Chapter 178: The Corpse Examination

Both female leads had been hauled away, so there was no more drinking to be done.

Lu Xingzhou took A-Nuo to the Demon Suppression Division as well, participating in the "autopsy" in his capacity as the victim and as an alchemist.

Of course, one usually couldn't participate in an autopsy with such a status, but he had another special identity... The miserable screams of Editor-in-Chief Sheng being beaten when she was dragged back were still ringing in everyone's eardrums. Whether that yellow-haired fellow was to be killed or pardoned was the Head's business; others only knew that the probability of him becoming the Head's son-in-law was quite high...

Upon closer inspection, there was indeed no identity information at all. Logically, a third-grade sword cultivator should have been on the Hero Ranking and counted as a regional powerhouse, but no one recognized this person, let alone him being on the list.

So-called "hidden old monsters" didn't hide like this. They were basically high-level experts who had once been very famous; they would either ask the Demon Suppression Division to remove their names, or they would hide their names and not appear in the world for a long time, eventually being removed from the records upon their death. This person was clearly not of this type; he was simply outside the realm of common knowledge.

Lu Xingzhou examined him for a long time: "It is very difficult to reach the third grade and have no one recognize you... because this is not a result that can be achieved by sitting at home and cultivating bitterly; one must undergo high-intensity training. Furthermore, long-term training in secret realms is not really feasible. Dugu Qingli trained in the cold rivers since childhood and no one recognized her, but the Imperial Preceptor believed that if she wanted to reach the third grade, she must experience the human world, and thus her brilliance bloomed in the world. After all, experiencing the human world inevitably involves social interaction, and there will be battle records known to others; it is very difficult to remain unknown... That is the third grade, after all."

"There are also low-key people; not being known by many does not necessarily mean no one knows them at all. We will try posting notices to see if anyone has seen him."

"Another possibility is that the place of training was abroad, in another country or within the territory of the demon race." Lu Xingzhou picked up a brush, drew a portrait, and put it away: "If I go out, I will take the opportunity to ask."

Therefore, having no clues was also a type of clue; sooner or later, something would turn up.

It was just that for now, with the Demon Suppression Division reporting such a result to the Emperor's desk, it was hard to say what Gu Zhanting would think.

Yesterday, Lu Xingzhou had brutally beaten Huo Heng at the Yanyu Pavilion, and he had done it right in front of the Prince of Jin, Gu Yicheng. Today, Lu Xingzhou was assassinated. Most people would only think that it was either the Huo family secretly raising death warriors, or the Prince of Jin. Looking at the area where the person finally fled, the Prince of Jin was more suspicious than the Huo family.

No matter who it was, it would likely plant a nail in Gu Zhanting's heart.

Raising death warriors was not the same as raising bodyguards... This kind of thing was generally a great taboo for a monarch.

Lu Xingzhou looked toward the area of the princes and nobles, his expression emotionless.

He knew it wasn't the Prince of Jin.

From the moment they entered the Demon Subjugation Domain, this person had the intention of framing Gu Yicheng. At the very least, the Alchemy Academy was still questioning whether he and Chen Yu were in cahoots. After the conflict with the Prince of Jin, the assassination came, making the implication even more obvious.

Even Lu Xingzhou himself didn't think he was worth a third-grade death warrior's assassination, so who else would think so highly of him?

—Being able to remove Shen Tang's right-hand man while also causing the Emperor to be suspicious of the Prince of Jin, who currently had the most momentum to ascend—the value of killing two birds with one stone was enough.

"A commoner discarded in a mansion, a youth with low cultivation, a few minors... Heh."

But don't forget that so-called discarded commoner; the reason he was discarded was for slaughtering the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect and attempting to kill his own sister, Shen Tang.

"This trip to the capital was not in vain; it's interesting." Lu Xingzhou picked up A-Nuo and left the Demon Suppression Division: "Next time we come, our strength will be different, and it might be even more fun."

"Will we come with Sister Shen Tang next time?"

"I don't know... Theoretically, Shen Tang is still in a state of self-imposed exile and wouldn't dare to show her face easily. But times change, who knows?"

At this moment, Pei Qingyan also felt the sigh of changing times.

He was still at home holding a bamboo board, telling Pei Chuyun to stretch out her little hand to be beaten; this was his first time trying to beat his daughter.

As it turned out, before the board could land, a subordinate hurried in from outside: "Prime Minister Pei, the Governor of Dongjiang Commandery requests to discuss the proposal to restore the Xiazhou Commandery administration. It is His Majesty's wish that you and the various ministries discuss it first."

Pei Chuyun pricked up her ears.

Dongjiang Commandery, Xiazhou.

Pei Qingyan looked at his daughter's behavior and felt a surge of anger: "Go into confinement yourself; I'll settle this with you tomorrow!"

After saying this, he threw down the board, turned around, and went out with his subordinate: "What is the specific situation?"

"Xiazhou was a commandery seat and even a province seat in the early years, and it had quite a status. A hundred years ago, the spiritual energy suddenly became increasingly thin, leading to population migration, and its status dropped significantly. The commandery seat was taken by Dongjiang nearby, and Xiazhou was downgraded to a county."

The people of Xiazhou knew about this, but people elsewhere might not be clear about it. Pei Qingyan had heard of it but had never taken it to heart: "So what about this?"

