Chapter 192: Astrology and Divination

"Fu Huan, Morning-Caller of the Directorate of Astronomy, greets the two magistrates."

A young man in plain white robes and a white square cap saluted Cao Wei and Chai Jingong.

"Magistrate Fu."

Cao Wei and Chai Jingong returned the salute together.

In the previous dynasty, the Morning-Caller of the Directorate of Astronomy was just a Ninth-Rank sesame official.

Powerful Fifth-Rank officials like Cao Wei and Chai Jingong wouldn't even glance at them.

But after the founding of the Yu Kingdom, the status of the Directorate of Astronomy rose again and again, and their official rank was also raised repeatedly.

The original Ninth-Rank Morning-Caller was forcibly raised to Sixth-Rank.

In the capital, Sixth-Rank is not a big official, after all, it is a place where Third-Rank officials are everywhere, but if they go to an outer department, they are high-ranking officials, and they come with the Emperor's orders.

In a sense, they are imperial envoys, and Cao Wei and Chai Jingong, as local officials, naturally have to handle them carefully according to the rules.

Regardless of rank, they should treat them well.

"Entrusted by the Gu Jianzheng, I have come specially to assist the two magistrates in investigating the Gao Zhen case; I only hope my meager skills as a Daoist priest can be of use."

Fu Huan was extremely humble.

Cao Wei sized up the young man.

"It really is people comparing themselves to others, making one want to die of anger."

Fu Huan looked to be only in his early twenties, with a realm of only Seventh-Rank, yet he was already a Sixth-Rank official.

Even though military officers are often one rank lower because of their great real power.

But Fu Huan was also too young, and the Sixth-Rank was obtained too easily.

No wonder the Directorate of Astronomy is more noble than the Ministry of Rites; this nobility is reflected in their official rank—not much power, but the speed of promotion is far faster than officials of the Six Ministries.

Fu Huan called himself a Daoist priest, not a Daoist.

Daoist is the name for disciples of the Daoist school.

It is a name that only existed after Li Daozu evolved the Daoist methods.

The origin of Daoist priests is even more ancient.

It can even be traced back to ancient times, and can be understood as a group of people seeking longevity, so counting them, those hidden sects in the Zui Xian Lou can all be considered Daoist priests.

Daoist priests can also be Daoists.

There was no clear definition to begin with.

In the past, the Imperial Preceptor was undoubtedly the leader of the world's Daoist priests, but now that the Zui Xian Lou Master has become the Gu Jianzheng of the Directorate of Astronomy, Daoist priests also have a trend of differentiation.

Cao Wei laughed: "Magistrate Fu, no need to be humble, the Gu Jianzheng's eye will not be wrong."

"It is late today, why not first hold a welcoming banquet for Magistrate Fu, and then discuss the case."

Fu Huan came from the Directorate of Astronomy in the capital.

The etiquette of hospitality cannot be lacking.

Whether others go is one thing, but whether one asks is another.

If Fu Huan hadn't notified the Anning Guard in advance with a document, Cao Wei would certainly have waited at the official reception pavilion ten miles away, just like he did when welcoming Chai Jingong.

It is true that the Directorate of Astronomy belongs to the Lin party.

But when it comes to specific officials, it is impossible to sour the relationship upon the first meeting.

Not to mention that he hoped Fu Huan's Daoist arts could really be of help to the case.

Fu Huan shook his head: "Magistrate Cao, let's look at the case first."

Cao Wei raised his eyebrows.

He looked at Chai Jingong, then at Fu Huan.

He didn't expect to meet two workaholics today.

This is rare in the Yu Kingdom imperial court.

Generally speaking, the standard procedure is to go to the Imperial Music Bureau to have fun for three days before discussing official business.

"Magistrate Fu is devoted to public service, I admire you."

Cao Wei complimented him.

Fu Huan said: "Magistrate Cao, you flatter me. I wonder where Gao Zhen's residence is; perhaps I can find some clues with the Qi-Observing Method."

