Nightwatcher

# 215. Shock

*As expected, the so-called "evidence" was found by Xu Qi'an...*

For some reason, Li Miaozhen was not surprised by this result. She coldly glanced at the female spirit Susu beside her.

Susu pretended not to see, engrossed in playing with a lock of her hair.

The female spirit was also puzzled. She had assured her that he was slacking off, but the fact was undeniable: this little Bronze Gong had obtained the evidence right under her nose.

Li Miaozhen took a deep breath. "Inspector General, there are hidden truths in this case..."

Inspector Zhang waved his hand, interrupting her. His tone was indifferent as he said, “General Li, you are merely a cavalry General and not a court official. You have no authority to interfere in court matters.

"Out of respect for your efforts in quelling the bandits, I allowed you into the courier station."

"Ahem!"

Xu Qi'an coughed loudly, drawing the attention of the three present. "Inspector, why not hear her out?"

He believed that Number Two supporting Yang Chuannan might be influenced by personal feelings, but she was not a blind or ignorant person. Therefore, he wanted to hear what she had to say.

Inspector Zhang and Jiang Lyuzhong exchanged glances. "Alright!"

Li Miaozhen nodded at Xu Qi'an, pondered for a few seconds, and then said, “I have known Yang Chuannan for more than a year, and we have fought bandits together several times, forging a close relationship. But I am not someone who cannot distinguish between right and wrong, and I understand the treachery and changeability of human hearts.

“I trust Yang Chuannan not only because of our interactions and shared battles. When I learned through secret channels that the court had dispatched an inspector to Yunzhou to investigate Yang Chuannan, I arranged for a spirit to monitor him.

"And at that time, Yang Chuannan had not received any secret letters from the Qi Clique."

Hearing about the spirit monitoring, Jiang Lyuzhong raised an eyebrow.

"How did you know that the court was sending an inspector to Yunzhou to investigate Yang Chuannan?" Inspector Zhang's gaze sharpened as he stared at her.

*Report to the Inspector: we also have a traitor among us, and that traitor is me...* Xu Qi'an thought guiltily.

The fragments of the Earth Book could convey messages over vast distances almost instantly, so it made sense that Li Miaozhen learned about this before Yang Chuannan.

She had heeded Number Three's words and had set up surveillance.

Li Miaozhen spoke frankly, "That's my secret."

"Yang Chuannan is a fifth-rank martial artist. Your spirit monitoring him would not escape his notice," Xu Qi'an diverted the topic guiltily, finally seeing the situation develop as he had anticipated.

He had informed Number Two of the matter in advance, hoping she would assist in the investigation. Although her relationship with Yang Chuannan was beyond his expectations, the result was still satisfactory.

"So what if he knows? As long as he remains within the spirit's sight, my objective is achieved," Li Miaozhen said.

Xu Qi'an nodded in agreement. It was like in his previous life, where people knew they were being monitored by street cameras but couldn't do anything about it unless they destroyed them.

If Yang Chuannan had destroyed the "monitoring," Li Miaozhen would not be so adamant in defending him.

*Does Yang Chuannan have a wife? The spirit must have seen a lot... Fortunately, Master Shenshu is asleep; otherwise, I would have become a star in the Chinese adult video industry...* Xu Qi'an's thoughts became complicated.

"Is that all?" Jiang Lyuzhong pursued.

"I am a disciple of the Heaven Sect," Li Miaozhen said word by word, "I can see through Yang Chuannan's true nature."

What does she mean? Xu Qi'an noticed that Jiang Lyuzhong was deep in thought, frowning.

"The Heaven Sect practices the unity of heaven and man. You should already know this," Li Miaozhen first glanced at the traitorous female spirit Susu, then at Xu Qi'an.

The former bowed her head in shame, while the latter asked, "And then?"

Jiang Lyuzhong took over the conversation, sighing, "To achieve the unity of heaven and man, one must first detach from emotions. As the saying goes, 'Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as straw dogs.'[^1] It is said that the higher the cultivation of a Heaven Sect Daoist, the more they resemble a stone person, devoid of joy, sorrow, emotions, and desires. Even if their own child dies, they would not feel the slightest sadness."

*Then if we have children in the future, I'll take care of them...* Xu Qi'an instinctively glanced at Li Miaozhen, who raised an eyebrow, sensing a hint of malice in the Bronze Gong's eyes.

Jiang Lyuzhong continued, “The unity of heaven and man requires understanding the changes in the rules of heaven and earth, integrating countless phenomena into oneself. Heaven Sect disciples understand the principles of investigation and knowledge better than any scholar.

"They have an exceptionally strong intuition about qualities such as good, evil, and greed."

*Isn't that basically a human lie detector... no, a human lie detector would be the arcanists of the Sitianjian. Heaven Sect disciples should be scum detectors?* Xu Qi'an suddenly understood why Li Miaozhen trusted Yang Chuannan so much.

"But the Sitianjian's qi-watching technique has its flaws, and your method..." Xu Qi'an hesitated.

