Chapter 324: Spring Has Come, But I Shall Not Be the First to Speak (Part 1)

The city of Datong has not been this lively for a long time as it is today.

The streets were packed so tightly that not even a drop of water could pass through, and many people came upon hearing the news:

"Let's go, shall we go see the exotic beasts?"

"What beasts?"

"Monster beasts!"

"There are monster beasts? Let's go, let's go!"

"."

In fact, many ordinary people did not even know what an exotic beast was, but that did not stop them from wanting to join in the excitement.

The convoy carrying the corpses of the exotic beasts started off driving deliberately slowly, and by the end, even if they wanted to speed up, they could not.

Both sides of the street were filled with crowds of people who had come to watch the spectacle.

A middle-aged man wearing a gray hat stood in the crowd, carefully observing the details of the two exotic beast corpses on the truck bed, sensing the aura lingering upon them.

A moment later, he withdrew from the crowd, passed through several streets, and entered a small courtyard.

Walking into the room, the gray-hatted man picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number.

The call was answered quickly:

"Hello?"

"I am 'Gray Pigeon'."

"Please speak."

"It has been confirmed; they are indeed the corpses of the Thunder-Light Snow Leopard and the Demon-Scale Horned Tiger raised by the 'Beast King' Yu Longqing. According to my observations, the bodies of the two exotic beasts were cut very neatly, indicating they were cut after death; the fatal wounds should be internal. I noticed that the internal organs of the Demon-Scale Horned Tiger are basically intact, but a large portion of the Thunder-Light Snow Leopard's internal organs are missing, which may be the cause of its death. It is possible that Green-Faced Ghost has mastered some kind of method capable of causing great lethality within the body, similar to an internal explosive force. That is all from my observation."

"Good, I have recorded everything. Thank you for your hard work."

Hanging up the phone, the gray-hatted man quickly left the small courtyard.

He was a member of the Datong Prefecture intelligence organization 'Moon-Watching Tower', codenamed 'Gray Pigeon'.

Moon-Watching Tower is the most powerful intelligence organization in Datong Prefecture and even the entire Feng Province, which is why the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking it releases is the most recognized.

Previously, Green-Faced Ghost reaching ninth on the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking was evaluated by Moon-Watching Tower.

Now that the battle in the wilderness has shocked the entire Datong Prefecture, Moon-Watching Tower naturally needs to obtain relevant intelligence at the first opportunity, then update its own ranking to maintain its credibility while demonstrating its intelligence-gathering capabilities.

Therefore, in addition to sending 'Gray Pigeon' to observe the corpses of the two exotic beasts on the street, Moon-Watching Tower also sent personnel to contact 'Shadow King' and 'Cannon King', wanting to obtain more detailed content about the battle in the wilderness.

On the street, the convoy drove into the Datong District.

This is the 'Central District' of Datong Prefecture City, where the General Inspectorate, the General Supervisory Office, the General Martial Defense Office, the General Interior Office, the Government Building, and other administrative agencies are all located.

As one of the three great families, the Zhang Mansion is also in the Datong District.

Only families capable of owning a mansion in this district can be considered families that have truly entered the upper echelons of Datong Prefecture.

After the convoy entered the Datong District, because the streets became much wider, it was finally not as congested.

Suddenly, a team of inspectors in uniform ran toward the convoy.

Inside the luxury car at the very front, Shangguan Xiao let the driver stop.

As this car stopped, the entire convoy also slowly came to a halt.

Rolling down the window, Shangguan Xiao turned to look outside.

A man wearing the shoulder insignia of a captain saluted Shangguan Xiao:

"Lord Shangguan, I am Bi Zheng, Captain of the First Brigade of the General Inspectorate."

The captain of the First Brigade of the General Inspectorate is also a court official, a Grade 10 official, only one grade lower than Shangguan Xiao, so Shangguan Xiao immediately opened the car door, stepped out, and returned the salute:

"Captain Bi, is there something the matter?"

Zhang Zedong, who was also sitting in the car, stepped out as well, looking at Bi Zheng with slight nervousness.

Today can be said to be a very important moment for the Zhang family.

Whether it was showing off their strength or borrowing the tiger's might, the Zhang family had stolen the spotlight today!

Ever since the family head Zhang Zongyang died, the Zhang family had been suppressed by various forces for so long, and they had finally held their heads high for once, seeing hope for a resurgence.

Therefore, Zhang Zedong was very worried about any mishaps occurring at this time.

"Could it be that the Du family is going to take action to suppress the Zhang family at this time?"

Many thoughts flashed through Zhang Zedong's mind.

"Deputy Inspector-General Yan, Deputy Governor Guan, and our Chief Inspector Du are just ahead; they will be coming over immediately."

Bi Zheng said.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Xiao was startled: "Deputy Inspector-General Yan? Is it the one from the provincial capital?"

"Correct."

Bi Zheng nodded.

Zhang Zongyang died, and the provincial capital was 'furious', sending an investigation team at the first opportunity, and the lineup was extremely 'luxurious'.

The leader of the investigation team is named Yan Shijin, and he is the Deputy Inspector-General of the Ministry of Supervision.

