Chapter 479: Final Verdict

In the autumn of Blue Spirit City, there was no sign of desolation.

At seven in the morning, the morning mist had not yet dispersed, and the towering vermilion city gates opened one after another in the cool breeze. The armor of the city guards shone with cold iron-blue light, and horses' hooves stepped over the bluestone road, startling the ginkgo leaves by the roadside to fall with a rustle.

Outside the Dongcheng Gate, the morning market had already risen with cooking smoke, the aroma of jujube paste steamed cakes wrapped in the sound of hawking, and the west wind drifted over the high city walls.

A golden figure with a saber at his waist walked out of the Dongcheng Gate, causing a commotion.

"Look, everyone, that person looks like the Marquis of Jing'an!"

"Really?"

"Eh, it really looks like him!"

"Could it be that the Marquis of Jing'an has returned from the Northern Frontier?"

"How could the Marquis of Jing'an walk through the city gate?"

"..."

Amidst the attention of everyone, Li Fei walked into Blue Spirit City.

September 28th, the Marquis of Jing'an returns to the capital!

From the Northern Frontier to Blue Spirit City, if taking a car, it would take about a week.

Li Fei returned alone this time, so he chose to fly.

Driving the flying boat captured from You Ming of the New Heaven Society, it took Li Fei only two days to fly back from the Northern Frontier to Blue Spirit City.

As a result, before he even returned to his own Hou Fu, invitations had already been sent to his mansion.

All were inviting him to a banquet, and the lowest title was a Marquis, and the lowest official position was a 16-level Pavilion Official!

Today's Li Fei, only in terms of connections and party feathers, still had deficiencies, but in other aspects, he could be considered a standard "powerful minister."

And as long as he was willing, among the civil and military officials of the imperial court, there were plenty of powerful figures willing to establish friendship with him.

Among those officials below, there are also plenty of people willing to join his command!

Before leaving the capital for the Northern Frontier, the Third Prince had found Li Fei, saying he "had power but no influence," and wanted to find Xu Jing and the Lu family for revenge, at least he needed ten years of accumulation.

But after just one trip to the Northern Frontier, Li Fei had both power and influence!

He didn't need ten years; Li Fei had already obtained permission now and could restart the case from back then!

After returning to his Hou Fu, Li Fei asked the steward to decline most of the invitations for him.

First, he took the initiative to write a memorial requesting an audience with the Emperor, and then went out to the headquarters of the Supervision Pavilion.

"Marquis."

"Greetings to the Marquis of Jing'an."

"..."

Inside the headquarters of the Supervision Pavilion, all the officials who saw Li Fei along the way took the initiative to salute and greet him.

Li Fei walked into his exclusive office building.

"Marquis, this is the information you want."

A subordinate handed the information to Li Fei.

"Good, go down."

Li Fei took the information.

This information was about Qi Zhou and the New Heaven Society.

On August 1st, Feng Cheng brought an imperial edict to read the rewards for everyone.

The imperial edict mentioned all key figures and important battle achievements, but did not mention Qi Zhou at all.

This was clearly abnormal.

If Qi Zhou was dealt with according to rebellion, then Li Fei and Qiu Zian joining forces to kill a rebellious Grandmaster was a merit that could not be ignored.

As a result, the imperial edict did not mention Qi Zhou's rebellion, nor did it mention the merit of Li Fei and Qiu Zian, nor did it mention how Qi Zhou was dealt with.

This made Li Fei very curious; he didn't understand what the Emperor was thinking?

Plus, he was also very curious about Qiming's final choice, so he decided to investigate.

He was a Blue Patrol Special Envoy and a 16-level Pavilion Official of the Supervision Pavilion, with extremely high authority; wanting to investigate many things only required one sentence.

At this moment, the information placed in front of him was the "results" of the Supervision Pavilion in the past two months:

After learning that Qi Zhou was a member of the New Heaven Society, the Supervision Pavilion immediately launched a deep investigation along this line.

