Under attack

"First, we need to analyze the motive for the crime, or more precisely, the perpetrator's target."

When it came to matters of expertise, Xu Qi'an spoke eloquently, "That man who claimed to be the Provincial Governor of Chuzhou, after fleeing Chuzhou City, has been secretly deploying people in an attempt to expose this matter."

"Even after the message failed to be delivered, he didn't give up until you appeared. That made him realize that Flying Swallow was a reliable person and a woman of high moral character, so he sent someone to contact you."

Li Miaozhen spat and said, "Just get to the point, why flatter me?"

Xu Qi'an shook his head, his expression utterly sincere. "I'm not flattering you. Flying Swallow is the chivalrous woman I admire most."

Li Miaozhen scoffed.

Su Su, standing nearby, glanced at Xu Qi'an and thought to herself that this guy was quite good at charming girls. Since her master went down the mountain to train, her proudest title was "Flying Swallow Heroine".

Although she pretended to be dismissive, Su Su knew that Xu Qi'an's words had struck a chord with her master.

Xu Qi'an continued, "She's an outsider, so he couldn't possibly have any ulterior motives towards you, yet he still sought your help. Therefore, his motive is quite obvious: he wants to spread the news of the Prince of Zhenbei's massacre of the city."

"He didn't reveal this to the barbarians, which means he was unaware that the barbarians were also coveting the Essence Blood and preventing the King of Zhenbei from advancing in rank. This shows that he was a victim caught up in it, not a player in the game."

"Furthermore, this person has a strong will to survive. The more cautious he is, the more he wants to live. Otherwise, he could have achieved his goal by spreading the word recklessly, but the price would have been being silenced by the Prince of Zhenbei's spies."

"Yes, that's a reasonable analysis," Li Miaozhen nodded as she listened.

"So he thought I could help deliver messages. He must have tried once, but those martial arts practitioners who helped him deliver the messages were all intercepted and killed in the outskirts of the capital. That's the body I found by the roadside."

The fact that the details matched up gave Li Miaozhen a sense of relief, like seeing the moon after the clouds had parted.

The chief envoy of Chuzhou fled from the disaster of massacre, and then lurked, secretly sending people in the Jianghu to convey the news, and spread the news back to the capital.

However, the martial arts practitioners were pursued and killed outside the capital, and he accidentally stumbled upon them.

Xu Qi'an, tilting his head, stroked his chin and said:

"It's understandable that Zheng Xinghuai dared not write official documents, because they would be intercepted. It's also understandable that he dared not spread them in Chuzhou. Chuzhou is the territory of the Prince of Zhenbei, and it would be easy to invite disaster upon him."

"What I can't understand is that the hero who died by the roadside was clearly almost to the capital. Logically speaking, since he managed to escape to the capital's territory, it shouldn't have been difficult for him to enter the city. The power dynamics in the capital are complex and intertwined, unlike Chuzhou, which is full of the Prince of Zhenbei's spies and subordinates."

Li Miaozhen said, "It's also possible that they're waiting for the rabbit to run into their trap, setting up an ambush near the capital in advance."

Xu Qi'an nodded. Eager to rest, he didn't dwell on the topic, got up, and went to Li Miaozhen's bed, where he lay down straight.

"I'm going to sleep for a while. Wake me up when it gets dark."

Li Miaozhen opened her mouth, but hesitated to speak.

What's wrong with this guy? He can't just lie down on a woman's bed like that!

"Never mind, those of us from the martial world don't concern ourselves with such details," she thought, taking a deep breath to reassure herself. "I'll have the waiter change the blankets and sheets later."

Lying down is definitely more comfortable. With my current physical condition, this backache should have healed quickly. The backlash from Confucian School Law Technique is truly terrifying. Hmm, what's with this fragrance? Li Miaozhen doesn't seem like the type to use cosmetics. Could it be the legendary scent of a young girl's melon?

Once the melon is broken, it can only be described as having a natural fragrance.

