In the heavy rain, the turbulent river surged toward the sharp bend in front of it, and waves surged. The huge body plunged into the water like a dashing winter bear. A moment later, the figure rushed ashore with a splash.
The figure called Lin 'E' chan rushed a few steps forward along the riverbank, looking at the river. As he ran, he continued to grab stones and throw them, causing the water on the surface of the river to fly high. After doing this a few times, he finally stopped throwing stones. After running a few more steps, he slowed down.
"Haha." He seemed to laugh mockingly, but there was no obvious trace of the girl who had fallen into the river.
In a fight between experts, a few careless moves could cost one. In this battle between the two of them, although Lin 'E' chan had beaten Watermelon to the point that he could not fight back, in terms of cultivation, Watermelon and Chen Fan had already touched the threshold of transformation. Lin 'E' chan's water skills were only average, but he did not know how good Watermelon was in this area. If Watermelon was skilled in water, it was not impossible for him to jump out of the water and kill him with a few slashes.
He had just returned to Jianghu and had the upper hand. Before facing Zhou Dong, he had to play it safe. In addition, if it was really possible that his opponent was good in water, he would not be able to last long in such water due to his serious injuries. As the rain poured down, his figure walked along the river, staring at the scene on both sides of the river like a hawk.
It was already evening. Under the curtain of rain, the mountains looked gloomy. On the other side of the narrow river was a leaden green forest. It was obscure and low. As the river roared down, the space between heaven and earth was still filled with dense killing intent because of the fat figure's advance.
…
In the water, the girl gripped the dagger in her hand tightly, trying to maintain her last trace of consciousness. But in the river, the undercurrent was surging. Her body silently crashed into the mud at the bottom of the river. In the blink of an eye, her body was spinning and she could not tell where she was going.
The light was dim, and the water was muddy, but the flow was astonishingly fast. The mud and algae swirled around her body, and when the next bend suddenly came, she used her remaining consciousness to adjust her body and opened her eyes wide.
In front of her, a protruding rock at the bottom of the river suddenly crashed into her head!
The black shadow enlarged —
…
The rain became lighter in the evening, but the sky still darkened ahead of time. Between the mountains and hills that were soaked by the wind and rain, specks of light could be seen.
In the mountains near the Siping Hill, the campsite was already covered in mud. When Zong Fei Xiao walked into the campsite, it was dinner time. The fire was barely burning in the damp huts. Several groups of bailiffs were cleaning up the ditches around the perimeter. The guards on the day and night shifts were wearing straw raincoats and changing shifts. Seeing that he had arrived, the rules were enforced even more strictly.
The Ministry of Justice gathered constables and bailiffs from all over the country. In terms of resources, they still had to rely on the local magistrates. In this day and age, there was no taboo for the government to not disturb the people. But this time, things were different from the past.
To put it bluntly, the heroes of the underworld were from all walks of life. The people under Fang Baihua's command were the elites of the elites. If they built their camps by relying on the facilities of villages and towns, they would not be able to chase away all the random people around them, and there was a possibility that they would be taken advantage of. For the sake of expediency, Zong Fei Xiao and Tie Tianying chose to build their camps independently according to the marching method. They strived to have a clear grasp of each and every one of their subordinates to prevent outsiders from infiltrating.
The huge Ministry of Justice was in charge of all the criminal activities in the country. There were a total of seven chief constables, and each of them was an outstanding person. Tie Tianying was smart and experienced. He was in charge of the camp. Although Zong Fei Xiao looked burly and tall with a fierce and fiery appearance, he was actually a meticulous person. These few days, he led the constables to set up an inescapable net outside. Occasionally, a lone bandit would be caught and gathered among the captives.
Although they still needed to use the strength of Lin E Chan and the others to deal with Fang Baihua and the other top experts, it was also because of Zong Fei Xiao's arrangements that they effectively reduced the space for the other party to escape.
The camp had been set up at the Siping Hill for a few days. In these few days, the defeated bandits were captured one after another. Some of them were famous figures in the underworld. But for the people of the Ministry of Justice, just these people were not enough.
On the surface, Tie Tianying and Zong Fei Xiao had only ordered them to escort Fang Qifo safely to the capital city for trial. But in the eyes of the two, if it was just one task, anyone could do it. Tong Guan was the one who defeated Fang La, and Xin Xingzong was the one who defeated Fang Qi. There was nothing wrong with the military taking all the credit, but for the two of them, the only way to stand out was naturally to take down Hundred Blossoms and clear out the remnants of Euphoria.
The chief constables of the Ministry of Justice had a lot of power. But in reality, they were just a transition from a local to a central position. These people often rose up from the bottom and were familiar with the specific affairs. They were resourceful and skilled in martial arts. But in the imperial court, they were just ruthless officials and not official officials. In other words, they were 'craftsmen' and not 'administrators'. They were 'soldiers' and not 'generals'.
There was a huge gap between the two. Many capable officials might only sit in the position of chief constables for their entire lives. But if they could cross this hurdle and enter the central position of the Ministry of Justice, they would complete the transformation. In the future, they would be successful and have a better title.