In two months, one vice-principal of Tianqu University, seven professors, and more than twenty lecturers were imprisoned!

Beyond this, in Cang Province where Tianqu University is located, two Pavilion Officials and fourteen seat officials, as well as forty-six imperial court officials, were imprisoned!

On the central side, officials from the Stop-Goe Pavilion, Supervision Pavilion, Inspection Pavilion, and Internal Affairs Pavilion were all imprisoned.

This storm was no less than the "Three Major Cases" back then, and even more so!

But clearly, the internal changes were so intense, involving so many powerful people, yet the whole process appeared "calm."

There was no announcement in the imperial court's gazette, nor did any newspaper report the relevant news.

Among the people, and even many local government offices, everyone was completely ignorant of this matter!

Such a bizarre situation was rare; Li Fei vaguely understood the imperial court's purpose—

"Cold-treat" Qi Zhou's crimes, and don't let this matter expand.

Immediately after, Li Fei began to check Qi Zhou's personal information.

Qi Zhou was a lone person, unmarried, had no descendants, and no parents or family.

He didn't even have a single relative!

In this situation, since he was already dead, whether or not his crimes were made public didn't have much impact, at most involving "reputation after death."

"Qi family... treason and collusion with the enemy, executed to the last man."

Li Fei saw the file information from decades ago and saw Qi Zhou's past.

"Because of this, so hate the imperial court?"

Li Fei looked at the information for a while, and a moment later, heard footsteps.

He Jian, wearing an official uniform with a solemn expression, walked over.

Li Fei put down the information in his hand and laughed:

"He Lao, we meet again."

A trace of a smile also appeared on He Jian's serious face:

"Long time no see."

"Sit."

Li Fei invited the other party to sit down, and then poured a cup of tea himself:

"The New Heaven Society case, are you investigating it?"

He Jian drank a sip of tea and said indifferently: "The main person in charge is Pavilion Master Lou, I am just participating."

Although he said so, Li Fei knew that the other party must have played a great role.

In two months, following Qi Zhou's line, following the vine to find the melon, finding so many officials related to the New Heaven Society, He Jian had made great contributions!

"After this time, no matter what, you will definitely be promoted by one level, and in the future, I will call you Pavilion Elder He."

Li Fei laughed.

With He Jian's ability, if it weren't for his personality, he would have been promoted long ago, and wouldn't have been stuck in the position of 15-level seat official for so many years.

Now that he has Li Fei as a "backer," no one in the Supervision Pavilion dares to deliberately make things difficult for this detective, and no one dares to steal the other party's credit.

So now that He Jian has cracked the New Heaven Society case, promotion is a matter of course.

He Jian's expression was calm: "I am only interested in investigating cases; whether it is a Pavilion Official or a seat official, it is just investigating cases."

Li Fei knew the other party's personality and didn't think the other party was pretending:

"He Lao, you investigated Qi Zhou, why do you think he would rebel?"

He Jian looked at the information Li Fei placed aside and pointed with his hand:

"In this information, I specifically recorded a note: First Year of Hongguang, a 14-level military general named Shi Taiyu was investigated by the Supervision Pavilion for treason and collusion with the enemy, and was finally sentenced to be executed to the last man."

"Hmm?"

Li Fei recalled, and it seemed he had seen this record, it was just that he didn't pay attention when he saw it.

He Jian: "This military general named Shi Taiyu supported another prince when participating in the struggle for the throne, and was in an antagonistic relationship with Qi Zhou back then. As a result, after the case was judged, Qi Zhou specifically pursued the evidence, but later it was left unsettled after investigating halfway."

"Qi family treason and collusion with the enemy, executed to the last man, this military general surnamed Shi is also... you mean, Qi Zhou was disheartened by the imperial court because of this?"

Li Fei understood He Jian's meaning a bit.

This military general named Shi Taiyu was likely wronged.

But who told him to stand on the wrong side?

