A tangled web

The convoy was full of martial arts practitioners carrying swords and guns. They had spontaneously organized and followed the group after hearing about the legendary heroine, Flying Swallow.

This was their third hunt against the barbarian cavalry. Thanks to the unparalleled skills of the Flying Swallow Heroine, they returned with a full load once again, killing 120 barbarian cavalrymen, capturing 50 warhorses, 68 scimitars, and recovering the women and grain that had been robbed by the barbarian cavalry.

Warhorses, scimitars, women, and provisions suffered varying degrees of damage and death during the battles.

The soldiers guarding the city squinted and looked out. When they saw the beautiful and spirited female warrior Feiyan riding a white horse, they immediately showed their admiration and called to the guards on the city wall. They then came forward with their spears in hand.

"Feiyan, you're back? Oh my, you've killed so many barbarians again this time."

"Quickly, escort the heroine Feiyan to the yamen to claim her reward."

The soldiers guarding the city were overjoyed, feeling that the Flying Swallow Heroine was a paragon of heroes in the martial world, a great figure worthy of following.

Two rows of soldiers led the way, escorting Li Miaozhen and her entourage into the city. The people of the city, upon seeing the Flying Swallow heroine on her white horse and the returned barbarian corpses, warmly welcomed her along the way.

They shouted the name "Female Knight-Errant Flying Swallow".

The martial arts figures behind Li Miaozhen stood tall, feeling proud.

About ten days ago, the heroine Feiyan suddenly arrived in Beishan County. Under the guise of acting on behalf of Heaven, she severely punished a group of unscrupulous merchants who had been hoarding grain prices and distributed the hundreds of bushels of grain she had stolen to the poor and beggars who were starving.

The unscrupulous merchant, backed by powerful officials, was naturally not going to give up so easily, and sent troops to capture him. However, the Flying Swallow Heroine repelled them one by one.

What happened after that is unknown to the common people. However, after that incident, the female knight-errant Feiyan gathered a group of martial arts practitioners in Beishan County to hunt down barbarian cavalry.

Then they went to the government to claim the reward, exchanged the reward money for grain, and built soup kitchens outside the city to provide food to refugees and beggars who could not afford to eat.

In no time, the good deeds of the heroine Feiyan became widely known and talked about among the people.

Some refugees from other counties even walked dozens of miles, crossing mountains and ridges to come to Beishan County to wait for the porridge distribution.

After giving alms, Li Miaozhen returned to the inn where she had stayed and, with Su Su's help, took a bath to wash away the smell of blood.

She sat at the table, lost in thought and silent.

After delivering the message that day, Li Miaozhen, following Xu Qi'an's advice, made a high-profile appearance, acting as a chivalrous knight-errant everywhere, and is now quite well-known in the Northern Territory.

Given the limited time since its "debut," it's impossible for it to achieve the same level of fame that spread throughout Yunzhou as it did back then.

A full decade has passed, and countless people from the martial arts world have come to her aid. Some are there for fame, some for profit, and some simply to fight against the barbarians.

Li Miaozhen used the Heavenly Sect's mental cultivation method to perform a simple elimination process, removing those with wicked intentions. Those who remained were mostly chivalrous heroes of the martial arts world who sought fame, fortune, and the common people.

In her view, as long as one is willing to do good deeds, fame and fortune are acceptable.

However, the person Li Miaozhen was truly waiting for never arrived.

"Master, is there no new progress with that kid? Isn't he supposed to be a brilliant detective? I'm afraid he's run out of ideas too." Su Su placed a cup of tea on the table.

Seeing her master's furrowed brow and worried expression, Su Su felt a pang of sympathy.

"This matter is not so simple." Li Miaozhen had learned the truth about the "bloody massacre of three thousand miles" case from Xu Qi'an through the Earth Book.

"These past few days I've been thinking, if a massacre of three thousand miles really did happen in Chuzhou, even if the government wanted to cover it up, the mouths of the martial arts world and the common people couldn't be silenced."

Li Miaozhen frowned, "No matter how I inquire, no one knows."

Su Su tilted her head, her stunningly beautiful face showing a rare thoughtful expression. Suddenly, her beautiful eyes lit up, and she exclaimed happily, "I've got it! I've got it!"

Li Miaozhen remained skeptical. "What else do you know?"

