Heaven-Observing Pavilion, West Office.
The Inspection Bureau is located on the west side of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion. It has far more staff than the Judicial Review Bureau, but it mainly does odd jobs. Its main responsibilities are to collect intelligence from the martial arts world and investigate the backgrounds of those on the Gold List.
The list of Gold List was usually posted on the wall outside the West Office.
The list has now been released, and a large crowd has gathered in front of the notice board, whispering among themselves.
"Wow, they've gotten on the list really fast! Just a few days and they're already on the list..."
" The Fate-Robbing Saber, what do you think? If Gold-Chasing Gentleman dared to play this recklessly, he'd be First Rank warrior by now..."
Opposite the West Office, there were several guard rooms where spies, disguised as ordinary people, would often run to report news.
These people were not part of the Heaven-Observing Pavilion staff and were therefore called " Commoner Attendant ".
But people in the underworld generally refer to these people as lackeys.
Inside the duty room, Chen Xiaobao leaned back in his chair, his legs propped up on the table, as he reviewed the intelligence reports in his hand.
A servant in plain clothes squatted down in front of him, helping to massage his legs. Ying Qin said:
"Although Jade Immortal House is closed, there are plenty of other good places in the capital. This is all firsthand information I just gathered. A new establishment has opened in Shangyuan Ward, employing Hu women—red-haired, blonde-haired, and even dark-skinned ones..."
Chen Xiaobao frowned and said unhappily:
"Don't you know what's going on? Commander Ruan's position is precarious. If you don't get down to business soon, this Inspection Bureau might have to change hands." "Don't worry, with Lord Ye's momentum, if anyone's going to be replaced, it'll be Commander Mei. The Inspection Bureau is poorly paid, has a lot of work, and is full of unpleasant tasks. Why would Lord Ye want to come here..."
"That's true..."
Chen Xiaobao turned the page of the intelligence report and was choosing a palace to stay at that night when he caught a glimpse of a commoner standing in front of the table. The commoner seemed unaware of proper etiquette and didn't place the intelligence report on the table. Chen Xiaobao frowned immediately.
"You just arrived... Oh my goodness!"
The attendant, who was massaging his legs, noticed the eldest son of one of the " Seven Eminent Confucian Families." His face turned pale, and he abruptly stood at attention, thinking that the Snake Eunuch had arrived. He was so frightened that he jumped up and clasped his hands in greeting.
"Greetings, Your Excellency!"
At the entrance, Ye Xingge thought the people from his brother's yamen were really polite, and slightly raised his hand:
"No need for formalities, I've come to ask you something."
Seeing that they weren't there to chop him up, Chen Xiaobao breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly raised his hand:
"Lord Ye, please have a seat... Why aren't you serving tea? What are you standing there for...?"
The bewildered follower, realizing who was outside the door, jumped in fright and quickly ran to pour tea.
Ye Xingge didn't want to stay long, but Chen Xiaobao was really polite and insisted on inviting him to sit down, so he had no choice but to sit down and casually glance at the information on the table: Miss Yu'er from Laurel-Plucking Ward, four feet nine inches tall, two feet five inches in bust, fair-skinned and beautiful, skilled in music and chess, and good at playing the flute...
What the hell?
Ye Xingge was taken aback, picked up the thick stack of "restaurant review reports" and examined them:
"Your Inspection Bureau can't even do this..."
Chen Xiaobao's face turned green, and he blurted out:
"This was all collected at Commander Ruan; it might have another use!"
Ye Xingge frowned slightly:
" Commander Ruan's nickname is ' Snake Eunuch,' is he collecting this?"
"..."
Chen Xiaobao thought about it and realized it made sense, his eyes darting around:
"In places of the brothel, many passionate people emerge; brothels and entertainment venues are gathering places for all sorts of people, so intelligence is naturally abundant..."
"I..."
Ye Xingge thought it made sense, so she stopped asking questions, put the paper back on the table, and got straight to the point;
"I just heard from people on the street that a kill order has been issued against me in the martial arts world?"
Chen Xiaobao was taken aback and looked outside:
"Is that so? Who's so bold?"
üの"
Ye Xingge opened his mouth, then realized he seemed to have approached the wrong person.
But since he was already there, he still asked:
" Lord Chen, please investigate first. The news has spread throughout the streets. How could the Inspection Bureau have no information at all?"
The servant who was pouring tea turned his head at that moment:
"It seems there really is such a thing. I heard Commandant Liu mention it this morning. It seems to be a bounty River-Spanning Pavilion, with a reward of five million coins, for Lord Ye to float down the Cang River within seven days."
Chen Xiaobao asked in confusion:
" Xiao Si, how come I didn't know?"
"You overslept; everyone else has already left..."
"Oh..."
Chen Xiaobao nodded and turned his head:
"I was busy investigating Dong Baoquan's case until the early hours of the morning last night, so I definitely missed it. Lord Ye came over to have the Inspection Bureau investigate who placed the bribe? I figured there was no need to investigate; Black Dragon Island and Subduer of the Three Rivers have already been Rotten Crotch..."
Ye Xingge slightly raised his hand:
"I'm carrying the Fate-Robbing Saber. Even without a bounty, someone will definitely come to kill me. I won't feel at ease until I find out the assassin's whereabouts. Does the Inspection Bureau have any leads on the assassin?"
Chen Xiaobao blinked, the meaning of which was probably:
I didn't even know about the bounty, and you're asking me for clues about the killer?
Do I look like someone who does serious work in a government office?
Ye Xingge opened his mouth, thinking that Chen Xiaobao's backing was probably too strong!
