Chapter 374: Chapter 373: Break Free, the Jiang Father and Daughter

Zhou Miaomiao’s interrogation was essentially standard procedure.

Nothing much to say.

It was just to confirm some established facts through Li Jing himself.

Li Jing cooperated throughout.

After about half an hour, the interrogation was over.

Zhou Miaomiao checked her notebook carefully to make sure nothing was overlooked, then looked up and said,

"Inspector Li, thank you for your cooperation. This is the end of our Discipline Inspection Office inquiry. The Discipline Inspection Office will continue to follow up on the related issues. In the meantime, we may need to inconvenience you to hand over your patrol certificate."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing blinked and asked,

"So, I’m suspended?"

"You could say that."

Zhou Miaomiao nodded, then pursed her red lips and said,

"Technically, you are under the jurisdiction of Jianghai City, and we here in the Capital have no authority to suspend your duties. But you are currently operating in the Capital and under certain circumstances, the Capital Inspection Headquarters has some priority management rights over you, so..."

Before she could finish, Li Jing took out his patrol certificate.

"Can I leave after surrendering my certificate?"

"That’s not up to me."

Zhou Miaomiao showed a slightly apologetic smile.

Just as she was about to say something else, the interrogation room door was suddenly pushed open.

The two people in the room turned their heads at the sound.

They saw Jiang Yini walking in wearing high heels.

Seeing the two people in the interrogation room, she smiled charmingly at Li Jing.

"Oh, are we busy here?"

Then she glanced at the patrol certificate that Li Jing had taken out and placed on the table, her eyebrows slightly raised.

"Are you suspended?"

Li Jing was about to respond when she spoke again.

"If you are suspended then what are you still doing sitting here?"

?

Li Jing slowly typed a question mark.

On the other side, Zhou Miaomiao’s expression changed slightly at the sight of Jiang Yini’s arrival.

Even though Jiang Yini didn’t have any clout in the Capital,

she was the darling of the Director of the Management Bureau and the beloved youngest sister of the Jiang family. Any person operating in the Capital’s underworld would be hard-pressed to say they didn’t know her.

Seeing as Jiang Yini openly directed a barrage of questions at Li Jing, evidently intending to take him away, Zhou Miaomiao quickly stood up and let out an awkward laugh.

"Director Jiang, are you here to bail out Inspector Li?"

"Bail out?"

Jiang Yini looked over, repeating the question.

"Did he kill someone or break the law?"

Zhou Miaomiao was about to answer instinctively.

Before she could open her mouth, Jiang Yini exuded the demeanor of the Director of the Management Bureau and coldly huffed,

"Answer my question, don’t talk nonsense. Did he kill someone or break the law?"

"This..."

Zhou Miaomiao choked on her words, hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice,

"Inspector Li did not commit murder. As for breaking the law... our Inspection Headquarters received an anonymous tip accusing him of misuse of authority, and he is currently under investigation. The apparent facts are that during his operations, six individuals of sensitive identity were killed."

"So he’s suspended?"

Jiang Yini smiled slightly.

Zhou Miaomiao blinked twice, nodding dazedly.

"Since he’s suspended, it means he temporarily can’t do the work of an inspector, and the rest has to wait for the results of the Inspection Headquarters investigation."

Jiang Yini spoke, tilting her head.

"Am I right?"

Without waiting for Zhou Miaomiao to reply, she continued,

"Since you are here to interrogate him, you should know that in addition to being an inspector for the Serious Case Group, he’s also an action consultant for our Jianghai City Management Bureau. Just because the Inspection Headquarters received an anonymous tip, his normal work shouldn’t be delayed. Special cases should be treated specially; he has duties to perform in the Management Bureau, and the Inspection Headquarters has no reason to detain him here."

"Ah, this..."

Zhou Miaomiao was baffled.

Jiang Yini’s reasoning was flawless.

If it were an ordinary inspector,

the decision on whether to detain for a period of time or let the person go to await the results of the investigation after a violation and subsequent suspension would be up to the Inspection Headquarters.

