Nangong Qianrou took the paper and quickly scanned it. The paper recorded the discretionary analysis of the case by officials from the Criminal Department and the Prefecture.

It was of little value, so he quickly skimmed over it, his eyes narrowing.

His expression became serious, and he examined it carefully.

The gunpowder that destroyed the Yongzhen Mountain River Temple actually came from the nitrate mines in the Great Huangshan Mountains...The small flag official was silenced, and the Jinwuwei secretly colluded with the demon race...The whole case of Sangbo suddenly became clear.

Nangong Qianrou couldn't hide his surprise. He wasn't very interested in this case, but he still kept a certain level of attention. As for Xu Qi'an, the main investigator, he maintained a hands-off attitude.

According to Nangong Jinluo's experience, it was impossible to find any clues to the case every three to five days.

Unexpectedly, there was such a gain in just one day.

"This is a good lead for the case." He narrowed his peach blossom eyes and finally had some affirmation for Xu Qi'an.

"A good lead for the case?" Yang Yan's voice came from outside the carriage, sounding very interested. He asked, "Are you talking about Xu Qi'an?"

Yang Jinluo valued Xu Qi'an and believed he was a young man worth cultivating.

Nangong Qianrou snorted, "You're lucky to have picked up such a good seedling."

Yang Yan "Heh" satisfiedly and focused on driving.

When they arrived at the Nightwatcher's station and returned to the Haoyi Building, Wei Yuan said, "Let Xu Qi'an come to see me."

...

At this time, Xu Qi'an was hiding in the document library, searching for information. As Number One said, there was indeed a usurpation of the throne by the martial emperor five hundred years ago.

In addition, the information on the royal family five hundred years ago, except for the founding emperor of the Great Feng Dynasty, was very vague and should have been destroyed, leaving only names.

But one thing was certain, the seal in Sangbo was definitely not the unlucky emperor who was usurped by his cousin, because that emperor had a child at the age of fourteen.

As everyone knew, before a martial artist reached the Qi refining stage, they would starve... um, not starve, but the time had not yet come.

"Find me any high-ranking experts of third rank or above from five hundred years ago, and don't miss any." Xu Qi'an compromised and searched for the high-ranking experts of the former royal family five hundred years ago.

"Yes!"

Seven or eight clerks took orders.

The girl in the goose-yellow long skirt by the window leaned her cheek on her hand and kept stuffing fried fish balls into her mouth with one hand, swinging her legs under the table, occasionally revealing her white embroidered boots.

"Caiwei Miss, I suddenly remembered something." Xu Qi'an reached out to take a fried fish ball, but it was quickly slapped away by the beautiful egg-faced woman.

Xu Qi'an coughed, "Are these fried fish balls delicious?"

"They are." Chu Caiwei nodded her head.

"I want to eat them, but not these." Xu Qi'an said.

"What do you want to eat?" Chu Caiwei asked.

"I want to stare at you foolishly." Xu Qi'an gave her a warm smile.Chu Caiwei's face turned red, then her eyebrows furrowed as she thought about scolding him for being vulgar, but his words didn't sound the same as those of a vulgar person like Deng Tuzi.

For a moment, she didn't know whether to get angry or not. If she didn't get angry, where was her dignity as an unmarried woman?

Xu Qi'an cleverly changed the subject and said, "I have something to ask Miss Caiwei."

Chu Caiwei swallowed the meatball in her mouth, her rosy lips shiny with oil and alluringly pink. She put on a serious face and asked, "What is it?"

"How can we block the divination of the Astronomical Observatory?" Xu Qi'an asked.

"High-level experts can restrain their own breath, but this is relative. I am a seventh-grade geomancer, and even a high-level warrior who can hide from my divination would be at least fifth or sixth grade," Chu Caiwei said proudly.

As an eighth-grade Qi cultivator, anyone who could hide from her divination would have to be at least at the level of a copper-skinned iron-boned soldier like Zhou Baihu, but he clearly was not... Xu Qi'an nodded and asked, "What else?"

"That would be magical tools," Chu Caiwei said, eager to teach. Without Xu Qi'an asking, she explained, "There are two types of magical tools in the world: one is the instrument engraved with formations and refined by our Astronomical Observatory. The other is a magical item obtained through coincidence."