"The Governor of Dongjiang said that ever since he took office, he discovered that the spiritual energy in Xiazhou has been getting denser day by day, and today it already has the atmosphere of a large commandery. In the past month or two, many people from the surrounding areas have begun to migrate to Xiazhou, just like the return flow of the past. Compared to it, Dongjiang has actually become much worse; after all, Dongjiang was originally just a large county, and it was barely adequate as a commandery seat."

Due to the existence of ley line spiritual energy, the reason for cities to form a scale in this world was very crude: people were willing to go where the spiritual energy was dense. Furthermore, places with denser spiritual energy were more likely to give birth to treasures. The original pattern of Xiazhou being a base for low-third-grade medicinal herbs would very likely change into the production of mid-third-grade medicinal herbs, and that would be completely different. The Governor of Dongjiang was so anxious to propose the motion because he was more willing to transfer to a place with denser spiritual energy to work, cultivate, and enjoy more direct resource supply; it was very intuitive.

"Ever since he took office?" Pei Qingyan recalled, his expression somewhat strange: "The former Dongjiang Governor demon case... was broken by Lu Xingzhou and Sheng Yuanyao."

Pei Chuyun, who was pricking up her ears: "..."

Actually, Pei Chuyun was nearby at that time, and the next day was the burning of the Red Cliffs, but poor her name wasn't even in her father's story.

Pei Qingyan pondered for a moment and asked again: "What is the source of Xiazhou's spiritual energy? Why is it suddenly dense?"

"It's a problem with the entire Xiazhou ley line. It should have been like this in the early years, but later it became clogged for some reason, which led to the downgrade. Now the blockage has been broken, and the entire ley line has recovered."

"There must be a core, right?"

"It is said to be Danxia Mountain. The people of Xiazhou now say that the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect found a treasure; they occupied an ordinary medicinal mountain, but now it has become a spiritual mountain and treasure land. In the past six months, the general cultivation of the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect has skyrocketed. Sect Master Shen Tang and Sword Peak Hall Master Zhang Shaoyou have reached the mid-third grade, Protectors Qin Buwang and Zhao Guishan have broken through to the third grade, and Tang Yunzhong and others have reached the fourth grade. Now there are countless new disciples, and the atmosphere is flourishing."

Pei Qingyan's heart skipped a beat.

The subordinate didn't know what the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect's Shen Tang was, but he, Pei Qingyan, knew it clearly.

He had thought that Princess Chaohuang going to Xiazhou was a kind of remote exile, far away from the storm. But he didn't expect that times would change; Xiazhou was no longer what it used to be, and Princess Chaohuang had actually gathered such momentum, vaguely stronger than the original Heaven-Walking Sword Sect, which could be called a phoenix soaring into the nine heavens.

I wonder what His Majesty thinks...

Besides, how much does this have to do with Lu Xingzhou? Looking at the time, Lu Xingzhou hadn't gone to the capital yet, right? And then, is the relationship between Lu Xingzhou and Shen Tang really that kind of relationship...

Thinking of this, Pei Qingyan turned his head and glared at his daughter.

Why don't I let you have contact with that yellow-haired fellow? Do you really have no idea? I've never seen anyone so eager to be a concubine!

"I have an idea about this matter. Spiritual energy recovery, population return, abundant produce... and it has the foundation of a large commandery and a vast territory. The Governor's request for an upgrade and a change of the commandery seat is a routine administrative consideration; I have no objection. However..." Pei Qingyan paused and sighed: "His Majesty may not necessarily agree; we still have to see His Majesty's own intentions."

The subordinate was somewhat confused. What is there for the Emperor to struggle with in such a matter? If you, the Prime Minister, think it's okay, then it's okay; what is there to refute?

"The energy of Xiazhou is formed." Ye Tinglan stood on the star-gazing platform, looking toward Xiazhou, and whispered to herself: "I don't know if it formed too early, arousing Gu Zhanting's vigilance."

The white-haired old man who had discussed Yuan Muyu with her that day said from the side: "A third-grade force that has formed its climate is not something that His Majesty can solve just by saying so. The last time with the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect, we were unprepared and were suddenly attacked. This time, with us holding him back, it won't be so easy for the Emperor to act perversely again."

"Hmm..." Ye Tinglan whispered: "It won't be so easy... especially since Shen Tang is not fighting alone now. Someone was able to support the Yama Palace; it won't be any worse for the Heaven-Walking Sword Sect."

The old man: "?"

Ye Tinglan suddenly said: "I will be leaving the capital for a period of time, and I will temporarily entrust the affairs of the National Observatory to you. If there is anything important, communicate via talisman and contact me in time."

The old man said: "Where is the Sect Master going?"

"To take disciples for trial. A month at the earliest, half a year at the latest."

Taking disciples out for a trial was normal, but the old man was puzzled: "Does the Sect Master really regard the students of the Alchemy Academy as disciples?"

"He is different." Ye Tinglan said: "Besides, I also want to see Shen Tang today to see if her physiognomy will change."

The old man was silent.

In those years, Gu Zhanting also had a good physiognomy of being diligent and eager to learn, but this thing can change.

Physiognomy is born from the heart; if the heart changes, the physiognomy changes.

Shen Tang's physiognomy used to be very good, and the Sect Master was relatively optimistic about her. At the same time, it was also because she really couldn't stand the mess of the royal family killing each other, so she supported her.

But times have changed. Shen Tang had never been in charge before and was still a gentle princess who was kind to others. Now that she has encountered difficulties and has held power, is she still the same as before?