But Li Jing’s case was indeed special.

It involved official business of the Management Bureau...

Not just involved,

his position in the Management Bureau was not low.

In comparison,

in the inspection system, he was just a grassroots level...

Seeing Jiang Yini waiting with crossed arms for her response, Zhou Miaomiao timidly spoke up,

"Director Jiang, it’s not up to me whether Inspector Li can leave. Please don’t make it difficult for..."

Before she could finish, Jiang Yini shook her head.

"I know it’s not up to you. I’m not trying to make things difficult for you. Just report this matter to your superiors. Currently, the Management Bureau has a matter that only he can handle, and it involves the top secret of Longyu. I am not authorized to say more here. If your superior has any questions, you can ask him to contact the Administration Bureau to learn more about the situation."

With that, she looked at Li Jing.

"Why are you still sitting there? Let’s go!"

At the sound of that, Li Jing blinked and responded with an "Oh", pushing his handcuffed hands forward and giving a harmless, sheepish grin to Zhou Miaomiao.

"Officer Zhou, could you help me undo these cuffs?"

Zhou Miaomiao looked pitifully at Li Jing, and then at Jiang Yini, tentatively reaching out for the key.

Seeing the reluctant Zhou Miaomiao unlock his cuffs, Li Jing felt a pang of guilt.

It was logical for Jiang Yini to take him away.

Considering his position in the Management Bureau aside.

The matter that Jiang Yini stated that only he could undertake did exist.

Wasn’t the issue with Northern God Country a case where on one but him would suffice?

If Zhou Miaomiao’s superior found out about this, he wouldn’t dare to question it, regardless of any higher-pressure he was under.

Compared to the situation in the Northern God Country.

This tiny inconvenience was hardly worth mentioning.

In the face of Longyu’s core interests, no matter how influential those behind the scenes were, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to cause trouble.

However, now that he’s about to leave, Zhou Miaomiao, now saddled with an unexpected duty, would undoubtedly receive a tongue-lashing from her superiors.

If he couldn’t wash his hands off Jiang Yini, should he do the same to Zhou Miaomiao?

Glancing sympathetically at Zhou Miaomiao, Li Jing smiled and got up.

"Officer Zhou, I apologize."

Zhou Miaomiao pursed her lips at that.

She didn’t appreciate Li Jing’s apology.

The two of them were hardly acquainted.

If not for this incident, they wouldn’t have crossed paths at all.

...

A moment later.

Li Jing and Jiang Yini left Capital Inspection Headquarters.

Stepping out of the main gate, Li Jing looked back, then turned and said,

"Thanks. If you hadn’t pulled me out, I might have been detained for a while."

"You knew you were going to be detained if I didn’t show up? Why didn’t you contact me when you ran into trouble?"

Jiang Yini voiced her displeasure.

"Ah, I didn’t want to inconvenience you,"

Li Jing laughed awkwardly and replied,

"It wasn’t a big deal, just ran into some trouble, and was detained at most for a while. Longyu isn’t a place where anyone can get away with things single-handedly, I wouldn’t be in trouble no matter what. Besides, if I wanted to leave, nobody at the Inspection Headquarters could keep me."

After hearing Li Jing speak so casually, Jiang Yini rolled her eyes.

If it were anyone else, she would’ve sneered.

But since it was Li Jing saying this, she had no grounds to refute.

Let’s just leave aside the specifics of Li Jing’s current personal power.

Just a few days ago.

He visited God Church Country and caused an uproarious commotion with the Forbidden Skill, summoning their Eighth Realm. After which, he returned to the country low-profile, as though nothing had ever happened.

Although Northern God Country was waiting to catch him.

But his ability to safely escape, even after raising pandemonium and with the Eighth Realm making its move, clearly wasn’t just because the Northern God Country had his back.

Even though he didn’t quite know what had happened.

With Li Jing’s abilities, no one at the Capital Inspection Headquarters could stop him.

