Nightwatcher

# 392X A Case from Years Past

*The National Teacher has truly graced us with her presence in person? And this time, it's her true body? Daoist Jinlian's influence is really that great…*

As Xu Qi’an marvelled at Daoist Jinlian’s connections, he felt both honoured and a little overwhelmed, hastily saluting.

"Greetings, National Teacher."

Re-examining Luo Yuheng, he noticed something different. The Luo Yuheng he had seen at Lingbao Temple was undoubtedly beautiful, but still made of mere flesh and blood.

The woman standing before him now, however, radiated a sacred glow. If he had to describe it, "ice-like skin and jade-like bones" would be the most fitting.

Luo Yuheng gave him a glance and said coolly, "This is my Yang Spirit."

*Yang Spirit… The third-rank Yang Spirit of the Daoist sect? The legendary state that feared neither wind nor thunder and could roam the aether freely?* Xu Qi’an was stunned, his eyes fixed on her like he was gawking at a giant panda.

Luo Yuheng’s delicate brows furrowed slightly, a hint of displeasure flickering through her clear gaze. She said flatly, "What do you want?"

Realising that his gaze might have been disrespectful, Xu Qi’an quickly straightened up, adopting a solemn posture and averting his eyes. He spoke in a steady tone, "I have something to report to you."

Pausing for a moment, he carefully worded his statement.

"In the Chuzhou city massacre case, Emperor Yuanjing and King Huai colluded—one refining a Blood Pill, the other refining a Soul Pill. King Huai sought to achieve the peak of Rank Three and then consume the spiritual essence of the Princess Consort."

Since they'd already turned against each other, there was no need to feign respect by calling him "His Majesty." As for the Princess Consort’s secret, Xu Qi’an doubted that a second rank Daoist sect leader would be unaware of it.

"What I wish to know is: what does Emperor Yuanjing need the Soul Pill for?"

Hearing this, Luo Yuheng frowned, pondering for a few seconds before replying slowly, "Yuanjing has cultivated for twenty years, yet has barely reached Rank Six, the Yin Spirit realm. Forming a Golden Core is a distant dream for him."

*This… This… He’s been cultivating for twenty years and is still only Rank Six? I don’t even know how to roast him for that. With the resources of an entire empire, even a pig should have formed a Golden Core by now!*

*Is Emperor Yuanjing’s talent in cultivation as bad as Xu Lingyin’s talent in studying?*

Xu Qi’an gathered his thoughts and asked, "Could it be a deception?"

Luo Yuheng glanced at him but said nothing.

Xu Qi’an immediately clasped his hands in apology.

Such doubts were disrespectful to a Rank Two Daoist expert.

Luo Yuheng continued, "Yuanjing’s soul has always been inherently weak. That is the reason for his poor cultivation aptitude."

*Daoist Jinlian had mentioned that Soul Pill could strengthen the primordial spirit. Could Yuanjing be trying to compensate for his congenital deficiency?*

As Xu Qi’an was considering this, he heard Luo Yuheng say with a frown, "But there are many ways to enhance the primordial spirit—meditation and elixirs, for instance. There’s no need to resort to refining Soul Pill."

Xu Qi’an nodded. "So, the Soul Pill must serve another purpose."

From a psychological perspective, only a madman would act without restraint. But Emperor Yuanjing was no madman—on the contrary, he was a ruler with very complex schemes.

Before taking action, he would always weigh the consequences. If the benefits were not worth the cost, he wouldn’t proceed. If the Soul Pill were merely to stabilise his Rank Six foundation, it was unlikely that he would have orchestrated the massacre. The cost was simply too high.

At most, he might have tacitly approved of King Huai’s actions, but not actively conspired with him.

Luo Yuheng asked in return, "What do you think?"

Xu Qi’an gave a wry smile. "I lack clues and cannot speculate for now. I will investigate this matter. As for you, National Teacher, please just keep it in mind."

