Yin time, the fifth watch of the night.

Before dawn on a winter's day, the sky grew even darker,

the snow fell more intensely, the cold pierced to the bone.

On the long pathway outside the Qian Imperial Palace, the torches of the guards flickered, and the footsteps of the eunuchs within the palace were hurried.

Inside a warm pavilion outside the palace, three people sat in silence.

A man wore bright armor and had a robust build.

A middle-aged man wore a black official's robe and was draped in a silver fox fur.

There was also an elder in a brocade robe, his face was pale without a beard.

They were Wu Sheng, the Capital City Patrol Commander, Qiu Shixian, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Eunuch Wang, the Director of the Astronomical Bureau.

For these three to wait overnight outside the palace, undoubtedly something significant had occurred.

Soon, an old eunuch walked into the hall, filled with the chill, and patted the snow off his shoulders.

The three immediately stood up,

"Eunuch Qin, what does His Majesty say?"

The old eunuch smiled faintly,

"His Majesty has taken a pill and has entered meditation, instructing the Ministry of Justice and the Astronomical Bureau to jointly investigate and handle the matter properly."

The three exchanged glances, and Qiu Shixian, the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, furrowed his brow and cupped his hands, "Eunuch Qin, this is a serious matter, I hope you can shed some light on it."

The old eunuch shook his head,

"How dare I speculate on the emperor's intentions? However, the capital has just overcome a great plague, and His Majesty's sixtieth birthday is approaching, it would be best not to trouble His Majesty."

With that, he cupped his hands and turned to leave.

Capital City Patrol Commander Wu Sheng let out a sigh of relief and chuckled, "Since His Majesty has instructed you two to handle it, and given my busy duty, I shall take my leave first."

Watching Wu Sheng slip away quickly, the remaining two looked displeased.

Eunuch Wang slightly raised his eyelids and toyed with the jade thumb ring on his hand, "Lord Qiu, what do you think?"

Qiu Shixian's face was gloomy,

"Clearly a framing, but the Blood Wolf Army guards the borders and often clashes with the Ghost Rong Kingdom. The only son of General Heyang dying tragically will not end well."

Eunuch Wang nodded slightly,

"If it were usual times, it would be fine, but now with all these demonic movements and the culprits behind the great plague in the capital yet to be found, it is best not to provoke more troubles."

With a bitter smile, he said,

"However, Lord Qiu also knows that although I am the Director, above me are the National Guardian True Man and the State Preceptor. I am merely the one doing errands. Xiahou Ba becoming the National Guardian True Man is a done deal, an explanation must be given..."

Suddenly enlightened, Qiu Shixian said in a deep voice, "A culprit needs to be found, but it certainly cannot be the Ghost Rong Kingdom..."

Meanwhile, outside the Ghost Rong Kingdom embassy.

A row of soldiers stood blocking the road, holding halberds on guard.

On the embassy's outer steps, a tall barbarian man, standing two and a half meters high, sat like a giant bear with fierce beast tattoos on his face, gently stroking his large curved blade.

On the other side of the soldiers, five men stood stiffly, their faces as hard as stone, exuding an aura filled with murderous intent.

Their leader was none other than the one-eyed man who protected Xiahou Jie, he stared at the barbarian, his voice as cold as iron, "Before dawn, break through the courier station!"

"How dare you!"

Capital City Patrol Commander Wu Sheng arrived on horseback, leaping mid-air and landing with a thud, eyes full of evil qi, "Daring to stir up trouble in the capital, are you Blood Wolf Army inciting rebellion?"

The one-eyed man's eye twitched, but he said nothing.

Wu Sheng's expression softened a bit, "His Majesty has already instructed the Ministry of Justice and Astronomical Bureau to investigate, they will find the culprit. If you act tonight, it will be a dead end."

Quickly, a large force from the Ministry of Justice hurried over, interrogating both sides and compiling the information to be delivered to the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Qiu Shixian.

"The people in the embassy claim to have not stepped out recently, waiting to be summoned by His Majesty..."

"Xiahou Jie sneaked away using a secret passage at midnight and was found dead..."

"The two sides had not met before."

"Recently, Xiahou Jie clashed with a Daoist named Zhang Kui, and had ordered Guard Commander Tang Shu to assassinate him, but it was refused..."

"Hmm?!"

Qiu Shixian tapped his fingers on the table, "Xiahou Jie died from an exotic skill, the main suspect is this Daoist."

Having made up his mind, he shouted sternly:

"Someone..."

"Wait!"

Eunuch Wang suddenly remembered something and hurriedly stopped to ask, "That Daoist named Zhang Kui... does he live in the Iron Blood Manor on the outskirts of the capital?"

"Yes, that's what the confession states."

"This is troublesome..."

Eunuch Wang instantly gave a wry smile, "That Zhang Kui once in Qingzhou performed Enlightenment and slew several Grain Avoidance Realm Old Demons, and the cure for the Gu Plague is related to him. True Man Yuhua holds him in high esteem; it is best to proceed with caution."