The new Emperor ascends the throne, those who participated in the struggle for the throne before and stood on the wrong side naturally have to be purged; this is something that has happened in every dynasty.

No exceptions!

"Qi Zhou chose to follow the Crown Prince back then, which is the current Emperor, a large part of the reason was to clear the grievances of the Qi family. Because the grievances of the Qi family were caused by internal struggles in the imperial court, the official who led this miscarriage of justice back then relied on a powerful prince."

He Jian said, "Qi Zhou wanted revenge, so he could only assist someone who was antagonistic to that prince, so he chose the Crown Prince at that time."

Li Fei was thoughtful: "But Shi Taiyu committed treason and collusion with the enemy, executed to the last man, making him think of his own family again, thinking of those family members who died unjustly.

Back then he was a victim, but now he has indirectly become a perpetrator. He spent half his life pursuing the justice in his heart, and finally cleared the grievances for the Qi family, but found that the thing he desperately pursued might just be a joke, so his mentality changed?"

He Jian nodded when he heard this.

The Qi family was loyal for generations, loyal to the monarch and patriotic, but because of internal struggles, they carried the crime of treason and collusion with the enemy.

Later, the crime was cleared, just because Qi Zhou won in the internal struggle.

As for whether the Qi family was really innocent? What the truth was? Actually, it didn't matter at all.

Just look at the end of the Shi Taiyu family.

Does anyone care if Shi Taiyu really committed treason and collusion with the enemy?

Except for Qi Zhou, no one cares.

This is the reason why Qi Zhou decided to create the New Heaven Society!

Investigating cases often requires standing in the position of the criminal to deeply analyze the criminal's psychological motivation and emotional changes, and find the causal relationship within.

All of the above is the causal relationship analyzed by He Jian standing in Qi Zhou's position.

Li Fei understood a bit why Qi Zhou, clearly already a trusted heavy minister of the Emperor, chose to rebel.

The other party wanted revenge, and was also an idealist.

"Then why didn't the Emperor make Qi Zhou's crimes public, but instead cold-treated this matter?"

Li Fei asked.

He Jian shook his head: "I don't know about this, one cannot speculate on the Emperor's will."

Li Fei then stopped struggling with this question:

"Then what about Qiming? Is his identity confirmed?"

He Jian nodded.

This part of the information was classified as "top secret," and even a 16-level Pavilion Official of the Supervision Pavilion was not qualified to view it!

But Li Fei participated in the battle where Qiming fell, so He Jian had been authorized in advance—if Li Fei asked about this matter in the future, he could directly inform the other party.

There were not many sorcerers in the world who were proficient in the way of cursing, and even fewer who could practice this way to a profound realm.

Back then, when Qiming cursed and killed Ye Zhao, who was locked in the dungeon of the Justice Pavilion, from afar, the imperial court had some guesses about his identity:

First, the original Justice Pavilion True Person Bei Wan who rebelled against the imperial court thirteen years ago.

Second, the Jianghu evil sorcerer Han Jinpeng.

Third, the sect master of the Curse Spirit Sect who had been missing for more than twenty years.

The life-bound magic treasures of these three people all had curse-type divine abilities, all possessed the possibility of advancing to a top-tier True Person, and all had been missing for many years and had not appeared in the world.

Now, based on Qi Zhou's line, He Jian finally confirmed Qiming's identity—

Curse Spirit Sect Master, Bi Ze.

"The Curse Spirit Sect was a sect established in the 7th year of Jiawen, and it has been more than 80 years since then. The first sect master was only a True Person in the True Spirit Realm, and because his cultivation method was strange and he offended people, he was listed as an evil sect by the imperial court."

He Jian introduced to Li Fei:

"In the 29th year of Jiawen, the first sect master of the Curse Spirit Sect died, and the sect only had a few people left under the encirclement and suppression of the imperial court. Bi Ze's parents were both disciples of the Curse Spirit Sect, and they both died in the encirclement and suppression of the imperial court.

