Chapter 813

The autumn day in Lanling City showed no signs of desolation.

At seven in the morning, the morning mist had yet to disperse, and the towering vermilion city gates opened one after another in the cool breeze. The armor of the city guards shimmered with a cold, iron-blue light, and as horse hooves trod upon the bluestone path, they startled the ginkgo leaves by the roadside, causing them to fall with a rustle.

The morning market outside the East City Gate was already rising with cooking smoke; the fragrance of jujube-paste steamed buns mingled with the cries of vendors, drifting over the high city walls along with the west wind.

A golden-clad figure with a saber at his waist walked out from the East City Gate, sparking a commotion.

"Look quickly, that man looks just like the Marquis of Jing'an!"

"Really?"

"Hey, he really does look like him!"

"Could the Marquis of Jing'an have returned from the Northern Frontier?"

"Why would the Marquis of Jing'an be walking through the city gate?"

"."

Amidst the gazes of the crowd, Li Fei walked into Lanling City.

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

From the Northern Frontier to Lanling City, it takes about a week by carriage.

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

Piloting the flying boat seized from Youming of the New Heaven Society, Li Fei flew back to Lanling City from the Northern Frontier in just two days.

As it turned out, before he could even return to his own marquis manor, invitation letters had already been delivered to his residence.

They were all invitations to banquets, and the lowest noble rank among them was a Marquis, with the lowest official rank being a Level 16 Cabinet Official!

Today's Li Fei is only lacking in personal connections and political factions; in all other respects, he can be considered a standard "powerful minister."

And as long as he is willing, there are plenty of powerful and influential figures among the civil and military officials of the imperial court who are willing to build a friendship with him.

Among the lower-ranking officials, there are also plenty who are willing to join his ranks!

Before leaving the capital for the Northern Frontier, the Third Imperial Prince had found Li Fei and told him that he was "powerful but without influence," and that he would need at least ten years of accumulation to seek revenge against Xu Jing and the Lu family.

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

He does not need ten years; Li Fei has already obtained permission to reopen the original case!

After returning to his marquis manor, Li Fei had his steward politely decline most of the invitations for him.

He first proactively wrote a memorial requesting an audience with His Majesty, then went out to head toward the headquarters of the Inspection Cabinet.

"My Lord."

"Greetings, Marquis of Jing'an."

"."

Inside the Inspection Cabinet headquarters, all officials who saw Li Fei along the way took the initiative to bow and offer greetings.

Li Fei walked into his exclusive office building.

"My Lord, these are the documents you requested."

A subordinate handed a stack of documents to Li Fei.

"Good, you may go."

Li Fei took the documents.

These documents were regarding Qi Zhou and the New Heaven Society.

On August 1st, Feng Cheng had brought the imperial decree to read out the commendations for everyone.

The imperial decree mentioned all the key figures and important military achievements, yet it did not mention Qi Zhou a single time.

This was clearly abnormal.

If Qi Zhou were to be treated as a rebel, then Li Fei and Qiu Zi'an joining forces to slay a rebellious Grandmaster would be a merit that could not be ignored.

As it turned out, the imperial decree did not mention Qi Zhou's rebellion, nor did it mention this merit of Li Fei and Qiu Zi'an, let alone how Qi Zhou was dealt with.

This made Li Fei feel quite curious; he did not understand what the Emperor was thinking.

Coupled with his curiosity about Qiming's final choice, he decided to investigate.

He is a Special Envoy of the Blue Patrol and a Level 16 Cabinet Official of the Inspection Cabinet, possessing extremely high authority; to investigate many things, he only needs to say the word.

The documents placed before him now were the "results" of the Inspection Cabinet over the past two months:

Upon learning that Qi Zhou was a member of the New Heaven Society, the Inspection Cabinet immediately launched an in-depth investigation following this lead.

In over two months, one vice-chancellor, seven professors, and more than twenty lecturers from Tianqu University were imprisoned!