The Ministry of Supervision is in charge of the supervisory affairs of a province, and the Deputy Inspector-General is one person below ten thousand, also a fourth-rank seated official, and a Grade 15 official, two grades higher than the deceased Zhang Zongyang, and on par with Governor Bian Jingru!

Yan Shijin had been in Datong Prefecture City with the investigation team for nearly a month and had not made any major moves.

But the more this was the case, the more it made people panic, because an official of Yan Shijin's level is busy with ten thousand tasks a day; it is impossible for him to spend a month running to Datong Prefecture for a 'vacation'.

Just today, Yan Shijin suddenly visited the General Inspectorate with members of the investigation team, and the Government Building immediately sent a Deputy Governor to accompany him.

The entire General Inspectorate was on high alert!

As it turned out, after Yan Shijin arrived at the General Inspectorate, he did not do anything, just sat down and chatted with Chief Inspector Du Changhe for a few sentences, and then someone below reported to him about this convoy on the street.

Yan Shijin had a 'whim' and proposed that he wanted to come and see this convoy.

Thus, this scene occurred.

Bi Zheng, Captain of the First Brigade of the General Inspectorate, brought people over in advance to intercept the convoy and inform the Zhang family and others of this matter.

"Brother Bi."

Zhang Zedong is from the General Martial Defense Office and had cooperated with Bi Zheng many times before; the two had a certain personal friendship, so he stepped forward, came to Bi Zheng's side, and asked in a low voice:

"Can you reveal what the intention is for these lords to come over suddenly?"

Looking at Zhang Zedong's eager eyes, Bi Zheng also lowered his voice:

"It's not that I won't tell you, it's that I don't know either. I estimate that Chief Inspector Du and Deputy Governor Guan are also unclear about the situation."

After speaking, he nodded to Zhang Zedong and Shangguan Xiao, then took his men to set up a defensive line in the surrounding area and began to clear the scene.

At this time, the people of the Zhang family had all gotten out of the cars, and upon learning of this, they were all somewhat uneasy.

At this moment, they could neither leave nor stay.

Ten minutes later, the people from the General Inspectorate finished clearing the scene and organized a defensive line on the perimeter.

There were no pedestrians left on the street except for this convoy and the inspectors.

"They're here."

Shangguan Xiao was the calmest among those present; she was the first to notice the movement and looked ahead as she spoke.

As her voice fell, a large group of people appeared at the street corner ahead.

The three people in the center were all wearing dark blue robes with black garments underneath.

The dark blue robes of the three were embroidered with cloud patterns; the two on the left and right had golden pheasant patterns, and the person in the center had a crane pattern.

The Great Lan Dynasty honors blue, so the official uniforms of the officials all have blue as the base, using different patterns to distinguish the rank of the official.

First-rank clerical officials do not have formal official uniforms; starting from the second-rank subordinate officials, the official uniforms are embroidered with insects and fish in addition to cloud patterns.

For third-rank appointed officials, the official uniforms are embroidered with mountains and rivers.

For fourth-rank seated officials, the official uniforms are embroidered with birds and beasts.

For fifth-rank cabinet officials, the official uniforms are embroidered with the sun, moon, and stars.

Among them, on the official uniforms of fourth-rank seated officials, the golden pheasant represents a Grade 14 official, and the crane represents a Grade 15 official.

At this time, the official uniform of the person in the center was embroidered with a crane, representing that he was already at the pinnacle of seated officials.

In Datong Prefecture, only Governor Bian Jingru can wear such an official uniform.

But this person is not Bian Jingru, so naturally, he can only be Yan Shijin, the Deputy Inspector-General sent from the provincial capital.

To his left is Deputy Governor Guan Zhao of Datong Prefecture, and to his right is Chief Inspector Du Changhe of the General Inspectorate.

Behind the three were a large group of officials, accompanied and protected by official-registered martial masters from the General Martial Defense Office.

Shangguan Xiao and the members of the Zhang family went up to meet them.

"Greetings to Deputy Inspector-General Yan, Deputy Governor Guan, and Chief Inspector Du."

After the two sides approached, Shangguan Xiao and the others took the lead in saluting.

"No need for formalities."

Yan Shijin's skin was on the darker side; he was a natural black-face and looked very serious, which, coupled with his official position, made people subconsciously feel fear.

However, his demeanor at this time was quite amiable, making the members of the Zhang family feel a little more at ease.

"I heard people say that there is a convoy on the street displaying the corpses of two Grade 5 superior exotic beasts, so I was curious and wanted to come and take a look. I have never seen what a Grade 5 exotic beast looks like before."

Yan Shijin said with a smile.

Although he said so, among those present, not a single person believed that this Deputy Inspector-General was really here to see the corpses of exotic beasts.

"Let's go, take me to see."

Yan Shijin said.

Thus, the Zhang family and others gave way one after another, and Shangguan Xiao and several key figures of the Zhang family accompanied this group of big shots toward the convoy.

The crowd soon arrived in front of the convoy, and Yan Shijin examined the two heads in the bed of the first heavy truck.

After a moment, he asked:

"What kind of exotic beasts are these two?"

