Du Fuchen understood that Lin Qianxuan was trying to express his ability to protect himself.

He also believed that Lin Qianxuan had some martial power.

But Lin Qianxuan was ultimately too young.

Even if his knowledge and physical qualities far exceeded what one should have at this age, he must be lacking in other areas.

Moreover, this matter involves unimaginable complexity.

Du Fuchen didn't want a nine-year-old "child" like Lin Qianxuan to wade into troubled waters.

"Junior Brother, I appreciate your kindness, but I don't really need your help here..."

"Senior Brother, when I arrived earlier, I saw that a rockery in your courtyard is not placed well. I have a rough knowledge of feng shui and some strength, so there's no need to trouble a craftsman. I'll move it for you."

Lin Qianxuan interrupted Du Fuchen and immediately pushed open the door, headed outside.

Du Fuchen was momentarily stunned, about to dissuade him, but Lin Qianxuan had already gone outside.

Then, he just watched Lin Qianxuan walk to that rockery, placing his hands on the base of the rockery.

"Just knew I shouldn't have let him drink..."

Du Fuchen clapped his hands, feeling something was going wrong, just about to open his mouth to stop him, when he heard the sound of cracking.

"Crack crack crack crack crack crack~!"

Lin Qianxuan's fingers seemed like steel, digging into the rockery, arms exerting force, and shouted: "Rise!"

In an instant, that rockery weighing no less than four thousand pounds was lifted by Lin Qianxuan.

Then, under Du Fuchen's dumbfounded gaze, he walked around the pond, gently set down the rockery, changing its position.

"Hmm, this place is much better, it doesn't block the sunlight to the plants in the flower beds, can stop the wind, and complements the water scenery, subtly adhering to the principle of mutual generation of the five elements..." Lin Qianxuan nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Du Fuchen and said: "Senior Brother, let's continue drinking."

It's forgivable to hide one's strength in front of enemies, but in front of one's own people, if not necessary, it's best not to keep them on edge, so Lin Qianxuan simply showcased a little.

Back indoors, Du Fuchen still held a few traces of shock in his eyes when looking at Lin Qianxuan.

"Xu Zhi Junior Brother, you're really nine years old?" Du Fuchen asked.

"In this world, I'm indeed only nine." Lin Qianxuan replied honestly.

Upon hearing this, Du Fuchen immediately caught the key point, questioning in astonishment: "Is Junior Brother truly a celestial being incarnated?"

"Hahaha, if Senior Brother thinks so, then let it be so." Lin Qianxuan laughed.

Such matters need not be explained in full.

Explaining fully would be beyond comprehension, leaving it ambiguous is best.

One just needs to have an explanation for one's abilities.

And Du Fuchen believed it immediately.

No other way, if not a celestial being incarnated, how could this be logically explained?

"Xu Junior Brother, to you, I raise this cup." Du Fuchen said.

After Lin Qianxuan drank the cup with him, he said, "Senior Brother, you don't need to worry. As for these worldly matters, no matter how difficult, to me, they are trivial. If worse comes to worst, I'll turn the world upside down, and no one can do anything to me."

"I believe you." Du Fuchen exclaimed, "With Junior Brother's bravery and strength, in this world, I'm afraid there's no one who can stop you a bit. Even amidst a thousand soldiers, you can come and go freely."

Du Fuchen has witnessed battles.

And understands human power limits.

With Lin Qianxuan's strength, in eras of cold weaponry, it doesn't need much of a showcase; swinging a tree stump twice in circles would scatter an army of several hundred soldiers instantly.

Even trapped in enemy lines, he could kill his way out, ensuring no one dared block him.

Humans have fear within them.

Merely showcasing martial power and killing a few would suffice to intimidate a vast army.

In a martial arts society with martial arts masters, theoretically, the court could hardly exert control over individuals like him.

In the face of overly supernatural individual martial power, power and organization struggle to restrict individuals.

"Senior Brother, tell me which aristocratic family is responsible; I'll help you find evidence, then bring people to investigate them." Lin Qianxuan suggested.

Factually, it's just that simple.

The opponent acted so blatantly that Du Fuchen surely knows who's responsible.

The only apprehension is the opponent's possession of a certain degree of martial power, and potentially, involvement with other aristocratic families with mutual exchanges and conflicts of interests, delaying the resolution of the case.

Once this side exhibits absolute superiority, the opponent has to retreat whether they wish it or not!

"It's the doing of the Guo Family. Magistrate Fan staked his entire family's lives to investigate, and now the seized official silver and grain should be in their granary." Du Fuchen sighed.

Magistrate Fan was the official previously responsible for the investigation; he dug too deep, lacked cunning, was too obstinate, causing his entire family's demise.

The court was extremely furious about this, yet left it at just that.

The civil uprising issues and disasters haven't been handled properly, and this matter didn't even rank within the top ten among numerous memorials.

"Where's the location? I'll check it tonight." Lin Qianxuan said.

"The matter has been delayed so long; why rush it now? Junior Brother, you rarely visit, why not enjoy the city first...?" Du Fuchen advised.

"Senior Brother, it's better to settle things early to have the mood to leisurely enjoy." Lin Qianxuan countered.

Du Fuchen, feeling helpless, turned away, retrieved a map from the cabinet, and pointed out the locations he had determined to Lin Qianxuan.

