Xu Qi'an joked to himself.

"Am I stupid? I should just talk to my dad about this. Why am I getting stuck on this problem all by myself?"

After pondering for a long time, Xu Qi'an slapped his forehead, gave up thinking, left the archives, and headed to the Haoqi Tower.

PS: Thanks to "Happy Things in the World" for the 5000+ reward. Thanks to "calvinye96" for the reward.

I have a guild leader group, group number: 565184800.