Heading north

Two reasons.

Wei Yuan put down his teacup and analyzed for his trusted confidant Yinluo, saying, "The governor represents the court and has great power. Even the Prince of Zhenbei is at most an equal. His Majesty does not want to find a governor to restrain the Prince of Zhenbei, either because of personal reasons or for the sake of the war situation."

"Appointing a silver-ranked official as the organizer would eliminate this problem."

Xu Qi'an frowned. "Wouldn't this restrict my ability to investigate cases?"

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "Everyone would be scrambling for a good job, otherwise why would the officials in the court recommend you? If the Prince of Zhenbei lies about military intelligence and tries to evade responsibility in the massacre of three thousand miles, it's fine if the official in charge can't find out, but if he does..."

If the truth comes out, will they be killed to silence him? Xu Qi'an felt a chill run down his spine.

"This is the second reason why you gentlemen recommended you," Wei Yuan said leisurely.

These old silver coins... Duke Wei doesn't seem worried at all? Xu Qi'an quickly asked, "What should I do?"

He had his own thoughts on this matter, but he was also willing to listen to the opinions of elders. Being good at adopting advice was a good habit.

"Play along while secretly investigating."

Wei Yuan gave eight words of advice, then said, "After you go to the north, remember not to act impulsively, and try not to clash with the Prince of Zhenbei's subordinates. Show weakness to the enemy, and you can lower their guard."

"If you can investigate secretly, never do it openly. If you find evidence that is detrimental to the Prince of Zhenbei, hide it and show it when you return to the capital. If you encounter an assassination attempt, the Prince of Zhenbei will most likely not take action himself. I will have Yang Yan accompany you."

"Your own strength is not weak, and you have already achieved a minor mastery of the Vajra Divine Skill, so there's nothing to worry about in this regard."

If the Prince of Zhenbei takes action personally, then no matter how many Golden Gongs are dispatched, it will probably be to no avail. Although I don't know exactly how strong a third-rank martial artist is, there is only one third-rank martial artist in the entire court, while there are countless fourth-rank ones. Xu Qi'an nodded and said:

"That's what I think too."

In truth, he wasn't afraid of being assassinated; what he feared was the Prince of Zhenbei personally intervening. In that case, he would have no choice but to risk everything to summon the monk Shenshu. Against a third-rank martial artist, the monk Shenshu would inevitably frantically absorb Essence Blood, inevitably killing innocent people, which was something Xu Qi'an did not want to see.

Moreover, afterwards, he would have to leave the country and could never return to the imperial court. This would make the mastermind overjoyed.

Wei Yuan continued, "You must find the right balance. If the situation turns unfavorable, you can drop the case. At most, you'll be held accountable after returning to the capital."

"I"

Xu Qi'an hesitated, the words "blood slaughter across three thousand miles" suddenly popping into his mind.

"If this is true, I... I will not give up, I will not turn a blind eye," he said in a low voice. Then Xu Qi'an added:

"But I will not act rashly, Duke Wei, please rest assured."

Wei Yuan gazed at him for a long while, his eyes filled with admiration, helplessness, and finally, relief, before saying, "We'll depart in three days. Use this time to prepare."

The Prince of Huai's Residence.

In the back garden, a hundred flowers bloom in profusion, bees buzz and flutter among the blossoms, and colorful butterflies dance and play.

A refreshing fragrance filled the air as the veiled princess, carrying a bamboo basket and trailing a long skirt, walked among the flowers.

A cluster of delicate, vibrant flowers lay in the bamboo basket.

She bent down, plucked a flower, brought it to her nose, and gently smelled it. Her eyes crinkled with delight.

It was mid-spring, and the princess, dressed in a brocade palace dress, had a graceful back, with ribbons outlining her slender waist, and her shoulders and neck were perfectly proportioned.

Strands of her dark hair, pulled back in a bun, cascaded down, revealing glimpses of her slender, snow-white neck.

Even just looking at her back and figure, she is stunningly beautiful. Such a woman, even if her facial features are not exceptionally beautiful, can still be regarded as a rare beauty by men.

