Chapter 75 – The Bureau of Patrol’s Inquest

Zhan Changfeng was not surprised to see someone from the Bureau of Patrol arrive. “Overseer Cui, what brings you here? What guidance do you have to offer?”

Cui Gu glanced at the calling card by her hand, then met her gaze, and felt a secret shock run through him.

What could a ten-year-old child do — play in the mud? Play house? Throw a tantrum at their parents?

He had assumed that the brilliant reputation behind the Crown Prince was the work of a team of advisors scheming behind the scenes. But the moment he looked into her eyes, he realized how absurd that assumption had been.

There was a kind of clarity in those eyes that pressed up against the very limits of perception, stirring in him a fear of the mysterious and the unknown — an instinctive dread, like that of a student standing before a master. Cui Gu seemed to unconsciously conclude that her level of cultivation far surpassed his own.

Had Cui Gu reached a certain level himself, he would have recognized this feeling — it was the suppression of one Dao-realm by another, something that could only be broken through, never negated.

“Yesterday, the cultivators our Bureau sent to investigate the case — only seventeen returned. Forty-one others remain unaccounted for, and to my knowledge, at least nine are already dead. Don’t you think you owe the Bureau of Patrol an explanation?”

Zhan Changfeng watched him calmly. “Yesterday, rebel traitors came to break prisoners free. Hundreds of our soldiers were wounded, dozens were killed. Those captured are currently imprisoned and being interrogated; those who fled are still being hunted. Beyond that, I have seen no one come to this military camp. You’ve come to the wrong place.”

Cui Gu’s face twitched with suppressed anger. “Let’s not beat around the bush. It seems you have no intention of handing anyone over. I’m afraid I’ll have to invite you to take a trip to the Bureau of Patrol’s prison!”

“The Bureau of Patrol?” Zhan Changfeng fixed him with a sidelong glare. “Rumor has it that the Bureau of Patrol is a place that upholds justice and righteousness. But seeing you now, it seems to be nothing more than a den of filth — using power to bully others, secretly colluding with the corrupt. I have never seen anyone from the Bureau of Patrol. You lost your people — why come looking for me? Do you expect me to conjure them up for you?”

You still refuse to admit it!

Cui Gu squared off against her, pulling out a scroll of portraits and reading out the names and faces one by one. When he finished, he let out a cold laugh. “Did you see them or not?!”

“If you are referring to the people in those portraits, of course I have seen them.”

Some of Cui Gu’s anger subsided — at least she was being straightforward this time. He was willing to assume she had genuinely been uninformed before. But then she continued, “Doesn’t your Bureau of Patrol have a policy of non-interference in the mortal world’s wars? Why have you been acting as rebels?”

She looked genuinely puzzled. Genuinely questioning.

Cui Gu’s fury surged, and his voice rang out thick with true energy. “What came yesterday were Bureau of Patrol investigators on a case — not rebels, and not prison-breakers! Do not pin this filth on us! I urge you to release Overseer Zou and the other cultivators right now, so we can discuss the losses on both sides. Otherwise, I will charge you with deliberately provoking the Bureau of Patrol and have you brought to our hall for a thorough investigation!”

“Then let it be a thorough investigation.” Zhan Changfeng tossed out a written indictment. “This so-called investigation you speak of — I saw nothing of the sort. All I saw was people attempting a prison break, and an attempt on my life. Whether you investigate or not is your business. What I know is this: your Bureau of Patrol has colluded with the great clans of Cangyun Ravine to scheme against the lands of our Shenzhou!”

“Do you know what the consequences are for speaking such wild slander?!” Cui Gu furiously scooped up the indictment from the floor and skimmed through it rapidly, his expression growing increasingly grave. “This is pure fiction. The Bureau of Patrol operates on principles of impartiality. We have never interfered with the secular world. This cannot be real!”

“Are you now going to deny that Zou Tingwei belongs to your Bureau of Patrol?” Zhan Changfeng rose to her feet, sweeping her sleeves wide, brow furrowed and eyes cold. “Even if the lords of Shenzhou wage war upon each other, that is a civil war — it is not the place of outsiders to run rampant here. The combined forces of Jin, Jing, Yi, and Yun — one hundred thousand troops — are on their way. One hundred Divine Martial Cannons have already been dispatched. Even if the Yin Dynasty imperial family must spend everything it has, we will not allow Shenzhou to fall into foreign hands. I give you until sunset to provide an explanation. Otherwise — war!”

Cui Gu’s hands and feet went cold. He stepped back a pace. “How am I to know this isn’t just Zou Tingwei making random confessions under torture? You cannot be certain that one man speaks for the entire Bureau of Patrol. This matter requires further investigation. I believe both sides should sit down and discuss this calmly.”