Those who learned literary and martial arts skills could be sold to the royal family. But the difference between literary and martial arts was so big. Of course, the way of the world was like this. For them, there was nothing wrong with it. The position of chief constables was not high, but it was only relative to the officials in the central position. But for ordinary people, it was a very high position.
They walked all the way into the newly built shack in the camp. Tie Tianying was eating and drinking at the table. The living conditions were not good, but the food was sumptuous. Zong Fei Xiao ate a lot, but he did not drink. He took a big bowl of leftover rice and gulped it down before he spoke.
"Today, we only caught three people. We lost seven brothers and wounded thirteen. Nine of them were not willing to be captured, so they are all dead. "
Tie Tianying took a sip of wine and sneered, "Those who could escape until now will not be lucky if they go to the capital city. They know this, so they are not willing to be captured. "
"Yu Zhen seems to have found traces of Fang Baihua and the others. Someone fought with Ba Dao's men. They should have changed their location. But I plan to go take a look tonight. "
"Have you informed Lin Zongwu?"
"That Lin Zongwu is strange. We told them, but they were not willing to say anything. It really makes me uncomfortable …" Zong Fei Xiao shook his head and snorted, "But we still told them what we needed to say."
Tie Tianying smiled, "They are using us, and we are using them. It is normal for these people to be secretive. Let them be for now. As for the rest, we will talk about it after we find Fang Baihua … "Neither of them were stupid. He said this casually and did not explain anything to Zong Fei Xiao. He paused for a while and said in a low voice," Demonic Buddha Lin Eechan … was also very powerful in the past … "
"That fatty …" Zong Fei Xiao thought for a while and nodded, "His cultivation is not to be underestimated. He said that he wanted to challenge Zhou Dong. I am afraid he was not lying."
"Ha." Tie Tianying laughed and snorted, "Just wait and see. The title of the world's number one expert of the Imperial Fist Dojo is not something that can be easily achieved through fighting."
The two of them chatted for a while. Zong Fei Xiao quickly ate two big bowls of rice and then slowly chewed and swallowed. As he ate, he thought of something and said casually, "These few days, people from the Office of Secret Investigations have been asking the surrounding officials about this matter."
Tie Tianying narrowed his eyes. After a while, he said with a normal expression, "Since the matter has become so big, it is inevitable that there will be some movements from there."
"What are these people doing? They have no legitimate reason to do so."
"Desperate times call for expedient measures." Tie Tianying smiled, "Just by looking at the attitude of the people above, it is obvious that His Majesty is not at ease with them. Right now, they are only qualified to watch from the sidelines. When the battle in the north stops, you will see what will happen to these people. Back then, even Prime Minister Cai did not have such power. In the imperial court, how can one faction be allowed to dominate. "
Zong Fei Xiao nodded and then lowered his voice, "Not long ago, Liu Qinghe and I had a private conversation. The Office of Secret Investigations may have been set up to fight against Prime Minister Cai. In the imperial court, Prime Minister Li can only fight against Prime Minister Cai in terms of integrity and integrity. After all, the truly powerful one is Prime Minister Qin. If he did not retire back then, he would be someone who could truly fight against Prime Minister Cai. "
"This kind of thing is not something you and I can know." Tie Tianying also said in a low voice, "But speaking of which, of the cases that you and I have worked on, think about how many of them are related to Prime Minister Cai. Prime Minister Cai's faction is powerful and influential. Back then, how many of them were involved in the business with the Liao people? If not for the fact that someone could fight against Prime Minister Cai, the northern expedition would not have happened. "
"Prime Minister Cai also wanted to push for the northern expedition."
"Prime Minister Cai, Tong Shumi, and the others, which one of them did not want to push for the northern expedition … they wanted to leave their names in history?" Tie Tianying said, "But the people behind them might not be the same. If Prime Minister Qin didn't suddenly come out and beat them up, who would be willing to give in here and withdraw from the business with the Liao Kingdom? Prime Minister Cai was also happy to see Prime Minister Qin and the others become powerful. When Prime Minister Qin became powerful, he could go with the flow and tell his family that the Emperor was determined to go on the northern expedition, and that Prime Minister Qin did not give face to anyone and could not be provoked … "
After he finished speaking, he sighed again. "However, in times of crisis, how many people have you seen who use such harsh methods to end up well? Prime Minister Qin's faction is probably more hated than Prime Minister Li's faction. "
Zong Fei Xiao also shook his head. They were talking about national affairs, but in reality, they were still unhappy about the Office of Secret Investigations' involvement. In the past, they were the authority in this area. It was one thing to be managed by the upper echelons of the Ministry of Justice, but a small yamen that had only been established for a few years dared to stare at them. Anyone would be unhappy.
After a moment of silence, Zong Fei Xiao said, "But this time, the Office of Secret Investigations' investigation was a little detailed."
Tie Tianying frowned, "Detailed?"