Chu Xianglong, dressed in light armor, entered the back garden, his scale armor clanging as he walked.

He stopped, maintaining a respectful distance, and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "His Majesty has decreed that the Princess Consort must accompany the investigation team to the Northern Border in three days. Please prepare accordingly."

The princess's arched eyebrows gradually flattened, turning cold. She clenched her fist tightly around the flower branch, her knuckles turning white, and said indifferently, "Is there anything else? If not, then get out."

Chu Xianglong cupped his hands in greeting, then turned and left.

Upon learning that he would be departing for the northern border in three days, Xu Qi'an left the yamen, rode his mare home, found Li Miaozhen who was meditating, and said:

"Could you come with me to the Cloud Deer Academy?"

"I'm not going." Li Miaozhen refused with a heart of stone.

"Hey, you're not delicate or weak at all, you're too strong-willed." Xu Qi'an cupped his hands in greeting, "It's urgent."

Li Miaozhen looked over with her clear, deep eyes, waiting for what would happen next.

"Do you remember that case you discovered? The case of the massacre that ravaged three thousand miles?" Xu Qi'an walked into the house, took off his sword and placed it on the table, poured himself a glass of water, and explained:

"The imperial court has appointed me as the chief investigator. Three days later, I will lead a delegation to the northern border to thoroughly investigate this case."

Li Miaozhen instantly perked up, changed from sitting cross-legged to sitting upright, and said, "I will go with you."

Alas, the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect is so eager to help others; I wonder if she is committing a sin. Xu Qi'an pondered and said, "The imperial court has its own rules. You have no official position and cannot participate in this case."

"How about this, you can go ahead first, and we'll meet in the North and communicate using the Earth Book."

He came to Li Miaozhen to discuss this matter, in order to invite the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect to participate. No, he didn't even need to ask her; given Li Miaozhen's righteous and indignant nature, she would definitely take the initiative to participate.

With a fourth- Daoist School priest secretly assisting, the chances of solving the case will greatly increase.

"I have one more request," Li Miaozhen said.

"Please speak."

"When you're investigating a case, I need to be by your side. If you're not present due to other matters, you must explain the process and your thought process to me in detail afterward." Li Miaozhen said with a serious expression.

She wants to learn how to solve cases from me? Hmm, she'll definitely be doing chivalrous deeds in the future, which will inevitably involve eliminating evil and redressing the injustices, so she's eager to learn some reasoning and criminal investigation skills. Xu Qi'an agreed to her request, his face serious.

"Okay, there's one more thing."

Li Miaozhen sat upright, adopting a listening posture.

"When you contact me using the fragment of the Earth Book, remember to have Master Jinlian block other people from accessing the system."

The Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect rolled her eyes at him.

The two immediately left the city; one rode a horse at full gallop, while the other flew on a sword.

Upon arriving at Clear Cloud Mountain, Xu Qi'an paid his respects to the three great scholars. He said with an embarrassed expression, "Alas, I have recently run out of inspiration and cannot come up with any good poems. Please forgive me, teachers."

The three Confucian scholars, dressed in scholar's robes and caps, looked at him calmly. "It's alright, is there something you need?"

Xu Qi'an coughed and said shamelessly, "I've already used up most of the Law Technique that Master Li and Master Zhang gave me, so..."

The "magic books" that Li Mubai and Zhang Shen gave him mostly contained low-level Law Technique, with the most being the Qi-Watching Technique from the Bureau of Astronomy.

This is because the great Confucian scholars didn't have many high-level Law Technique in stock, and they needed them for their own use. Moreover, Xu Qi'an was only at the Qi Refining Realm at the time, and giving him overly powerful Law Technique would have been detrimental to him.

The most powerful skill in the magic book is "Law Follows Speech," inscribed by Li Mubai and Zhang Shen, a high-level Confucian School skill. There are almost no high-level skills from other systems.

The three great scholars looked at him for a long while before Li Mubai said, "I've recently run out of ideas."

Zhang Shen: "I'm not feeling well."

Chen Tai: "Exhausted, both mentally and physically."

