Chapter 349

January 20th.

Li Fei took twenty-seven people and left Lanling City by train.

Among these twenty-seven people, there were six "clerks" including Liang Chen, there was Lu Lu Wenxing, and there were ten people he pulled over from the Court of Stopping Weapons, including three Seat Officials of the Dao Foundation stage and seven formal martial artists.

The remaining ten people were all sent to Li Fei by the Inspection Pavilion:

One Seat Official of the Dao Foundation stage, one mage of the Spirit Transformation stage, two imperial court officials of the Qi Transformation stage, and six second-class subordinate officials, including ordinary people without any cultivation.

The function of these ten people is not combat or guarding, but investigating cases.

Li Fei is going to Gan Province to investigate a case in name this time, so naturally he has to bring professionals.

Letting him, this Blue Patrol Special Envoy, carry a knife and rush up to hack people, that is something he can handle with ease, but to talk about investigating cases, he is completely a layman.

Therefore, the Inspection Pavilion equipped him with a ten-person team to assist him in investigating the case.

Three days later.

"Lord Li, these are all the records of Wei Wei Hongwen's promotion step by step from Cui City, which include the people he has had dealings with. I have selected some candidates worthy of in-depth investigation from them; please take a look, Lord."

Inside the private room, an old man wearing dark gray robes with some white hair handed the booklet in his hand to Li Fei.

The old man's name is He Situ Jian, Division Chief of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Inspection Pavilion, a 15th-grade Seat Official.

His martial arts talent is average; he is sixty-seven years old this year and has only incorporated two types of implants. He is a Dao Foundation stage of the 2nd tier, and his combat power belongs to the bottom tier among the Dao Foundation stage.

He was able to walk step by step to the pinnacle of Seat Officials and become the Division Chief of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Inspection Pavilion by relying on his insightful and sharp case-investigation methods.

The old man is a famous detective, nicknamed "Ghost Crane."

Ghost Crane is only a fourth-rank exotic beast, but its eyesight is excellent, able to see an ant on the ground clearly from over a thousand meters away in the dark!

The old man once solved several major cases that shocked the Imperial Capital, hence this nickname.

He is one of the most experienced and powerful detectives in the Inspection Pavilion; the Inspection Pavilion arranging this person for Li Fei is definitely fully supporting Li Fei in investigating the case, without the slightest shirking.

From the moment he got on the train, He Situ Jian had been leading the people in his team to organize data and files day and night; it took three days, and finally there was a preliminary result.

Li Fei took the booklet from the old man's hand: "Lord He has worked hard."

He opened the booklet in his hand, which was densely recorded with names of people and their life stories.

"So many people?"

Li Fei was somewhat surprised.

This booklet recorded at least a hundred people!

And this was still the result after He Situ Jian had already selected them.

The old man looked at Li Fei with an expressionless face: "Lord Li, investigating cases is just like this; it is not that some detective in a storybook has a flash of inspiration and can find clues, thereby deducing the truth all the way.

The more difficult the case is to investigate, the more manpower and material resources need to be invested, and it takes a lot of time and energy to peel the cocoon from countless pieces of information."

The tone of his words was not polite, somewhat like lecturing someone.

But through his contact with him over the past few days, Li Fei knew that the old man was just such a personality.

He was official to everyone, with only the case in his eyes and no human feelings, like a cold and hard stone.

Lu Lu Wenxing had mentioned this person to Li Fei in private:

"If this person didn't truly have great ability, and the Inspection Pavilion didn't truly need to use him, he would never have been able to rise to this step no matter what. But with his ability, as long as he were a bit more slick and worldly, by virtue of those major cases he had solved, he would have long had the opportunity to leap over the dragon gate and become a Cabinet Elder."

This is He Situ Jian.

Even when facing the youngest Marquis in history and the most sought-after new favorite in the entire court today, he remained cold and hard.

Li Fei was not angry; he knew very well that what He Situ Jian said was the truth.

Even in the information age of the 21st century, with surveillance, the internet, and big data, there are still cases that cannot be solved.

Not to mention in this era?

Even if this world has arts and certain extraordinary abilities that can be used for investigating cases, the case-solving rate is generally very low.

Li Fei nodded:

"Lord He is right; when the train arrives at the next stop, issue a document to the Inspection Department of Gan Province and let them start investigating these people."

He Situ Jian's expression softened slightly: "Please, Lord Li, use the seal."

Thus, Li Fei took out a small seal from his bosom; this is his gold seal.

He, this Blue Patrol Special Envoy, can directly mobilize the manpower of the local Inspection Court and the Inspection General Court of the Fucheng; even the Inspection Department at the provincial level has the obligation to cooperate.

Now that the Son of Heaven has ordered him to be responsible for the "Tian Tan Assassination Case," no matter what kind of request, as long as it is not too excessive, once he stamps this gold seal, the Inspection Departments in various places will fully cooperate!