He believed that a Rank Two expert’s intelligence did not require excessive explanation or reminders—a simple hint would suffice.

Luo Yuheng made a soft sound of acknowledgment before asking, "The Princess Consort—was she truly captured by the barbarians and never heard from again?"

Xu Qi’an sighed with regret. "Yes. Such a pity—the most beautiful woman in Great Feng, lost. King Huai is dead, and the Princess Consort is likely…"

He expressed an appropriate degree of sorrow, demonstrating the natural regret any man would feel for a peerless beauty’s misfortune.

Luo Yuheng gave him an unreadable look and fell silent for a moment before asking casually, "Jinlian mentioned that you discovered an ancient dual cultivation technique in the underground tomb outside Yongzhou City?"

*Why are you asking about this?*

Xu Qi’an was momentarily stunned but answered truthfully, "Yes."

"Have you comprehended it thoroughly?"

As she asked, Luo Yuheng’s beautiful eyes were fixed intently on him.

"This… I have not practised it. Daoist Jinlian said that this technique requires a man and woman who have mastered dual cultivation to train together. It is not as simple as just finding a partner."

Even though Xu Qi’an was a seasoned man, discussing such a private topic with an exceptional beauty still made him feel somewhat awkward.

Luo Yuheng nodded slightly.

From her gaze, Xu Qi’an seemed to detect a trace of satisfaction?

"The Chuzhou massacre case is settled for now. Yuanjing wishes for the matter to pass as soon as possible and will not seek revenge on you in the short term," Luo Yuheng reminded him. "As for the future, you must be cautious. If you notice any sign of retaliation, have your family resign from office immediately. They can return when the situation stabilises."

Xu Qi’an nodded. That was the price of offending an emperor.

The mastermind behind the scenes had yet to make a move, making them a long-term threat. But Emperor Yuanjing was an immediate concern.

*I must advance my cultivation as quickly as possible to protect myself…*

"Keep this talisman sword safe. In a moment of crisis, activate it with your qi—it will count as one of my strikes. If you need to contact me, infuse it with your divine sense."

Luo Yuheng’s Yang Spirit transformed into golden light and vanished.

Xu Qi’an stowed away the talisman sword, pinched the bridge of his nose, and muttered, "Short-term goal: advance to Rank Five. Then, investigate Emperor Yuanjing… Heh, who would have thought that I would one day be investigating an emperor?"

…

“Zhong Li, Zhong Li…”

Xu Qi’an stepped out of the house and looked around.

“I’m here.” Zhong Li, hugging her knees, sat by the window and responded weakly.

*As long as she’s not hurt…* Xu Qi’an let out a breath of relief.

Leading Zhong Li along, he passed by Xu Erlang’s study. Glancing in through the window, he saw Xu Erlang and Chu Yuanzhen drinking and chatting merrily. The two scholars, hands folded behind their backs, were engaged in idle discussion.

*Hmm, given Brother Chu’s worldly experience, he wouldn’t recklessly mention the Earth Book fragment since Erlang "prefers to keep his identity hidden."*

*For Erlang to chat with Chu Yuanzhen for so long—worthy indeed of being the huiyuan in the metropolitan examination and a second-rank jinshi. He’s not bad at all.*

They made their way to Li Miaozhen’s door, where Susu’s crisp voice could be heard from inside: “Dad, aye, Dad, aye…”

Like a parrot, she repeated it over and over again, clearly enjoying herself.

“Are you already practising how to call me Dad? Don’t say ‘Dad,’ say ‘Daddy,’” Xu Qi’an pushed open the door and entered.

Susu, dressed in an exquisitely intricate white dress, giggled. “What does it have to do with you? Your silly little brat is hilarious. Master was teaching him to read and wrote the character ‘Dad.’ Master said: ‘Dad.’

“Your silly little brat responded: ‘Aye!’”

Susu laughed so hard she slipped, collapsed onto the table, and shook with laughter.