Xu Qi'an composed himself and tried to fall asleep quickly.

In the same corridor, in a room more than ten meters apart, Zhao Jin spent the day in anxiety.

Based on his observations and the intelligence he had gathered over the past period, he believed that the suddenly appearing Flying Swallow Heroine was genuine, which could be verified by two points.

First, the barbarians of the North were raiding and rampaging, attracting many wandering knights from all walks of life. Some of them had seen the Flying Swallow Heroine or heard of her signature flying sword.

Secondly, although the battle between the celestial beings and the Celestial Person in the capital had only just ended, it had been brewing for more than a month beforehand, and the true identity of the Flying Swallow Heroine had already been settled in the martial arts world.

However, he still couldn't hide his nervousness and anxiety. He had revealed a big secret, but he still couldn't get a clear response. This period of waiting was the most agonizing.

Just then, he saw the teacup on the table suddenly tip over, which startled him.

Turning my head, I saw water flowing down, forming four characters: Come to my room.

Zhao Jin's face lit up with surprise. He hurriedly got up and walked towards the door, then stopped, took a deep breath, and calmed his racing heart and nervous emotions.

Try to appear as calm as possible.

Then, without slowing his pace or appearing impatient, he naturally walked towards Li Miaozhen's room and gently knocked on the door.

The door opened automatically.

In the spacious and clean room, the Flying Swallow Heroine and her stunningly beautiful maid sat at the table, the candlelight casting a warm orange hue on their exquisite faces.

Zhao Jin was already used to the charm of the two stunning beauties, so he ignored them and focused his gaze on the bed behind them, where a man was lying.

This... he's the companion the Flying Swallow Heroine spoke of? He's even sleeping in her bed; their relationship seems quite close. Zhao Jin was startled, then saw Li Miaozhen come to her senses and call out towards the bed:

"Get up! They're coming."

The man on the bed stirred, as if awakened, then suddenly sat up and looked at Zhao Jin.

"Ta-da!"

Zhao Jin was so frightened that he backed away repeatedly. The man tilted his head, squinted at him, and looked at him coldly.

It's one thing to glance at someone sideways, but to tilt your head to look at them is downright arrogant.

"You're Zhao Jin?" the man with the crooked neck asked.

"Yes, it's me." At this moment, Zhao Jin, by the candlelight, saw the man's face clearly; he was incomparably handsome, like a refined gentleman in a turbid world.

From this perspective, he and the heroine Feiyan were indeed a perfect match.

"I have a question for you," the man with the crooked neck said in a deep voice.

Zhao Jin nodded.

The handsome young man with the crooked neck stared at him for a moment, then asked, "How did you determine, or confirm, that Zheng Xinghuai was telling the truth?"

Li Miaozhen's heart skipped a beat. Since Zhao Jin had not experienced the massacre, how could he judge the truth of Zheng Xinghuai's words? If he had only listened to Zheng Xinghuai's side of the story, then today's matter had to be put aside.

Zhao Jin said in a low voice, "I have a sworn brother who works in the residence of Provincial Governor Zheng. It was he and a group of guest ministers who escorted Provincial Governor Zheng out of Chuzhou City."

The Great Feng Dynasty divided its territory into thirteen states, each with its own prefectures, counties, and districts. Chuzhou was originally officially called "Chuzhou," but was later changed to Chuzhou.

The same applies to other continents.

As the official in charge of the people's livelihood and government affairs of the continent, Zheng Buzhengshi held a high position and wielded great power, so naturally, his residence housed many skilled individuals.

If the person who massacred the city was not the Prince of Zhenbei, Xu Qi'an believed it was reasonable for him to have escaped Chuzhou City by chance.

"That day, my sworn brother came to me, asking for my help. When I learned of this, I found it unbelievable. So I secretly went to Chuzhou City and found it as usual, without any signs of a massacre."

"Then how did you determine whether the massacre was real or not?" Li Miaozhen frowned.