The surroundings suddenly fell silent.

Seeing that no one spoke, Shangguan Xiao stepped forward:

"My lord, these two are a Lightning Snow Leopard Beast and a Demonic Scale Horned Tiger Beast."

Yan Shijin turned his head to look at her:

"You must be Shangguan Xiao, the current Head of the Xingcheng Stop-War Academy, right?"

"Yes."

Shangguan Xiao nodded, neither humble nor pushy.

"Regarding your father's affairs, please accept my condolences."

Yan Shijin said suddenly and solemnly.

Shangguan Xiao was stunned, then bowed again: "Thank you, my lord."

"Hmm, then introduce these two exotic beasts to me."

Yan Shijin pointed at the two heads on the carriage.

Thus, Shangguan Xiao gave a general introduction to the characteristics and combat power of the Lightning Snow Leopard Beast and the Demonic Scale Horned Tiger Beast.

"So, does that mean the vast majority of Dao Foundation realm experts cannot defeat these two exotic beasts?"

Yan Shijin asked after listening.

"Yes."

Shangguan Xiao nodded.

"Then who killed these two exotic beasts?"

Yan Shijin asked.

Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present varied.

At first, many felt that this Deputy Inspector suddenly wanting to see some exotic beasts must be targeting the Zhang family.

But now it seemed, did the other party have some other motive?

The street was silent, and everyone's gaze was fixed on Shangguan Xiao, waiting for her to say that name.

"These two exotic beasts were sent by a company in Xingcheng, and they entrusted our Zhang family to help handle them."

Shangguan Xiao said to Yan Shijin.

"A company in Xingcheng?"

Yan Shijin showed an interested expression, "What kind of company could actually kill these two exotic beasts?"

As he spoke, he turned to look at a sturdy man behind him:

"Fan Yan, could you do it?"

This man named Fan Yan was a famous martial arts expert in the provincial capital, nicknamed 'Dragon-Rending Hand', and his fame-making battle was a one-on-one fight to the death against a fifth-grade superior dragon beast!

On the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking released by Wangyue Pavilion, Fan Yan was ranked sixth, a 5. -tier Dao Foundation realm expert!

"Reporting to my lord, this subordinate is not certain."

Fan Yan cupped his hands and answered honestly.

"Even you are not certain? It seems the person who killed these two exotic beasts is no simple character. Does Xingcheng have such a figure?"

Yan Shijin asked.

Shangguan Xiao remained silent.

Because the identity of Green-Faced Ghost could not be exposed and was currently still wanted by the Datong Prefecture government, on the surface, the Qingyuan Property Management Company had no connection to Green-Faced Ghost, and the company's chairman was Liu Saner.

Even if Shangguan Xiao and the Zhang family benefited from Green-Faced Ghost, they could not admit to being allies with Green-Faced Ghost in public.

The expressions of those present were varied.

Just as Zhang Zedong intended to say something to prevent the situation from being so awkward, Fan Yan, this martial man, suddenly spoke:

"My lord, I have actually heard something about this."

"Oh?"

Yan Shijin looked at Fan Yan, "Let's hear it."

"This subordinate considers himself half a man of the jianghu and has always paid attention to jianghu affairs. Not long ago, Wangyue Pavilion updated the Feng Province Wind and Cloud Ranking, and a new person appeared on it, nicknamed Green-Faced Ghost, ranked ninth."

Fan Yan said slowly in a muffled voice, "In the last two days, there have been rumors in the jianghu that Green-Faced Ghost was besieged by five Dao Foundation realm experts and two exotic beasts, and in the end, he counter-killed four Dao Foundation experts and the two exotic beasts. Those two exotic beasts are the ones you are looking at now, my lord."

"There is such a thing?"

Yan Shijin showed a look of surprise, "This Green-Faced Ghost is actually this powerful?"

Fan Yan cupped his hands: "This subordinate was also somewhat skeptical at first, but seeing the corpses of these two exotic beasts with my own eyes today, I have to believe it."

"Green-Faced Ghost."

Yan Shijin pondered for a moment, then suddenly turned to look at Du Changhe to the side, "Lord Du, when I went to your place before, I saw a wanted list, and the one ranked at the top seemed to be called Green-Faced Ghost as well. Are these two the same person?"

Here it comes!

Everyone present perked up, knowing that the most critical part of today's 'play' had arrived.

Du Changhe looked at Yan Shijin with a calm expression:

"Lord Yan, this Green-Faced Ghost is just a code name. Currently, no one knows his true identity or appearance, so it is temporarily impossible to determine if the person who killed these two exotic beasts and the person being wanted are the same individual."

He still did not know what medicine Yan Shijin was selling in his gourd, so he played it safe and did not commit to a definitive answer.

Facts proved that the caution of these lords was correct.

Yan Shijin continued immediately:

"Lord Du's words are reasonable. If one only knows a code name, and even the true appearance and identity are unclear, it is indeed difficult to judge. But if that is the case, what if someone wearing this Green-Faced Ghost mask appears within Datong Prefecture City? Should the Inspection Academy arrest them, or not?"

There will be another chapter later.

(End of chapter)