Su Su's slender, jade-like fingers twirled a strand of her hair, she winked playfully, and said with a grin:

"Think about it, if a massacre really happened that covered three thousand miles, but no one knew about it, could it be that the people involved had their memories erased? Just like I can't remember why my father was convicted and sentenced to beheading."

Upon hearing this, Li Miaozhen scoffed, "Such a large-scale massacre, even if the memory is erased, will leave indelible traces. The barbarian spies wouldn't be able to find it? You really are something else."

She suddenly froze, her eyes gradually glazing over, and she remained motionless for a moment.

Su Su hurriedly asked, "Master, what have you thought of?"

Li Miaozhen suddenly came to her senses and pondered, "But your idea might not be a bad one. If something this big really happened, what system, what level of expert, could keep it from everyone?"

First, she excluded the warriors, which was a no-brainer.

Then, two words popped into her mind: Warlock!

Xu Qi'an once said that a high-level Warlock can shield himself from heavenly secrets, from certain people or things, and turn himself into an invisible person. Li Miaozhen felt as if her brain had been electrified.

Suddenly, the thought process became clear.

In the present-day Kyushu, there is only one Warlock she can think of with this ability: the Supervisor.

Li Miaozhen trembled at this guess.

"Calm down, calm down, "Xu Qi'an said. "First, make bold assumptions, then carefully verify them. Before there is evidence to prove it, everything is just my conjecture, not the truth." Li Miaozhen took a deep breath, intending to take out the fragment of the Earth Book and tell Xu Qi'an her bold idea.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

Li Miaozhen said calmly, "Come in."

As he spoke, Hou Li, the little devil standing behind the door, eagerly opened the door and invited the guest in.

The visitor was a middle-aged man, one of the wandering swordsmen who had sought refuge with Li Miaozhen. He was a local from Chuzhou named Zhao Jin. He was quite skilled in martial arts and always took the lead in killing barbarians.

Not for fame or fortune, but simply because he was from Chuzhou, he wanted to drive out the barbarians and bring benefits to his fellow villagers.

Dressed in civilian clothes, Li Miaozhen was serious and composed, displaying the solemnity of a soldier. She asked, "Brother Zhao, what brings you here?"

Zhao Jin laughed heartily, "We've come back with a full load again! The rice we traded is enough for the refugees outside the city to eat porridge for three days. The brothers are all very happy and want to find a restaurant to celebrate."

As he spoke, he drove to the table, dipped his finger into Li Miaozhen's teacup, and wrote on the table, "My master wishes to see you, regarding the matter of the Prince of Zhenbei's massacre of the people."

"I just came to ask if you're attending a banquet tonight," Zhao Jin said in a loud voice, his smile hearty.

Li Miaozhen stared at the writing on the table, remained silent for a long time, and then said, "Please thank the brothers for their kindness, but I won't go."

Zhao Jin nodded, did not linger, and turned to leave the room.

He returned to the main hall via the stairs, where a group of martial arts figures, gathered around a table, drinking and eating, immediately pressed him for an answer, "So, has Lady Flying Swallow agreed?"

Zhao Jin shook his head helplessly.

A wave of disappointment swept through the crowd, followed by a chorus of boos.

Female knights-errant like Li Miaozhen are exactly what martial arts enthusiasts crave. Among them, there are countless men who admire her and wish to marry her.

Nine times out of ten, this kind of unrequited love will end without a trace, becoming a memory years later.

Zhao Jin drank a few glasses of wine, then excused himself, saying he couldn't hold his liquor, and went back to his room to sleep.

He closed the door, took out the talisman that Li Miaozhen had just given him from his pocket, and ignited it with his energy. As the talisman burned, he felt drowsiness surge like a tidal wave, his eyelids drooped, and he fell into a deep sleep.

In a daze, he opened his eyes again and saw a beautiful woman in a Daoist robe in the room; it was Li Miaozhen.

"This is a dream. What you saw was my Nascent Soul. Heh, although you haven't said it explicitly, I know some of you already know my identity."

The debate between the Celestial Person has been brewing for over a month. The truth that the Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect is Li Miaozhen, and also the Flying Swallow Heroine, is known to a few, but not many either.

But that wasn't the point. Li Miaozhen stared at Zhao Jin and asked in a deep voice, "Who are you?"