"As a practitioner of the Heaven Sect, one must have absolute confidence in their intuition," Li Miaozhen said calmly. This was a matter of the Dao heart—if one doubted their intuition, they would be doubting themselves and would eventually fall to inner demons.

"Then gauge me and see my qualities," Xu Qi'an suggested.

Li Miaozhen shook her head. "Our interaction time is too short; that is a long process." She paused and then said with a smirk, "Your qualities are already written on your face."

*You motherfu...*

“After realizing he was caught in the whirlpool between the Qi Clique and the Church of the Warlock God, Yang Chuannan has been trying to save himself, both by investigating the Qi Clique members within the Military Command and by looking for evidence left by Zhou Min.

"If he could prove his innocence, that would be best. If not, he planned to destroy the so-called 'evidence' to protect himself," Li Miaozhen candidly explained Yang Chuannan's plan.

*...That makes sense. If it were me in this situation, I would also first protect myself... and then investigate the case based on my ability...* Xu Qi'an nodded in agreement.

Inspector Zhang squinted, recalling Yang Chuannan's subtle hostility towards him along the way. In Yang Chuannan's eyes, he was just a troublemaker.

Xu Qi'an picked up his teacup, took a sip, and shook his head. "General Li, words alone are not enough. We have obtained evidence. Even if Yang Chuannan is not the mastermind, as the Commander, he must bear the responsibility."

Whenever an office has issues, the leader is held accountable—that has always been the rule.

"Moreover, the qi-watching technique of the Sitianjian cannot be used as evidence for those above the fourth rank, and your investigation and knowledge method cannot convince the court either."

For those above the fourth rank, the Sitianjian's qi-watching technique could not be used as evidence because the technique does not lie, but the arcanist might. Similarly, the Heaven Sect's methods do not lie, but Li Miaozhen might.

Xu Qi'an stood up, walked to the female spirit Susu, and pinched her face, causing her beautiful, flawless features to sink.

"What are you doing?" Susu's face paled... or rather, her elegant features deformed.

"It’s still made of paper," Xu Qi'an patted her shoulder. "Susu, would you like a living body? Not just a possession, but a true, unowned body."

"A dead person’s body?" Susu gave him a sidelong glance and sneered, "A lifeless shell will rot in no time."

"No, a truly unowned body, without a soul," Xu Qi'an said.

Susu looked doubtful.

"I am an old acquaintance of Song Qing from the Sitianjian. He is working on life alchemy, with the ultimate goal of creating a body indistinguishable from a living person. He has recently made significant breakthroughs," Xu Qi'an said solemnly.

"Re- really..."

Probably due to the golden reputation of the Sitianjian, Susu began to show interest and even a certain longing.

"Of course it’s true. As long as you choose to follow me, I can definitely get you a clean, unowned body. As for the issue of nurturing it with yin energy, I can find a solution."

Anyway, it's just a bluff. This is how you deceive girls.

First, paint them a big picture, make them look forward to the future, offer enough benefits and promises, and they will let you do as you please because of that distant but appealing vision.

By the time they realize it's a lie, it's too late.

"Ahem!"

Inspector Zhang coughed, reminding the Bronze Gong to stay on topic and save the flirtation with the female spirit for later.

Xu Qi'an understood his leader's intent. He had laid enough groundwork and now probed, "General Li, since you said that Yang Chuannan has been secretly investigating the situation within the Military Command, do you have any leads?"

*If not, please leave...*

Li Miaozhen seemed to have her response prepared. Under the candlelight, she lowered her head slightly, her long and curled eyelashes catching the light, casting a shadow over her beautiful eyes.

"Shortly after Zhou Min's death, I collaborated with Yang Chuannan to investigate the Military Command. We finally identified a target, a member of the Qi Clique. But that person was very slick; sensing danger, they went into hiding before we could close the net."

That's practically saying nothing... Aren't you very good at finding people? You even managed to catch Baihu Zhou... Xu Qi'an muttered to himself, shaking his head.

Inspector Zhang frowned and asked, "Who is this person?"

"Like Zhou Min, he was also part of the Military Command, an officer in charge of managing the storerooms and distribution," Li Miaozhen replied.

To verify the truth of Li Miaozhen's words, it was actually quite simple, just like when they exposed Yang Yingying's lies. Xu Qi'an immediately asked:

"Name, age, appearance, home address, and information about his relatives and friends... Can you provide these details, General Li?"

"Of course, but I don't have them with me. I will send someone to the station tomorrow," Li Miaozhen said. "As for his appearance, I can draw it for you."

Inspector Zhang nodded, ordering someone to fetch pen, ink, paper, and inkstone. The deformed-faced Susu obediently ground the ink but seemed distracted, occasionally glancing at Xu Qi'an and then lowering her head in thought.

After a cup of tea's time, Li Miaozhen finished the portrait.

The person was a lean middle-aged man with sharp eyes.

The owner of the dogmeat store at Ding No. 15.

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[^1]: From the Daodejing

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