A cold wind was blowing through the Disciplinary Hall.
Cold sweat dripped down the officials’ foreheads.
Li Qingxian leaned back in his chair and said slowly, "As you can all see, this entire affair has nothing to do with me."
The atmosphere in the Disciplinary Hall instantly grew strange.
Wei Yong and Ye Han stared blankly at Li Qingxian.
The officials exchanged glances, secretly communicating through voice transmissions.
After a long moment, Yuu Xianhe glanced at Li Qingxian and adjourned the hearing.
Many of the officials, their legs feeling like jelly, slowly shuffled out.
Li Qingxian followed behind Zhou Chunfeng, heading back with the officials from the Divine Capital Bureau.
None of the Divine Capital Bureau officials said a word on the way back.
Li Qingxian glanced around and realized they were all completely baffled, unable to make sense of what had just happened.
Li Qingxian wasn’t sure either, so he followed Zhou Chunfeng back to the Chunfeng Inn.
Once Zhou Chunfeng was seated, Li Qingxian said with a smile, "Thank you for defending me in the Disciplinary Hall, Uncle Zhou. You’re the best!"
He said, giving a thumbs-up.
Zhou Chunfeng said with a look of disdain, "Is there anything else? If not, hurry up and get to your Cultivation. Youfei is visiting the Imperial Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager today. She’ll drop by this afternoon to guide you. I’ve already booked the small training ground, A8. It’s protected by an Array, so there’s enough space for you to practice your Thunder Skill."
"Really? I’ll go back and wait, then... By the way, why is the Internal Factory leading this operation? Did something unexpected happen?"
Zhou Chunfeng gazed out the window. After a long moment, he said, "The Emperor’s grand birthday is coming up."
’None of these officials are any good,’ Li Qingxian thought. ’They’re always so secretive. Would it kill them to just speak plainly?’
Li Qingxian stood there thinking for a moment before it dawned on him.
’It seems Ge Chao and his people are planning to cause trouble on Emperor Taining’s grand birthday.’
A case of this magnitude could only be handled by the Internal Factory.
Li Qingxian glanced at the empty table, shook his head, and was about to leave when the image of Ge Chao’s few rare Fate Grids surfaced in his mind.
Li Qingxian cleared his throat. "Uncle Zhou, this Ge Chao might have other secrets. How about you talk to the Guard Commander and Lord Yan? Let me have a word with him. I can use Observing Fate and Qi to try and fish for more intelligence."
"You want his Destiny Star?" Zhou Chunfeng saw right through him.
Li Qingxian smiled. "I just want to analyze his Fate Grid. It’s very peculiar and would be a great help to my Fate Skill development. I guarantee I can deduce something new."
Zhou Chunfeng gave Li Qingxian a suspicious look. After some thought, he said, "I’ll go find the Guard Commander and Junior Director Yan. No promises on whether it’ll work out."
"Besides, criminals this important are all held in the Imperial Prison. I’m part of the Imperial Prison Department, so it’s my undeniable duty to help the Imperial Court dig for more intelligence," Li Qingxian said.
Zhou Chunfeng nodded.
Li Qingxian bid farewell to Zhou Chunfeng and headed for Room A9.
Along the way, some Night Guards were extremely respectful, while others pointed and whispered.
When he reached the Street Patrol Room, half the Night Guards kept their distance, while the bolder half swarmed around him.
"Captain Li, what on earth happened?"
"Yeah, is it true? We heard that to protect you, Lord Zhou Chunfeng slammed his hand on the table, rose to his feet, and used the Internal Factory’s influence to arrest Ge Chao."
"Others are saying you have a powerful backer, and that this powerful figure behind you couldn’t stand Ge Chao’s lawlessness anymore and decided to take action."
"Brother Li, that was a ruthless move. We heard you scared the junior officials at the Imperial Prison Department."
"The rumor is all over the government offices now. They’re saying you’re cruel and vicious, that you abused public power to settle a private grudge, calling in the Internal Factory to arrest Ge Chao over some minor friction."
Li Qingxian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "What is all this nonsense? That’s not what happened. This had nothing to do with me; it was just a coincidence."
Everyone pursed their lips in disbelief.
"Oh, come on. It’s been less than a month, and you’ve already taken down three Seventh-Grade Officials. Do you know what they call you behind your back in the Finance Department? The Bane of the Seventh Grade."
"At this rate, you’ll have every Seventh-Grade Official in the Night Guard thrown into the Imperial Prison within a year."