"As you inspect, Junior Brother, be cautious. If something happens, prioritize your safety." Du Fuchen advised, "Even though you are a celestial being incarnated, presently, you are still of mortal flesh, prudence is necessary...."

"Rest assured, Senior Brother, I value my life more than you do. If things become infeasible, I'll flee outright without any involvement, and perhaps later return to avenge you." Lin Qianxuan teased.

"Just maintain your discretion, Junior Brother." Du Fuchen chuckled, shaking his head.

...

...

Night had deepened, Lin Qianxuan didn't bother with night suit attire, simply changed into dark clothes and headed to the destination.

With a single leap, he easily soared several yards high and seven to eight meters far, landing silently; his lightweight skill was already superior.

And this was far from his limit; if fully sprinting, Lin Qianxuan's speed could be even more astounding.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he was out of the city.

After spending a little time, Lin Qianxuan found the Guo Family's warehouse near the Xiaojiang dock.

Even at night, there were still quite a few people active in the vicinity, including night watch personnel on duty.

Many of them carried weapons.

The Yong Country court wasn't too strict about weapon control.

It only restricted crossbows and iron armor.

But this only worked on ordinary people; for some aristocratic families, sneaking some in was just a matter of turning a blind eye.

Hard to manage and truly impossible to control.

Lin Qianxuan looked at the warehouse; the place was built solidly, with brick and stone, and the roof was sealed well, leaving just a few ventilation openings.

It wouldn't be easy to sneak in through other entrances.

There was no other way; he could only go through the main entrance.

Lin Qianxuan sighed, put on gloves, and opened a leather pouch made of cowhide from his waist. Inside were rows of iron needles, numbering over a hundred, with each tip encased in a venom-coated sleeve.

The stone-throwing technique could also be applied to throwing needles.

Lin Qianxuan couldn't throw the needles very far, at most about a hundred steps.

But the advantage was in its stealth; combined with poison, if aimed accurately, the victim wouldn't know who did it even in death.

However, currently, Lin Qianxuan only had anesthetic needles in the pouch, no lethal poison needles.

Lethal poison doesn't preserve well for long; after a while, it's ineffective. He only used some on his arrows.

The anesthetic needles were different, once made, they wouldn't expire for half a year.

"Whish~!"

"Whish whish whish~!"

Lin Qianxuan's needles flew out one after another rapidly.

There was no need to use a mechanism to assist; his current finger strength surpassed most hidden weapon mechanisms.

"Puff~!"

A needle pierced into the acupoint at the back of a person's neck. He was stunned for a moment, then felt his head go numb and fell down on the spot.

The nearby few people also quickly fell down.

Lin Qianxuan quickly stepped forward to retrieve his poisoned needles, then leisurely walked towards the warehouse.

There was a large lock on the warehouse, but Lin Qianxuan broke it open with a little force, needing no other means.

Though he had learned to pick locks, after all.

Inside was a granary, with bags of rice piled up. Lin Qianxuan scanned the area and quickly judged the sequence from the traces, heading straight to the sack that had recently changed.

As he got closer, a rusty smell emerged, and Lin Qianxuan knew he had found the right place.

Like grabbing an empty bag, he lifted the top bags of rice away, revealing the hidden boxes below.

Or rather, it seemed that the other party didn't even try hard to hide them.

The rusty iron lock on the box was snapped, and inside Lin Qianxuan saw neatly stacked official silver.

Originally, the transportation route of this batch of official silver wasn't supposed to be known, and even if someone knew, it didn't matter; with so many guards, bandits generally wouldn't dare to come.

Moreover, once they reached near Xiaojiang, they would go directly by water route to the disaster area nearby.

But now, the situation was that the transportation route was nearly transparent to those who knew, and those escorting the silver couldn't withstand the attack by bandits.

Besides the local powers, what large aristocratic families could have such power?

Evidently, these aristocratic families were dissatisfied with the court's reforms and attempts to extract money from them.

Hence, there was this rebellion.

Is the Guo Family important?

The Guo Family, taking the action, could be just a pawn to be sacrificed.

Behind them, there must be larger interest groups.

However, to Lin Qianxuan, none of that mattered anymore.

Knowing where the things were, he planned to return to the city later to find Du Fuchen, bring a team of government soldiers, and directly catch the thieves, leaving the rest to Du Fuchen to find the Guo Family and hold them accountable.

But during this process, there had to be some commotion.

The situation needed to be grand enough for the Guo Family to notice, grand enough for every aristocratic family involved in Xiaojiang Prefecture to perceive, and then unite efforts to resist.

Then he would crush the rebellion with absolute power.

In this way, all the scheming would become a joke, and all the power struggles would shatter like an illusion.

After that, Du Fuchen would face no resistance for a long time.

Yawning, Lin Qianxuan casually turned around and left.

He didn't bother to check the remaining warehouses.

It was never important.

He was merely here to confirm the situation once more.

The other side was openly challenging the court's authority.

They weren't even worried that Xiaojiang Prefecture would fail to notice!

From start to finish, this wasn't about a small amount of disaster relief grains and funds.

Otherwise, things could have been done more discretely.

Lin Qianxuan didn't restore any traces of the search, intending to let them notice the situation and understand someone had come to investigate.

He wanted to give his opponents enough time and opportunity to react and prepare.

Otherwise, how else would they feel despair?

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