Everyone who willingly lets others take advantage of them was a fallen angel in their past life, but the three of you are clearly not. Xu Qi'an said, "Then I would like to ask the three teachers for help in recording the Daoist School spiritual communication Law Technique for me."

"Yes!" The three Confucian scholars nodded.

Li Miaozhen frowned and said, "Spirit Law Technique require the setting up of a magic array."

Zhang Shen waved his hand and said, "Just go ahead and do your thing; leave the rest to us."

As he spoke, he took out a blank brown-covered book and slowly began to grind it.

Seeing this, Li Miaozhen didn't waste any words. She took out the Yin material from the fragment of the Earth Book, set up an array, and cast a Daoist School Law Technique.

Inside, a chilly wind blew, as if the house had suddenly transitioned from mid-spring to the dead of winter.

Zhang Shen picked up his pen and began to write rapidly on the book, each stroke accompanied by a burst of clear light.

It's no surprise that the Soul Gathering Array didn't summon any souls. Ghosts and demons can't exist on Clear Cloud Mountain. Under the Vast Righteous Qi, all evil spirits will vanish into thin air.

Zhang Shen stopped writing at the right moment and said, "That's enough. Twelve copies have been burned. Is that enough?"

"That's enough, that's enough."

Xu Qi'an nodded while marveling at how incredible the Confucian School system was. It was like reading a book; you could remember what you read, and then write it down on paper.

"I've also written down a few Confucian School Law Technique for you. The side effects are quite terrible, as you're probably well aware of. Don't use them unless absolutely necessary," Zhang Shen said in a deep voice.

Xu Qi'an happily accepted the book and asked the question that had troubled him for a long time:

"The students don't understand how the teachers avoided a backlash?"

The backlash from Confucian School and Law Technique is so terrible that if great Confucian scholars cannot avoid such backlash, they will be unable to wage a protracted war.

In response to Xu Qi'an's question, Zhang Shen smiled and said, "The Confucian School fourth rank is called 'Junzi' (gentleman). A junzi cultivates Vast Righteous Qi and is immune to all evils."

"Immune to all evils" means that upon reaching the Gentleman Realm, one can reflect or be immune to the Law Technique. Isn't that too overpowered? Xu Qi'an somewhat regretted choosing the Martial Arts system.

A gentleman uses words, not fists; defeating the enemy with verbal sparring is his ideal style.

Li Mubai added, "If Law Technique is cast on one side, then the side to which the Law Technique was cast will bear the backlash."

Xu Qi'an's pupils contracted, feeling incredibly fortunate that he hadn't turned his ideals into reality.

The Law Technique from the phrase "My Diaochan is on my waist" could result in something like shrinking one's penis into a crevice, or being wrapped in wire around one's waist. Or even... being completely destroyed.

"In this way, Erlang's status in my heart has plummeted, and he has no use for me anymore," he thought to himself.

After bidding farewell to the three great Confucian scholars, he led Li Miaozhen away from the Cloud Deer Academy and walked down the steps to the foot of the mountain.

"The Confucian School system is indeed amazing. Besides its Law Follows Speech, it also possesses an invincible Vast Righteous Qi that makes one impervious to all evil, similar to our Daoist School Golden Core. It can also record the Law Technique of other systems."

Li Miaozhen clicked her tongue in admiration and sighed, "I can imagine how powerful Confucian School was during its heyday. 'Of all professions, only studying is noble.' Only now do I truly understand that sentiment. What a pity."

"That's a real shame."

A voice came from ahead. It was an unkempt old man, wearing an old scholar's robe, with messy white hair and clear, bright eyes that also contained a sense of vicissitude.

Li Miaozhen was taken aback; she hadn't even noticed him standing there before he spoke.

"This student greets the Dean." Xu Qi'an quickly bowed.

He was the headmaster of the Cloud Deer Academy, the foremost Confucian School of his time. Li Miaozhen was filled with awe.

Zhao Shou smiled, nodded, and asked, "Are you going to the Northern Border?"