Xu Qi’an: “……”

No wonder Li Miaozhen had looked so done with life earlier.

*And why had Chu Yuanzhen been so furious?* He thought about it, but held back from asking—he didn’t want to dig up his comrade’s scars.

“I’m heading out for a bit. If you’re free, why not come with me?” Xu Qi’an turned to the Holy Maiden of the Heaven Sect.

Her little face practically had "Not Happy" written across it. She snapped, “If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t disturb my cultivation.”

*That tone was a bit sharp—don’t take out your frustration with Little Pea on me…* Xu Qi’an explained,

“I’ve found one of Duke Cao’s private residences. Something extraordinary is hidden inside. Want to explore it together?”

*Now that you’ve said that, I’m interested…* Li Miaozhen smiled. “Sure.”

…

Duke Cao’s private residence was located a few li from the imperial city, by a lakeside.

Calling it a small courtyard was an understatement. It actually had two courtyards. A lock hung on the entrance, and it had clearly been unoccupied for a long time.

Li Miaozhen narrowed her eyes at the residence and snorted. “A private estate like this, so close to the imperial city, in such a prime and quiet location, must be worth at least eight thousand taels of silver.

“And Duke Cao has more than a dozen of these, all for keeping mistresses hidden away. Utterly detestable—deserving of death.”

*Sorry, but soon enough, I’ll be a man buying private residences to keep mistresses too…* Xu Qi’an quipped to himself as he scanned the surroundings. His warrior’s instinct for danger gave no warning.

No one was lying in ambush. Duke Cao’s private residence was indeed well-hidden.

Seeing no one around, Xu Qi’an, Li Miaozhen, and Zhong Li vaulted over the high walls, landing lightly inside the courtyard.

The moment his feet touched the ground, Xu Qi’an suddenly turned around and opened his arms. The next moment, Zhong Li, whose toes had been caught on the wall as she climbed over, tumbled headfirst into his embrace.

Senior Sister Zhong’s delicate body was soft. Even through the fabric of his robe, he could feel the elasticity of her skin.

“Thank you…” Zhong Li said happily—without his help, she would have landed face-first.

“No need to thank me. You’ll get the hang of it with practice,” Xu Qi’an said with a smile.

“……” Li Miaozhen opened her mouth but only sighed with pity.

Fifth-rank Arcanist, Master of Prophecy—how many prodigies had fallen at this rank?

This courtyard had been uninhabited for a long time, yet it didn’t look neglected. Clearly, Duke Cao had arranged for regular upkeep and cleaning.

Passing through the courtyard, they entered the inner hall. After a thorough search, they found that the place was nothing more than an ordinary residence, left idle, with nothing particularly valuable inside.

“There must be a hidden chamber,” Li Miaozhen analysed.

“Not a hidden chamber—a cellar.”

Xu Qi’an met the Heaven Sect Holy Maiden’s puzzled gaze and explained, “The structure of the house, the dimensions of the rooms, don’t leave enough space for a hidden chamber.”

Li Miaozhen nodded in understanding. She untied her sachet and gave it a light tap. Wisps of azure smoke emerged and seeped into the ground.

Moments later, a tendril of smoke returned, whispering ghostly words into her ear.

After listening for a while, she said, “Follow me.”

She led Xu Qi’an and Zhong Li to the study connected to the master bedroom. She pushed aside the large chair behind the desk and stomped down hard.

With a rumbling crash, the floor tiles shattered, revealing a pitch-black hole. A steep staircase led downward into the cellar.

The three descended the stone steps. Their footsteps echoed in the heavy air.

The cellar was not particularly deep—similar to the kind wealthy families used for storing ice and vegetables. However, Duke Cao used his to hide rare treasures and antiques.

Li Miaozhen lit the oil lamps embedded in the walls one by one, casting a warm glow over the dim cellar.

Row upon row of display shelves filled the space, holding a dazzling variety of artefacts—porcelain vases, jade carvings, bronze beasts, luminous pearls, and more.

