Chapter 1002

"On the Fortune Treasure Ship, is that the Earl of Baron Xingyi?"

Liang Qu surfaced, his two Ice Jade Toads blinking their eyes, gazing into the distance.

A small skiff sped along; a man in black on the boat had his clothes flapping in the wind. No one was rowing, yet the boat moved extremely fast.

At his waist hung a unique waist plaque, glowing with a brilliant purple light. From over two hundred zhang away, he cupped his hands from afar, not daring to approach rashly.

"Finally here!"

Having eaten and drunk in the Ice Jade tribe's territory for over half a month, he had been waiting specifically for the imperial court's team to remove the Snow Mountain's hidden stakes!

Liang Qu knew they had this capability, especially since he was remaining stationary.

The River Patrol Office manages the waters, while the Demon Suppression Division hunts down chaotic demons on land.

As for solving cases and personnel matters across the world, the Three Judicial Offices take the lead.

Among them, the Tiqi are the hounds, the claws and teeth of the nation; hence they are also known as Cloud Eagle Tiqi, specializing in investigation and arrest.

They are divided into several grades; the lowest are the Candidate Tiqi, who are unranked and hold no credentials.

Those who have truly entered the fold are Bronze-Plated Tiqi, who can serve as the main force for solving cases or as Chief Constables in a county. Beyond them are the Silver-Plated...

And Gold-Plated, who shine and excel within prefectures and even provinces.

In the past, the three families of Xige Prefecture had to complete Liang Qu's demands to secure a chance for their juniors to learn from him. They had spent a great price to invite several Gold-Plated Tiqi to hunt down bandits. Although they had no results in the short term, they indirectly helped Liang Qu lock down the specific range, obtaining five great merits, which just happened to satisfy the exchange requirements for the Profound Yellow Plaque, raising the River Master's Favor to the fourth layer in one fell swoop—it could not be called anything but impressive.

And it didn't end there; above the Bronze, Silver, and Gold grades, there was an extremely special Purple-Gold!

Every Purple-Gold Plaque is personally bestowed by the Holy Emperor. There are no rigid standards; only by solving national-level major cases can one obtain it. To this day, whether there are even twenty in the entire Great Shun is a question.

Famous cases include, but are not limited to, the theft of the Northern Border Tiger Tally, the Imperial Examination Yin-Yang List, the Ministry of Revenue's blank seals, and the robbery of the Dunhuang scriptures...

Without a doubt.

The actions of the Snow Mountain were worthy of the imperial court specifically dispatching a Purple-Gold Tiqi to sit in command!

Perhaps even more than one!

"A Perfected Form Grandmaster—" Long Yanrui was slightly surprised. "Elder, could it be that investigative Tiqi have strength restrictions?"

Liang Qu shook his head: "Not really, it's just that strength and level are complementary."

Although the level of Tiqi is mostly related to solving cases and pursuit, the higher the level, the larger the platform, the bigger the cases handled, and naturally the better the treatment. Unless one's cultivation talent is truly dull, after years of accumulation, one will always have some martial arts achievements.

Conversely.

High strength, sharp senses, and agile thinking are also beneficial for pursuing criminals; they complement each other.

It's just that this Perfected Form-level Purple-Gold Tiqi is truly surprising. Setting aside case-solving, based on strength alone, he is definitely in the upper-middle tier of Purple-Gold Tiqi!

The wind blew ripples.

The other party cupped his hands from afar.

Liang Qu naturally nodded in response.

At their first meeting, on the skiff, Ling Xuan spoke again: "I am Ling Xuan. May I come aboard to speak?"

Liang Qu did not answer. Tatta Kai received the order, walked quickly to the side of the boat, and lowered the rope ladder.

Ling Xuan understood, and without relying on his Perfected Form strength to leap aboard, he honestly grabbed the rope ladder.

He climbed onto the deck one knot at a time, showing his attitude. Once they met, Ling Xuan got straight to the point.

"The Ghost Mother Sect requires the River Patrol Office to sit in command. The Earl of Baron Xingyi's strength is extraordinary, a true 'Needle to Calm the River.' Leaving Pingyang to travel thousands of miles to Blue Lake to pull off such a major feat—you didn't just come for the rumored family visit, did you?"

"Lord Ling, a dignified Purple-Gold Tiqi, quietly operating in the Snow Mountain—you are also here to solve a major case, right?"

