Chapter 117

Senior officials have arrived!

The Inspector of the State City Garrison Office has come to investigate.

Or someone stronger than Pei Renguang!

Either by official rank to suppress, or by martial force to crush.

Otherwise, as the head of an entire prefecture, whoever touches Pei Renguang invites death.

……

"No clues at all?" Chen Mu stabilized his mind and asked softly.

"None."

Lu Tang shook his head, slightly embarrassed. "Pei Renguang is very cautious. Last month, after I suspected him of wrongdoing, he suddenly announced he was entering seclusion and hasn't emerged since."

"So, does Pei Renguang know your identity?" Chen Mu raised an eyebrow.

"Probably not."

Lu Tang pondered. "At most, he suspects I have ties to the Shannan Circuit Garrison Office headquarters."

"Then Pei Renguang definitely has something to hide," Chen Mu murmured.

His sudden seclusion may mean he sensed something—possibly related to Lu Tang, or perhaps a sudden incident.

In either case, Chen Mu's identity as Inspector must not be revealed for now!

I originally planned to enter the Garrison Office and review the Juan Sect records, but under these circumstances, I must wait.

Regarding Pei Renguang, covert investigation is safest.

……

Night fell like ink; the prosperity of Tai'an Prefecture had not fully quieted. Distant songs from brothels drifted faintly, while conversations from merchants living along the street escaped through their windows.

Chen Mu stepped out of the tavern, parted from Lu Tang, and walked the streets with a faint scent of alcohol on him—appearing slightly drunk, yet his steps as steady as a boulder.

Huh~

The evening breeze brushed past, carrying the distant mews of cats and the fading footsteps of night wanderers.

Suddenly, amid this ordinary urban noise, an utterly discordant rhythm—like a single bristle on a smooth brocade—caught his sharp attention.

It was footsteps.

The footsteps were deliberately muted, nearly blending with the wind; his breathing was tightly controlled, clearly possessing exceptional lightness skills and breath-concealing techniques.

But in his ears, this forced silence was far more conspicuous than loud, careless steps.

Someone is following him!

Chen Mu's expression remained unchanged, but his mind flashed through multiple thoughts in an instant.

Is this Pei Renguang's man?

I just began monitoring the Garrison Office personnel, yet I've kept a low profile for days, having no contact with any guards—only tonight's meeting with Lu Tang, and already I'm being watched?

As he thought, his face showed no sign of awareness. He maintained his drunken posture, even staggering slightly more, swaying into a quieter street and heading straight toward an unremarkable inn.

"A premium room," Chen Mu said, tossing a small silver fragment to the clerk dozing behind the counter.

The clerk instantly woke, eagerly guiding Chen Mu up to a second-floor private chamber.

Once the door closed, Chen Mu's drunkenness vanished instantly; his eyes sharpened like a hawk's.

He listened carefully. The faint footsteps circled outside the inn for a while, then, as if confirming his check-in, stopped in a shadow across the street and remained still.

'Quite cautious.'

Chen Mu smiled silently, walked to the window, and cracked it open a sliver.

Below lay a narrow alley—empty.

His body slipped out like a falling leaf, soundless; his fingers lightly hooked the windowsill, and he flipped onto the inn's roof, crouching low, his breath nearly merging with the shadows beneath the tiles.

The entire movement was silent, swift as a ghost.

Then, from above, his gaze locked onto a dark figure leaning against a wall at the alley entrance, dozens of meters away.

Under his "Night Vision" skill, he saw a man in black nightwear, lean and wiry, staring fixedly at the inn's front door.

Chen Mu did not rush to act. He wanted to see what big fish this small fish was leading to.

Indeed.

About half an hour later, another figure strode quickly from the end of the long street—also dressed in dark clothing, but without concealing his presence, suggesting higher status.

The follower immediately stepped out of the shadows and bowed respectfully.

"Took you long enough."

Chen Mu's eyes narrowed slightly; he activated his "Wind Listening" skill to their fullest, listening across the distance.

Their conversation reached his ears clearly.

"Lord Hu," the follower whispered.

The man called Lord Hu was a young man with a stern, sinister face, wearing the badge of a Garrison Office guard.

Chen Mu glanced quickly, recognized him, and turned his gaze away.

Hu Xiaopeng!

One of the many Primordial experts in the Garrison Office.

"Wang Youzhao, confirmed? The man is inside the inn?" Hu Xiaopeng's voice was cold and hard.

"Yes, sir. I watched him enter myself. The lights are out—he's probably asleep," replied Wang Youzhao.

Hu Xiaopeng snorted. "Hmph. Lu Tang isn't trustworthy either—secretly meeting an unknown martialist. What's he up to?"

Chen Mu's heart stirred—Lu Tang?

So it was Lu Tang who drew them here?

"Rest easy, my lord," Wang Youzhao flattered. "The man who checked in is just a young pup—what trouble could he cause? Lu Tang's plain-looking; no matter how much outside help he gets, it's useless. He's no match for you in competing for Young Lady Qi."

Young Lady Qi?

Chen Mu searched his memory. Among the prominent families surnamed Qi in Tai'an Prefecture, there weren't many — the only one capable of making two Innate Stage guards of the Town Martial Bureau fight over a woman was probably that household.

The Qi family, one of the four great clans.

And that "Young Lady Qi"…

"Lu Tang is certainly no good."

Hu Xiaopeng's voice carried thick jealousy and resentment. "What kind of thing is Lu Tang? How does he deserve to covet Mengjun? He's just relying on that bit of insignificant connection with the Qi family from last year, trying to ingratiate himself with Mengjun over and over!"

"Now that Mengjun won't pay him any attention, he tries every trick, looking for people everywhere. If he actually got his way, what then? No matter who comes this time, I won't give him a chance!"

Wang Youzhao agreed again and again.

Chen Mu, listening from the rooftop, was somewhat taken aback.

After all this fuss, this inexplicable tail wasn't aimed at his hidden identity as an Inspector, nor because of anything he'd done — the root of it was actually here?

Hu Xiaopeng and Lu Tang were rivals in love?

They were fighting over the Qi family's eldest daughter, the one famed throughout Tai'an Prefecture — Qi Mengjun, known as Tai'an Prefecture's number one beauty?

The rumors about Qi Mengjun surfaced unbidden in Chen Mu's mind.

They said her looks could topple a city; anyone who had seen her true face was utterly enchanted — hailed as a once-in-a-century beauty of Tai'an Prefecture.

But for over a year now she had been living in seclusion, rarely appearing in public, adding to her air of mystery.

Originally Chen Mu hadn't paid much attention to these jianghu rumors — beauties and the like were all passing clouds.

Yet at this moment, listening to the two men below twisting their words out of jealousy, a faint absurd curiosity welled up in his heart.

Just what kind of stunning beauty was this Qi Mengjun, to make two silver-badge guards of the Town Martial Bureau — Fourth Stage Innate experts — lock horns so fiercely?