Blind Ghostwriter: Starts with the full level of Nine Yang Magic Skill

Chapter 236 The Primordial Chaos Returns to its Origin! (9k votes requested)
In a single thought,
Gu Mo received the Yi Jin Jing, Xi Sui Jing, and Tian Di Shi Se.

The Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing are two top-tier internal martial arts. Gu Mo has already learned internal martial arts many times. Although these two internal martial arts are very profound and have miraculous effects, they are not the most outstanding among the various internal martial arts techniques he currently possesses.

After all, he now possesses a vast array of internal energy cultivation techniques, totaling twelve: Profound Void Internal Force, Frosty True Qi, Nine Yang Divine Skill, Lesser Formless Skill, Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill, Four Illuminations Divine Skill, Bright Jade Skill, Tai Chi Divine Skill, Tai Xuan Scripture, Blazing Sun Extraordinary Skill, as well as the recently acquired Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing. In addition, there are the Innate罡气 (Innate罡气) and Heavenly Dragon Eight Sounds, two martial arts containing immense internal energy techniques, and the White Rainbow Palm Force and Heavenly Mountain Six Yang Palms, which also generate unique internal energy.

In total, Gu Mo now possesses nearly twenty types of fully developed internal energy.

Most importantly, there is another technique, the Limitless Returning to Origin Qi, which is composed of the Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill, the Tai Xuan Scripture, the Lesser Formless Skill, the Bright Jade Skill, the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, and the Tai Chi Divine Skill. It is currently being continuously integrated within his body and is about to be unified.

Therefore, the two divine skills, the Marrow Cleansing Classic and the Tendon Changing Classic, are not particularly special to Gu Mo. Apart from their inherent effects of cleansing the marrow and tendons, their greatest function is to help Gu Mo become more powerful when using the Ultimate Returning Qi to unleash his ultimate moves.

Just like when Gu Mo initially named himself "Wuji", he thought that as he killed more and more wanted criminals, his Guiyuan System would integrate more and more internal forces, and it was impossible to determine how many kinds there would be, so he named it Wuji Guiyuan Qi!
but,

While the Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing weren't particularly outstanding, the fact that the world lost its color made Gu Mo take them very seriously.

This martial art, based on the concept of "Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs," releases pure internal energy to cover the surroundings, transforming the "ruthlessness" of nature into a killing move, forming a domain-like existence that makes things within a certain space around the user infinitely slow down, almost to the point of stillness, and the scene turns dark gray, as if all things have lost their vitality.

In terms of efficacy, it can cause numbness and weakness of the five senses, sluggish thinking, and slowed movements in the area affected by this attack.

Of course, but the weakness of this martial art is obvious. It is not very effective in restricting top masters. In fact, if one relies on it too much, one may even be countered.

However, this martial art is very special to Gu Mo, because the "loss of color in the world" technique belongs to the Qi cultivators.

Qi cultivation is a very special form of spiritual practice.
Ordinary martial artists cultivate both internal and external skills, focusing on physical strength and internal energy; the true meaning of martial arts cultivates willpower and spirit, emphasizing the attainment of a state of enlightenment through a single thought; while Qi cultivators pursue the ethereal destiny and fortune, employing methods that utilize the laws of heaven and earth, making them extremely unpredictable and varied, similar to the magic in supernatural tales.

For example, the head shopkeeper whom Gu Mo had fought was a genuine Qi cultivator, capable of harnessing the power of nature such as wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, making his strength unpredictable. Also, the Taixu Divine Armor modified by Old Madam Lin, which incorporated water-based techniques, was another method used by Qi cultivators.

Qi cultivators master the laws governing the operation of heaven and earth.
The "loss of color in the heavens and earth" is a martial art related to space, which is both like a domain and somewhat like a barrier.

……

The Smiling Buddha wasn't particularly strong and didn't put any pressure on Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan. However, the words he spoke before his death weighed heavily on their hearts. Combined with what Judge Cui and Chun Gua had said earlier, they had some guesses about the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes.