"I will lead Magistrate Fu there right away."

Cao Wei was decisive and immediately wanted to take Fu Huan to Gao Zhen's house.

Seeing this, Chai Jingong was also curious about how the famous Qi-Observing Art of the Directorate of Astronomy worked, so he stopped looking at the case files and followed the two out of the courtyard.

Gao Zhen's residence in the Anning Guard was very close to the General's Mansion.

A moment later.

The three arrived at a large residence.

A five-courtyard residence, empty, with no one inside.

Gao Zhen's original servants and subordinates had been controlled by Cao Wei at the first opportunity and thrown into prison.

They had also been interrogated.

But they all knew nothing about Gao Zhen's whereabouts.

Because no one lived there, the residence was already covered in a layer of dust.

Fu Huan looked at Cao Wei: "Magistrate Cao, which room is Gao Zhen's?"

"This one."

Cao Wei pointed to the largest room in the residence.

"Good."

Fu Huan nodded and walked into the room.

Under the curious eyes of Cao Wei and Chai Jingong, Fu Huan's left fingers pinched rapidly.

"Divination?"

Cao Wei watched intently.

If one were to talk about the most well-known thing about the Directorate of Astronomy, besides formulating the calendar, it would be the art of divination.

Once, a generation of Directorate of Astronomy Directors observed the celestial phenomena at night and discovered it was a situation of "Mars guarding the heart."

Using stunning means to deduce, he concluded:

"Great chaos is about to arise, the disaster is in the East."

Eight words.

The Emperor believed this deeply and sent secret guards to investigate the eastern departments, and unexpectedly, they really discovered that the then Duke of Xuan was plotting a rebellion, and then the imperial court sent a large army to encircle and suppress it in advance, which avoided a great chaos.

Since then, the world has known that the Directorate of Astronomy has the ability to peek into the secrets of heaven.

The speed of Fu Huan's finger pinching became faster and faster, almost becoming a blur.

The next instant.

He shouted loudly:

"Rise!"

He saw a palm-sized compass slowly fly out from his bosom.

Fu Huan looked at the rapidly spinning needle on the compass.

He muttered something in his mouth.

"Rest, Life, Injury, Obstruction, Scenery, Death, Surprise, Open"—very fast.

The needle on the compass stopped, and Fu Huan looked at where the needle pointed, sighing: "Death Gate."

Cao Wei couldn't help but ask: "What does it mean?"

Fu Huan said: "Gao Zhen is not missing; he is indeed dead."

Hearing this.

The last glimmer of hope in Cao Wei's heart was completely shattered; if Gao Zhen were only missing, he could be found safe and sound.

But now that Gao Zhen was really dead, he, the main official of the Anning Guard, could not shirk the responsibility.

Although it wouldn't lead to demotion, he feared that his position as Assistant Regional Commander of the Anning Guard would be hard to move for many years.

"It was a destined calamity."

Cao Wei sighed lightly.

=9+Book_Bar

Official luck, official luck, why is it called luck.

Isn't promotion all about luck?

Gao Zhen, a gilded playboy, originally had nothing to do with him, but he happened to die on his watch, a purely unlucky thing.

It can only be said that his luck was bad.

Cao Wei continued to ask: "Magistrate Fu, can you calculate who the murderer is?"

If Fu Huan could calculate the murderer directly, then he could just lead troops to arrest the person.

Fu Huan shook his head.

"The secrets of heaven cannot be leaked; my skills are shallow, calculating good and bad luck, life and death is already the limit."

A flash of disappointment crossed the eyes of Cao Wei and Chai Jingong.

But thinking about it, they understood; if the Directorate of Astronomy could really calculate the murderer directly, then the Ministry of Justice officials could all collectively retire.

"I heard that divination shortens one's life, and one can only calculate a vague general direction, not details; forcibly peeking will lead to a backlash from the Dao of Heaven, and one would die suddenly before even stating the result."

Cao Wei recalled the rumors he heard when he was a Member of the Ministry of War in the capital.