"But then I discovered that there was another Provincial Governor Zheng in the city. How could there be two Provincial Governors in this world? With doubts in my heart, I agreed to my sworn brother's request, secretly protecting him while trying to win over trusted figures in the martial arts world to spread the word about this matter."

"During this process, we discovered that the official roads and counties along the border of Chuzhou were blocked, the general was conducting inspections everywhere, and the secret agents of the Prince of Zhenbei were secretly searching for people. Only then did I realize that what Governor Zheng said was very likely true."

"About half a month ago, our first group of brothers quietly left Chuzhou, intending to go to the capital to appeal to the emperor. But we haven't heard from them since."

Zhao Jin sighed.

A glint of light flashed in Xu Qi'an's eyes.

He wasn't lying. So the original words spoken by that remnant soul that day were. "Slaughter across three thousand miles, please send troops to punish the Prince of Zhenbei!"

Xu Qi'an pondered for a moment and said, "What are your thoughts on the current situation in Chuzhou City, or rather, what are the real Provincial Governor Zheng's thoughts?"

Zhao Jin shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I don't know. Lord Zheng is equally puzzled. He witnessed Que Yongxiu leading his troops to massacre the city, but when we infiltrated Chuzhou City afterwards, we found that it had been restored to its original state."

Holy crap! The simple description sent chills down Xu Qi'an's spine.

As expected, the delegation had already arrived in Chuzhou City. If there were any problems there, Yang Yan, with his cultivation level, should have been able to detect something amiss. Yang Yan was merely a crude martial artist and might not have been able to see through the clues. You should know that even the princess of the Kingdom of Ten Thousand Demons and the mysterious group of Warlock were searching for the location where the King of Zhenbei slaughtered living beings.

What methods did the Prince of Zhenbei use to cover all this up?

"My knowledge is still insufficient; I have no clue what to do. Let's see Governor Zheng first; he's the person involved." Xu Qi'an sat cross-legged on the bed, tilting his head and glancing sideways as he said:

Where is the real Zheng Xinghuai?

When the moment came, Zhao Jin fell silent. He glanced at Xu Qi'an, then at Li Miaozhen, and hesitated.

Li Miaozhen frowned and said, "You don't believe me?"

Zhao Jin shook his head. "Of course I believe in Heroine Fei Yan."

As he spoke, he glanced at Xu Qi'an. He knew nothing about this man with the crooked neck, and even though the man was a companion of the Flying Swallow Heroine, he still harbored doubts.

This is only natural.

It's difficult to place complete trust in someone you don't know well, especially when it concerns the safety of Provincial Governor Zheng.

Li Miaozhen glared at the man behind her, then turned around and explained, "You should have heard of him."

Zhao Jin was taken aback, then re-examined Xu Qi'an and tentatively asked, "What makes you say that, Lady Flying Swallow?"

Su Su, hands on her hips, said with considerable pride, "Have you ever heard of Xu Qi'an, the Silver Gong of the Great Feng?"

Xu Qi'an, the Silver Gong Master of the Great Feng?!

These words were like a thunderclap in Zhao Jin's ears, leaving him stunned and speechless.

A few seconds later, a surge of ecstasy welled up inside me, like a ship adrift in the darkness finding a lighthouse, like a lost traveler seeing a candlelight.

Zhao Jin felt a surge of excitement, as if he had finally found a powerful figure to take charge.

Xu Qi'an, the Silver Gong of the Great Feng, rose to prominence during the year of the Capital Evaluation, solved numerous strange cases, and made great contributions to the court; he also represented the Bureau of Astronomy in a battle of magic against the Buddhist School, defeating the Buddhist School Arhats.

Legends about this person have long since spread beyond the capital.

As for the story of overpowering Li Miaozhen and Chu Yuanzhen in the battle between the Celestial Person, it has not yet reached the Northern Border, but that is enough.

Li Miaozhen continued, "You should know about the delegation's arrival in the Northern Territory, right?"