“I will investigate!” Ye Jinglan said.

Gu Mo cut off the head of the Smiling Buddha, took off the Smiling Buddha's cassock, wrapped it up, and hung it on his waist. He then picked up the Smiling Buddha's demon-subduing pestle, which was a pretty good weapon and could fetch a good price if sold.

Gu Mo slowly walked towards the corpse of the Poison Spider Granny, saying as he went, "Brother Ye, you've already made some deductions, haven't you? If there's a unified big boss behind Ghost City, then there are very few people in the entire Qian Kingdom who can achieve this. The answer... is obvious!"

Ye Jinglan took a deep breath and said, "No matter what, I must investigate! Even if I know I can't do anything in the end, I have to hit a wall before I give up, right?"

"Okay," Gu Mo nodded, "but you should be careful about what you do."

While talking,

Gu Mo then cut off the head of the Poison Spider Woman, and then quickly cut off the head of the Thousand-Faced Actor and wrapped it up.

"Ghost City isn't all that great," Gu Mo said, pursing his lips. "We've only been here a couple of times, and we've already killed four of the Ten Great Evils."

Ye Jinglan pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Gu, although I don't want to boast, there's one thing you have to admit: the two of us joining forces is something that would crush the vast majority of martial arts forces. I, Ye Jinglan, and you, Gu Mo!"

Gu Mo chuckled.

"Furthermore," Ye Jinglan said slowly, "hasn't it already been discovered? The most powerful figures in Ghost City have never been the Ten Evils. The so-called Ten Evils just seem to be ten puppets! Isn't the one behind them powerful?"

"This...is true!"

Gu Mo smiled and said nothing more.

Ye Jinglan said in a deep voice, "I'll go find someone to take us out."

After saying that, Ye Jinglan walked towards the chaotic crowd and soon returned with two trembling people.

"These two are ferrymen who specialize in transporting people in and out of the Ghost City, and they're quite familiar with the Corpse Cocoon Cave area," Ye Jinglan said. "Oh, right, this town is called Corpse Cocoon Cave!"

Gu Mo nodded and then left.

Before long, the group left the town, boarded a boat, and departed.

The two ferrymen were trembling with fear the entire time, not daring to utter a single word, and were extremely flustered.

I have to panic.
It wasn't just the worry about accidentally offending two great masters like Ye Jinglan and Gu Mo; the biggest problem was that they knew all the forces in Ghost City were hunting down Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan, and that if they were with them, they could be caught in the crossfire and die at any moment.

If they had a choice, they definitely wouldn't do business with Ye Jinglan and Gu Mo.

However, they couldn't refuse.
After all, at this moment, the town of Corpse Cocoon Cave was still awash in blood and littered with corpses.

However, these two were lucky.

It's unclear whether the big boss behind the scenes only arranged for these three villains to ambush them, or if they were intimidated and worried that Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan would wipe out the Ghost City completely. Leaving the Corpse Cocoon Cave, the journey was surprisingly smooth, without encountering any further ambushes.

It took about five hours.

Gu Mo and Ye Jinglan emerged from under a bridge. The bright moon hung high in the sky; it was the dead of night.

Fortunately, there was no curfew in Qian Kingdom, so the two of them could swagger home.

Upon returning to Ye Jinglan's home and inquiring further, they learned that the two of them had been in the ghost city for two days and one night, and were currently on the second night.

"No wonder they almost starved to death, they've been inside for so long!"

Ye Jinglan slumped into a chair and ordered his servants to quickly prepare some food for him. Then he looked at Gu Chudong and smiled, "Chudong, did you see the gifts your brother brought you? The heads of four of the Ten Evils of Ghost City are worth tens of thousands of taels of silver, and the Vajra Pestle of the Laughing Buddha. If someone with a keen eye finds it, it can easily fetch a thousand or two taels of silver!"

Looking at Gu Mo, who was covered in dirt, Gu Chudong said with heartache, "Money isn't important, what's important is that my brother is alright!"

