So far, much of what Shen Hao has found has been hit upon by Chen Sheng in one sentence—this is a man of genuine ability.

Shen Hao listened very attentively, almost wanting to jot everything down in a little notebook.

Then he heard Chen Sheng continue, "Given the situation at that time, these people definitely wouldn’t dare linger at the scene. All they were thinking was to finish things quickly. Even though they held the upper hand in the fight, they couldn’t take him down immediately, so they had to use an unexpected technique to kill their target in one blow."

After speaking, Chen Sheng pointed at the penetrating wound on He Dongsheng’s corpse’s left eye and said, "That’s how this man’s fatal injury came about. Even the brain matter inside the wound is cooked—obviously scorched. That can’t be separated from a Five Elements Fire Technique, but there’s also a lingering aura of the Five Elements Metal Type. That’s why I think it was a kind of Hybrid Attack Skill.

Five sword masters at around Gathering Spirit Realm Sixth Layer, cooperating with skilled and practiced methods—that’s not the work of petty thieves or loose cultivators. It takes a long time training together to pull that off. So, we can rule out loose cultivators. What’s left is the military, cultivation clans, or sects.

Sects never get involved in mundane affairs, and they wouldn’t risk offending our Xuanqing Guard—it’s not worth it. So even though sects have the ability, the possibility is almost nil. As for the military, I’m very familiar with people in the army. Those who do assassinations either use daggers or knives, or some specialist weapons. Swords? Almost never. And besides, soldiers in the military at Gathering Spirit Realm might dream of Hybrid Attack Skills, but they wouldn’t have access to them.

So, I judge that group most likely came from a cultivation clan."

Cultivation clan? Shen Hao’s expression changed slightly and he was about to speak, but Chen Sheng wasn’t finished yet.

"There are quite a few cultivation clans with a stash of Hybrid Attack Skills, but not many are both famous and daring enough to commit such a crime. And as it happens, I happen to know of one clan that’s well-known for a Fire-Metal Hybrid Attack Skill."

"Which one?"

"Bai Dang Mountain, Wen Family. The technique is the Red Cloud Golden Sword. I haven’t seen it myself, but word is that this Red Cloud Golden Sword is unleashed from the mouth, as fast as lightning and with incredible penetration power—hard to guard against if you’re caught off guard. Because it’s cast from the mouth, the target is usually wounded on the head, which matches the wound on the corpse.

So, I suggest that General Flag Shen focus the main investigation on the Wen Family. In these strange times, people kill their own kin—tsk tsk."

If Shen Hao had only suspected the Wen Family before, after listening to Chen Sheng’s analysis, he was now convinced. This master of traces had just confirmed his own deductions.

"Brother Chen, truly a great talent! Your skill is something anyone would envy!"

"Heh, as long as General Flag Shen finds it useful, that’s enough." Chen Sheng was quite pleased, though he remained modest and didn’t say anything more.

But Shen Hao understood and said frankly, "Brother Chen, you’ve really done us a great service this time. I’ll include your conclusions in the dossier, and I’ll request a commendation for you!"

"Hahaha, then I’ll thank General Flag Shen for the recognition!"

"It’s nothing, it’s what you deserve."

...

In fact, there’s no shortage of smart and capable people—at least there are plenty in the Xuanqing Guard.

The dossier Shen Hao finished while on assignment reached the Fengri City Thousand Households Station just an hour later. Jiang Cheng opened it in the Public Office, read through once, then closed his eyes in thought for a moment. At once, he understood.

Wen Family or Jingbei Army?

Is it really that important? Maybe to Shen Hao and Tang Qingyuan, getting to the bottom of the attack is crucial—for frontline Xuanqing Guards, that’s not just a habit but also an honor. But for Jiang Cheng, it wasn’t important—or, at least, not that important.

Besides, choosing one or the other is for kids; for adults, the answer is always "both."

The Wen Family had the rotten luck to produce a useless brat like Wen Renhai, who just had to walk into trouble at just the wrong time and end up like this. And the Jingbei Army? They actually dared to secretly collude with the Wen Family to smuggle weapons! That’s a cancer, too. The two of them together—why not take this chance to get rid of both at once?

But pulling this off isn’t something Li City Guard Station can manage on its own. Even throwing in Fengri City Thousand Households Station, it’s still a pipe dream. At the very least, you’d need an Order from the Governor’s Office. And if you want to really make a big move, you’d better coordinate with the Commander’s Office and get Your Majesty’s approval first.

The more Jiang Cheng thought about the huge web of connections involved, the more excited he became, as if some kind of crazy blood in his veins had awakened.

After sorting his thoughts, Jiang Cheng grabbed the dossier, stood up, and led his guards straight to the Teleportation Array in Fengri City—he was heading to the Imperial City for a late-night trip.

The Imperial City lies in the central region of the Jingjiu Dynasty, properly named "Celestial Wave City," though the common folks just call it the Imperial City.

Not just anyone can get in there by night—even Chief Officers of the average Government Office don’t have the face for it. But with a Xuanqing Guard Commander’s waist token, quite a lot of things can get done in the Imperial City.

Xuanqing Guard has five offices in the Imperial City: four Governor’s Offices in the east, south, west, and north, and the Commander’s Office near the Imperial Palace in the center. They’re like the central nervous system, controlling the vast force of Xuanqing Guards all over the Jingjiu Dynasty from here.

By the time Jiang Cheng arrived, it was already late. He didn’t go to the Governor’s Office, but headed for the Liao Mansion in the west of the city instead.

A half-foot-high threshold, red doors inlaid with yellow, two stone beasts baring their fangs at the entrance—obviously not your average household. Even the doorkeepers were tough; even after seeing Jiang Cheng’s Households Officer waist token, they still gave him no smile, just saying "Can’t you come tomorrow? It’s the middle of the night." Only grudgingly did they let Jiang Cheng and his guards inside, but only as far as the gatehouse, and only after notifying the master of the house could he enter the courtyard.

They made him wait a whole hour. It was nearly mid-1 a.m. before someone finally said, "The Master is up. Let me take Lord Jiang to the study."

Only one could go in—the guards still had to wait in the gatehouse.

Liao Chengfeng’s cultivation wasn’t low, but an injury to his heart and lungs in years past wrecked his foundation—he could no longer count on cultivating, so he’d set his sights on officialdom, working cautiously and playing all sides just to get where he is now. As long as he keeps his head down and stays out of trouble, he’s bound to move up eventually. That’s why the showy recent posturing in Fengri City didn’t sit well with him.

Steady is good; being someone who stands out is not Liao Chengfeng’s style.

That brief trip to Fengri City before was his way of giving Jiang Cheng a warning—telling him to keep a low profile and, even if he’d chosen Lord Pang’s faction, to stop sticking his neck out and making things difficult. Yet, not long after, Jiang Cheng shows up in the middle of the night—clearly up to something again. That’s why Liao Chengfeng kept him waiting for an hour before letting him in.

None of this would be discussed openly—did Jiang Cheng not know? Of course he did. But when you’re under someone’s roof, you bow your head. He and Liao Chengfeng had clashed ideas more than once; if he wants to keep climbing, he has to step over Liao Chengfeng and get seen at a higher level. And this, for Jiang Cheng, is an opportunity—otherwise, he’d be crushed by Liao Chengfeng for good.