As for him, the administration would certainly exercise caution.

Who knows, in case he felt aggrieved, he might use the Forbidden Skill on the spot.

Who could bear that?

At this point, Li Jing was already a "dangerous person."

His "past" was even more significant than the "past" of someone twenty years ago.

After all, the Forbidden Skill from back then didn’t land in the capital.

But with Li Jing’s, he really damaged God Church Country...

Not dwelling on the topic, Jiang Yini pulled Li Jing towards a business vehicle parked by the roadside.

"My dad is also here, he’s in the car. Any issues can be discussed after we get in."

Upon hearing that Jiang Liao was also here, Li Jing was taken aback.

Uncle Jiang has...

Given me too much face, hasn’t he?

Isn’t this a minor issue?

Does it warrant the Director of the Management Bureau to come in person?

Walking alongside Jiang Yini to the roadside, Li Jing spotted Jiang Liao through the car window, sitting in his seat.

He nodded in acknowledgement to Jiang Liao, then opened the rear door of the car to get in.

Just as he was about to close the door, Jiang Yini grabbed the door and squeezed beside him.

Jiang Liao in the car, about to address Li Jing, noticed his daughter intruding and his brow furrowed incessantly.

Li Jing, on the other hand, felt quite distressed.

The issue here is this car is a custom model.

The back seats are separate.

With Jiang Yini squeezing in, she was essentially in the same seat as him.

Normally, he wouldn’t mind Jiang Yini doing so.

But the problem was, her father was sitting right there!

And that wasn’t it all.

There was no driver in the car.

The three of them were all seated in the back, so who was driving?

Jiang Yini squeezed in without caring too much and spoke up.

"Tell us, how did you suddenly get targeted by the Discipline Inspection Office of the Capital Inspection Headquarters?"

As her daughter started to speak, Jiang Liao didn’t express any objections but looked at her with concern.

He was a smart man.

That Li Jing being suddenly targeted by the Discipline Inspection Office probably had something to do with someone investigating the case of his deceased wife.

Seeing the concerned look from both father and daughter, Li Jing had no choice.

"This is a long story, primarily because I didn’t expect them to play such a trick, I was set up."

While speaking, Li Jing didn’t hold back anything, explaining everything from the beginning when he went to see Sima Yuxuan to following Liu Shi to interrogate the five disabled disciples of the Witch Gu Sect.

Li Jing went on and on, talking for a good ten minutes.

In the car, both Jiang Liao and Jiang Yini listened to his narration without interrupting.

After Li Jing finished speaking and the father and daughter digested the information, Jiang Liao was the first to finish processing the information and spoke up.

"There’s so much involved and so many hidden facts in this incident, it’s beyond my expectations. Indeed, I didn’t misjudge you, you have managed to investigate to this extent in just a day. However, now that things have reached this point, you need to be cautious."

As he spoke, he murmured.

"The Sacred Association have been secretly investigated by the Capital Inspection Headquarters in conjunction with the United Management Administration for years."

Upon hearing this, Li Jing was taken aback and looked at him in surprise.

"Uncle, you know about the Sacred Association?"

Jiang Yini, who was sitting on the side, also looked at her father in surprise.

Meeting their focused gaze, Jiang Liao spoke indifferently.

"The brightness and indomitable stature of Longyu today have reasons. Can the infiltration of some high-level officials remain totally unknown? It’s just that some people are hiding very well, and what the relevant personnel have are just some basic information, and there is no chance to eradicate them completely for the time being."

As he spoke, he sighed.

"I’m a bit surprised that this case is related to the Sacred Association. I originally thought that these people were just making small disturbances and couldn’t amount to anything. Now it seems that we need to take severe measures to teach them a lesson so that some people don’t forget who they are."

Hearing Jiang Liao’s words, Jiang Yini frowned.

"Dad, what are you planning to do?"

Before she finished speaking, Jiang Liao shot her a glance.

"Children shouldn’t meddle in adult matters."

"..."

Jiang Yini.