"The latter type is diverse, such as the residual thunderbolt wood from a thousand-year-old tree that has accumulated power and contains the power of the most rigid and yang. Another example is the item carried by high-level experts, which has been nurtured by their breath for years and has acquired some kind of magical power. However, most of these are extensions of the abilities of those high-level experts."

"Are there any magical tools in the capital that can block breath?" Xu Qi'an got straight to the point.

"Our Astronomical Observatory has one, but elsewhere..." Chu Caiwei tilted her head and thought for a while. "I have to go back and ask Senior Song."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you."

During their conversation, the officials had already listed the names of those who might have been high-level warriors five hundred years ago.

The list was not long, with only a dozen or so people who were suspected of being high-level warriors.

Official records did not specify the grade of each person, so the officials inferred their grades based on the deeds of the generals who were qualified to be recorded in history five hundred years ago.

For example, the Northern King, who had defended the north for decades and experienced hundreds of battles in his lifetime, was undoubtedly a high-level warrior.

Xu Qi'an scanned the list and was disappointed to find that there were mostly fourth-grade warriors, with only a few third-grade warriors and no second-grade or first-grade warriors.

"If the bottom line for sealing them in Sangpo is second-grade warriors, then the Astronomical Observatory's first-grade monitor could easily solve the problem without the need for sealing. Could it be that my thinking is wrong, and it's not a person that's being sealed, but an item?"

"Wait a minute... the monitor?!" Xu Qi'an's heart skipped a beat, and his breathing became rapid.He thought of one thing. The supervisor's duty was to guard the capital and be the protector of The Great Feng. At least, this generation's supervisor was like that.

Therefore, when Emperor Wu Zong wanted to usurp the throne, he definitely couldn't bypass the supervisor.

A bold guess formed in Xu Qi'an's mind, making him shiver uncontrollably.

"Caiwei, is our master the first generation supervisor?" Xu Qi'an controlled his voice from trembling.

"No, our master is the second generation supervisor." Chu Caiwei's answer made Xu Qi'an's blood boil.

I know who is sealed under Sangpo... Xu Qi'an swallowed his saliva. "How did the first generation supervisor die?"

Chu Caiwei shook her head. "I don't know. Our master never talked about our ancestor's past."

It's the first generation supervisor. The first generation supervisor is sealed under Sangpo!

Xu Qi'an trembled at this guess.

No wonder only Emperor Yuan Jing knew this secret. No wonder the supervisor fell ill. No wonder the northern demon tribe planned this show.

If the first generation supervisor broke free, the capital would be in chaos... No, the first generation supervisor had already broken free.

At this moment, Xu Qi'an even thought of fleeing from the capital.

"Escape, we need to escape... bring Uncle and Auntie with us... If the first generation supervisor breaks free, there will be a bloodbath. He is a first-grade expert, and the whole capital will become a battlefield of slaughter..."

Thinking of this, Xu Qi'an dispelled his thoughts of fleeing.

Emperor Yuan Jing made him redeem himself by doing good deeds, so Wei Yuan had the responsibility to watch over him as a death row prisoner. If he ran away, Wei Yuan would be implicated.

Of course, this was not the main reason.

Although Xu Qi'an could run away, the people of the capital couldn't. How many people would die if a battle broke out between first-grade experts in the capital?

All lives were important.

"Emperor Yuan Jing is a selfish old turtle. He is guarded by many experts in the palace, but what about the ordinary people in the city?"

"I can't meddle with the grudges between first-grade experts... I'll expose it, and someone else will take care of it."

He made a decision!

When in doubt, find Wei Yuan.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Wei Yuan, who had a famous reputation as a strategist, did give people a sense of security.

If Wei Yuan was an ordinary official, Xu Qi'an would have to go to the supervisor in the observatory.

Coincidentally, a clerk came in and saw Xu Qi'an, overjoyed. "I've been looking for you for a while. Wei Gong is looking for you."

How coincidental, I was looking for him too... Xu Qi'an said goodbye to Chu Caiwei and followed the clerk to the Haoyi Tower.

Entering the highest building of this yamen and arriving on the seventh floor, Xu Qi'an saw Wei Yuan in a green robe with white sideburns.

And two golden gongs.

"The case is progressing well, but unfortunately, the clues have been cut off again. The court has issued a wanted order for Zhou Chixiong, but finding him within half a month is unrealistic." Wei Yuan took a sip of tea and spoke in a gentle tone.