“I do not trust the people of your Bureau of Patrol.” Zhan Changfeng paused. “I forgot to mention — that confession has a second page. The names of the accomplices listed on it… well, someone who didn’t know better might think the Bureau of Patrol had been contracted out to the Gongsun Clan.”

Zhan Changfeng waved her sleeve. “See him out!”

The surrounding soldiers sharpened into killing readiness, as though they might draw their swords at any moment.

Cui Gu retreated with poor grace. “There must be a misunderstanding in all of this. Allow me to return to the Bureau and report to the Hall Master, and we will give you an explanation.”

Cui Gu had never imagined he would arrive with such swagger, only to flee in defeat. He had no time to dwell on it — he rushed back to the Bureau of Patrol to make his report.

The doors of the Overseers’ Hall were shut tight, the atmosphere inside tense.

“Ridiculous. That’s one hundred thousand troops. With the current state of the war, where every thread is connected, would Yi Shang really allow her to transfer that many soldiers over?” Lin Zhao cast a sideways glance at Cui Gu. “You really are something — the girl threw out a casual bluff and you were scared into retreat.”

Cui Gu had not yet spoken when Yu Zhen was already furious. “Shut your mouth. This is not the time for jokes!”

He tossed down several sound-transmitting stones. “I just inquired with cultivators in those provinces — there are indeed armies moving toward Huangzhou.”

Everyone was stunned. “Has this Crown Prince Imperial Princess of the Yin Dynasty lost her mind?! Is she not afraid that the other lords will exploit the opening while she’s distracted?!”

Cui Gu sighed deeply. “Those who are not of our kind will always harbor different intentions. These madmen of the Yi Family — they really would do something like this.”

“Let’s not rush to draw conclusions,” Yu Zhen said, cutting in. “Zou Tingwei and the Gongsun Clan conspiring to interfere with the succession of Shenzhou’s dynasty — is that confirmed?”

“According to Zou Tingwei’s confession, the matter is confirmed.”

“True or false aside — as long as Crown Prince Changsheng believes it to be true, then the threat of war is no idle talk.” Yu Zhen found himself at a loss; they knew far too little. “Did you bring the confession back with you?”

“No. I finished reading it and it was taken away.” Cui Gu licked his lips. “Apparently, the traitors within our Bureau are not just one or two. The second confession has additional names on it, though I was not able to see them.”

The assembled overseers were all shaken. Lin Zhao cried out in fury, “That is absolutely impossible! How could something like this happen in our Bureau of Patrol?! And furthermore!”

He swept his gaze around the room. “Zou Tingwei is already dead. Crown Prince Changsheng is most likely using Zou Tingwei as a pretext to send troops to Xiaohan Town. Think about it — a member of the imperial family suddenly discovers that within their own territory lives a group of mysterious people who are beyond their control. Would they not take measures? We are the ones who appear as outsiders to the imperial family!”

“Zou Tingwei is already dead?” Cui Gu demanded. “Why wasn’t I told?!”

“I only found out myself just now, after going to the ancestral hall to verify the death count,” Lin Zhao said. “His life Tablet has shattered.”

“I believe Overseer Lin’s words carry some merit,” one overseer spoke up. “To conclude from the actions of Zou Tingwei alone that the entire Bureau of Patrol harbors treasonous intent, and then to so decisively pull the rug out from under us by mobilizing troops — that is hardly a rational course of action. Unless, that is, this is a conspiracy specifically targeted at our Bureau.”

Another overseer said, “But it is also possible that the second confession contains important names — names significant enough to make Crown Prince Changsheng believe that the Bureau of Patrol has been brought under someone else’s control.”

Those words sent a chill through the room. What kind of person could control the Bureau of Patrol? None other than the overseers and deputy overseers seated here, along with the Hall Master who was so often absent, and the supervising elders who only emerged when faced with catastrophic ruin.

“Speculation does us no good.” Yu Zhen cut off the overseers’ debate — if this continued, their own ranks would fall apart before anything else happened. “Those of us who are innocent will be proven innocent. We should go and confront Crown Prince Changsheng face to face. If Zou Tingwei and his accomplices did indeed collude with the Gongsun Clan to throw the dynasty into chaos, then they must be strictly investigated and punished. After that, if she still refuses to let the matter rest, we will sanction her. The Bureau of Patrol is not made of paper!”

“And if this is all her fabrication, conjured from nothing — then the matter is even simpler to resolve. As for who rules this realm, it would hardly be the first time such a thing has changed.”

It feels like the female lead is becoming more and more of a villain — I hope that’s just my imagination.

(End of Chapter)