Hiss...

Qiu Shixian sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling quite troubled.

On one hand, there are the Ghost Rong Kingdom disputes, and on the other, matters involving two National Guardian True Men. No matter how it's handled, there will be trouble.

Qiu Shixian shook his head, "It seems that the only solution now is to quickly find the true culprit. Someone, go to the prison and bring Zheng Quanyou here."

"Zheng Quanyou..."

Eunuch Wang's eyes flickered, "Isn't he the one known as the Ministry of Justice's Divine Detective? I heard Xiahou Jie was forced out of the capital because of him. Isn't it inappropriate?"

Qiu Shixian let out a bitter laugh,

"That man's eyes only see the case, he cares about nothing else. Right now, we have no other choice."

...…

As the sky began to lighten, a group of riders galloped out of the South City Gate, heading straight for the outskirts of the Capital City.

The leader was a middle-aged man with dead fish eyes, his face expressionless, as if he never blinked.

This man was the Ministry of Justice's Divine Detective Zheng Quanyou, who had, a few months back, investigated a family annihilation case, forcing Xiahou Jie to the borderlands, and found himself demoted to a prison warden.

As they reached the outskirts of Iron Blood Manor, Zheng Quanyou suddenly furrowed his brow, "Stop!"

After speaking, he leapt off his horse, bent down to feel the snow, and looked around.

"This place was attacked last night. Quick!"

The group of riders galloped swiftly, and when they reached the outside of the manor, Zheng Quanyou suddenly stood up, leapt over the gate wall, and his pupils immediately contracted.

In the middle of the courtyard lay a huge black dog, its head already separated from its body.

Zhang Kui, holding a big bowl of millet rice, crouched nonchalantly on the steps, eating in big mouthfuls.

"Ministry of Justice, Astronomical Bureau...what are you all doing here?"

Zheng Quanyou glanced at the black dog's corpse in the courtyard and then at Zhang Kui, and expressionlessly cupped his hands and said:

"Taoist Zhang, there was an incident in the city last night..."

"That grandson died?"

Zhang Kui was initially taken aback upon hearing this, then shook his head with a sigh, "Sent a demon last night to kill me. I was just preparing to enter the city and chop off his cowardly head, but he left ahead of time. What a wretched ghost!"

Zheng Quanyou furrowed his brows,

"Taoist Zhang, this is a serious matter, no joking around."

"Heh heh..."

Zhang Kui smiled indifferently, lowered his head to finish the rice, and smiled at Liu Mao'Er, who came out upon hearing the noise:

"Old Liu, that grandson is already dead, gather our people back, and continue brewing wine."

"Dead?"

Liu Mao'Er clicked his tongue and shook his head, appearing somewhat regretful.

Zheng Quanyou, observing from the side, felt his scalp tingle with fear.

This fierce Daoist really intended to kill Xiahou Jie and seemed to have already arranged an escape route.

Though Xiahou Jie was a scoundrel, his father was the Blood Wolf Army's Commander and at the level of a National Guardian True Man.

Is this person a madman?

If he had known Zhang Kui had already plotted the demise of a National Guardian True Man, and even incidentally plotted against the "Stone Man Tomb" and the "General's Tomb," he probably wouldn't be surprised, only lament:

"A noble warrior is harmless, rampant across the world!"

At that moment, horse hooves clattered again outside the manor, and five shadows shot in from outside, landing with a thud, standing like javelins, exuding fierce auras.

"Military Cultivators?"

Zhang Kui furrowed his brow slightly, these people, much like the Helian Family, practiced the military skills of body refinement and combat, appearing to belong to the Xiahou family.

"Tang Shu!"

Zheng Quanyou's eye twitched, "Why did you follow?"

The one-eyed man's expression remained unchanged, "You have a grudge with the young master, I don't trust you, I must follow."

"Hahaha..."

Zhang Kui laughed heartily, "A beastly nature, enemies everywhere, seems like this calamity was meant to happen, though it's a pity it didn't happen at my hands."

"What did you say!"

The five were immediately enraged, abruptly turning around, their auras merging into one, as if a bloody scent wafted through the air.

Zhang Kui rose slowly, glaring with round eyes,

"All at once, then!"

Since yesterday, he had been stifling his anger. These noble families were aloof, indifferent to the lives of ordinary people, and were no different from demons wearing human skins.

Just then, the sound of horse hooves rang out again outside the gate, followed by a person crashing through the door and stumbling inside.

"Guo Huai?"

Zhang Kui furrowed his brow, recognizing him as the former constable of Pingkang County in Qingzhou, who later joined the Ministry of Justice, Guo Huai.

Guo Huai's face was pale, his eyes filled with terror,

"Taoist Zhang... save..."

Before he could finish speaking, a mist of blood erupted from his mouth, and he collapsed to the ground, black worms crawling densely from his mouth...'

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