Bi Ze became the second sect master in this situation; he should have met Qi Zhou, who was traveling in the Jianghu, at that time. Both of them harbored hatred for the imperial court at that time, and both had blood feuds, so they became friends.

When Qi Zhou participated in the struggle for the throne back then, there was the shadow of the Curse Spirit Sect behind him, and Bi Ze helped him more than once, but did not choose to follow the Crown Prince at that time.

After the current Emperor ascended the throne, remembering that the Curse Spirit Sect had contributed to him, and looking at Qi Zhou's face, he no longer listed the Curse Spirit Sect as an evil sect, allowing it to openly establish a sect.

For more than 20 years after that, Bi Ze and Qi Zhou had no public intersection again, and the Curse Spirit Sect gradually developed into a Jianghu force that dominated a province.

In the 25th year of Hongguang, Bi Ze suddenly disappeared, and the Curse Spirit Sect lost the sect master in the True Person realm, gradually declining and becoming a small sect that no one cared about.

However, according to my investigation, in the 25th year of Hongguang, Bi Ze should have broken through to become a top-tier True Person. He suddenly 'disappeared' at that time, which was intentional, allowing the Curse Spirit Sect to turn from light to dark and become the power of the New Heaven Society.

I interrogated several core members of the New Heaven Society and learned the full plan of Qiming, that is, Bi Ze, and Qi Zhou."

"Oh?"

Li Fei was a bit curious, "How do they want to change the New Heaven?"

To be honest, he had always felt that the philosophy of the New Heaven Society was too unrealistic.

No matter what kind of goal, in the final analysis, what is needed is power!

Wanting to change the New Heaven, what is the use of shouting slogans? Do you have enough power? 【479-14

"Bi Ze attained the Dao by cursing the Great Lan Dynasty."

"Cursing the country?"

"Yes. So the more the Great Lan Dynasty declines, the faster his cultivation realm will improve. Once he can truly cause the Great Lan Dynasty to perish, and the dynasty that has lasted for more than 500 years completely collapses, the feedback he receives will push his cultivation realm to an unprecedented height!"

"How high?"

"Bi Ze's judgment is that he will become the new number one in the world! And even break through to above the peak!"

"Hiss."

"With such power, after the Great Lan Dynasty perishes, Bi Ze and Qi Zhou can join forces, plus the power secretly accumulated by the New Heaven Society, to quickly establish a new nation, and then reunify the Central Plains and change to a new heaven."

"."

Li Fei fell silent.

If all this is really as Bi Ze predicted, the other party could possess the power of the world's number one, and even become the first expert in history to reach above the peak.

Then changing to a new heaven would indeed no longer be just a slogan.

"Since there is such a vision, why did Qiming Bi Ze finally choose to give up his path to survival and give the final blow to the Northern Barbarians?"

Li Fei asked his own doubts, hoping that He Jian could analyze Bi Ze's mindset just as he analyzed Qi Zhou.

". If he had chosen to attack the Golden Dragon of National Destiny and the Daoist power of the Imperial Preceptor at that time, he would have had a high probability of surviving, only falling in realm. But he didn't do that."

Li Fei described the final scene of that battle to He Jian.

He Jian's eyes were deep, and after thinking seriously for a moment, he said in a deep voice:

"Regarding Bi Ze, there is too little information. The personal information I collected about him came from the mouths of those people in the New Heaven Society, which is not necessarily accurate.

If I were to analyze it, I think Bi Ze is a paranoid person, and also a proud person.

When he founded the New Heaven Society, his original intention was to allow the common people to have a different future. His definition of himself is noble and sacred.

He doesn't feel glorious about joining forces with outsiders to deal with the soldiers of the Great Lan Dynasty, and he even feels painful. It's just that he had to do so to achieve his goal.

In this situation, having lost the most critical battle, his pride and spirit did not allow him to start over. He couldn't bear to do things that went against his heart again.