In addition to this, in Cang Province where Tianqu University is located, two Cabinet Officials, fourteen Seat Officials, and forty-six imperial court officials were imprisoned!

Here in the central government, officials from the Stop-War Cabinet, the Inspection Cabinet, the Supervision Cabinet, and the Internal Affairs Cabinet were all imprisoned.

This turmoil was no less significant than the "Three Great Cases" of the past, and perhaps even exceeded them!

Yet, despite the internal changes being so intense and involving so many powerful figures, the entire process appeared "calm and tranquil."

There was not a single announcement in the imperial court's gazette, nor had any newspaper reported any related news.

Among the common people, and even in many local government offices, there was no knowledge of this matter at all!

Such a bizarre situation is truly rare, and Li Fei vaguely understood the imperial court's objective—

To "cold-treat" Qi Zhou's crimes and prevent the matter from expanding.

Immediately following this, Li Fei began to review Qi Zhou's personal file.

Qi Zhou was a loner; he had no marriage, no descendants, and no parents or family.

He did not even have a single relative!

Under these circumstances, since the person was already dead, whether or not his crimes were made public did not have much impact; at most, it involved his "posthumous reputation."

"The Qi family... colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, the entire clan was executed."

Li Fei saw the archived files from decades ago and saw Qi Zhou's past.

"Because of this, he resented the imperial court?"

Li Fei read the documents for a while, and a moment later, he heard footsteps.

He Jian, dressed in official robes with a solemn expression, walked over.

Li Fei put down the documents in his hand and smiled:

"Old He, 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, then personally poured a cup of tea:

"Are you the one investigating the New Heaven Society case?"

He Jian took a sip of tea and said calmly: "The person in charge is Cabinet Master Lou; I am only participating."

Although he said this, Li Fei knew that he had certainly played a major role.

Over the course of two months, following the lead of Qi Zhou and digging deeper to uncover so many officials related to the New Heaven Society, He Jian's contribution was undeniable!

"After this, no matter what, you will definitely be promoted by another level; in the future, I will have to call you Cabinet Elder He."

Li Fei smiled.

With He Jian's ability, if not for his personality issues, he would have been promoted long ago and would not have been stuck at the position of a Level 15 Seat Official for so many years.

Now that he has Li Fei as a "backer," no one in the Inspection Cabinet dares to intentionally make things difficult for this master detective, nor does anyone dare to steal his credit.

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

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

Li Fei knew the other party's personality and did not think he was pretending:

"Old He, you investigated Qi Zhou; why do you think he rebelled?"

He Jian looked at the documents Li Fei had placed to the side and pointed with his hand:

"In these documents, I specifically noted one entry: In the first year of Hongguang, a Level 14 military officer named Shi Taiyu was found by the Inspection Cabinet to have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, and was ultimately sentenced to have his entire clan executed."

"Hmm?"

Li Fei recalled that he seemed to have seen this record, but he hadn't paid attention to it when he read it.

He Jian: "This military officer named Shi Taiyu supported another Imperial Prince when participating in the struggle for the throne, and was in an adversarial relationship with Qi Zhou at the time. As it turned out, after the case was judged, Qi Zhou specifically went to investigate the evidence, but the investigation was left unsettled halfway through."

"The Qi family colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, and this officer surnamed Shi also... you mean, Qi Zhou became disillusioned with the imperial court because of this?"

Li Fei somewhat understood what He Jian meant.

This military officer named Shi Taiyu was most likely wronged.

But who told him to stand on the wrong side?

With the new Emperor ascending the throne, those who had previously participated in the struggle for the throne and stood on the wrong side naturally had to be purged; this is something that has happened in every dynasty.

There are no exceptions!

"The reason Qi Zhou chose to follow the Crown Prince, who is the current Son of Heaven, was largely to clear the grievances of the Qi family. Because the grievances of the Qi family were caused by internal struggles within the imperial court, and the official who led this unjust case at the time was backed by a powerful Imperial Prince."