Ye Jinglan quickly replied, "Oh, so you mean I can have these heads..."

"No way!" Gu Chudong immediately became alert.

Ye Jinglan said, "Didn't you just say that money isn't important?"

"It's just that my brother is more important than me," Gu Chudong said. "My brother is the most important, and money is the second most important!"

"Hahaha..." Ye Jinglan laughed, "Brother Gu, you are more important than money, hahaha!"

"Alright," Gu Mo waved his hand and said, "Brother Ye, stop teasing Chu Dong. Well, these heads are yours, and the bounty won't be shortchanged!"

Ye Jinglan curled his lips and said, "I feel that being greedy is a family tradition. Everyone says that Chu Dong is greedy for money, and you, Master Gu, are not much better. That time in Ghost City was so dangerous, and you couldn't even bear to lose your head!"

"You, Master Ye, with your vast wealth and power, can't possibly understand the hardships of us ordinary folks!" Gu Mo teased.

Ye Jinglan said irritably, "My monthly salary is only eighty taels now!"

The two exchanged a few playful words, and soon the Ye family servants brought out the food.

Ye Jinglan wolfed down his food, proudly displaying the bowl. Gu Mo, on the other hand, didn't feel hungry. After eating a little with him, he led Gu Chudong to the backyard to rest. Although he wasn't hungry, he was still tired. In Ghost City, ever since he killed Judge Cui, he had been constantly using his innate qi. Even with his profound internal strength, he still felt fatigued.

……

The next day, early in the morning.

Ye Jinglan went out to find Su Ziyou. He wanted to find clues based on that pile of ledgers to find out the identity of the big boss behind the scenes.

He didn't use the Ministry of Justice's resources, but instead sought out Su Ziyou, because he had some suspicions about the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes, and he no longer trusted the Ministry of Justice.

Gu Mo didn't get involved.

Although he has encountered many unsolved cases since his debut, he doesn't actually enjoy investigating cases. He just likes to find wanted criminals who are causing trouble in the dark and then kill them.

but,

He didn't stay idle either; he chose to go into seclusion.

Since obtaining the Lesser Formless Skill and gathering the final converter needed for the Limitless Returning to Origin Qi some time ago, he has been continuously integrating it.

Although the Wuji Guiyuan Qi is built around the seven internal skills as its core to construct the Guiyuan system, it is not actually a completely new internal skill, because it does not extract the internal power of those seven divine skills, but rather the characteristics and concepts of those seven divine skills.

The Tai Xuan Jing's attribute-free "Qi", the Xiao Wu Xiang Gong's simulation ability, the Jiu Yang Divine Skill and Ming Yu Gong's endless cycle of life, the Four Illuminations Divine Skill's exquisite and subtle nature, the Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill's rebirth from its cocoon, the Tai Chi Divine Skill's yin-yang harmony, and the Dao's natural way.

Therefore, the initial stage of Wuji Guiyuan Qi was not the fusion of the seven divine skills, but the fusion of seven characteristics and the concept of infinity.

Even if an ordinary person disregarded the issue of coexistence of different types of true qi and actually mastered all seven divine skills at the same time, it would be impossible to construct the Returning to Origin System, since what is being fused is not true qi.

Gu Mo was able to construct the Guiyuan System because of his current martial arts realm, which had already transcended the ordinary and reached the profound level.

Even with Gu Mo's martial arts level, constructing it was still extremely complicated and tedious, often causing him to feel agitated. In the past few days, he had been playing the zither at Ye Jinglan's house, which was a way to stabilize his emotions.

Fortunately, this trip to the ghost town...
Although he was exhausted and had experienced some dangers, it actually calmed his mind.

Therefore, he chose to go into seclusion.

This seclusion lasted for seven days. He stayed in his room without going out, and Gu Chudong would bring him some water and food every day at noon. At other times, no one was allowed to disturb him.

With his continuous urging
The Guiyuan system gradually began to be built.

