Chapter 127: Paying Respects, My Lord!

"Hoo~"

He opened his mouth and spat out a stream of qi like an arrow, shooting it more than ten meters away, where it hovered without dispersing.

Chen Mu stopped circulating his art and eased his mind.

Fourth Stage of Heaven, Mid Innate Stage!

This realm had already caught up with his previous target, Sun Jindong.

When true qi took form, the "qi sword" it condensed could deal no small amount of damage.

Ordinary weapons could be sliced through with ease.

It simply couldn't exist for long.

The "true qi sword" floating in front of Chen Mu was the same—after hovering for roughly a minute, it automatically dispersed into currents of air.

……

He rested for a moment.

Chen Mu rose, went to the stables of Giant Willow Manor, and found four horses along with a matching carriage.

Then he returned to the piles of corpses and ruins left by the great battle, and transferred all the heavily wounded and unconscious people into the carriages.

Among these people was the Zhou family's patriarch, Zhou Bowen.

Those who hadn't died were the best witnesses!

The position of Inspector of the Martial Suppression Bureau was mainly about rooting out the black sheep within the Bureau itself.

The "horse" in Tai'an Prefecture just happened to be Pei Renguang!

Unlike other places, Pei Renguang's "horse" was a rather large one.

As the highest-ranking officer in charge, he had actually cultivated demonic arts and absorbed that many people.

If he hadn't cultivated demonic arts, and had only killed outsiders, then Pei Renguang might not have needed to die.

Now it was impossible—Hu Xiaopeng had been killed by him too.

Any sect or faction most strictly forbade the slaughter of one's own kind.

Pei Renguang had swallowed and killed Hu Xiaopeng; once brought back to the Martial Suppression Bureau for trial, there was only one path: the death penalty.

Unless he had a powerful backer.

Just like Zhao Fuzhou and Lu Tang, who had a Myriad Manifestations realm master standing behind them—one of the five Grand Pacification Envoys at the Martial Suppression Bureau headquarters.

The question was, if Pei Renguang really had such a backer, would he still have needed to secretly cultivate demonic arts?

As for Chen Mu publicly revealing his identity as Inspector…

It was only a matter of time!

Before, the timing wasn't right; now was the moment.

Setting everything else aside, once Chen Mu's identity as Inspector was revealed, even if the Hannan Fang family learned he was in Tai'an Prefecture, the Fang family wouldn't dare openly move against him.

Looking across the realm, in terms of faction or strength, the Great Zhou imperial court was the strongest of them all!

Loose-cultivation martial artists were one thing—kill someone, and at worst hide for a few years, or a dozen or so, or simply change one's name and switch identities.

But a major faction like the Hannan Fang family—how could they hide? How could they switch?

The original reason for appointing Zhao Fuzhou as Inspector was precisely for this day.

As for being called a "hound of the imperial court"…

He didn't care!

……

All the unconscious wounded were transferred onto the carriages.

Chen Mu alone drove two carriages and left Giant Willow Manor, which was littered with corpses.

Halfway there, he stopped the carriages, made a trip to the mountain cave, and brought back the bound Qi Mengjun as well.

Compared to Zhou Bowen and the others, Qi Mengjun was the most important core witness!

The evidence was conclusive.

The carriages set off again, heading for Tai'an Fucheng.

Before entering the city, Chen Mu changed into the Inspector's official uniform, the Black Flame Garment.

He hung the Inspector's token at his waist and held the Execution Blade in his hand.

The restrained aura spread out.

Just like that, he walked openly into the city.

After entering the city, he first sent the wounded and unconscious people back to their posts, one by one.

Finally, taking Qi Mengjun and Pei Renguang, he arrived at the main gate of the Tai'an Prefecture Martial Suppression Bureau.

"Who goes there? You can't stop here—"

At the main gate of the Martial Suppression Bureau, the gate-guarding strongmen saw the carriage stop and immediately strode over to rebuke him.

But they only got halfway through before their eyes went wide, and they froze on the spot.

Black Flame Garment!

Execution Blade!

An Inspector's token?

"…Paying respects, my lord!"

