The officials of Fengri City Government Office and the Xuanqing Guard were initially tense, but after seeing that Shen Hao’s subordinates were also wearing black brocade robes, they let out a sigh of relief—yet that was immediately replaced with anger: Since when did the subordinate Hundred Households of the Xuanqing Guard dare to officiate within Fengri City?!

However, the order from Chen Yiyun was very effective, at least within Fengri City. Although these people were extremely dissatisfied with Shen Hao’s subordinates, they could not simply ignore an order presented to their faces. At the very least, they would need someone of equal rank to Chen Yiyun to refute it. Who among the lower officials would dare to disregard Chen Yiyun’s order?

So, the Zhao Family and the Zhan Wenlin Family were still under the control of Shen Hao’s men for now, but the outermost perimeter was surrounded by the garrison soldiers and Xuanqing Guard personnel from Fengri City who had rushed over upon hearing the news. They wanted to keep an eye on Shen Hao’s people while also trying to forcibly insert themselves into this case.

They were not fools—if even the household of the Chief Officer of Fengri City’s Population Department was placed under control, how could it be a small case? Would a small matter warrant an order from Chen Yiyun?

The most anxious were the people from the Fengri City Government Office: the Commanding Officer had been dragged out of bed in the dead of night. Upon hearing that both the Chief Officer from the Population Department and a squad leader were apprehended by the Xuanqing Guard, with their homes sealed as well, he hurriedly went to gather information. Finally, he learned that it was the Li City Xuanqing Guard Black Banner Battalion who had acted.

Since when did the Xuanqing Guard make such a move, overreaching and arresting people without even sending a notification?!

But when they went to the Fengri City Xuanqing Guard on duty, those people said: That was Li City’s force; they could not intervene directly. They were also clueless about the case and told the Government Office staff to ask Li City, not them.

Go question Shen Hao? Shen Hao had absolutely no intention of entertaining people from the Government Office right now.

...

Shen Hao did not personally participate in the deep search of Zhao Chongwu’s household; he left that to Wang Jian. However, before leaving, he had already seen the middle-grade Blinding Magical Artifact in the basket Zhao Chongwu had brought back. It was certain that this item and the Population Department order that made Zhao Chongwu use the Teleportation Array to leave Fengri City the night before had both been delivered to Zhao’s home by Zhan Wenlin the previous night. The two were confirmed as accomplices.

On entering Zhan Wenlin’s house, all the people regardless of age were gathered and placed under guard, then interrogated on the spot, focusing mainly on their actual relationship with Zhan Wenlin—whether this "whole household" was genuinely linked by blood.

As for the fish pond mentioned earlier by Wang Jian, Shen Hao went to check it. Indeed, just standing by the edge for a while, one would feel a chill rising from the soles of the feet. Instead of scattering, the fish in the pond swarmed toward people, causing quite a stir at the water’s surface. Judging from the exposed fish, the smallest weighed at least a dozen jin!

Later, a thick registry book was found in Zhan Wenlin’s residence, filled with names and birth dates—all of them were persons born on extremely Yin or extremely Yang days. Some names had been crossed out—over a hundred! Among the later entries were ones Shen Hao had recognized from the case files, including Liu Yan and Ma Haotian.

"Continue to secure the Zhao and Zhan households. Take this registry with you, and follow me to see Lord Thousand Households!"

This registry was precisely the hard evidence Shen Hao needed. Coupled with the two rescued children from Zhao Chongwu’s house, the spirits stones and the Blinding Magic Disc retrieved, the case was already indisputable even if the trial had not begun.

As soon as Shen Hao exited the Zhan family home, the people waiting outside—both governmental officials and Fengri City Xuanqing Guard—prepared to swarm forward. But Shen Hao’s next words made them halt and dare not approach.

"Shen Hao is now bearing critical evidence to present to the Thousand Households Station for a meeting with Households Commander Jiang and Hundred Households Chen. The responsibility is great—any irrelevant person is forbidden to approach. Should this warning be ignored, Shen Hao is permitted by the law to execute violators!"

"Clang!" As soon as Shen Hao finished speaking, more than a dozen Black Banner Battalion warriors at his side drew their Yanji Sabers, emanating murderous intent as a warning to everyone present.

He had no intention to waste words with these people, nor any time to bicker. As for how they would talk about him afterward, Shen Hao had no interest in that for now; his only thought was to finalize the case as soon as possible, then escort Zhan Wenlin’s family back to Li City for immediate trial.

With swords drawn all the way, no one dared provoke them, and Shen Hao’s group went straight into the Xuanqing Guard Thousand Households Station.

Jiang Cheng had actually received the report during the night, but he was not anxious. Since Shen Hao hadn’t sent word, it meant everything was under control; whenever the time was right, Shen Hao would naturally come to report.

So Jiang Cheng waited in the Public Office early on.

And since Jiang Cheng made no move, Chen Yiyun did not either. He even shut his doors, refusing all visitors, not even seeing the Hundred Households and Trial Hundred Households seeking him out in the station.

They were all waiting on Shen Hao. For once, Chen Yiyun took the initiative to visit Jiang Cheng’s Public Office. He knew Shen Hao would first look for Jiang Cheng, so if he wanted the latest information, he had to come here.

"Subordinate Shen Hao greets Households Commander Jiang and Hundred Households Chen!"

"No need for empty words. We’ve been busy all night—any progress?"

Jiang Cheng waved off Shen Hao’s formalities; he was always direct with his own people and never cared much for Chen Yiyun’s attitude.

"Reporting, my lord, the case has not yet gone to trial so I dare not speak carelessly about the details. But the factual results are clear: Zhan Wenlin and Zhao Chongwu are the true culprits behind the series of missing cases.

Last night, Black Banner Battalion launched a sudden attack on Zhao Chongwu’s house, captured Zhan Wenlin—the accomplice—on the spot, and recovered the crime tools: one middle-grade Blinding Magic Disc, several general spirit stones, and rescued two abducted children... Additionally, a list excerpted from the Population Department registry was found in Zhan Wenlin’s house, complete with Zhan Wenlin’s suspected notes, and all the names of missing children in this case..."

Shen Hao did not embellish, simply recounting his investigative results so far. Even with this, the heaviest burden in Jiang Cheng and Chen Yiyun’s hearts was finally lifted.

The details of the case remained unclear, but the factual conclusion was already solid as iron. Thus, the issue of Li City Black Banner Battalion’s overreach would not be considered a grave mistake anymore. Facing pressure from the local government office, Chen Yiyun and Jiang Cheng could use Shen Hao’s conclusions to rebuff them directly.

"I won’t ask about the rest, but do you now have any leads on the Evil Cultivator’s whereabouts?"

"Reporting to Hundred Households Chen, not yet. However, both Zhan Wenlin and Zhao Chongwu are ordinary men without any cultivation; there’s no way they should be able to access middle-grade magical artifacts, and under normal circumstances they wouldn’t know, let alone use Yin-Yang Blood and Qi. Therefore, I believe that further interrogation will yield more information."

Chen Yiyun nodded lightly and asked no further questions.

Seeing this, Jiang Cheng smiled and said, "You’re eager to escort these people back to Li City, aren’t you? That’s fine—leave the mess to us. Still, I hope you’ll clarify all the details of the case as soon as possible. You understand what I mean?"

"Understood."

"Very well." Jiang Cheng then turned to Chen Yiyun and asked, "Hundred Households Chen, will you sign the order, or shall I?"

"Heh, Lord Thousand Households, you must be joking. This is within my purview—how could I trouble you with it?"