Since he lost, he accepts it!

In this battle with the Northern Barbarians, it was his action at the critical moment that caused the Shaman Army to fall short, so his final blow dealt a heavy blow to the Northern Barbarians.

What he owed, he paid back himself!

This is his pride.

That's why he said at the end that he didn't need anyone to judge him."

After listening to He Jian's analysis, Li Fei felt it made a lot of sense.

Perhaps there were some other reasons, but it is highly probable that when Bi Ze made that choice, what he was thinking was similar to what He Jian said.

Looking at it this way, Bi Ze was indeed able to afford to lose and let go at the end. He can't be counted as a hero, but he was certainly a ruthless leader.

However, Li Fei will not feel pity or admiration for this person because of this, nor does he regret the blade he slashed in the Dream Realm.

If he pities Qiming, who will pity the 3,600 Imperial Guard soldiers who died in battle?

No matter how great the reason, those soldiers should not have died in the Northern Barbarian lands in that way!

Li Fei does not approve of the methods of Qiming and the others.

So even if he had to do it ten thousand times over, he would still slash his blade at Qiming in the Dream Realm without hesitation!

After reviewing the New Heaven Society matter with He Jian, Li Fei said with a smile:

"His Majesty has agreed to let me reinvestigate the case of Shangguan Xiao's treason and collusion with the enemy! I said before that I hope you, Elder He, can help me investigate this case together."

He Jian nodded upon hearing this: "Okay, as long as there is an official document, I have no problem."

"The official document will be down soon."

Li Fei was in a very pleasant mood.

He had been waiting for this day for too long!

September 30th.

Headquarters of the Inspection Pavilion.

At the very back, there is a five-story pavilion, and there are several floors underground.

It is guarded by heavy troops and protected by arrays, and there are Martial Arts Grandmasters on duty inside all year round.

This is where the Inspection Pavilion stores archives and various top-secret documents.

Lou Hongtao came here with several guards.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master!"

The guards outside saluted hurriedly.

Lou Hongtao nodded and moved forward all the way, unimpeded.

Soon, he came to the last floor underground alone.

Passing through five stone doors with mechanisms, he walked into a circular secret room.

The secret room was surrounded by a circle of bookshelves, and there were wooden boxes on the bookshelves.

Lou Hongtao looked around, came to the bookshelf marked 'Jia-3', found an open empty wooden box on it, and then took out a stack of documents from his sleeve.

In more than two months, the New Heaven Society case had completely settled.

Those who should be arrested were arrested, and those who should be killed were killed.

With Qiming and Qi Zhou dead and most of the core members captured, the organization known as the New Heaven Society was no longer a cause for concern.

So now Lou Hongtao came to file the documents himself.

This document is about the 'Evil Demon' Qiming, who is Bi Ze, the Sect Master of the Curse Spirit Gate.

After all, he was a peak figure who had done many major things, so his personal file was classified as top secret.

Lou Hongtao put the information into the wooden box.

"'Evil Demon' Qiming was guilty of heinous crimes, and in the 48th year of Hongguang, in the depths of the Northern Barbarian lands, he died by 'Heavenly Punishment'!

Participants in this battle: Imperial Preceptor Yunshu, Duke of Changping Qiu Zian, and Marquis of Jingan Li Fei."

This was the last content written on this document.

What was not written on the document was:

After giving the final blow to the Northern Barbarians, Qiming transmitted his voice to the 'As if the Emperor were present' gold medal in the air:

"All sins, I will bear alone! I only ask that for the sake of this final curse, you do not destroy the reputation of the Qi family again!"

The dim yellow light fell on the wooden box, and fine dust danced slowly in the air.

The bronze keyhole rusted into sand,

Moss swallowed the old box.

Where the thousand-year stars hang low,

How much dust covers the broken raft?

Snap!

Lou Hongtao closed the wooden box and turned to leave the secret room.

Seeking monthly votes

(End of this chapter)