Starting on the seventh day, Gu Mo told Gu Chudong not to bring him water or food anymore, but just to stay outside and not let him be disturbed, because he would be entering a state of selflessness and detachment from the world.

He seemed to have transformed into a dark, chaotic void.

After countless ages, from the depths of chaos, seven faint lights emerged from nothingness, like fireflies just beginning to light, slowly drifting in the thick, inky chaos. At first, they were like lost souls, wandering in the boundless darkness, their mutual attraction barely perceptible.

As time flows by, the glimmer of light transforms into dim stars, which begin to converge according to some mysterious law, intertwining with each other in a fixed trajectory, like chains woven by ancient gods.

The trajectories of the stars gradually solidified into a vortex, with countless bands of light intertwining into a net as they rotated, crushing and absorbing the surrounding chaotic matter. Their speed increased, and each intersection produced unique patterns. Gradually, the outlines of the seven stars blurred in the high-speed rotation, eventually merging into one, transforming into a ball of incandescent light, like a newborn sun.

……

In the Ye family courtyard, Gu Mo's secluded room appeared normal from the outside, but in reality, it was sealed off by silkworm silk. The dense silkworm silk completely enclosed the room, turning it into a white, isolated world.

Gu Chudong sat by the door, the Gouchen Demon Blade placed aside as she read a book.

She has been guarding Gu Mo these past few days. Princess Li Li of Chengyang comes twice a day, but Gu Chudong always turns her away. Every time, Li Li gets so angry that she stomps her feet, but the next day she comes to invite Gu Chudong to play as usual.

"Gu Chudong, has your brother finished his seclusion yet?!"

Early in the morning, Li Li came again, standing at the entrance of the courtyard, hands on her hips, cheeks puffed out in anger.

Gu Chudong walked to the door, looked at the very angry Li Li, closed the book in her hand, pointed to the title on the cover, and said, "Chengyang, could you find me the second volume of this book tomorrow? This book is really well written!"

Upon hearing that Gu Chudong was asking her for help, Li Li, who had been sulking, immediately brightened up and said, "I can help you find the book, but you have to promise me that you'll come to celebrate my birthday in a few days, no matter how busy you are!"

“Never mind then,” Gu Chudong said. “If my brother doesn’t come out of seclusion, I definitely won’t go anywhere. I can’t agree to your request. I won’t read this book anymore. I’ll find other books to read.”

After saying that, Gu Chudong turned around and was about to enter the courtyard.

Li Li immediately became anxious and grabbed Gu Chudong, saying, "I'll find it for you, okay? If I can't find the book, I'll kidnap the author and have him tell you the story in person. You, you, you... if your brother comes out of seclusion by then, you'll come to my house to celebrate my birthday, okay?"

"I'll go if I have time," Gu Chudong said.

"Hehe, it's a deal then," Li Li said. "I'll introduce you to my father, the Emperor, and I'll take you to see the Star-Picking Tower in the palace. Haven't you always been curious about whether you can see the whole of Chang'an from such a high place?"

Gu Chudong frowned and said, "Your birthday banquet is being held in the palace?"

Li Li said helplessly, "It's all the fault of the Southern Jin delegation. During this period, delegations from the Southern Jin, Yue, and Northern Zhou kingdoms came to Chang'an to discuss trade matters among the four kingdoms. The representative of Southern Jin was the seventh prince of Southern Jin named Sima Kong, who is a troublesome person. He has repeatedly asked my father for my hand in marriage, and even after being rejected several times, he still couldn't get tired of it."

This time, upon hearing that my birthday was approaching, they lavishly prepared gifts, which also won over the delegations from the other two countries. Those delegations had no choice but to follow suit and prepare equally lavish gifts, which then won over my father as well. Left with no other option, my father ordered a birthday banquet to be held in the palace to entertain the delegations from the three countries.

Gu Chudong said, "Wouldn't it be inappropriate for me to go to the palace? That day will definitely be the time of important court officials. It's not appropriate for a martial arts practitioner like me to go there!"