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

Li Fei was thoughtful: "But Shi Taiyu colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, and his entire clan was executed, which reminded him of his own family again, and reminded him of those family members who died unjustly.

He was a victim back then, but now he has indirectly become a perpetrator. He spent half his life pursuing the justice in his heart, and finally managed to clear the grievances for the Qi family, only to find that the thing he was desperately pursuing might just be a joke, so his mindset changed?"

He Jian nodded upon hearing this.

The Qi family had been loyal for generations, loyal to the monarch and serving the country, yet they were branded with the crime of colluding with the enemy and betraying the country because of internal struggles.

Later, the charges were cleared, but only because Qi Zhou had won in the internal struggle.

As for whether the Qi family was truly innocent? What the truth really was? It actually doesn't matter at all.

Final Verdict

Just look at the fate of Shi Taiyu's family and you will know.

Does anyone care whether or not Shi Taiyu truly colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country?

Aside from Qi Zhou, no one cares.

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

Solving a case often requires standing in the criminal's position to deeply analyze the prisoner's psychological motives and emotional changes, and to find the causal relationships within.

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

Li Fei somewhat understood why Qi Zhou, despite already being a trusted and important minister of the Son of Heaven, still chose to rebel.

The other party wanted revenge, and at the same time, was an idealist.

"Then why did His Majesty not make Qi Zhou's crimes public, but instead handled the matter coldly?"

Li Fei asked.

He Jian shook his head: "I do not know about that; one must not speculate on the Holy Will."

Li Fei then stopped dwelling on this question:

"Then what about Qiming? Has his identity been confirmed?"

He Jian nodded.

This portion of the information was classified as 'Top Secret'; even a level 16 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 received instructions beforehand—if Li Fei were to ask about this matter in the future, he could inform him directly.

There are not many sorcerers in the world proficient in the Dao of curses, and even fewer who can practice this path to a profound realm.

When Qiming cursed and killed Ye Zhao, who was imprisoned in the dungeon of the Justice Pavilion, from afar, the imperial court already had guesses about his identity:

First, Bei Wan, the former True Person of the Justice Pavilion who betrayed the imperial court thirteen years ago.

Second, the evil sorcerer of the jianghu, Han Jinpeng.

Third, the Sect Master of the Curse Spirit Sect who had been missing for over twenty years.

The life-bound magic treasures of these three people all possessed curse-type divine abilities, all had the possibility of ascending to a top-tier True Person, and all had been missing for many years without appearing in the world.

Now, based on the lead of Qi Zhou, He Jian finally confirmed Qiming's identity—

The Curse Spirit Sect Master, Bi Ze.

"The Curse Spirit Sect is a sect established in the seventh year of Jiawen, which has been over eighty years ago. The first Sect Master was only a True Person of the True Spirit Realm. Because his cultivation method was bizarre and he offended people, he was listed as an evil cult by the imperial court."

He Jian introduced to Li Fei:

"In the twenty-ninth year of Jiawen, the first Sect Master of the Curse Spirit Sect died, and only a few people remained in the sect under the encirclement and suppression of the imperial court. Bi Ze's parents were both disciples of the Curse Spirit Sect, and they also died in the imperial court's encirclement and suppression.

Under these circumstances, Bi Ze became the second Sect Master. He must have met Qi Zhou, who was traveling the jianghu, at that time. Both of them harbored hatred toward the imperial court of that time and both had blood feuds, so they became friends.

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

After the current Son of Heaven ascended the throne, remembering that the Curse Spirit Sect had once contributed to him, and out of respect for Qi Zhou, he no longer listed the Curse Spirit Sect as an evil cult and allowed it to openly establish its sect.

In the twenty-plus years since then, there was no public interaction between Bi Ze and Qi Zhou, and the Curse Spirit Sect gradually developed into a jianghu force that dominated a province.

In the twenty-fifth year of Hongguang, Bi Ze suddenly disappeared. The Curse Spirit Sect lost its Sect Master of the True Person realm and gradually declined, becoming a small, ignored sect.