She didn’t feel pleased with this response.

But in front of her father, she really had no anger.

Wasn’t she just a child in front of her father?

Grunting in dissatisfaction, Jiang Yini vengefully pulled Li Jing’s arm close, ending with sticking her tongue out to Jiang Liao.

Seeing this, the corner of Li Jing’s mouth twitched.

He wanted to say.

Can you two not drag me into your arguments?

Jiang Liao glanced at Jiang Yini in this state, his eye corner twitched, but he said nothing.

He looked at Li Jing and said in a low voice.

"Xiaoli, please continue the investigation into Qifei’s case and find me the culprit."

Then he added.

"You don’t have to worry about the Sacred Association, I will make them tuck their tails. Given the various parties involved, it is not possible to uproot them completely, but it won’t be a problem to eliminate their obstacle to you."

Before Li Jing could respond, Jiang Yini leaned in.

"Dad, Li Jing has been suspended. It might not be convenient for him to continue the investigation."

"There’s no problem."

Jiang Liao waved his hand and said.

"I’ll communicate with the Director of the Inspection Headquarters on this matter later and there will be no restrictions on him. He just won’t be able to use his investigator identity for now, but with Xiaoli’s abilities, whether he has the identity of an investigator or not is irrelevant. As long as he doesn’t go too far and makes it impossible for the Inspection Headquarters to turn a blind eye."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Jiang Yini tilted her head.

"What would be considered going too far?"

Seeing that Li Jing had remained silent while his daughter was asking question after question, Jiang Liao clicked his tongue.

Displeased, he glanced at his daughter, whose elbow was starting to bend outwards, then turned his gaze to Li Jing and said.

"Just don’t use your Forbidden Skill at will, and do as you please."

Li Jing wasn’t sure about Jiang Liao’s "as long as you don’t go too far".

Without his investigator identity, it would be inconvenient for him.

At this moment, when Jiang Liao said this, he raised an eyebrow.

As long as he doesn’t use the Forbidden Skill, it’s okay?

Isn’t that easy to say?

He had to admit.

It feels great to have a big shot backing you up.

Without giving it much thought, Li Jing spoke up.

"Uncle, my lead has now stopped due to the death of Lian Ning Xin. If I want to continue the investigation, I might have to find the person who made the anonymous complaint about me. I was wondering if you might know a way to identify this person and let me handle them?"

"That might be difficult."

Jiang Liao shook his head and said.

"It’s simple to find out who it is, but since they can influence the Inspection Headquarters, their power is certainly not small, and they are not easy to handle. The Management Bureau also requires evidence to act, and without solid proof, we can’t touch them. Besides, since they popped up and caused trouble, they must have some means of self-protection."

As he said this, he looked out at the sky, then brought his gaze back to continue.

"Like this, it’s already late, you should rest well tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will give you a list of the in-world disciples from the Witch Gu Sect in the cities around the capital. You can try starting from the list. If I get any leads or opportunities for you, I will let you know immediately."

Upon hearing his words, Li Jing silently nodded.

What he was worried about right now was not having a starting point.

If there were a list of disciples from the Witch Gu Sect in the surrounding cities practicing their cultivation in the secular world, it would at least provide a direction.

Just as he was about to say something, Jiang Liao spoke.

"When you interact with the Witch Gu Sect disciples, remember this. According to the information I have about the Sacred Association, although there are many disciples of Hidden World Sects behind them, they don’t have too many ties with their respective sects."

With that, he added.

"You can understand it this way: The Sacred Association is a concoction of ambitious secular sect disciples and others. It is not supported by any sects. They are after worldly power. Power is a good thing, but it is meaningless to the Hidden World Sects that enjoy great benefits. The situation in Longyu will never change and it can’t be manipulated by them. The sects aren’t so foolish as to enjoy the benefits of Longyu but then try to overthrow it."

After hearing Jiang Liao’s explanation, Li Jing nodded.

"Got it."

What Jiang Liao was subtly telling him...