The gate-guarding strongmen who had stepped forward, after their shock, quickly bowed and saluted, calling out respectfully.

Seeing this, the others behind them hurriedly bowed along with them.

"Paying respects, my lord!"

The rank of Inspector—even the lowest tier—held an official position equal to that of the highest-ranking officer of a prefecture's Martial Suppression Bureau.

And the Inspector's "rank outranks every official by one grade" trait meant that the moment Chen Mu appeared, he became the highest-ranking person in Tai'an Prefecture's Wu Siwei Bureau!

Facing his superior's superior's superior, how could the gate-guarding strongman not panic?

"Mm."

Chen Mu's expression was calm. He nodded slightly and said coolly, "Go gather everyone in the front courtyard."

"Yes, my lord!"

The gate-guarding strongman swallowed hard and bowed as he answered.

Then he spun around swiftly and ran through the wide-open main gate.

Chen Mu drove the two carriages in through the side gate.

The carriages rolled into the Wu Siwei Bureau and headed straight for the largest square in the front courtyard.

By the time they stopped, the numerous Wu Siwei guards who had received the news were already sprinting in from every corner, corridor, and doorway.

That included Lu Tang, who had been absent-minded these past few days, as well as Tong Yuanshan, the second-in-command after Pei Renguang had entered closed-door cultivation.

Apart from those out on assignment, everyone else arrived at the front courtyard square in unison and lined up in rows.

"Greetings, my lord!!"

Over a hundred people faced Chen Mu, bowed respectfully, and shouted in unison.

"……"

Chen Mu did not respond. Instead, he hauled Qi Mengjun and Pei Renguang out of the carriages and dumped them on the ground.

The Wu Siwei guards, who had originally been uneasy and anxious, recognized the two men's faces and were all dumbfounded.

"Lord Pei?"

"Mengjun!!"

"This… this… didn't Qi Mengjun die and get buried?"

"……"

A wave of uproar.

Every single Wu Siwei guard was no ordinary person; they had seen their share of grand scenes.

Yet at this moment, every one of them stared at Qi Mengjun and Pei Renguang, utterly stunned, dumbfounded, and shocked.

Lu Tang especially found it hardest to believe.

Chen Mu revealing his identity did not shock him.

What horrified him was Qi Mengjun "coming back from the dead"!

The square instantly erupted in clamor.

"Silence!"

It was still Tong Yuanshan who steadied himself first. He barked low, "All of you, shut your mouths and listen to my lord."

Hearing that, Chen Mu glanced at him.

Then, sweeping his gaze over the crowd that had fallen silent, he said coolly, "You really do bring honor to the Wu Siwei Bureau. Pei Renguang, as the highest-ranking officer of Tai'an Prefecture, not only practiced demonic cultivation but also killed his colleagues and brought harm to all of Tai'an Prefecture. This Inspector is quite curious—how many of you are Pei Renguang's accomplices?"

Silence.

The vast square, in an instant, fell into a deathly hush.

Practiced demonic cultivation?

Murdered his colleagues?

Pei Renguang was the one who had practiced the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Art and was the murderer who killed Zhou Shaoyou, Wang Zhongyi, Hu Xiaopeng, and others!?

Everyone listening to this horrifying news watched their facial expressions shift rapidly.

Shock, astonishment, disbelief, fury, incredulity…

Chen Mu's gaze swept over them as well. His "Listening Wind" skill activated, blanketing the entire field, listening for whose heartbeats suddenly accelerated.

As the highest-ranking officer of Tai'an Prefecture's Wu Siwei Bureau, Pei Renguang must have developed subordinates within the Bureau—accomplices!

Rooting these people out one by one would be too troublesome; doing it this way was far more efficient.

The moment Chen Mu finished speaking, more than a dozen people on the scene had their heartbeats accelerate—racing fast at that—and their faces change drastically at the same time. Though they reacted quickly and suppressed it in time, Chen Mu took it all in and memorized each and every one of them.

"M… my lord, is what you say true?"

In the silence, Tong Yuanshan broke the quiet and asked Solemnly, "Lord Pei, he…"

"You think I'm lying?"