Zhao Jin reluctantly looked away from Xu Qi'an and quickly nodded, "I'm here to investigate the case of the massacre of three thousand miles."

Li Miaozhen smiled and pointed at Xu Qi'an: "He's the chief investigator. In order to investigate the case secretly, he broke away from the mission and secretly infiltrated the northern border."

"So that's how it is!" Zhao Jin had no more doubts. He excitedly clasped his hands in a fist and lowered his voice:

"Lord Xu, you are the person I admire most. Your victory over the Buddhist School and the restoration of face for the court are widely praised by the martial arts world. But I believe that what is most admirable about you is your heroic feat of single-handedly holding off tens of thousands of rebel troops in Yunzhou. Every time I think of it, it makes my blood boil. A true man should act like that."

You can't get over this joke, can you?

Xu Qi'an almost covered his face because Li Miaozhen, one of the parties involved, cast a disdainful look at him, making Xu Qi'an feel extremely ashamed.

This guy always loves to brag, he can't get rid of this bad habit, and he even makes me lose face because of him. I don't dare to reveal his identity within the Heaven and Earth Society. Li Miaozhen glared at him and snorted in her heart.

"Cough cough!"

He coughed lightly and said calmly, "A true hero doesn't dwell on past glories. Enough with the idle talk, let's go see Governor Zheng immediately. Miaozhen, use your flying sword to take us away, even if it's a roundabout route."

Li Miaozhen frowned. "You think I'm being watched? But my little devil hasn't given any feedback."

Xu Qi'an scoffed. "That only shows that the other party's infiltration skills are very high. Just think, since the Prince of Zhenbei's spies intercepted the Jianghu people who were delivering the message, they would naturally have a certain degree of control over Zheng Buzhengshi's thoughts."

"And you just happen to appear at this time. The spies of the Prince of Zhenbei will not ignore you. They are very likely to deliberately ignore you and secretly lure out Governor Zheng."

"Fortunately, Brother Zhao was cautious and had infiltrated your inner circle early on, instead of suddenly coming to your door. But even so, I'm afraid that all the martial arts practitioners under your command, including Brother Zhao, are under investigation. Perhaps in a few days, the Prince of Zhenbei's spies will come knocking on your door."

Li Miaozhen frowned and pondered for a moment, then seemed to understand something and slowly nodded:

"No wonder that after I intercepted the unscrupulous merchant who was raising grain prices, the government initially planned to kill me, but later changed their minds and secretly spoke with me, hoping that I would restrain myself."

Immediately, she put Su Su into her sachet. With a thought, the flying sword leaning against the table "came to life" and began to hover and fly around the room.

Li Miaozhen waved her hand, and with a "bang," the window opened, and the flying sword shot out.

"Walk!"

She leaped out of the window first, followed closely by Xu Qi'an and Zhao Jin. The three of them stepped onto the spine of the sword at the same time, with Li Miaozhen in front, Xu Qi'an in the middle, and Zhao Jin behind.

The flying sword carried the three of them straight into the sky.

Just then, a corresponding image appeared in Xu Qi'an's mind: below, an arrow carrying a powerful aura shot towards him.

This arrow contained a relentless determination to pierce the enemy.

"Turn left!"

Xu Qi'an shouted loudly.

Without a second thought, Li Miaozhen maneuvered her flying sword to the left, and the next moment, a streak of light shot out, piercing through the spot where the three of them had just been.

After missing its target, the arrow swerved, locked onto the three people again, and hurtled through the air.

"He's a fourth-rank martial artist," Li Miaozhen said in a deep voice.

"Quick, quick, fly higher! We can't let a fourth-rank martial artist get close!" Xu Qi'an's scalp tingled.

PS: Thanks to "Pork Belly" for the generous donation, the most popular voice actor in this book. I remember there was even a "Pork Belly" fan club in the book club. Pork Belly's voice acting is truly soulful. Thank you so much for the generous donation.

Update first, then revise.