After stamping the seal, Li Fei returned the booklet in his hand to He Situ Jian, and He Situ Jian stood up and left.

The old man walked out of the private room and arrived inside the carriage.

An entire carriage had been chartered, and nine men and women were organizing a large number of files.

They are He Situ Jian's team members.

Every Division Chief of the Criminal Investigation Division of the Inspection Pavilion will have his own independent team; the nine men and women present being able to enter He Situ Jian's team are naturally all experts and elites in investigating cases.

"Master."

A girl with a lively temperament, like an oriole, stood up to welcome He Situ Jian.

Seeing this woman, a trace of a smile also appeared on the face of the old man who was not one to joke.

He handed the booklet in his hand to the other party: "Lord Li has already used the seal; wait until the next stop to issue the document to the Inspection Department of Gan Province."

Yuan Yuan Mengfei took the booklet and said somewhat reproachfully: "Master, next time just leave such things directly to me to do."

"Good, next time if you need to use the seal, I will let you go."

He Situ Jian said.

"Master, how is the little junior sister wanting to help you do things? It's clearly wanting to go and see that Marquis."

A man in front of the desk laughed.

"Hey, it seems our little junior sister has moved her heart."

"Hahaha."

Several of He Situ Jian's disciples teased together.

Yuan Yuan Mengfei put her hands on her hips, not feeling shy in the slightest:

"So what? I dare say, now ninety-nine percent of the young ladies in Lanling City have moved their hearts!"

These words made the rest of the people only able to nod:

"Indeed, just on the day we set off, there were dozens of young ladies from noble families who came!"

After the court session ended that day, the news of Li Fei being ennobled as a Marquis before the palace and the Emperor gifting him clothing quickly spread throughout Lanling City.

Previously, although Li Fei was also very famous, his official rank was too low, and he had no noble title, so some young ladies from noble families were not that moved.

Now this link had also been filled, and in such a dazzling way.

This made Li Fei almost perfect in everyone's eyes!

Such a perfect marriage match, many people had moved their hearts.

Before setting off, Li Fei's imperial-bestowed mansion received a large number of name cards, all inviting him to attend banquets.

These cards included more than half of the princes and nobles in Lanling City, important court ministers, and great noble families!

It was just that Li Fei had Lu Lu Wenxing arrange for people to reply, using investigating the case as an excuse, and declined them all.

Three days ago when he took people to board the train, there were quite a few young ladies from noble families who heard the news and rushed to see him off, just to see this legendary Marquis.

When Yuan Yuan Mengfei learned that she would go to investigate the case with the other party, she was so excited that she hadn't slept well for three days!

As a result, after getting on the train, she had never seen Li Fei again.

In the past three days, Li Fei had not left that private room; it was said that he was cultivating.

"Alright, work."

He Situ Jian interrupted everyone, signaling to continue organizing the files.

There were still many things they had to do.

He Situ Jian had only met Li Fei a few times, and he could see at a glance that the other party's mind was not on investigating the case at all.

However, when it came to investigating cases, the old man had never counted on anyone else either.

He only hoped that this Marquis would not drag them down.

Ande Province, Lingshou Fucheng.

Early in the morning, the train station of the Fucheng was cleared.

Over a hundred armed inspectors were maintaining order, and there were also martial artists from the Court of Stopping Weapons General Court guarding every key intersection.

The Garrison Commander of Lingshou Prefecture, the First Venerable of the Court of Stopping Weapons General Court, the Dean of the Court of Justice, the Inspector-General of the Inspectorate General Court, and other big shots were all present!

Just because the train Li Fei was riding would temporarily stop at the Fucheng's train station in a while.

If it were just to greet the Marquis of Jing'an who was passing through here briefly, the big shots of Lingshou Prefecture would not have lowered their status to this extent.

They gathered here today to witness a martial arts competition.

In a lounge on the second floor of the train station, a woman sat quietly.

She was wrapped in blue gauze, her fine eyebrows like willows, her eyes like autumn water, her black hair like clouds, draped over her shoulders.

Her delicate features, every part of which seemed to be an artwork carefully carved by heaven, set off her beauty and liveliness just right.

A long sword was placed in front of her knees, with a total of seven blue gemstones inlaid on the hilt and scabbard, making this long sword look like a silhouette of a piece of the sky.

The woman sat here stroking the long sword, like a white crane in the blue sky, making people's hearts fold for her.

"Ruoyun."

The door of the lounge was pushed open, and a middle-aged man walked in with a smile on his face, "How is the preparation?"

The woman stood up and saluted: "Father."

"If it is a martial arts competition, I am ready at any time. If it is to win, my preparation is not enough."

She said in an indifferent tone.

The middle-aged man's smile remained unchanged: "Today's battle, victory or defeat is not important; what is important is that you meet friends through martial arts and can become friends with each other."