"They transferred a lot of things from the nearby yamen. It seemed like they did not want to attract our attention, but there were movements of bailiffs and constables nearby, as well as injuries. Someone mentioned that they even checked the nearby medical centers … the person who did this was very thorough and seemed to be experienced. "
"This time, we did this openly …" After a moment of silence, Tie Tianying said, "What did they want to do after their investigation?"
"Sikong Nan, Lin Zongwu, Wang Nantuo …" Zong Fei Xiao said softly.
Tie Tianying's eyes were blurred. After a moment of silence, he looked at Zong Fei Xiao, "Can they afford to offend us?"
"Ever since the Liangshan incident last year, the Office of Secret Investigations has been paying more attention to the Lulin. In the past, they did not have anyone, and because of their scholarly nature, they did not care much about this. But now, I'm afraid there is someone … that inner demon, Ning Yi. "
"Heh …" Tie Tianying laughed, but did not make any comments in the end.
"Don't underestimate him. After the Liangshan incident, the name of the inner demon spread throughout the northern Lulin. Just last year, Liu Qinghe had five or six groups of people go to the capital to assassinate him and become famous. All of them have sunk into the sea. "
Among the seven chief constables of the Ministry of Justice, Liu Qinghe was the constable in charge of the capital region. His words naturally carried weight. However, Tie Tianying shook his head, "With the Right Minister's influence, ordinary people who go to the capital will naturally end up like this. It has little to do with that Ning Yi's ability. From what I saw in the Liangshan incident, although this person is vicious and full of tricks, he still acts like a scholar who manipulates others. I'm afraid he is only a strategist from the Minister's residence. Now that there are so many parties involved, the situation is already chaotic enough. If he has the spirit of a scholar and doesn't know the immensity of heaven and earth and interferes … heh, I wonder what will happen. "
Tie Tianying said this. Although his tone was disapproving of the inner demon, in reality, he still understood the principle of not underestimating the other party. He had worked in the government for many years and understood the ruthlessness of Confucian scholars.
They lived a life of blood on the edge of the Lulin, but in many cases, they still paid attention to morality. Confucian scholars who really wanted to do things would talk about morality, but in reality, they would use all sorts of methods. Especially since they had studied many books and knew many things. When they acted without restraint, their methods were endless and impossible to guard against. The Liangshan incident was proof. Tens of thousands of people were directly crushed by a series of schemes. Although that matter was handled by the Office of Secret Investigations and the Ministry of Justice did not intervene much, Tie Tianying and the others occasionally learned about it and knew the pros and cons. Many survivors still had lingering fears after the incident. Later, the Lulin shook and the name of the inner demon spread. Unlike ordinary Lulin people who earned their reputation through fighting, the other party's reputation was completely built by piling up human lives.
Although the Ministry of Justice was also part of the government, no one would dare to use tens of thousands of lives to set up a trap. To be able to manipulate so many lives, it was either the military on the battlefield or the Confucian faction.
At this time, near Siping Hill, the involvement of two chief detectives of the Ministry of Justice was a force that any Lulin power would be shocked. But Sikong Nan was the former Holy Maiden of the Devil Cult. Her subordinates were reappearing and her martial arts skills were immeasurable. Behind her was the shadow of a large family that no one dared to touch. As for Fang Baihua's faction, although they were currently in a difficult situation, they were also the embers of the rebellion that shook Tiannan. They had the power to shake the Imperial Court. Even if they were at the end of their rope, they could not be underestimated.
In such a situation, if the inner demon with unfathomable and strange intentions interfered, it would be an extremely unpredictable result for them. Although the Office of Secret Investigations only had the power to supervise and not command, no one knew what the other party was thinking. The twists and turns of Confucianism were like pulling a hair and affecting the whole body. It was difficult to know what the other party wanted to do.
Most importantly, he hated the feeling of being stared at and not being able to make a move. Especially when the other party was an existence like the inner demon.
After discussing for a while, Zong Fei Xiao finished eating and rested for a while. Just as he was about to go investigate the matter of Fang Baihua, someone suddenly came to report, "Someone claiming to be from the Office of Secret Investigations is outside with the documents from the Right Minister's residence, requesting an audience."
Tie Tianying and Zong Fei Xiao looked at each other and frowned. They both thought, "They really came?"
They had thought that the Office of Secret Investigations would be watching everything from the shadows, but they did not expect the other party to suddenly come and request an audience.
The Office of Secret Investigations did not have much power locally. Although Tie Tianying and Zong Fei Xiao could not let the other party in, it was better to offend a gentleman than to offend a lowly person. With the way the Office of Secret Investigations operated, it would not be good for the inner demon to directly refuse. Zong Fei Xiao took the documents and asked, "Who is it?"
After looking at it carefully, he handed it to Tie Tianying. "You deal with it first. I'm going out."
Looking at the name, the other party was a servant from the Right Minister's residence called Cheng Zhouhai. They were just talking about Ning Yi when a servant suddenly came to report. They could not help but wonder if it was the inner demon. Now that they saw that it was not, they did not treat it as a big deal. In fact, they just felt that it was strange. Even if Ning Yi really came, they would not think that it was that serious.
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