Shi Fengchen walked into the room and took out a thick pile of files from a secret drawer in the corner of the wardrobe, and started reading them again at the desk.
These files were all about Zhao Layue and Jing Jiu.
After the investigation by the Pure Heaven Bureau was terminated last year, these files were stored in the storage room and accumulated a lot of dust, until he brought them home secretly ten days ago.
As he flipped through the files, he had already memorized the words and pictures on them, which were seventy-four lives and countless bloody scenes.
The scenes flashed before his eyes, and then overlapped with the scenes from many years ago.
"Can the Cultivation practitioners kill people at will?"
Shi Fengchen closed the files, and said after a moment of silence, "I won't let the Aoyama Sect have a second Taiping Zhenren."
He had a bad opinion of the Aoyama Sect, which was reinforced by the behavior of the disciples of Liangwang Peak when he was in charge of the Pure Heaven Bureau in Nanhezhou a few years ago.
The so-called abhorrence of the evildoers was merely a cruel and bloodthirsty way of doing things. The style of the Aoyama Sect would inevitably produce a disaster.
A disaster that would harm the human world.
Zhao Layue's talent in Cultivation, her future status, and her style of doing things reminded Jing Jiu of that troublemaker.
So Zhao Layue had to die.
He couldn't tell anybody about this, because the matter of Taiping Zhenren was the biggest secret in the Cultivation world, and also the biggest stain on the reputation of the Aoyama Sect.
If he used this reason, everybody would think he was crazy and wouldn't believe him, and the Aoyama Sect would kill him right away.
He had intended to meet the Emperor and tell him about his worries, but the Royal Concubine never summoned him again.
What else could he do without seeing the Emperor?
He had been thinking hard about how to kill Zhao Layue over the past year, but he couldn't find a way to do it.
Until a few days ago, when he had nothing to do, he found a problem when he was organizing the books he had read recently.
The Duanli Pills in the royal palace were supplied by the Pure Heaven Bureau, but they were used less recently.
In recent years, the Emperor favored Royal Concubine Hu more than anyone else, so the use of the Duanli Pills had decreased.
He even suspected that His Majesty had never thought of hiding this matter.
He thought of a way to get in touch with the crown prince's residence. As expected, the other party was shocked.
The reaction of the Crown Prince's Residence made him realize that the Crown Prince and those close to him were really stupid. They actually couldn't see that this was the Emperor's test.
Of course, this kind of Crown Prince could be used.
With a creak, the courtyard door opened.
Shi Fengchen woke up from his contemplation, put away the file, and walked out of the door.
A young manservant turned around and closed the door. Looking at him, he said happily, "Master, you're back."
The young man's legs were a little inconvenient, so it was very strenuous for him to walk while carrying a basket of vegetables.
Shi Fengchen said, "How many times have I told you, don't call me master."
"Alright …" The young man looked at his expression and said cautiously, "Master."
Shi Fengchen couldn't help but smile.
Seeing his smile, the youth was delighted from the bottom of his heart. His voice also rose a few octaves as he said, "I bought some fresh cabbage. I'm going to stir-fry some bacon tonight."
Shi Fengchen wanted to say that he had already eaten, but after seeing Ye Futian's smile, he shook his head and said, "Don't cook too much."
…
…
Seeing the small and thin figure busy by the stove, Shi Fengchen showed a worried expression in his eyes.
The child was Wang Xiaoming, whom he had picked up from the ruins many years ago.
That year, the Western Sea Sword School and two practitioners of the Kunlun Sect had a duel on the Funiu Mountain, which ended in a draw.
It was said that the two sides had a good talk after the duel, and drank many cups of the expensive Sparrow Tongue Tea on the Cloud Boat, feeling like they had met earlier.
However, these two practitioners didn't expect that the aftermath of their Cultivation duel would weaken a large part of the mountain wall.
A heavy rain occurred that night, and the mudslide rushed out from the mountain, swallowing a village.
Of course, they didn't care even if they knew about it.
Such incidents had happened many times in Chaotian, and the Imperial court and the orthodox Cultivation sects had experienced them a long time ago.
In a sense, the Pure Heaven Bureau was a government office designed to clean up the mess of the Cultivation practitioners.
Shi Fengchen was still a middle-level official of the Pure Heaven Bureau at the time. Seeing the mountain full of ruins, he felt a bit disappointed, but he couldn't feel too angry, because he had no other choice.
According to the usual practice, the Imperial court would compensate the villagers on behalf of the two sects, and some local officials who loved the villagers as their own children would even help them rebuild their houses.
But the problem was that all the villagers had died, so who would get the money? Who would live in the houses after they were rebuilt?
As he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a faint cry from the pile of mud and rocks. Now he knew that not all the villagers had died.
Shi Fengchen adopted the infant whose leg had been broken by a stone. In order for him to live a safe and secure life, he gave him a common name.
Since then, Wang Xiaoming had been following him from Yuzhou to Nanhezhou, and then to Zhaoge City, doing all the trivial chores.
Shi Fengchen didn't teach him anything, not even how to read and read.
Now Wang Xiaoming was doing chores in a warehouse of the Pure Heaven Bureau, and he would come back to visit Shi Fengchen twice a month.
"Master, dinner is ready."
Wang Xiaoming's voice came out from the kitchen.
Holding a bowl of plain white rice in his hands, Shi Fengchen looked at the plate of preserved meat and vegetables on the stove, saying, "Don't spend money carelessly in the future."
Though his salary wasn't low, most of it was spent elsewhere, so he was poor, so he couldn't afford to give Wang Xiaoming any money.
Wang Xiaoming said with a smile, "The preserved meat was given by Seventy-Two, free of charge."
Shi Fengchen knew Seventy-Two referred to one of his workmates, so he didn't say anything more.
After dinner, Wang Xiaoming brought a cup of hot tea to him, saying, "Master, have some tea."
Shi Fengchen took the tea and took a sip, narrowing his eyes.
The tea was the common coarse tea at home, but as long as it was hot enough, it was comfortable to drink.
Wang Xiaoming knew Shi Fengchen was in a good mood, so he asked carefully, "Master, when can I learn from you?"
Shi Fengchen opened his eyes and asked him, "Do you really want to learn from me?"
"Yes."
Wang Xiaoming's expression was very serious.
After a moment of silence, Shi Fengchen said, "In fact, you don't know this, but I asked someone to take a look at you when you were little. You have a good foundation, and you should have a bright future in Cultivation."
Wang Xiaoming suddenly stood up and yelled angrily, "I don't want to cultivate! I want to learn how to investigate cases from you, Master. "
"Investigating cases requires brains, but in the face of absolute power, conspiracies are meaningless, and so is wisdom."
Shi Fengchen looked into his eyes and said very seriously, "We are dealing with Cultivation practitioners. If you want to learn how to investigate cases from me, you have to cultivate and become stronger than them … That's what I thought when I was a disciple of the Three Pure Ones. Unfortunately, my talent was too ordinary, so I couldn't go far on this path. But you can."
…
…
Three days later, Zhao Layue went to the Mingcui Valley alone.
The name Mingcui Valley was very common, which meant that the scenery was also very common, so common that it didn't deserve a special name. Besides, the road into the valley was very steep and difficult to walk on. Even in the most suitable season for walking in spring, there were no tourists.
No matter how steep and difficult the road was, it wasn't a problem for Cultivation practitioners. That was why Cultivation practitioners could see more sceneries than ordinary people. Of course, there were dangers occasionally.
There was a small stream in the Mingcui Valley, and by the stream was a small Taoist temple that hadn't been maintained for a long time.
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