“Why is it inappropriate?” Li Li quickly said, “You are my best friend. It would be no fun if you didn’t go. I already told my father that I wanted to bring my best friend to play, and my father agreed. Moreover, my father also said that if I could invite your brother, I should definitely invite him to come along. My father knows that your brother is a great hero of Yunzhou!”

Gu Chudong thought for a moment and said, "Well, we'll talk about it later!"

Li Li pouted and said, "Okay, I wonder when your brother will come out of seclusion... Huh, what's that?"

Li Li stared wide-eyed in surprise, pointing at the room where Gu Mo was in seclusion.

Gu Chudong quickly turned around and saw dense white threads spreading out from the gaps in the door and wall, floating in the void. Then, those threads slowly turned golden, and then spread wildly in an instant, completely enveloping the entire room.

Gu Chudong's pupils immediately contracted, and she quickly grabbed the Gouchen Demon Blade, waving to Li Li to signal him to leave.

Although Li Li liked to cling to Gu Chudong, she could also tell what was important and knew that things were definitely not simple, so she didn't linger and left immediately.

Gu Chudong stared nervously at the room.

She knew that Gu Mo's seclusion had reached a critical moment!

In fact,
And indeed, just as Gu Chudong had predicted,
Gu Mo's seclusion has reached a critical moment.
His system of returning to the origin has reached the final stage of construction!
The room was bathed in gold, with long, flowing silk threads sealing it off almost completely, creating a self-contained world. Gu Mo sat cross-legged in the center.

With his palms joined together, a perfectly round elixir the size of an egg was condensing in the center. At first glance, it was a dazzling gold, yet it also possessed a hazy, ethereal quality. The golden light was not a pure, solid luster, but rather like a flowing galaxy, constantly swirling on the surface of the elixir, sometimes condensing into fine golden lines, and sometimes transforming into drifting golden mist, as if constantly oscillating between solid and gaseous states.

Strangely, the surface of the pill seemed to be shrouded in a faint halo, refracting light into seven colors, yet it vanished in an instant. Upon closer inspection, countless tiny points of light could be seen moving within the pill, like sealed stars, or perhaps containing endless energy.

"This is the initial form of the Primordial Qi, which should be called the Golden Core!"

Gu Mo felt the peculiar energy body in his palm. Although he had fused it into a form only the size of an egg, it was a non-attribute Qi formed by the fusion of seven kinds of internal forces.

At this moment, a similar golden core had also condensed in his lower dantian.

In Gu Mo's internal vision,
The upper, middle, and lower dantian form a relationship between heaven, void, and earth. At this moment, a sun floats between heaven and earth, which is a golden elixir formed by the fusion of the primordial energy of Wuji Guiyuan.

In the void surrounding the Golden Core, countless stars floated, all formed by other internal energy cultivation techniques, such as the Marrow Cleansing Scripture and Innate Qi. They were like stars orbiting the sun around the Golden Core.

In a single thought, Gu Mo
The star representing the true energy of ice instantly merged into the golden core.

At that moment,

The golden core in Gu Mo's palm instantly turned into an ice bead, radiating endless cold.

Then, Gu Mo withdrew his Frost True Qi, and the pill instantly transformed back into a Golden Pill. Gu Mo then switched to Blazing Sun True Qi, and in an instant, the Golden Pill became a pill burning with raging flames.

Subsequently,

After trying for a long time, Gu Mo finally figured out the effects of the Wuji Guiyuan Qi.

The initial form of the Seven Divine Skills fusion is a golden core without any attributes, possessing extremely violent energy. Simply put, it is equivalent to a bomb containing a lot of explosives.

If we were to return to the scene where he fought the head manager, he could simply throw out his golden pill to kill the head manager.

This is only the initial form, which Gu Mo named the Initial Golden Core.

The real power comes later. The initial form of the Wuji Guiyuan Qi is attribute-less. Once it is combined with other true qi, it can be instantly transformed into an attribute-based one. For example, if you need to deal with enemies in the water, you can add a cold ice true qi to the golden core, instantly turning the golden core into an ice-type golden core, which will then be blown into the river and freeze the entire river.

