Zhu Peng immediately summoned his trusted aide, instructing him to call Zhu Cheng from the Ministry of Justice.
Almost a stick of incense passed, and Duan Rong and Zhu Peng had already eaten to the point of disorder, when Zhu Cheng finally arrived slowly.
Zhu Cheng’s face was somewhat unsightly. Before he even stepped into the cool room, he stood on the steps and looked at Zhu Peng inside, shouting, "What’s the matter? Insisting I must come over..."
As Zhu Cheng reached the entrance of the cool room, he saw that there was another person sitting opposite Zhu Peng; upon closer inspection, it was Duan Rong.
Zhu Cheng immediately stepped forward and knelt, exclaiming, "This humble servant greets my lord!"
Zhu Peng was momentarily stunned. He could never remember to pay respects whenever he saw Duan Rong. Upon seeing Zhu Cheng prostrate himself in a kneeling position, Zhu Peng also appeared ready to slide off his stool to kneel.
Duan Rong, however, kicked him under the table and then looked intently at Zhu Cheng at the door, saying, "Zhu Cheng, get up. Today, we’re only discussing personal matters, not rank."
"Yes, my lord!" Zhu Cheng stood up after hearing this.
Duan Rong smiled and said, "Come, Zhu Cheng, sit here! However, you came a bit late; most of the hard dishes have already been devoured by the two of us."
Zhu Cheng sat in front of the table and said, "I didn’t know it was the lord calling me. I was at the government office dealing with some matters before coming."
Duan Rong picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for Zhu Cheng, saying, "I know you’re busy; if it weren’t for a reason, I wouldn’t have called you."
Zhu Cheng accepted the wine and drank it in one gulp, then lowered his head and sat there, waiting for Duan Rong to speak.
Duan Rong said, "Both of you, put aside your tasks for now. In the coming days, you’ll be working with me."
Zhu Peng asked, "What’s the task?"
Duan Rong replied, "We’re capturing spies within the Divine Cloud Prefecture."
Zhu Peng asked blankly, "What spies? Whose spies?"
Duan Rong glanced at the silent Zhu Cheng and said, "Do you remember the Zhu Shizhong case from half a year ago? That group of craftsmen in the Ministry of Justice’s prison was poisoned to death by your Temple Director, Zhou Wei."
Zhu Cheng poured himself another cup of wine and downed it, saying, "And Zhou Wei was killed as well."
"The clues stopped there," Duan Rong said. "Actually, I know who killed Zhou Wei."
Upon hearing this, Zhu Cheng abruptly raised his head, looking at him in shock.
Over the past half-year, he had been investigating this matter in secret, but found no leads. Furthermore, when Duan Rong said ’actually,’ it implied he had known long ago.
Zhu Cheng focused his gaze and asked, "Who did it?"
Duan Rong did not answer him, instead asking, "Zhu Cheng, are all your subordinates trustworthy?"
Zhu Cheng replied, "Because of Zhou Wei’s incident, I’ve gone through my subordinates thoroughly. I’ve reassigned those who seemed suspicious. The ones remaining should be trustworthy."
"Is that so?" Duan Rong chuckled lightly, showing an ambiguous expression.
Zhu Peng hesitated for a moment and then awkwardly said, "The Dean assigned me other tasks..."
Duan Rong said, "I already informed Chen Shanmeng and your Dean, Lin Zhiyuan. You don’t have to worry about your tasks for the next few days."
Zhu Peng then smiled and said, "That’s good then!"
At the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, there were many outer disciples making appointments today. The man with the pockmarked face was busy at the gate until the afternoon, then slowly stood up. He looked through the documents in his hand and, seeing that everyone on the list had come, organized the simple desk’s paperwork, cradled them in his arms, and turned to enter the Ministry of Justice.
He hurried along the corridor and quickly arrived at his small room, where he put the paperwork in place, intending to rest a while and have some tea.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
The man with the pockmarked face raised an eyebrow, walked over, and opened the door to find Temple Chief Zhu Cheng standing expressionlessly at the entrance. Upon seeing the door open, he said, "Officer Hu, I, Zhu, have something to discuss with you. Is it convenient?"
The man with the pockmarked face was stunned for a second but then understood, saying, "Please come in, my lord!"
Zhu Cheng stepped through the door and glanced around.
The man with the pockmarked face pulled out a round stool, saying, "It’s a small place, please have a seat!"
Zhu Cheng glanced at the round stool but stood there motionless, his expression cold, asking, "Officer Hu, how many years have you been at the Ministry of Justice?"
The man with the pockmarked face smiled, saying, "I can’t recall exactly. It should be five or six years."
"Is that so?" Zhu Cheng said, "You’ve been laying low quite deeply!"
Suddenly, Zhu Cheng turned and fixed his gaze on the man with the pockmarked face. The man’s smile froze, and he said, "My lord, I can’t understand a word of what you’re saying."
Zhu Cheng leaped forward, striking the man’s dantian with his palm.
He attacked with full force because Duan Rong had already warned him that, though the man with the pockmarked face appeared frail, he was actually at the True Qi Realm Third Level, considered a top master in the Mortal World.