The next morning, Xu Qi'an woke up feeling refreshed, but the woman next to him was gone. The scent of her lingered in the silk sheets. He struggled to get up, feeling like he had just finished a 1,000-meter race and was now suffering from muscle soreness.

"I overslept again...but I have a valid excuse for being late. I'm here to investigate the case at the Official Brothel Sector."

Xu Qi'an sat down and breathed deeply, relieving his tired cells and allowing his body to recover quickly. After only two revolutions of the meridians, his sore muscles regained their vitality.

"Squeak!"

The door to the inner chamber opened, and Fu Xiang entered, followed by her personal maid. Her black hair was tied up high and adorned with expensive jewelry, and her beautiful face looked a bit haggard.

Her eyes were still swollen from crying.

"Xu Gongzi, you're awake." She smiled faintly, with a distant and formulaic smile. "I had the kitchen make you duck porridge."

"Put it there." Xu Qi'an took his toiletries from the maid and quickly washed his face and brushed his teeth. He returned to his desk with a bowl of porridge, eating and thinking:

The demon woman from last night was a remnant of the Ten Thousand Demon Nation, which meant that this matter had nothing to do with the Northern Demon Clan...the suspicion against the Northern King was almost negligible...Was the goal of the Ten Thousand Demon Nation's remnant the seal or something else?

Xu Qi'an thought this way because if the goal was the seal, the demon remnants should have fled with the money, rather than continuing to cause trouble in the city.

...There is another possibility: the demon's goal is not just the seal, but something bigger, and the seal is just a means to achieve that goal.

The clues of the Sangpo case were almost clear: the behind-the-scenes forces were the court's 25th clan and the Ten Thousand Demon Nation's remnant.

Goal: unknown.

Seal: the severed hand of an unknown strong person.

Factors, characters, and forces involved: Ten Thousand Demon Nation, Pingyuan Earl, Minister of War, Bureau of Astronomy, the royal family, Princess Pingyang, Monk Henghui, Captain of the Golden Guards, Zhou Chixiong...

Breakthrough point: the severed hand strong person, Monk Henghui, Princess Pingyang.

By figuring out the identity of the severed hand strong person, one can deduce the true purpose of the demon remnants...and then, by catching either Henghui or Princess Pingyang, one can deduce the insider information of the case...Xu Qi'an finished his porridge and sighed contentedly.

At this point, he had time to tease Fu Xiang: "Are you angry?"

Fu Xiang smiled gently, "Xu Gongzi, don't make fun of me. I'm just a woman of the world. I don't have the right to be angry with you."

Okay, Xu Lang had become Xu Gongzi...Xu Qi'an nodded and stretched lazily, not caring too much. "Prepare ink and paper for me."

The little maid replied softly, "Yes."

"Madam, are you too cold to Xu Gongzi?" Walking down the alley of the Official Brothel Sector, the maid whispered.

Fu Xiang shook her head slightly, her voice tinged with sadness. "You don't understand. I once begged him to buy out my contract, but he refused."

The maid fell silent for a moment and explained for Xu Qi'an, "Perhaps he didn't have enough money. Madam's contract is worth at least three or four thousand taels of silver, and now it's probably doubled."Fu Xiang withdrew her gaze and looked down at the ground. "I've saved up quite a bit of silver over the years. I could have done something about it..." She let out a bitter laugh and her expression turned mournful. "In his heart, I'm no different from you all. I refused to believe it before and deluded myself, but last night's events made me see the truth."

It was just a foolish and unrequited love like falling flowers drifting in the water.

As she walked, she unknowingly arrived outside the Qingchi Courtyard. A noisy commotion caught her attention.

Two Nightwatchers dressed in their uniforms were leading Mingyan, the courtesan, out. The madam followed closely behind, her expression anxious as she kept explaining, "Gentlemen, this must be a misunderstanding, it must be."

Mingyan, the courtesan, had a frightened look on her face. "Mother, I'm innocent, I'm innocent..."

She recognized these two Nightwatchers. They were the ones who often accompanied Master Xu to the Shadow Plum Pavilion for tea gatherings. One was surnamed Song and the other... she couldn't remember as he was too reticent.

What happened? Mingyan was fine last night. Wait, why did Master Xu suddenly return to her Shadow Plum Pavilion last night... Could it be that Mingyan offended him last night and was dealt with today?

She immediately dismissed this idea. Although she was disillusioned with this man, she believed that Xu Qi'an was not that kind of person.

Fu Xiang frowned and approached the Nightwatchers, greeting them with a curtsy. "Gentlemen, what crime did Mingyan commit?"

Song Tingfeng stopped in his tracks and smiled. "Mingyan was secretly colluding with the demons, providing them with shelter. Last night, Master Xu investigated and caught the demon disguised as her personal maid. The demon has already been punished, and now we need to question Mingyan."

The madam pounded her chest and stomped her feet. "This is a wrongful accusation. Mingyan is just a weak woman. How could she collude with the demons? Do you know how much effort and silver I've spent raising her? I will go to the Ministry of Rites to complain and ask the officials there to be fair."

Zhu Guangxiao said in a deep voice, "I suspect that you are also a demon accomplice."

The madam was suddenly speechless and took a few steps back, driven by her strong desire to survive.

Song Tingfeng nodded at Fu Xiang and led his men away.