For example, if you need to use fire to fight an enemy, you can introduce the True Qi of Blazing Sun and instantly transform the Golden Core into a Fire-type Golden Core.

This second form, named the Attribute Golden Core, is very similar to the methods used by Qi cultivators.

The third form is the fusion of multiple types of true energy.

If the enemy is too powerful, then you can activate multiple forms of true energy fusion, such as two, three, four, etc. Theoretically, there is no limit.

For example, Gu Mo has now mastered nearly twenty kinds of advanced internal energy, and he can fuse all twenty kinds of internal energy together.

Therefore, even though Gu Mo is the creator, he cannot be certain of the upper limit of the Wuji Guiyuan Qi in its third form, since theoretically it is limitless.

This third form is named the Ultimate Golden Elixir.

Even more incredible is the fourth form, which theoretically means that as long as his true energy is inexhaustible, he can mass-produce golden cores in unlimited quantities, ten or twenty at a time...

This fourth form is named the Infinite Golden Elixir.

……

Inside the Ye family mansion.

Gu Chudong stood in the courtyard, feeling waves of cold and heat, sometimes like a gentle spring breeze, sometimes incredibly violent.

She was completely bewildered, unable to understand what Gu Mo had managed to comprehend during his seclusion. She was also somewhat worried, as this chaotic situation was very similar to the state of qi going mad and qi going berserk.

However, trusting in Gu Mo's profound martial arts skills, she stubbornly suppressed the urge to rush in.

Fortunately, the courtyard soon returned to calm.

The silk covering the entire house quickly disappeared.

The door slowly opened, and Gu Mo walked out, looking excellent. He cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the right and said, "Thank you, brothers, for protecting the pass!"

"You're too kind, Master Gu. We'll take our leave now!"

Someone responded from the courtyard, and then it fell silent.

These are Ye Jinglan's men.

There are many martial arts masters in Ye Jinglan's mansion. They are all trusted confidants that Ye Jinglan brought from the Heavenly Blade Sect. These people usually help Ye Jinglan with some tasks and mostly serve as guards in the mansion.

Although Ye Jinglan was busy, he did not overlook such a big event as Gu Mo's seclusion. From the beginning, he arranged for people to guard him to prevent any disturbance.

"elder brother!"

Gu Chudong rushed to Gu Mo and asked, "You haven't gone mad with your cultivation, have you?"

Gu Mo smiled slightly and said, "Don't worry, there's absolutely no qi deviation."

"I could feel you getting hot and cold in there, and I was so afraid you were going into a qi deviation. I almost couldn't resist rushing in," Gu Chudong said with lingering fear.

Gu Mo said, "No problem, the seclusion is over now."

"Brother, have you gotten stronger again?" Gu Chudong asked.

Gu Mo nodded.

Gu Chudong asked excitedly, "So how strong are you now?"

"I don't know," Gu Mo said.

“How could I not know?” Gu Chudong said, “Can you defeat the Imperial Advisor?”

Gu Mo thought about it seriously for a moment and said, "I don't know how to say it. You decide whether to have a normal spar or a life-or-death battle!"

Gu Chudong asked, "How about a friendly sparring session?"

"I don't know, because I've never fought him or seen him make a move," Gu Mo replied.

Gu Chudong rolled her eyes and said, "Isn't that the same as not saying anything? What about the life-or-death struggle?"

Gu Mo thought for a moment and said, "In a life-or-death battle, theoretically speaking, I think I should be the number one in the world!"

Gu Chudong pouted and said, "Brother, are you bragging to me? Can we not be so arrogant? You forgot, we met several people before who thought they were the best in the world. If they were too arrogant, they would easily get beaten up!"

Gu Mo chuckled and said, "Alright, I wouldn't say I'm the best in the world, but I'm probably not too far off..."

"Yay!" Gu Chudong jumped up and down happily, shouting, "My brother is the best in the world!"