The sheer opulence was overwhelming.

*The world does not lack beauty—it lacks eyes that can see it…* This famous saying surfaced in Xu Qi’an’s mind.

Then, he heard Li Miaozhen say, “Each of these items is worth a fortune. Selling them could save many homeless and starving refugees.”

Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she spoke.

“？”

Xu Qi’an stiffly turned his head to look at her.

*Did I bring you here for this? Do you believe I won’t silence you on the spot…?* He coughed.

“That’s true, but charity should be done within one’s means. Going bankrupt for charity is something only fools do.”

“Aren’t these ill-gotten gains?” Li Miaozhen gave him a sidelong glance.

*Are you sure you’re the supposedly emotionless Li Miaozhen?*

“I’ll set aside thirty percent for you to do good deeds,” Xu Qi’an waved a hand dismissively, unwilling to argue further. Instead, he said,

“These trinkets were either obtained through corruption or some other unspeakable means.”

Zhong Li reached out her small hand and picked up a deep blue bead. It was translucent, like a miniature ocean encased in glass, refracting an astonishing light under the oil lamps.

“This is a shark pearl from the Kingdoms of the Southern Seas, extremely rare—a tribute item,” Zhong Li, as a disciple of the Sitianjian, had far greater knowledge of luxury goods than either Freeloader Xu or the Heaven Sect Holy Maiden.

*Embezzling tribute items?!*

Xu Qi’an understood now—no wonder Duke Cao needed a private residence specifically to store these.

He then took out the Earth Book fragment and began storing these precious items in the mirror world one by one. The fragile ones, such as porcelain, posed more of a challenge.

“There are chests over there. Store them inside first,” Li Miaozhen pointed to a corner of the cellar.

With a click, a chest opened.

There was no mesmerising golden glow, nor a flickering silver light—Xu Qi’an was somewhat disappointed.

Inside the chest lay stacks of secret letters. Xu Qi’an picked up a few and unfolded them, his breath suddenly quickening.

One by one, he flipped through them, scanning quickly. These were records kept by Duke Cao—records of corruption and abuse of power.

Some of them could be traced back ten or even twenty years, detailing embezzlement of tribute, misappropriation of disaster relief funds, and the seizure of military lands… Among those implicated were civil officials, titled nobles, and even members of the imperial family.

If these secret letters were exposed, they would undoubtedly cause a political upheaval—countless people would be swept into the storm.

*Give them to Duke Wei—pass all these letters to Duke Wei…*

Xu Qi’an’s instinctive reaction was to hand them over to Wei Yuan, letting him take control of this information and strengthen his political position.

A few seconds later, he calmed down.

No rush. Even if he were to give them to Duke Wei, there was no need to hurry. No—he couldn’t hand everything over to Wei Yuan. He had to keep some for Erlang as well—he too needed political leverage.

With this thought in mind, he pulled out another letter from the bottom of the chest and began reading.

"Year 15 of Yuanjing. Have collaborated with the Yan Clique, Wang Clique, and King Yu’s faction to eradicate Su Hang, completely purging the *** Clique… Su Hang was executed, his female relatives consigned to the Jiaofangsi, his male kin exiled. Received bribes of eight thousand taels each from the Yan Clique and Wang Clique..."

*Su Hang… That name sounds familiar…*

Just as this thought flashed through Xu Qi’an’s mind, Li Miaozhen’s expression changed drastically, and she blurted out, "Susu’s father…"

Xu Qi’an’s memory jolted—Susu’s father was indeed named Su Hang. He had passed the imperial examinations in the 29th year of Zhende. In the 14th year of Yuanjing, for some unknown reason, he was demoted to serve as a magistrate in Jiangzhou. The following year, he was executed under charges of bribery and corruption.

*So Susu’s father really had died due to factional struggles—and at the hands of so many different cliques working together?*

"So Susu’s father was killed by them—the Yan Clique, the Wang Clique, and King Yu’s faction of nobles," Li Miaozhen said angrily.