"That’s three down. Wonder how many days until you pass a hundred."
Li Qingxian laughed and shooed them away. "Get out of here, all of you. You’ve got too much time on your hands. Don’t stand around spouting nonsense. I’ll say it one last time: this had nothing to do with me. I’m not that powerful. I’m just an ordinary Night Guard."
Amid the eye-rolls of the crowd, Li Qingxian returned to Room A9.
Han Anbo and Yur Ping followed him in, giving him a thumbs-up. "So you were prepared all along."
Li Qingxian said helplessly, "It really was a coincidence. I never expected the Internal Factory to arrest someone so publicly."
"So, you’re saying you knew the Internal Factory was going to arrest Ge Chao all along?" Han Anbo asked with a slight smile.
"I never said that. You’re just guessing," said Li Qingxian.
Han Anbo chuckled. "Whether it’s true or not, this sort of thing is actually pretty good for you. At least those flies and mosquitoes won’t dare to bother you anymore."
"True enough," Li Qingxian said.
Li Qingxian opened a Daoist Book and began to read slowly.
While dozing during his afternoon break, he vaguely heard one of Zhou Chunfeng’s guards calling for him. He scrambled out of his daze, washed his face, grabbed the Five Thunders True Method Collection and Annotation, and followed the guard to the Chunfeng Inn.
The afternoon sun was warm, bathing the world in brilliant light.
After entering the main gate and following a stone path around a screen wall, a small, lush lotus pond came into view.
Emerald lotus pads carpeted the pond’s surface, interspersed with delicate, vibrant blossoms.
With its rockeries, flowing water, tall trees, and low grasses, the courtyard resembled a pastoral idyll.
At the far end of this idyllic courtyard, the wooden doors and windows of the Chunfeng Inn stood open.
The afternoon sunlight fell upon a young woman in a white dress by the window, making her shine with a dazzling light.
She was raising a slender, fair hand, and a pink butterfly had just landed on the tip of her index finger, gently fluttering its wings.
The window served as a picture frame, and the woman within it was a work of art.
Her eyes were bright and lively, her gaze focused.
Her eyes shifted, and the young woman looked over. With a slight nod of her peerlessly beautiful, yet cold face, she turned to walk away. Her black hair and two long, white ribbons swayed gently as her figure vanished from sight.
Li Qingxian was displeased. He started walking, calling out, "Sister Youfei, it’s only been a few days! How can you not recognize me? Are you just going to... You still haven’t given me the Celestial Venerable Order."
WHOOSH...
A token flew out of the window, and Li Qingxian reached out to catch it.
The palm-sized token seemed to be made of black iron. On the front was the single word "Order," surrounded by interwoven cloud patterns.
Carved on the back were the three words, "Celestial Cloud Sect."
Li Qingxian walked into the Chunfeng Inn.
Behind a wide desk, perched on a tall chair, sat Jiangg Youfei. She sat bolt upright with a serious expression, her small chest puffed out.
Zhou Chunfeng was tall and slender, so both his desk and chair had been custom-made to his proportions.
The tiny Jiangg Youfei sitting there only looked even more petite and delicate, like Zhou Chunfeng’s young, unmarried daughter.
Li Qingxian cleared his throat and asked, "Sister Youfei, when are we going to start my Thunder Skill Cultivation?"
"I heard from Uncle Zhou that even though you have the Divine Sky Thunder Seed, you’re unable to perform the ’Sealing Inner Gods’?" Jiangg Youfei asked, her tone stiff and formal.
Li Qingxian sat down at the desk and placed the Five Thunders True Method Collection and Annotation in front of Jiangg Youfei. He nodded. "I followed the book’s contents to the letter."
Jiangg Youfei nodded, opened the book, and began flipping rapidly through the pages.
Li Qingxian watched in disbelief. ’It takes me the better part of ten minutes to read a single page, but she can understand it with just a glance?’
After flipping through over a hundred pages, Jiangg Youfei finally stopped and sat there quietly.
After a long moment, she flipped through it rapidly one more time before closing the book. Li Qingxian asked, "What were you just thinking about?"
"After reading a book," Jiangg Youfei said, "one should recall its contents, extract the key principles, categorize and organize them, compare it all to past knowledge, and consider when and how to apply it. Finally, one reviews the book again to confirm what was learned and fill in any gaps."
Li Qingxian’s head ached just listening to her. ’Wouldn’t your brain just explode from exhaustion?’