Gu Mo said speechlessly, "Didn't you just say not to be too arrogant?"

"Let me see if you're joking with me," Gu Chudong said with a grin. "As long as you're not joking, then if you say I'm the best in the world, then I'm definitely the best in the world, hahaha, I've finally waited for this day. From now on, I'll walk with my nose in the air. If anyone dares to block my way, I'll shout 'My brother is the best in the world!' Get out of my way!"

Gu Mo: "...Sis, let's keep a low profile, I'm really afraid of getting beaten to death!"

"Hahaha, I can't keep a low profile, my brother is the best in the world!"

Gu Mo's lips twitched, and he gave Gu Chudong a hard tap on the head, saying, "When you get beaten up, I'll be the first to laugh at you!"

"Humph!"

Gu Chudong raised her little head and said, "If anyone hits me, I'll hide behind you. Close the door, let my brother out, I'm the best in the world!"

"..."

After the brother and sister played around for a while, Gu Chudong went to the kitchen to get some food.

While eating, Gu Mo asked, "By the way, how has Brother Ye's progress been these past few days?"

Gu Chudong shook his head and said, "It doesn't seem good. Brother Ye and Su Ziyou, the two of them, are tracing the clues along that ledger. A couple of days ago, I heard Brother Ye mention that the clues have been found, and many of the accounts were ultimately deposited into the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, and then flowed out through the Sihai Chamber of Commerce!"

Gu Mo frowned and said, "In other words, just as I initially speculated, the Yunlu Sandalwood Factory owned by Judge Cui is very likely backed by the Sihai Chamber of Commerce. They own the genuine product market and the substandard product market as well. Therefore, Judge Cui is able to produce genuine Yunlu Sandalwood because he is working for the Sihai Chamber of Commerce!"

Gu Chudong nodded and said, "That's very likely the case. However, what Brother Ye really wants to investigate is the identity of the big boss of Ghost City. So, these past two days, he and Su Tixing have been investigating the Sihai Chamber of Commerce. Last night, it seems they raided and arrested the people from the Sihai Chamber of Commerce and imprisoned them in the Kyoto Prefecture dungeon for interrogation. I don't know if they've found anything out!"

……

In a small office in the backyard of Kyoto Prefecture.

Su Ziyou slammed his fist on the table in a fit of rage, roaring, "Close the case? By what right should the case be closed?"

Standing opposite Su Ziyou was Mei Wensheng, a man in his sixties from the Kyoto Prefectural Government. He was a remarkable official who had served in the capital for decades without ever making a serious mistake. He was also Su Ziyou's teacher and had served as a criminal investigator who had solved numerous cases.

Su Ziyou pointed to the confessions on the table and said, "Teacher, you also came from the Criminal Investigation Department. You couldn't possibly not see that Zhang Wenyuan was deliberately taking the blame for someone else and becoming a scapegoat. His confessions are worthless!"

Zhang Wenyuan was the general manager of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, whom Su Ziyou and Ye Jinglan found through clues in the ledgers.

Mei Wensheng sighed softly, "Ziyou, the Sihai Chamber of Commerce is the largest chamber of commerce in the capital, with an extraordinary status. Although it is a chamber of commerce, its influence is such that even our capital prefectural government has to show it respect. One chairman, two vice-chairmen, and four general managers—the entire chamber of commerce consists of only these seven giants. You have already investigated this far, isn't that enough to explain? It's just the death of a county magistrate, how much more explanation do you need?"

Su Ziyou's eyes widened, and he said, "Teacher, is this a matter of confessing or not? I'm investigating a case, colluding with the ghost city! The county magistrate of Lantian County is an eighth-rank official! Why do you think this is just a matter of confessing?"

Mei Wensheng said helplessly, "Then what do you want?"

"Of course we'll find out who the real culprit is and bring them to justice!" Su Ziyou said.