"My real name is Zhao Jin, and I am a wandering knight from Chuzhou," Zhao Jin said.

Li Miaozhen nodded slightly, seemingly able to discern whether he was lying in the dream, and then asked:

"Who is your master? How do you know about the Prince of Zhenbei's massacre of civilians? As far as I know, apart from the barbarians, it seems that no one in Chuzhou knows about this."

Her implication was that a wandering swordsman like you couldn't possibly know the inside story.

"My husband, he..."

After several days of covert investigation and interviews, Officer Chen returned to the post station in despair, stating that he had not obtained any valuable clues.

Imperial Censor Liu pondered for a moment and said, "I think we can find a breakthrough by dealing with Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Governor of Chuzhou. He has always had an excellent reputation and is deeply loved by the people of Chuzhou. He is a rare good minister."

"If he knew about this, he definitely wouldn't have kept it a secret. Perhaps he was threatened by the Prince of Zhenbei and the Commander-in-Chief. Why don't we go and sound him out, appealing to his emotions and reasoning with him?"

Yang Yan looked at the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and another censor. Seeing that neither of them objected, he thought for a moment and said, "Then let's go to the Provincial Administration Commission."

Immediately, he took Liu, the Imperial Censor who had a friendship with Zheng Xinghuai, and rode to the Provincial Administration Commission.

After the announcement was made, Zheng Xinghuai received the two men in the inner hall.

Upon learning the purpose of their visit, the stern and serious Zheng Xinghuai frowned and asked, "Gentlemen, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Imperial Censor Liu smiled and said, "Please speak."

Zheng Xinghuai glanced at Yang Yan and Imperial Censor Liu, and said, "The so-called massacre of three thousand miles was based solely on a few words revealed by the remnant soul of a corpse. To investigate the Prince of Huai based on this alone—don't you gentlemen think that's too hasty?"

Imperial Censor Liu frowned and said, "You mean..."

Governor Zheng smiled. "As the official in charge of Chu Prefecture, I know exactly where there is unrest and where barbarians are plundering. If such a thing really happens, believe me, the Prince of Huai won't be able to silence the public. The reason should be clear to Imperial Censor Liu."

Even the emperor couldn't silence his ministers, let alone the Prince of Zhenbei.

Imperial Censor Liu fell silent, sitting there with a furrowed brow, lost in thought.

At this moment, Yang Yan said calmly, "If that's the case, why obstruct the mission's investigation?"

Governor Zheng's smile remained unchanged, "After all, Prince Huai is a prince. The court sent an envoy to investigate him, but in the eyes of the soldiers, this is a baseless framing. It is only natural that they feel indignant on behalf of Prince Huai."

"Moreover, the Prince of Huai is stationed in the north and holds military power. Countless people in the court want to strip him of his military power. The delegation's experience in Chuzhou City was merely a reactive response from the Prince of Huai's faction."

Imperial Censor Liu and Yang Yan exchanged a glance, then rose to take their leave.

As they rode side by side on horseback, Imperial Censor Liu turned to look at Yang Yan and asked, "Yang Jinluo, do you think what Lord Zheng said makes sense?"

"Have no idea!"

Yang Yan's answer was concise and to the point. All her hard work these past few days had been to find clues for Xu Qi'an, so that the delegation wouldn't end up with nothing after the two sides met. That would be too embarrassing.

However, he was not good at investigating cases and only felt that this case was inexplicable and complicated.

"My master is the only survivor. He narrowly escaped the Prince of Huai's executioner's blade and has been on the run ever since."

Zhao Jingang was interrupted coldly by Li Miaozhen as soon as he finished speaking, "The Prince of Huai is a third-rank martial artist. Your master was able to escape from his blade. Who is he? Besides, since you have been lurking by my side for so long, why have you not shown yourself until today?"

"It's a long story."

"Tell me first, who are your parents?" Li Miaozhen frowned.

"My master is Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Governor of Chuzhou," Zhao Jin said in a deep voice.

P. S.: The book review section has events for upgrading the star rating of the characters and fan fiction activities, with rewards including Qidian coins, fan titles, and Nightwatchers badges (physical items). If you're interested, you can check out the pinned post in the book review section.

I'm not feeling well today. I feel like I was really drained last night, especially from staying up all night writing.