Not all of the people from the Witch Gu Sect are associated with the Sacred Association and not all of them are related to Lu Qifei’s death.

Li Jing had somewhat anticipated this.

The appearance of the obscure Sacred Association was enough to make him realize.

What he was dealing with wasn’t the Witch Gu Sect, it was just that the matter involved the Witch Gu Sect.

...

After their communication, Li Jing got out of the car and left.

Not wanting to linger on the street, he went straight back to his hotel.

The list from Jiang Liao would not reach him until tomorrow.

At the moment, he had no other tasks. Resting for the night was a reasonable choice.

However, Li Jing was not content with the present state.

After sitting on the sofa in thought for awhile, he took out his phone and began to text Black Butterfly through Immortal Message.

"Black Butterfly, are you available now?"

After sending the message, Black Butterfly replied swiftly.

"What is it?"

Seeing how quickly she responded without indicating that she was busy, Li Jing began to compose his message.

"The mission I assigned to you earlier is no longer necessary, I already got a clear direction here. Change your focus and help me investigate information about the Sacred Association."

Considering the Sacred Association, Jiang Liao is quite reserved towards him.

This point.

Li Jing could feel it and he understood.

The infiltration of the upper echelons of Longyu was complicated, implicating many.

So far, the Sacred Association has not fully surfaced. Until they can eradicate it completely, it is not advisable to make aggressive moves.

However, Li Jing believed.

If he wanted to find out the truth about Lu Qifei’s ordeal, it might be more reliable to start with the Sacred Association.

Since Jiang Liao had reservations, he would investigate on his own.

He would try to leave no trace, and make sure the Sacred Association had no clue it was him. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

At present, in his communication with Black Butterfly, Li Jing was not worried that the latter wouldn’t understand what the Sacred Association was.

The Sinister Gate in the capital collaborates with the Intelligence Department of Longyu, playing the role of a spy.

Such spies.

From ancient times to the present, they were always directed inward.

Longyu has long discovered the existence of the Sacred Association and is investigating covertly.

In this process, the Sinister Gate must have contributed.

Aside from these digressions.

After sending the message on his end, Black Butterfly didn’t reply immediately.

A while later, she sent a message.

"The Sacred Association... our Sinister Gate is already investigating it. However, I can’t share any information with you as it involves the agreement between Sinister Gate and the upper echelons of Longyu."

Getting this reply, Li Jing raised his eyebrows.

As expected.

The Sinister Gate was involved in the investigation against the Sacred Association.

Looking at Black Butterfly’s stance, Li Jing was placed in a predicament.

The Sinister Gate had agreement with the higher-ups of Longyu, and he obviously couldn’t push against that.

Pondering for a while, Li Jing began composing a message.

"Then let’s change our approach. Today, I was anonymously reported at the Capital Inspection Headquarters and suspended from duty. Help me find out who made the report. Also, I have a name, Lian Ningxin from the Witch Gu Sect. She operates in Xiyue City, so help me find out if there are any disciples from sects who are closely associated with her in both Xiyue City and the capital."

After sending the message, Li Jing sent another message.

"If this is done, I will pay an extra fee. Also, if it helps my current situation, I might be able to get you a part-time job at the Management Bureau."

The promise of extra money needed no explanation.

That was a secondary condition.

The real temptation for Black Butterfly was the part-time job at the Management Bureau.

With such allure, Li Jing was confident that Black Butterfly would be interested.

Compared to the Bureau Serious Case Group.

The opportunity to work at the Management Bureau presented a much brighter future.

After all, the Serious Case Group only convened in times of serious cases and was idle most of the time.

Why did Black Butterfly ask before about joining the Bureau Serious Case Group?

Wasn’t it because the sect disciples in the capital found it hard to get promoted and they had too much free time?

Her situation was rather special.

Unlike other disciples from the Sinister Gate who played spies, she was more active in the open.

Having sent the two messages consecutively, there was silence on Black Butterfly’s end again.

After a long while, she replied.

"The Management Bureau accepts part-timers?"