"Magistrate Fu, you've worked hard today; regarding Gao Zhen's death, I hope you will not spread it for the time being."

He had always told the outside world that Gao Zhen was missing.

That's why the Gao clan's reaction wasn't too big.

If the news of Gao Zhen's death were spread, then it wouldn't just be the Gao clan that would be furious; perhaps even the Duke of Wei would apply pressure, and then it wouldn't be so easy to investigate the case with peace of mind.

Fu Huan nodded:

"The two magistrates can rest assured."

Cao Wei: "It's getting late today, I'll take Magistrate Fu to settle down first, and we'll discuss the case tomorrow."

"Thank you, Magistrate Cao."

Li Residence.

Li Rui sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion.

"Only when the true Qi fills the dantian can one condense Qi into Yuan."

The sign of great success in Strengthening Qi is filling the dantian with true Qi.

His current Immortal Xuan Qi is at most one-tenth the size of his dantian, and there is still a long way to go before filling the dantian.

"No rush, take it slow."

He cultivates the Long-Life Art, so his lifespan is naturally longer than that of ordinary martial artists; he has at least another hundred years to live, so he has plenty of time.

It's just that these elixirs are really not enough to eat.

Li Rui had just leaped over the Dragon Gate, and his Immortal Xuan Qi had increased by more than seventy percent compared to when he first broke through.

This has to do with his Martial Bone and cultivation technique, but the most critical factor is still the elixirs.

He finished all six Qi-Nurturing Pills.

The effect was naturally good.

One Qi-Nurturing Pill costs four major merits, and he only had two major merits in total, so he couldn't even afford one Qi-Nurturing Pill.

"It seems I have to find a way to go out and earn more military merits."

Li Rui pondered.

During the Willow Sinew stage, he could rely on spiritual elixirs to find spiritual herbs and spiritual iron, and he could manage not to lack spiritual elixirs, but after reaching the Sixth-Rank, they were somewhat insufficient.

The money earned by simply being a middleman is ultimately limited.

If one wants to make money, it has to be those large sects and clans.

Sect masters and clan heads don't have to do anything themselves, and they can have massive amounts of gold, silver, and spiritual elixirs coming in every day.

It is much stronger than fighting alone.

If not for this, why would great martial arts masters go to the trouble of founding sects? In the end, isn't it because only by supplying the power of a sect can they afford the massive resources they consume in martial arts practice?

Otherwise, is it just for passing down martial arts?

Unless one can be strong enough not to rely on external forces, managing a power is an indispensable step.

Don't you see that even if one is an official, one must have one's own private property.

Relying on that meager salary?

I'm afraid there's no possibility of a breakthrough even after practicing for a hundred years.

Fortunately, there is a very direct way to obtain resources in the army, which is to earn military merits; this is almost the fastest way for an individual to obtain resources.

Of course, the premise is that one's strength must be strong enough.

Just as Li Rui was pondering.

A knock on the door suddenly came from the courtyard gate.

Li Rui pushed open the courtyard gate with doubt, only to see a strange young man in white standing at the gate with a smile.

"Who are you?"

The young man in white said: "Fu Huan, Morning-Caller of the Directorate of Astronomy."

Directorate of Astronomy?

Li Rui was a bit surprised.

He had heard that the Directorate of Astronomy was going to send someone to the Anning Guard, but he didn't expect someone from the Directorate of Astronomy to come directly to his door.

The Directorate of Astronomy came to the Anning Guard to investigate the Gao Zhen case.

He couldn't help but feel his heart tighten.

"Could it be that the Directorate of Astronomy really has heaven-reaching means, and they can even find me?"

Although he was suspicious in his heart, his expression did not change in the slightest.

"Magistrate Fu, do you have something to do with me so late?"

Fu Huan's smile grew brighter:

"I do have something."

As he spoke, he took a book from his bosom:

"I heard that you like reading, Senior, so Senior Sister Yao specially asked me to bring this book to you."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 193 =====