Cloud Deer Academy had indeed planted a traitor in the imperial court; my earlier jest had come true. Xu Qi'an hummed in agreement. "Investigate the case."

"Aren't you afraid of offending the Prince of Zhenbei?" Zhao Shou pressed.

"I'm scared, but I want to go see what's going on," Xu Qi'an said in a deep voice.

Zhao Shou stared at him silently for a few seconds, then stroked his beard and smiled, "It's not an insult to the great fortune you possess, Xu Qi'an. You must remember, the essence of fortune is the word 'human,' at least that's true of the fortune you possess."

"It is the common people who have brought about our destiny; it is the people who have brought about our destiny."

Xu Qi'an quickly looked at Li Miaozhen and found that her expression was normal. She was scrutinizing Dean Zhao Shou as if she had not heard what was said.

Did the dean block her hearing?

As he was thinking this, he suddenly saw Zhao Shou wave his sleeve, and a book flew over and hovered in front of him.

"These are the Law Technique from various systems that I recorded during my travels in my youth. I no longer need them."

Xu Qi'an happily accepted it, but didn't open it immediately. He bowed and said, "Thank you, Dean."

By the time he straightened up, Zhao Shou was already gone.

Three days later, at the capital's docks.

The northward-bound delegation arrived at the dock and boarded the official ship.

The delegation consisted of 200 people, led by Xu Qi'an and Yang Yan, with four silver gongs and eight bronze gongs under their command.

The Ministry of Justice dispatched one chief constable and twelve constables; the Censorate sent two censors and ten guards; and the Court of Judicial Review sent one vice-minister and twelve guards and attendants.

And a hundred-man imperial guard—this was the entourage for the governor's travels.

The rest of the people were all Chu Xianglong's men.

It wasn't until just now that Xu Qi'an learned that Chu Xianglong was also in the delegation, traveling together to the Northern Territory.

Inside the yamen, Chun Ge, Song Tingfeng, and Zhu Guangxiao originally wanted to travel north with him, but they were refused.

This journey north might not necessarily encounter a major crisis, but if it does, it could be very dangerous. He didn't want the three of them to take risks, after all, these three were the people with whom he had the deepest friendship in the Nightwatchers's office.

At the dock, Xu Xinnian and his Second Uncle Xu, representing the whole family, came to see Xu Dalang off.

In addition, there are Chu Yuanzhen, the swordsman in green robes; Hengyuan, number six; and Li Miaozhen, the holy maiden of the Heavenly Sect.

"Return home safely."

Second Uncle Xu patted his nephew on the shoulder; this was his only request.

Chu Yuanzhen quietly handed over a talismanic sword, saying telepathically, "The Imperial Preceptor entrusted me to give this to you."

Imperial Preceptor?

I'm not familiar with the Imperial Advisor, so why is she giving me this? Filled with doubt, Xu Qi'an accepted the talisman sword and transmitted his voice, "Please thank the Imperial Advisor for me."

Hengyuan clasped his hands together and chanted a Buddhist prayer. "Lord Xu, you must return safely."

Li Miaozhen gazed at him, her voice clear and bright. "Just do good deeds, and don't worry about the future."

He secretly transmitted his voice, saying, "I will go ahead and wait for you in the North."

Xu Qi'an smiled and said, "Do good deeds and don't worry about the future, that's well said."

The reply came via telepathy, "See you in the North."

He boarded the ship, set sail, and sailed away.

Xu Qi'an stood on the deck and looked out. His gaze swept over the crowd and he saw three familiar figures standing in the distance, including Yang Qianhuan, who was staring at him with the back of her head.

Chu Caiwei, holding her hands like megaphones, called out in a sweet voice.

And Zhong Li, silently waving goodbye.

"What brings you here? I feel like the crises you encountered on your way back to the Bureau of Astronomy from the dock were probably more numerous than the dangers I faced on my journey north. "Xu Qi'an, half worried and half sighing.

PS: Thanks to "Cut the Artery and Drink Pulse AI" for the generous donation.

PS: Wishing "Youmengyu" a happy marriage, a long and happy life together, and eternal love.