However, according to my investigation, in the twenty-fifth year of Hongguang, Bi Ze should have already broken through to become a top-tier True Person. His sudden 'disappearance' at that time was intentional, allowing the Curse Spirit Sect to move from the light into the shadows and become the strength of the New Heaven Society.

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

"Oh?"

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

To tell the truth, he had always felt that the philosophy of the New Heaven Society was too impractical.

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

If you want to change the New Heaven, what is the use of just shouting slogans? Do you have enough power?

"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 base will improve. Once he can truly make the Great Lan Dynasty perish, and the dynasty that has lasted for over five hundred 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 will join forces, and with the power secretly accumulated by the New Heaven Society, they can quickly establish a new nation, and then reunify the Central Plains to change the New Heaven."

"..."

Li Fei fell silent.

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

Then changing the 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 of 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.

"... f he had chosen to attack the National Fortune Golden Dragon 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 did not do so."

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

He Jian's gaze was deep. 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.

He founded the New Heaven Society with the original intention of allowing the common people to have a different future. His definition of himself is noble and sacred.

He did not feel glorious about joining forces with outsiders to deal with the soldiers of the Great Lan Dynasty, and would even feel pain. It was just that he had to do so to achieve his goal.

Under these circumstances, having lost the most critical battle, his pride and spirit would not allow him to start over. He could not 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 move at the critical moment that caused the Barbarian-Slaying Army to fall short of success, so his final blow dealt a heavy blow to the Northern Barbarians.

What he owed, he repaid himself!

This is his pride.

That is why he said at the end that he did not need anyone to judge him."

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

Perhaps there were 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 lose and let go. He cannot be counted as a hero, but he is certainly an ambitious villain.

However, Li Fei would not feel pity or admiration for this person because of this, nor did he regret the blade he struck in the Dream Realm.

If he were to pity Qiming, who would pity the three thousand six hundred soldiers of the Imperial Guard who died in battle?

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

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

So even if it happened ten thousand times, he would still strike that 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 already agreed to let me re-investigate the case of Shangguan Xiao colluding with the enemy and betraying the country! I said before, I hope that you, Elder He, can help me investigate this case together."

Upon hearing this, He Jian nodded: "Good, 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 waited for this day for too long!

September 30th.

Supervision Pavilion Headquarters.

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

The surroundings were heavily guarded by troops, and there was also a formation for protection; inside, there were martial arts masters on duty all year round.

This is the place where the Supervision Pavilion stores files and various top-secret documents.

Lou Hongtao brought several guards here.

"Greetings, Pavilion Master!"

The guards outside hurriedly saluted.

Lou Hongtao nodded and walked forward, unimpeded.

Soon, he arrived at the last floor underground alone.

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

A circle of bookshelves was placed around the secret room, and wooden boxes were placed on the bookshelves.

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

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

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

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

So now Lou Hongtao personally brought a document to file.

This document was for the 'Evil Demon' Qiming, who was the Curse Spirit Sect Master Bi Ze.

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

Lou Hongtao put the document into the wooden box.

"The 'Evil Demon' Qiming was guilty of heinous crimes, and in the forty-eighth year of Hongguang, in the depths of the Northern Barbarians, he died by 'Heavenly Punishment'!"

Participants in this battle: Imperial Preceptor Yunshu, Duke of Changping Qiu Zi'an, and Marquis of Jing'an Li Fei."

This was the final content written on this document.

What was not written on the document was:

After delivering the final blow to the Northern Barbarian Empress, Qiming sent a voice transmission to the gold plaque in the air that read "As If I Were Present":

"I shall bear all the sins alone! I only ask that, in consideration of this final curse, you do not destroy the reputation of the Qi family any further!"

The dim, yellowish light fell upon the wooden box, and tiny specks of dust danced slowly in the air.

The bronze keyhole has rusted into sand,

Moss swallows the box of old.

Where the stars of a thousand years hang low,

How much dust covers the broken raft?

Snap!

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

Requesting monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)