After a moment of hesitation, he changed his tune and began to persuade:
"However, the assassination attempt was only launched yesterday, so the Inspection Bureau should have a hard time figuring out who came. Lord Chen, what channels do you think these assassins would use to enter the capital if they wanted to commit crimes here?"
The assistant, Xiao Si, placed the teacup on the table and offered his advice:
"Then it must be ' Shangjin Ferry,' a place teeming with all sorts of people. Martial arts practitioners often buy fake identities and gather information there..." Ye Xingge thoughtfully, quite relieved that there was still someone in the cell.
Who would a person from the martial arts world normally go to?
Xiao Si thought about it for a moment:
"It's really hard to say. There are too many connections in Shangjin Ferry. The Eight Great Sects of the Cang River, the Three Mountains and Twelve Gates, and even the Yong River Chamber of Commerce and the Han River Chamber of Commerce, etc., all have people there."
"However, if I want to come to the capital on business, I reckon I'll have to find a connection with the Yong River Chamber of Commerce. These wealthy merchants are based in Yongzhou Prefecture, and each of them has connections everywhere, with high-ranking officials and nobles behind them..."
Ye Xingge had received enough; he immediately picked up his knife and stood up.
"Thank you. I'll go and discuss it with Commander Luo. If the situation is dire, we might have to lay low for a while."
Chen Xiaobao sensed that this man didn't seem to be the type to avoid conflict.
But with a full set of divine weapons and a bounty of five million coins, it wouldn't be surprising to see hundreds of ruthless martial arts masters. Thinking it over, he said:
"Please take care, Lord Ye. If you need anything, please let me know."
üの"
What use are you?
Ye Xingge wanted to complain a bit, but since he had obtained the information, he decided to let it go.
Tap tap...
Soon, the figure disappeared into the street.
Chen Xiaobao watched him go until his figure completely disappeared before he breathed a sigh of relief.
"This Grand Duke Jupiter tyrant has finally learned to be afraid. That's more like it. If he keeps charging into battle like he did a few days ago, cutting through everything in sight, no one in the capital will dare to go out at night."
Xiao Si, the assistant, pondered for a moment:
"I reckon it was because he killed one of the Cao Clan's retainers yesterday that Commander Luo locked him up and gave him a dressing down. In officialdom, it's not about fighting and killing, it's about interpersonal relationships..."
That makes sense...
On the other side, the Wujian Inn.
Despite the rain, the inn's grand opening promotion did not affect business.
All twenty-six tables were packed. Laifu, a hired waiter, shuttled back and forth carrying plates, and the aroma of food and wine attracted many passersby to stop and watch. Liu Ping'er smiled as she worked on her abacus, while Ye Yuanshan greeted guests in the lobby, glancing at the " Gold List " from time to time.
Following old tradition, the inn posted the list of Gold List on the most prominent notice board in the lobby, decorated with red silk.
As per Ye Xingge's plan, a storyteller was hired to stand below the Gold List in the imperial examination, holding a folding fan and vividly recounting stories.
But the country bumpkins in Beijing had never seen such a variety of promotional methods before.
The various high-quality ingredients used in traditional Sichuan dishes are also amazing to diners.
The only drawback is that the show isn't exciting enough.
Some diners, after listening for a while, couldn't help but interrupt:
"Sir, your description of 'single-handedly fighting Kawaguchi' doesn't quite make sense. I heard Ye Xingge is from Qingxi, so how come in your words he's become a wandering knight-errant with no fixed abode?"
"Moreover, he was 'kind and friendly,' but there were nearly forty people at the opera house. They slit each of their throats in front of the Snake Eunuch. Their tattoos could ward off ghosts. Could they really be kind people?"
The gray-haired storyteller, a well-known figure in Dongcheng, always kept abreast of the latest news and compiled it into stories. He couldn't possibly be unaware of this information. But his sugar daddy wouldn't allow him to speak about it!
The reason, of course, is that the Living Taisui of the inn!
As the news spread, these gangsters from all over the world had to be careful with their chopsticks for fear of falling, so what kind of business could they do?
Seeing that the diners were dissatisfied, the storyteller could only explain:
"This is a proper adaptation. Ye Xingge's background is quite ordinary, nothing special. You gentlemen would probably find it uninteresting." "Adaptations shouldn't be made up randomly. I've heard that this Ye Grand Duke Jupiter is a celestial killer reincarnated, ruthless in Qingxi, and can't sleep well at night unless he gets rid of two people..."
"Yes, yes, you know Scarred Li from Two Willows Township? He just glanced at me as he passed by the inn, and then went back to farming that afternoon..." "Yeah, I also heard..."
Gibberish...
Standing in the lobby, Ye Yuanshan saw this scene and felt that the business probably wouldn't last much longer.
At this moment, Ye Yuanshan could only secretly pray that after his son made it onto the Gold List, he would calm down, settle down, and not cause another "grand opening banquet".
The inn has slaughtered more chickens in the past few days than the number of people the owner has killed. Isn't that outrageous?
Back in Qingxi, the killings weren't this severe. How come he's like a completely different person now that he's in the capital?
Could it be that Flower Judge has really cast a spell on us...?
Ye Yuanshan pondered for a moment, then ran to the door and looked upstairs:
"Second brother, nothing's happening in town today, right?"
Ye Gucheng, the second son, stood quietly on the eaves of the house, holding a blue oil-paper umbrella. His white robe fluttered lightly in the wind as he gazed at the vast city shrouded in rain and mist. "The world is full of calamities, all preordained. Mountains cannot hold back the wind, and people cannot escape their fate..."
"Alright, alright, keep an eye on things, don't let Xingge cause trouble near Azure Dragon Ward. We finally got a few tables of customers..."
"I will do my best..."