Mei Wensheng shook his head slightly and said, "The real culprit behind this, do you want to investigate Yan Zhenhai, the president of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, or the person behind Yan Zhenhai? I won't even talk about the impact that the collapse of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce would have, just consider the background of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, do you think a mere criminal investigator like you can investigate?"

Su Ziyou said, "And Ye from the Ministry of Justice..."

“Even the Ministry of Justice can’t investigate,” Mei Wensheng said. “Are you really unaware or just pretending? The Sihai Chamber of Commerce, right under the emperor’s nose, in the capital, a chamber of commerce that dares to use the name Sihai, think about it yourself, what kind of background does it have? Does the Ministry of Justice dare to investigate? Can you even investigate?”

Su Ziyou's expression was very solemn.

Mei Wensheng took out a piece of Xuan paper from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying, "This is your demotion document. You are being promoted because you found out the truth about the death of the magistrate of Lantian County, cracked the major case of Zhang Wenyuan of the Sihai Chamber of Commerce colluding with the Ghost City forces to resell Yunlu sandalwood, and eliminated reactionary forces. Therefore, you are hereby promoted to the position of Assistant Prefect of Kyoto Prefecture."

As Mei Wensheng spoke, he took out a document from his pocket and placed it on the table, saying, "This is a transfer order. You are being transferred to Suzhou to serve as a county magistrate. It's a demotion, and you're being sent to Hukou County, the most remote county in Suzhou. I don't need to explain what that means, do I? Once you go, you'll be there for the rest of your life!"

At this point, Mei Wensheng sighed and said, "Ziyou, that's enough. The people who came after you have already been very kind. If they were ruthless, they could have just given you a reason to transfer you away. But... we've given you a choice. On one hand, there's a bright future; on the other hand, there's the possibility of ruining your future. It's all up to you. Choose for yourself." He pointed to the statement and said, "You're signing it now. You're signing your bright future. Think it over carefully!"

"Dr. Ye..."

"He's just like you, his decisions are all in a split second!"

After saying that, Mei Wensheng left directly.

at this time,

Inside the Ministry of Justice, in a case room...

Ye Jinglan is experiencing the same thing as Su Ziyou.

His direct superior, Zhang Pengyi, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, also placed a promotion document and a demotion order in front of him.

Ye Jinglan and Zhang Pengyi had a very good relationship because they were not only colleagues, but also both worked for Prince Jin, Li Zhongqing.

“Jinglan, there’s no need to investigate any further. This is enough. Continuing will only hurt everyone. Song Zichu is dead, and the other side has already paid a heavy price. You wiped out the Ghost Wind Factory, and knowing you wanted to kill Smiling Buddha to fulfill Song Zichu’s wish, they even sent Smiling Buddha to you for you to kill. Now they’ve sent Zhang Wenyuan here as an explanation. That’s enough. I know you’re upright, but you also have to consider His Highness Prince Jin, don’t you…”

Zhang Pengyi was patiently trying to persuade him.

Ye Jinglan pondered for a while before saying, "I only have one question: Is the big boss from the palace?"

Zhang Pengyi nodded slightly and said, "Besides, actually, you can't investigate any further. Zhang Wenyuan has already committed suicide in prison. This case is actually over here."

Ye Jinglan chuckled and said, "I understand. Okay, I'll sign!"

Immediately, Ye Jinglan picked up a pen and signed the statement.

Zhang Pengyi breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the appointment document, and said, "Congratulations, Jinglan, you will be appointed as the Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review. In less than a year, you have risen from a commoner to a fourth-rank official. Your future is limitless!"

However, Ye Jinglan waved his hand and said, "Minister Zhang, you misunderstand. I signed this confession out of a sense of duty; I didn't want to implicate His Highness Prince Jin. And now, I will resign. I cannot rise to power and make a fortune by stepping on the blood of my friends; this is what I should do!"

After all,

Ye Jinglan casually tossed the pen aside and said, "I will send the official seal and resignation letter as soon as I return."

Immediately, Ye Jinglan stood up and strode away.

(End of this chapter)