The woman looked at him and said seriously: "As long as it is a martial arts competition, victory or defeat will always be very important."

The man shook his head: "You... since you value victory or defeat so much, then give it your all in a while. The Ancestor said that as long as you have practiced that sword, within the Dao Foundation stage, no matter who you face, a ten percent chance of winning can always be fought for."

The woman nodded, her eyes bright: "I will naturally give it my all."

Being evaluated as "within the Dao Foundation stage, no matter who you face, you have at least a ten percent chance of winning," she is naturally not an ordinary person.

Lan Ruoyun, 27 years old, 5th on the Wind and Cloud General Ranking!

Before Li Fei emerged and rose to the general ranking in one leap, she was ranked 4th on the general ranking, the youngest one besides Miss Shentu Yue.

Being able to alarm a group of big shots in Lingshou Prefecture to come and watch the battle today, besides because this is a duel between the Wind and Cloud General Ranking, it is also because both sides of the duel have extraordinary backgrounds.

Li Fei naturally need not be said, while Lan Ruoyun is the most outstanding descendant of the younger generation of the Lan family!

Martial arts has the Seven Great Families, literature has the Ten Great Valve Clans.

The "Lingshou Lan Family" is one of the Seven Great Families of martial arts, a martial arts family with a history of over three hundred years, with a Grandmaster sitting in town!

Ande Province has no university; the highest mountain peak in the martial arts world is the Lan family.

The Lan family has been operating in Lingshou Prefecture for over three hundred years and has a pivotal status; among those big shots who rushed to watch the battle today, quite a few come from the Lan family.

Standing before Lan Ruoyun at this time is the current head of the Lan family, Lan Lan Mingqian, a master of the Martial Dao Master realm!

It was he who personally came forward to promote this battle today, which is why the train station was cleared and why so many big shots came.

Lan Lan Mingqian wanted to let his daughter fight Li Fei, not just to make a name for his daughter.

It was also because he truly wanted to see if there was an opportunity to promote a marriage!

Lan Ruoyun not only has amazing martial arts talent, but her appearance is also equally amazing; she is a famous beauty in Lingshou Prefecture and even the entire Ande Province.

Previously, some people even rated her as the number one beauty in Ande Province; some lists of the ten great fairies of the martial arts world also often have Lan Ruoyun on the list.

Equally young, equally having martial arts talent, plus outstanding appearance, and the family background is not bad either.

Lan Lan Mingqian felt that his daughter was completely worthy of Li Fei.

Although Lan Ruoyun is 27 this year, 8 years older than Li Fei.

But for martial arts practitioners, a difference of ten or twenty years is not a problem at all.

If it were truly possible to make that young Marquis's heart move through this martial arts competition, perhaps the Lan family would have an opportunity to welcome a leap!

Of course, Lan Ruoyun herself had no such thoughts at all; she just purely wanted to have a contest with Li Fei.

Lan Lan Mingqian did not force this either; some things are not good if they are too deliberate.

Perhaps when his daughter sees that Marquis, her heart will move all of a sudden?

After all, that is a young man who is too stunning!

Toot—

The long whistle of the steam train came from afar.

Lan Lan Mingqian turned to look out the window, a smile appearing on his face, and turned back to say to his daughter:

"Let's go, the train is entering the station."

Thus, the two walked out of the lounge together.

On the same floor, quite a few people also walked out of other lounges; they were all big shots of Lingshou Prefecture.

Lan Lan Mingqian greeted them and then went downstairs together.

Lan Ruoyun held the sword in one hand and walked quietly in the crowd.

The ground began to shake, and a train slowly drove into the platform and then stopped.

Teams of inspectors rushed up first, quickly guiding the ordinary people getting off the train to one side.

An official holding a name card arrived at the door of a carriage and soon walked in...

"Marquis."

A moment later, Lu Lu Wenxing walked into Li Fei's private room.

Li Fei was reading the "Practical Examination of Dual Cultivation of Law and Martial Arts" in his hand.

He put down the book and turned to look at Lu Lu Wenxing: "What's wrong?"

Lu Lu Wenxing handed over a name card:

"Someone is inviting you."

"Just like before, decline it."

Li Fei said casually.

Now his deeds have spread throughout the world from Lanling City, so every time he stops at a station along the way, there will be people sending name cards, inviting him to get off the train to meet, or sending gifts.

But Li Fei had Lu Lu Wenxing decline them all.

"You should still take a look at this one personally."

"Oh?"

"It was sent by the Lan family."

"The Lan family of the Seven Great Families?"

"Yes, now the Garrison Commander of Lingshou Prefecture and a group of Seat Officials are all waiting outside."

Li Fei took the name card, opened it, and saw two lines of elegant handwriting written on it:

"I have already heard your name, and my heart yearns for it. Meeting on the path of the Dao, I request a battle with you."

"Lan Ruoyun."

Only one chapter today, will make up for it tomorrow.

(End of chapter)