Fu Xiang stared blankly at their departing figures and began to make connections... Mingyan colluding with demons? Master Xu investigating secretly yesterday?

He chose to stay at the Qingchi Courtyard last night not because he was fickle, but because he had official business to attend to. Yet I was acting unreasonably and throwing tantrums.

He came back last night with a tired body, and I saw it. At that time, I thought he was with Mingyan... I wrongly accused him, and this morning I even gave him a cold shoulder to vent my grievances... But why didn't he explain? Yes, he couldn't explain because it was a confidential matter for the yamen.

Even so, despite being misunderstood and wrongly accused, did he show the slightest hint of annoyance and silently endure it?

Fu Xiang suddenly lifted her skirt and ran towards the Shadow Plum Pavilion.

"Madam, where are you going? Slow down..." The maid was taken aback.

She ran all the way back to the Shadow Plum Pavilion, pushed open the door to the bedroom, and called out, "Xu Lang..."

The room was empty, and he had already left. In that moment, she suddenly felt like she had lost something precious, and a part of her heart felt empty.

"I'm a bit tired, help me up." Fu Xiang spoke softly as she leaned against the door.The maid helped her onto the bed, sighed at her, and then went to clean up the room.

She saw the writing materials on the table beside the screen and walked over to it. "Madam, there's a poem here... it might be left by Master Xu."

Fu Xiang suddenly came alive, ran over to the table barefoot, snatched the paper from the maid's hand like she was grabbing a treasure, and looked at it closely.

"Beauty sits behind the beaded curtain,

Frowning deeply with her silkworm eyebrows.

I see only wet traces of tears,

But I do not know who she hates in her heart."

"Xu Lang, Xu Lang..." She started to laugh, but as she laughed, tears fell like raindrops, and she clutched the paper to her chest, crying and laughing at the same time.

"I have to find him." Fu Xiang wiped her tears, stood up, and ran towards the door.

The maid was shocked and held onto her soft waist. "Please don't go, Madam. You are a flower courtesan, the most prestigious one in the Official Brothel Sector. If this gets out, what will people think of you? Your hard-earned reputation will be ruined."

"No other flower courtesan has ever acted like you."

Fu Xiang was furious. "Let go of me!"

"I won't!"

...

Xu Qi'an bought six large meat buns on the street and sat on his horse, leisurely munching on them as he made his way to the yamen.

"The flower courtesans in the Official Brothel Sector are all beautiful... each with their own unique charm. It's a feast for the eyes. After the Sang Bo case is over, I'll get to know them one by one and write a guidebook on how to evaluate and judge the Great Feng's flower courtesans."

"The only problem is that I don't have enough money. I only make three taels of silver a day, but the price of a flower courtesan is at least thirty taels per night."

"Thanks to my nine years of compulsory education, my knowledge of poetry and literature is not in vain... Ha, I'm really ashamed to be a time-traveler. Others become literary officials to pursue their careers, but I'm just here to freeload..."

"Speaking of which, I'm almost twenty years old. Fortunately, my aunt is not my mother, so she won't pressure me to get married. I can make my own decisions. Cai Wei is the disciple of the Jian Zheng, and her background is too strong. Marrying her is like marrying half a princess. It's not easy to fool around with other women..."

"I don't need to hurry to get married. I can have a few more years of fun. The Official Brothel Sector has twenty-four flower courtesans. Haha, I'm just daydreaming. The disciples of the Jian Zheng may not even look at me."

Xu Bai Piao laughed at himself in his mind, his thoughts drifting back to the case.

He had instructed Song Tingfeng to capture Ming Yan, and although she was confirmed innocent last night, there were still things he needed to ask her, such as when the servant girl entered the Official Brothel Sector and who she had close relations with.

...

In a secluded courtyard, willow branches drooped down, looking desolate.

Sounds of banging and a man's painful groans came from inside the room... and then everything fell silent.

"Creak..."

The door opened, and Heng Hui, dressed in black robes, walked out silently and went straight to the well in the courtyard.

He stared at the deep well for a few seconds, waved his hand, and a faint golden "swastika" appeared at the well's opening before it shattered.

After breaking the seal, Heng Hui jumped into the well.

The dimly lit bottom of the well had a faint smell of water, and the middle-aged monk sat cross-legged with his back against the well wall.

He looked dispirited, his lips cracked, and he seemed to have suffered serious injuries.

The middle-aged monk was tall and burly, with a slightly blue chin and a face full of bitterness and hatred.

If Xu Qi'an were here, he would recognize this burly monk as Heng Yuan, the one he had been worrying about and searching for."Senior brother..." Heng Hui's hoarse voice.

Heng Yuan ignored him and sat in silence.

"I am seriously injured, and my severed hand is devouring me." Heng Hui said.

Heng Yuan opened his eyes and said with concern, "Heng Hui, turn back while you still can."

Search bit.ly/3iBfjkV for the original.

Heng Hui shook his head, "Senior brother, I followed you since I was six years old when I entered the Qinglong Temple. You taught me how to meditate, how to recite sutras, took care of my daily life like a brother and a father. Now, junior brother wants to ask you for one thing."

Heng Yuan sighed and nodded.

Heng Hui raised his head, and under his hood were a pair of pitch-black eyes without whites. He grinned ferociously, "I want to eat senior brother."