"Why don't we both write a character and verify it with each other?"

"Good."

Liang Qu waved his hand, and a ball of water came to the deck.

Tatta Kai brought over a small table.

Both dipped their index fingers in water and covered their hands, but after Liang Qu finished writing, Ling Xuan didn't move, wiping the water stains off his finger.

"The Earl of Baron Xingyi has the ability to control water; I fear my covering my writing is useless." After saying this, Ling Xuan bit his index finger.

He painted with blood and covered it with one hand. "Likewise, Earl, please reveal yours first, to avoid any water-control changes."

Liang Qu withdrew his hand.

A transparent character: "Dry."

Ling Xuan also withdrew his hand: a blood-red character: "Water."

"Interesting."

Liang Qu's eyes flashed.

Two characters—to an outsider, they would be inexplicable, but both sides understood clearly.

Once the Drought Demon appears, the land is scorched for ten thousand miles; this is the "Dry" of water, also "Drought," and it also fits the meaning of having just done a ruthless job on the Bai family—he was here to "make trouble."

"Water" is the opposite of "Dry," and also refers to investigating the hidden stakes of Blue Lake, all revolving around "water."

After confirming the look in each other's eyes, both sides exchanged waist plaques to verify authenticity.

They were on the same side.

Liang Qu brought him directly into the meditation room: "Lord Ling, why did you come looking for me today?"

"And why did Lord Liang have us sought out?"

"What is the distribution of the hidden stakes? What are their forms and methods of removal? Where do you usually operate?"

"The matter of the hidden stakes is not urgent." Even though he confirmed it was Liang Qu himself, without further understanding, Ling Xuan dared not blurt out all such confidential matters. If a mistake occurred, he would be the one held responsible. "The monks of Yuequan Temple are active near Ice Mirror Mountain with the dogs of Wan Temple. I wonder what Lord Liang intends to do?"

Yuequan Temple, Wan Temple?

Liang Qu didn't know much about the former.

There are countless temples in the Snow Mountain region; even though he had a basic grasp through investigating the three people, it was impossible to know every single one.

He did know the latter—one of the seventy-two medium-sized temples, famous in the Snow Mountain for the dogs they raised. It was a quite formidable medium-sized temple, ranked in the upper tier. The dogs they raised could be sent directly to the sect's lineage; it was one of the few medium temples that could directly contact the Snow Mountain sect lineage without going through the seven great temples.

"Yuequan is also a medium temple?"

"No."

"Then it's a great temple?" Liang Qu suspected he had misremembered the names of the seven great ones.

"It's not a great temple either."

"Not great, not medium—then it's a small temple?"

"Yes."

Liang Qu was stunned.

How did the losses of the Ice Wheel Bodhi Temple fall directly onto a small temple?

Quite strange.

Ice Wheel had been quiet for two months, and the next news he got was just a Yuequan Temple coming out...

"What is the strength of the two monks from Yuequan Temple?"

"Around the mid-stage of Galloping Horse, but the two dogs have the strength of Great Spirit Monsters."

Good heavens.

People aren't as good as dogs.

Liang Qu couldn't figure out what medicine the Snow Mountain was selling in its gourd.

"Have you done anything?"

"We've only tracked their movements; no extra actions."

"Please, Lord Ling, keep me informed of their movements; otherwise, no need to disturb them."

Small characters are irrelevant; Liang Qu wanted the big figures behind them to come out.

After some idle chatter.

Both sides understood each other better.

Liang Qu brought up the hidden stakes again.

Ling Xuan did not answer directly, instead asking Liang Qu: "I wonder, since Lord Liang arrived at the Snow Mountain, have you felt your luck was a bit poor, especially when fighting the Lotus Sect Master?"

Liang Qu's eyes flashed.

"What does Lord Ling know?"

"Just a few guesses, not really 'knowing.' According to my speculation, the entire Snow Mountain and even the surrounding prefectures..."

"... are actually shrouded in this kind of mysterious luck. This influence is extremely difficult to detect. For ordinary people, it's nothing more than choking on water after a few days, kicking a table corner while walking—almost impossible to discover. And there is a very common method of relief."

"Method of relief?"

Liang Qu's spirits lifted. Besides the Tathagata, there was another way to cleanse 【Drowning Karma】?

Ling Xuan didn't keep him in suspense.

"Burning incense and worshipping Buddha!"