Early in the morning, Shen Hao saw two sneaky fellows squatting by the door of his Public Office.

"Zhou Guangcai, Jia Sheng? What are you doing squatting here?"

"General Flag, we, we have an urgent matter to report!"

"Oh? Heh, come in and talk then."

Shen Hao pushed open the door, and the two bent over as they followed him inside.

He took the hot tea handed over by the Guard, sat down on the chair, and smiled, asking, "Go ahead, what is it?"

Zhou Guangcai waited awkwardly for the Guard who served the tea to leave and close the door, then gave Jia Sheng a signal. Jia Sheng understood and stood by the door. Both looked secretive, which was pretty amusing.

"General Flag, Wen Renhai cracked!"

"Cracked?"

"Yes, completely cracked! After we made him take Heart Rot Powder, he became utterly weak, his spirit died, and with some tough questioning he just couldn’t keep his mouth shut—everything spilled out in a rush." Zhou Guangcai excitedly took out a thick confession from his chest as he spoke, handing it to Shen Hao’s desk.

Shen Hao quickly put down his teacup, picked up the confession for a careful read, and gestured Zhou Guangcai to keep talking.

"General Flag, didn’t the dungeon say yesterday we could subject Wen Renhai to severe torture? Jia Sheng and I were idle anyway, so we went over at noon... Thought it’d take days to pry something out, but after one dose of Heart Rot Powder, that guy lost all his will, didn’t resist at all..."

Shen Hao read ten lines at a glance, and the more he saw, the more apprehensive he felt. He realized he’d been too naive before. No wonder Zhou Guangcai and Jia Sheng were being so cautious—this confession absolutely couldn’t be spread around or things would get out of hand.

"Who else has seen this?"

"No one. It was late, and the dungeon stank, so no one else was there during the interrogation. Jia Sheng handled the torture, I did the questioning and recording.

Later I realized what he was saying was just too big, so I dislocated his jaw so he couldn’t talk anymore, then brought the confession straight to you. Now besides you, it’s just me and Jia Sheng who know what’s in it."

Shen Hao was quite satisfied with Zhou Guangcai and Jia Sheng’s sense of secrecy—this caution was essential for those doing interrogation work.

"Remember, not a single word from this goes out, or it’s a matter of losing your heads, understand?"

"Understood, understood."

"You two now take turns guarding Wen Renhai in the dungeon. Dislocate his jaw most of the time, and no one approaches him unless you’re there—Prison Guards included. Make sure Wen Renhai doesn’t start ranting and spilling everywhere."

"Yes, General Flag. We’ll keep Wen Renhai from blabbing."

"Alright, go on then. Keep an eye on Wen Renhai. Once this case is settled, I’ll record a major merit for you both!"

Zhou Guangcai and Jia Sheng bowed and thanked him before leaving.

Shen Hao’s mind was in turmoil as he held the confession. Just opening it, the glaring words inside gave him goosebumps: smuggling military arms with the Jingbei Army, secretly underreporting Spirit Stone output and selling out abroad.

The rest of the petty crimes aside, just these two were already hot potatoes. He’d originally wanted to pry some Wen Family secrets from Wen Renhai to create leverage for those above, but who would have thought opening his mouth would yield something so shocking and unexpected?

Wen Renhai was naturally doomed—he’d sealed his fate the moment he revealed these things. But did the Wen Family really do this much dirty work behind the scenes?

Just "colluding with the Jingbei Army to smuggle arms" alone was a case that could overturn the entire court—if proven, not only the Wen Family, but even the Jingbei Army would be slaughtered.

"Underreporting production and selling Spirit Stones abroad" was another gigantic crime. Spirit Stones were tightly controlled within the Dynasty; ordinary families couldn’t possess them, let alone sell them across the border.

Thinking deeper, these two matters implicated far too many people: Border Army, local Garrison, local Xuanqing Guard, even the Ministry of Revenue couldn’t escape involvement.

"Tsk, what should I do with this?"

Keep it himself? Shen Hao shook his head—he didn’t have enough Energy to hold on to something this dangerous, let alone use it to its full extent.

Report up? That could work, but to whom? Tang Qingyuan? Chen Yiyun? Or report straight to Jiang Cheng?

Shen Hao deliberated for a while but decided to report directly to Jiang Cheng. Still, he couldn’t keep Tang Qingyuan completely in the dark, since nothing in Li City could bypass Tang Qingyuan, and with his support, Shen Hao could act with confidence.

Right at lunchtime, no sign of Tang Qingyuan or Shen Hao could be seen at the Xuanqing Guard cafeteria. No one noticed.

...

"Shen Hao, you don’t joke about things like this!"

"Lord, how dare I joke with such matters. Last night, those two brutes in the interrogation below accidentally pried Wen Renhai’s mouth open while torturing him—he spilled everything. With such detail, even if Wen Renhai wanted to lie, he couldn’t make it up. I believe it’s highly credible, and worth investigating."

Tang Qingyuan was so angry he nearly jumped.

"Investigate?! Are you out of your mind? You think a case like this is something a mere Hundred Households Station can touch? It’s a beheading offense, are you stupid?"

"Lord, did you forget the official report you showed me before? When I visited Lord Jiang two days ago, he mentioned that the higher-ups seem to be serious this time, and the Wen Family has become a bargaining chip because of Wen Renhai’s case. If we just hand this over, isn’t that enough to start an investigation?"

Hearing Shen Hao mention "Jiang Cheng," Tang Qingyuan finally calmed his anger and began to think carefully.

When Tang Qingyuan had shown Shen Hao that official report, he had his own motives—he wanted Shen Hao to gauge Fengri City’s attitude towards the Wen Family, and, at the same time, seize the chance to embarrass the Wen Family, as his own history made him dislike anyone linked to a Sect.

Anyway, the Wen Family couldn’t blame Tang Qingyuan for anything if things blew up, and he could even avoid seeing any Wen Family members for a while.

But who would’ve thought Shen Hao would bring such a shocking piece of news so soon.

Pacing back and forth in the room, Tang Qingyuan finally asked after a long while, "Did Lord Jiang say for sure that the higher-ups are ready to make a move against the Wen Family?"

"Yes." Shen Hao would give no other answer at this moment—Tang Qingyuan had to stand with him, true intention or not.

"Shen Hao, tell me honestly. With your status as Lord Jiang’s disciple, you could’ve handed this directly to him for a decision. Why bother telling me as well?"

Shen Hao had anticipated Tang Qingyuan’s question and replied, "Lord, Jiang is high up, but it’s our Li City Black Banner Battalion that’s on the front line with the Wen Family. You are my direct superior, so whether it’s a big or small matter, I should report to you first, shouldn’t I?"

Tang Qingyuan looked deeply at Shen Hao, who faced him with respectful demeanor, and sighed in his heart—the wolf cub was beyond being restrained now.