"What's the next plan?"Xu Qi'an stood in front of the desk, pondering for a moment before saying calmly, "I suspect that there are still hidden hands behind Zhou Chixiong, but we have no leads."

This case was more complicated and troublesome than the tax silver case. Of course, in the tax silver case, he was not the main investigator and only needed to find loopholes and provide ideas, while the Nightwatcher and the yamen took care of everything else.

Although the lead had been cut off, Xu Qi'an already had a general direction for the follow-up investigation: first, start with the artifacts that shield divination techniques; second, investigate the list of people who have the means and ability to smuggle gunpowder into Sangpo.

The second item was bound to be exhausting and might not even yield results.

"Wei Gong..." Xu Qi'an tested, "What if I still can't find the truth after half a month?"

"Then I will arrange for you to fake your death and escape. You can go to the jianghu and become a spy for the Nightwatcher," Wei Yuan said as he took a sip of tea.

"The yamen's intelligence network covers thirteen provinces and major jianghu forces. It's impossible to do without spies. Your personality is not suitable for politics, but the jianghu is your world. Actually, if it weren't for the Sangpo case, you would have left the capital under my arrangement."

Go to the jianghu? Xu Qi'an thought dazedly.

"Being a hidden blade in my hand, a blade that cannot see the light, do you feel wronged?" Wei Yuan smiled like a kind and cheerful teacher.

"Your personality is soft on the outside but tough on the inside, and a bit extreme. I admire you for this, but I don't like it either. I know there are many problems with the Nightwatcher, but human nature is like this, a mix of light and darkness. How many people like Li Yuchun are there in the Nightwatcher? If everyone in the Nightwatcher were like Li Yuchun, they wouldn't be able to suppress the civil and military officials."

Xu Qi'an frowned. "I understand this principle, so human nature needs to be constantly struck and deterred to maintain good governance. Aren't you too indulgent?"

"It also depends on the timing," Wei Yuan explained with a calm tone. "The Great Feng's bureaucratic atmosphere is corrupt and decadent, and if you want to change this, you have to go along with the crowd and then break them down one by one. When there are no more obstacles in front of you, that's when you can realize your ambitions."

Wei Yuan meant that when he had defeated his political enemies in the future and there were no more obstacles in his way, he could then deal with these foul practices. Xu Qi'an thought about it and found it reasonable.

"In the officialdom, you are bound by rules and have to go along with the crowd. Otherwise, you will only cause trouble again and again. Or, you will lose your sharpness as a warrior and become a useless person. But in the jianghu, you have no restrictions," Wei Yuan said with emphasis.

"Anyone who offends you, blocks you, or annoys you, just use your sword to cut them down. Follow your heart, and don't worry about rules and laws. This is the principle of using force to violate the law."

Many martial artists lost their way in the process and became ruthless executioners. This was something Xu Qi'an needed to be careful about.Xu Qi'an held back for a while before saying, "I don't want to go to the Jianghu. I want to try my best here."

He wasn't attached to power, but to his family. He was attached to his uncle, aunt, Erlang, and sister.

It was like in his past life when his boss said, "I'm sending you to another province to expand our market. You'll be stationed there for a long time."

And he said, "I don't want to go."

But the boss said, "No, you want to."

Thankfully, Wei Yuan wasn't that kind of boss. He didn't force him and just smiled indifferently, saying, "You can leave if there's nothing else."

"No, I have something to say." Xu Qi'an bowed and said in a serious tone, "Please ask the others to leave, Wei Gongping. I have important matters to report."

"Again?!" Nangong Qianrou and Yang Yan looked at Xu Qi'an expressionlessly.

PS: There are some typos in this chapter. Also, I'll be back to work tomorrow, so the burst update ends here. It's been six days since it was published, and I've updated 67,000 words.

Not bad, not bad.

If I update normally, it'll be two chapters a day, with a minimum of 3,000 words per chapter. Daily updates will probably be around 7,000 to 8,000 words.

A quick look at bit.ly/3iBfjkV will leave you more fulfilled.

This is the limit. I have to think about the plot, set clues, and plan ambushes, and I also have to consider the enjoyment factor. It's really too taxing on the brain to burst update like those cliché novels. I hope you can understand. However, according to the current market trend, the future belongs to popular novels, and maybe I can burst update then. For example: Nephew washes aunt's feet, Nightwatcher goes home to see his sister sleeping in the dog's nest!