"No… something is off about this letter…" Xu Qi’an pointed to a blank space in the text, frowning. "Look here—why is there a gap before the word ‘Clique’? What clique exactly was purged?"

The blank space was just wide enough for a single character.

"Could it be that Duke Cao had some reason to fear naming that faction, so he left it blank?" Li Miaozhen speculated.

"If that were the case, he could have simply omitted it or used a code name instead. Besides, the faction had already been purged—what was there to fear?" Xu Qi’an shook his head, rejecting her theory. He pointed at the letter again.

"This looks more like something was originally written here, but some force erased it—leaving only a blank space."

Li Miaozhen frowned, trying to analyse the situation. After a long while, she gave up, erasing the question mark from her mind and asking, "What do you think?"

With a masterful investigator beside her, why should she waste her own brainpower?

"What can I think? There’s barely any information here—nowhere near enough to form a hypothesis. Hmm… Didn’t you say Susu’s father’s case records couldn’t be found in Jiangzhou?

"Then we should take a trip to the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of Law, or even the High Court to look into it. We’ll talk after we uncover more clues."

Xu Qi’an sighed. "But one thing is certain—Susu’s father’s death wasn’t simple. It wasn’t just a normal case of corruption. The factional struggle involved many people. I have a feeling that following this lead might unearth something significant."

Without further delay, they packed up the porcelain, stored the chest in the Earth Book fragment, and looted everything valuable from the house.

Naturally, Xu Qi’an didn’t forget to take the land deed and property certificate as well.

He planned to sell this residence and buy a small courtyard near the Xu estate—where he could keep the princess consort.

…

The three of them returned to Xu Manor. Susu was sitting on the rooftop, admiring the view with a bright red paper parasol in hand.

In the courtyard, Xu Lingyin, now well-fed and satisfied, was practicing her punches, tempering her qi and blood. She even provided her own sound effects: "Hee-hah! Hee-hah!"

Her delicate little brows furrowed as she tried to look fierce.

Chu Caiwei and Lina sat nearby, chatting idly while occasionally offering guidance.

Susu simply sat on the rooftop, enjoying the spectacle. The wind lifted her hair and skirt, making her look like a celestial being—ethereal and breathtakingly beautiful.

Li Miaozhen stood in the courtyard, looking up and waving. "Susu, come down—we need to talk."

"Alright!"

Susu smiled sweetly and drifted down effortlessly.

Little Pea pointed at Susu and declared to Lina and Caiwei, "I want to learn that!"

"You can’t—you’re too fat," Lina and Caiwei rejected her outright.

Little Pea huffed in annoyance and ran over to hug her big brother’s leg.

"Big Brother, am I fat?" Xu Lingyin sought reassurance.

"You’re not fat—you’re a sweetheart," Xu Qi’an said, patting her head.

"Mother is Father’s little sweetheart, and I’m Big Brother’s sweetheart, right?" Xu Lingyin still remembered this joke from before.

"That’s right, that’s right."

Satisfied, Little Pea ran back to Lina and Chu Caiwei, announcing loudly, "Mother is Father’s little sweetheart, and I’m Big Brother’s fatty sweetheart!"

"Shut up!"

Auntie stormed out of the house, her face flushed red with embarrassment. Brandishing a feather duster, she chased Xu Lingyin around the courtyard. But despite her best efforts, she couldn’t catch her…

Fuming, Auntie howled in frustration.

Meanwhile, Xu Qi’an and the others went inside. Li Miaozhen sat Susu down at the table, her expression serious.

"We’ve found a lead on your father’s execution."

Susu’s delicate frame visibly trembled. The faint smile on her lips slowly faded, and her lively, spirited eyes dimmed, tinged with sorrow and confusion.

A misty layer of tears clouded her gaze as she looked blankly at Xu Qi’an.

"You found it?"